So I left home and all the people I love on August 21st. Yes, I miss you all dearly. Hope you don't mind that I've included you in this. we started off landing in Rabat with a slightly confusing Taxi ride to our Hotel Majestic. We all decided that we needed showers after so much flying. What a surprise when you find out that you push a big button on the wall to get water for about 15 seconds before it shuts off again. Probably to preserve water I would think and actually thought it wouldn't be a bad idea at home. You can still have all the water you want but for when you are shampooing your hair you a) don't have to use up the hot water, b) aren't hurting the environment as much, and c) don't have to bend out of the way of the water. Just food for thought I guess. We had tagine for supper (usually pieces of meat in a thin puddle of sauce and veggies) which I have to say was delicious and my first chance with Moroccan food. Then was bed time. Do you know how difficult it is to sleep when right outside your window people are driving their cars and honking the whole night? Well when you are exhausted, not too difficult. At least until morning prayer which came blaring in around 4:30 or 5 am.

We also visited Casablanca while we were staying at this hotel and went to the third largest mosque in the world with the first tallest parapet. It was gorgeous. I found out the reason they have us take off our shoes is mostly just to keep the place clean. It is so big, there are so many chandeliers and titanium doors, and many other things to clean that they look for ways to keep it clean however they can.  On the way back we stopped at the house of a professor who teaches at WPI and visit Morocco during the summer. We had couscous and some yellow, football shaped melon that was absolutely delicious. I guess it is called Spanish melon and one of the girls bought one in the medinat here in Ifrane. Well then Tahar took us to the beach which was even more crowded than Hampton Beach from home is on a gorgeous day and when we got back I met my first preying mantis!

So I am going to skip over a few days because otherwise this blog will be very long. Essentially in Rabat we went inside the medinat there to explore and walked around Rabat and then we got in a bus and headed out to Ifrane on August 24th.

In Ifrane, it was a bit confusing from the start. We weren't sure what parts of freshman/exchange student orientation we were supposed to go to or when to register. We eventually figured it out. Khaleil and I had to take an Arabic placement test to see what classes we should register for. He, being from Lebanon, obviously did very well. I was placed in Beginning Arabic II. Which is good because my Arabic classes at home moved a little too fast for me so it will be good to review and learn the material more in depth. The other class I am registered for is Islamic Civilization. I love both of these classes. I am looking to sit in on an Islamic Art and Architecture class to help me with my project. My Arabic class actually ended up being more difficult than I expected because the professor doesn't speak very much English during it so we have to really pay attention to know what he is saying. I always come out of that class feeling like my brain has melted into a puddle because I have concentrated so much. It's okay. I'm learning. 

I've also been able to make some friends here. It's taken some time because for the first week all the WPI kids traveled in a pack and we began to be known as a cult. We are branching out finally and getting to know other people better. Everyone I have met here is so nice! I ended up talking to some of my friends for about an hour and half last night until I had to go home for bed. I'm also thinking of taking some belly dancing classes with some of these friends and some girls from WPI. I want to find the salsa dancing classes too because I miss ballroom from home. Micah might be joining me for that one. I haven't learned that much salsa at WPI because it is a social dance but I will be an expert when I get home. 

Ifrane I have to say, is not that interesting. Every lawn is manicured to perfection, all the houses look the same, and there aren't that many places to go and have fun here. 

The fountains near the Lion are beautiful though. Molly and I were taking pictures of them one day and when I finished and was waiting for her I sat down on some steps and started braiding my hair. Some girls came over to stand about two feet in front of where I was sitting to ooh and aww at it. Then some boys from the same group came over and began talking to me in a myriad of languages to find out where I was from. They seemed fascinated in me! I was going to offer to braid a girls hair or at least get a picture of the twelve or so children but then their teachers pulled them away. I was left sitting there laughing at the whole situation because I honestly didn't know how else to respond. Later, Keegan and I went to the Lion and got to see some people dressed up for a wedding and the fountains glowing. Also, if you are wondering about the little dog in the picture up there, his name is Patrick and he is a stray we met one day. So adorable.

I promise, I'm almost done catching you up.

This past weekend we visited the Fez medinat. It was a tour around to the different artisans in the medinat so that we could ask them questions and see the type of shops they worked in. We visited a leather shop and looked out to see dozens of people working in different dies or chemicals to make the leathers. We went down to this area and walked next to the big vats made from stone or limestone and I looked over at one of the people and his feet and calves were died completely red! I wondered if it washed off but I forgot to ask. Silly me. Do you know how they get the acid needed to make the leather the softest in the world? Pigeon poop, and limestone but that's not as important. Who would've thought. Actually, I'm wondering how someone thought of that but I'm not sure I want to know. I do want to know how these people live. What makes one want to work or at least look for a job in a leather place? How much money do they make? Doesn't it cause health problems? So many more questions I should have asked that I'm not realizing until now. I'll have to notice my stream of thought more when I visit these cities.

So this is a brief summary of how everything is going. I realized today that a quarter of the trip is already gone! I know there's a ton on this blog right now and yet I still missed a ton, but I'm going to do these every few days from now on so you can see what I'm up to. Please leave me messages! I miss you all and want to know how you are doing too! I know you're thinking, "How can the U.S. be interesting compared to Morocco?" Well I'll answer that by letting you know that I didn't find out that Neil Armstrong had died until days later. And he's famous. So I will leave you now until a few days from now. Au revoir!