hola amigos!

hey everyone! after that boring and abysmal last post, here is some fresh, new adventures for you all to peruse!
i´m in spain now, have been since monday. its an amazing country. madrid is a breath of fresh air and is so beautiful. its vibrancy, life, and splendor make me perfectly happy sitting and watching it all go by. the city is full of old architecture and parks, it is so easy for me to sit and read a book, without being bored! the museums are great, the prado especially has been fun to stroll through. i´ve gone twice now during their free hours to just look at my favorites. i´ve fallen in love (again) with goya. his exhibit there is amazing!
other than that, i have been spending a lot of time walking through the city, getting lost, finding myself again. europe has a great culture, one that i really enjoy. its been interesting, i´ve experienced culture shock upon returning to a city i´ve never been too, to a culture unlike my own. its not the shock of something new, in that i´ve never seen it before, but the shock of having things i haven´t had in morocco, like the ability to drink a cup of coffee while i walk. moroccans don´t believe in take out coffee. i hadn´t realized how much i enjoyed that in the US, and to have it again has been wonderful.
madrid, on the whole, is good for me. i´ve slept a lot, walked, spent time by myself, cooked, met new people, gone out with new people, listened to stories. its made me realize that i really do love travelling, meeting new people, and that i especially love europe. its a great, more liberal culture than even the US. i am really happy here.
but, rabat will be great to go back to. its not an amazing city as far as cities go, but it is a good home and i miss it. morocco is fantastic and rabat is as good a place as any to live in within it.
thats it for now. more to come, like pictures! yay pictures!

laziness, the answer to everything

hello world! i write to you from an amazing little moroccan cafe, one that has discovered the internet. its awesome, cause for 2 dollars a drink i can use their internet for as long as i like. sweet. be prepared for a nice long update, cause it has been a WHILE!
well, i switched families. that is probably the biggest news in my moroccan life. my old family, as much as i enjoyed them as people, were just really big downers. they had had too many students and so were not interested in me in any way, shape or form. they had a ridiculous curfew (10?!) and i was always left out of their lives. i would live in my room, not their house. i don't know if that makes sense, but its the best i can describe. so i decided to move out after the week long excursion. a week ago, i moved in with my new family, the el-Ouazzani family. they are amazing. literally. i have three older sisters (think 30s), two who are married and have kids, one who still lives at home. i also have a mom, who is elderly (think grandma) and a housekeeper who helps with the housework. my sister works all the time and my mom has been at 2 funerals so far, so people are rarely home, but i like it that way. they gave me a key, which lets me come and go as i want. they don't care when i'm home, as long as its before 11, because then the gate to the place i live will close up. now, 11 isn't much later than 10, but its nicer, as its more like everyone else's curfews.



note- the above was written a week ago. i´m posting it now. laziness, the answer to everything..

maghribi photos

so last week, we travelled as a group around morocco, visiting Marakesh, Zagora, the Sahara, N'Koab, Fes, Vouluboliss, Chefchaowan, Moulay Idriss, Meknes, and Wazan. Here are a selection of my best pictures, since, if i wrote everything, it would take hours for you to read.

recent maghribi excursions

Hey everyone. its been a while, i know. Since i last wrote, i had an issue with my family. I was really upset about how they didn't include me in their life. I felt like a border and not like a member of the family. I almost switched, until I realized that I was at a really bad point emotionally. I was pmsing, missing everyone, sick as a dog, and just generally homesick. This combined to make anything minor major. I figured this out after I talked to the homestay coordinator, Doha. Doha was really surprised that I was upset with the family, so she asked me to talk to them. I learned, in going to talk to them, that my sister, fatimazahra, the only one in the family who speaks english and the one I have been hanging out with, was sick all weekend. The rest of my family was going in and out, especially after my mother’s friends mother died, so it was a bad weekend for everyone. I decided to give it another week or so and see what happened. I am so glad I did that. After Casablanca yesterday, I came back and had a great time with the family. We had a huge dinner, laughed, and I just generally felt really comfortable with the family. That is how everything has been since. I’ve found that if I make any form of effort with them, they respond tenfold. My mother is amazing anyway. They came to my defense when I bought a cell phone and I realized it was probably stolen, as it didn’t come with a charger even. It was a bad call on my part, but my family was supportive and gave me a good place to go get a charger for cheap, so I didn’t get more ripped off. Today, my sisters and I dressed up in traditional clothes and took pictures.

To this weekend. We, the groupies, went to Casablanca. Its about an hour long train ride away down the coast. We left on the 3:30 train on Friday, got there at 4:30, and as we were getting of the train it began to pour. We all debated whether or not to take a cab, since the hotel was supposed to be really close, and we ended up waiting until the rain stopped and then walking. We got to the hotel and had to negotiate some hotel rooms, as apparently our reservation didn’t work out quite as we planned it (instead of 3 rooms, 4 ppl each, we ended up with 2 rooms for 3. Ahh, language barriers.), and we all ended up with rooms. After drying off, we decided to go out and walk around. Casablanca is huge. Its like, nyc to boston, only not quite the same sizewise, but it feels that way. Rabat is little in comparison. We ended up at the medina, which, unlike rabat’s medina, was built by the French, not the arabs. Very interesting bit of info. It even has a clocktower built into the mosque’s minoret, which is weird. We all split up into 3 groups, and my group decided we were going to find a drink. We walked around and, an hour later, ended up at a little restaurant that served beer for 20 dh each and jugs (literally, jugs) of wine for 30 or 60, depending on the size. That is an amazing price. We called up everyone else, and soon the whole group was there, pre-gamming. It was fun, we got cheese and bread too. Mmm delicious. We then walked back to the hotel, changed, and took a cab to Aein Diab, the clubbing, hip area of Casablanca that has all the good places. We ate at a really sweet restaurant that, although it was expensive, had a really good chicken ceaser salad. After dinner and a few more drinks, we walked around the street, trying to find a club. Its about 12 now, fyi. We found one place, but it had a 200dh cover, so we said screw that. We then found a place that was free for girls and only 100dh for guys, plus one free drink each. That was our club, especially considering we are 10 girls and 2 guys (2 ppl didn’t come, one girl was sick and one’s parents wouldn’t let her). We then stayed until 3:30, listening to really bad electronica music, dancing, and generally having a good time. Condisering there were 12 of us, only one got drunk, and only one hooked up with someone, so all in all a pretty good night. Haha. It was a lot of fun, the music was aweful and hard to dance too, but eventually we got into a suedo-groove and ended up having fun. At 3:30, we were all so tired, so we took a cab back and I ended up falling asleep by 5. Worked out well. We got up at 11:30, had checked out of the hotel by 12, and were on our way to breakfast. We found a little café that served eggs (awesome!) and we chowed down. After a brief dispute with the waiter about the check(some stuff was added that we didn’t order), we decided to go check out the medina in the day time. We walked through it and then decided to go look at Hassan II Mosque. Now, this thing is amazing. It’s the 3rd largest mosque in the world and can house st peters or nortre dame cathedral. it is gorgeous. Built to celebrate the previous king’s 60th, it is still being worked on in a few places. It cost over ½ billion and in the interior can house over 24000 worshippers, with room for 80000 in the courtyards. It has a minoret that is over 210m high and there were 6000 people working on it at all times. Its amazing. I took a shit ton of pictures, so you’ll be seeing them up on picasa soon, probably tomorrow(Monday). Unfortunately, we missed the times for the tours, so we couldn’t go in. we spent an hour though outside, chilling in the sun, sitting by the beach and taking pictures. We decided that we are definitely doing a day trip back to go to the mosque, because it is one of 3 in morocco that non-muslims can go into. Unfortunately, there aren’t any in rabat, so we’d have to go to Casablanca for it. I’ve watned to see the inside of a mosque for a while, so I really would like to go. Maybe in the next few weeks.
So that’s been my last few days. My group is really amazing. It surprises me that we get along so well. While admittedly there are small groups of good friends, its great how we can all still hang out together and it doesn’t matter who’s with who, we all get along. I can do one thing with some people, and then another with another group, and then go back and hang out with another group. We are the perfect size, as there are enough of us to have distinct personalities and yet still be cohesive. It’s a lot better than my china group, because while we got along while we were there, there were definitely cliques and they ended up leaving people out. I feel like no one gets left out here.
Well, sorry its been so long since i last updated. All the pictures will be up soon, i promise! the slow internet is a big downer, but I do with what I have. I miss everyone and can't wait to video chat with you all and to see whats going on in your lives. Please email me, I'd love to hear Boston/Vermont/Cali stories.
Love you all!
hilary

obama in the magreb

so fyi, obama's first international address will be within his first 100 days of presidency will be in morocco. most likely in the capital, so it will be in rabat. how awesome is that?!?!?!

ok so it's been a while, just about a week actually, since i last updated. i've moved in with my family, been to a hamam, eaten with my hands at almost every meal, battled through the souks and made a few purchases, and explored the dynamics of my family and the moroccan people. its been an enlightening few days and i am really enjoying myself. so, to recap.

on friday, i moved in with the ayads. they are so nice. i really like living with them. i don't think we have completely clicked yet, but we are getting close. we get along fine and they give me a lot of freedom, just as long as i check back in with them, they are fine with me doing what i want. its really nice. i have my own room in their house, which makes me feel bad because it is a very little apartment, only 4 rooms plus a kitchen and bathroom. there are now 6 of us in the house and since two of us have our own room, it makes everything else a bit awkward and tight. my room is one of the living rooms. in morocco, houses have living rooms with couches that line the walls. the back pillows are removable and so when you want to sleep, you move the back pillows and set up blankets and viola! a bed. every night i have to move pillows and set up my bed and every morning i fold my blankets and sheet and put them away, then put the couch pillows back up. all of my things are stored under the circular table in the room, so i am glad i did not pack a lot! when i am done, you can't tell anyone lives in the room! thats a good thing, because my family hosts guests in that living room, so if someone comes over they have tea in there. it is good that i do not intrude on their daily life too much.

my family is really sweet. my host mother and father are fus'ha (standard arabic) teachers, so i can use what i learn in class with them, rather than have to learn the dialect only. my older sister speaks english perfectly because she graduated with a degree in it. my other sister, who is 13, is learning it in school, so she likes to practice with me. in a few days i think i will cut them off with the english, so i can learn arabic and darija(the local dialect) rather than rely on english.

i went to the hamam yesterday, which is an experience. for a culture that values privacy, there was shockingly little. nakedness is not an issue there, although i have never felt so clean. i did enjoy it a lot and will go back, thats for sure!
for those of you who did not get the invite, all my pictures are up on my picassa album. the link to that is
http://picasaweb.google.com/hilary.wartinger/Morocco?authkey=Em-rqtYahYwfeat=directlink
and you can all check them out. great thing is it updates automatically, so once my day as a tourist is over and i take all my pictures, they will be available to check out.

on a side note, my ipod and cell phone were grabbed out of my bag while walking through the markets. last time i leave anything in a side pocket...

despite this, i am loving it here. miss you all!

family times

I meet them today. There are no words really to describe my emotions about meeting my family. The best I can come up with are nerves, excitement, apprehension, and glee. I know that it will be amazing, but I can't get over the initial fears I am feeling. What if they don't like me? Childish, I know, but still it has run through my mind.
Unfortunately, I won't have any time this weekend to update everyone. It won't be until Monday that I can have internet access. I think that is good, because I can spend time with the family and really get to know them, without running back to the comfort of blogging and the internet. When its just me and them, the dynamics will change and my opinions of the magreb will change as well.
So here's to my family, the Ayads, for everything they will teach me and everything I will teach them.

my family

i know! i know! i know who my family is!!!
my mother is Amina, my father is Boubker, my sisters are FatimaZahra and Zainab and my brother is Yassine. Our last name is Ayad (so easy!). I have a western toilet (not a squat pot, a traditional one) and we have hot water. This is going to be awesome!
inshahallah

اخلا وساخلا

ahlan wa'sahlan!
I made it to Rabat! Yay for me and for Air France! It is amazing here!!!!! Unlike anything I have ever experienced, seriously, awesome. Right now, as I type, I am sitting in the CCCL (Center for Cross Cultural Learning) in the Medina in Rabat. I'm not in class so I can spend my time doing whatever I feel like, as long as I make it to class. So, I feel like updating you all back in the USA. Interestingly enough, the few english words I've heard on the streets are Barak Obama, Madonna, and "hey baby, hey baby!". The men here are not often inventive in their english heckles.
So, what has happened since I left the US Sunday?
Got to the airport, met up with the group at the gate, as people trickled in. Found out that Sean, the only person I actually knew from the group, wasn't coming due to a bout of pneumonia, so I had to make friends. I love the group however, so no worries there. They are all really amazing people and I know that we will get along great. Our flight left at 5:30 to France, it was long, but I did get some sleep in, which was good. Upon landing we had 6 hours of chilling in the airport in Paris, which led to some illegal poker on the floor and $20 samiches. After a 3 hour flight, we landed in Rabat. Wow, is North Africa gorgeous. Flying over it was wonderful, it was so green and different from what I expected. There were fields everywhere, with cows and sheep grazing amongst small shanties and crops. The Rabat airport is tiny, as you can see from the picture.
We met Fadua, our group coordinator and our go-to gal after we went through immigration and customs. We then piled onto a bus and headed to the hotel. Its right outside of the medina and is really a very nice place, with a cafe below that we have been eating breakfast at. After an hour or so to settle in and clean up, we met to come to the center. Its about a 20 minute walk from the center to the hotel, and it runs directly through the medina and the souk (markets). The souks are amazing! I don't have pictures yet, but imagine china town style shops, but better quality and way more awesome. I passed an entire eel being chopped up and weighed for people to purchase at their will. The medina alleys are gorgeous, narrow with high walls. After traversing the maze, we made it to the Center. It is amazing! Old, 17th century architecture, with a beautiful old courtyard (covered, although not all are) and two amazing terraces that look out all over the city, ocean, and river. Truly a fantastic view (again, pictures to come!).
We got acquainted with the center and the people who run it, then had a wonderful group dinner of couscous, lamb, and veggies upstairs in the cafeteria that they have. We then went to the hotel, and all of us passed out from exhaustion!
Tuesday we got up at 7:30, had a breakfast of croissants, fresh squeezed orange juice and my first glass of mint tea (a glass with fresh mint taking up 1/2 the glass and sugar!) downstairs in the cafe. At 8:30 we walked to the center again and had lectures on health, safety, and cultural differences all morning. At noon we had lunch (meatballs, rice, veggies) then we went on a two hour bus tour of the city. It was absolutely amazing! So wonderful and beautiful. The city has grown astronomically since ten years ago and the guide (founder of the center, fyi) even had to correct his story because of changes that had been made since he last drove by. Its really changing on a daily basis. After the bus tour, we had a surprise. We were given the center's number, 20 dirhams, the address of the center, and then were pushed out of the bus at various points and had to make it back alone! It was really the greatest experience, walking through the city by myself, trying to find landmarks and make it back to the medina. I actually ended up running into a girl from the group and she was so excited to see me I couldn't escape her. I wanted to do it by myself, but she was not about to let me leave. We ended up (we think) going the wrong way for a while, then ended up asking someone where the medina was, getting pointed in the right direction, finding the ocean and then following it to the medina and the center. We were second to last back. It was about a 2 hour adventure all together. I really think it was worthwhile, as I got to see the city, walk it, and to begin to understand how it is laid out and how people traverse it.
After the excursion through the city, we had dinner (chicken, veggies) and then went back to the hotel. We all decided that we wanted to explore more, so most of us met up and walked around for a little while. We didn't go into anywhere, but we saw some of the city at night and were able to explore it at our own leisure. Its a beautiful city, no matter what time of day it is.
Today, we have our first class in Dari'ja, the local dialect. I've noticed that the locals rarely understand what we are saying when we speak fus'ha, the standard arabic we have all been learning. It will be a breath of fresh air to understand what the locals are saying and have them understand us.
Well, sorry that was long. Though not as long as Anders tends to write, so I guess that is good! I am missing everyone a lot, but I am having so much fun here. We meet our host families on Friday and move in with them then. I am very nervous about that, but I am sure I’ll be able to communicate with them initially and definitely in the long run. There are only 2 people, myself included, in my Arabic class, so it will be very intense and personal. I’m going to learn so much and very quickly.
Love to all of you. Uh’hebukum!
Ma’ssalam
Hilary

t minus 24 hours

oy....

bags packed. passport in hand. leaving early tomorrow morning.

so excited, but also nervous. its going to be an interesting 24 hours emotionally.

phone works until the 14th, but don't call after 5:30 tomorrow EST, as I will be in Paris or on the way after that.