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.