At last.

At last, I have arrived in Morocco. I'm currently sitting in my bedroom in my host family's house, blogging as they eat lunch (since I am still fasting). This trip could not have gone any smoother. We left DC with no delay, made our connection in Paris, flew on a fairly empty plane until Casablanca, got ALL of our luggage and finally drove to Marrakesh. I am so glad to finally have a place that I can rely on as home, rather than being in hotels and airports. On monday we start our Arabic classes...it's been a while since any Arabic has passed through my lips, so it'll be an adventure. Marrakesh is hot, but not as hot as it could have been, thankfully. I'm tired, but that's mostly from the fasting. Being in a Muslim country again has brought back a flood of memories. I've heard the azan today already, and I can't wait to hear it many, many more times. Marrakesh is much more walkable than Oman, which is always a nice change. Also, it's not as expensive as Oman was.

Already my host sister has apologized for the intense nature of her family, and I had to explain to her that really, it was no problem. That I used to it, given that I grew up in an Italian family, and as I have learned all Mediterranean cultures are very similar.

I walked around Marrakesh with my host sister and host brother today, around the old city (medina). The medina is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the atmosphere of Marrakesh so much. It's very relaxed, but there's also alot going on at the same time. I love the sounds, the smells and everything about Morocco so far. The nights are cool, and the days are warm. It's almost like paradise. Also, the taxis are cheap (holla). Life is good.

Finalmente, sono arrivata in Marocco. In questo momento sono seduta in camera mia nella casa della mia host family, scrivendo mentre che loro mangiano pranzo (non sto mangiando perché sto facendo il digiuno per ragioni religiose).Il viaggio non poteva andare meglio. Siamo partiti da DC senza ritardo, arrivati a Parigi, saliti sul volo (quasi vuoto) per Casablanca, ripreso TUTTE le nostre valigie e finalmente siamo arrivati (per via di pullman) a Marrakesh. Sono così contenta per finalmente avere un posto dove posso depositare la mia roba, un posto che in questi 9 mesi potrò chiamare casa. Lunedì iniziamo classi di Arabo....è da un sacco di tempo che non parlo l'Arabo. A Marrakesh fa caldo..ma non troppo caldo, per fortuna. Ho sentito il azan oggi, e non vedo l'ora di sentirlo tante volte ancora. Marrakesh e una città più camminabile di Muscat, ed e meno cara del Oman, per fortuna.

Già la mia sorella host si e scusata per l'intensità della sua famiglia, e gli ho dovuto spiegare che tutte le culture mediterranea sono abbastanza intense, e che non c'era nessun problema.

Oggi pomeriggio, ho camminato in giro a Marrakesh con la sorella e il fratello nella città vecchia (medina). La parte vecchia e assolutamente bellissima. Mi piace già l'atmosfera di Marrakesh. È molto rilassata, però ce anche un sacco che avviene ogni giorno. Le sere sono una bella temperatura, e i giorni sono caldi. È quasi come un paradiso. Eppure, i taxi sono poco costosi. La vita e bella. 

9385 kilometers from home

Hello from Paris. We are currently sitting in the De Gaulle airport waiting for our flight to Casablanca. The past few days have been a whirlwind of orienting, traveling and fun. We were stuck in the swamp like land of DC for 2 days (thank goodness the orientation was cut down from 2 full days to one full day...i don't think we would have made it). It was both fun and informative, and I do truly like the people in my group.

Also, I do know my host family in Morocco! I have two sisters (9 and 19) and one brother (16). I dont know anything more about them, but insha'allah I will find out soon.

Also fasting while travelling (because of Yom Kippur) 0/10 would not recommend.

I'll write more when I actually get to Morocco.
Ciao for now!

Last post from home

Hi that is face...in the most unfortunate of poses. Thank you youtube, for that quality thumbnail. Enjoy!

Less than two weeks left

Its been relatively quiet on my blog. But that's ok. I've decided to start something new....seeing as my grandmother and Italian relatives were very happy to see my vlog in Italian, I thought it would make them happy to also read my blog in Italian. So from now on, I'll be blogging in English but then translating to Italian (since google translator is awful) so they can read it too!

I have 15 days left until we leave for Morocco, but 12 days until I leave for DC. And I still haven't started packing. I've been slowly but surely accumulating the things I need for Morocco, such as host family gifts, clothing and essentials..they just haven't found their way into a suitcase yet. Oops?

Meanwhile, we have news about our host families! We will know who our host families are before we depart for DC, leaving us little time to gather specific gifts, but at least we'll know who they are :)

I guess now that the departure date is nearing, it's begun to hit me that I will be leaving...and not returning for nine whole months, which is a very very long time. I still am as excited as ever, but I am also a bit..cautious. I don't know that much about Morocco..to be honest I haven't made an effort to learn much because I am trying to enjoy my city before I leave. I'm cautious because I want to make sure that I know what I'm getting myself into, and the only way to know that is once I'm there. But I will let nature take her course, and hope for the best.

(I sincerely do hope that people other than my parents are interested in my journey.. )

È da un po che non scrivo su questo blog, però va bene. Ho deciso di iniziare qualcosa di nuovo...perché ho visto che quando ho fatto il vlog in italiano, un sacco di parenti erano molto grati. Allora ho pensato, perché non scrivo il mio blog anche in Italiano?

Ho ancora 15 giorni finché partiamo per il Marocco, però solo 12 giorni finché parto per DC. E non ho ancora iniziato a fare la valigia....Voglio dire, ho iniziato ha preparare la roba...solo che non è ancora nella valigia.

Nel frattempo, abbiamo avuto delle notizie sulla famiglia con cui starò! Noi sapremo chi sono le nostre famiglie un paio di giorni prima che partiamo per DC, lasciandoci poco tempo per comprare regali specifici, però va bene!

Penso che adesso, visto che il giorno di partenza sta arrivando, sto pensando di più al viaggio che sto per fare. Partirò...e non tornerò per nove mesi. È un sacco di tempo! Nonostante questo, son ancora felice di partire. Però sono un po' cauta perché non conosco tanto riguardo il Marocco...e a dir la verità, non ci ho messo tanto sforzo ad imparare tanto perché sto provando a esplorare la mia città prima di partire. Sono cauta perché voglio sapere esattamente quello che sto facendo, e non ce modo per saperlo finche non arrivo in Marocco. Per adesso, lascio che la vita va per la sua strada, e spero per il meglio!
Ciao!

Until next time

22 days.

That is all.



(And I haven't even begun to pack...oops)

The anxiety of being

As my departure date nears, I think of all the times I have told myself "I am ready". I think of all the times I have mentally willed myself into doing something well beyond my comfort zone. Take driving, for instance (I still dont have my license because I am scared of driving). What ultimately allowed me to get on the drivers side of the car and drive the car around was going into the activity without overthinking it. So I could simply not overthink this whole Morocco thing. And it's not that I'm having cold feet, its the fact my leaving is only now beginning to set in.

All of my closest (aside from one) friends leave this week. People who have helped me come to the decision to apply for the scholarship, people who have had my back all throughout high school, and people I love dearly are leaving for college. It's hard to stomach the fact that I won't be seeing them for nine full months, but this is why Skype exists. I know, people who have gone through the "friends all leaving" experience will tell me that I will make new friends and what not, but its still sad to see everyone go. I guess this post has kind of turned into a goodbye post to my friends as well, so be it. I know that each and everyone of my friends will have a wonderful time in college, and enjoy their experience. I am excited to hear about their experiences and live vicariously through them for some time, until I get to Tufts.

Anywho done with the sad part of this post. There is more information on my trip! I got my flight itinerary (a bit late, because there were mistypes in the email address, but I got it nonetheless). I'll be flying NONSTOP (this is very exciting) to DC. Then a few days later we ship out to Paris, and then Casablanca. I do not know why we aren't going to Marrakesh, but everyone else in the group received the same email, so I'm assuming the state department knows what it's doing. Now that I actually have information, the trip has gotten much more real for me.

I'll leave this blog post (as I must get to packing at some point..you know...since I'm leaving for 9 months and all) with a sliver of wisdom: if you don't step outside of your comfort zone, you'll never discover that what you thought may be uncomfortable, actually feels like the most right thing to do. 

Vlog Italiano!

So my grandmother asked me to make occasional vlogs/posts in Italian, so the other day I did. I hope you enjoy it (if you understand Italian) if not...you should learn Italian :D