One week down, and I still don't want to leave

Currently a group of us are congregating in an empty classroom at Amideast to mooch off the wifi. Our first week in Morocco has officially ended, but it feels like is has been so much longer. We started classes today, and I tested into the intermediate level. Although this week has been very challenging in class I believe that it is a good fit because after people both moved up and moved down there are only four people in my class. Our small size makes it easy for class to be very interactive, and since all of us are very competitive class games are very entertaining. This week we learned basic sentence structure and basic present conjugations as well as a ton of new vocabulary. At home, I have been able to pick up more words when my host mother and sister are speaking, and I am starting to be able to deduce the basic idea of conversations. I am still convinced that my mother is the best cook in the entirety of Morocco. Every night Charlotte and I are amazed by the culinary genius she concocts using only a portable stovetop and a traditional oven. This first week has been amazing and I cannot wait for the next five to come!

Bucket showers, manual toilets, and feeling at home

In the cultural adjustment seminars that we have attended they told us that the first few days here will be part of our "honeymoon" phase and that afterwards not everything will feel as new and amazing as it once was. I know that they are the experts and everything but I cannot fathom a time when this will be any less beautiful. No matter where I look there is beauty and culture. Although I miss my family, I have no desire to go home because I feel as if I am at home. Everytime we see a member of the family we kiss, and today my host sister, Naima, told me that she loved me. I never thought that you could fall in love with a place, but I feel as if I have fallen completely head over heels for Rabat. The look, sounds and smells of my house (beytii) and the market (mediina) overwhelm me in the best way possible. Yesterday I woke up and took my first bucket shower and then was faced with the reality that no matter how hard I tried I would have to use the manual flush toilet sometime during my stay. To my surprise it was not a bad as I had thought, but it is inconvenient to have to wait for the bucket to fill up with water before being able to flush. I also found myself enjoying the bucket shower because unlike in my home in the drought-ridden state of California, I don't have to worry about wasting water when I take my time in the shower. Today I have my first classes, I hope that they go well!

A first day for the ages

KYesterday was my first day in Morocco and I could not have imagined a better one. We woke up in the hotel and had a quick breakfast before going to AMIDEAST for some more lectures and to get settled in. We had yet another safety lecture and then it was time for lunch. We walked to a restaurant in Agdal for lunch and the food was awesome. I sat at the party table with Matt, Devyn, and our RD Sarah. That was my first experience with tagine and I thought that it was the best thing I have ever tasted, little did I know that my host mother was the best cook that has ever lived. Speaking of host families, I am pretty sure that Charlotte and I have hit the jackpot. We are in an all women household with two sisters and a mother, which means that when we are at home we can wear shorts and tank tops to remain comfortable in the heat. Our oldest sister, Naima, is 18 and an economics student at the local university Mohammed V. Immediately after picking us up from school she took us on an adventure around Oudaia, a very famous monument with a beautiful garden inside that is right on the beach. While exploring we ran into a group of young Moroccans playing traditional music with drums and tambourines. They happily brought us into their dance circle and welcomed us with open arms. Definitely the coolest experience I could have had on my first day! I cannot wait for some more adventures... Ma3a salaama!

Like the Oxford Dictionary, I'm Morocco Bound

Currently the group is huddled in a big group of luggage in the departure section of the Brussels airport. The plane ride to Brussels began with quite the adventure as half of our group was not assigned a seat when we checked in. It turned out well for some us, for instance I was placed in the crew rest area which entailed fancy blankets (which I stole) and extra legroom. For others however the reality became that they didn't have a seat on the plane because it was overbooked. Our plane was then delayed for an hour while our chaperone and resident director, Sarah, argued for the right of the "seatless trio" to be on the plane. Finally after and $800 reward and approximately 67 minutes later, everyone was finally settled on the plane. With the help of extra legroom, the fancy blanket, my pillow pet, and a sleep aid, I slept almost six and a half hours. I am using my precious half-hour of free wifi to write this post while wasting the eight hours of our ten hour layover that we have to spend outside the gates because we cannot check our luggage more than two hours before our flight. My Simba pillow-pet has become a hot commodity among the group members; Sarah (the RD) is currently using it as a much needed cushion on the hard metal surface of the chairs that seem to be more fitting for torture than comfort. Well, my thirty minutes are almost up, so I will say ma'a salama for now! Next time I blog I will be in Morocco, I am still having trouble wrapping my mind around it.

I'm (almost) on the road to Morocco

Currently I am sitting on the pullout couch in the hotel room in Washington D.C. with my two roommates repacking my bags to be ready to go for tomorrow's flight to Morocco. Yesterday I woke up at five o'clock so I would be able to have a good American breakfast before my departure. The flight was standard but by the time I arrived in D.C. I was ready to go to the hotel. You could imagine my frustration then when I realized that I would be waiting for several more people to arrive for several more hours. To my surprise however, being stuck in the airport for several hours with a few of the people that I will be spending my summer with was extremely rewarding. The experience allowed me to create initial bonds with about four people before being inundated with new faces and information when I arrived at the hotel. Today was our first official day of the PDO (PreDeparture Orientation) which included many lectures about culture and in-country adjustments, a short visit to the Moroccan embassy(picture below), and even more lectures after that. After some down-time at the hotel we split up into two groups; one went to the White House for pictures, and my group went to Shake Shack for some last minute American cuisine. I probably shouldn't have called it cuisine because I had a caramel malt and they sell hamburgers, but calling it any less would not have done my caramel malt justice.

I still cannot believe that I will be on a flight to Morocco tomorrow, the reality of the situation has not sunk in yet. At this point the whole experience is so surreal that I am not sure that the magnitude and coolness factor of this will ever sink in.