Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 06:20:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: morocco hey everyone, i'm here in morocco. got in yesterday afternoon, with all my luggage! (only had one checked bag...) it's nice an hot here, sunny. i will talk more later, i'm off to eat lunch. just gotta remember where the cafeteria is. was there last night but had been up for about 30 straight hours, so i was a bit out of it. Clare ---- Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 10:07:44 -0800 Subject: Re: news papers and Clare's little brother nah, heùs only 6:1 or so. sorry; using a stupid french keyboard. ---- Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2000 10:25:36 -0800 Subject: Re: news papers and Clare's little brother good; but i;ll tell you more tomorrow when i get an english keyboard. in essaouira at the moment; on the coast. Clare ---- Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 09:47:37 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: news papers and Clare's little brother a french keyboard has some letters and most punctuation in the wrong place and lots of weird french letters like e with an three different accents. true pain in the ass when they don't have a converter. i do now, and i've switched the keyboard back to english. very nice. On Thu, 24 Aug 2000, A. Prather wrote: > pardon my ignorance, but what's the difference between a french and > english keyboard? > > [snip] > > i bet it's fun being in morocco. i'll look forward to hearing more. > > anne > > On Thu, 24 Aug 2000 clare@u.washington.edu wrote: > > > good; but i;ll tell you more tomorrow when i get an english keyboard. > > in essaouira at the moment; on the coast. > > > > Clare ---- Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 06:21:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: My trip to Marrakech (fwd) Hi everybody, I got into Morocco last week to find that the start of classes had been pushed back a week and that I had a week to explore. So two other girls, Natalya and Julia, and I headed south for Marrakech, Agadir and Essaouira. We left Ifrane, the small town with the university, early sunday morning and took an eight hour busride down to Marrakech. We got into town around 3:30 and headed straight into the medina to find a hotel. The medina is the old part of the city, I believe that it was first settled in the 12th century. It's full of three or four story mud brick buildings built very close together; at times the streets are only four or five feet wide. We found a hotel using Natalya's lonely planet guidebook -- wonderful thing -- and rented the last available room. It was an old building about three stories tall with an open courtyard in the middle. After dumping our stuff in our small room we walked out into the Marrakech early evening and headed for Djemaa el Fna, a medieval square-type gathering place about a block from the hotel. There we ate dinner, saw snake charmers, storytellers and fire eaters, and got henna done on our arms. We returned the next day and walked through the souqs, the markets of the medina, and got completely lost. We eventually found the bus station and bought tickets for the night bus to Agadir, a resort town on the coast. We arrived in Agadir at about 11:30 at night, with no hotel reserved. We walked around the train station searching in the numerous hotels scattered about, but all were booked solid, 'complet'. One man suggested that we go to the next little town over, which isn't nearly as touristy, but we talked to a petit taxi driver and he said that they were all full as well. We walked around a bit more before that same taxi driver came back and told us about a hotel that was a bit more expensive (280 dirhams, about 28 dollars a night; we'd spent 15 the night before) and just a bit out of town. He offered to take us there for free, which we finally accepted after discussing it. He was very patient and even offered us 100 dirhams when we mentioned that it was expensive and that we were only poor students. We refused, but he also refused any money we could give him. The hotel was a bit more than he'd thought, but very nicely westernized inside with a hot shower and flush toilet. The next day we set off for the beach without quite knowing where it was, so we asked a young man walking by, and he proceeded to lead us to the beach, which was a good hour's walk. He spoke in French with Julia the whole time, and was very pleasant. The water at the beach was very warm, so we went wading (having forgotten our swimsuits). I'd also forgotten sun screen (we had originally planned to only get some breakfast and to get to the beach a little later), so we stopped in at a place where they had tanning oil with UV protection, so I greased up my arms with coconut smelling oil. My arms are a bit tanner now. Not much. The next day we set off for Essaouira, up the coast from Agadir, wind surfing capital of Morocco and also home of the castle that inspired Jimi Hendrix's song 'Castles Made of Sand' (depending on the story you hear, but he did stay there for a bit in the sixties). The water here was a bit cooler, but we did go swimming. We again stayed in the medina, in a roof- top room four stories up. We went to a delicious restaurant (and actually went back the next night) and then went to a hammam, a public bath which was right across the street from our hotel. That was an experience. Imagine a cross between a sauna, a steam bath, and a shower, and you'll get the idea. I came out of there feeling cleaner than I had in ages. The next night at the restaurant, we were sitting near the door and open windows at front and saw a wedding procession go by. The waiter told us that the groom was bringing his wedding presents to his bride, and that the marriage would be the next day. We saw a cow lead the procession down the narrow medina streets followed by carts of goods and wonderful musicians. The people on the street danced and clapped as the group went by. That night we caught a midnight bus for Casablanca and arrived there at about 4:30 in the morning. We walked through town to the train station, going way out of our way but finding it eventually. Casa is a big, dirty city that I didn't find as interesting as the other places we visited, but we were at the end of a week of travelling and not inclined to stick around. I'd like to go back and see the huge Hassan II mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world, and only completed a few years ago. It's also one of the few mosques that non-Muslims can enter. The train ride to Meknes is short, only about four hours, and from there we caught a grand taxi back to Ifrane. I was glad to be home! The week of travelling really helped introduce me to Morocco though; I now know what to expect when I go out travelling on the weekends, and I was surprised by how easy going the country is. It was easy for three girls to travel alone and not be hassled extensively, though we got our share of 'bonjour gazelle's. I guess I do stick out as a white girl in Africa, but I haven't found it to be a problem at all. Yet. Clare ---- Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 10:07:19 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: My trip to Marrakech (fwd) the taxi driver was very sweet. most people i've met here are very nice and continually say 'welcome to morocco'. everywhere, 'welcome', 'marhaba', 'i hope you are liking morocco'. and i like the time system here. no one is in a hurry, there seems to be an abundance of time. very relaxing. Clare On Tue, 29 Aug 2000, Alan W Wilson wrote: > On Mon, 28 Aug 2000, Clare Steedman wrote: > > ... It was easy for three girls to travel alone and not > > be hassled extensively, though we got our share of 'bonjour gazelle's. I > > guess I do stick out as a white girl in Africa, but I haven't found it to > > be a problem at all. Yet. > > On the contrary, it seems like that taxi driver was especially helpful and > generous. He could have just been a nice guy, but I wonder if nice guys > show up in abundance when you've got the fiery redhead factor on your > side. > > Alan ---- Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 10:06:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Classes For you, Anna: I'm taking Moroccan Colloquial Arabic, Women and Culture, and intensive Standar Arabic. The first two meet MWF, the thrid every day. So on Tuesday and Thurdays I don't have class until 3:30 in the afternoon! That means that this morning I walked down to town and went to the bank. In Morocco, there is no strict definition of a 'line'. They call a loose ordering up of people a 'cue'. There were four windows at the bank (well, places at the counter), with only one helping people. People line up along the desk or crowd around the teller, josstling for place. The first time I went, it was a friday before a three day weekend and it was a mess, shoving and yelling. i made my way up to the front just by steadily moving forward and then when I got to the teller I just shoved my hand with passport and receipt near his face and waited for him to take it. Today it was much less crowded and only took me about fifteen minutes to change my travellers checks and pay my university bill. The walk is about 25 minutes from my room, mostly down hill (so that's mostly up hill on the way back...:) I actually had more trouble at the university trying to get a receipt from them saying trhat i really had paid. 'come back this afternoon'. but as for my classes. i just got out of my Intensive Arabic class, which loks like it will be really good. My school went a little rfarther than most of the other students' schools, so I'll have a bit of a review for a couple weeks. many of the other students took the class remotely, through a distance learning program out of my college. I'm very glad I was able to have instructors in person, because I think I"ve retained a lot more than they have. it might have been my colloquial class over the summer though. I've only had the other two classes once, so I can't say much about them. The women and Culture class will focus mainly on Moroccan women's contributions to culture, i think, with some references to American women and culture. we have papers and presentations, so it might be my hardest class, one that i hadn't even planned on taking before i left the states! I'm glad I'm getting to take a women's studies class here, because i really don't have any time for it back home. This semester without science classes will be a nice change (as i forget all the math and physics i jsut learned this past year... :) Clare ---- Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2000 03:54:57 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Rabat Hi everyone, I've been so busy the last few weeks that I haven't travelled anywhere, so this past weekend my friend Natalya and I decided to make a quick weekend trip to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, second biggest city, and home of King Mohammed VI. It was nice to get down to the coast from being up in the mountains for three weeks, though it was quite a bit more humid. It wasn't nearly as hot at Marrakech, though, 'al hamdu lillah' (thanks to God). Very useful phrase here, to go along with 'in shah allah' (God willing). We caught a grand taxi to Meknes, about an hour's drive, with some friends who live there, then we caught the train to Rabat. It was a two and a half hour ride, which got us there at about 5:30. We walked to the youth hostel (about 15-20 minutes), which was one of the dingiest hotels I've been in (even here in Morocco) but it was cheap, and it was only for two nights. Friday night we just walked around the city (the hostel was located very close to the main part of town; the train station is actually right in the middle of the city). It was nice to be in a city again, with the hustle and bustle of people, but it had a quite laid back, quiet feel to it. Urbane but not gritty. Saturday we got up and headed first into the souq/medina. I bought a pair of sandals, a skirt, and some bracelets, while Natalya bought some shoes. We wandered around for two or three hours until coming upon a touristy lane, so we knew we were near the medina walls. It's very easy to get lost in the medinas if you don't pay attention to where you go -- streets wind around and dead end, and are often narrow enough to touch each side at the same time. We found a shop that sold bread, cheese and jam just before leaving the medina, so we bought that for lunch and then headed across a busy street for the Andalusian Gardens, a peaceful place that the French laid out adjoining the Kasbah, and old fort/walled enclave/city on the water. We ate our lunch, feeding part of it to the stray cats roaming around, and we each got some henna done; Natalya and arm band and I on the back of my hand. The girl who did it, Hanan, was 12 years old, spoke very good French and some English (plus Arabic), and 'had lots of spunk', as Natalya described her. We didn't ask if she went to school during the week, because many kids who live in the medinas don't. A boy who guided some of us exchange students around the Fes medina had never been to school but spoke wonderful English. After lunch, we started walking along the river in the direction of the Tour Hassan, and old ruin of an unfinished mosque intended to be the biggest in the world in the 12th century. Though it was never finished, part of it was rebuilt after an earthquake destroyed it in 1755, so there's a half finished minaret surrounded by columns three or four meters high. Natalya got some pictures, it was quite impressive. Lots of tourists as well, but lots of Moroccans too. King Mohammed V, who ruled as Morocco achieved its independence in 1956, is buried here. His son, Hassan II, who died last year, built an ornate mausoleum integrated into the mosque ruins for his father. The bright shiny casket is located below ground but is open to the top for viewing. After our dose of history, we were off to the Marjane, a huge supermarket on the outskirts of town. It felt like a cross between a Safeway and a Target, complete with school supplies, kitchen utensils, towels, and lots of food. We bought bread, ham and cheese for sandwiches for dinner, juice, M&Ms, canned fruit, more jam (this time raspberry) and other westernized goods. It felt like we were in America. After about two hours of walking around and saying -- Look, look, they have that! -- we paid for our purchases and caught a petit taxi back to the hostel, where we treated ourselves to dinner. Sandwiches don't seem to exist here in Morocco, so it was a bit of a treat to have plain old bread with a filling, believe it or not. Sunday morning most shops were closed, so we ambled our way back to the train station with the idea of doing a few errands if possible. We did manage to develop some film, buy some t-shirts, buy a guide book for me, change some money, and sit in a cafe for an hour. On the train we ran into a number of Akhawayn students, so we played cards on the way back. We finally got back to campus around six, as it was getting dark. We had dinner, then I went to bed around ten. I was so tired; I hadn't realized that we'd done so much stuff in just two days. So now it's back to the school week. I won't be able to go anywhere long this weekend, since we have classes on Saturday to make up for the week lost at the beginning when the dorms were not ready for students. Some of us might make a trip out to Voloubilis, Roman ruins about 2000 years old not far from Meknes. The weather turned cool yesterday, so I've had to wear more than just a tank top during the day. Feels like Seattle! Enjoy your weather there, and for those of you starting school next week -- have fun... :) Clare PS -- If you're interested, here's my address. (No, honestly, this is not a ploy to get some mail... really ;) Clare Steedman c/o Office of International Programs Al Akhawayn University Box 104 Avenue Hassan II Ifrane 53000 Morocco, North Africa ----