How about a nice cup of STFU?

This morning I almost flipped out on my Moroccan family's host father. Normally I can put up with his pompous manner, but today I just didn't have the patience. Let me explain.

I've had a pretty bad flu for the past week and a hacking cough that has kept me (and my roommate) up pretty much every night. After 6 days of my throat feeling like it's been rubbed down with cement and 3 days of skipping class, I went to the doctor and found out I have bronchitis. However, all week the host father, Amir, has kept telling me that being sick is a mentality and I need to stop acting sick. Imagine being miserably sick and basically being told to stop and get over it.

This morning I got up to go to school to take an exam, but still feeling like crap. During breakfast, Amir and Meriam started exclaiming and laughing that I finally decided to go to school again. Amir began yapping about how I'm too sensitive and had the nerve to tell me I'm acting "like Miss America." I snapped back at him and told him that bronchitis is a medical condition and a legit reason for skipping class. He then asked me if I've ever left my parents home before and I said yes, I lived and worked in D.C. He scoffed and said it's still in America and that's not a difference. Then he continued on about how I'm the youngest in my family so "that explains everything."

How unbelievably obnoxious. He knows nothing about my life but has the nerve to say I'm spoiled and pampered. I've worked harder in my life than most 22-year olds I know and if there's one thing I despise, it's someone treating me like I've had it all handed to me. Might I add that both his daughters are the most spoiled children I have ever encountered and that for him to tell me I'm the pampered one is incredibly ironic. Can't even get sick around here without being bothered. I wouldn't have been so bugged if his comments weren't an everyday thing. It's like his thoughts are the only one that matters. I have enough frustrations with Morocco to deal with so one more comment out of him and I'll tell him exactly where he can stick his obnoxious opinions.

The taxi ripoff

Taxis are the most common form of transportation in Rabat since the city doesn't have a metro or a rail, and the buses are so slow. They're pretty cheap in USD- my 15 ride to school costs about $1.50. Unlike in the U.S., the taxis will continue stopping and picking up other people as long as they're going in the same direction as the passenger who is already in the car.

The drivers almost always try to rip us off. My blonde roommate has it pretty bad - she clearly isn't Moroccan so they usually try to charge her more. I can pass for Moroccan by looks, but as soon as they can tell we're foreigners, they try to take us around and around so the meter keeps going up. Taxis do this in a lot of cities but the annoying thing is that Moroccan taxis also pick up other passengers who are going in other directions and go out of the way to drop them off and we end up having to pay more.

The driver today picked up 2 passengers, went all the way around and then tried to charge me 20 dirhams when usually it only costs 13. I HATE when they do that. I've flipped out on so many taxi drivers since I've been here. As soon as I can tell they're trying to overcharge us, I start yelling, and they start yelling back and poor Lauren just sits there awkwardly wishing I'd just hand over the extra money. Sure it's only a dollar, but it's the principle of the thing! I refuse to be ripped off. I just tossed 13 dirhams at him and told him he's crazy if he thought I'd pay that much and when he started arguing I jumped out of the cab and walked away. Asshole.

Harry Potter in Arabic!

After searching for so long, I finally found it! :D

Chefchaouen

After Tangier, we made our way to Chefchaouen, which is probably one of my favorite Moroccan cities so far. It's a small, quiet town up north in between the mountains. The unique thing about it is that everything in it is painted blue and white so it's very dramatic looking.

The medina in Chef is really cool. While all the medinas are filled with everything you can imagine, Chef's medina is particularly scenic because it falls right behind the incredible mountains.It was a hike to get up there since Chef is slanted on a hill.

As we walked through, we got pulled into a store by the storekeeper who shouted "Marhaban, marhaban!" (Welcome! Welcome!) and telling us that we were his guests and he would give us "good price!" He insisted on showing us every single tapestry and blanket he had. He also had a huge collection of different herbs, spices, and powders.

More pics from the medina.Some great places to eat, friendly people who speak a lot of English, and a relaxing atmosphere. Would definitely recommend Chefchaouen to anyone visiting Morocco. A beautiful city that is worth the hike.

A day in Tangier

Yesterday we visited to Tangier, a Northern city at the very tip of Morocco from which you can see Spain across the ocean. It's a pretty city surrounded by sand and water. On our way there, we stopped inside the Hercules Cave right outside the city, a cave build by men with myths that Hercules himself once passed through it. The cave itself is very small, but there is an opening inside which overlooks the Atlantic Coast and is shaped just like the continent of Africa. Very cool.

We also learned that Morocco had been the first country to accept America's independence. Therefore, the only U.S. historical landmark outside of the U.S. is based in Tangier- the Legation of the U.S.A. It's a museum/research center, which holds paintings, historical and research books, minuscule figurines of the American Revolution, pics of Moroccan leaders with past U.S. presidents and a library filled with books on the history of both countries. There was even a copy of the letter that George Washington once wrote to the Sultan of Morocco.

In the evening, we went to a restaurant called Miami Beach for seafood which is supposed to be amazing in Tangier since it's on the coast. I ordered shrimp and out came a dozen, fully fledged with eyes and several little legs. Both disgusting and fascinating but it tasted pretty good.

Tinora and I shared dessert, as always. Chocolate mousse- delish. We also had riveting conversations about how elephants go to graveyards when they can sense they're about to die. "I would be so sad if my pet elephant went to the graveyard!"

After dinner, we hung out in the hotel for awhile. The girls went out around midnight, but since I wasn't feeling well, I called it a night. "No, I'm not sick Tinora, I just have a horrible cough and a sore throat!"

This morning we got up and walked around for a bit and went by the water. Parts of Tangier remind me of Miami. Then in the afternoon, we left for the city of Chefchauen and passed some of the most incredible views I've ever seen in my life.

Blog post on Chef coming up soon.

J'adore Paris

One of the greatest highlights of spring break was going to Paris, a city I have wanted to visit since I was a little girl. Saber bhaia took me there on a day trip and we spent it running around the city to see all the major attractions. We had to get up at 5:30am to but I was so excited that it didn’t even matter. We were going to Paris!

We went by Eurostar, which took us about 3 hours. When we arrived in Paris, we took a bus tour around the city. We saw L’Arc de Triumph, Champs d’Elise,Place de le Concorde (where Marie Antoinette and thousands others were beheaded), the Opera House, and the busy streets.

There is a certain glamour about Paris that radiates from everything inside of it. While everyone talks about how stuck up the people are, you can’t help admiring just how pretty everything is. Sadly my camera mysteriously broke as we got to L’Arc de Triump but luckily bhaia had his!

After the bus tour, we went on a river cruise on the Seine. It was a lovely day and looking at the city from the river added to its beauty.

We passed Notre Dame which was breathtaking with its intricate architectural design. And finally saw the Eiffel Tower! "Look, there it is!"

When we got off the cruise, we headed inside the Eiffel Tower where we had lunch. Bhaia had salmon and I had pasta, with cheesecake and chocolate praline cake for dessert. It was delicious. After lunch we went up to the second level of the tower. The elevator was too crowded so we took the stairs- 300 steps and it was exhausting! The views of Paris from the tower were amazing though since we could walk around and take in the city from every angle.

Then we headed to the Louvre which bhaia was most excited for. Usually I’m not into museums, but even I know that the Louvre holds the greatest works of art in the world so I was very excited as well. Here’s the famous glass pyramid. (If you’re a Da Vinci Code fan, directly underneath is where Robert Langdon discovered that the body of Mary Magdalene is buried).

Of course we saw the Mona Lisa. I was prepared for the anticlimax of the painting but the museum has it roped off at such a distance that you can’t really admire the painting at all. Such a shame that we can't enjoy the most famous painting in the world. Afterwards we saw the Egyptian gallery, along with the statue of Venis de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the 2nd century BC statue of the Greek goddess Nike.

Bhaia’s favorite part was when we found the Hammurabi Code, the first law ever written in the Babylonian era. The Louvre is so huge that an hour and half was not nearly enough time to spend in there. But we saw everything we wanted to see.

After that, it was time to go home. We were both exhausted, but in a good way because it had been a fantastic day. Thanks bhaia, you're the best!

Why you should never fly with Iberia

Before I write about my fabulous spring break, I'd like to emphasize that I flew with the worst airline I've ever encountered- Iberia, the Spain flag-carrier. Here's why:

Every single flight was delayed.

I had 4 flights with Iberia between Casablanca, Morocco and London Heathrow and they were all delayed by at least 2-4 hours. They used the same excuse every time- "traffic control delays." Somehow all the other airlines managed to come in on time though. Imagine that.

They're greedy corporate bastards.

On my way back to Morocco from London, Iberia staff wouldn't let me get on my flight because I don't have a Moroccan visa. When I told them I'm a student in Morocco, they refused to verify the information by calling my program and insisted that I buy a ticket out of Morocco to prove that I won't be staying there for over 3 months. Being a displaced student from Egypt is a unique situation but Iberia didn't bother to listen. So the only way I could leave London was to buy a $600 ticket out of Morocco to Madrid. While they said it was "fully refundable" they also told me they would charge me a $60 penalty for cancellation. I had no choice but to buy this ticket because they refused to give me any other option.

Their customer service is awful.

After I got back to Morocco, I called their office in Casablanca to cancel the ticket. No one answered. After calling back repeatedly, non-stop, still no one answered. I found out they take a 3-hour lunch break (which they even state on their website) so I called back in the afternoon. Surprise- still no answer. I called their office in London and no one answered there either. Finally I called their American office, the only country I could count on to have some sense of efficiency and professionalism. Finally I got my ticket cancelled.

The staff and flight attendants are rude.

You know how flight attendants greet you when you get on board? Not with Iberia. You also have to pay for all food and drinks on the flight. I fell asleep and missed the food cart when it passed, but when I asked the flight attendant if I could get a drink she told me in a huff that I had to pay and pointed to a menu. At least I got a small cup of water for free.

The flight itself is very unimpressive.

There's no difference between first class, business class and economy class other than the fact that you sit further up on the plane. And the seats are not cleaned- there were crumbs on my seat.

Even the baggage was late.

When I got to London from Madrid, I waited at baggage claim for at least an hour before they finally started putting out the luggage. As if a delayed flight isn't bad enough, it added an extra hour just to get my suitcase.

So take it from me- don't ever fly with Iberia. The prices aren't any cheaper than other airlines so basically you get crappy service, delayed flights, and ripped off no matter how much you pay.

Spring break!

It's Friday and my break has officially started! I'm waiting at Casablanca airport right now for my flight to London but I have a short layover in Madrid. I'll arrive at Heathrow airport at 9:15pm. I can't describe how unbelievably excited I am. I have tons of cousins and family in London, plus my dad is also flying in this week. It'll be the first time seeing familiar faces in over two months which is great because I'm tired of being around people from AMIDEAST all the time. While some of them are cool, they're still strangers who I've only known for a few weeks.

My cousin Saber bhaia is picking me up from the airport tonight. I'm excited to meet my little niece Sahra for the first time! Dad's coming on Sunday, and I have a ton of other cousins to see during the week. I've been to London before so I've seen most of the touristy stuff, so this trip will mostly be enjoying the city and shopping and spending time with family. And of course looking for Harry Potter stuff! Then there's my trip to Paris to look forward to! By some incredible stroke of luck, I got my tax refund today which means ore spending money in my bank account which means shopping in Europe! Life is good!

Dinner a la....dinosaur???

This is what my host mother prepared for us last night. As my friend Mariam said- it looks like a baby alligator threw up on the plate. However, once we got over the initial shock of seeing a scary face with sharp little teeth on our plates, we realized it was delicious! It was some kind of white fish, the red stuff is eggplant, and we had it with bread. Mmmmmmmm. See, I even finished it!

Viva España

This past weekend, me and two other girls from the program took a 3-night weekend trip to Madrid. We left from Casablanca airport so the flights were only about $70, an amazing deal. We stayed in Hostel Dolce Vita in the neighborhood of Cheuca, a trendy area known for its bars, nightlife and mostly gay crowd. A nice break for us considering we wouldn't be hit on every time we stepped outside. It was my first time staying in a hostel but it was surprisingly clean and very charming, with a triple bedroom with flower lights and multicolored walls.

On Saturday, we spent the day touring the major tourist areas, including Puerta de Sol, a large square with tons of entertainers, restaurants, and stores. We saw Mickey Mouse, Spongebob, a Mariache band, and lots more. We contemplated tackling Spongebob and Patrick but there were too many kids around. Mickey tried to charge me for taking a picture of him so I gave him a Moroccan dirham (he couldn't tell the difference with his big head)- am I going to Disney hell for ripping off Mickey Mouse?

Then we headed to Plaza Mayor, another famous square which hosts restaurants and entertainers as well. We saw magicians, mascots, headless sequined men, and women dressed in flamenco dresses. A man was also blowing the coolest bubbles I've ever seen- they covered an entire person!

We spent a majority of the day shopping - Spain has amazing clothes! Although it was a bit of a shock to go from spending Moroccan dirhams to Spanish Euros- that part wasn't so fun. Spain is huge on soccer so Real Madrid and FC Barcelona stuff everywhere.

For dinner, I had paella, a Madrid must. Paella is a Spanish rice dish with prawns, mussels, squid and different veggies. It wasn't the best I've ever had, but good nonetheless.

We also stopped in a crepe store and had the most incredible crepes I've ever tasted. It was filled with oreos, nutella, caramel, and topped with dulce de leche ice-cream and whipped cream. Absolutely divine.

In the evening we went to a drag bar called "A Noite," where we saw a drag show in Spanish. Not understanding a word of spanish, I simply admired that these men could walk in heels better than I do.

The night didn't end very well, since the girls got so wasted that they both literally threw up all over themselves (and on my shoe!). Being the only sober one was quite frustrating. I can never understand why getting that drunk can be considered a good time.

On Sunday we visited the Palicio Real, or the Royal Palace, and then walked around the city some more. Madrid is an friendly city to navigate, and we were able to walk to all the places we wanted to see. We also had Spanish hot chocolate, which is delicious and so thick that it tastes just like melted chocolate.

We flew back to Morocco on Monday at noon. It was a great weekend getaway, and a nice change of pace after being in Africa for two months. Shopping in Spain was amazing, and don't worry, I got lots of gifts for everyone! Now only a few days until spring break. London, here I come!

The best message of the day

A message from my wonderful friend Ali Manzar after he read my blog today for the first time. Probably one of the best comments I've received about my blog so far --

"You really are quite the little adventurer! I was planning to read only a couple entries and then come back to it later, but I found myself sad when you were sad, happy when you were happy, laughing when you were laughing, disgusted when you were disgusted, and scared when you were scared. Don't ever stop writing - it's your gift.
...
Anyway, now that I am up to date on your life, I will be following along very closely, eagerly awaiting your next entry (wow, I'm even writing like you now - see what effect you've had on me? =P)"

Thanks Ali! :-)

On a side note, food poisoning is starting to subside, I got a lotion made of milk for the hives, and I'm off to Madrid tomorrow! Buenos noches!

Food poisoning

After a day of vomiting, cramping and breaking into hives, I went to the clinic only to find that I have food poisoning. Wonderful. The doctor told me to stay off fish, eggs, and… chocolate?! Fml. Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point. I’ve decided to see everything with a little bit of humor, since my life is pretty ridiculous at this point. And on the bright side, at least it happened before Spain this weekend.