L'Auberge Berbere Ifrane

... the surprise. I'll just say, i found rachel, the most perfect gift possible!! I had fun crossing back into spain. the border gaurds were friendly and we made some good jokes with them. we were told to walk up to them and hold up 2 fingers meaning we want to cards to fill out. so we did that and the guy said in a joking tone, 2? de que? que quiries?(of what, what do you want) i replied in a sad desperate(but joking) tone, quieremos pasar....A ESPANA!! (we want to pass ...

... closed when he went to get it because he had to wait until I left the apartment to go to my exam, so he had someone go upstairs and wake the people up to give him the cake. Sadie gave me this righteous scarf/towel/anything you want it to be and some soap that has been aged for eight years; both from Kenya. I really did not expect such nice gestures from everyone but I was pleasantly surprised :) Great start to break.

... spoke French mixed with some Dareeja. I first told them that I knew everything they were saying so as they wouldn't think they were going to get away talking about me and proceeded to listen to their long winded, empty conversation haha. Nonetheless this country is so rich in linguistics it is unbelievable. The minimum number of languages most of the people speak is two or three. Here at Al Akhawayn most speak three to six ...

... was too difficult. So again I thank you. Apparently though the classes here are about three times more difficult than when taught in the states so if I had taken beginning II i would have come back and gone to advanced arabic, which I don't want to do so I will be in beginning II when I return! My other classes are truly interesting as well. Except for the slight language barrier my Islamic Civilization professor has, everything is going quite ...

... fag. So I guess I will be pronouncing the quaff again hahaaa. I am slowly learning of the little quirks in the different dialects and it is quite hilarious. Starting class tomorrow at 8:00 am but it is my only one for the day so I have plenty of time to...well, do whatever. More to come I guess because I have nothing better to do but sit here and blog.

... the boarder by foot, past all the people trying to get through customs not noticed by throwing there goods over the fences then running, people were ever carrying whole fridges and washing machnies, are they cheaper in the spainish part or something? whos knows, i even saw guys pretending to be invailds in wheelchairs to conceal goods under blankets on the wheelchairs. . . then it started to rain, then we had to exchange currency in order ...

... into his house; and how happiness does not come from materialism or money. Like Budhism I have developed a thorough interest of the Islam way of life. It is so very unfortunate that we tend to receive negative messages of the religion because of a small proportion of extremists... Mostafa provided us with his views on this subject and absolutely detests any form of violence or war. He lives an extraordinarily simple life but he fed us like kings with an abundance of fresh fruit; bread ...

... the watermelon we had purchased at the market, and never missing a beat to stare at us, giggle, and smile! Meanwhile Shannon and I were trying to pick up our long skirts without being indecent (in their terms) and pick our way over the rocks and other natural items (use your imagination at times) without stepping on our dresses as well as we slowly passed homes and garden plots. Ever so often Mohammed would stop to point out his family's field of harvested wheat or the corn. The ...

... day we headed to the medina, which was twice the size of Meknes' medina, but had markers with different routes directing you throughout the medina. The medina consisted of different specialty areas, which are known as souks. Some of the souks sold jewellery, leather, brass; others sold livestock, produce, spices, etc. It is quite a city within a city. One ...