Salam Alaykum!

The past couple of days have really been a whirlwind. Yesterday we tried bargaining and it was more difficult than it was in Ecuador back in March. They definitely are more willing to bargain if you speak the Moroccan dialect of Arabic or French, and I speak neither. I’m hoping to really get a chance to learn the Arabic dialect so I can gain the respect of the vendors in the Medina. We have gone to all sorts of cafes and enjoyed delicious pastries, as well as traditional Moroccan tea.

Yesterday I started my first Arabic class and I’m really excited to continue learning. The teacher, Abdel, is really nice and really helpful on getting the group of us, (who don’t speak any Arabic) to feel comfortable learning the language. I have my next lesson starting tomorrow, and classes officially start on Monday.

Today we got picked up by our host families. I can tell that this is going to be a great experience already.  They live deep in the Medina though, so I’m not entirely sure on how I’m going to get back to the main building for class tomorrow….

My host mom, started off by giving me a plate of about ten cookies and a banana smoothie type drink. “Eat, eat, eat!” that is going to be the big phrase. Their hospitality is absolutely amazing. The culture here is so welcoming in so many ways, even though it is so different from anything I’ve ever experienced. These people have agreed to welcome me into their home for eight weeks, which is wonderful within itself.

This will definitely be an adventure though for many reasons. Although they speak some English, they speak to me in a lot of French. I can pick up on a little bit, but there is lots of gesturing to try and get points across. Another reason that stands by itself is getting used to the bathroom situation. They have a Turkish toilet, not Western. And the shower will probably be used exclusively by me. Families typically bathe once a week in the hamam, or public bath.  I also have a host brother and sister, both younger. It will be interesting to see how the relation with them, as well as my host dad will build. I think the mother is the only who speaks any sort of English.

Tomorrow I’ll be having a traditional lunch, Fridays are their day for couscous. The entire family gets together to eat. Dinners are served late, starting at about eight or nine, but served as late as ten to eleven.

They don’t seem to be responding to the call to prayer, so they must not be an overly conservative family religion wise.

I’m excited to see where the next eight weeks take me, and I’m sure there will be lots of reflection.