March 9

9 March 2012

I can't believe I took an arabic test today. It seems like 3 weeks ago! Maybe that's because I have been trying to forget about it- I didn't do well, but my teacher helped me, which was nice. REALLY missin Waed, and can’t wait for Jordan. I cried a little- it was just TOO hard and TOO MANY WORDS!!! It was really ridiculous- something has to change in the last three weeks that we have of Arabic class (ever heard of a QUIZ?!?!). I almost freaked out like I freaked out on ustaath that one time 2^nd semester freshman year… I held back though. After that was over I went home and sulked a little before couscous. I also finally watched the KONY 2012 VIDEO, which did not help my emotions. Couscous DID help though. We had class at 1:30 (or so we thought) so everyone had to tell their “parents” to eat couscous earlier. I made it back to the CCCL in time, but there was only ONE person in the room……. Our teacher came in FORTY minutes later!! Rude, but I finished watching the video and just bopped around, so that was fine I guess.

We had two lectures today- our normal Human Rights one (about women). I took a break between both lectures and got some much-needed fresh air. I love the terrace so much. The 2^nd lecture was an Amazigh spokesperson (?). I am a little Amazigh’ed out, but people were really into it and asking very probing questions. After the lectures I was going to take a run (I obviously didn’t) but I ended up hanging out with peeps and then 'ran' home to shower. I ran home because -I forgot to mention, but today is Daisy’s birthday. Bittersweet because I love birthdays, but this means that it is definitely no longer my birthday… boo hoo. We made a plan to meet at “our spot” at 8 pm to go to the Syrian restaurant.

I got home and Fatima was making reef (sp?)- the crispy crêpes with honey and tea. I asked if I could take a shower, but she told me to eat first- I seem to always be eating before I eat here… I agreed, and sat down. The tea was steaming, but WAY HOTTER THAN NORMAL. My tongue still hurts. Waiting for the tea to cool made teatime especially long, so I had 1.5 reefs and only one cup of tea. My shower was hot and quick- very good. I got out and Imane was back from school. “Our mom” left. She asked if she could use my computer while I was at dinner, “because [she] had nothing to do”, and I realized that I should invite her to dinner! I did and she called her parents. Her mom didn’t answer, but her dad did- he told her to call mom ha. Her mom said yes, and we started to get ready. When I was putting on my jacket, Fatima noticed the HUGE hole in the back armpit of my jacket (its been there since the last excursion). She pointed it out, and I was like “ooo I know… maa shee mushkilla” but she motioned me to take it off, and she got out her sewing kit- She fixed it perfectly! I was SO happy/impressed. I really had been planning on taking it to somewhere in the Medina, but I wear it every day, so it is hard to take it off… idk. Fatima rocks, and I asked Imane what I should tell my real mom to bring her from NYC when she visits. Imane thought that was a great idea, and said that Fatima never gets surprises. I feel bad for her, but Imane also said that she prefers to stay in the house. Weird. Anyway Imane and I left the house, and started to walk. We walked quickly and she put her arm in my arm- very Moroccan… Nicki/Bri IDK what you would have done (besides be awkward...) We met my friends and walked to the restaurant.

When we got to the restaurant our friend Sara met us there with a guy who she met on facebook (??) who happened to be Imane (and my) neighbor. Imane was funny around him, and only talked about her ‘boyfriends’ when he was not at the table. She only also was only sitting on half of her chair EXTREMLY close to me, and far from him. My last observation about Imane was the elbows on the table. That is TOTALLY a culture difference, but it was really weird/annoying to me. She had both elbows fully on the table, and it is definitely a pet peve of mine. Regardless, I love her, and am glad she came with me.

Syrian food is what you think of when you think of Middle Eastern cuisine (what I thought I would be eating the entire semester). Imane never had Syrian food before, so I ordered for her. We both got falafel (which is pepper in Arabic…weird) and I got babaghanoush for myself and hummus (not to be confused with hummus~ chickpeas in Darija) for Imane. It came with bread (duh) but flat bread, not hoobz. This meal REALLY reminded me of Winter Break. My alone days that consisted of gym in the morning, picking up Murray’s falafel on way home, eating half of it, showering, eating the rest of it in front of the tv, watching TV/listening to my favorite music for the rest of the day waiting for my mom to come home and eat again. Happy food. It was a good night to have before the village stay.

I came home and Imane was whispering to her mom. We told her about dinner etc, she was very happy and thanked me for taking Imane. She weirdly told the dad that we went to Pizza Hut, so we had to lie kinda/just know of the lie- in case it came up. I wouldn’t go to Pizza Hut here, but I guess he doesn’t know me that well. There was a lot of whispering & quiet laughing- it was great. I packed up (NOT A LOT OF STUFF!!) and now I am finishing this post and going to bed. I will keep my blog on good old fashion paper during my free time, so I can type it up when I get wee-fee back (hopefully Wednesday).

BON WEEK-END!!

XOXOX