Excursion Preparations

Another picture album!
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275314974/a=72121623_72121623/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish

Gender class yesterday was a serious disappointment yet again. The man just cannot fathom giving us new information on a really fascinating topic. I have serious concerns for the mid term. The man has the potential to throw us evil essay topics that would touch on a single name he mentioned once in an anecdote. As our grades are entirely dependent on the mid term, the final, and the "project" as they call it, I really would appreciate knowing what I need to be doing.

I helped Mother do my laundry yesterday. We put half of it in the machine and did half of it by hand. I don't understand why we don't hand wash clothes all the time! It takes a fraction of the time and cleans your clothes so much more thoroughly. The dirt actually comes out because you actually work to get it out instead of swishing the clothes around in a tub of water. Set in stains that were years old were gone after a few seconds of elbow grease. It was just incredible. Mother laughed as we pulled out a pair of pants from the machine that still had a ring of dirt on the hem. We hung it all up to dry, but as this was at 7pm last night, it's all probably still quite damp. It is important that it all gets dry because I leave tomorrow morning at 7.30am for our excursion! I'd hate to be "that girl" with her clothes laid out over all the extra seats on the bus so that they can dry.

Baking soda is a gift from God. Febreze does not exist here, and honestly I was surprised to find baking soda because people don't bake in their homes. Ovens just don't happen, nor do microwaves. But shoes and closets are made much better with just a sprinkle of baking soda. And it's so cheap! 75 centimes (9¢) and it will last longer than my time here.

Today is Friday the 13th. The superstition associated with this day is not known here, but I took care to get everything done yesterday to avoid doing it today. I faxed three pages to BU housing yesterday to the tune of 150dhm ($18.75). That made me depressed for the rest of the day. I went to the bank to cash another traveler's check and was hounded by men on the street just outside the door to exchange my money with them. Street money exchange is highly illegal, and I suspect that the men who offer it right outside the bank doors are plants. However, the man at the desk told me that he needed the receipt for the check to cash it. I told him that such was nonsense because I had read the conditions and it stated only my presence, my passport, and my signature. I told him that I had been there before and cashed it without the receipt and reminded him that the receipt and the checks are meant to remain separate. He refused to work with me. I went first thing this morning with the receipt in my bag, just in case. It was a different man, and, as it is supposed to go, he didn't ask for the receipt. The exchange rate for the dollar has gone up a wee bit while the British pound has come down, much to my brother Finn's dismay.

Strawberries are coming into season here. If I could send you all a single strawberry from here so that you may witness the glory, I would. I like to think that farmer's market produce in America is much better than store bought. Well, here, even the crummiest bunch of any produce beats anything American produced. I cannot explain it. Nor can I explain the insatiable appetite for sugar. I ask my family to go easy on the sugar in my coffee and tea, but still, it is hard for me to handle. I once even indicated to them how much I would like by mixing it myself. My brother-in-law shook his head, saying that the half spoonful that I had put in didn't even count as added sugar and attempted to put in two sugar cubes (equivalent to four American sugar cubes). Diabetes here is supposed to be a big problem, present in almost a third of the population, but I have yet to see anything diabetes-related in any sort of store.

COUSCOUS! Now that I am in a normal Moroccan home, I will be graced with couscous Fridays from here on out. Brother-in-law was describing it to me yesterday during lunch and saying that he would not allow me to chicken out and use a spoon to eat it. I told him that I have tried twice now to form couscous into the little balls as the Moroccans do but failed miserably. He said that he will teach me. I just hope that more ends up in my mouth than on the table.

I have no idea if I will ever have Internet during our excursion, so I apologize for the very likely hiatus in updates. I will keep a log of the goings-on each day and post them the minute that I return. مع سلامة!