America.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Some more pics!
America.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
A few more pictures
Moroccans spend their weekends a little differently than we do in the States. Yesterday night our host mom's sister and her grandson came over for dinner and they ended up staying the night. The culture here is extremely family orientated-we all ate dinner and then watched TV and laughed at the grandson. He would just run around in circles laughing and his grandmother would pretend to hit him with her shoe and he would laugh even more.
We just got back from shopping in the medina with our host sister. I bought a skirt and a Moroccan style shirt that I probably will never wear in the States except for maybe Halloween. But it will be perfect for here because the material is made up of more polyester than cotton. One of the store owners dressed me and my roommate up...he had me in a dress that was apparently similar to the style of the characters in Sinbad?
Yesterday the water was out in all of Fes, so we were truly roughing it African style with no running water. Our host mom took me and my roommate out on their back porch and pointed to a kiddie pool full of water and said, "Cabina," which means toilet in Moroccan Arabic. I was just imagining how on earth it was possible to use a kiddie pool as a toilet and contemplated just not going to the bathroom for the rest of the night until my roommate and I figured out that it was a joke and we were just supposed to get water from the kiddie pool and put it into the back of the toilet. She's a prankster, our host mom. Her main two hobbies include burping and taking naps on their tile floor. She certainly enjoys life.
My life here has slowed down so much, and I have to say I've never felt more relaxed in my life. I'm not constantly checking my phone or on the go, which I basically did all summer long. It's only been a week here so far, but I feel like I've already experienced so much.
This is called Batha. It's where we catch cabs every morning to get to school. The cabs here are red instead of yellow.
Our room. All of our stuff has exploded everywhere haha.
Our lovely bathroom.
A glimpse of the medina. This is where we went shopping today!
A guy making silk. It's quite labor intensive.
More of the shop along with some fabrics.
We just got back from shopping in the medina with our host sister. I bought a skirt and a Moroccan style shirt that I probably will never wear in the States except for maybe Halloween. But it will be perfect for here because the material is made up of more polyester than cotton. One of the store owners dressed me and my roommate up...he had me in a dress that was apparently similar to the style of the characters in Sinbad?
Yesterday the water was out in all of Fes, so we were truly roughing it African style with no running water. Our host mom took me and my roommate out on their back porch and pointed to a kiddie pool full of water and said, "Cabina," which means toilet in Moroccan Arabic. I was just imagining how on earth it was possible to use a kiddie pool as a toilet and contemplated just not going to the bathroom for the rest of the night until my roommate and I figured out that it was a joke and we were just supposed to get water from the kiddie pool and put it into the back of the toilet. She's a prankster, our host mom. Her main two hobbies include burping and taking naps on their tile floor. She certainly enjoys life.
My life here has slowed down so much, and I have to say I've never felt more relaxed in my life. I'm not constantly checking my phone or on the go, which I basically did all summer long. It's only been a week here so far, but I feel like I've already experienced so much.
Just a few more pictures of the neighborhood we're staying in.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Life in the Medina
So I'm pretty sure I'm the only Asian in Morocco. Well maybe not the only one, but one of the very, very few. Today we were walking on the streets and a man goes "konichiwa" or whatever hello is in Japanese. When I was trying to exchange money at the airport, the banker asked if I had yens. I think it's pretty hilarious that everyone assumes I'm straight from Asia just because I'm Asian. Some things never change.
Besides that, my roommate and I have made friends with the shop owners across the street from our house. They always make sure to tell us that our house is indeed straight across from them so we don't miss it like we have before...today I had to go back 3 times to try and ask for laundry detergent because I didn't know how to say it in Arabic and kept forgetting what it was called after asking my host sister twice.
Our Moroccan Arabic professor is also pretty hilarious. The other day she had to pause in between teaching to take a hit of her inhaler...it always seems like she's ready to burst out dancing while teaching. It makes for a pretty entertaining 3 hour class.
So I guess you really just have to find the humor in everything while you're abroad, because not everything will go how you want or expect it to. It's made for some pretty good times already.
Anyway, enough of my anecdotes...here are a few more pictures I took today.
The medina is a haven for cats.
A lost donkey in the medina? It almost ran me over.
Just a glimpse of what I see everyday here in Fes.
Besides that, my roommate and I have made friends with the shop owners across the street from our house. They always make sure to tell us that our house is indeed straight across from them so we don't miss it like we have before...today I had to go back 3 times to try and ask for laundry detergent because I didn't know how to say it in Arabic and kept forgetting what it was called after asking my host sister twice.
Our Moroccan Arabic professor is also pretty hilarious. The other day she had to pause in between teaching to take a hit of her inhaler...it always seems like she's ready to burst out dancing while teaching. It makes for a pretty entertaining 3 hour class.
So I guess you really just have to find the humor in everything while you're abroad, because not everything will go how you want or expect it to. It's made for some pretty good times already.
Anyway, enough of my anecdotes...here are a few more pictures I took today.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The first few days
So these four first days have been pretty crazy, filled with ups and downs. Today I was walking back with my roommate to our house after class and we got extremely lost in the medina (city). 2 young Moroccan boys tried to help us out and we wandered around for a half hour in scorching 90 degree heat until we miraculously ran into our host mom, who gave the boys directions in Arabic. I still don't think I know how to get back to our house haha.
Besides that, we went on a tour of the old medina, which is basically like the China town of Morocco. We got to see how they dye leather and how they make scarves and fabrics.
Our host mom is probably the funniest though. She always tries to force us to eat more food and never hesitates to let out a loud burp during dinner or while she's praying. She doesn't speak French or English, so the language barrier has made for some pretty interesting and awkward times, but nonetheless, I think me and my roommate are going to miss her when we leave.
I do miss the United States, especially this summer. But honestly, being out of the country has opened my eyes up to so much already.
Besides that, we went on a tour of the old medina, which is basically like the China town of Morocco. We got to see how they dye leather and how they make scarves and fabrics.
Our host mom is probably the funniest though. She always tries to force us to eat more food and never hesitates to let out a loud burp during dinner or while she's praying. She doesn't speak French or English, so the language barrier has made for some pretty interesting and awkward times, but nonetheless, I think me and my roommate are going to miss her when we leave.
I do miss the United States, especially this summer. But honestly, being out of the country has opened my eyes up to so much already.
One of the hotels we stayed at.
Our host family's living room.
The view from their window. Beautiful.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Almost there!
So I'm going to miss a lot of things about America. Cruising around town with a packed car and music blaring. Being able to get fast food at any hour. The freeness everyone naturally possesses.
But I'm also pretty freaking excited to go to Morocco. Just the excitement of going somewhere new, where everything at first that seems so foreign and strange slowly becomes the norm. Honestly, I didn't do much research about Morocco and its culture. I mean, I know the basics but beyond that, I probably know as much as the average American. I kind of just want to get there and see what it's like, without any preconceived expectations. Or maybe I was just really lazy this summer and didn't do much at all besides work and hang out. Either way, it's a strange unknown that I can't wait to explore.
But I'm also pretty freaking excited to go to Morocco. Just the excitement of going somewhere new, where everything at first that seems so foreign and strange slowly becomes the norm. Honestly, I didn't do much research about Morocco and its culture. I mean, I know the basics but beyond that, I probably know as much as the average American. I kind of just want to get there and see what it's like, without any preconceived expectations. Or maybe I was just really lazy this summer and didn't do much at all besides work and hang out. Either way, it's a strange unknown that I can't wait to explore.
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