The last few days have seen my group travel, split up, say goodbyes, and continue on our journey. Of course, having tummy problems was NOT part of the plan.
Friday, I woke up with tummy issues that have pretty much kept me eating bread and water. Yes, fun, I know! I honestly haven't really let that keep me down...there has been too much to see and do in the last five days.
Thursday and Friday were orientation days where some faculty gave us presentations on the linguistic varieties in Morocco as well as in the classroom culture, security issues, and other important Fulbright information. These were day long sessions and by the end it was information overload. I learned a lot and really came to appreciate the effort that was put into making our orientation fruitful and informative.
Saturday we left Rabat and went to Fez, a place that holds a lot of meaning for me personally. When I was at AUP (the American University of Paris) I came to Fez for the Sufi Music Festival in 2007. It was my first glimpse into a North African country that wasn't Algeria. I had such an amazing time here going to festivals, listening to beautiful music and chanting, meeting open minded people, that I promised myself one day I would come back. Well, there I was. We spent the day in Fez, ate at a great restaurant, and had a great dinner with the entire group.
Sunday, we woke up and dropped off the researchers, some of whom are my closest friends here. It was sad to say bye to them, but it is time to get on with our program and focus on teaching the university students, who I am excited to meet. Then we went to Volubilis to see the best roman ruins in Morocco, which were vast. Carthage and Dougga in Tunis are wonderful and it was striking to see the similarities with the ones in Cherchell, Algeria. We stopped by Meknes, took some pictures of the gate, and then were on our way back to Rabat.
The riadh we are staying in this time, by the way, a riadh is a house in the medina known for its open courtyard in the middle of the house, is AMAZING. I will upload pictures soon, but I have a princess room, which pleases me greatly.
Tomorrow we start our Arabic courses, so to bed I must go!
Friday, I woke up with tummy issues that have pretty much kept me eating bread and water. Yes, fun, I know! I honestly haven't really let that keep me down...there has been too much to see and do in the last five days.
Thursday and Friday were orientation days where some faculty gave us presentations on the linguistic varieties in Morocco as well as in the classroom culture, security issues, and other important Fulbright information. These were day long sessions and by the end it was information overload. I learned a lot and really came to appreciate the effort that was put into making our orientation fruitful and informative.
Saturday we left Rabat and went to Fez, a place that holds a lot of meaning for me personally. When I was at AUP (the American University of Paris) I came to Fez for the Sufi Music Festival in 2007. It was my first glimpse into a North African country that wasn't Algeria. I had such an amazing time here going to festivals, listening to beautiful music and chanting, meeting open minded people, that I promised myself one day I would come back. Well, there I was. We spent the day in Fez, ate at a great restaurant, and had a great dinner with the entire group.
Sunday, we woke up and dropped off the researchers, some of whom are my closest friends here. It was sad to say bye to them, but it is time to get on with our program and focus on teaching the university students, who I am excited to meet. Then we went to Volubilis to see the best roman ruins in Morocco, which were vast. Carthage and Dougga in Tunis are wonderful and it was striking to see the similarities with the ones in Cherchell, Algeria. We stopped by Meknes, took some pictures of the gate, and then were on our way back to Rabat.
The riadh we are staying in this time, by the way, a riadh is a house in the medina known for its open courtyard in the middle of the house, is AMAZING. I will upload pictures soon, but I have a princess room, which pleases me greatly.
Tomorrow we start our Arabic courses, so to bed I must go!
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