Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Correction
Okay, according to my mom the numer should be 011 212 75624762 for my cell phone here. There is a six hour time difference so maybe calling no later than 5 or 6 pm there would be ideal.
continuation
okay, same post but i might get kicked out of my internet cafe so i wanted to get at least that much posted. anyway, yesterday afternoon i had off so i was very productive and studied my gre words...baccanalian , anyone3 ablution3 okay yeah i dont care either. then i read about 50 pages of my summer reading, which was actually really interesting because it was a theory on why colonization in the Us resulted in prosperity whereas in lqtin america it resulted in poverty...and then i studied about 10 words in arabic. thats actually really time consuming because you have to learn the meaning, the pronunciation, and the writing. i miss spanish. but i have discovered my french is not as bad as i thought, because only siham and the other american speak english, so french is the language of choice. khalid asked me if i was french, and somone else asked me if i learned french or english first, so i started feeling really good right until i said je me suis desperte in a french slash spanish version of i woke up. yeah i know. ridiculous. anyway, i cant seem to open wlu email here, so if anyone has emailed me, you should either send it to my hotmail address, put it on facebook, on my blog, or call my cell phone here, 212 75624762. you might need to dial 00 first.
Ana Fee medina Rabat
Yea that is the extent of my amazing Arabic skills. I think the title says I am in the city of Rabat. That part should be in quotqtions but I cant figure out how to do quotes or apostrophes on this keyboard. The keys are also in different places...so if you see a Q out of place just mentally put an A there.
so now when I try to do a capital s it keeps rebooting...just dont mind the grammar until i get a better hang of this. Here is what I wrote on sunday after I arrived at about minight the night before...
well, touristing came to an abrupt end today when i got off the plane in casablanca and i wasnt sure what to say to the customs officer when i handed him my passport. hello, since im from the Us and english is kind of universal for traveling3 fyi three is going to mean question mark for now or hola, since i had just come from spain3 or bonsoir, since they speak a lot of french here3 or just say nothing3 i decided an attempt at arabic was out of the question.
saad, the projects abroad director, picked me up at the airport and we weeded our way through a mess of people waiting for other passengrs with signs in a variety of languages. i was immediately impressed by saads understanding of a travelers needs. he offered ne water; grabbed one of my packs and we headed to meet the driver.
it was too dark to see much on the ride from casablanca to rabat, so i just took advantage of the time to ask saad 1001 questions. what are the names of the host family3 how far a walk is the school3 is it safe to talk to people on the street3 are short sleeves ever okay3
i immediately felt like a helpless puppy dog once we met my host mom and brother and people started to jabber away in arabic. we followed them back from our meeting point to their house, a short series of twisting narrow alleys. i didnt even try to look like i knew what i was doing. the hiking pack made that kind of impossible.
so now i know where the bathroom is; how to work the shower, which cushions to use to block light into my windows, and how to say good night in arabic. all in all, not bad for my first day. with that ...laila saeeda.
okay back to the present. so my host family is like, completely amazing. they actually have two kids my age, sahim ..shes 25...and khalid..hes 24...plus two other international students my age..amandine from france...20...and laura from the Us ...20..so its perfect. the mom is ridiculously cool, and the whole family thinks that twe should eat nonstop...i have to asure them that i doooo like the food but it is not normal to consume 45671867 lbs of bread in one sitting. on sunday we had couscous with all these colorfum cooked vegetables..it wasnt the food that was funny though, it was the fact that it got tossed in one gigantic serving bowl and laid out on the coffe table. we all sat down on the kitchen benches and i was just about to ask hohw one goes about consuming it when the grandma just reached her hand straight into the middle, wiggled out a piece of meat, and flung it towrd my side of the bowl. i was too amused to be disgusted. then amandine said ...allez cest parti and everyone just started reaching in...hahaha. i can just imagine that in the dhall...one big bowl of frozen yogurt...grab a spoon and dig n, right3 after all, it gets less stuff dirty.
so yesterday i went to introduce myself to my english class and was ridiculously impressed by their english. i was expecting 10 year olds who could barely say thei names and instead i got 20 somethings who , in general, speak quite well. we set up a teaching schedule and they all seemed really eager to protect me and help me find my way...i think its a morrocan guy thing, because there is only yone girl in my class. they all offered to meet me at the taxi stop and walk me to the class so that i was not walking through a bad area by myself. im really excited about starting the class tomorrow, but i am not quite sure what i want to teach uyet...ill have to do that tonight.
so now when I try to do a capital s it keeps rebooting...just dont mind the grammar until i get a better hang of this. Here is what I wrote on sunday after I arrived at about minight the night before...
well, touristing came to an abrupt end today when i got off the plane in casablanca and i wasnt sure what to say to the customs officer when i handed him my passport. hello, since im from the Us and english is kind of universal for traveling3 fyi three is going to mean question mark for now or hola, since i had just come from spain3 or bonsoir, since they speak a lot of french here3 or just say nothing3 i decided an attempt at arabic was out of the question.
saad, the projects abroad director, picked me up at the airport and we weeded our way through a mess of people waiting for other passengrs with signs in a variety of languages. i was immediately impressed by saads understanding of a travelers needs. he offered ne water; grabbed one of my packs and we headed to meet the driver.
it was too dark to see much on the ride from casablanca to rabat, so i just took advantage of the time to ask saad 1001 questions. what are the names of the host family3 how far a walk is the school3 is it safe to talk to people on the street3 are short sleeves ever okay3
i immediately felt like a helpless puppy dog once we met my host mom and brother and people started to jabber away in arabic. we followed them back from our meeting point to their house, a short series of twisting narrow alleys. i didnt even try to look like i knew what i was doing. the hiking pack made that kind of impossible.
so now i know where the bathroom is; how to work the shower, which cushions to use to block light into my windows, and how to say good night in arabic. all in all, not bad for my first day. with that ...laila saeeda.
okay back to the present. so my host family is like, completely amazing. they actually have two kids my age, sahim ..shes 25...and khalid..hes 24...plus two other international students my age..amandine from france...20...and laura from the Us ...20..so its perfect. the mom is ridiculously cool, and the whole family thinks that twe should eat nonstop...i have to asure them that i doooo like the food but it is not normal to consume 45671867 lbs of bread in one sitting. on sunday we had couscous with all these colorfum cooked vegetables..it wasnt the food that was funny though, it was the fact that it got tossed in one gigantic serving bowl and laid out on the coffe table. we all sat down on the kitchen benches and i was just about to ask hohw one goes about consuming it when the grandma just reached her hand straight into the middle, wiggled out a piece of meat, and flung it towrd my side of the bowl. i was too amused to be disgusted. then amandine said ...allez cest parti and everyone just started reaching in...hahaha. i can just imagine that in the dhall...one big bowl of frozen yogurt...grab a spoon and dig n, right3 after all, it gets less stuff dirty.
so yesterday i went to introduce myself to my english class and was ridiculously impressed by their english. i was expecting 10 year olds who could barely say thei names and instead i got 20 somethings who , in general, speak quite well. we set up a teaching schedule and they all seemed really eager to protect me and help me find my way...i think its a morrocan guy thing, because there is only yone girl in my class. they all offered to meet me at the taxi stop and walk me to the class so that i was not walking through a bad area by myself. im really excited about starting the class tomorrow, but i am not quite sure what i want to teach uyet...ill have to do that tonight.
Friday, June 22, 2007
With Katie in Madrid
Okay, so I am officially in Madrid with the dear sister. We had a ridiculously fun night on Wednesday when I got in. After dropping off my stuff, we decided that the appropriate introduction to the city was a night out in Sol, so we met up with Carla from Australia, Ryann, Alex, and a girl from the Netherlands. Thanks to Ryan´s shameless flirting and marriage proposals to Argentinian bartenders, we all got about $40-50 worth of free drinks wandering around the streets of downtown Madrid. We were having so much fun that we decided we should not take the last metro at 1:30am, but rather wait for the metro to reopen at 6am. It was a great idea until about 4, when the salsa dancing, drinking, and walking were all starting to make bed sound like a great idea. Luckily, the Chocolateria de San Gines caters to the drunk, tired people waiting for the metro by offering chocolate con churros for 3.50 €. Delicious.
Yesterday, we touristed straight from about 1pm until 9 or so, and saw pretty much all the main landmarks. Palacio Real is probably the only one that is really famous in the US. I think there are actually more well known things in other Spanish cities. We did enjoy a bottle of Lemon Fanta, which I really dont think we have at home. In the Plaza de Santa Ana, we stopped to admire the Spanish Theatre and decided to go to the Bruja de Salem (Salem Witch Trials) show tonight. Today our attempted visit to the Spanish Armada display at the Naval Museum was thwarted by our failure to bring passports. Yes, it is ridiculous that you need a passport to get in. No, the security officer did not care that I have my number memorized.
In a very strange but extremely cool coincidence, we ran into Christina Leaton and Maggie Puryear eating lunch downtown. What are the odds?? We did not even realize that we were all in Madrid. So not only were we all here, we happened to be on the same street at the same time. W and L is everywhere, I guess. Okay, well, Katie and I are going to go do some more touristing, but I fly into Casablanca tomorrow so I will write from there.
Yesterday, we touristed straight from about 1pm until 9 or so, and saw pretty much all the main landmarks. Palacio Real is probably the only one that is really famous in the US. I think there are actually more well known things in other Spanish cities. We did enjoy a bottle of Lemon Fanta, which I really dont think we have at home. In the Plaza de Santa Ana, we stopped to admire the Spanish Theatre and decided to go to the Bruja de Salem (Salem Witch Trials) show tonight. Today our attempted visit to the Spanish Armada display at the Naval Museum was thwarted by our failure to bring passports. Yes, it is ridiculous that you need a passport to get in. No, the security officer did not care that I have my number memorized.
In a very strange but extremely cool coincidence, we ran into Christina Leaton and Maggie Puryear eating lunch downtown. What are the odds?? We did not even realize that we were all in Madrid. So not only were we all here, we happened to be on the same street at the same time. W and L is everywhere, I guess. Okay, well, Katie and I are going to go do some more touristing, but I fly into Casablanca tomorrow so I will write from there.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Okay, I'm back. So yeah, this has been pretty crazy. I saw all the touristy stuff in London, and I also got to hang out with the "locals" at my youth hostel...these people that live there full time. What's that? You th hostels are supposed to be for travellers? Au contraire... these guys had suits hanging from beds, towels drying, etc etc. It was pretty funny, except for the stench of unwashed socks wafting from beneath the beds. I actually lost a couple things under one of the beds (I think) but I decided my nose would rather that I just buy a new one...
So I think I have come to a scientific and unisputable conclusion about the best landmark in London. BIG BEN. The thing is, my cell phone was not working, so I never knew what time it was. I got to feeling a bit silly stopping people every half hour or so to find out the time. Big Ben solves this in a great way. It also has the added benefit of being a tall landmark, so I always knew where I was (more or less) when I saw it. That works pretty well with the London Eye, but the London Eye doesn't tell you the time. So...the ability to answer the questions of "Where am I?" and "What time is it?" all in one fell swoop (Get it...London? Shakespeare...?) makes Big Ben the best landmark in London.
Yeah, so I took a little excursion to Leed's Castle and then on to Canterbury on Monday, and then yesterday I visited Oxford. Oxford is so amazing, and it actually reminds me of Lexington in a weird way. It's such a historic, removed, amazing campus that feels so strangely different from the rest of the town. I climbed all the way of the chapl tower to see the whole city...let me tell you, that was a lot of steps. I counted them on the way down...126? Or was it 162? Iforget. But that was the best thing I did all day.
Today I have been packing and traveling. I can't wait to meet up with Katie, settle in, and SHOWER. Carrying two backpacks around England on a hot summer day is just gross!!
So I think I have come to a scientific and unisputable conclusion about the best landmark in London. BIG BEN. The thing is, my cell phone was not working, so I never knew what time it was. I got to feeling a bit silly stopping people every half hour or so to find out the time. Big Ben solves this in a great way. It also has the added benefit of being a tall landmark, so I always knew where I was (more or less) when I saw it. That works pretty well with the London Eye, but the London Eye doesn't tell you the time. So...the ability to answer the questions of "Where am I?" and "What time is it?" all in one fell swoop (Get it...London? Shakespeare...?) makes Big Ben the best landmark in London.
Yeah, so I took a little excursion to Leed's Castle and then on to Canterbury on Monday, and then yesterday I visited Oxford. Oxford is so amazing, and it actually reminds me of Lexington in a weird way. It's such a historic, removed, amazing campus that feels so strangely different from the rest of the town. I climbed all the way of the chapl tower to see the whole city...let me tell you, that was a lot of steps. I counted them on the way down...126? Or was it 162? Iforget. But that was the best thing I did all day.
Today I have been packing and traveling. I can't wait to meet up with Katie, settle in, and SHOWER. Carrying two backpacks around England on a hot summer day is just gross!!
London
Wow, I can't believe that I am already leaving London. The last few days have been a complete blur. I played super tourist on Saturday and Sunday, rushing around to see London Bridge, Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, and all the other stuff you have to see in London. My youth hostel has been a total adventure. I am really questioning the amount of bathing that goes on here...!
I am actually leaving for the airport to go to Madrid, so in the interests of not missing my flight, I will finish this entry later!!
I am actually leaving for the airport to go to Madrid, so in the interests of not missing my flight, I will finish this entry later!!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Crisis Averted
So, hypothetically, if you were going to think of the worst way to spend the day before leaving on a 3 month international trip...you would a) lose you Interational Student ID card b) lose your bank card, or c) both...?
Yeah, I'll take c) for $100 Alex. Actually $180, the total amount of money in my possession when I realized that I had lost the two most important documents I had with me, save my passport. I started doing the math...$65 for the taxi to the airport, $15-20/day for food, at least 15-20/day for a youth hostel....transportation...etc etc etc...not good. Luckily, I discovered that there are still some good samaritans left in the world when a lady picked up the cards I lost, called my bank and canceled them, and called my parents to leave her contact info so I could get my cards back. Apparently, the Honor System works in DC, too.
So the end result, thanks to my parents, one kind lady, and Western Union, is that I have all my cards back and enough money to get me to Morocco, where my parents can send me a new bank card that has not been deactivated. Yeah, I know...an impressive display of responsibility, care, and ingenuity. You'd think I'd have this stuff down by now.
Yeah, I'll take c) for $100 Alex. Actually $180, the total amount of money in my possession when I realized that I had lost the two most important documents I had with me, save my passport. I started doing the math...$65 for the taxi to the airport, $15-20/day for food, at least 15-20/day for a youth hostel....transportation...etc etc etc...not good. Luckily, I discovered that there are still some good samaritans left in the world when a lady picked up the cards I lost, called my bank and canceled them, and called my parents to leave her contact info so I could get my cards back. Apparently, the Honor System works in DC, too.
So the end result, thanks to my parents, one kind lady, and Western Union, is that I have all my cards back and enough money to get me to Morocco, where my parents can send me a new bank card that has not been deactivated. Yeah, I know...an impressive display of responsibility, care, and ingenuity. You'd think I'd have this stuff down by now.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
My technology skills= amazing!!
Yeah... I am not actually in Morocco yet. I am sitting in Kristen's apartment in DC, feeling extraordinarily proud of my successful blog. I mean, let's be honest. This has been a pretty amazing week for my catching up with "modern civilization", as my dear sister so kindly put it. First I got a facebook account and proceeded to waste about ten hours of my life stalking people. You know you have spent too much time on facebook when your email display is Campus Notices, Daily Spam Digest, and then 26 messages from facebook. I wish I was kidding.
Add that to the successful creation of a blog for my summer journal and you can understand why I am thinking about applying to teach Tech Literacy 201. For now, though, I'm just going to worry about graduating college. Luckily, I have the entire summer to ponder that. I don't really know if I am prepared or not. I have read about Morocco, studied my Lonely Planet, and packed what I'm hoping is appropriate. Projects Abroad advised me not to wear skirts above the knee, short sleeved shirts, or tight clothing. I studied my closet, sighed, and went shopping.
I am actually going to London on Friday for a few days, then Madrid, then Casablanca. It was cheaper to fly that route than directly, and there is the added bonus of extra passport stamps. Plus, the previously mentioned dear sister is in Madrid, so we will have a few days to terrorize Spain together. I'm hoping that she has already scoped out the best clubs, restaurants, and stores. I just swoop in and take advantage of all her "research". That's my job.
Add that to the successful creation of a blog for my summer journal and you can understand why I am thinking about applying to teach Tech Literacy 201. For now, though, I'm just going to worry about graduating college. Luckily, I have the entire summer to ponder that. I don't really know if I am prepared or not. I have read about Morocco, studied my Lonely Planet, and packed what I'm hoping is appropriate. Projects Abroad advised me not to wear skirts above the knee, short sleeved shirts, or tight clothing. I studied my closet, sighed, and went shopping.
I am actually going to London on Friday for a few days, then Madrid, then Casablanca. It was cheaper to fly that route than directly, and there is the added bonus of extra passport stamps. Plus, the previously mentioned dear sister is in Madrid, so we will have a few days to terrorize Spain together. I'm hoping that she has already scoped out the best clubs, restaurants, and stores. I just swoop in and take advantage of all her "research". That's my job.
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