Le Dawliz Salé

... in 1609. He established the Bou Regreg Republic and managed to sustain an economy based on piracy and slave trade that lasted until 1829 when Austria finally had it with that nonsense and bombed the city from ships at sea.

Rabat was again designated capitol by the French in 1912, moved from Fez because it was easier to supply and defend on the coast than was Fez in the mountains of the Berbers. France lusted after Morocco for decades, trying ...

... worst camp site I have ever seen". The site was literally a field, which wouldn’t be so bad if the toilets weren’t so repugnant. First of all I have nothing against squatting toilets, they work just fine but squatting in filth is a whole other story. Both the men’s and woman’s bathrooms were equally as bad and honestly I’m still not sure which was the men’s and which was the woman’s. On top of all of this ...

... and when I got in, I dropped my pomegranates on the ground. As the car started moving, I swooped down and grabbed that fruit like a knight swinging the princess onto the back of the horse. Then I shut the door. I rock.

A miraculous thing has happened today. I realize that the honking no longer stands out. It is just background noise like a cuckoo clock, the chiming of the grandfather clock, or the call to prayer. You recognize that it is occurring but it ...

... street but unlike the French snails these were flavoured with cinnamon and cumin and served with a separate bowl of the broth they were cooked in. Really yummy! And then Si and Marcel had tiny turkey and liver kebabs, Christa and I being a little less into liver declined ... oh yes, Si also had a hair cut at the local barber .. and it looks good!!

As well as loving being in a different, non-European culture we are ...

... takes place during longer daylight hours with longer fasting during hotter weather. That makes it more intense.

The families eat early, 4:00 AM, then hold out until sundown for a traditional meal. An hour before sundown, the streets and grocery stores are packed, people anxious, hungry, tired, focused 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 ...

... i was buying some food this guy saw me get my wallet out and rushed over to me to try and get money off me. When i told him no he started to rub this grimey bag of ice on my arm and then asked for money again. I was thinking "firstly mate its not even a hot day, and secondly if it was is still wouldnt want you to touch me with that dirty bag of ice". He hassled us for ...

... hidden. So, with no choice, we ate probably the most Christian meal you can think of in the day during Ramadan in an Arabic country. I was later punished by the gods because I had to go to the toilet in a small wood. I had a bout 10 seconds between thinking "hmm, i need to go to the toilet" and "F#CK ME, IM GOING TO SH#T MYSELF". Needless to say l couldnt be picky about where i chose and unfortunately i was visible from the road. Also in an attempt to get the toilet roll ...

... before this program ends. Suffice it to say, I didn't leave home base all day, except to go to the hospital in the morning. I was excited about learning the words for colors, because it would be so helpful to talk with the kids about their coloring at the hospital! My nerd flag is waving proudly, but I was really geeked out to go in and impress the kids with my ability to recite colors to ...

... for a traditional Moroccan meal and live music. The architecture of the riads and Moroccan restaurants is breath-taking. Lots of intricate mosaics, marble work and moldings, as well as high vaulted ceilings. A guide from the hotel even escorted us to the restaurant, to prevent us from getting lost. I'll explain more about that in the next post, but suffice it to say, Fes is a city of 9,500+ winding streets.

... a shopping area this afternoon, got local currency, which is called Dirham, made copies of our passports, etc. Tonight we went for ice cream. :-) Our placements start tomorrow, so the two of us at the hospital spent some time reviewing notes from previous volunteers to get a feel for what's worked in the past, etc., and prepped materials for tomorrow. We're not sure if we'll actually ...