May 25/26

Friday, May 25: DEPARTURE DAY (and Saturday because we got into Jordan at 4:45 pm-- >11 hr flight)

            Friday was a really great day.  I spent it with very important people before my flight took off at 10 pm.  Nicki, Peggy, Rachel & Rebecca came over for Ess-a-Bagel and some well-awaited scones.  I got ready for my flight in their company and then I had a hair cut appointment.  After the haircut- Mary & Ellen came over and visited.  They were nice enough to drive me to the airport.  On the way I got a chicken ceaser salad wrap with French fries- necessary.  We were told to be at the airport at 7:30--- THREE HOURS EARLY.  I thought that was crazy and insisted that I would NOT be there at that time.  I ended up getting there at 6:30 because we were nervous of Memorial Day traffic… funny.  Anyway- I said goodbye to Ellen Mary and Mom and then met my friends (Nicole and Eric) in the airport.  Everyone else was already there.  We checked in, and the same old questions started up again: “Why are you studying Arabic? Why Jordan?” etc.  It was refreshing to be with Nicole for those questions because she was very excited and happy to answer them for the both of us while I kept quiet. 

            We got burgers at a place in the airport and then waited at the gate.  I spoke Moroccan Arabic with a Jordanian waiting to board the same flight as us, and I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that he could understand me.  The flight was totally seamless- you could call it a blur- I slept the entire way.  Literally all 11+ hours.  It was great.  I could NOT find my peanut butter m&ms which was the only bad part about it (update- found the m and ms… theyre now in the fridge).  It became Saturday, May 26^th on our flight, which was weird. 

            I woke up for good when there was about an hour left until we landed.  Looking out to Jordan beneath us was very different than Morocco.  It was ALL desert.   We got off the plane, got our bags (everyone was pretty groggy/out of it).  Waited a long time for the man who was driving us to Yarmouk University to pick us up—turns out he was waiting upstairs the entire time…. We took a busride (don’t know how long… we all passed out again) to the University.  It was dark when we got to our APARTMENTS-- kitchen & living room--(not YU dorms because Waed was very unimpressed with them…).  We dropped ALL of our luggage in our apartment on the top floor and settled in a little bit.  Waed and Mohamed went to their hotel (they will eventually stay in our building too, but it is so new that their space is not ready yet) and said they would come back in a half hour to pick us up for dinner.

            We all were bouncing around each others’ rooms when all of a sudden the lights went out! Thankfully we were all sitting on couches.  Blackouts are such a weird sensation.  We didn’t know what to do.  We just kept on sitting but then someone noticed that the balcony was illuminated from the street outside, so we went there.  All 10 of us eventually got to the balcony.  Molly noticed that she had service on her phone (she was using the REAL flashlight app on her iPhone) so we mass-texted our parents… not sure if you got it mom??  Being on the balcony with everyone was great, and I started to appreciate how awesome this trip is really going to be.  The lights eventually came back on and conveniently Waed and Muhammad missed the blackout.  They definitely took more than 30 minutes, but maa FEE mushkil (Jordanian dialect).  We then went out for shawrma.  It was great.  We got the “Super Arab Meal Deal” or something.  It came with French fries and a LOT of shawarma sandwich.  Sooooo yum, AND we had leftovers (I failed the CPC tonight) to bring to our apartment refridge.  After dinner, we came home and slept.  I slept totally through the night (after the entire plane ride), but my friends did not.  The boys woke up VERY early and explored/watched the sunrise on our awesome roof (we just need to get some tables & chairs)…. Maybe one morning I will.  

JORDAN!!

           

          After a truly great (almost) two weeks back home... I have arrived in Irbid, Jordan.  I am loving it so far.  It is very different than my Morocco experience in a number of ways- the most significant being that I am with 9 people who I know very well and like a lot, so it is really fun & comfortable.  I am going to be learning a LOT of Arabic (~4 hours a day) AND there is no French anything here, so it is way easier to insist on speaking Arabic.  Also- Waed & Muhammad are AMAZING.  They are like our parents, and are with us a lot, so they are teaching us a lot of cultural things while we "hang out".  

           We do not have wifi in our rooms yet, so I am limited to cafés until next week.  I don't mind though.  I am not really missing the internet here, which was not the case in Morocco (if you remember my endless trips to Inui...lol).  

            I foresee less blog posts this summer than last semester.  I haven't been very motivated to write long posts because I have been hanging out with the group, but I will try to keep it up as much as possible!!!  

Also- I should have posted this a long time ago, but this is our program schedule...! A lot of trips, and a double wedding !!!!!

Connecticut College-Yarmouk University Summer Arabic Program 

2012 Summer Calendar 

Classes at Yarmouk University are held Sunday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday are official Yarmouk University holidays (weekends). Students will be studying four hours daily, both Media Arabic and the Jordanian Dialect. 

Sunday, May 27

     8:30-10:00 am Irbid and Yarmouk Campus Orientation- ID cards 

     11:00-12:30 Written Test 

     12:00-1.00 Oral Interviews 

Monday, May 28 Classes begin 

First week of classes Dinner, Univ. Street 

June 1 Trip to Ajlun, Jerash, Um Qays 

Jun 8 & 9 Jordanian Ta’lileh and Wedding Party-al-Sarih-Irbid 

Jun 14-15 2-day trip Petra, Aqaba, Wadi Rum 

Jun 22 Trip to the Dead Sea 

Jun 23 Shopping day- Irbid 

Jun 30 Trip to Amman 

July 05 Final Exam 

July 07 10:00 a.m. Graduation Ceremony 

July 08 Free day. Prepare for departure 

July 09 Depart to USA(Actually- Marrakech, Morocco) at 7 a.m 

9 May 2012

       I know I am so behind on posts, but today was definitely post-worthy.
          Actually- come to think of it... VERY long day and the majority was painfully boring.  We are in ISP presentation week, and for some reason they are just not holding my attention.  We were sitting in class from 8:30-6 today.  It was misz to say the least, BUT I don't want to dwell on that because the rest of the day rocked.
        I came back to the hotel and thought i was going to take a 30 min nap (being bored in a chair all day is EXHAUSTING) BUT it was already 6:30, which is when I wanted to leave for tea-time.  Sara's birthday is TOMORROW so she was going to get her hair didddd.  I went to tea. It was great, but it's so hot out & it was hotter in the house.  I gave Imane my shampoo and conditioner and I gave my host dad my Yankees hat.  He takes Sunday walks and always wears a Boston Red Sox hat (TERRIBLE).  I explained to him why this is unacceptable, and he laughed and told me that he likes abiad better than ahmar (white better than red), so I think we will prevail! Tea was good- I brought some cookies.  Imane then said that our "mom" invited me over for dinner, which was in like 2 hours.  I didn't REALLY want to stay for two hours, so I was very happy when Sara asked me if I wanted to get a mani/pedi with her at the place that she was getting her hair cut... I literally RAN there.
    The place was called "Salon Karim" and Fadoua suggested it.  It was great.  Huge & modern.  It was that weird burnt scent and smokey atmosphere that Ali always comments on when she comes into my room when I am blow drying my hair.  I loved it.  The manicure was sub-par, but I was a total clam.  There were a lot of trendy Moroccan women.  Very pretty & trendy Moroccan women... After our manicures we went to our favorite dinner place and Sara got a caesar salad that I was envious of.  It was a quick din bc I had to go back to the Mansours.
        I got there perfectly on time, but dinner wasn't ready yet... I sat and watched TV on their new HUGE WIDESCREAN TV.  It is really great, and I am happy that they got it.  I kept on saying "zweena! zweena!" "Pretty! Beautiful!" but they were not that impressed.  OMG I have to say this funny thing. IDK if it happened at tea or dinner, but Imane mentioned the pix of my mom and her that I put on FB.  (THIS, if u forgot).  She said that all of her friends thought it was her grandmother!!! I was like SHOCKED but laughing kind of.  She realized how that thought came out, and clarified.  She said that they couldnt really see her, and they all knew that it couldnt have been her mom because they know her mom.  She also mentioned the presence of "blonde" Moroccans... Basically- they confused my mom for a blonde Moroccan grandmother.  I was DYING... Funny, but kind of terrible.
    Anyway, I thought dinner was going to be "the final goodbye", but when I said that I had to leave- everyone was kinda like "k bye.".  I was confused, but then they said "see you for tea on Friday"... Soooo it wasn't the last goodbye.  Simo walked me home.  We had a nice little talk and then I came to the lobby to write this.  It doesn't seem like a particularly good day when it is written out, but believe me- it was.
It's midnight here, soooooo~~~~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!! ~~~~~~~~~

20 April 2012

        We woke up in the hotel and had another great breakfast.  We had a while till our bus, so we hung out by the pool a little and then packed up.  Got to the bus and took the 3 hour ride.  It wasn't bad.  My "friend" hateem (sp?) met us at the bus station and walked us to our room/apartment that he arranged for us. It was bad. I think that he thought that we wanted to save money or something. It was definitely notttt an ideal apartment/situation, and I felt bad.  Mom was totally a-okay with it, so that made me feel better, but I should have just booked a hotel.  Anyway. There were no Supratour busses left for the next day, so we had to make other arrangements... We got other tickets that were much cheaper and were supposed to take us directly to Casablanca (our next, and last stop). 

     After buying the tickets, we wandered around for a bit and then took a walk on THE BEACH.  We found a café that was totally looking out to the beach and served BEER.  Really great happy hour.  We stayed for a while and then started to walk back. The sun was setting, which was very very PRETTY.  We went to a restaurant called Taros (I think that's what it's called) for dinner.  Everyone was very nice and the food was amazing. I got linguini and clam sauce and mom got a chicken pasta dish that I might have liked more than she did. After dinner we moseyed back to our apartment thing and read and slept.  I don't think mom slept much, but I did... 

May 2nd 2:35 pm

        I will finish posting about my mom's trip soon (eventually....) BUT I just HAD to blog about this AS IT HAPPENED.  I am DONE with my ISP.  I worked very hard for the past week and a half (since my mom left last Sunday) and I am finished!!!! I already turned it in and printed out all 50 pages.  Even though it's not technically due until Saturday (definitely a first for me...). I am meeting Nicki & Claire Clayton tomorrow.  I am VERY happy, and of course even more happy that I do not have this ISP hanging over my head.  SMOOTH SAILING from here on out, which is why I attached a pic of a Moroccan sailboat from Tangier.

Thursday April 19

        I woke up early bc the robe that I insisted on sleeping in got a little hot... We went to the buffet and I went to town (obv) the omelet bar was fab, and I liked the shredded potatoes also. Decent coffee and they had these little tablets that my mom said was Splenda before there was Splenda. She also said that they were banned in the United States, so I was a little wary to put them in my coffee (i did anyway) After breakfast we went to buy our bus tix to Essaouaria... The "connection" was down (only in Maroc) so we couldn't get them... They said to come back later, but it's not in a very convenient location. 

          Anyway we went to the MEDINA from the bus station.  The Marrakech medina is not the best. It's definitely catered to tourists and I think there were definitely more foreigners than Moroccans there.  It was definitely more touristy than when we came in Feb, but it was still good to show mom. We saw the mosque (the main pic).  We bought some things (I only shopped at the souks where they appreciated that "Ana magrebia" (I am Moroccan).)  I got a GREAT deal for a scarf for mom because I told the guy that I was his sister.  We got some tea and cookies at a terrace cafe, but I could tell that mom knew I was itching for shemps (sun) and the pooooool. We came back to the hotel and were stopped by the concierge. He called the bus company and reserved tix, but still suggested that we pick them up tonight... He also knew that I spoke Arabic. We exchanged e-mails because he asked if I could help him write some emails in English over the summer. I agreed. We didn't discuss the terms of this agreement, but I would definitely be happily paid in pool-time hours.... We will see. 

        POOL TIME went very quickly.  No Pina Coladas, but we got expensive beer in little soccer ball glasses.  We realized that it somehow became 5:30.  Aniko invited my mom and me back over to her house for tea, so we went back to the room to shower etc. I was going to go to the gym, but I obviously didn't.  It got too late, or something... We showered and then went to Anikos with a quick pit stop at the bus station to get our tickets.  

    Aniko was her usual self and did not care that we were late to tea.  There wasn't really a set time, but tea time usually is over before 7 pm- which is when we arrived. I think mom was reassured of my summer plans by speaking with Aniko. I am very excited, and I think mom can be too now.  After tea we asked for a good dinner recommendation. She said la grande poste (or something). We were able to find it ourselves.  The restaurant was awesome. It was very similar to French Roast, and had a varied menu.  I ordered wok chicken and mom ordered steak skewers. The bread was delish and so was the meal.  We were sitting next to another mother/daughter pair from Chicago. Daughter was a total brat studying in London. We small chatted a little, but I was uninterested. We got choc molten cake for dessert. Good till the last bite.  I could totally see myself hanging out there this summer. It's walking distance from Aniko's and it is très chic (comme MOI!). There also were not a lot of Moroccans, which is not always good, but sometimes is.  The cab driver tried to charge us 40 dirhams to get home (it is probably not even a 10 dirham ride....) but we settled on 20. I was kind of surprised that the restaurant was supporting this, but it's ok because I am Moroccan and I know better.  Back to the hotel to sleeeeeep. 

Wednesday Marrakech

We woke up and ate breakfast at the riad.  Good thing we were early bc the riad apparently did not accept credit cards. I had to RUN around the medina looking for a bank. The first one was broken or just being weird so I ran to a different one.  Literally ran. In my fleece and a scarf- I am lucky to be alive.  I got the money and we paid. We got to the station in time to get some snacks and meet a british guy who has been renting a vacation apartment in Meknes for a long time.  We spoke about real estate and shot the u-kno-what till the train came. 

                  Our first class train car was unfortunately crowded.  We had to kick a Berber grandma out of one of our seats (she was laying down & was unhappy to move).  We had two middle seats, but it was actually fine bc nobody spoke to me. I sat in peace and did some ISP reading & ate the delicious snacks that I picked for us. It was a LONG train ride... Not a lot to say about it though. The bathrooms were surprisingly a-okay (probably the same level as Amtrak-without TP...) and that's it.

We took a petit taxi to the hotel.  

        The riads were nice and of COURSE mom had to stay in at least one, but the Meriden Casablanca was UNREAL.  So beautiful and comfortable. It smelled great and all of the people were friendly and helpful. It was happy hour and all I wanted to do was sit poolside, but I told Aniko (my boss for the summer) that I would meet her for tea. We settled and I reluctantly left my mom at the hotel to go to Aniko's. 

      Long story short. Aniko's was great. After the meeting I became SO excited for my summer with EFA.  I am going to be totally safe & have an assistant that knows everything and will be very helpful. They are gathering ~15 families that I will speak with in order to evaluate the Moroccan school system (for my senior project) and then EFAs impact (for EFA).  The first week I will be participating with a lot of the volunteers and girls in a mountain clean-up, so I can become orientated before starting real work.  Aniko said that I will have a key to her house in Marrakech to use at my disposal (as she said- "when (I) need to escape the mountains and go to a pool or something.”). Sounds GOOOOOOOD to me.   I ran back to the hotel to find a clean mother sitting in the hotel bathrobe. I was jealous. We explored around the hotel a little. It really was beautiful.  So many fragrant flowers and plants , and a lot of nice art too.  We came back to our room and I took a nice shower.
            We decided to eat in the hotel tonight.  We chose the Italian place over the Moroccan restaurant.  Mom got ravaoli and I got eggplant parm.  Both dishes were really really delicious.  We walked around the hotel a little more after dinner and then went in for the night.  

NB- Currently as I post this, I am at an internet café procrastinating my ISP paper, which I want to finish TODAY, and wishing I was back at Le Meriden Marrakech-  See u in ~11 days!!