Today was a really really lovely/amazing day. School was boring and whatever. I made a sandwich with the lunch food because it was a combination of my least favorite items (lentils that taste like old coffee grinds, sub-par chicken, whatever carrots, an unidentifiable vegetable that is incredibly sweet, and no pasta- just rice) that they serve. I scooped out a piece of hoobz (bread) and put everything into the sandwich with a lot of s&p. It turned out GOOD, not just edible anymore. After class, Sara and I went to K & L’s hotel room to pick them up and go to the Chella. We made a mandatory stop at the bakery for elephant ears before we fetched them.
We took a cab to Chellah- the Roman ruins of Rabat. It was actually a lot prettier than I expected, and bigger. There were storks making crazy noises, and a lot of fragrant plants. We explored. It was a little cloudy, but we didn't mind. We spent a while at Chellah and then left to look for a cab (it is kind of in the middle of nowhere). This is a pic of us. We stopped at the royal palace before getting in a cab, and it was REALLY nice. I want to learn more about it because I didn’t recognize any of the Arabic words on the buildings besides malek- king. There were kind of apartment-type things, and I am curious to see who lives there- our cab driver (crazy cab driver, but spoke to me in Arabic only which I like) said that the people who work there live there, but I am not so sure. I will find out and get back to you about this. After we walked through the Palace, we had to look for a cab. Sara and Lisa got one right away, but Kristen and I had some trouble- the cabs were not going in the direction that we wanted them to, and it was kind of a weird street. Cabs here are allowed to pick up other passengers when there is already someone in the car, so that complicates things too. Whatever. We got a cab, and took it to the Oudaya.
We went through the Oudaya garden and then walked through the little village- I have already been there and posted pictures... We got to the beach and the sun was setting and was beautiful cotton candy pink/purple. I always know how lucky I am to be here, but there are some moments where I really feel it a lot more than others. Walking on the beach today, I had one of those moments. I really can’t think of a feeling that I love more than salt-water air on my skin. My hair gets damp kinda from the water/humidity, and I LOVE the sound of waves. The sun was just setting so the moon was in the sky behind us and pink clouds were in front of us. I love seeing the moon here because it is the same everywhere and there are a LOT of strangers who are definitely marveling at the moon at the same time I am. I also think about the day moons that come out sometimes, and maybe when I am looking at the moon during the sunset- one of you might be looking at it at the same time! It’s a fun thought, ESPECIALLY when I have my toes in the Atlantic, because it’s the same body of water as home- we are much closer to each other than we think, and I really hold onto the connections that I make in my head through nature. Do you think I could swim to USA from here if I ever had to? I like to think that I might be able to. It was an incredible moment, and I constantly have to remind myself that I am LIVING here. It is just crazy, and I am very, very lucky. I can’t wait till it gets a liiiittle warmer out, so I can go swimming. I’ve decided that I am going to take a surf lesson- hopefully I get a teacher as attractive as our guy in Montauk (Ill take a pic for u Peggy).
There were also delicious home-made chips on the beach-- they made them right there!!! We got to try some for free!! So yum, and I will def go back to buy an entire bag sometime soon.
We walked home from the Oudaya and we were a little early for tea, but it was okay. We were greeted with bisoux and sat in my room. A "grand tour" is unnecessary, but Lisa was very enthusiastic, and was loving it. My family is so great I really am obsessed with them- especially after this encounter. There was also a random child in the house when we got back- I have never seen her before but she was incredibly cute. "Noor" is her name, which is weird. We had amazing cookies and tea and then were just sitting around- not knowing when to leave (I was going to have dinner with Kristen and Lisa later) when Fatima came out with a huge tagine & bottle of coke! They served us dinner, AND dessert- it was amazing. Totally nuts, but everyone was very happy and laughing a lot. There was one story that was REALLY funny, but it was kind of like you had to be there. Basically this guy that we know (a friend of my brother) "Faisil" works at this shop called the sandwich king.. I might have mentioned him before. He told me that his mom worked at the CCCL once, and I thought I had figured out who his mom was, so I was like VERY nice to her every time I saw her. IDK how this came up, but my "mom" was like LOLing on the floor when i said that his mom worked at (cleaned the) CCCL. She was like "SHE IS VERY RICH!!!! Her husband died and left her alotttt of moneeeyyyyy!!" haha whoops! okay anyway. Other things- I found out that my "mom" volunteers every monday to help the poor in Rabat. She really likes doing it, and I can tell because her face lights up. She also said something about moving to their other house when Imane is done with school because its bigger and nicer. They are staying so she can finish her studies…. She also said something about how I am away every weekend, but she wants to take me to their other house one weekend, so that is definitely going to happen! I can't wait. What else? Sara ate dinner with us too, and she always complains about how bad the Moroccan food is, or at least how she doesn't like it- she LOVED my mom's cooking. She was like "my mom doesn't cook like THIS" hahaha it was so funny, ESPECIALLY because every time she says "ughh i'm so over couscous friday" or like wants to go out to eat- I don't agree with her, and we realized why last night. My "mom" said that Sara can live with us if she wanted, which would be awesome, but I don't want to share my family with anyone else. My "mom" also fed us "moroccan paninis"- a joke that she thought was very funny, which made it funnier… they consisted of an almond stuck inside a date in the place of the pit. We had oranges and apples for dessert, and my "mom" showed us how to peel it in one peel. She did it very quickly and was like "I WON". It's the most animated I have seen her, and I like it. I can't wait for my REAL MOM and my Moroccan mom to meet :)
All-in-all, another great day in Maroc!!!
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