Rabat

... and leisure. It was really fascinating to talk to these students and learn about a culture that seems so remote from the United States. Many of my preconceived notions about Arabic culture and Islam were broken as I listened to the students talk about all the opporunities they had (both men and women) to study whatever they wanted, to wear whatever they wanted and practice their religion as they wanted. Though all said they followed the "call to prayer" (the 5 time a ...

... I have a revelation. It&#8217;s right behind me. Magnificent. <br><br>Kelsey had been to some sort of strip mall last weekend when I was indisposed . So we decided to go there in search of commodities. Kelsey called her choir director to ask the name of this beast. Layla said that it was called simply the Mega Mall. I knew where this was located and I thought it was a mall and not of the strip variety. But I didn&#8217;t mention this because I always doubt myself and I ...

... category is for motorcyclists (this will be expanded on later). This type varies in vehemence but has the same meaning. In its truest form it translates to, &#8220;I hate you because you can split lanes and are ahead of me because of your cheap trick.&#8221;<br> <br>This next gesture is done out the window and though it is down with an open hand, it implies the same thing as an American fist shake. Some people may have never had such an American experience based on the ...

So today in school, I drank the worst OJ ever. Unless I miss my guess, it was a Moroccan generic brand. Generic brands seem to be a foreign concept here. Of course most Moroccans would hate on it in French. Anyway, don&#8217;t drink it and I&#8217;ll reiterate that you should avoid Moroccan aspirin mixed with any OJ. <br><br> <br>I refrained from eating this morning based on my riotous stomach. I kept gagging all morning. It was pretty much as awesome as taking geology four ...

... I&#8217;ve come to appreciate the fine art of crossing a Moroccan street. You basically wait for a lull in traffic and book it across the street. And what often happens is that you have to stop in the middle and wait. Which is more terrifying than it may seem. See no.s 4 and 5.<br><br> <br>4) The lanes are freakishly narrow. The side mirrors almost touch. <br><br> <br>5) Everyone splits lanes. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. Even ...

... and to a grocery store. She's very nice. <br><br>Then back to my dorm. I've done lots of homework and studying. I'M GOING TO STAY ON TOP OF THINGS HERE! Even though apparently no one does their homework. Oh, and apparently the trips that we're supposed to go on two times a week often get cancelled. I'm gonna learn to get places on my lonesome. Except it probably won't be on my own since it's not good to go alone anywhere.<br><br>I looked like a hard-core ...

... conversation about it. That's about the time we shifted into, 'so, what are your plans for the weekend?'. Towards the end, a couple of the guys gave Heather and me a tour of the campus. We visited their library and lab. I freaked out a bit when they showed us baby animals that had been preserved in jars (a lamb, a lion cub) and the boys thought it was hilarious - glad I could give them a good laugh, but we warned them ahead of time ...

... 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 ...

... after about 45 minutes things fell into place. We had just as many kids show up, although many were pulled out for periods of time throughout the morning - I think they had to get treatments. We did a lot of coloring which I expect to be an every day thing; the teeter totter and slide continued to be a hit. We weren't sure what to do with the older kids, as they're too big for many of the games we thought up, and we can't just ...

... I also recorded most of the tour with the digital recorder. It looks like there will be ways to collaborate with this libary in the future, and that is totally exciting!!!! :) Tomorrow we head north up the coast to Tangier, and I think we make a stop in Kenitra. Thanks to all who follow this and post comments. I am happy you are following this all with me! We are two weeks in, so after tomorrow, the journey will be half over. I have mixed feelings on this...... for now, abientot!