Today is the Prophet's Birthday so there are no classes! We had breakfast with our host father this morning, it is the first meal he has had with us because he is often at work during meal time.
Yesterday was supposed to be my first day teaching English, but none of the students were at the school. I think it was because today is a holiday, and also because it was raining. Rain is frequently an explanation for lateness or total absence here lol.
Last weekend was a schedule excursion to Fez. We drove through the Middle Atlas on Friday, it was simply gorgeous! Nothing can compare to the landscape. Fez was an interesting place, the effects of tourism were strikingly obvious. Many of the shopkeepers spoke some English, and tourist traps were in abundance. The medina was fascinating, and huge. I wasn't on much of a shopping mission, but I purchased a pair of leather sandals and some cheap earrings. You definitely have to bargain for everything!
On Sunday we stopped at Volubilis (Walili) the Roman ruins outside of Meknes. Another gorgeous site surrounded by hills.
I hope to travel somewhere this weekend, possibly back to Meknes as we didn't have time to stop there!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
GO PACK GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Packers won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Super Bowl night at AMIDEAST was amazing! Everyone made sooo much food, and we basically just had a dance party and watched 30 Rock until the game came on. We had some problems streaming the game, but considering we were trying to watch a live football game in Africa I think everything went pretty well.
We started watching it on BBC, but then FOX cut their video for copyright issues. So I had dad set up the laptop in front of the TV at home and we just skyped the game on the projector. For the halftime show we just played itunes since we couldn't here the TV very well.
It was so much fun having everyone together!
We got a visit from Erin today. Erin was living with our host family a few years ago when she was studying in Morocco. Erin and two of her friends were evacuated from Egypt so they are staying in Morocco for a while. They may get to return to Cairo on Sunday, but they aren't sure. It was great talking with them and having dinner!
Well Fusha and Moroccan Culture are calling, layla saida!
Super Bowl night at AMIDEAST was amazing! Everyone made sooo much food, and we basically just had a dance party and watched 30 Rock until the game came on. We had some problems streaming the game, but considering we were trying to watch a live football game in Africa I think everything went pretty well.
We started watching it on BBC, but then FOX cut their video for copyright issues. So I had dad set up the laptop in front of the TV at home and we just skyped the game on the projector. For the halftime show we just played itunes since we couldn't here the TV very well.
It was so much fun having everyone together!
We got a visit from Erin today. Erin was living with our host family a few years ago when she was studying in Morocco. Erin and two of her friends were evacuated from Egypt so they are staying in Morocco for a while. They may get to return to Cairo on Sunday, but they aren't sure. It was great talking with them and having dinner!
Well Fusha and Moroccan Culture are calling, layla saida!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
AIESEC Weekend
I just got back from AIESEC National Conference! It was AMAZING! I met so many new people. I went as part of AIESEC Hassan, which is located right next to AMIDEAST in Agdal here in Rabat. Joining AIESEC was like the best decision of my entire college career. I think I am going to stay part of AIESEC Hassan this semester, they are all super fun. My favorite part was sitting with all the other AIESECers while they sang songs in Arabic all night long!
So I haven't written in the past few weeks so time for an update. Egypt is in the middle of a revolution, which has pretty much dominated the media worldwide. The students from Egypt were evacuated and about half went to Jordan, with the other half coming here to Morocco. I haven't really talked to the new students much as I was gone for the weekend and they just arrived a few days ago but they seem pretty nice. This is really going to change our classes though, which sucks sooo much!!! I think 12 new students are here, so that doubles some of our class sizes!!
We traveled to Casablanca on Monday to see the women's institute. It was really interesting. The center was a place for single mothers to become educated in a job field so they can support their child rather than having to abandon them. We met the founder of the association who told us a bunch of stories about why she started the institute, and explained how the center works. Then we went to the nursery and played with some of the kids. It was a lot of fun.
I need to get going soon, Super Bowl tonight! We are spending the night at AMIDEAST so we can watch the game when it airs. Amelia baked chocolate chip cookies and I made chili (sort of). We had to improvise on the ingredients, but everything should be great.
Peace
So I haven't written in the past few weeks so time for an update. Egypt is in the middle of a revolution, which has pretty much dominated the media worldwide. The students from Egypt were evacuated and about half went to Jordan, with the other half coming here to Morocco. I haven't really talked to the new students much as I was gone for the weekend and they just arrived a few days ago but they seem pretty nice. This is really going to change our classes though, which sucks sooo much!!! I think 12 new students are here, so that doubles some of our class sizes!!
We traveled to Casablanca on Monday to see the women's institute. It was really interesting. The center was a place for single mothers to become educated in a job field so they can support their child rather than having to abandon them. We met the founder of the association who told us a bunch of stories about why she started the institute, and explained how the center works. Then we went to the nursery and played with some of the kids. It was a lot of fun.
I need to get going soon, Super Bowl tonight! We are spending the night at AMIDEAST so we can watch the game when it airs. Amelia baked chocolate chip cookies and I made chili (sort of). We had to improvise on the ingredients, but everything should be great.
Peace
Monday, January 24, 2011
It's my life
We met our language partners today! Well kind of. The students in Morocco are still on break, and the weather was bad so not everyone showed up. But we had a great time! We played an icebreaker for like an hour, and it was so much fun! It seems like we have a great group of students to hang out with while we are here! Mackenzie and I were paired up with Miriam, but it seems like we will be spending a lot of time with everyone in the group. Some of the guys in the group live in Ocean so they can walk us home if we are all hanging out after dark. "It's my life" is the nickname of one of the guys in the group...still geeking out on that one. I can't wait to hang out with everyone, they are going to help so much with learning the language and learning all fun things to do while we are here!
I had my first day at my internship today, I met with the director and we (Rebecca and I work at the same office) went to the office today to set our schedules. I will be working there Tuesday and Thursday from 10AM-2PM. We have our ESL training next Wednesday, I will be teaching English at a community development center Tuesday and Thursday nights and on Wednesday nights I will be teaching English to adults at the centre la democracia. The office is SUPER close to AMIDEAST, which is great since I will need to get back to school for class after work.
Amelia and I browsed through some of the stores in Agdal today. We will need to head back for a shopping day soon, the stores were a little too overwhelming for window shopping lol.
We are working on a Super Bowl party at AMIDEAST! We are 6 hours ahead so we can't watch the game Sunday :( But it'll still be fun! We usually don't have anything "planned" Monday afternoons because it is reserved for program activities, and Doha said it would be a good cultural activity so we are inviting our conversation partners. I think we are going to make some food as well. Now we just need to figure out how to screen the game!
We had a lecture today about Amazigh/Berber history today. Our professor was hilarious and super friendly. He is taking us to Meknes and Fez next month; it should be a fun trip, it sounds like he has some exciting things planned for us.
First Darija quiz Wednesday, AGHHH!!!!! I need to practice with Fatima tomorrow for sure!! Well I have fusha homework as always so it's back to the books.
Allah Yhnnik
I had my first day at my internship today, I met with the director and we (Rebecca and I work at the same office) went to the office today to set our schedules. I will be working there Tuesday and Thursday from 10AM-2PM. We have our ESL training next Wednesday, I will be teaching English at a community development center Tuesday and Thursday nights and on Wednesday nights I will be teaching English to adults at the centre la democracia. The office is SUPER close to AMIDEAST, which is great since I will need to get back to school for class after work.
Amelia and I browsed through some of the stores in Agdal today. We will need to head back for a shopping day soon, the stores were a little too overwhelming for window shopping lol.
We are working on a Super Bowl party at AMIDEAST! We are 6 hours ahead so we can't watch the game Sunday :( But it'll still be fun! We usually don't have anything "planned" Monday afternoons because it is reserved for program activities, and Doha said it would be a good cultural activity so we are inviting our conversation partners. I think we are going to make some food as well. Now we just need to figure out how to screen the game!
We had a lecture today about Amazigh/Berber history today. Our professor was hilarious and super friendly. He is taking us to Meknes and Fez next month; it should be a fun trip, it sounds like he has some exciting things planned for us.
First Darija quiz Wednesday, AGHHH!!!!! I need to practice with Fatima tomorrow for sure!! Well I have fusha homework as always so it's back to the books.
Allah Yhnnik
Sunday, January 23, 2011
week one=complete
1st week of school=completed....wow
So I have finalized my courses, and we just finished our first week of school. I am taking Contemporary Moroccan Culture, the Islamic World and the West, and Community Based Learning (my internship). All of the courses seem very interesting, I just finished reading Zohra's Latter for CMC, it was one of those books that makes you want be a drifter and a novelist for your whole life. I am currently reading Year of the Elephant translated from Arabic into English, and it is heart-breaking right now!
On Wednesday a group of us met at Upstairs and then took a trek to the Kasbah. Sitting on the fort walls and watching the ocean was so peaceful. I feel so close to home still, which is somewhat disconcerting considering I'm more than an ocean away from my family and friends. I suppose I should just accept my acceptance and not rush the culture shock which I've been expecting to feel. I suppose I take a lot of comfort in the knowledge that anywhere I want to be is a simple plane ride away.
We went to the Mega Mall on Friday to go ice-skating. It was like walking right into an American mall, complete with giggly high fashion pre-teens and over-priced coffee (the mall walkers were noticeably absent). My first time on ice skates in about 8 years went surprisingly well, I guess I'm finally growing out of my in coordination. Some of the girls and I went to Upstairs after the mall, I'm always craving their fries and a beer (the Wisconsin in me); it's a nice change of pace from the endless tea and bread we get here at home (definitely not complaining, I love our host family!). That low-carb diet I was dying to try is pretty much impossible here, and now that school is starting to take off I find myself struggling with the family life. I think this is because I moved away from home when I started college and I rarely returned, so I am used to the solitude of my studies, and late night social and study sessions. No 4 AM homework nights split up by trips to Wonderland and Mario-marathons here. Also when I was at home(my parent's house) I had claimed the entire basement for myself at an early age (I'm thinking around 12 years old) and I was rarely disturbed in my cozy cave after the droves of teenagers were forced back to their own homes (generally by their parents, not mine). The massive amounts of freedom I have had from an early age on make assimilating to restrictions here interesting, although I wouldn't say necessarily harder or easier. I am struck with the realization that regardless of the society I am entrenched in part of me is always living up to my father's accusation that I am a hermit (a little hypocritical considering he is always firmly rooted to the same spot in his dimly lit man-cave of a living room, while my mother needs to be pried out of bed if she is engrossed in a book). Good thing I have a great group here to keep me social, and a roommate who loves to be out and about.
I am eager to receive our library cards this week! I have been craving a quite place since our visit to the Kasbah (which was quite deserted during our brief stay and virtually silent). That was truly a magical night that I will remember forever, I am glad we went during our first week here before I become accustomed to the beauty of this ocean city.
We went shopping in the Medina with Doha yesterday, it was a lot of fun but I likely won't return until I have some more Arabic. It was quite frustrating because nobody speaks English, which is my favorite part about Morocco. I feel like an outsider because I can't communicate, and as I jealously watch everyone communicate in Arabic I feel a strong desire to be sitting at home with my Arabic textbook. Which reminds me, homework is calling.
So I have finalized my courses, and we just finished our first week of school. I am taking Contemporary Moroccan Culture, the Islamic World and the West, and Community Based Learning (my internship). All of the courses seem very interesting, I just finished reading Zohra's Latter for CMC, it was one of those books that makes you want be a drifter and a novelist for your whole life. I am currently reading Year of the Elephant translated from Arabic into English, and it is heart-breaking right now!
On Wednesday a group of us met at Upstairs and then took a trek to the Kasbah. Sitting on the fort walls and watching the ocean was so peaceful. I feel so close to home still, which is somewhat disconcerting considering I'm more than an ocean away from my family and friends. I suppose I should just accept my acceptance and not rush the culture shock which I've been expecting to feel. I suppose I take a lot of comfort in the knowledge that anywhere I want to be is a simple plane ride away.
We went to the Mega Mall on Friday to go ice-skating. It was like walking right into an American mall, complete with giggly high fashion pre-teens and over-priced coffee (the mall walkers were noticeably absent). My first time on ice skates in about 8 years went surprisingly well, I guess I'm finally growing out of my in coordination. Some of the girls and I went to Upstairs after the mall, I'm always craving their fries and a beer (the Wisconsin in me); it's a nice change of pace from the endless tea and bread we get here at home (definitely not complaining, I love our host family!). That low-carb diet I was dying to try is pretty much impossible here, and now that school is starting to take off I find myself struggling with the family life. I think this is because I moved away from home when I started college and I rarely returned, so I am used to the solitude of my studies, and late night social and study sessions. No 4 AM homework nights split up by trips to Wonderland and Mario-marathons here. Also when I was at home(my parent's house) I had claimed the entire basement for myself at an early age (I'm thinking around 12 years old) and I was rarely disturbed in my cozy cave after the droves of teenagers were forced back to their own homes (generally by their parents, not mine). The massive amounts of freedom I have had from an early age on make assimilating to restrictions here interesting, although I wouldn't say necessarily harder or easier. I am struck with the realization that regardless of the society I am entrenched in part of me is always living up to my father's accusation that I am a hermit (a little hypocritical considering he is always firmly rooted to the same spot in his dimly lit man-cave of a living room, while my mother needs to be pried out of bed if she is engrossed in a book). Good thing I have a great group here to keep me social, and a roommate who loves to be out and about.
I am eager to receive our library cards this week! I have been craving a quite place since our visit to the Kasbah (which was quite deserted during our brief stay and virtually silent). That was truly a magical night that I will remember forever, I am glad we went during our first week here before I become accustomed to the beauty of this ocean city.
We went shopping in the Medina with Doha yesterday, it was a lot of fun but I likely won't return until I have some more Arabic. It was quite frustrating because nobody speaks English, which is my favorite part about Morocco. I feel like an outsider because I can't communicate, and as I jealously watch everyone communicate in Arabic I feel a strong desire to be sitting at home with my Arabic textbook. Which reminds me, homework is calling.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Love at first sight
Wajida stayed with us for lunch, and then we walked to Sarah and Robin's house. Robin got sick last night and has been sleeping all day so Sarah came out with us to get some human interaction. Fatima came with us as well :)
We walked to the medina and Fatima yelled at some boys who were harassing us. It was hilarious, mostly because we get "harassed" a lot so I think they were bothering her more than us. These boys were for sure being extra annoying. I can never stop laughing when we are walking around because so many of the guys try to flirt with us, even if they only know a few words in English; it seems like "I Love You" is the same as hello here. Men, always wearing their hearts on their sleeves.
I cleared up some plans with my parents for spring break today; it sounds like we are going to Egypt and taking a cruise down the Nile then coming to Morocco for a few days. It should be a great time.
I can't wait for a lazy Sunday tomorrow, Amelia and I both agree we have been drained this week. It must be information overload. Ana aiyanna, layla saida!
We walked to the medina and Fatima yelled at some boys who were harassing us. It was hilarious, mostly because we get "harassed" a lot so I think they were bothering her more than us. These boys were for sure being extra annoying. I can never stop laughing when we are walking around because so many of the guys try to flirt with us, even if they only know a few words in English; it seems like "I Love You" is the same as hello here. Men, always wearing their hearts on their sleeves.
I cleared up some plans with my parents for spring break today; it sounds like we are going to Egypt and taking a cruise down the Nile then coming to Morocco for a few days. It should be a great time.
I can't wait for a lazy Sunday tomorrow, Amelia and I both agree we have been drained this week. It must be information overload. Ana aiyanna, layla saida!
Hammam!
We just got back from the Hammam! I feel super clean! Fatima took us this morning after breakfast, and Wajida joined us, it was a great morning. I don't think my skin has ever been softer.
Wajida is staying for lunch, so we are all just relaxing now. My Visa Travelmoney is so stupid! I called this morning to add more money, and I can only add at a US Bank. Fucking useless, I'm in Morocco where am I supposed to find a US bank! Anyway I think I'm just going to have my parents mail me my debit card from home, I can actually move money onto that! Credit cards = useless! I was going to put my books on my credit card but the machine at our school has been broken for like 6 months. My savings is officially on zero anyway, I had to buy my plane ticket home so that was the last of my money. But we really don't need much money since our host family feeds us, and we walk to school so extra money is just for extra purchases like clothes and gifts. A taxi ride from the school to home is only like 2 dollars and we only take the taxi if it dark out.
I think our host mom is making lunch so I'm going to go help out, and maybe do some laundry.
B'salaam!
Wajida is staying for lunch, so we are all just relaxing now. My Visa Travelmoney is so stupid! I called this morning to add more money, and I can only add at a US Bank. Fucking useless, I'm in Morocco where am I supposed to find a US bank! Anyway I think I'm just going to have my parents mail me my debit card from home, I can actually move money onto that! Credit cards = useless! I was going to put my books on my credit card but the machine at our school has been broken for like 6 months. My savings is officially on zero anyway, I had to buy my plane ticket home so that was the last of my money. But we really don't need much money since our host family feeds us, and we walk to school so extra money is just for extra purchases like clothes and gifts. A taxi ride from the school to home is only like 2 dollars and we only take the taxi if it dark out.
I think our host mom is making lunch so I'm going to go help out, and maybe do some laundry.
B'salaam!
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