On Friday I had to miss Darija (the class where we learn the Moroccan dialect) because I had to go to Casa Blanca to get my bag that was seized by customs. Long story short it was a disaster. I was lucky that a teacher from my school came with me because I would not have been able to get my bag or even figure out where it was. Long story short- we got to the airport and then they told us to go the DHL so we took a taxi. We ended up hitch hiking back and forth across Casa Blanca, because at one place I had to open my bag and show them everything, at a different place we had to get the receipt stamped, at a different place we had to pay, then go back to the first place to get the bag. It was pretty ridiculous. We left at 8 in the morning and got back at 4pm after two train rides each way. So that is my experience with Morrocan Customs...
On Saturday, my host family and I went to Casa Blanca (again) to visit some of their family there. There I met some more cousins ( I have like 40 thousand cousins. Every time I think I have met all my cousins I meet someone new!) We went to the Grand Mosque built by Hassan II and then had a huge lunch at the family's house, napped, and then went to the Moroccan Mall. The car ride out and back was supposed to be and hour each way but somehow we ended up driving for about 3 hours each way. The whole time Arabic Music and the occasional Rihanna song were playing with the volume all the way up. I think we listened to this song about 13 times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBUQRI9NUow It was a long but good day.
Sunday was also a good day. In the morning I had my first surf lesson! It was a really hard to pop up from the board. I only was able to do it once but I was still pretty proud of myself. After surfing, me, my sister Imane, her mom, and about 10 of our cousins went to a beach a bit further away. The beach was way less crowded, cleaner, and the waves were HUGE! I mean huge. I got knocked around quite a bit while swimming. We spent all day at the beach and ate lunch there. I tried to do some required reading for school bit wasn't incredibly successful. It was a very relaxing day.
Today (Monday) was the first official day of school. We had been taking Darija since Wednesday but today was the first full day with our human rights and multiculturalism class. After school (done at 3 every day!), I went to a cafe to get some tea and try and do some homework before surfing. Today I absolutely fell in love with surfing! Although all the paddling is tiring (probably good for water polo), and my eyes burned from the salt water, theres really something to waiting for the perfect wave and then being able to catch it! Today I did way better and was able to pop up and stand most of the time The last wave of the evening that I caught I rode all the way in. I was way too excited about it but I felt so accomplished! After surfing I came home around 8 and had a quick snack of tea and a pastry before I headed to the hammam (the bath house) with my host sister and a girl who is here from Spain that is staying with the family. In Morocco, people go about once a week. Because they don't shower every day, they stay in the hammam anywhere from 1-3 hours (the women stay much longer than the men). Going to the hammam is quite the experience! You wear only underwear and bring soap, and shampoo, buckets, and a mat to sit on. There are usually 3 different rooms. A hot room (like a sauna) a medium room, and a cold room. There you sit and wash yourself and your hair and you can have the ladies who work there scrub you. They use a wash cloth type thing that is rough like sandpaper and they scrub you raw. The amount of dirt that came of me was pretty impressive but my skin was so soft afterwards! I felt so clean and relaxed and it was the perfect thing after surfing (even though I'm going to go tomorrow and get all salty again). Dinner was around 11:30PM again. This meal schedule makes for long days but good days.
Today was also a great day because I was able to get home from school without getting lost! The school and my home are in the median (or the old city) which is surrounded by walls build in the 12th century. Essentially it is a labyrinth. The narrow streets are lined with homes, shops, and markets. Every time my host sister walked me to school she took a different way to show me all ways but it really just got me more confused! Many people also ride motor bikes and scooters which you always have to watch out for when you're walking. I saw a woman's purse get hooked on one going by and she got pulled on a for a ride for a while. She was ok so it was funny. However, after that whenever I hear a bike I try to look all around me and move out of the way as quickly was possible. Another hazard of the streets is because people live in the home that line the street, you have to pay attention above you. I was walking home from school today and someone was chiseling in their window sill. A big piece of stone fell and hit my backpack. I was lucky it missed my head! All of these experiences bring me to love Morocco even more. There is a also a huge chance that I will become a surf bum this semester! More soon but now I'm off to bed! Sabir L'hir! (good night!)
Ok. I am super excited you are becoming a surf bum, I think it will suit you. Also, you look amazingly gorgeous in all your pics. I am so happy to here you are happy and doing well. Keep us updated!!
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