A Lengthy List of Morocco

1. School started, classes are in french and 2 hours long so that's rough. Granted I only have a total of
fourteen hours of school every week and school starts at 10 o'clock on 3 of those 5 days.

2. the yogurt here is awesome and not the carrefour type stuff, the hanut real deal from the cow type stuff.

3. Carrefour is a large popular grocery store chain here.

4. That reminds me of Marjane an even larger grocery store/everything store here.

5. Scaling it back down: hanuts, small neighborhood convenience stores/stands you will see absolutely everywhere.

6. Back to the yogurt, it is fresh and locally made and you eat it out of a glass cup in said hanut.

7. Everyone thinks Moroccans have super cool metal designed tea cups, maybe other places in Morocco they do but in Rabat you'll only ever find simple glass (probably bought at Marjane).

8. My lovely group of 8 Americans along with our fearless leader Sarah went to Fes, Azrou, Moulay Yacoub and Oum Rabia (spelling debatable for most if not all).

9. Fes: Medina was awesome awesome. Bought a Fes(z?) from Fes(z?) which I have shown to anyone who will skype me. Also bought camel leather bag which I am in love with. Ate falafel!! I love Cafe Clock.

10. Azrou: Small town centered around a huge rock with a metal crown on top of it, never really got the full story there. Got locked out of my room and had to sit in the lobby of the hotel for roughly an hour and a half while my lock was changed. Saw monkeys in a cedar forest nearby.

11. Moulay Yacoub: Small town on a big hill, has a legendary salt spring hammam and amazing views.

12. Hammams are public bathing houses, sounds weird but is the best thing ever. You know you've made a friend when they'll scrub the dead skin off your back for you.

13. Oum Rabia: Or, Mother River, the beginning of all rivers in Morocco I believe, could be incorrect. Sat by the river and ate tagine, yum!

14. All in all, it was a great trip. Fresh air and big hills provided a new and welcome side to Morocco that I look forward to returning to.

15. Speaking of fresh air I spent last weekend at the farm of my host mothers aunt which was amazing! There were four little puppies who were the cutest and...

16. I rode a donkey!!!!! For about 10 feet, either way it was terrifying and awesome. No saddle or anything either. Just Kate on donkey. His name was Mignon.

17. I am learning Darija, or Moroccan Arabic which is so so cool! I can count from 1 (wahad) to 100 (miya) as well as introduce myself in the most basic of ways.

18. That brings me to french, my comprehension is definitely improving but I still struggle with figuring out what I want to say and how to say it in a socially acceptable amount of time. Or any amount of time.

19. The medina is really amazing, the first time you go in it seems huge and crowded and intensely disorienting but I now go almost every week and I am proud to say I can bargain in darija and have not yet been lost!

20. I have unearthed my Cambridge/Boston pride. Red Sox here we go!!

21. I have flashes of homesickness but none enough to make me wish I was at home instead of here.

22. Yogurt again, sometimes they put like strawberry syrup in it and other times caramel and it tastes liked creme brulee.

23. We never type anything for school, it's always handwritten.

24. Today in 3340 BC was the earliest recorded eclipse.

25. I have yet too see a camel.

26. Socks are key here, I have about 5 reliable, nicely patterned socks that I rotate between. My personal favorites are a pair with daisies on them that I bought in Temera (Tamera?).

27. Tamera is a town about 40 minutes outside of Rabat where there is an english class me and two of my friends have been assisting with.

28. I take the bus there which is reliably late. When we get on friendly people tell us "Attention!!!" and point at our pockets.

29. There is so much bread I don't even know what to do with myself.

30. Actually, not entirely true. I joined a gym. I took a cleverly disguised belly dancing class titled "Oriental Dance" the other day. Safe to say, I cannot belly dance.

31. You know that Moroccan Argan Oil that's all the rage right now? Bet you didn't know that the nuts (yes still in their shells) are eaten by goats that climb the trees and then pooped out, peeled, peeled agin and then ground up.

32. To sum up this entirely weird blog post, Morocco is awesome and I am loving it.

B'slama!