Golden Tulip Farah Rabat

... on getting home for dinner. You don't want to be driving or buying your weekly supplies at that time. Streets are empty for an hour after sundown.

The end of Ramadan is a festival called Eid al-Fit, "Festival of Breaking the Fast," an occasion for fine clothes, lights, decorations, gifts and visiting friends and family. One of the most popular sites in Morocco during this time is Tour ...

... East relations. I wish I was better informed on the issues so I could participate more, but it was interesting listening to his perspectives, as always!

The hospital was good this week, and I missed it when I wasn't there. I've gotten used to the turn-over in kids and parents, although am happy that a few of my favorite regulars are still there. I know it's bad for them because it means they're still in the hospital, but ...

... work. It was kind've hard for me to shift my mindset from weekend tourist to volunteer, and that feeling was compounded because I was so very exhausted. It was kind've a sad day too because when we got to the hospital, we discovered that several of the kids we'd become friends with in our first week were gone. It's great for them to be out of the hospital, but hard for us as we had to start all over with new kids (and parents). There were a ...

... attention and supervision. Tomorrow, we have a third volunteer joining us, since her usual placement is closed on Fridays. We're excited to have the extra help, and planned a new activity since she'll be there to help us manage everyone. We're going to have the kids create a wall hanging where they each trace their hand in crayon and color in their own design. Hopefully we ...

... The nurses didn't really pay much attention to us, so as the kids came in, we just did our best to contain the havoc. Some of the kids are pretty ill, and seemed very fragile, while others just seemed like normal kids. I think a few were from the cancer ward as well. We had to be careful handling them, so as not to hurt them. Some had IV's, etc. They had a blast playing on the new toys (a teeter totter, plastic slide, rocking horse and play house ...

... for something to eat. It seemed like everything was either closed, or a cafe/patisserie that didn't really serve food and was exclusively men sitting on covered patios sipping heavilly sugared mint tea. Anyways we eventually found some pizza. Only the best in local cuisine for us. That evening we spoke with some other travelers and everyone's first question was wether or not we had seen the Medina yet. The Medina, in every Moroccan city, is just the name for the ...

... made ourselves at home. A real bed! WOW! Oliver was in cook group that night so we all huddled outside by the truck whilst they readied a superb meal of bangers, fried potato and salad. Afterwards, those not tucked away in their cozy couple rooms, made our way to the communal TV room, making it just in time to see the last 20 minutes of the OZ v France rugby game. Go Oz. Hot water shut off at 11 so I called it a night around 10.30, had a luke warm ...

... such things while Dan and Abdessamad talked about local history and sites to see.  They took us through town to an old Moorish castle and down to the beach front before finally wandering back into town where they met up with some friends and took us to a restaurant where we could order a local cous cous dish.  We tried to offer to buy them lunch but they consistently refused, and they sat next door at a student cafe where they laughed at us before coming ...

... to see a flash of light representing the opening of the gates of paradise as angels descend onto earth for this special occasion, just as the angel Gabriel came to reveal the Qu'ran to the Prophet Mohammad some 1,398 years ago. But in my family, it was the flash of a camera that was the center of attention. I'm not exactly sure of the reason, but this day serves as a chance for children to get a quick foray into the delights of maturity ...

... in by the power of "religious conformity?" Could she ever recognize the benefits of a country where a king has vast real and symbolic power, including as the "leader of the faithful?" I've been fasting for Ramadan so far, waking with my family at four in the morning for a small breakfast (called the sa-hor) of something like a pancake and sweet mint green tea, and then fasting throughout the day until the long-awaited "ALLAH AKBAR" is heard at ...