Friday, August 2, 2013
Getting stuck in medina 7/26
So one day I went shopping in the Medina. I looked all around and ended up buying a few things, a hand of hamsa necklace for myself, a small painting for my host family, and I stumbled upon a few pottery stores. After coming back to the same shop a few times, the store keeper offered me some sort of deal on the pottery, I think it was buy four get two free! They had a selection of things and offered to personalize them with my name, but I declined, intending them to be gifts.
I bought two plates, two mini tagines, and two bowls. Lots of vibrant colors. It was getting late so I had to hurry out and get a train ticket. I got on a train around 630, being only five or six stops from my house, I expected to be able to make it back before the trains stopped working at 7:00 pm for Ramadan break-fast. Turns out I was wrong. I got to the cross over point and then they stopped. My cell phone being dead, and out of cash and having only petty change, I made a spectacular decision-- I should walk home! I didn't want to wait until it was dark outside for the next train to go at 8:00 pm. So with all my heavy pottery I decided to follow the tracks and walk back.
It surprisingly took me only about half an hour or maybe the time was different than I thought, but I ended up home around 7:30/7:45, only minutes after my parents had broken fast. I was so exhausted but my roommate was out of town so I put my purchases down and went to eat with my parents.
I decided to carry more change on me and charge my phone more often. Haha.
I bought two plates, two mini tagines, and two bowls. Lots of vibrant colors. It was getting late so I had to hurry out and get a train ticket. I got on a train around 630, being only five or six stops from my house, I expected to be able to make it back before the trains stopped working at 7:00 pm for Ramadan break-fast. Turns out I was wrong. I got to the cross over point and then they stopped. My cell phone being dead, and out of cash and having only petty change, I made a spectacular decision-- I should walk home! I didn't want to wait until it was dark outside for the next train to go at 8:00 pm. So with all my heavy pottery I decided to follow the tracks and walk back.
It surprisingly took me only about half an hour or maybe the time was different than I thought, but I ended up home around 7:30/7:45, only minutes after my parents had broken fast. I was so exhausted but my roommate was out of town so I put my purchases down and went to eat with my parents.
I decided to carry more change on me and charge my phone more often. Haha.
cooking class 7/24
Sarah put together a cooking class for us which had to be rescheduled but we finally got to go!
We met in the Medina at an old hotel and began the journey to the woman's house. It took us a bit to find the house, but it was in a little side street on the far side of the medina.
It was a pretty costly night. I can't exactly remember but something like 40-80 durham. She taught us how to make a rolled up veggie wrap thing. Mine didn't look very pretty. We learned a few words for the vegetables in colloquial Darija and she fried up our attempts at Arab food. Her family served us a nice break fast meal with plenty of dates and soup, veggie and meat fried foods, coffee for dessert which was very strong.
She had children who were fun to talk to and who of course berated our low level, overly formal Arabic!
After socializing for a while I took a train back from the Medina to my house after enjoying a little of the night life of post-fast in the Medina.
We met in the Medina at an old hotel and began the journey to the woman's house. It took us a bit to find the house, but it was in a little side street on the far side of the medina.
It was a pretty costly night. I can't exactly remember but something like 40-80 durham. She taught us how to make a rolled up veggie wrap thing. Mine didn't look very pretty. We learned a few words for the vegetables in colloquial Darija and she fried up our attempts at Arab food. Her family served us a nice break fast meal with plenty of dates and soup, veggie and meat fried foods, coffee for dessert which was very strong.
She had children who were fun to talk to and who of course berated our low level, overly formal Arabic!
After socializing for a while I took a train back from the Medina to my house after enjoying a little of the night life of post-fast in the Medina.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Tangier, pt. 2
I woke up the second morning in Tangier and got on the road by nine or so, I think. I asked the taxi driver to take me to the nearest beach, which is always a little worrisome cause you don't know exactly where you're going or how much that taxi is going to cost. I've gotten pretty okay at estimating how much taxis are. And I actually noticed that in Tangier the taxis start the meter at 1.60 DH instead of 1.20 DH like they do in Rabat. Based on the map it looks like things in Tangier shouldn't have cost more than about 10DH from side to side, yet somehow they always manage to find a little circuitous route and the ride on Saturday from the Kasbah to the hotel was nearly 20DH.
Anyway, the ride from hotel to beach cost about 7 DH, so still less than a dollar. I immediately was able to get to ocean, though it did take me a minute to find the steps. I got my camera out to try to start taking pictures, but the camera I've got seems to drain batteries basically instantaneously, or the batteries I got from the hannut next door were already bad. And basically immediately the camera said it was dying. After already forgetting my camera card when I had the birds eye view yesterday, I was pretty pissed. I decided to take a walk around downtown to try to find another hannut to buy more batteries, which are about 25-35 cents a battery. No idea if that's good or not. Anyway, since it's Ramadan, everything is closed until well after 11 usually so I was unable to find any more.
I went back to the beach and started to walk around. Luckily, the sand was not burning hot like in Oudaya and I was able to take my shoes off and walk around the beach to the ocean. I then gathered my water and sand in bottles, and even touched seaweed ! ew. I got deep into the ocean up until my knees and it wasn't hot or cold, but a perfect temperature. How I wish I could have gone swimming!
It was beautiful. There were wonderful blue colors flowing from one to another, starting with the clear water over the sand into a teal blue into a darker blue, blue. Near the start of the ocean it was like a shimmery clear ribbon was placed over an uneven pebbly surface and was being rippled and pulled to create an effect. Easily the most beautiful place I've seen. I camped out there for a while and after my cute little pink genie pants got wet, hung out on some rocks nearby to dry off. The view was again spectacular, belittled only by the fat french man also sunbathing and spitting, and the little kid running around screaming at his father.
I decided to head out around 1030 and the plan was to go back to the Kasbahs for that museum, but then I saw camels. At this point I had only a 20 DH bill and a 100DH and everyone ever despises big bills and making change. I began talking to the camel man who would only speak to me in English, which got annoying. To ride the camels was 50DH but of course he didn't have any change. So at this point I went on an excursion to find someone to give me change.
I stumbled across a little shop that had quite the assortment of over priced jewelry, leather products, clothes, and wood products. I decided to buy a 20 DH little change purse so I could get some change (hello irony) but the man had only 100 DH bills too, so that was a no go. He was a very kind man however and told me to take the purse anyway and go find change and bring him back the 20 DH.
I left to find a new store, and asked a restaurant manager if he had change, but our communication was difficult and he told me to go across the street to the bank, but it was closed. He found another friend or man on the street who said he would make change, and took my 100 DH bill and walked away. I started to follow cause naturally that's my money, but they said to just wait. Totally dubious, however, apparently we were all working on trust that day, and he came back to me with a 50 DH bill, two 20 DH and two 5 DH coins. Success!
I go back to camel man and pay him to take pictures and ride said camel. After, I must say riding the camel was easier than I expected and easier than a horse! Though a lot scarier cause you're so high off the ground. And getting the camel to stand up.... So the saddle thing is a good two feet off the camel, and I climbed on relatively easily, and after a few pictures, the man says to hold onto the rope on the front of the saddle with one hand, and the back rope with the other. I didn't quite understand, but as soon as he started coaxing the camel up, I did. They stand up with their back legs first, and then the front, so you're at a good like 75/85 degree angle until their front legs go up, which seemed to take a long time !!
After that, we started walking back down to the beach shore line and just did a big circle loop. If I hadn't been sore from riding horses (in sandals no less... really didnt think that one through) the camel right probably wouldn't have bothered me much at all.
Turns out camels sit down in the opposite way that they stand up, so again I was at that awkward 75 degree angle basically holding on for dear life! After dismounting I took a few more pictures and pet each camel (a female, and a mom and her furry baby).
I decided to go back to the hotel because it was half past 11 at this point and the water bottles of water and sand were getting really heavy. I realized that I wasn't going to be able to make it back to the Kasbahs, so I stopped at the little gift shop again to give the man his 20DH and to look around a little more. I ended up buying a marble statue of dolphin for 50 DH which is pretty nice looking. Small enough to carry home without a hassle too. Most of his stuff was horrendously over priced and since it was a regular store I didn't think it was super appropriate to bargain. But I'm happy with what I got.
Took the cab back to the hotel and by the time I was packed up and downstairs, it was nearly 12:30! I make it over to the train station (which trying to communicate that to the taxi driver was a serious challenge in and of itself for whatever reason) and have to wait in line for the ticket counter. I say "Rabat Agdal" and am issued a ticket for the 13:35 PM train out, which suites me fine. Plenty of extra time this way!
I take a seat and wait, and I see that there are two cats in the train station. No one really minds them either, which totally isn't how it would go down in the ATL. I have some bread in my bag so I take it out to offer to the kitty who comes near me, and all the while some french girl (7 or 8 maybe) is calling the cat away from me. I say fine whatever she's a kid, and offer her the bread slice to tear into pieces for the cat. Or so I think... she takes the slice of bread and just throws it at the cat. I'm like no, rip it up, and motion the idea. She still is just holding out this whole slice to the cat who doesn't know what to do with it. Idiot girl.
She eventually leaves and I get the cat back, and he hears the crinkle of food packaging in my bag and starts climbing all up in it. I think he was a little blind or something cause he never got the food initially in my hand and had to lick around for it. eventually settles down, purring, in my lap, until some other french kids, much younger, come by and see the cat and this stupid like four year old girl is screaming and running to the cat so it runs away. What is it with people not knowing how to act around cats.
Around this time anyway I needed to be back on the train so I make a quick stop to the bathroom (bye bye 2DH...) and go to the station. After asking a good amount of people that I was in fact on the right train, I pick a window seat facing the direction we'll be moving and settle in for the four hour trip, with an alarm set for 3.5 hours in so I can start to get ready for my stop.
There are two train stops in Agdal, one called "Rabat Ville" and the other "Rabat, Agdal". Since I live in Agdal, one would have assumed the station I disembarked from was Agdal. However, turns out it was Rabat, Ville but I didn't know. After getting off one stop too early (and a nice boy telling me that no this wans't my stop-- he remembered what he saw on my ticket), I get back on to disembark at Rabat, Agdal. I get off and off the platform and realize that this actually isn't the stop I wanted. Tried to ask where the tramline was from this location and couldn't get a straight answer, and at this point the security guard sets me up with a cab driver, who says 20 DH from wherever the hell I was into the street where I lived. I wasn't even sure I had 20DH on me, but I didn't have much of a choice so I got in.
Then the guy refused to turn the meter on, and I was pretty skeptical already cause he said flat fee, which is so not how you do things here. Even in Marrakesh where they are assholes, they turn the meter on. After arguing in Arabic with him for a while to turn on the meter, which he continued to refuse to do, I recognized where I was and told him to stop and let me out. He said 5 DH which I was in the car for maybe 30 seconds (so 2-3 DH) but at this point I was so pissed I just got out. It was maybe a 10/15 minute walk straight down the street to my house, and the total taxi wouldn't have cost more than 6-9 DH if the meter were on. I was so pissed, I wish I knew how to curse in Arabic. Total asshole, never had someone refuse to turn the meter on.
All in all, though I'm sad I didn't get to a single museum, I am happy that I saw the Mediterranean ocean, which was my main goal, and rode a camel and horses. Time well spent I do think! Total my little excursion came to 135 dollars, the most expensive of which being hotel + train + taxis which was 95 dollars, or ~70% of the trip.
Looking forward, I'm not allowed to travel overnight anywhere anymore, but I might go out to Larache this Saturday, and there's a few places in the nearby city Sale I want to check out. #lessthantwoweeks
Anyway, the ride from hotel to beach cost about 7 DH, so still less than a dollar. I immediately was able to get to ocean, though it did take me a minute to find the steps. I got my camera out to try to start taking pictures, but the camera I've got seems to drain batteries basically instantaneously, or the batteries I got from the hannut next door were already bad. And basically immediately the camera said it was dying. After already forgetting my camera card when I had the birds eye view yesterday, I was pretty pissed. I decided to take a walk around downtown to try to find another hannut to buy more batteries, which are about 25-35 cents a battery. No idea if that's good or not. Anyway, since it's Ramadan, everything is closed until well after 11 usually so I was unable to find any more.
I went back to the beach and started to walk around. Luckily, the sand was not burning hot like in Oudaya and I was able to take my shoes off and walk around the beach to the ocean. I then gathered my water and sand in bottles, and even touched seaweed ! ew. I got deep into the ocean up until my knees and it wasn't hot or cold, but a perfect temperature. How I wish I could have gone swimming!
It was beautiful. There were wonderful blue colors flowing from one to another, starting with the clear water over the sand into a teal blue into a darker blue, blue. Near the start of the ocean it was like a shimmery clear ribbon was placed over an uneven pebbly surface and was being rippled and pulled to create an effect. Easily the most beautiful place I've seen. I camped out there for a while and after my cute little pink genie pants got wet, hung out on some rocks nearby to dry off. The view was again spectacular, belittled only by the fat french man also sunbathing and spitting, and the little kid running around screaming at his father.
I decided to head out around 1030 and the plan was to go back to the Kasbahs for that museum, but then I saw camels. At this point I had only a 20 DH bill and a 100DH and everyone ever despises big bills and making change. I began talking to the camel man who would only speak to me in English, which got annoying. To ride the camels was 50DH but of course he didn't have any change. So at this point I went on an excursion to find someone to give me change.
I stumbled across a little shop that had quite the assortment of over priced jewelry, leather products, clothes, and wood products. I decided to buy a 20 DH little change purse so I could get some change (hello irony) but the man had only 100 DH bills too, so that was a no go. He was a very kind man however and told me to take the purse anyway and go find change and bring him back the 20 DH.
I left to find a new store, and asked a restaurant manager if he had change, but our communication was difficult and he told me to go across the street to the bank, but it was closed. He found another friend or man on the street who said he would make change, and took my 100 DH bill and walked away. I started to follow cause naturally that's my money, but they said to just wait. Totally dubious, however, apparently we were all working on trust that day, and he came back to me with a 50 DH bill, two 20 DH and two 5 DH coins. Success!
I go back to camel man and pay him to take pictures and ride said camel. After, I must say riding the camel was easier than I expected and easier than a horse! Though a lot scarier cause you're so high off the ground. And getting the camel to stand up.... So the saddle thing is a good two feet off the camel, and I climbed on relatively easily, and after a few pictures, the man says to hold onto the rope on the front of the saddle with one hand, and the back rope with the other. I didn't quite understand, but as soon as he started coaxing the camel up, I did. They stand up with their back legs first, and then the front, so you're at a good like 75/85 degree angle until their front legs go up, which seemed to take a long time !!
After that, we started walking back down to the beach shore line and just did a big circle loop. If I hadn't been sore from riding horses (in sandals no less... really didnt think that one through) the camel right probably wouldn't have bothered me much at all.
Turns out camels sit down in the opposite way that they stand up, so again I was at that awkward 75 degree angle basically holding on for dear life! After dismounting I took a few more pictures and pet each camel (a female, and a mom and her furry baby).
I decided to go back to the hotel because it was half past 11 at this point and the water bottles of water and sand were getting really heavy. I realized that I wasn't going to be able to make it back to the Kasbahs, so I stopped at the little gift shop again to give the man his 20DH and to look around a little more. I ended up buying a marble statue of dolphin for 50 DH which is pretty nice looking. Small enough to carry home without a hassle too. Most of his stuff was horrendously over priced and since it was a regular store I didn't think it was super appropriate to bargain. But I'm happy with what I got.
Took the cab back to the hotel and by the time I was packed up and downstairs, it was nearly 12:30! I make it over to the train station (which trying to communicate that to the taxi driver was a serious challenge in and of itself for whatever reason) and have to wait in line for the ticket counter. I say "Rabat Agdal" and am issued a ticket for the 13:35 PM train out, which suites me fine. Plenty of extra time this way!
I take a seat and wait, and I see that there are two cats in the train station. No one really minds them either, which totally isn't how it would go down in the ATL. I have some bread in my bag so I take it out to offer to the kitty who comes near me, and all the while some french girl (7 or 8 maybe) is calling the cat away from me. I say fine whatever she's a kid, and offer her the bread slice to tear into pieces for the cat. Or so I think... she takes the slice of bread and just throws it at the cat. I'm like no, rip it up, and motion the idea. She still is just holding out this whole slice to the cat who doesn't know what to do with it. Idiot girl.
She eventually leaves and I get the cat back, and he hears the crinkle of food packaging in my bag and starts climbing all up in it. I think he was a little blind or something cause he never got the food initially in my hand and had to lick around for it. eventually settles down, purring, in my lap, until some other french kids, much younger, come by and see the cat and this stupid like four year old girl is screaming and running to the cat so it runs away. What is it with people not knowing how to act around cats.
Around this time anyway I needed to be back on the train so I make a quick stop to the bathroom (bye bye 2DH...) and go to the station. After asking a good amount of people that I was in fact on the right train, I pick a window seat facing the direction we'll be moving and settle in for the four hour trip, with an alarm set for 3.5 hours in so I can start to get ready for my stop.
There are two train stops in Agdal, one called "Rabat Ville" and the other "Rabat, Agdal". Since I live in Agdal, one would have assumed the station I disembarked from was Agdal. However, turns out it was Rabat, Ville but I didn't know. After getting off one stop too early (and a nice boy telling me that no this wans't my stop-- he remembered what he saw on my ticket), I get back on to disembark at Rabat, Agdal. I get off and off the platform and realize that this actually isn't the stop I wanted. Tried to ask where the tramline was from this location and couldn't get a straight answer, and at this point the security guard sets me up with a cab driver, who says 20 DH from wherever the hell I was into the street where I lived. I wasn't even sure I had 20DH on me, but I didn't have much of a choice so I got in.
Then the guy refused to turn the meter on, and I was pretty skeptical already cause he said flat fee, which is so not how you do things here. Even in Marrakesh where they are assholes, they turn the meter on. After arguing in Arabic with him for a while to turn on the meter, which he continued to refuse to do, I recognized where I was and told him to stop and let me out. He said 5 DH which I was in the car for maybe 30 seconds (so 2-3 DH) but at this point I was so pissed I just got out. It was maybe a 10/15 minute walk straight down the street to my house, and the total taxi wouldn't have cost more than 6-9 DH if the meter were on. I was so pissed, I wish I knew how to curse in Arabic. Total asshole, never had someone refuse to turn the meter on.
All in all, though I'm sad I didn't get to a single museum, I am happy that I saw the Mediterranean ocean, which was my main goal, and rode a camel and horses. Time well spent I do think! Total my little excursion came to 135 dollars, the most expensive of which being hotel + train + taxis which was 95 dollars, or ~70% of the trip.
Looking forward, I'm not allowed to travel overnight anywhere anymore, but I might go out to Larache this Saturday, and there's a few places in the nearby city Sale I want to check out. #lessthantwoweeks
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Tangier
I'm spending this weekend in Tangier!
I disembarked after school on Friday. I live about two or three streets down from the tram-way. The internet in our house was off when I got home from school, and I needed to look up a few more things before I left, so I packed up, played with my host sister for a little bit, and went to school to use the internet. I'm wrapping things up and realize it's already 2:10 PM! My train is supposed to leave at 2:42 so I book it to the tram-way and right as I walk up the train is departing. So I buy a ticket and painstakingly wait the seven minutes until the next tram. Fiiiiinally it shows up and I'm just staring at my phone. I get to the station around 2:30 and then realize I have to wait in line for a machine to get the ticket. I think about asking the guy in front of me to let me go first because at this point I had five minutes left until 2:42 and didn't know if there was security or something after that. Didn't know where I was going, etc. Anyway he gets done quickly and I see that they've delayed the train by five minutes, thank god.
Ticket in hand, I descend the escalator to where the train disembarks from and try to determine the difference in where first and second class ticket holders can board. I just went with second class, which as I found out, means you have no guaranteed seat. Rabat in the middle of the day was super busy and it was a ridiculous push to even try to get on the train. People were so concerned about getting on that they wouldn't even let the poor people on the train get off first.
I realize there are no seats anywhere so I have to stand up in the aisle with everyone else and hold on to a seat back and prepare myself for what I now realize is going to be a long, exhausting, hot (no AC), four hour long train ride. Eventually, maybe less than 45 minutes in, enough people get off that I am able to grab a seat finally. Less and less people remain the closer we get to Tangier. After a while I start to try to figure out which stop I need in Tangier, cause there are three stops. Turns out I needed the last one which was at the end of the line. Disembark from the train, and make my way into the train station. Find a bathroom, cause there weren't any on the train I don't think, but I also wasn't going to give up my seat to go look. The strangest thing here is paying the "bathroom attendants" who don't really do anything... But they only want usually like 25 cents. Just strange.
I get outside and as I should have expected, there were a bunch of taxi drivers asking like pelicans if we needed taxis.
Finally after my hour long tour, I jump off the horse which was much easier, and walking after that was a bit difficult! My knees were so sore from being in that awkward position. I flag down a taxi and since it's around 11 at this point, I decide to try to find the bookstore I have on my list. The museums, according to my research, were all closed from 11:30 - 3:00 so I had some down time. Taxi driver took me to the right road, but the shop was closed, or I maybe didn't find the right place. But I decided to walk home since I thought I knew where I was... yeah bet you can guess how that ended up.
I turn them down cause I can't tell if they are grand taxi or petit taxi drivers, I assumed grand taxis because they were everywhere and it's not really recommended to take the grand ones because they cram six people into them and you have to negotiate the fare beforehand. I much prefer petit taxi because they are metered.
I manage to flag one down and he doesn't really know the hotel but he's nice and knows a bit of English and is willing to ask some people where it is. We flag down a traffic police officer and manage to find the hotel! It's a seemingly little hole in the wall, but once I get inside it's pretty big. Manager is nice enough and gives me the choice between two rooms. One has two double beds and seemed bigger, the other had a larger full size bed. I stupidly chose the one with the two double beds cause it was bigger, but it would have been nice to be able to spread out on a full size bed! I swear the beds I have here are narrower than the ones I have a Tech, which is seriously saying something...
There isn't much to do because it's nearly 7:30 PM by the time that I get all settled in. Check some emails and decide to go check out the immediate area, but it's about 8:30 by that time, and it's after iftar, so the only people really out are men sitting and smoking in cafes. It's dark so I decide to play it safe and just come back to the hotel and get an early start for the next day.
I spend the rest of the night planning what I'll do tomorrow, and the tentative list included horseback riding, a contemporary art museum, visiting St. Andrew's church, and a museum in the Kasbahs. Turns out the art museum and church should be within a ten minute walking distance of my hotel, and another ten from that is a bookstore which has a modest selection of English titles, according to the guidebook I consulted. Plan and directions in hand, I head to bed.
The next day... I had plans to wake up early, around 7:30, but accidentally slept in and didn't get on the road until around nine. Flag down a taxi and try to communicate that I want the horse park, and I think it went okay, which was confirmed when I ended up at the park, haha. About a 10 DH ride there, which is ~1.15 USD, so not too bad. I manage to find the front office and communicate that I would like to ride a horse! Cost me 150 DH, or 18 USD, for an hour plus a guide, which I suppose is a fair assessment.
I wait around for a while checking out all the horses in the stalls until my guide shows up. There are some really, really big animals there. Like, massive. Scary massive. They were all very well tempered though, and the woman in charge was showed me the facilities.
My guide shows up with some normal sized horses and I start to realize that I have to climb onto that thing. The person lowers the length of the stirrup which is still impressively high, and I get one foot in, and then swing over to get on. And realize how uncomfortable it is! I also didn't think through the clothes situation very well, and ended up just wearing sandals. I think some tennis shoes might have been helpful!
We start walking and then I realize what an impressively athletic sport this really is. Just trying to find a comfortable spot on that saddle was impossible, and holding on to make sure you don't fall off! By the end I realized if I put more weight onto the stirrups themselves and supported myself that way, it was more comfortable, but highly exhausting as well. No idea how jockeys do it.
We start walking around the facilities and while I was hoping for some scenery more exciting, it was still fun. We walk around a few times in the perimeter, and then my guide ties down his horse, and puts me in a circular training arena. Then he decides we should start to run. That was impressively difficult. I figured out that if you stand up on the horse like he was telling me in Arabic to do (hardest part, haha) you can sort of bounce in sync with the horse and it's a lot more comfortable than just walking. However I seriously lacked the body/muscle strength to do that with any serious repetition. I tell the guide I don't want to run anymore and we go back to making some perimeters. The facilities are a lot larger than I had realized and they had dogs and chickens and baby chickens pecking around for food. It was adorable.
Actually got to the right place, but the roads are confusing and very poorly marked, and went down the right fork in the road instead of the left like I needed to, and decided to get a taxi cause it was hot and I was lost. After convincing the guy that no it actually wasn't in the medina (seriously no one knows this hotel), also hello Arabic direction skills) we found it again and it was just the street over. But oh well, I have a good idea of my way around now. I seem to pick it up pretty quickly, thankfully.
I decided to catch up on emails and watch some TV since my research showed that everything was closed from ~12-3. Sat in the lobby of my hotel and watched some Stargate! After a quick peanut butter sandwich, I start to walk around to find the Contemporary Art Museum that is theoretically within a ten minute walk from my hotel. Yeah, no. I found the church, I think, and the difference in address between the church and the museum was 50 vs 52, but no success. I tried asking around, but no one knew either. At this point I give up and decide to move on to the next museum, the one in the Kasbahs. I find a taxi (which took an incredibly long time) and we actually get me right there, but the museum is closed, and the hours on the website were wrong. Turns out it was open 9-3 entirely, and not 9-12 and 3-6 like my book said. So that was a sad bust. Looks like a great museum though, I'm going back tomorrow.
On the plus side, I got a spectacular view of the Mediterranean ocean for the first time. And naturally, I forgot the camera card in my computer on the way out, so I couldn't get a photo but I'll go back tomorrow. The amount of blues in the ocean were spectacular though.
I found a taxi back to my hotel and at this point was pretty exhausted, and took a nap for about an hour and a half. After this I went back out and walked around the city and wanted to go back to the gelato shop I found, which turns out was about a twenty minute walk up hill. Not excited about that... Not much to do in the cities either because of Ramadan so all the restaurants and cafes are closed. I figure out that said gelato shop has food food, and around 6:45 sit at a table and start pursuing the menu. Luckily I had a semi English speaking waiter who was able to translate the French for me. I decide to go with one of the Ramadan specials, and for about $6.50, I got dates, a boiled egg (ewwww), orange juice, milk, water, three dessert pastries, and a huge bowl of harrira. I spent about two hours at the restaurant overall. It was crazy... tangier is super loud and noisy, but around iftar, 730, it got silent. Strange to see that transition in daily life.
After dinner I walk back to my hotel and on the way I see the most adorable tiny little kitty cat, who thankfully doesn't look sick, just small and mommy-less. I have my little water bottle, and pour some water into the lid and give it to her. She was the first kitten who actually drank water from me! She had a lot too, must have been seriously dehydrated. Also a skittish little thing, she barely let me come near her! I did manage to sneak around her and grab her, and was walking down the street with her seemingly calm, but at the last minute she flips out of my hands and runs away so fast I don't even know what direction she went. I was seriously intending on taking her back to the hotel and feeding her bread I had. I might have even taken her home to Rabat. She was so beautiful and sad :(
I spent the rest of the night just relaxing in the hotel, since there isn't much to do and just men left on the streets after about 9 pm at night. Which suites me well, some down time is always good!
The plan for tomorrow is just to get to the beach to get some sand and water, and hopefully visit the Kasbah museum as well!
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Family Dynamic
Daily Life, kids, adoption, husband-wife
Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Who me? Couldn't be!
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