Hello, Morocco...

My one day in Paris was so awesome! I didn’t arrive at my hotel until almost 1pm, but I was...

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 22:20:03 +0100

My one day in Paris was so awesome! I didn’t arrive at my hotel until almost 1pm, but I was...

Photo

Sun, 01 Jul 2012 21:40:32 +0100

Yay! Finally!

first hand finished!

Yesterday, I wore a tank-top!

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:55:07 +0100

We are going through a heat wave in Rabat, and yesterday it was SO hot! I decided to risk looking...

Catie, How are the bugs in Morocco, besides the man-sized cockroaches?

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:18:28 +0100

I haven’t really seen too many other bugs! There are TONS of bees near anything sweet. In the...

Chefchaouen! Chefchaouen is easily the most beautiful place I...

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:41:00 +0100

The Plaza

Inside the Kasbah

My surprised face...

My, quote, "Artistic photo"

The Chefchaouen Medina

a mosque up on the hill

Everything is blue and white!

Everything!

A blue mural, my skirt matches!

Chefchaouen!

Chefchaouen is easily the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It’s a city in the mountains of northern Morocco, and it’s known for its striking blue and white Medina and its marijuana fields. I didn’t get to see the marijuana, but I did see the Medina! It was amazing!

The north and south parts of Morocco were invaded by the Spanish, and the middle (where Rabat is) was invaded by the French. So in Chefchaouen, they speak Spanish! It was a relief from Arabic and French to be able to speak at least a little bit of Spanish! Our hotel was in the old Medina, which is where most of my pictures were taken.

There was a really cool tour guide in the museum inside the Kasbah (a castle built in 1471 as a way to fend off the Portuguese), and he politely forced me to interact with many of the exhibits. The photo of me sitting in the wedding ceremony box thing is one example. I have a shocked look on my face because after I sat in the box, he told me that it is a symbol that I will be getting married soon (similar to the woman who catches the bride’s bouquet at a wedding). The “artistic photo” was another one the tour guide forced me to take, grabbing my camera and telling me to put on my sunglasses and look at the top corner of that mirror. He was a hoot, lol!

It was a very long bus ride to and from Chefchaouen, but it was worth it! The city is so beautiful. It was a great weekend :)

Living in the desert didnt prepare you for that, huh? Feel your angst, sista!

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 10:55:16 +0100

Who is this?? lol. You are anonymous.

Worst night EVER.

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 12:10:06 +0100

Last night’s chain of events: 1. Got a severe sinus infection (headache, runny nose, cough,...

Sounds like you are having a fabulous time! Your skin looks really good, smooth... it must like the bathhouse! We can all learn from your experience! Glad you are having fun. Next week is the immigration conference, I am tasked with picking up and returning the guest speaker to the airport. Then the week after is my thesis defendse. When you get home (hopefully) it will be all done! Enjoy those last weeks, teaching them to say american slang!

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:24:05 +0100

Is this Tia?? LOL, you are anonymous. Thank you! Yes, the bathhouse is VERY cleansing. Good luck...

Exciting weekend in Rabat!

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:09:59 +0100

This weekend was really fun and interesting. I finally got to go hashing! For those of you that...

Just an update...

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:59:37 +0100

Today I am starting work with a new organization, and I will be teaching English to youth in Sale,...

Warning! Sad Post!

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:07:56 +0100

Warning! Sad Post! : Hi all, I just wanted to share some more information that I found on something...

Weekend in Fez!

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 10:59:55 +0100

This weekend a bunch of volunteers, interns, and students in Rabat took a train to Fez for the...

Shopping in the Medina

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:45:50 +0100

Had my first real shopping experience last night! My host Mom took me to the souk, where they have...

Missing home, but still have a long adventure ahead!

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 16:06:48 +0100

“Life is a blank canvas, and you need to throw all the paint on it you can.” -Danny Kaye “Let us...

FOOD! The food here is amazing. I haven’t tried one thing...

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:03:56 +0100

cous cous! as big as the table

fresh squeezed orange juice

salad fruite

tajine de poisson (fish tajine)

tajine de poulet (chicken tajine)

pastries!

FOOD!

The food here is amazing. I haven’t tried one thing I don’t like. They make awesome pastries, as you can see in the last picture. In the Medina, there are bees all over a lot of the really sweet pastries, which is kind of weird, but you can find them that don’t. The top picture is of cous cous, underneath all the veggies and stuff. It takes a while to prepare it, and my host Mother showed me how to do it! They make cous cous on Friday afternoons, not really sure what the significance is…

Tajines are a Moroccan dish named for the actual dish they are cooked in. It keeps the food inside really sizzling hot for a long time. They are soooo good! The chicken tajine below is my favorite meal so far. I could eat it every day!!! Also, they have fresh squeezed OJ stands on every corner.

Tonight I am cooking for my host family. I’m making fidelos and beans, lol! It’s one of the only things I can find all the ingredients for in the market! I hope they like it, wish me luck!

Association Democratique des Femmes du Maroc

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:48:30 +0100

The place I work is called Association Democratique des Femmes du Maroc (Democratic Association for...

The Hammam (bath house)

Thu, 31 May 2012 10:39:49 +0100

*WARNING* I am not sugar coating this experience! The hammam is a bath house that most Moroccans...

The Medina So I live in the “old town” of Rabat,...

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:31:00 +0100

The old Medina

another view of the Medina towards Sale`

view towards the ocean

The Medina

So I live in the “old town” of Rabat, which is called the Medina. There are a lot of families that still live here and maintain a very traditional lifestyle, and this is where all of the shops are that sell Moroccan crafts and stuff. Medina means “city,” but the old Medina here is just one neighborhood of Rabat, since the city grew around the original walls. I took these pictures from the terrace of the CCCL (Center for Cross Cultural Learning) which is in the heart of the Medina. You can see how old the houses are, and how big the whole city is now.

In the first two pictures you can see tall towers in the distance, which are both mosques. The bigger picture has the ocean in it, and you can see an old cemetery through the palm trees. It was so cool to be up there and to see the city from that point of view!

Also, they have a street called Mohammed V Avenue (the first king after French rule) that runs from the middle of the old Medina all the way through the newer part of the city. The post office, Bank of Morocco, and Parliament are all on this street. There are also a bunch of “fancy” stores on Mohammed V Avenue, just like Fifth Avenue in NYC. lol :)

Host Family info!

Tue, 29 May 2012 15:08:00 +0100

I finally met my host family yesterday, they are SO nice. I really love them. I got switched to a...

Today I went to the ancient city Chellah, which was built by the...

Sun, 27 May 2012 20:00:00 +0100

the ruins at Chellah

the blue is supposed to deter mosquitos!

stork nests look like Dr. Seuss trees!

Chellah was used as a necropolis

It's now a garden and tourist site

Also, there are cats everywhere!

These flowers were gigantic!

Today I went to the ancient city Chellah, which was built by the Romans around 40 AD. It was abandoned, and then later turned into a necropolis by the Almohads (Arabs). There were still some remnants of the Romans, like a stone carved in Latin, and the bottom half of a Roman statue.

There is not one picture I took that captures how beautiful it was! The ruins are still very well intact, and there are storks nests on every flat surface. Some of the trees reminded me of Dr. Seuss, lol. Obviously, the white building with blue door was built later by Arabs, but it is also in the gardens of Chellah so I took a picture. The headstones made me realize that for every beautiful thing I see, there is sadness that brings be back to reality. I loved Chellah so much, it was peaceful there. I will definitely go back if I get the chance over the next few weeks.