Well friends, I have officially been accepted as a Moroccan- ha! We moved in with our new host families yesterday, allow me to introduce you: Hamid is my host dad, he is a bodyguard for the King of Morocco, Saida is my host mom, she is a stay-at-home mom but has two different degrees in cooking. My host siblings are a 14 year old girl who is away at a boarding school in Casablanca, an 8 year old boy named Soufiane, and a 2 year old boy named Saad. They are a very warm and loving family- Saida and Hamid have already started to introduce my rooming partner (Madison) and I as their daughters, and even yesterday while I was studying in the salon Saad was yelling "okhti, okhti" (my sister, my sister) to get my attention. Their home is beautiful (only Madison and I get corrected every time we call it "their home", because it is now "our home"). We live in a very large apartment above the souk (market) street, only about four blocks from the ocean! :-) The house is very modern, and the neighborhood very friendly. This morning when we left for school we saw lots of local children running around to different Moms giving them kisses on the cheek, it was very sweet.
Getting used to the amount of food eaten by Moroccans and the frequency will be a challenge- I feel like southern hospitality may have met its match! Breakfast is had at 7 right now because we have to leave for school at 7:30, but normally it would be had at 9 or 10 apparently. I think I misunderstood that earlier- the only reason our family is eating breakfast at 7 is because Madison and I need to eat at that time and it would be unhospitable to make us eat alone. Then there is a mid-morning tea/coffee/snack break- and for the record, all of these involve tea/coffee and bread. Lunch is had around 4, from what I can tell, and this is the largest meal of the day. Yesterday we had tagine with beef, potatoes, peas, chickpeas, and bread followed by watermelon! I never thought I would be eating watermelon in Morocco! Although, one of our staff specifically told us not to eat the melon this summer- apparently this year the melons have something going on that will make you sick.
On that subject- I have not gotten sick yet! There are a few things I have eaten that have made me feel like my intestines were committing mutiny inside my stomach, but so far it has been very short lived and nothing has come of it. The tap water in Rabat is some of the best in Morocco, as far as water quality is concerned, and is very clear water. But, it is still not the best to drink, especially because the bacteria in the water here and not the same as the bacteria at home. So, I have been using Kyle's sterilization pen several times a day. This way, I can fill up my water bottle and then just sterilize the water so that it is safe to drink, instead of buying water bottles constantly. Bottled water is very cheap here, but it is still nice to use my own! Everyone seems amazed by the sterilization pen- my brother Soufianne wanted to fill up my water bottle repeatedly yesterday just so he could see the laser shine in the water.
My class begins in a few minutes so I am wrapping up for now, but I just wanted to share my new host family with you. They are very loving and kind, the accommodations are very nice, and it is in an exciting and safe location, so all is well!
Love from Morocco,
Amanda
Getting used to the amount of food eaten by Moroccans and the frequency will be a challenge- I feel like southern hospitality may have met its match! Breakfast is had at 7 right now because we have to leave for school at 7:30, but normally it would be had at 9 or 10 apparently. I think I misunderstood that earlier- the only reason our family is eating breakfast at 7 is because Madison and I need to eat at that time and it would be unhospitable to make us eat alone. Then there is a mid-morning tea/coffee/snack break- and for the record, all of these involve tea/coffee and bread. Lunch is had around 4, from what I can tell, and this is the largest meal of the day. Yesterday we had tagine with beef, potatoes, peas, chickpeas, and bread followed by watermelon! I never thought I would be eating watermelon in Morocco! Although, one of our staff specifically told us not to eat the melon this summer- apparently this year the melons have something going on that will make you sick.
On that subject- I have not gotten sick yet! There are a few things I have eaten that have made me feel like my intestines were committing mutiny inside my stomach, but so far it has been very short lived and nothing has come of it. The tap water in Rabat is some of the best in Morocco, as far as water quality is concerned, and is very clear water. But, it is still not the best to drink, especially because the bacteria in the water here and not the same as the bacteria at home. So, I have been using Kyle's sterilization pen several times a day. This way, I can fill up my water bottle and then just sterilize the water so that it is safe to drink, instead of buying water bottles constantly. Bottled water is very cheap here, but it is still nice to use my own! Everyone seems amazed by the sterilization pen- my brother Soufianne wanted to fill up my water bottle repeatedly yesterday just so he could see the laser shine in the water.
My class begins in a few minutes so I am wrapping up for now, but I just wanted to share my new host family with you. They are very loving and kind, the accommodations are very nice, and it is in an exciting and safe location, so all is well!
Love from Morocco,
Amanda
Amanda, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful experience! At times it felt like I was right there with you and your friends. Welcome back home :-) Manuela
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