One Week, One Cold, and OneNew Scarf (yes dad, only one) Later

Salaam Walayeekum! I have now been here almost a week, but it feels much longer. Fes is a truly amazing city and I have"been able to do quite a bit of exploring but it is very cold and there is very little heating anywhere. That said, I have developed a bit of a cold but am doing everything in my power to be well by next Thursday when we leave for Al-Akhawayn.

On Monday, I moved in with my host family. They live in the Ville Nouvelle, which is in the same neighborhood as ALIF. Their home is about a 15 minute walk from ALIF. My host mother Naja and host father Haj have 3 teen-agers: Fatima (17), Driss (15), and Rita (14). I have my own room but am almost positive that I kicked Rita out of her room. Most of the time, we are all sitting around the TV watching movies dubbed in french or Moroccan sitcoms or eating. I have been going to bed fairly early because every morning I wake up with the roosters that they keep on the roof just outside my window and the local mosques morning prayer around 5 am. I still have no idea how the speakers can be so loud that it sounds like I have my own private muezzin every morning. The family is incredibly nice and warm. Since my dirija (Colloquial Moroccan Arabic) is far from communicative, I have been relying on my French, which is not great and not the best way to communicate since their French is limited as well. All of the food is great. Lunch is the big meal here. Everyone returns from school and hangs out for a couple hours to rest and eat. I will be glad to be in Ifrane soon because there is only so much walking I can do to work off the tons of food they are forcing me to eat. Bread is the staple here. Since silverware is not common and most of the time we are eating out of a communal dish, we use pieces of bread (khobz) to scoop up what we want. For breakfast, I have a small glass of super sweet mint tea and bread with nutella or jam. Dinner is usually the left overs from lunch or something simple Naja can whip out, like a panini. We eat dinner around 8. One thing I was surprised to learn was that Moroccans love their snacks. Almost all the time, the kids return home with some mass produced sweet or chip product. Walking through the souks these pqst couple of days, there are tons of stalls dedicated to these snacks or fresh snacks like doughnuts or grilled meat or pasteries. My host mom, who is always home and rarely leaves the house, helped me to buy a cell phone, which was very cheap to buy but is not cheap to use. They are not very conservative Muslims even though they are definitely still practicing. The mom wears a head scarf out of the house, probably just as much for warmth as for her religion. The kids all dress very modern, like most young people here. It is actually rare to see a woman fully covered.

As far as dirija classes go, Alex and I have private lessons for roughly 4 hours each day with 2 teachers: Si Zaim and Si Younnis. We have learned how to say hello, introduce ourselves, go shopping, count, tell time, and say goodbye. Luckily we are not being graded here because dirija is complicated and unlike anything I have ever studied. The center where we take classes is fantastic. An ex-patriot American restored an old colonial mansion and made it into one of the most reputable places to learn Standard Arabic in the world. They have free internet access, wifi, heating (though very minimal in some classrooms), and a library of hundreds of fantastic movies. They also organized a trip and tour guide for us to go to the medina in the old city today. It was a great way to meet other students taking the 6-week standard Arabic courses and see the medina.

Since walking is our only outlet for exercise, Alex and I have been exploring Ville Nouvelle by foot almost everyday, usually ending up at the cafe by ALIF which has fantastic almond milk. On Tuesday, we explored up to the rich side of town and into an incredible 5 star hotel. It is a great city to take in by foot and even though everyone insists on taking petit taxis (which are very very cheap), nothing is too far, especially if you have the time and proper shoes and rain gear. Up until yesterday (Friday), it had been raining like crazy. I am always a fan of rain but now understand the necessity of a warm, dry home to return to in order to fully enjoy it.

Luckily the sun came out on Friday and we were able to get over to walk over to Fes El-Jdid, or new Fes. However, when they say new here, they really mean just a few centuries older than Fes El-Bali, which was built during the 9th-11th centuries. Fes El-Jdid houses a royal palace built in the 13th century to isolate the Merenid sultan from his subjects. Although we tried to take pictures, it was surrounded with guards with large guns who chased us down afterwards to delete them. Yikes. Fes El-Jdid has a wonderful, 100% Moroccan shopping street that actually connects Fes El-Jdid to Fes El-Bali. Since all chique Moroccans sport trendy peacoats and boots, I had to bargain myself a purple peacoat.

Friday is the holy day in Morocco when people go to the mosque and eat cous cous for lunch. My family didn't end up going to the mosque because two of the kids had school in the afternoon (they have school every day of the week!). Naja's cous cous was amazing. Like all dishes we eat here (besides soup), it was served in a large central dish, covered in boiled vegetables with the meat in the middle. It was great. I think I could make it in the US, but only if we found some gluten-free cous cous (Mom- start looking!)

On Saturday, ALIF hired a guide to tour us around the medina. We left around 9 am for a three hour tour, which could have easily ended up Gilligan's Island style since the Medina is a place a tourist can easily never come out of. There are over 9,000 streets, which are all incredibly small. We visiting an old mosque, the world's oldest university, a weaving shop, where I bought a lovely scarf, and the leather tanneries, which smelled terrible but are quite a sight. It still functions as an ancient city with donkey's hauling loads of skins, bottled water, or propane tanks up and down the streets which are already jammed with people. After the tour, Alex and I, along with Danielle, a student from Ohio, decided to wander back in and navigate on our own. Sense of direction doesn't exist in the medina and we ended up in a very residential area, where Danielle bought a kilo of satsumas and a heap of veggies for a little under $2. We then found a tour group and decided to follow them out. However, they ended up at a random restaurant, which we sat down at only to be dragged into the small kitchen in the back to sample the menu. I ordered beef or maybe lamb tangine with tomatoes. He also brought us some delicious side plates and of course bread. After lunch, we tried to back to the entrance but ended up emerging at a 13th century cemetary/ died-skin drying area which turned out to be an incredible overlook of the medina and rolling green hill surrounding Fes. We soon found our way back to the hang out cafe for ALIF students called Cafe Clock, which is also the ex-patriot hang out of Fes since it is run by an American. They have dance classes, calligraphy lessons, diriga tables, music, wifi and even yoga. Like all buildings in the medina, it is decievingly small and has many nooks and crannys filled with tables and pillows. Alex and I walked back through Fes El-Jdid and then relaxed to Willy Wonka (in english) at home.

Yesterday, Alex and I took a nice walk in the rich suburbs of the Ville Nouvelle. It was nice to escape from the bustle of Fes for a bit. I then went to Naja's brother's apartment for lunch. He lives less than 3 blocks away and has two adorable little girls (5 and 2). We ate more cous cous and a chicken, olive dish. Fatima then took me shopping in the Ville Nouvelle. Sunday night is the night of shopping for everyone between 16 and 18 it seems. I convinced her to buy 27 Dresses, which was dubbed in French and cost about a dollar. It was nice to relax to a movie I knew and we bonded. I really like the family and they are starting to warm up to me a lot. Last night, Naja told me that I should marry her son (who is 15) and stay in Fes forever. Yikes. However, she also told me I should come back to Fes every weekend and stay in their house. I have class now but will post another entry from Ifrane on Thursday.

I send my love to everyone and miss you all so much!