Of Fathers, and France, and other things that start with F

As I said in my last post, my Moroccan days have cemented themselves into a recognizable routine, namely one that does not include updating this blog and does include a lot of lying around doing nothing. Case in point, two weekends ago I didn't leave my house or change out of my PJ's for two whole days (stop judging, I did at least take a shower on Saturday). Two events have unsettled my usual schedule of eating, sleeping, and avoiding homework at all costs. These are the visit from my dad three weeks ago, and my trip to Paris last weekend.

The visit from my dad was amazing. It was so nice to see someone from home, when I haven't been home in seven months, and it's great knowing that when I go back the the US there will be at least one person who can picture Rabat, my host family, and Morocco in general when I talk about it. My poor parent had to put up with a very busy schedule during his trip to the Maghreb. Half an hour after his plane landed we were in a car with my independent study adviser driving to Sale to watch a candle festival annually held to celebrate the birth of the Prophet. The parade itself as really interesting, with the giant candles held by members of different organizations, the many religious brotherhoods with their own performances, and the crowd of celebratory Moroccan all clamoring to get closer to the action and being pushed back by police officers. My dad actually held up remarkably well and came out of the experience no worse for wear. That night we ate couscous with the host family and my French comprehension was put to the test as my Moroccan host dad (Baba for purposes of clarity) sees European/American and immediately thinks French. My family found great amusement and mild confusion with my dad's lack of language skills, but were pleased with his response to the food, so everything was fine.

On Saturday we headed over to Meknes and the Roman ruins of Voloubilis. It was a scorching February day with temperatures nearing the nineties. I got my first sunburn of the year and my dad got some nice exposure to the Moroccan countryside. The Middle Atlas region is particularly lovely. Sunday was spent running around Rabat, seeing the standard tourist sights, drinking overpriced mint tea in the scenic Kasbah, and souvenir shopping for the family back at home. My dad also got to see where I go to school and meet a couple of my AMIDEAST friends, which was nice. Monday was also pretty laid back and we ate dinner with my host family again Monday night. This dinner was much more amusing than the last, as it involved Baba tripping over the bread basket and almost falling into the tajine, as well as an intense shouting match over the meaning of one of my vocabulary words when Neda tried to help me with my Arabic homework. All in all, I was very impressed by my dad's ability to just go with the flow, and cope with my crazy, loud Moroccan family. He says that he particularly enjoys telling the folks at home about our trip to the neighborhood vegetable souq with my Moroccan mom, during which she advised me to hold his hand and make sure he didn't get lost or bothered by any of the neighborhood denizens.

After my dad left, I spent the next two weeks chilling in Rabat. I finally broke down and bought a pair of skinny jeans (ostensibly to wear when I went to France, but also to fit in better with the Moroccan crowd) and managed to find an English bootlegged version of The Ugly Truth (after having bought the same move twice before both times in French). We take our victories where we find them here in Morocco.

Anyways, by the time this past weekend rolled around I was in the mood for some adventure, and found it in PARIS! My friend Kathryn and I boarded a jet plane to the City of Lights where I spent the weekend hanging out with my roommate from last semester, Evelyn and my friend Janelle from AU. Friday Kathryn, Evelyn, and I wandered around Montmartre and Pigalle. We saw the gorgeous Sacre Coeur, street artists, an I Love You wall (a wall with I Love You written on it many times and in many languages...including MSA and Darija). Highlights of Pigalle included the Moulin Rouge and a three story sex store (the theme of this trip was pretty much do things that we can't do in Morocco). Friday night we ate great Chinese food, went to a bar, and watched movies. Absolute Perfection. Saturday we got a late start, saw Notre Dame, and I met up with my friend Janelle. Janelle took me to the oldest church in Paris, her school, and Bon Marche, Paris's most expensive department store. Janelle touched a dress that cost 1000 Euro and we sat on a couch with a 300 Euro price tag for one pillar. I got a death glare from a store employee when I impersonated Sherlock Holmes in a fabulous velvet arm chair. Upon return back to Evelyn's apartment, Kathryn attempted, and succeeded in making Moroccan food for Evelyn's French host mom, who talks all the time! She is never quite, it was really impressive actually, although slightly awkward when she would look at me and say "Oh your friend doesn't understand anything." (Which I totally understood!). Saturday night involved dancing the night away in Parisian club with Kathryn, Janelle, and Evelyn. Overall, a very good time was had by all and I cannot wait to get back to Paris! The only losers this weekend were my feet, who still hate me after forcing them to run all over cobblestones in high heeled boots. Ah well, wearing heels and not feeling like a prostitute was well worth the potential nerve damage.

Not much excitement is in the cards for the next week. I have begun conducting interviews for my independent study project, which is an adventure given the fact that I am more uncomfortable that my interviewees most of the time. I think I have an official from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Dar al-Hadith (an imam school) next week. What I am really living for, though, is my trip to Ireland in less than two weeks! I will spend my spring break touring around the Southwestern part of the Emerald Isle and I cannot wait! English, alcohol, and my 21st birthday, what more could I want! Anyways, I probs won't update this blog until after Ireland, so wish me safe travels and a Happy Birthday among the Irish!