Hotel d'Alsace Rabat

... grapes are a-okay. I bit into the first one and there was the unexpected crunch. Seeds. I was totally okay with this. I have done it before. But what struck me a few seconds later is that I am convinced ALL grapes in Morocco have seeds. When a person is here they are not eating modified, mutant produce. Can you imagine? Grapes have seeds. That is how they propagate. Epic. Think on it. <br> <br>When I was buying afore mentioned grapes (and pomegranates, too) a ...

... better word, curious. It looks normal as you are passing through the hall, through the door, and even up until the point where one would sit down to pee. Then BAM it hits you. Those tiles that are now at eye level&#8230;have little Dutch children. No joke. They have the quintessential clodhoppers, the girls have braids, there are some rudimentary huts, and I believe there is even a windmill in the background. I don&#8217;t know if there are some political ...

... food than I can describe, and proceeded to stuff our faces until we could barely breathe. Before we retired for the night our house grandmother allowed us to try on the traditional Moroccan gowns and headscarves. Though they were not the most "fashionable" pieces of clothing they were intricately decorated and beautifully handmade, trying them on made me, for at least a brief second, feel what its like to dress like a true, traditional Moroccan. <br> Once again we ...

... 8217;t know if it was kosher. Sorry to Jewish people who read this. I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s offensive so in the future I will refrain. <br> <br>Kelsey arrived we ate pizza with mystery meat. It was &#8220;nos o nos&#8221; (&#8220;half and half&#8221; or okay). We came back to the Bayt. We managed to wrangle the only cab driver that knows where Bayt Al Maarifa is located. Kelsey must be a good luck charm. Unless she&#8217;s what made me sick last ...

... class. On arrival he discovers that he was supposed to know the alphabet. At least I know the alphabet. Albeit not the Japanese alphabet which I think would be more of a help than a hindrance. So to segway from that little tangent, there is one other person in his class with no knowledge of the alphabet. They both manage to learn. <br><br> <br>At first, he takes a sick fascination in the fact that may be slower than the rest in the class, but that one ...

... in Arabic. He STILL thinks I don&#8217;t understand, because I&#8217;ve answered the same way.<br><br> <br>&#8220;You don&#8217;t speak Arabic, you don&#8217;t speak you don&#8217;t speak French, you don&#8217;t speak English,&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;Where are you from?&#8221;<br><br> <br>&#8220;I speak Arabic, wa lakn fusha faqat (but only MSA),&#8221; then I revert to English, &#8220;AND I speak English.&#8221;<br><br> <br>&#8220;You don&#8217;t speak English ...

... and has various areas where artisans sell their wares. So you get a whole alley of carpets, and then shoes, then pottery etc. We also went for a wander through the beautiful Oudaias Kasbah - it is a very tranquil walled city with no cars, a big garden, a lovely tea shop overlooking the river and Sale, and the most striking blue and white painted houses. Of course we managed to go their on a Tuesday when the museum and ...

... class with Khadija. She taught us some phrases for local pleasantries, plus colors in Arabic. Then, after tea time, a few of us just hung out talking with Mohamed about random topics - that was by far the best part of the whole day. We talked about cultural, social and political issues in Morocco and the Middle East. I just love those conversations and hope we can squeeze a few more ...

... off at 3:45am and startled me, to put it nicely. I forgot where I was for a minute and it sounded like the man was singing right in our room! What an eerie feeling.<br> Nine of us stayed there and three people were in my room. Windows opened up onto the center courtyard, overlooking the dining area on the first floor, and there was a traditional hammam in the bathroom. We went out to dinner at a beautiful restaurant ...

Salaamu Lekum, Not a lot to report for today - it was pretty laid back with time to relax. We had orientation this morning, which included a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood. We split into groups and had to go find places and information - our group had to find the post office, internet cafe, etc., and find out details about their hours, etc., to report back to the group. We walked ...