Fuck Yeah, Random Pictures

So I'm exhausted, but I'm trying to stay up for something(one) wonderful, and I figured it's quick blog time.  I'll give a real update sometime in the next couple of days, but for now you just need to know a few things.

First:  The picture of the marketplace type area in no way does the actual place justice.  It's called the souk, and it is a maze and it is crowed like you could never even imagine.  Let's try really quickly.  Take all of your most beautiful clothes and random belongings out of your apartment and place them randomly in the narrowest hallway you can find.  Now, ask some friends to stand against the walls of the hall and tell them to yell random things in different languages and grab you as you walk by.  Now, spin around in circles until you're about to throw up and try and walk through the hallway.  Now make the hallway into a maze and make it seem never ending.  Also, add tons of people walking through in various directions, and random motorcycles driving through the crowd.

THAT'S THE SOUK

Second:  I went to the Hammam.  It is a public bath and it is awesome (more later).

Third: ALDO SHMALDO ARGUETA 2011 governor of the world.  Join the cause.

Also:  Happy Birthday to him, buy him a beer or a chak.  For serious.

THE SOUK, MUFFUGA

My Brother Helping Me Read An Encription

الحمد لله

I've officially begun my Marrakech experience الحمد لله !  Now, I'm sure all of your are tearing up your minds trying to figure out exactly what that means.  That's right, I found y'all out, and it has become common knowledge to me that the entire world cares about what I'm doing over hear in Morocco, so get ready for THE update that will blow your mind.  Of course, there will be more mind blowing blog posts, but for now I'll you what I've been up to the last couple of days, as well as a list of my daily life thus far.  

So here it goes:

On Wednesday I woke up, finished packing some odds and ends and moved all of my luggage downstairs before sitting down to a "standard" Moroccan breakfast. 

"But St. Richard, what is this standard Moroccan breakfast?"

That's a very good question, world.  A standard Moroccan breakfast consists of bread, butter and coffee (though at the hotel they offered orange juice as well).  

After that we took our luggage over to the center where we received phones and a 100 dh stipend.  Yes world, I am now the proud owner of a Moroc Telecom cellphone (get excited).  Unfortunately, I don't know my number by memory so y'all will have to wait to find out how you can reach me for a very very high price.

Then they sent us out into Marrakech to go find lunch, and some friends and I went to lunch at some place called "Cafe Glacier Snack."  Kabobs muffuga, kabobs.  I then fumbled through purchasing some Moroccan cigarettes (I can now do that perfectly and with a smile).

Next we were broken down into groups and sent on a scavenger hunt around the city.  It was a great experience wandering around, learning Moroccan taxi skills, and how to never, ever try and find your way around the Souk.  

"St. Richard!  St. Richard!  I have a question."

Yes world, what is it?

"What's a Souk?"

What a great question, world.  The Souk is this labyrinth of shops, where they sell just about anything, from hookahs to shoes, to beanies.   It really is a maze, and in order to even pretend to not get lost you just have to keep walking forward.  Somehow, we ended up back where we started, though I have no idea how.

I bought an orange juice.  It was 4 dh (i think thats the abbreviation), or about 40 cents and it was fucking delicious (I apologize about the F-bomb, but it is absolutely needed for emphasis).

Then we made our way back, had a discussion, and met the member of our families that speak English. 

My host brother speaks perfect English, by the way, better than I do and so far the entire family has put up with me massacring their language with smiles, laughter, and cheers when I get things right (though there was one awkward conversation when I tried to explain what math class I took waaaay back in the day.

Class is great, though it's extremely fast paced and difficult.  Luckily I get to practice with my family every night.  I take to the bus to get there, and wouldn't you know it, I have the longest commute.  

A 40 MINUTE BUS RIDE.  Moroccan traffic and busses are insane, by the way and I'll provide more of a description later (hopefully with pictures).

And now today, we had class and now I'm home with my family for lunch (which every friday is cous cous due to Moroccan tradition).  The food has been fucking fantastic.  I mean fucking delicious.  I mean wow.  And you eat with your right hand, but it didn't take long to catch on at all.

So here is my day:

-Wake up at 7:30 for breakfast with my brother.

-Walk down to the bus stop at 8ish and climb on an 815ish bus down to a stop in an area called Le Guiles (GEE-LEES) and walk about 10 minutes to the center.

-Class at 9-11 with a Moroccan tea and bread break.

(Lunch after class the location various according to the day)

-Class from 2-4

-Go Home

-Coffee and snacks with the family

-Dinner

-Lots and lots of soccer

-Study

-Sleep

This schedule will change again next week when another class gets added, but the work load for that one will be small until we get to Fes.  Right now, and for the next couple weeks, we're focusing on Moroccan Arabic.

So that's it for now. 

B'slaama.

   

Ps:  PERSONAL MESSAGE TIME!

Mom and Dad:  I'm alive and well.  We can plan to talk soon, just let me know when it works for y'all.

Matt and David Sames: Y'all are lame.  Lyke4reelz.

Jon:  I miss you too, mang.  We'll tear the world apart when I get back.

Dayvid:  Your comment made me wish you were here so we can raise hell here in Morocco.

Lauren:  I love you and miss you.  Here's look' at you (raises Moroccan mint tea glass), kid.

  

Ahalan

This will be brief.

I'm in Marrakech and it is awesome.  Currently I'm sitting around in the hotel lobby (we're staying another night here before moving to our host families tomorrow), smoking a cigarette, and talking with this cute girl back in America.  Can you believe that?

So today was fairly laid back.  I woke up around 11 and since most folks were still asleep, I came down stairs to have a cigarette and explore a little bit, and immediately I was offered breakfast by a lady behind the front desk. Wonderful breakfast in a wonderful little garden (complete with turtles walking around), is a great way to start any day and fend off jet lag.

Then at 1230, we went over to our center (where our classes will be held) and had lunch, orientation, and tea time (Moroccan Mint tea is delicious, though very sweet).  While there I had a chance to shoot around a basketball with the group as well as some young Moroccan kids.  Good times.  Then we had a brief tour around the city, which is beautiful, and not as overwhelming as I thought it would be, though tomorrow I move in with my host family, and Thursday I have to adventure on the bus to class, so perhaps i will be singing a different tune, but until then:  Fuck yeah, Marrakech!

Well this is longer than expected, though stil pretty damn vague.

Anyway, until next time:

Here's look'n at y'all, world.

Oh Whoa! IT'S FRANKFURT!

Next day update: the internet cut out before I could post this, so here we go again:

I'm in Germany, I'm tired, but there is not way in hell I'm going to sleep until I get on the plane to Casablanca.  Call me crazy, but I have this crazy idea that not sleeping until tonight will help with the jetlag that should be hitting me soon.  So after many many hours of travel, I'm still up and moving around.  To be honest, it's the only reason I'm on the internet, well I also wanted to send a message or two to this pretty girl over in the Northwest, but that's another story altogether.  

Anyway, I don't have much time to post this since the internet is going to be expiring soon, so I'm going to be really brief.  

LIST TIME!

1) LONG FLIGHT with Lonesome Dove, Angry Birds, Two and a Half Men/30 Rock/Mad Men/Modern Family (compliments of the plane)

2) Arrival at the hotel

3) Dropped bag and went to smoke a cigarette and try and find people that looked familiar

4) Found people that looked familiar

5) Took a shower

6) Go Euros and went to explore via the train Frankfurt.  

7) Get coffee

8) INTERNET TIME

The food was great, and the city is awesome.  To be completely honest I had a smile plastered on my exahausted, zombie looking, dark bag consuming face the entire time we walked around the city.  It's just hard to believe I'm in Germany.  

Here is a picture I took while we were walking back to the train.  It's not the best, but I forgot my camera and had to use my phone.  Deal with it, k?

On the Road

Moroccan Travel Journal Post 1

ATexan in Morocco

So I just typed up three paragraphs worth of text only to somehow have it all be erased in a split second when I tried to post it.  How lame is that?  Anyway, here we go again:

So I'm awful at these things.  I've tried on several different occasions to keep a personal journal only to fail miserably within the first couple of weeks.  So this is a new attempt.  An attempt to document my adventures studying in Morocco for both myself and those in US that want to keep up with whatever the hell I happen to be doing at the moment.  

If you happen to have stumbled upon this blog by mistaken, let me apologize in advance, for I have no interest in proofreading any of my posts for spelling and grammar mistakes.  My goal, is simply to write furiously whenever I get the chance documenting anything I happen to have done, thought, or am planning to do.  This is not some change the world, wannabe, political analysis.  I have no interest in changing your political opinions and I have no interest in describing mine, and and even if I did, trying to do this through this blog would be no different than me handing out Pamphlets on Burnside in Portland.

Thus y'all have been warned, so here we go:

So I'm sitting at my gate at the Dallas airport waiting to board my flight to Frankfurt listening to some baby scream about something no one around her seems to understand, and I can't help but realize that I'm not nervous or excited.  In fact, except for a little annoyance with the kid and a craving for a cigarette I'm not really feeling too much.  It's weird, I mean, I've looked forward to studying abroad ever since I heard of its existence in High School, and now trip has finally come and I feel pretty numb towards it.  I'm sure it'll kick in at some point in time, but right now it's hard to realize that the plane I'm about to board isn't going to Portland.  Weird.

Anyway, thats it for now.  I typed way to much earlier only to have it be deleted, so I'm going to leave y'all with this first post with a promise for more information once I have some to report.

If I love you, know that I love you.  If I don't, I hope you enjoyed me wasting your time, you fuck. 

Things I'm listening to:

Drag the River - Closed

Jon Snodgrass & Frank Turner - Buddies

Kid Cudi - The Man on the Moon II: Legend of Mr. Rager

Reading: 

Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry

Up the Moroccan Punks.

(Yes there is a Moroccan punk/ska band I'll post a video once I know how)