Let Me Count the Ways...

Saturday 14 February:
Heart-shaped cookies accompanied us for the four hours to Marrakesh. We stopped at a café with a playground and our fifteen-minute intended break turned into almost forty-five minutes, and we were never on time thereafter. Upon arrival in Marrakesh and seeing the inescapable battering and aggressive salespeople, I decided that Marrakesh is to New York City as Rabat is to Arab, Alabama. We went to the musée de Maroc, fifteen minutes from the famous square. The old Quranic school dorms are so overwhelmingly gorgeous. The Moroccans have perfected the art of misleading, banal exterior of houses that lead to the most ornate décor imagineable. Just you waituntil I get pictures up. I spent most of the evening hanging out in the famous square, jamaa' al-fna( جماع الفنة), avoiding pickpocketing children with large, brown eyes, watching the storytellers (and not understanding a word), dancers, acrobats, gamblers, men with prize-winning games, snake charmers, men with monkeys on chains, and, of course, food carts. Take a string of food carts from a carnival, triple it in size, increase the food quality tenfold, double the price, and introduce really aggressive advertising. If you walk down the avenue of carts, you get hounded by men complimenting you in every language they know and grabbing your arm to drag you to their vendor's benches. It got pretty scary at times. Overall, I didn't actually like Marrakesh because it was too touristy, too expesive (for Morocco, that is), and didn't have a lot of culture to offer. Our hotel was pretty grand and exhausting to look at for all teh visual stimulation. We were in triples, but my own room had five beds, and thus lots of space. Our bathroom had a meter long hallway, and our terrace was about two square feet in size. Most of the group went out to a nightclub, and I am glad that I didn't. The cover charge was 250dhm ($37.50) and drinks started at 80dhm ($10). The buffet dinner at the hotel was insanely delicious, and room service was cheaper than actually going out and buying the stuff. Amanda G, Anna, and I split a red wine with cheese, bread, apricots, and dates to the tune of less than three bucks each. I'd say that we won the game of entertainment that evening.

Sunday 15 February:
We left on our trusty little bus and spent the next four hours in hell. We were driving to the desert, but to do so, we had to pass through the mountains. I have never been one to fall victim to car sickness but when every single other person on the bus is green in the face and moaning with each turn (i.e. every five seconds), it pretty much happens. We made several stops for sanity and health's sake, and the boys brought out their guitars each time. I think we went through the entire White Album before lunch. A few people were seriously ill but that all disappeared the moment we took the last turn and there was nothing but rocks and sand and straight roads for miles. Our hotel was in an oasis town called Zagora, one of the last stops before the Sahara (صحراء which is the word for desert in Arabic). The hotel that we stayed at looked like a resort with lush gardens, a large pool, and plush furniture and rugs everywhere. The weather is finally beautiful. That day in particular was fine, with no clouds and probably mid-sixties for the temperature. There was lots of breezes, so a sweater was justifiable. The garden was full of palm trees, date trees, one banana tree that had no fruit, roses, a sort of lily, and lots of monkey grass lining the walkways. There was a fountain with five turtles, but as the fifth turtle was hiding behind a rock, he was my secret friend. We ate dinner in tents while sitting on plush sofas. That night was the first of four nights in a row during which we ate chicken and potato tagine for dinner. A few people jumped in the pool and started screaming because it was quite cool (the thermometer read 12 degrees Celsius). None of the outlets in my room worked, so I had to bum outlets from other people to recharge my camera battery.

I'll just stick to two days at a time so that y'all don't get overwhelmed. Since returning to Rabat I have eaten a lovely lunch at Fast Pizza with a seafood pizza, fries, and a coke for only 40dhm ($5) and then ice cream at Venezia Ice, far more expensive but worth the price (15dhm a scoop). In culture class this morning I got a "good!" from the professor, and I almost fell out of my seat. My most amazing friend Melissa sent me a care package on 27 Jan, and it arrived today. It was like Christmas, and I must make a public thank you to her for having made my day. :)