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