As I said in my last post, my first impression of my host family was definitely favorable. After the weekend, I still think so! My host parents are both warm and welcoming, and are constantly asking me to eat more, but they also taught me how to say, "I'm full, Thanks be to God", in Darija, which is a phrase I think I will be using quite often! My oldest sister, Sarah, is also very helpful with Darija, as she speaks English and is always willing to quiz us. It's a little weird living with people who I can't communicate effectively with, though. My AMIDEAST partner host sister, Evelyn, speaks French really well, as do all the members of the family, so she can talk to them. All of the family members speak Darija and French, but none of them know how to/want to speak Modern Standard Arabic with me. I think that the younger folk don't really know it as they all went to French schools, and I don't know if the parents just aren't comfortable with it, or if my MSA is just so bad they can't figure out what I am saying.
Communication with most people, not just my family, is always a little challenging for me here in Rabat. On Sunday, some of the girls from the program and I wanted to go to church at the Roman Catholic cathedral. I took a cab, and my driver, first didn't understand which church I wanted to go to, and then refused to take me there after realizing that I didn't speak French (the service was in French). He kept trying to take me to a different church, even though I tried, in French, Darija, and MSA to tell him that I was meeting my friends at the Catholic church. He finally let me out after yelling out the window to some random guy who assured him that this was the Catholic church and that I did indeed want the Catholic church. What a mess! The actual service was lovely and most of the congregation was African. The music was especially gorgeous, and even though the service was in French the familiarity of the service was enough to make me the most homesick I've been since coming to Morocco. I started crying right there in the church, which was a little embarrassing, but I felt better afterward, so I guess it was OK.
The most exciting event since my last post, was my evening out with Ranya, my 19 year old host sister who is leaving in five days to study in Canada. Ranya is quite social and took Evelyn and I out Friday night to see her friends. The whole experience was crazy, and even getting ready to go was an adventure. Ranya dressed Evelyn and I in clothes that we did not feel comfortable wandering the streets of Rabat in, and she insisted that Evelyn do her eye make-up. This led to a round of questioning about eye make-up, where you buy make-up in the US, and how expensive it is. When we were finally ready to leave, Ranya took Evelyn and I to a cafe near the AMIDEAST offices where all the youth of Morocco hang out. Now, I've been to this cafe during the day because it is one of the few places open for lunch during Ramada, but it is a totally different place at night. During the day, the cafe is almost deserted and the selection of items for sale is small. At night, the place was full of Moroccans talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and using the free wifi. Evelyn and I met many of Ranyas friends, and some people she didn't know (Ranya is quite the social butterfly), and all of the young adults spoke French, and a little English.
Our night really picked up when we met Ranya's best friend, Ali. He was very eager to speak to Evelyn and I in English, and is leaving in a couple of weeks to study in Marrakesh. After chatting in the cafe for awhile, Ranya informed us that we were going to the beach and told Evelyn and I to get in the car with Ali. So here we were, two American girls in a car with this Moroccan guy we'd known for less than a hour speeding down the streets of Rabat with music blaring so loud conversation was impossible. The music volume did not stop Ali from asking Evelyn and I to explain the lyrics of American songs that he particularly enjoyed. Evelyn was more useful in that respect than I becuase of her French. After we'd been driving for awhile Ali gets a call from his cousin who lives in the area. We pull over, Ali gets out of the car and meets this guy in front of an apartment building. It turns out that the guy is Ali's cousin, Hakim, who promply invites us inside. Well, in for a penny in for a pound I guess, and since Evelyn and I had already decided to go out wearing inappropriate clothes, and get in a car with a Moroccan man we barely knew, we decided what the hell, let's go meet Hakim's family. We were ushered inside and greeted by Ali's sister who was wearing a hijab, which was kind of awkward given that Evelyn and I were wearing American going out at night clothes. We at Hakim's house for a few minutes, until Ranya called and told us to hurry up. Then, we drove around the outskirts of Rabat for a while, picking up more people, until we finally made it to the beach. We just chilled there, talking in a mix of French, English, and Darija, until Evelyn and I insisted we were too tired to stay out, which was at like 2 AM.
Ranya wanted us to go out again Saturday night, and we went, but insisted that we be taken home at midnight. Ramadan is a weird time of year here. There is no school and some people don't have work during the day, so for the young folk like Ranya, it is easy to become essentially nocturnal. Her friends were saying that Ramadan is still pretty boring because all of the night clubs are closed. Ali was complaining bitterly about this and kept saying that he wanted to go dancing on Saturday night.
Hanging out with the Moroccan youth was tons of fun, and a great way to work on my language skills. All of Ali's friends were very excited that I knew the Arabic alphabet. They were all very welcoming and eager to talk to us. Ali immediately added me as his facebook friend, and when we saw each other on Saturday he asked me questions about my family and friends who are in my pictures and the interests that I posted on my profile. That sounds a little stalkerish, but wasn't really, I promise!
This week also saw that beginning of classes for me. My MSA (Modern Standard Arabic) teacher seems really nice. He told us all to think of him as our father while we are here in Morocco. I tested into Arabi 202, which is a level above where I ended at AU, and I think that it's going to be really tough, especially since my teacher makes you talk and speaks to us only in Arabic, but I should learn alot. My Darija teacher is this intense little woman who talks to us very loudly in a mix of Darija, MSA, and French. As a result I have a tough time understanding her and I think it'll take a bit for me to become used to her teaching style. I've also had two humanities classes, Gender, Islam, and Society, and Contemporary Moroccan Culture. For those of you who go to AU, when I took Prof. Howard's IR Researh class, I did my three reserach designs on movements that focus on reinterpreting the Qu'ran as a way of promoting women's rights. My Gender, Islam, and Society class addressed some of the questions that I looked at in that project, in much more detail and looks like it's going to be really good. My teacher is a very intelligent woman who has taught in the US and Morocco and who plans to take us on fiield trips to NGOs in Rabat dealing with women's issues. My Contemporary Moroccan Culture class is taught by the program's academic coordinatior and also looks really good. We have to do a project and paper on some aspect of Moroccan culture that forces us to go out and communicate with Moroccan people for reserach purposes. It should be challenging, but good!
As far as my fasting goes, my host family seemed surprised that I wanted to attempt it in the first place and kept asking if I wanted food. I fasted for the weekend, and then when Evelyn and I told our host mom that we were starting classes, she refused to let us fast anymore. I might keep fasting on weekends, or I might not, but it was a good experience to have had, even just for the weekend. The not eating during the day part was tough, but the hardest part was not drinking, especially on Saturday when Evelyn and I wandered around the medina in the hot sun. Eating at night was also difficult, as I felt like I needed to eat and drink a lot to prepare for the next day, but then just ended up feeling sick. I can see why fasting is such an important part of the Islamic faith, though. It really does make you realize just how important food is to our day to day schedule and activities. I know that as a Christian, I usually take Lent as a time of year to reflect on my life and try to make improvements in areas that I think I need it, such as promising to start my homework earlier, or try to be extra considerate to those around me, and Ramadan seems like a time for that as well, except on an even more intesnse level.
OK, enough heavy stuff. I'm off to start my homework (now that I have class again!), but will try to update a couple more times this week!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Day 1 with the Host Family
I met my host family for the first time last night. It's much easier to believe that I'm really going to be here for nine months now that I've seen the space that I will be living in. It's so intense!
So, to back up a bit. Yesterday morning/afternoon all of us in the program participated in an event called Rabat Survivor, which is a scavenger hunt all around Rabat. It was pretty cool, and forced me to use my darija as some of our tasks involved talking to random Moroccans. My favorite place that we went to was the Kasbah (probably not the correct spelling, but it's phonetically OK). The Kasbah is a walled section of the city right near the Atlantic Ocean. My group got a little turned around and instead of finding the garden that we were supposed to visit, we wound up wandering around the most beutiful residential area I have seen yet. Everything was pained blue and white, and with the tall walls and tiny doors I felt like I was in Greece. We stopped in a small pottery shop to look around, and stumbled upon the most amazing view of the ocean. I really must get pictures up at some point, hopefully soon, so you can see for yourself how utterly gorgeous the Kasbah is.
The funniest part of our adventure came right at the beginning, when we were directed to go to the Tour Hassan, which I've already told you about, and find out how many windows there are on the minerat. Well, between the three of us in my group, not one person could remember the word for window in French or Arabic. Luckily we had a guidebook, so we came up to a guide and began flipping through the pages trying to find a picture of a window to show the guy. Unfortunetly all of the pictures were wide shots, so it was impossible to point to an invdividual window. One of the guys in my group had a pocket knife, and in a stroke of genius or utter stupidity in hindsight, he pulled out the knife and used the tip to point to a window. This could have gone really, really badly, but the guide took it in stride and told us the name for window in both French and darija. After all this, he didn't even know the answer!
After returning to AMIDEAST and debriefing, our host families picked us up. I felt bad for mine as I had three suitcases, and my partner had two, but we somehow managed to cram all five suitcases and four people (my host sister came with our mom to pick us up, as she speaks English) into a four-seater car. It was pretty impressive. My host family lives within walking distance of AMIDEAST, which is good, and their apartment is gorgeous! Everyone has their own room, my partner Evelyn and I share, there is a bathroom, a shower room, a lovely sitting area, and a huge open courtyard with a kitchen where my family eats. My host family is a lot more western than I expected them to be! My sister who is leaving in a week to study abroad in Canada loves fashion and high heels ans speaks excellent English. She was wearing a dress with a halter top when she picked us up and changed into shorts and a tank top when she got home. She was eager to chat with Evelyn and I while we unpacked and her room (which is the one we are staying in), is covered in pictures of singers and actresses from magazines, including Brittany Speares. My other host sisters also seem like lovely, welcoming people, and the three of them laugh and tease each other all the time. My host mother owns a beauty salon, which is cool. She does not cover her hair and was wearing jeans and a tank top. My host dad is so friendly. He drove Evelyn and I to AMIDEAST this morning and chatted the entire time. We arrived early and he drove us around for 15 minutes, pointing out places we might need along the way. My host brother seems like a typical 15 year old boy, although I haven't interacted much with him.
Last night, Evelyn and I had ftour with our family and one of their friends who stopped by. It was a strange meal with everyone talking in a mix of French, Darija, and English. I couldn't follow much of the conversation, but my youngest host sister, Renya, talked to me in English and my host mother kept urging me to eat more, which I did, so I need to learn how to say no or else I'll come home weighing 300 pounds. The food is SO good here! After dinner the women hung around drinking tea and talking for an hour, which was a lot of fun. The family seems really open and chatty and I look forward to learning more Darija so I can take part in conversations. Evelyn and I went to bed pretty early, but I'm going to try to stay up later tonight.
Just a few more notes and I have to be at class soon. First, I think I might try to fast with my family next week, so be waiting for updates on that front. Also my host family doesn't have any internet so I probably will only be able to post a few time a week when I can take time to use the internet at AMIDEAST. Finally, just randomly, the clothes I brought (T-shirts and sweaters), are surprisingly conservative for my host family! Renya probably thinks I'm the least fashion forward person in the world. As soon as she saw me in my sweater yesterday, she exclaimed, you look so hot! Take it off! I guess some clothes shopping is in order for the weekend!
I have to go to class now, but expect another post Monday.
So, to back up a bit. Yesterday morning/afternoon all of us in the program participated in an event called Rabat Survivor, which is a scavenger hunt all around Rabat. It was pretty cool, and forced me to use my darija as some of our tasks involved talking to random Moroccans. My favorite place that we went to was the Kasbah (probably not the correct spelling, but it's phonetically OK). The Kasbah is a walled section of the city right near the Atlantic Ocean. My group got a little turned around and instead of finding the garden that we were supposed to visit, we wound up wandering around the most beutiful residential area I have seen yet. Everything was pained blue and white, and with the tall walls and tiny doors I felt like I was in Greece. We stopped in a small pottery shop to look around, and stumbled upon the most amazing view of the ocean. I really must get pictures up at some point, hopefully soon, so you can see for yourself how utterly gorgeous the Kasbah is.
The funniest part of our adventure came right at the beginning, when we were directed to go to the Tour Hassan, which I've already told you about, and find out how many windows there are on the minerat. Well, between the three of us in my group, not one person could remember the word for window in French or Arabic. Luckily we had a guidebook, so we came up to a guide and began flipping through the pages trying to find a picture of a window to show the guy. Unfortunetly all of the pictures were wide shots, so it was impossible to point to an invdividual window. One of the guys in my group had a pocket knife, and in a stroke of genius or utter stupidity in hindsight, he pulled out the knife and used the tip to point to a window. This could have gone really, really badly, but the guide took it in stride and told us the name for window in both French and darija. After all this, he didn't even know the answer!
After returning to AMIDEAST and debriefing, our host families picked us up. I felt bad for mine as I had three suitcases, and my partner had two, but we somehow managed to cram all five suitcases and four people (my host sister came with our mom to pick us up, as she speaks English) into a four-seater car. It was pretty impressive. My host family lives within walking distance of AMIDEAST, which is good, and their apartment is gorgeous! Everyone has their own room, my partner Evelyn and I share, there is a bathroom, a shower room, a lovely sitting area, and a huge open courtyard with a kitchen where my family eats. My host family is a lot more western than I expected them to be! My sister who is leaving in a week to study abroad in Canada loves fashion and high heels ans speaks excellent English. She was wearing a dress with a halter top when she picked us up and changed into shorts and a tank top when she got home. She was eager to chat with Evelyn and I while we unpacked and her room (which is the one we are staying in), is covered in pictures of singers and actresses from magazines, including Brittany Speares. My other host sisters also seem like lovely, welcoming people, and the three of them laugh and tease each other all the time. My host mother owns a beauty salon, which is cool. She does not cover her hair and was wearing jeans and a tank top. My host dad is so friendly. He drove Evelyn and I to AMIDEAST this morning and chatted the entire time. We arrived early and he drove us around for 15 minutes, pointing out places we might need along the way. My host brother seems like a typical 15 year old boy, although I haven't interacted much with him.
Last night, Evelyn and I had ftour with our family and one of their friends who stopped by. It was a strange meal with everyone talking in a mix of French, Darija, and English. I couldn't follow much of the conversation, but my youngest host sister, Renya, talked to me in English and my host mother kept urging me to eat more, which I did, so I need to learn how to say no or else I'll come home weighing 300 pounds. The food is SO good here! After dinner the women hung around drinking tea and talking for an hour, which was a lot of fun. The family seems really open and chatty and I look forward to learning more Darija so I can take part in conversations. Evelyn and I went to bed pretty early, but I'm going to try to stay up later tonight.
Just a few more notes and I have to be at class soon. First, I think I might try to fast with my family next week, so be waiting for updates on that front. Also my host family doesn't have any internet so I probably will only be able to post a few time a week when I can take time to use the internet at AMIDEAST. Finally, just randomly, the clothes I brought (T-shirts and sweaters), are surprisingly conservative for my host family! Renya probably thinks I'm the least fashion forward person in the world. As soon as she saw me in my sweater yesterday, she exclaimed, you look so hot! Take it off! I guess some clothes shopping is in order for the weekend!
I have to go to class now, but expect another post Monday.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Darija, Sightseeing, and Host Families...Oh My!
When I started this blog, I vowed to update it every day, or at least as often as I could given the somewhat tenuous internet situation here in Morocco. Clearly I have already failed in this objective, but then again, you all will probably appreciate reading this blog more if I give you the cliffnotes version (read only the most interesting things I've done). There, I've just rationalized my poor communication to myself and feel much better.
Ok, back to Morocco. The past few days have been good, but intense. I have been arriving at the offices of AMIDEAST every morning at 8 and spending the day taking lessons in Moroccan safety protocols, cultural adjustments, and darija, or Moroccan colloquial Arabic. Darija is enough like Modern Standard Arabic, which I what I've been taking classes in for the past two years, that I can generally remember the words that we are taught, but some things, like the numbers are difficult, first, because Arabic numbers are just ridiculously complicated in general, and second because the darija numbers are just different enough from MSA numbers that I get the two of them confused. Unfortunately numbers are rather important when doing things like, oh say, buying food... Oh, well I'm sure I'll get the hang of them eventually. We also had a really fun lecture about Moroccan nonverbal communication, as Moroccans tend to use lots of hand gestures. We learned all of the nonverbal signs for commonly used darija words, and those of us in the program have had a ton of fun practicing them. My personal favorite is the sign for maka neeshan, which means dishonest, and the gesture is moving your hand like a fish, to show that the person does not follow a straight path. That and muzzeean, which means great and is the thumbs up sign. It's all fabulous.
When we're not in class I have been busy exploring Rabat. I've paid another visit to the souq, but my favorite place so far has to be the Tour Hassan. This is the sight of what was going to be a huge, massive mosque, which was never completed. There are the beginnings of a minaret and a large open plaza full of the ruins of what were intended to be the columns supporting the structures ceiling. The best part, though, is the stunning view of the surrounding city and Atlantic ocean. It is so peaceful and I definitely plan to spend a lot of time there in the future. Unfortunately, Tour Hassan is about as close to a real mosque as I'm going to get, seeing as how non-Muslims are not allowed inside.
Speaking of Islam, as I mentioned in my last post, Muslims in the world are observing Ramadan. This means no eating or drinking period from sunup to sundown. This makes living in Rabat a little strange. Most restaurants and bakeries are closed, and it is inappropriate for anyone to be seen eating out on the street. There are a few shops and bakeries open during the day, many of which sell traditional ftour (the first meal eaten after sundown) delicacies. I have eaten traditional ftour meals soup, pastries, dates, eggs, bread, and tea almost every evening since I've been here and it's a good thing I like it, seeing as how it will be eaten by my host family (and thus yours truly) every evening for the remainder of Ramadan. I am not obligated to fast, seeing as how I am not, in fact, a Muslim, but I might try to for a couple of days while I'm with my family.
Families! I am going to be moving in with my host family tomorrow! I am still really nervous, but I think it's going to be OK. AMIDEAST has decided to put two Americans in each host family (with a couple of exceptions), and I do have a roommate. She seems great, and we should get along well. Plus, she speaks French (I do not) and will be able to get answers about important questions regarding things like bathrooms, laundry, and transportation from our host parents. My family seems pretty cool. I have a mom, dad, three sisters, and one brother. Two of my host sisters are in their 20s, one is exactly my age (I suppose that means 20s too, eep!), and my brother is 15. My 20 year old host sister is leaving to go to Canada for study abroad in a week, the study abroad coordinator said that our host mom is looking forward to having us, as she will be missing her own daughter. Apparently the family is quite open-minded and has hosted American students before, with consistent positive feedback. This is a bit of a relief to me, as it would be really hard to be a first time study abroad student with a first time host family. Talk about the blind leading the blind! My favorite part about my host family is that in the pets section of the sheet given to me, it says that they have one bird and three chickens! Muzeean!
All this exciting host family/Rabat exploring/ftour eating aside, the best part of my week was probably getting my suitcases. My baggage arrived yesterday afternoon, and I took a cab to the Rabat airport with another guy from my program whose bags had also been found to retrieve them. The cab ride was pretty excellent as my companion speaks a good deal of Arabic and French and was able to chat with our driver. I understood about 70% of their conversation, which was cool, and the man really took a shine to us. He pointed out landmarks as we passed, taught us some dareeja, and when we got to the airport, came inside and helped us get our bags. He even introduced us to some guy he knew who was at the airport. It was great!
So now, I am preparing to move bag and baggage into my host family's home. The plan for tonight is to repack my suitcases in a more efficient manner and practice some darija so I can talk to my host family at least a little tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Also, I've been trying to upload pictures but the internet just can't handle it! I'll try again when I have a better connection, sorry folks!
Ok, back to Morocco. The past few days have been good, but intense. I have been arriving at the offices of AMIDEAST every morning at 8 and spending the day taking lessons in Moroccan safety protocols, cultural adjustments, and darija, or Moroccan colloquial Arabic. Darija is enough like Modern Standard Arabic, which I what I've been taking classes in for the past two years, that I can generally remember the words that we are taught, but some things, like the numbers are difficult, first, because Arabic numbers are just ridiculously complicated in general, and second because the darija numbers are just different enough from MSA numbers that I get the two of them confused. Unfortunately numbers are rather important when doing things like, oh say, buying food... Oh, well I'm sure I'll get the hang of them eventually. We also had a really fun lecture about Moroccan nonverbal communication, as Moroccans tend to use lots of hand gestures. We learned all of the nonverbal signs for commonly used darija words, and those of us in the program have had a ton of fun practicing them. My personal favorite is the sign for maka neeshan, which means dishonest, and the gesture is moving your hand like a fish, to show that the person does not follow a straight path. That and muzzeean, which means great and is the thumbs up sign. It's all fabulous.
When we're not in class I have been busy exploring Rabat. I've paid another visit to the souq, but my favorite place so far has to be the Tour Hassan. This is the sight of what was going to be a huge, massive mosque, which was never completed. There are the beginnings of a minaret and a large open plaza full of the ruins of what were intended to be the columns supporting the structures ceiling. The best part, though, is the stunning view of the surrounding city and Atlantic ocean. It is so peaceful and I definitely plan to spend a lot of time there in the future. Unfortunately, Tour Hassan is about as close to a real mosque as I'm going to get, seeing as how non-Muslims are not allowed inside.
Speaking of Islam, as I mentioned in my last post, Muslims in the world are observing Ramadan. This means no eating or drinking period from sunup to sundown. This makes living in Rabat a little strange. Most restaurants and bakeries are closed, and it is inappropriate for anyone to be seen eating out on the street. There are a few shops and bakeries open during the day, many of which sell traditional ftour (the first meal eaten after sundown) delicacies. I have eaten traditional ftour meals soup, pastries, dates, eggs, bread, and tea almost every evening since I've been here and it's a good thing I like it, seeing as how it will be eaten by my host family (and thus yours truly) every evening for the remainder of Ramadan. I am not obligated to fast, seeing as how I am not, in fact, a Muslim, but I might try to for a couple of days while I'm with my family.
Families! I am going to be moving in with my host family tomorrow! I am still really nervous, but I think it's going to be OK. AMIDEAST has decided to put two Americans in each host family (with a couple of exceptions), and I do have a roommate. She seems great, and we should get along well. Plus, she speaks French (I do not) and will be able to get answers about important questions regarding things like bathrooms, laundry, and transportation from our host parents. My family seems pretty cool. I have a mom, dad, three sisters, and one brother. Two of my host sisters are in their 20s, one is exactly my age (I suppose that means 20s too, eep!), and my brother is 15. My 20 year old host sister is leaving to go to Canada for study abroad in a week, the study abroad coordinator said that our host mom is looking forward to having us, as she will be missing her own daughter. Apparently the family is quite open-minded and has hosted American students before, with consistent positive feedback. This is a bit of a relief to me, as it would be really hard to be a first time study abroad student with a first time host family. Talk about the blind leading the blind! My favorite part about my host family is that in the pets section of the sheet given to me, it says that they have one bird and three chickens! Muzeean!
All this exciting host family/Rabat exploring/ftour eating aside, the best part of my week was probably getting my suitcases. My baggage arrived yesterday afternoon, and I took a cab to the Rabat airport with another guy from my program whose bags had also been found to retrieve them. The cab ride was pretty excellent as my companion speaks a good deal of Arabic and French and was able to chat with our driver. I understood about 70% of their conversation, which was cool, and the man really took a shine to us. He pointed out landmarks as we passed, taught us some dareeja, and when we got to the airport, came inside and helped us get our bags. He even introduced us to some guy he knew who was at the airport. It was great!
So now, I am preparing to move bag and baggage into my host family's home. The plan for tonight is to repack my suitcases in a more efficient manner and practice some darija so I can talk to my host family at least a little tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Also, I've been trying to upload pictures but the internet just can't handle it! I'll try again when I have a better connection, sorry folks!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Road to Rabat
So, I am finally here in Rabat, a day later than inticipated. I'll try to keep this short because while the events of the last two days have been some of the most traumatic of my life, you all don't need to hear about it in excruciating detail, and the events cast me in a rather bad, or dimwitted, light.
My trial began on the runway of Dulles International Airport when my plane was delayed over two hours because of massive thunderstorms. While this meant that I was able to watch the Star Trek movie almost all the way through before the plane even took off, it also meant that I missed my connecting flight in London. I got to London and found that they had already set me up with two new flights to Paris and Rabat, fabulous. Not quite. Due to my own lack of knowledge about international travel, the fact that I was operating on three hours of sleep, and some miscommunication with Heathrow Airport officials, I missed my re-sceduled flight to Paris.
After many tears on my part, the lovely people of United Airways were able to get me on a different flight that would get me to Paris in time to make my flight to Rabat. Unfortunetly the connecting time between the two flights was an hour and a half so I would be cutting it a little close. Well, the flight left late, and I ended up taking a shuttle to the wrong terminal (not my fault, six other people who spoke French made the same mistake, this one's on you Charles DeGaulle International), so I missed my flight to Rabat. After a frantic trip to the AirFrance ticketing booth, I was told to go the British Airways since their flight was the one that left London late. So I trekked all the way to the British Airways terminal only to be told that United needed to deal with me because I originally booked with them and they close at 2 PM. By this time it was 8 PM and I had been traveling for over 18 hours. The British Airways people couldn't even get me a hotel voucher! I ended up having a breakdown/panic attack in the middle of Terminal 2F, and then found a shuttle to a cheap hotel.
This morning found me finally aboard an AirFrance flight to Rabat (late again, but this time it didn't matter). I finally made it to Rabat shortly after 4 PM. Sadly, the same cannot be said for my bags, which is unfortunate, but the airport people hope they will be there tomorrow. My cab driver was very helpful in getting things sorted out, as you have to be pushy to get people's attention. There is no such thing as waiting in line, I learned. After getting my baggage claim filed, I was driven to the hotel.
I'm not quite sure what to say about Rabat as of yet. I've only seen tiny bits, and it is unlike any place I've been before. A more complete description of my first impressions will have to come later when I've had some time to process them (maybe with pictures, but I'm not promising anything). That being said, I honestly feel like I've stepped into a movie a bit. You know how pictures of North Africa always show houses with courtyards, arched doorways, and intricate tiles? Winding streets full of shops with colorful fabrics and fresh produce? Tall minerats towering over the cityscape? Well, they all exist and I've been looking at them all evening. It's really surreal, and kind of amazing.
At any rate, I am here, and after an initial freakout, I reconnected with my good friend Emily, and the 30 of us that are part of the program all spent a wonderful evening having a traditional Moroccan meal at the home of one of the families that often hosts American students. The meal was superb. There was soup, and bread, and pasteries, and the most delicious dates I've ever eaten, followed by mint tea and henna for the girls (that was a little surprise that AMIDEAST cooked up for us). Then a group of us opted to walk back to the hotel, which was great as our path took us through the medina (older part of the city) and past markets, mosques, and other wonderful sites.
Now I am getting ready for bed and trying not to think about the fact that I have an Arabic placement test tomorrow. My new philosphy is, I'm just glad I'm here and I don't care if I have to go back to Arabic 101. I have a good internet connection here in the hotel so, I will try to post again tomorrow (or I suppose later today as the clock just struck 12), to give you my first impressions on Rabat.
PS Forgive any spelling and grammar problems for now, I don't have the energy or inclination to proofread (sorry!), and for some reason my spellcheck won't work.
My trial began on the runway of Dulles International Airport when my plane was delayed over two hours because of massive thunderstorms. While this meant that I was able to watch the Star Trek movie almost all the way through before the plane even took off, it also meant that I missed my connecting flight in London. I got to London and found that they had already set me up with two new flights to Paris and Rabat, fabulous. Not quite. Due to my own lack of knowledge about international travel, the fact that I was operating on three hours of sleep, and some miscommunication with Heathrow Airport officials, I missed my re-sceduled flight to Paris.
After many tears on my part, the lovely people of United Airways were able to get me on a different flight that would get me to Paris in time to make my flight to Rabat. Unfortunetly the connecting time between the two flights was an hour and a half so I would be cutting it a little close. Well, the flight left late, and I ended up taking a shuttle to the wrong terminal (not my fault, six other people who spoke French made the same mistake, this one's on you Charles DeGaulle International), so I missed my flight to Rabat. After a frantic trip to the AirFrance ticketing booth, I was told to go the British Airways since their flight was the one that left London late. So I trekked all the way to the British Airways terminal only to be told that United needed to deal with me because I originally booked with them and they close at 2 PM. By this time it was 8 PM and I had been traveling for over 18 hours. The British Airways people couldn't even get me a hotel voucher! I ended up having a breakdown/panic attack in the middle of Terminal 2F, and then found a shuttle to a cheap hotel.
This morning found me finally aboard an AirFrance flight to Rabat (late again, but this time it didn't matter). I finally made it to Rabat shortly after 4 PM. Sadly, the same cannot be said for my bags, which is unfortunate, but the airport people hope they will be there tomorrow. My cab driver was very helpful in getting things sorted out, as you have to be pushy to get people's attention. There is no such thing as waiting in line, I learned. After getting my baggage claim filed, I was driven to the hotel.
I'm not quite sure what to say about Rabat as of yet. I've only seen tiny bits, and it is unlike any place I've been before. A more complete description of my first impressions will have to come later when I've had some time to process them (maybe with pictures, but I'm not promising anything). That being said, I honestly feel like I've stepped into a movie a bit. You know how pictures of North Africa always show houses with courtyards, arched doorways, and intricate tiles? Winding streets full of shops with colorful fabrics and fresh produce? Tall minerats towering over the cityscape? Well, they all exist and I've been looking at them all evening. It's really surreal, and kind of amazing.
At any rate, I am here, and after an initial freakout, I reconnected with my good friend Emily, and the 30 of us that are part of the program all spent a wonderful evening having a traditional Moroccan meal at the home of one of the families that often hosts American students. The meal was superb. There was soup, and bread, and pasteries, and the most delicious dates I've ever eaten, followed by mint tea and henna for the girls (that was a little surprise that AMIDEAST cooked up for us). Then a group of us opted to walk back to the hotel, which was great as our path took us through the medina (older part of the city) and past markets, mosques, and other wonderful sites.
Now I am getting ready for bed and trying not to think about the fact that I have an Arabic placement test tomorrow. My new philosphy is, I'm just glad I'm here and I don't care if I have to go back to Arabic 101. I have a good internet connection here in the hotel so, I will try to post again tomorrow (or I suppose later today as the clock just struck 12), to give you my first impressions on Rabat.
PS Forgive any spelling and grammar problems for now, I don't have the energy or inclination to proofread (sorry!), and for some reason my spellcheck won't work.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
In the Beginning
Today is my last night in the USA before I head off to great adventures in Rabat! My apartment is empty, my bags are packed, and this blog is up and running, but I don't think that I will really believe that I am going until I am on the plane tomorrow evening.
So far, I feel a little unprepared, given that the sum total of my pre-departure research has been conducted through the Frommers guidebook and wikipedia. Even so, I have learned valuable information, such as the fact that eating with one's left hand is a huge social no-no, the summer weather in Morocco's coastal areas is actually nicer than DC's, and Rabat is home to a discotheque called Platinum.
Well, I am going regardless, and at 6 PM tomorrow I will be boarding a flight to Heathrow International Airport. From there I will fly to Paris, from Paris on to Rabat, and I will have reached my final destination and new home for the next nine months by 1:30 PM, Saturday August 22nd, which also happens to be the first day of Ramadan. Talk about jumping right into things!
During my stay in Rabat, I will be living with a Moroccan host family and attending classes with the other American students in my program. We will all have three elective classes and two language classes, Modern Standard, or classical, Arabic, and Moroccan colloquial, which is what my host family and the average person on the street will use. I don't know anything about my host family yet, but should hopefully get more info during my week of cultural training that I am to receive upon arriving in the country.
I keep telling myself that this will be a great experience, and know on an intellectual level that it will be, but it is a bit hard to leave my friends, family, and routines for a place so completely different. My mother, bless her, tells me that my first reaction to change is to immediately think of the worst possible scenario, which is true, so I am sure that by the time I next post I will be singing the praises of Morocco and her people from the top of my lungs, but I just need to work through my final hour angst first.
That being said, thank you for reading, I promise to be more cheerful next time, and please visit again!
Also, as a brief side-note, the name for this blog comes from my maternal grandfather, who when he heard that I was applying to spend the year in Rabat said that I, like Webster's Dictionary was Morocco bound. The words are from the song, The Road to Morocco, originally performed by Bing Crosby.
So far, I feel a little unprepared, given that the sum total of my pre-departure research has been conducted through the Frommers guidebook and wikipedia. Even so, I have learned valuable information, such as the fact that eating with one's left hand is a huge social no-no, the summer weather in Morocco's coastal areas is actually nicer than DC's, and Rabat is home to a discotheque called Platinum.
Well, I am going regardless, and at 6 PM tomorrow I will be boarding a flight to Heathrow International Airport. From there I will fly to Paris, from Paris on to Rabat, and I will have reached my final destination and new home for the next nine months by 1:30 PM, Saturday August 22nd, which also happens to be the first day of Ramadan. Talk about jumping right into things!
During my stay in Rabat, I will be living with a Moroccan host family and attending classes with the other American students in my program. We will all have three elective classes and two language classes, Modern Standard, or classical, Arabic, and Moroccan colloquial, which is what my host family and the average person on the street will use. I don't know anything about my host family yet, but should hopefully get more info during my week of cultural training that I am to receive upon arriving in the country.
I keep telling myself that this will be a great experience, and know on an intellectual level that it will be, but it is a bit hard to leave my friends, family, and routines for a place so completely different. My mother, bless her, tells me that my first reaction to change is to immediately think of the worst possible scenario, which is true, so I am sure that by the time I next post I will be singing the praises of Morocco and her people from the top of my lungs, but I just need to work through my final hour angst first.
That being said, thank you for reading, I promise to be more cheerful next time, and please visit again!
Also, as a brief side-note, the name for this blog comes from my maternal grandfather, who when he heard that I was applying to spend the year in Rabat said that I, like Webster's Dictionary was Morocco bound. The words are from the song, The Road to Morocco, originally performed by Bing Crosby.
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