Snippets of the day, first week in Morocco
January 4
Last night a group of us had dinner at a delicious tagine place, dar naji. the guy who poured the mint tea held the pot super high above his head! Afterwards, we walked to the ocean and witnessed a stunning sunset.
Last night a group of us had dinner at a delicious tagine place, dar naji. the guy who poured the mint tea held the pot super high above his head! Afterwards, we walked to the ocean and witnessed a stunning sunset.
We checked out of the hotel we stayed at the first few nights, packed luggage, and had a survival darija language class in which we learned how to hail a taxi. Then, we went on a scavenger hunt all afternoon with three language partners. We walked to the tram, by the museum and parliaments, through the souks, all the way to the ocean, went to the Kasbah of the oudayyas garden which was absolutely beautiful and teeming with cats (msh zweena), walked back to the souks to go to a traditional restaurant where we tried vegetables and chicken tagines with fries, and finally back to orientation. We met our host mother today! I was so excited but also nervous because not sure what to expect. I knew everything was going to be fine from the moment she kissed me on the cheek. We lugged all our suitcases to the taxi and went to L'ocean, where her home was. Our host mother served us mint tea, a keeka (cake), and cookies that they typically eat during Ramadan and we talked until bedtime.
January 5 -
they call normal black coffee "americanos" in rabat! even at the paris airport, they called out “americano” when they gave out my drink and i thought they gave me the wrong drink.
went to the markets again, looked at all the beautiful paintings, went to the contemporary art museum in rabat - there was this really lovely piece on the seven deadly sins but sadly we weren’t allowed to take pictures - and had some mint tea at the museum cafe- you gotta pour it up high to aerate it. then we went to carrefour to buy shampoo and used my taxi skills from class to get back home, where we ate dinner of salad and chicken. Shreya flooded the bathroom bc the bathroom shower is kind of jank. finally, i started my drawings.
January 7 -
woke up a bit late today. shreya and I gulped down our breakfast, which was a delicious omelette with cheese and spinach, crepes and a banana mix, and kawhla with milk. Also had some dates! Then, we hailed a cab from the white church. I used my taxi skills from survival darija to help get us to mcdonald’s agdal. Then, I bought a water bottle at the yellow cafe next door and went to civ. We learned a bit about islam today and to remember to contextualize historical sources. We took an hour break before our MSA class. We went to Zumba, a hip juice place where I got a jus oasis. Afterwards, we went to MSA and gave my first presentation! So scared of pronounciation haha but just GOTTA DO IT. Afterwards, I met up with my language partner, who studies math, at the cafe next door with some mint tea. I walked a bit down the street, went to the bank to negotiate my 20 dollar bill back, and took a cab home. I changed and went on a run by the ocean. I stopped by the lighthouse. This dude looking out to the ocean beckoned me and offered to take me up. I thought o shoot hes going to sell me into slavery but yolo. I followed him up the winding staircase to the very top of the lighthouse. it really was beautiful view. waves on one side, the city on the other, an entire graveyard that was enchanting in an odd kinda way. I then walked around in the kasbah of the oudayas for a bit and took photos of the cats. I went into the medina too and ran into Kate and Emma. so funny because we watched a movie at the cinema with Yzza called the LIGHTHOUSE later. very strange, very intense, i loved it though! would recommend. I walked back. it was only 20 min walk and I got to learn and see the area a bit better on foot. There were some outdoor fruit markets right outside our house. Then, I watched tv a bit over a delicious beef balls tagine dinner with bread and this amazing soup. knocked right out after, got up early to memorize BAA!
January 8 -
had an omelette, sweet porridge this morning and a sweet lemon cake that our host mother baked for us. It was delicious! then, shreya and I took a cab to amideast in agdal. Mcdonald’s agdal! Usually, we say a landmark in order to get somewhere in a cab. We learned about the emergence of islam and muhammad today in class. Then, I had the most delicious falafel sandwich at Babel with some people from the program. After, we learned some more arabic script like alif and waw. Then, Ruthie helped me replace my sim card. We went to starbucks and studied for a while. They have very high speed internet. I took a cab home alone and went running. I finished my workout at home and did abs. Then, we have POISSON! the most amazing fish tagine. there was also a lovely salad with tomatoes and bread. I ate a lemon to top it off. I am truly blessed by this lovely host mother. She also makes our bed when we are gone. i feel so spoiled honestly and kind of guilty haha. Then, I finished my readings for the day and worked on arabic and hopefully go to bed soon LMAO.
January 9 -
had an omelette and these lovely pancakes this morning. she also got us chocolate croissants so wase took ours to go because we are always in a rush in the mornings. we learned about the quran in class today. who would’ve known its so interesting! I also told maroune that HAHA looks like leaves. hopefully that’s no offensive LMAO. Kate, Allison, and Jessica and I went to Zumba. I got a papaya juice and a chicken shwarma wrap for only 2.5 us dollars. SO DELICIOUS. Food quality is A1 here honestly. Then, we had our arabic classes with Abdulla, who is such an interactive and great teacher. I’m still soooo shy it’s hard for me to say things but I feel like that is so irrational. Afterwards, I went and filled out my travel forms and worked at starbucks with emma for a little while. Now I’m going to go to the bank to get my 20 US dollars back and also run with Leela by the ocean.
January 10 -
mainly a day of travel. Tram and taxi to Sale airport. then a loooong bus ride through sharp winding roads in literally the mountains thought i we were going to go over the cliff. we stopped to eat sausage and olive pizza at a well-decorated christmas themed place by the side of the road. yummy. house is a hella MANSION- spacious and beautiful. Jacob and Noah jumped into the hella freezing pool.
January 11 -
got up early, tried to see the sunrise but missed it. a german shepherd lives outside our mansion. Ruthie and I are sharing a room. We take the van to Essaoria and go to Tara cafe. It’s a standard Moroccan breakfast with pancakes and jams and mint tea. Then, we walked around the old medina. A woman tried to sell us argan oil. Then, I tried haggling with this man for a snake box. Jacob helped me bring it from 50 to 10 dirhams. We went up and it was so windy by the sea. We went to a history museum that featured traditional outfits, musical instruments, and more parts of culture. After, we got lunch at a pretty rooftop terrace place. Had really delicious tuna and sardine / fish tartine which i mixed and matched with Lara. We walked out to the port and saw the iconic blue boats. Then we walked by the beach and tried found a cafe where the others ate crepes. I drank a huge bottle of water. We chilled by the beach waiting for the sunset. I talked to Lara for a while while Shreya, Jacob, Ruthie, and Gabby practiced tik tok videos. The sunset was so beautiful! palm trees everywhere. some man on a bike came up to me and asked me if I could breakdance because i was doing cartwheels. I did the 5 step then he one-upped me and did a huge incredible dance. AMAZING! we got dinner at sirocco. I had a fish “bowl”. olives were so good, so was the olive cream and bread. There was live music and a dude with a chill voice playing guitar and singing summertime and the living’s easy. hella vibes. We taxi’d to carrefour for breakfast. I lost my postcards about at this time, but thats ok because we rode the neon bumper cars! so much fun. Lara and I didn’t quick figure out how to be functional until after the ride. so much fun.
