Updates on my attempts to change and make new habits:
1. I have been praying more. I can't say that I have succeeded in 5 times per day everyday, but I have been having conversations with God that mean much more to me than meeting that goal. It's a remarkable thing how much more complete I feel after talking to God.
2. I am still picking my fingernails. My friend, Lex, is trying to help me out. Everytime she notices me picking at them, she slaps my hand. It helps, but I find myself back to my habit two minutes later.
3. Because we were traveling last week, we weren't able to have Bible study. This week we are planning on it. However, I did have time for reflection. I am growing a lot through this experience.
My new host family is incredible. They speak a little bit of French, Arabic and very minimal English. We are able to communicate and learn a lot from each other. The father, Abdullah, sells djellabas and caftans, traditional Moroccan dress, in the Old Medina. The mother, Naima, stays at home with my new baby sister, Salma. They are a beautiful family and are so welcoming to me. I am so thankful that they were willing to take me in. Their house is beautiful, but really, it is beautiful, and I definitely lucked out. I am so excited to learn more about their life as the semester goes on.
The weekend in Marrakech was a huge success. We left from the Gare de Rabat 11:45 on Friday. The trip was about four hours, and somehow in my head, I had conjured up that it was just one hour. So that trip crept by for me...But when we arrived we were thrilled. We had three groups of students staying in different places. A few in a hostel, a few in a hotel and myself and six others rented an apartment. I didn't have high expectations, but was delightfully surprised at how nice it was. We did some grocery shopping and cooked dinner, and then got ready to go out for the night. We put our names on the guest list at a club called Theatro for free admission, rather than paying 200DH. We had a great time there, good enough to decide that we would go back the next night for the birthdays.
1. I have been praying more. I can't say that I have succeeded in 5 times per day everyday, but I have been having conversations with God that mean much more to me than meeting that goal. It's a remarkable thing how much more complete I feel after talking to God.
2. I am still picking my fingernails. My friend, Lex, is trying to help me out. Everytime she notices me picking at them, she slaps my hand. It helps, but I find myself back to my habit two minutes later.
3. Because we were traveling last week, we weren't able to have Bible study. This week we are planning on it. However, I did have time for reflection. I am growing a lot through this experience.
My new host family is incredible. They speak a little bit of French, Arabic and very minimal English. We are able to communicate and learn a lot from each other. The father, Abdullah, sells djellabas and caftans, traditional Moroccan dress, in the Old Medina. The mother, Naima, stays at home with my new baby sister, Salma. They are a beautiful family and are so welcoming to me. I am so thankful that they were willing to take me in. Their house is beautiful, but really, it is beautiful, and I definitely lucked out. I am so excited to learn more about their life as the semester goes on.
The weekend in Marrakech was a huge success. We left from the Gare de Rabat 11:45 on Friday. The trip was about four hours, and somehow in my head, I had conjured up that it was just one hour. So that trip crept by for me...But when we arrived we were thrilled. We had three groups of students staying in different places. A few in a hostel, a few in a hotel and myself and six others rented an apartment. I didn't have high expectations, but was delightfully surprised at how nice it was. We did some grocery shopping and cooked dinner, and then got ready to go out for the night. We put our names on the guest list at a club called Theatro for free admission, rather than paying 200DH. We had a great time there, good enough to decide that we would go back the next night for the birthdays.
We didn't rush the following morning to start our day which we found so relaxing and necessary due to the early hours we keep in Rabat. Just to throw it out there, I wake up at 7:10 every morning, leave the house at 8:00, and walk 30 minutes for class at 8:30. Nevertheless, in Marrakech, we got ourselves ready and set out wandering the streets knowing we would soon cross paths with something unique to Marrakech. It didn't take long to find the Saadian Tombs, just near the Kasbah. The tombs date back to Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur, who died in 1603. Interestingly, the tombs were only re-discovered in 1917, when the burial sites of 60 members of the Saadi Dynasty were found.
Just after, we found Palais Bahia, a palace of the king and gardens. More than absorbing the culture there, we kinda just hung out. Admittedly, the gardens were beautiful. Marrakech was shockingly warmer than Rabit and it took a lot of energy out of me. We went back to the apartment and hung around until dinner and getting ready to go out. We met up with a huge group of IES students and went to the same club, Theatro, and danced. all. night. The club was unlike any that I had been to before, with three floors and different platforms for dancing. Around the end of our night, not the night, masked performers and fire dancers put on a show. We finally started rounding everyone up at 5:00 to head home. That is definitely my latest night out, ever, but I guess turning 21 is a big deal...or so I've heard.
Now I'm getting back to the grind in Rabat. I have a lot of Arabic homework staring me in the face, and a few articles to read for my U.S./North Africa Political Relations class. I am considering taking a trip to Tangier this weekend, but my funds are low and the semester is fresh. Inch allah, I will be able to go at some point.
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