Of ADMINISTRATION and ADVENTURE

From Jan 6, 2008

It's about 12AM here and, despite the rock blaring in my ears, I'm fading fast. This actually isn't unusual these days, what with rising before noon (I know, crazy) and spending the entire day skidding and slipping over ice alongside my newest acquaintances.

From Jan 6, 2008

I am surprised, again and again, by the incredible kindness and warmth from my Moroccan peers. I really, really feel welcomed by them here at AUI. Before coming here, I was terrified that they'd dismiss as, well, nothing new. The opposite has happened, really. A girl from the states who wears a scarf? Nice! Well, that is, of course, after they bust out the daraja (Moroccan dialect of Arabic) and I respond with my second most frequently used phrase: "La Afham (I don't understand)." The first, of course, is for, "Asif (I'm sorry)," but that's the same as in the states. Old habits die hard, I guess.*

From Jan 6, 2008

Anyway. Today I spent most of the day trying to locate my Arabic professor. It seems that, as usual, someone somewhere thought I was a Moroccan/native Arabic speaker (Way to go, naming me in Arabic, MUM.. just kidding! <3) and I was put into a class for Moroccans. Anyway, when I DID find my professor, after a day and a half of showing up at his office, he told me that it wasn't in his hands, but if I was not a Moroccan, I shouldn't be in his class. So, I went to find the man in charge of the whole Arabic language department thing. I'm still looking for him. He is a very elusive man. Bottom line: I ran around a lot today, to no avail, and I still need to get my classes in order. Bummer. Oh well.

From Jan 6, 2008

Anyway, when I decided to take a break from trolling around the faculty offices, I went to the... marketplace that has a French name that I am not even going to try to spell...with Ben and Hannah. I wanted to exchange money, they wanted to get cellphones. Well, we more or less skated into town** as the stretch to the main road was covered in ice and we kept having to jump into slush and snow to avoid cars.



After a lot of bad fus-ha, some spanish, and a lot of miming, I got my money, and we set out to find cellphones. Upon weaving our way through the various little stores we found dead chickens, a cafe, shady guys with sunglasses, boots that Hannah and Ben refused to buy, and yes, finally, the cellphone store.

Of course, we were then told that Ben and Hannah needed their passports.

Which, no, they did not have.

We made our way back in a somewhat defeated manner.

From Jan 22 09

There were OTHER adventures, of course. Sam and I had some wonderful tea (and even better conversation -- he plays video games too! Warcraft III! SAM <3) in the new restaurant opening up on campus. On our way back, we ran into Michael (BC Michael - not to be mistaken with Tombs Michael) who was wandering around with a pleasant expression, as usual, giving off vibes of happiness as he snapped pictures of the campus and spoke in broken fus-ha (:D Yay Michael!). Anyway, he and I made our way into the masjid to take pictures (I got to be on the men's side... yeah... I'm a rebel...woo.)

From Jan 7, 2008

From Jan 7, 2008

From Jan 7, 2008

From Jan 7, 2008

From Jan 7, 2008

From Jan 7, 2008

And, I'll leave it at that. I've gotta crash. Please excuse the dates on some of the pictures - they're automated, and my Iphoto, for whatever reason, stuck them in the wrong folder. They are all within the last two days :)

-n.

-
*Side note: I realize that I talk, write, think like a British person (or so I'm told). Convoluted, long-winded, roundabout, etc. This just further convinces me that I belong in England.
**Another Side Note: I want to note that "skated" is far different from "scatted," which is what I originally wrote. Though, I am sure, Ben, Hannah, and I could have scatted too.