Thursday
So we had our arabic final exam today and let me tell you I am soooooo happy to have it be done and overwith! It was rough being one eyed, but my eyes did really well! we'll see how well when i get my exam back though. lol. After the exam, we had a calligraphy class which i think was just unecessary. It seems like a lot of what happens with our program is well intentioned, but ill timed. Like for exam this calligraphy class. It was in English and he was teaching us how to write each letter in the arabic alphabet. after we just took our final exam. in arabic. seems kinda ridiculous, right? we thought so too. after the calligraphy class we had lunch, then i went to kenitra to the organization i've been visiting. The woman there is so cute! we talked in darija, french and a very little bit of english. she invited me to a conference on the 27th for victims of violence, which should be really interesting. By the time I got back from Kenitra it was a little late and i was so exhausted!
Friday
No classes! I woke up late (9am), had breakfast with my family, then went to watch a movie with some friends. We didn't actually finish the movie, but I left to have lunch with my family and pick up my money for ISP. They give us enough money to live off for the next 3 weeks. It'll be good to see how I budget my money and how I manage to restrain myself from shopping. it's gonna be rough fo sho! I hate having cash on me because i'm much more inclined to spend it, so i decided to hide ti on myself. hahaha i have money in the weirdest places now! Anyway, we were supposed to have a fun dance party-ish thing with our families today, but because my host dad passed away, it was shuma for them to go. Chaima looked so sad when she told me! But it's completely understandable. So instead we went shopping on suika (the main souk-road) for things for the Eid.
I don't think I've fully explained the Eid yet... So it's a Muslim holiday when Abraham sacrificed the sheep instead of his son. So on Eid, which is Wednesday, they sacrifice one sheep per family. Except that 3 other families are going to be celebrating at my family's house. meaning 4 dead sheep. It's going to be a mess. as in I'm going to be a mess. They keep showing me videos and pictures of last year's Eid and let me tell you, I am convinced they're going to find me downstairs curled up hiding under a blanket.
Anyway, I went out with Chaima, Ahmed and our neighbors, Mariam, who is 13, and her mom Rachida. We walked around for a while, but Chaima and I kept getting distracted with different shops so we were constantly trying to catch up until Rachida decided we would walk in front of her. But when I walked a little bit ahead, 2 guys catcalled at me in English. I guess Chaima didn't hear them and called me back to look at something. I guess that was all they needed for encouragement because they then followed us almost all the way home! By the time we got back we were all really tired. But it seems like no matter how tired I am, I seem to sign onto skype regardless. It's gotten a little bad. I was thinking about it and it's definitely a good thing that I didn't get the internet modem until now. Even though it's been rough not having internet, I've spend so much more time with my host family and gotten so much more sleep this semester that I think it's really been good. But it's good that I have it now.
Saturday
So tomorrow I'm moving out of my home stay and into my new apartment with chandra and megan is staying for a few days. I'm freaking out a little bit (ok a lot) because I really love my family. I don't want to move out. They're so much fun and I have fallen in love with all of them and my life here. I don't know what to do. They've just been so good to me and so wonderful, I'm so sad thinking i'm not going to live with them anymore. .
But today I went shopping with Chandra and Jena before Jena left for home. We got some pretty good deals, then Jena had to leave to get her stuff together. Chandra and I walked around Rabat looking for the English bookstore with no luck, but we did get to explore some random parts that I had never seen before. And I tried a prickly pear which btw are delicious! They're like a combination of watermelon and mango and pineapple. it was awesome. After wondering for a while, we went to meet the gang to take Jena to the airport. On the way to the airport, Jena told us that her host family may have taken her camera. She's had so many issues with this family! First they were using her stuff (make up, computer, clothes, jewelry, etc), then they were feeding her in her room, her clothes weren't coming back from the laundry and her host mom told her she owed them much more money than possible for the medical bills from when Jena was in the hospital. Then Jena told us that she still coudln't find 2 pairs of pants and that her camera is missing. I got really really fired up. So i told her we would get it for her and at the very least mail it to her when we get back.
I was in tears at the airport when we had to say good bye. It just broke my heart that she left and i won't see her for a very long time. I hate this part of the whole study abroad thing. that whole making friends then all going back to respective states/countries thing is completely not ok with me. I'm considering becoming a hermit. then at least there's no one to say good bye to! but i think i would go crazy. like legit crazy. and i think it would only last for like 2 days. then I would be bored and miss being around people. After I got back from the airport, i had a late lunch, hung out with Chaima and we put tea on our eyes which is supposed to help with bags (?), exposed my family to peanut butter on oreos (they loved it!) and gave them the gifts i got. They gave me a teapot, which is adorable and my host mom's friend gave me a purse. It was so sweet! I packed all my stuff and let me tell you it was r.o.u.g.h. rough. my bag is packed to the max and i even have an extra plastic bag with crap in it. this does not look promising for going home btw. i think i'm going to have to leave quite a few of my clothes. packing's going to be a problem fo sho.
Sunday and Monday
I woke up at like 8, but I couldn't handle going upstairs and having to say goodbye, so I watched bones for 40minutes. I had breakfast with my family, then got dressed, got my stuff together and said my good byes. It's funny because I'm coming back in a couple days for the Eid so my tears were kinda ridiculous, but I think we all recognized that it wouldn't be the same. Regardless of how often I come back, I'm not living with them anymore, so it's not the same. My host mom and I cried for a little bit, then I left with Ahmed and his best friend Hemsa who's over like every day and is practically adopted. They helped me carry my stuff, then we met up with Megan, and they took some of her stuff too. We went to Chandra's house, then to the woman who we're renting the apartment from's house. They were so cute! The 2 boys (remember, they're only 14) were so sweet and carried as much as they could, then waited with us at the bus stop. It was hilarious because they bumped into one of their friends and when he asked them where they were going, they said they were coming to New York with us. It was adorable because Hemsa was like "you have a place for me to stay, right?" and "you are my sister now, right?" Of course! They were just so sweet. So we got on the bus, went to the apartment and started making a list of what food to buy for lunch and dinner. I swear I've been in a food coma ever since we got here. We have cooked and shopped for food and cooked some more. That's it. And it's been wonderful!
Since we've moved into this adorable one bedroom 2 living room apartment with no hot water, shower head, oven or fridge, we've made peanut butter chocolate balls, grilled cheese with tomato soup, chicken marsala with rice and pasta, fruit smoothies, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, tea, nachos from scratch, bean burritos with guac and salsa, banana peanut butter and chocolate smoothies, avocado juice and moroccan stuff called sfouf which is ground nuts, flour, cinnamon, a tiny bit of anise, honey, sesame seeds and oil. Wow... looking at that list just about sums up how my stomach has been feeling lately. thrilled and freaked out all at the same time. We had an exciting time figuring out where to buy things. There's a grocery store around the corner, but that can be boring and is not nearly as fresh as buying all of our fruits and veggies at the open markets (souks) down the street. We've gotten some pretty funny looks here, especially when we decided to play in the rain on Sunday night. Actually, the next morning the neighbors were asking what we were doing. when I told them they were like "Oh that's so nice!" but i think they were a little skeptical of these 3 white girls running around at like 10pm in the rain. hahaha it's going to be a really interesting couple weeks!
No comments:
Post a Comment