I’m alive. All is well. I don’t have the internet at my apartment yet. We should have it worked out some time next week. I’m blogging quickly from the center I’ll be working at before it closes for the day so please excuse any typos.
The plane. The plane
I got about 90 minutes of sleep during the seven-hour flight. The cute little boy and his mom seated next to me hadn’t quite learned about personal space and boundaries. He was very curious, and his mom had evidently conceded victory to him long before they arrived at the airport. I was not amused. The picture above was taken during one of his many attempts to unfasten my seat belt.
This is Anwar, the driver who picked me up from the airport. He drove me from Casablanca to El Jadida (about an hour). He spoke English, but not much so we spent a lot of time saying “Yes” and smiling when we didn’t understand one another. Somehow we ended up at a casino (Mazagan Beach and Resort). I’m not sure if I agreed to go there or not. He gave me a little tour of the grounds and then took me to the center. He was very nice. I’m sure I’ll have him take me to the airport when I leave. I spoke to his wife on the phone. She’s an English teacher.
Friday Couscous
When I arrived at the center it was dohr (the time of day when everything closes down from noon through 2:30). The staff stayed around to greet me. The ladies did the three kiss greeting thing, which included a kiss on each cheek and then one more kiss. The whole thing caught me off guard so I just made a mmmm sound and pushed my face against their faces until it was over. I’ll be prepared for the next kissy time.
Friday Couscous is a thing here. Siedah (green sweatshirt) made a very nice dish with veggies and sheep meat (that’s what they called it) on top to celebrate my arrival. I haven’t eaten beef or pork in twenty years so I ate the couscous from the bottom. This is a communal dish that is traditionally eaten without utensils, but since it was piping hot we had spoons.
The Hood
So apparently addresses are not really all that important here. I was told that if I catch a cab I should just tell the driver that I want to go to Mosque Nagd, which is down the street from me and walk the rest of the way. My landlord and her son live on the property, but they don’t speak English either so we just smile at each other, nod unknowingly and point.
Last night, I heard the call to prayer so I went outside to watch people going into the mosque. I noticed two things:
- The people kept staring at me like I was a unicorn. It was funny to be looked at as a foreigner and to feel that way. Ha.
- I was on the phone with my mom and I heard clicking sounds coming from behind me. A lot of it. I spun around to see a herd of about 50 sheep. I cracked up.
Tomorrow, I’m going to do some exploring with one of the teachers who lives near me. She’s been here since January. She’s from Long Island.
I’ll be in touch. 😉