Initially, I was planning to leave on Sunday around 11:45 to get to Marrakech by 4:05, but something came over me and I texted Rachid. I wanted to see if I would be able to get a taxi from Marrakech to Imlil at 4:00, and he said no, but I could sleep at Aniko's house and come back early the next morning. Great plan EXCEPT I forgot Aniko's key (the ONE thing that I forgot...), so I haddd to stay in Rabat for the day-- I was very happy.
Because I was supposed to be leaving, the family had already decided to go to Al Jadida for the rest of the weekend (Monday is a holiday~~ when King Sadis came to the throne). I told them not to change their plans because of me (Simo & Fatima would still be there, so I would have fun and be fed...). Sunday was a lazy Sunday. Unfortunately, because I thought I would be "traveling" I ate breakfast in the morning (rheif & REALLY HOT tea... I burnt my tongue reallllll bad) so I didn't totally fast- thats all i ate during the day though. We sat around a lot while everyone packed for Al Jadida. Imane and I snuck out to get friendship bracelets. Because she lost hers on the ride the night before, I told her that I would buy her another one and get one for myself too, and explained the concept of a friendship bracelet. We also got one for Fatima. Then we went back home and shortly after 3/5 of the Mansours left for Al Jadida. It was a sad good-bye, but really more of a "see you later" than before, which is weird. Imane said that I can watch TV with Simo now, and directed me to the couch... thank you Imane. We watched the soccer game~ GO MOROCCO. It was Morocco vs. Japan. Japan is good, and the ENTIRE Moroccan team is fasting, so Japan won at the end. I think it's good that the whole team is fasting- team camaraderie. Simo fell asleep during the game, but I stayed awake the whole time. After we went to the train station to make sure the times of the trains were the same every day, and then got more cake for iftaar.
Simo wanted to "jog" before eating, so he went out for like 10 minutes with a friend, and I watched more Olympics. Before we knew it- the muezzin was calling everyone to pray. We FEASTED again... lounged and continued to eat. Then we watched a movie on TV called "Awake" or something. Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard & Hayden Christensen... Simo said that he had already seen it, but I hadn't. It was in English with Arabic sub-titles. WHO KNEW that we had this type of TV in the house. I asked Simo if this was a new channel that came with the new TV, but he said no that his family just prefers deuxem-- the Moroccan channel. My semester would have been muuuuuch different had I known of this "movie channel"...
After the movie ended we went to La Grande Terrace (where I spent a lot of time writing my ISP in May). It was SO crowded... every single table was taken (there are well over 60 tables outside, and even more inside). We found ONE miraculously, but I could never even IMAGINE it getting this crowded. So cray. I got a DC and Simo got a coffee. We talked A LOT, and about serious things. The two words he did not know that came up in our conversation were "abortion & resurrection"- he kept on asking me to remind him of them throughout the night. He also doesn't believe in evolution and does not think that homosexuals should be able to get married because- "what if everyone marries the same sex? It's the end of society". We didn't ARGUE at any point, but we definitely had a lotttt of differences in beliefs (duh.). It is also interesting because he said that all of the points of conflict in America that we are dealing with today (abortion, gun control, same sex marriage etc) are not really issues in Morocco because it is a Muslim state, and most of these issues are just accepted because everyone shares the same faith. Imagine if EVERYONE in America shared the same religious beliefs-- I am sure a lot of these issues would not be issues anymore.
The TV at the café was showing images of Rabat and a lot of horses and decorated officers in the street. On our way to the café, we noticed a lot of people gathering around the street, but nothing was happening. Simo said that people do this sometimes, and that they're stupid and followers. Turns out he was WRONG and something really was going on. We scurried to Mo V. My Jack Rogers were REALLY killing me at this point, but I tried my best. There were marching bands performing in the street. They were military marching bands, so the Army went and then the Navy. It was SO fun! I was really happy. There were kids dancing in the street. The conductor (Simo did not understand his job) called one of the most dancey kids to dance WITH the band, but when he approached, a guard picked him up and returned him to his mother (his back was facing the conductor, so he didn't realize that he was allowed). It was so fun- everyone was happy and singing along. I only recognized one marching band song. The conductor took requests too and there was a TV camera there. I have been meaning to look up that footage... Then we went home and had a VERY spicy tagine-- it hurt my tongue because of the burn from the morning, but it was still great. I like the dynamic between me, Simo & Fatima... much more laid back-- not that the Mansours aren't laid back... I just think Imane adds some tension sometimes... ha ha.
Sunday I woke up EARLY because I had to get back to Imlil for real. I took the 9:45 train. I woke Simo up to say goodbye, which was funny. I sat in a different place in the train, and it was MUCH more comfortable than before. There was AC and the seats were better. I had to ask someone if I was sitting in first class because it was so comfortable. She laughed and said no. I cried A LOT on the ride back... not sure why exactly, or why I have turned into a humongous baby here, but I was just sad to leave for good I guess (or at least with no return in the near future).
I had the seats to myself for a portion of the trip until 3 BIG woman, definitely from a village, took over my train car. They were LOUD. There was one VERY cute curly-haired child with them who was also cute, but incredibly loud as well. I really didn't mind because I had my iPod and was coming off a GREAT weekend, but the old me would have been pissed.. definitely. One of them was not fasting which I thought was interesting. The kid sat on my lap a little, and her mom would yell at her for doing nothing, but then they were best friends again five minutes later. The ladies gave me two seats (mine and the one across from me to put my feet up) but they completely took over the rest of the car. One was lying on the floor and the other two were lying on their two respective seats. It was crazy, but cool too... gettin cozy for the four hour train ride. One of them woke up at a station that I had never heard of and asked me to read the sign. It was in Arabic and French so I tried to pronounce the stop. She knew where we were right away, but was obviously illiterate. Very interesting...
The trip was not bat at all... I slept a little bit and then we were there! Kinda... Again, SO HOT in Marrakech. I went to McDonalds for no reason. I don't regret it, but it wasn't awesome. I got chicken nuggets and DC. I used one of my coupons from my semester abroad, and it was exactly the right price. There was a sign in the "restaurant" saying that only non-Muslims and children can eat inside during the day. I thought that was pretty crazy. There's a significant portion of Muslims who do not fast for legitimate reasons, so who was McDonalds to tell that they couldn't eat there because of there religion? I want to do more research on this...
Then I went to the taxi stand. It was ~1 pm, but I was the only one at the stand. I waited a lonnngggg time, and literally did not have cash to pay for the entire cab for myself (I had a little, but then I wouldn't have been able to EAT the next week, orrr get back to Marrakech the next weekend...) I started to freak out a liiiittle bit, but then three shining angles came and were going to a town in the same area as Imlil... The taxi driver said "you are lucky!!" I am...
Got back to Imlil easily and then didn't do anything for the rest of the day besides catch up on emails and social media because I didn't have it (and honestly didn't miss it!!!) all weekend...
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