I'm back in the USA!!!!! I flew home Saturday and went straight to Westport MA with Tricia and Jason. But before I get into that, I need to back track a few weeks.
So Chandra and I left for Safi, a small surf town further down the coast Sunday the 28th of November. We stayed in this cheap hotel in the Rabat medina that reminded me sooooo much of Alice in Wonderland. Seriously, I could take a picture of both the ceiling and the floor in the same frame without being vertical. We had left wicked early to take the early train. It ended up being late because it just happened to be the day of a HUGE soccer game in Casablanca and a protest about the Western Sahara (a huge hot topic here). So we sat and had some apples, bread and peanut butter and creeped on the other people at the station.
My favorite target was this guy. Chandra had just mentioned how weird it is that we look like tourists again with our big bags but then I spotted this guy sitting with his backpack and baseball hat reading his guidebook intently with a plastic bag with Africa on it. It was hilarious just seeing him and everyone's obvious reaction to him.
Anyway, before our train got there, another train stopped. OH man it was awesome. The train was packed to capacity, as in there were young men hanging out of it as it was moving. When it stopped all of these young men got off the train temporarily and took their picture with a Moroccan flag, then ran to jump back on the train. I just couldn't stop laughing, which called more attention to us than usual. but it just reminded me so much of sports events and just college events in the US. There was just so much excitement and anticipation.
Finally, our train got there, then we switched trains in Benguerir. Chandra had a nice conversation with some people on the train while I slept. We got into Safi in the afternoon and our first order of business was to find a hotel. My first impression of Safi wasn't great. It was clear that poverty hit it hard and as it wasn't a touristy city, it seemed like we stood out quite a bit. We found a hotel and decided to stay. The first room the owner tried to give us was right by the road and we knew we had a TON of work to do for our papers so I asked him if we could have a quieter room. We went right across the hall where there were 3 beds and a sink... still trying to figure that part out. But it cost the same and we were happy. We went out and explored the city. It was a beautiful day, so we walked for quite a bit until we stopped at this really cute restaurant in the middle of all of the action. The people there were so nice! The owner came over and made sure our dinner was good. As usual, they got very excited when we used the little arabic we know. We said that the food was delicious so he went over and brought out the chef and had us repeat what we had said (in arabic). It was just adorable. So we tipped well, walked a little more, then went back to the hotel.
The next 2 days it rained harder and more than I had thought possible. Not that it mattered all that much because we didn't leave our room until about 11:30am each day, just to use the turkish toilet. The first day we procrastinated by waking up late, then talking on skype. We did some writing, went out for dinner at the same place, but ran back to the hotel because of the rain. We worked a little bit, then went to bed. The second day we spent the whole day writing and working on our papers. We went out to eat, but went to a different place this time. We went to a cafe and talked with a local guy who was intrigued by our decision to visit Safi of all places. Then we went to a small hole in the wall restaurant. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and did more work. As soon as it started getting late I started getting worked up about my topic (domestic violence is kinda rough to power through) so we watched Fern Gully.
The next morning we got ready to leave on the 11:30 bus for Essaouira. and started on our way. I wasn't feeling very well, but I wanted to leave so we started on our way to find the bus station. We decided to walk to find our way and had plenty of time when we left. I started to feel pretty sick about ten minutes into the walk and told chandra that we should proably find a bathroom. unfortunately there were no hotels and no restaurants... only cafes which may or may not have bathrooms. So all of a sudden I couldn't handle it or hold it in any more and I threw up onto a tree on the sidewalk, then again on the street. Did I mention it was pouring rain? we were drenched. but we kept walking until we found a cab which could take us the 2 seconds to the bus station. we had been wicked close but didn't know exactly where it was so the cab was a good idea anyway. So Chandra bought our tickets while I bought water and sat with our stuff She asked me if I still wanted to leave that day for essaouira, but I was hell bent... until I stood up to go to the bus and threw up again in a plastic bag So Chandra changed our bus tickets and we went looking for a hotel closer to the bus station. We ended up at this cute little place that was clean and nice where I crashed and slept for 5 or 6 hours. I was kind of a mess, but Chandra went out while I was sleeping and got bread, bananas and apple soda.
I showered and worked a little bit on my project, then we watched Stick It and went to bed. We got up the next morning, found the bus station again after trying a new way to get there, and got on the bus to Essaouira. Once we got there we were bombarded by people trying to promote their hotels. We shook them off, then walked in the direction a nice man had pointed us in to find the medina. We passed shops and I think a prison on our way, but we finally made it with all of our stuff into the medina. We were looking for a cheap hotel that wasn't too sketchy but this old kinda sketch man was following us trying to get us to go to his hotel that was supposedly very nice and cheap. But I got a weird vibe from him and chandra and I couldn't shake him no matter what we did so finally I just said "Shuma, we don't want to go with you, stop following us. Shuma." and then he went on to the next tourist. But not 2 seconds later another (younger) man gave us his card for another hotel and told us a good price. Chandra was ready to blow him off, but I stopped and said maybe we should check it out. I mean what's te harm in seeing it, we can always say no, right? So we went with him and he asked us if we'd been before and told us we had to check out the main square. He was pretty nice and led us to this street on the edge of the medina where there were several hotels. He took us in and had a conversation with the other man in the hotel who said that they didn't have any rooms for that low price for 2 of us. So he told us they had one at a higher price or we could go to another place for the price he originally gave us. So we asked for the cheaper one. I was expecting something kinda sketch, but he took us through a beautiful blue door up the stairs to this clean, bright white room with a queen sized bed a bathroom and a cute little window. We were sold. So we booked it for the 3 nights and let me tell you it was the best money ever spent. it was just the cutest place and the people there were so nice! We woke up one morning to Michael Jackson as they cleaned. It was super cute.
So once we had our hotel we kind of wandered, but then worked on our papers. The next few days are kind of a blur of shopping, beach, cafes and research. I finished my paper apart from the works cited by Friday. Thursday I was kind of a mess and couldn't stop typing until I was done. I stayed up until 3am writing furiously. We watched Some Like It Hot (an old Marilyn Monroe), Fern Gully, and Glee to stay sane, but we both went a little crazy that whole week. I pumped out 27 pages on domestic violence in morocco and chandra got over 40 pages on childhood stories and how they form a person's world view and perception of social norms. We kept flip flopping on who was a mess.It was kinda crazy. By the end of the trip, Chandra and I had spent every day together and pretty much knew each other's life story. We just told people we were sisters because that seemed to make more sense to them.
It seemed like the street harassment was actually worse in Essaouira, despite the fact that we were two of many tourists. We went running on the beach and luckily got less attention than usual, but when we were walking to dinner one night this reall sketchy kid followed us and put his arm around us until I pulled away and he grabbed my arm. I shot him my best "If you touch me again I can guarantee you will never have children" look and he backed off. right away. it was great. then we went for dinner where we saw the cutest kid ever. He really didn't want his older brother to leave so he kept running after him. Then his brother, who was about our age, would pick him up and carry him back, then hid behind the wall until this kid found him again. it was adorable. We were on this balcony over a square where kids were playing soccer and one older boy was showing off to his friends ( and I think he knew we were watching) by doing flips in the air. It was pretty awesome not gonna lie.
So finally by saturday I realized that I had left my wallet at the hotel in Safi. So we took the bus on saturday into safi, then took the train from safi to rabat where we were all meeting again for our independent study presentations. The people at the hotel were sooo nice! Then after a nice lunch at a side restaurant and after getting a little lost, we took a cab to the train station. We JUST caught the train and prepared for a nice long ride. We got into Rabat at around 9:30, and immediately checked into the hotel. Chandra and I roomed together again with our friend Puja. Chandra really wanted to find our group of friends but I was not feeling a social situation until I came back up to the room and found Denise, Raleigh and Puja in the room next door to mine. We started talking about the program and morocco in general. It was nice because it was a group of people I didn't usually talk to a lot and more and more people kept coming in and joining the conversation until we realized it was about 1am and we were exhausted.
We had monday off, we just had to drop off a hard copy of our papers to the main office. It was such a relief but also a frustration to hand it in. There's so much more work that should have gone into that paper but it was finally over. I realized that week that this is what I want to do with my life. I want to work on the campaign to end domestic violence and violence against women. If I really wanted to I could move to morocco, help out a woman's organization, work my way up to the ministry of health and work with them to promote a change in society's view of women and masculinity. And I could do that for the rest of my life. But I would have to move to morocco and I know quite a few people who would be upset with that. So I think instead I'm going to turn my attention to dv in the US. People really don't know very much about it and it's a huge issue. Anyway, Monday flew by between dropping off our papers, shopping, a library visit and picking up our big bags from our friend Pauline's apartment, Unfortunately the girls that had stayed with her left her a HUGE mess and a pile of clothes that they had no intention of taking with them and just left for her to figure out what to do with them. Then Tuesday they had the gall to ask her if she grabbed the clothes for them! But she donated them to charity so she told them no. But Chandra and I stayed Monday night and helped her clean up.
Tuesday went by pretty fast too although we sat through presentations from 8:30am to 4:30pm. I was going to go to the library to use the internet, but it was closed. I felt like such a mess because I was presenting Wednesday and really didn't feel prepared at all. So I went to the grocery store and bought cookies and candy to give out at my presentation because it was so frickin depressing. I went back to the hotel where I had been planning on jut sitting in my room and possibly crying. Instead I bumped into my friend Eli while I was trying to get my room key from the desk. He saw my face and told me that I had to listen to the moroccan music he had just bought and that he was looking for a book that I had already bought. So I dropped off the cookies and went to the bookstore, then to the souk to get more music. We went and got juice, walked around more, got ice cream and finally stopped at a holiday store that was right next store to the hotel. On the way I bumped into my host sister's boyfriend and friend. But Eli and I talked for about 2 hours while we walked around, and afterwards I felt so much more relaxed. I decided hanging out with only girls all the time really puts you on edge after a while!
There was some drama partly because Chandra and I got so close and we kind of isolated ourselves from the rest of the group, but I think it was just how some people responded to the stress of leaving soon and presentations. It was an intense and emotional time. Wednesday morning I went for a run alone and showered, then felt ready for presentations. Chandra Eli and I presented at the same time which may have been for the best because I knew both of their topics and they knew mine already. My powerpoint didn't work with their computer, so I did without it, but it didn;t matter. I did what I needed to do and left it at that. Thursday night we had a program dinner that was ultimately anti climatic and led into couscous Friday. Chandra and I went back to my host family's house for lunch and hung out with them for a while until we had to leave. I said good bye to Ahmed and Hemsa his best friend who had become like a brother. Then I said good bye to Chaimaa and started to cry a little bit. After saying good bye to her and promising that I'll come back next semester while I'm in France, I went down the stairs and said one of the hardest good byes... good bye to my host mom. We hugged and immediately started crying harder than I've cried in a long time. But the only way I got out was with the promise of my return in the spring. I felt my heart ripping out of my chest as I walked out of the house and onto the street.
We went to the library and said a few more good byes to people there, especially the guy who constantly had to kick us out all semester.
We knew we had to wake up early (4am) the next morning for our 6:50 flight but instead of going to bed early, we watched glee and Chandra put henna on Megan and I. Megan left at about 2:30 to get a few hours of sleep, but Chandra and I couldn't sleep so we just stayed up talking the next hour and a half or so until I needed to start getting ready. Chandra wasn't on the early flight but went to spain in the afternoon to meet up with a friend so we had to say good bye at the hotel. If I thought my host mom's good bye was painful, this was the worst good bye I have said aside from Jason, my sister and a few friends when I left the US just because I have no idea when I'm going to see her again, especially since I'm going to France next semester. We were both in hysterics. It took me something like ten minutes to say good bye and get up the courage to physically leave. But I left and got onto the bus with Eli, Mark and Megan along with many others.
Luckily my bag was not too heavy and my flight was all in order. 3 people missed the flight because one had left her passport at the hotel, another had overslept and one girl's flight was all messed up and needed to reschedule it for the next day. But I made it on the plane and slept for about 20 minutes before deciding it was useless... I was too excited to sleep. Those of us who had terminals nearby went through security again together and got lunch and coffee, then we split again. Puja and I were on the same flight into Boston and a couple others were at the next terminal so we sat and waited. While we waited we talked to a really nice woman from Boston living in Malaysia. She was so nice and wanted to hear all about morocco. As we boarded the plane Puja and I talked about the things that we would not miss about morocco like street harasssment and lack of crosswalks. We sat close but not close enough to talk so I made friends with the businessman who sat next to me. It continues to amaze me how curious people are about morocco. He wanted to know all about my semester! so we talked for a while until we both started watching our respective movies. I watched Robin hood, eat pray love and a TV show. I was so confused about how much time was left because of the time difference. I hadn't changed my watch from morocco but france was an hour ahead, then the US was 6 hours back from that. It was to much math for not a lot of sleep. lol. So when we finally landed I was so excited I couldn't sit anymore. I stood up asap and got all my stuff together. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face when I walked off the plane, sailed through customs and got my baggage with Puja. I couldn't find my sister when I first got out so I went to the bathroom. When I got out I spotted her and just sprinted and lept. Luckily she caught me! She met Puja, we said good bye, then I went on the hunt for Jason. I saw his car and just ran faster than i thought possible in heels with my cart of luggage, I launched myself onto him and started crying. The drive to Tricia's house was shocking. I was blown away by the signs in English and the familiarity of it all. And the snow!!!
I had my first drink at No Problemo while eating a burrito (sangria). I felt so bad though because before saying good night to anyone I passed out on the inflated mattress. The next morning Jason and I left for VT where I've been for the past week. Another huge shock to my system! This past week has been a rollercoaster ride of long awaited hellos and quick good byes as I get ready for my next adventure: France!
But as a very wise woman suggested, I should probably sum up my experience in Morocco before starting on the next voyage. All I can say is it was an incredible experience and one hell of a ride! I loved it, hated it, miss it, wish I could go back, resent it for my lack of hygiene now and inability to speak proper English. I love the places I've been and the lifelong friendships that were formed through the most intense experiences and emotions I've ever felt. It was a whirlwind semester that is indescribable, I have such complex feelings whenever I think about this past semester but ultimately I loved it. I love the feelings because it makes me think in a way I never even knew existed. I can't wait for the next one!
January 8th I embark with Tricia for a night in Dublin and the beginning of my experience in France. Until then, I'll be in Newton NJ seeing as much of my family and friends as possible. Merry Christmas (I missed Christmas season!) and Happy New Year!
