Video

My classmates and I made a video of our Sahara trip. Stephanie and Cody (who doesn't have a blog that I know of) were the major editors, SHUKRAN BZEFF.
Anywho, hope you enjoy (if you can understand!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W551nDdhvN4


For some reason it won't let me embed the video into this post, sorry for the inconvenience.

Honeymoon is over.

When one moves to a different country, a radically different one from their home country, and they live there for a while, they experience something called culture shock. What is culture shock, you may be wondering.
Well, it's essentially how one reacts to the culture they are placed in.

There are usually four stages: 1. the honeymoon phase (everything is great and I love it here!) 2. the negotiation phase (god this is so different from home I hate it) 3. Adjustment phase (it makes sense!) 4. The "understanding" phase (everything is put into place, and one is able to become a functioning member of society and enjoys living there).

For everyone, the time periods between these stages are a bit different. But for me (and a large part of my group) the honeymoon phase is definitely over. Right now, there are parts of living here that are irking me more than they used to, and perhaps more than they should be. But it's nice to be coming out of the "rose bubble". I like to be seeing things with a realistic glass, you know?
And I am starting to miss things in the United States more. Mostly the freedom that the United States offers its citizens. I miss being able to wear whatever I want. I could wear whatever I wanted to here, but not only would that be incredibly culturally insensitive, it would also receive a lot of unwarranted attention from people on the street. I guess part of the reason I'm realizing all these emotions right now is because Halloween is right around the corner. In the States, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays....and people in Morocco don't celebrate it.

Mumkin I'm being a bit dramatic, but hey this is my blog, I'm allowed to rant.
Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Morocco....yet. No no, I kid, I kid. I don't think I'll ever hate Morocco. But some things might continue to bug me. The trash on the street, the glue-sniffing street youths, the constant stares, the fact that I'm unable to connect with my host sister at all despite the efforts I'm making, the smell that ALL my clothes in Morocco have and the fact that I'm unable to make it go away...that's just a few of the things that bother me.
I know that in the future these things will start to irk me less, but for now they will continue to irk me and I will try to ignore them.

Alot of people say that study abroad is fun, and its nothing but good experiences. That is one of the biggest lies that I've ever heard. Sure, study abroad is fun, but there are difficulties. One thing is that you're learning what you have to immediately apply. There is no "understanding" period. There are no breaks. There is no bullshitting your way through class. You have to understand what you're learning, or else you're stuck in situations where you dont understand what is going on. Then again that is about 85% of your study abroad experience.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that study abroad isn't all fun. It's challenging, like almost everything else you choose to embark on.

I would suggest it to most people because it is a good way to understand your limits and what you're comfortable doing.

Sorry for the super long post but these were things I needed to get out, also they are facts about study abroad that not many people talk about.

Bsalama for now!

Being Jewish in Marrakech

Today my friend and I went to Shabbat services. In Marrakech. HOW COOL IS THAT. After the service, the Rabbi invited us over to his house for Kiddush Dinner. It was a wonderful experience. The rabbi, his wife,  his brother and his son were all at the dinner. It was nice to be with a group of people who share your same belief, and be able to share the holiday with them.
For those of you that dont know a large part of Judaism is story telling. I myself don't know many stories from Torah...and so today was a nice was to learn.

I was very content at the services, aside not being able to understand the Hebrew. There was a large group from Israel that was visiting Morocco because many of them were born in Morocco but then their families moved to Israel. We spoke to one woman who was born in Tetouan and subsequently moved to Israel. It was interesting to hear her perspective on Morocco. The group was fairly confused as to why we were living in Marrakech for eight months. Regardless they were intrigued by it.

This service attending made me want to learn Hebrew really badly. Also, knowing Hebrew and Arabic would allow to make a real difference in the world (imo). Although I didn't come to Morocco to discover my spiritual/religious side, I wouldn't mind if I was able to discover what I want from religion while here.



Oggi la mia amica ed io siamo andati al servizio di Shabbat . A Marrakech . Era fantastico . Dopo il servizio, il rabbino ci ha invitato a casa sua per cena Kiddush . È stata una bellissima esperienza . Il rabbino , sua moglie , suo fratello e suo figlio erano tutti alla cena . È stato bello stare con un gruppo di persone che condividono la tua stessa fede, ed potere condividere la sera con loro.
Io non conosco molte storie da Torah ... e così oggi ho potuto imparare un po di piu!

Ero molto contenta al servizio , a parte il fatto che non capivo il l'ebraico . C'era un grande gruppo da Israele , che era stava visitando il Marocco perché molti di loro sono nati in Marocco, ma poi le loro famiglie si sono trasferiti in Israele . Abbiamo parlato con una donna che è nata a Tetouan e in seguito si e trasferita in Israele . E 'stato interessante ascoltare il suo punto di vista sul Marocco.

Questo servizio mi ha fatto venire voglia di imparare l'ebraico. Inoltre, conoscendo l'ebraico e l'arabo permetterebbe di fare una differenza nel mondo. Anche se io non sono venuta in Marocco per scoprire il mio lato spirituale / religioso , non mi dispiacerebbe se potessi scoprirlo durante il mio soggiorno a Marrakech

Tea

Every month or so, the state department receives a newsletter, and a part of this newsletter is essays submitted by NSLI-Y students that are on a gap year, aka us.
SO here is mine, I thought it would be nice to share it with you guys. Excuse the poor writing, I wrote it in about an hour since I forgot to send it in the night before.

Tea time in Morocco

When I get back to the United States, I will be immune to caffeine. I will be immune to the caffeine pills they sell in Walgreens, a venti Starbucks black coffee, and even to the Thai tea boba I can get two blocks away from my house. These things used to keep me up until the wee hours of the morning, if consumed after three pm. You may be wondering why I will be immune to caffeine. No, a caffeine filled spider didn't bite me and make my blood content solely caffeine, it's the Moroccan mint tea. I have yet to go one day without drinking this tea. I have about four cups in the morning (keep in mind these cups are small, almost shot sized), two cups during our mid morning snack at school, and then a few cups during the afternoon, the amount depending on whether I venture into Jamaa el Fna (the main market in Marrakech) and whether I go visit my friend Youssef the shopkeeper. In short, I consume A LOT of tea during a regular day. And I can slowly feel myself becoming immune to caffeine, which will prove to be problematic in college.

In Moroccan culture, it is customary to offer a guest tea when they visit your house or shop. I'm not complaining, in fact I adore Moroccan tea and tea time. Tea time in Morocco is a time in which Moroccans can cool off after a hard day, they can sit around and converse with friends or family, among the many things they do during tea time. If a shopkeeper in the souk invites you in for tea, you know that you have a friend in the souk business now. In Jamaa el Fna, you will often find yourself walking behind a man carrying buckets filled with a brred (Moroccan tea pot) and tea glasses. This mans job is to give tea to the various shopkeepers that want tea at that time. Around five pm is ideal tea time for Moroccans. At this time, you'll find shopkeepers sitting and drinking tea, and cab drivers will be very reluctant to give you a ride anywhere because they are on their tea break. I have made the mistake of interrupting a cab driver during his tea/cigarette break, and it ended with him taking the extremely long way to my house. I ended up paying an extra five dirhams, which may not seem like much but to a student, five dirhams is the difference between eating out or eating at home.

The Moroccan way of preparing tea is also quite different from how westerns prepare tea. First off, it is very sweet. My host mom prepares tea with a lot of sugar, about three sticks of it. She brews the looseleaf Chinese tea first, and then adds a lot of mint and sugar. She then pours two glasses of tea, only to pour them back into the brred, in order to mix the sugar that might have settled into the tea. Finally, the tea is ready to serve. Moroccans don't simply pour their tea in a simple way; there is an art to it. Moroccans pour tea starting close to the cup, and slowly move the brred higher and higher up, farther away from the cup. You, however, must not fill the cup all the way because the cups are made of glass, therefore they are scalding. Always leave some room for the tea drinker to hold his cup. Watching my host mom pour the tea is always a treat, since she has become an expert at it. The first time I drank tea, she informed me that the foam at the top is a way of telling whether the tea is good or not. The more bubbles/foam there is, the higher the quality of the tea is. Moroccan mint tea can also be mixed with Louiza, a lemon verbena tea. I personally prefer the straight mint tea to the louiza, but to each their own. 

Now I know that your mouth must be watering to taste this amazing Moroccan tea. You can of course try to make it (although unless you have a Moroccan teaching you, I doubt it will be as good as it is here in Morocco) or you could visit Morocco, try the tea and discover that Morocco has much more to offer than just tea! Since the tea is only the tip, you can surely imagine all the other wonderful things Morocco has to offer.

Word to the wise

So my mother gave me Calcium supplements to take in Morocco, but these things are like CANDY. They taste so good! So as a smart NSLI-Y student would, I took 3 more than the recommended dose (because they were so good) and ended up with horrible stomach pains and terrible nausea...Alhamdulilah, I'm all better, but please. A word to the wise. NEVER take more than the recommended dose!

Don't worry though, I am all better. Next week insha'allah there will be a long post describing Eid and the festivities.

Ma salama!

A taste of Rabat

Last wednesday (rather abruptly) our RD told us that we were heading to Rabat for a one day and a half excursion. After lunch on wednesday we all piled into the van to go Rabat. A good five hours later we get to the city that proceeds to steal my heart. We stay there until around five pm the next day. In those few hours we explored the Souk, Medina and beaches of Rabat, as well as getting a security briefing from the US Embassy.

Here are a few pictures that explain our trip and show the beautiful Rabat scenery. 

Il mercoledì scorso il nostro coordinator c'i ha informato che stavamo per andare a Rabat per un giorno e mezzo. Dopo pranzo mercoledì, siamo saliti su il autobus che ci ha portato fino a Rabat. Dopo cinque ore siamo arrivati alla città che mi a rubato il cuore. Siamo rimasti a Rabat fino a pressapoco le cinque del pomeriggio del giorno dopo. In quelle poche ore abbiamo esplorato il mercato, la citta vecchia e le spiagge di Rabat. Il giorno dopo abbiamo avuto un presentazione dal ambasciata americana e poi siamo andati a vistare le rovine dei romani a Rabat. 

In queste poche foto, potete vedere le parti più spettacolari del nostro viaggio. 

The view from the hotel roof (we were there for one night and one a half days. Not enough time)

 The village/part of Rabat before crossing the river to get to Sale

Sunset on the beach in Rabat

More sunset

Burial of Hassan the second

The dome inside

Tilework outside

The sunset on the drive back to Marrakech

Tobis petite

Today we wandered the streets behind Jamaa el Fna looking for the stop of the 25 bus to Sidi Musu, a small town outside of Marrakech where two of my classmates and I go for woodcarving classes. We waited, waited and waited. The 36, 45, 22, 10, and many more buses passed, but alas, no 25. Finally an old man asked us where we were headed. We responded with "Sidi Musu" and he took my friend by the arm and dragged us across the street. He stopped in front of a small minivan, one that can fit about six people. He said "khmasa dirham"and shoved us on. As we got on, we realized what we had stepped onto. A petite tobis. I was squished between two Moroccan men, and my other two friends were squished against the door. The ride lasted about 15 minutes, alhamdulillah, and we got off at our stop. And then commenced the unexciting 15 minute walk to where we actually do our woodcarving.

Today was our second official class. Yesterday I managed to jam one of the tools into my hand...wooot. I can feel myself getting better already, however it is quite difficult. Today I mastered making what I call "shells" which are basically flower petal like scrape outs (I don't know how much sense that made). I have yet to master everything else...but it's a learning process. I apologize for the short post, hopefully there will a longer one coming soon!


Oggi abbiamo gironzolato per le strade dietro piazza Jamaa el Fna cercando la fermata del bus 25 che va a Sidi Musu, un piccolo paese al di fuori di Marrakech, dove due dei miei compagni di classe e io andiamo per le classi di lavorazione del legno. Abbiamo aspettato, aspettato e aspettato. Il 36, 45, 22, 10, e molti autobus passavano, ma ahimè, non 25. Finalmente un vecchio ci ha chiesto dove eravamo diretti. Abbiamo risposto con "Sidi Musu" e ha preso il mio amico per un braccio e ci trascinato dall'altra parte della strada. Si fermò davanti a un piccolo van, che può sedere circa sei persone. Ha detto "khmasa dirham" e ci spinse via. Ero schiacciata tra due uomini marocchini, e gli altri miei due amici erano schiacciata contro la porta. La corsa è durata circa 15 minuti, Alhamdulillah, e siamo scesi alla nostra fermata. E poi avviato il poco emozionante 15 minuti a piedi per arrivare fin dove facciamo le classi di lavorazione del legno.

Oggi è stata la nostra seconda classe ufficiale. Ieri sono riuscita a infilare uno degli strumenti nella mia mano ... wooot. Pero stiamo migliorando anche se è abbastanza difficile. Oggi ho imparato a fare quello che io chiamo "gusci" che in pratica sembrano petali di fiori. La prossima volta aggiungerò un foto.  Pero devo ancora imparare a far tutto il resto ... è un processo di lento ma gratificante. Mi scuso per il breve post, spero ci sarà uno più lungo in arrivo!