week of march 19-22

It was really lame to come back to classes. Monday and Tuesday I only had arabic, so my afternoons were free. I had no idea what to do with myself, but on Monday we found an AMAZING ice cream place that I have been back to twice since. On Tuesday I was going to go on a run (I obv didn't) but Sara, Alexa and I DID walk across the bridge (seen in this posts' pic) to Salé. I'd say it was about 2 miles one way, which was a nice workout without being an actual workout. Salé is not as nice or big as Rabat, and is definitely a cheaper place where Moroccans live & probably commute to Rabat from. We walked around a little and then got an incredibly cheap coffee. Then we walked home. I went back to the CCCL and streamed some Desperate Housewives to watch at home. Went home, did Arabic HW & watched tv… We had chicken necks for dinner, and I tried to steeeeeer clear (there were a few wings…), but I was caught. Fatima went into the kitchen and brought me my own plate of peas and lamb and potatoes (a meal that I think was partly for the dad because he was not at dinner tonight) I was grateful & satiated. Good day.

Wednesday was full of class, AND MIDDLE EASTERN MOTHER'S DAY!! Happy belated to everyone… I was able to sneak in a trip to the ice cream shop despite class all day. We are in our Politics module, which was very informative and interesting (for once). At the end of class (SIX PM) some of us went to a bakery and got our Moroccan moms pastries for the holiday. Apparently it is not really celebrated in Morocco, but my "mom" understood the concept & thanked me. When I got home my "mom" and Imane went to a neighbor's house for a little, and I went with Fatima to run some errands. It was good quality time with Fatima, and the language barrier wasn't that bad. We understood what we were trying to say to each other even though we weren't speaking the same language (she doesn't really understand fusHa). She laughed/reacted in some fashion every time a man said something to me while I was walking- I am not sure if she has ever witnessed that- something that I have to deal with every single day. We went to an old woman's house and exchanged zait zaitoon for some celery and watched mooselselat turkeya (Turkish Soap Operas) for a little. Then we stopped at a shop for some pasta type thing, then home for dinner. It was nice to bond with Fatima- I think we have an unspoken connection, but sometimes I feel that she resents me because she has to do everything, but Wednesday night reaffirmed our good relationship.

Thursday was fine again. Normal class, and then a conversation with Moroccan "youth" (master's students…) it got a little heated at some parts, and they displayed a little bitterness towards America which was a little unwarranted- overall I think it was pretty informative for both parties. After clas we went to an AMAZING café and got a real salad and a banana and choc crêpe (I split it with Sydney). We had another paper that I wrote quickly, and then I skyped with the Copenhooligans. I felt like they were in the café with me (I wish.) I miss them very much, but it was a happy skype- not sad. It was cut short though because my friends were leaving and I didn't want to walk home alone. When I got home (~9:30) nobody was home- cuuuurious. Fatima told me that something and all I could get out of it was "America" and "two days". I weirdly thought that they were going to America for two days... like?? Come on Claire. They came back shortly after and had two American girls with them! Very nice from Wesleyan Illinois- studying in Barcelona (It's a SIGN Ali & Keeks....). They were incredibly nice and sweet. Kinda weird because they weren't like over the top thankful to my fam, nor did they make ANY attempt to learn the words that I tried to teach them "shuk'ran" thank you, "salam" hello, and "ca fie" I'm full.. Anyway they were nice and chatty and we had soda at dinner because of them, so I was happy. "Ivy" LOVED the leben stuff (buttermilky sour thick milk) because she said that her grandma used to feed it to her all the time as a snack with oyster crackers. Although we are all American, we come from different backgrounds and experiences, so it was especially interesting to compare our abroad experiences. I didn't have time to do my hw, so Imane helped me & then I went to bed.