How crazy is it that there was a suicide bombing yesterday in the exact same spot I was standing on Sunday? Yesterday an explosion in a cafe in Jamaa el Efnaa square killed at least 14 people, including many foreigners as it's a huge tourist attraction. Reports confirmed that it was an act of terrorism although it's not yet known who was behind the attack. Suicide bombings aren't common in Morocco; the last one was was in Casablanca in 2003, so yesterday's event is a major deal. You can read The New York Times article here. Being a Gilman scholar, yesterday I got contacted by the Department of State to make sure I was safe for the second time this year, the first being when the protests in Egypt peaked in January. After evacuating to Morocco from Cairo, I've been getting security alerts every week about protests, riots, uprisings in Morocco and the Middle Eastern/North African region. Walking down the street and passing mass crowds outside government buildings has become a norm. Stories of clashes between the police and protesters a few blocks away are so frequent that we ignore them now. Even hearing that a man tried to set himself in front of the Parliament isn't surprising.
How a simple decision to study abroad in college turned into such a surreal life experience is hard to process. Not only am I experiencing all the culture differences of this region, but I'm also actually living inside the world I used to read about on the news. As my friend Jason nicely put it, "What, revolutions, sexual harassment, rock throwing, overbearing host fathers and terror attacks too eventful for you? Where's your sense of adventure?"
An adventure indeed. I can't believe this is my life.
