A beginning: Orientation and Arabic in Essaouira

Trip Start Jan 14, 2008

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Morocco Essaouira, Morocco
Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Another day, another journey beginning, this time for a full year. I've just begun my time in Morocco. Yesterday makes the one week mark, and as weeks go this one has been incredibly full. I've been in training and orientation, learning a bit more about my job, meeting my coworkers (half locals, half expats like myself), and getting my contract signed. I have a few weeks off before my work really begins, and in the meantime I'm entertaining myself with Arabic classes. I had the first one today. Four hours of Moroccan Arabic in one day, an intense load by any reckoning. It's a fascinating language, though. There's no conjugation of "to be" in the present tense, which really blows my mind. There are rules, of course, and it all seems fairly regular at this point. But I know that I'm only scratching the surface.

What have I been doing other than studying tourism and cramming Arabic into my mind? Exploring Essaouira, of course. It's a beautiful town, right on the Atlantic coast, right on the beach. The medina is of a manageable enough size that you don't get lost after you've explored it enough times, and the people are incredibly friendly. Everywhere I go I'm offered tea. I've been horseback riding along the beach, an amazing experience, and I've ridden bicycles down the street, an exercise in self-preservation more than a leisure activity for fun. I've been to Diabat, where Jimi Hendrix once came to visit, and I've seen the ruins that according to legend inspired him to write "Castle in the Sand." And of course, I've eaten lots of good food, from tajines to couscous to grilled fish on the docks. All of it has been amazing, and it can only get better from here.

Peace to all, Salam aleikum,
Laura