I’m sitting on my bed in room 108, feeling not so well. We returned home from dinner at 8:00pm, and I took two Advil Cold and Sinus and two Excedrin PM, took a quick cold shower because the room is 90 degrees, and then set about washing my laundry. All of it could stand to be worn another day, but I find that body odor and the smell of stale sweat are difficult to get out if you leave the laundry for too long. My roommate left and is doing something fun, and I am slowly but surely allowing my drugs to take hold so I might sleep well tonight. Last night was not so fun.
Today was a good day, albeit strenuous given the jet lag, the cold, and the constant bombardment of my eyes, ears, and lips with Morocco. I like the country so far — walking through the bazaar after dinner and seeing all the people and all the vendors was particularly exhilirating — but I hate being ill. It puts a damper on everything.
Highlights of the trip so far:
(1) meeting friends in New York (while the plane was delayed for five hours)
(2) My new “soul-twin” Carly
(3) Learning a very small amount of conversational Darija (Moroccan arabic)
(4) the food at the CCCL. Couscous, lamb, potatoes and chicken with saffron, eggplant, tomatoes and the best cucumbers and grapes in the world....
(5) Speaking four languages in one day. (While I can’t claim proficiency in Spanish, French, or Darija, I can truthfully say that I spoke all three and English in one day).
(6) Reading past students’ ISP’s (independent study project) and dreaming about mine
(7) Advil Cold and Sinus
(8) Excedrin PM
(9) Cold showers
(10) Tissues my friend Carly gave me (I forgot to bring any.... Who’d have thought I’d get sick the first day)
(11) My mp3 player, which makes me feel not so alone
(12) Skype, and that Clay got Skype
(13) talking to Charlene and Clay for little bits of time
(14) talking to my mom last night (sorry I had to cut the conversation short, mom )
(15) The CCCL (my school)
(16) Badr, one of the program assistants who makes sure we’re ok all the time
(17) Arabic lesson and Arabic teachers
(18) Just finally being here, but still being connected to little bits of home.
(19) clean clothes, and dreaming about buying a beautiful djellaba
(20) Sleep.
And (20) is where I’m headed now. The drugs are kicking in, and I’m starting to feel a little bit sleepy and euphoric, all at the same time.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) we have five ( ) hours of darija as well as a crash course in Islam. (Carly and I both asked, incredulously, “How are they going to fit a whole religion into an hour?” I guess we’ll find out).
Mselkhir u salaam aleikum (Good evening and peace be upon you )
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment