They're going to need to roll me out of Rabat!!

So in case anyone was wondering, there IS in fact ice cream! And tons of fruit and veggies sauteed in interestingly delicious spices, fried dough dipped in honey, this AMAZING soup, and like 10 different kinds of bread. Last night we had bisteeya and let me tell you it was awesome! I have to say when I made it it was pretty awesome, but the one last night one was 100% perfection! And there were dates and figs and plums and tea... Ok enough about the food.

So Monday was exciting, but Tuesday was just as fun. We've been sitting through seminars on safety, health and sexual harassment, then we had our drop off and I was the first to go. I was dropped off just outside the medina (the city center). But instead of making my way back to the Student Center I opted to wander.... to the beach! there's this really long path that goes along the water so I followed that until I met up with one of the girls from the program. SO we walked back together, then realized that we were 2 of the last 3 to make it back! After lunch we were given time and some money to use the bargaining tools that we learned in one of the lectures. We were let loose on the market and had almost 2 hours to figure something out. Along with that we were split into groups and sent out to learn more about a certain topic regarding the medina. Some people had internet cafes, others had hotels and hostels. I ended up in the last group (aka the subject that totally stretched the limits of thoughtfulness) to observe and record the smells and colors of Rabat. It was so easy!

Wednesday we had our first arabic class, survival arabic. It was hilarious. There are 6 girls and 1 guy (btw i can count on fingers and toes how may guys are in our program of ~65). The girls are so nice and the language is so interesting that it's just really fun. After that we had a session about home stays and what to expect, or in this case, not expect. We were told not to expect showers, internet, my own set of keys, western toilets ( turkish toilets, i.e. holes in the floor, are more common in the area we're living in), or our own room. But by the end of the seminar I was so excited I just wanted to know everything about my family! But we had to wait until just before our families came to get us.

Each night I kept saying to myself, ok tonight I'm going to go to bed early. It hasn't happened yet. Ramadan is just so awesome! "going out" does not imply parties or alcohol or anything even remotwly close, but I keep just finding people who want to walk or go to a cafe or walk through the souk (market). Which btw, I don't think I've done a good job of describing souks. The souk in the medina is nuts at night and some times during the day. In between calls to prayer, the souk is frickin crazy. We dodge and weave through a souk like most people dodge and weave through the craziest parts of NYC, except no one in the souks moves very quickly, so if you are in a rush you're going to be late. Crossing the street is like frogger unless you follow someone else. There are a million things to look at and smell in souks, but to a certain degree I keep my head down because I know I look different. I haven't had any serious problems, just your average cat calls. NBD. Anyway, I keep going out late, then we have breafast at 8ish. I haven't been too tired yet, but this weekend it will be nice to catch up on some sleep.

So Thursday we got all of our stuff out of the hotel and had a bus tour of Rabat and Sale, the sister city. It was nice because all we've seen so far has been the medina and just outside the medina. It's so beautiful! So when we got back from the bus tour we found out our host families and... mine's
AWESOMELY AMAZING!
Seriously, my host brother is about 13, my host sister is 17 and they're both so much fun! my host mom is great! she's a great cook and has been so friendly and kind! My host dad is very religious and was reading the Koran or praying the majority of the time I've been here. I'm not sure if it will change after Ramadan, but we'll see! He seems very nice though. I have my own room here, a shower, a western toilet, my own keys and they have a cat! Today before dinner we sat and watched TV, which was a nice break from all of the walking we've been doing. We watched a Mexican soap opera in Arabic, Room Raiders and the fashion channel. I wish we had the fashion channel at home! It was really fun. One of the first things my host brother asked me was what I want to do after school. It was really hard to explain, but when I told him I was thinking about law school he whipped out like 5 LSAT books. Apparently a girl who has stayed with them before was studying for the LSATs and left them here! It's so perfect! Then, after dinner, I unpacked all of my stuff and we went out. We really didn't have anything in mind, but my sister's bf called asking her if she wanted to get together and she said no and gave the phone to her cousin to tell him no, except she told him yes and that we'd meet him! So we made our way to the cafe that he and his friends were at. On the way, a guy said something to my host sister who just continued walking than started laughing. Apparently he went up to her and said "Hello, good morning! lol. Then, a guy came up next to me and started talking to me in Arabic. I moved so that I was on the other side of my host sister and her cousin, who talked to him. Apparently he was insistent that he needed to talk to me so that we could have a relationship. She just kept saying "La la la" which means no no no. Finally she told him that we were going to meet my fiance and that if this guy was with us, my fiance would beat him up. After that he couldn't get away faster! I, of course, had no idea what was going on (I'm getting used to that feeling. lol) until my host sister told me what she said. Her cousin doesn't speak french or english so other than body language, we just laugh. I wish we could communicate because I feel like we would get along really well!
So anyway, we finally made it to the cafe and I met a few of my host sister's friends. They were so much fun! I sat next to this one guy who is a sous chef and wants to cook in Italy, France or the US. We listened to music for a while and he taught me how to write my first and middle names. I think in 2 weeks we're going to talk, my in English so he has to try to understand me and him in arabic and I have to understand him. It should be really interesting! He asked my host sister already whether I have a boyfriend and she told him how long we've been dating so he knows it's only a friendship, which is good.

I really can't wait for tomorrow, to see everyone and find out how their homestays are! We have another survival arabic class tomorrow morning, then a debriefing on our homestays, so it should be good. Alright well now I'm all caught up! It's been a whirlwind of excitement and emotions I hardly know which way is up! But once I settle in, I'm sure I'll just be leaving again. lol. I'm loving every moment of this so so far so good! Oh and I put up new pictures on the same link... I'll post it again with the next one. If you're having any trouble seeing them let me know please! I miss the States, I miss school and I miss home but this is where I need to be for now and I'm so glad I'm doing this. It's so different than anywhere I've ever been and it's breathtaking.