"From Morocco, with love"

I dropped off on updating this blog after my travels ended, but this month, I received a message from someone in Morocco responding to one of my blog posts during the time I lived there. In February 2011, I wrote a very frustrated post after I was harassed on the streets of Rabat. A stranger sent me this email responding to the post, and it reminded me of how lovely people can be:

Subject: From Morocco, with love

"I just read your article The Few Times When I Hate Morocco. 

It's really sad because this happened in my hometown, Rabat, and in my neighborhood, L'océan.  

I just wanted to cheer you up and I hope that you don't hate Morocco that much and that you will come back later. 

Best regards!"

Thanks Ashraf for the kind note. The good experiences and wonderful people I met outweighed the bad, and I hope to return for a visit someday! 

My year in pictures

In January, I left for Cairo, Egypt where I expected to study for 5 months. There I saw the amazing wonders of the world - the Great Pyramids of Giza.

The semester was disrupted on January 25th, when protests broke throughout the city and led to an uprising that eventually toppled the country's 30-year incumbent President Mubarak.

After a 5-day lockdown in Cairo, we were finally evacuated to Athens, Greece where we stayed for 36 hrs to decide our next moves.

I decided to finish off my semester in the city of Rabat, Morocco. I moved in with a Moroccan host family and began a new program.

After settling into Rabat, I had my first excursion to Fes, the 2nd largest city in Morocco. There I was turned into a bride in a mock Moroccan wedding.

On the way back to Rabat from Fes, I stopped at the Volubilis, the largest ancient Roman ruins in North Africa. Or the perfect place to play hide and seek.

The following weekend, I visited the city of Casablanca, where I saw the famous Rick's Cafe and Masjid Hassan II, the 5th largest mosque in the world.

In the first weekend of March, I spent a 3-night weekend in Madrid, Spain where I visited Puerto de Sol, Plaza Mayor, had real Spanish paella, and saw a Spanish drag show.

I spent spring break in London with my cousins. We saw MJ's Thriller in theatre. It was probably the best week of the entire semester. My family is awesome.

While in London, my cousin and I took a day trip to Paris where we visited the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. J'adore Paris.

After returning from spring break, our program took us on our 2nd excursion to the North of Morocco to the city of Tangier. We went into the Hercules cave which overlooks the Atlantic ocean.

After Tangier, I headed to the blue and white city of Chefchaouen. Quiet and between the mountains, it's a hidden treasure in the country. 

The following weekend I traveled to the Sahara desert, where I trekked for hours on a camel and camped in the vast emptiness. An experience unlike any other. 

At the end of April, I had my last excursion to the city of Marrakech, the main tourist city in Morocco. This very square was victim to a terrorist attack just 3 days after our visit. 

Finally in mid-May, the time came to leave Morocco. But I'd never looked more forward to going home.

6 countries, 15 cities, 13 flights. Different languages, culture shocks, ethnic foods. Revolutions, uprisings, protests, terrorist attacks. What a crazy year.

Home at last

This is gonna be a quick jet lagged post as I've got a massive headache and am utterly exhausted. I reached home around 4 pm yesterday and I have never been so glad to be in Jersey. The moment the plane touched the ground and sped down the runway, I exhaled as though I'd been holding my breath for five months. It was a similar feeling to the moment when I landed in Greece after being locked down in Cairo for five days straight during the revolution in January. Pure, utter, unadulterated relief.

After the mad dash around the airport through customs and baggage claim, I found my mother who gave me a huge bear hug and told me it was as though I was returning after being married- I told her I felt more like I was returning from war. When we got home, I met the rest of my family members - aunts, cousins, my uncle. The phone rang and rang with people welcoming me home but all I could think of was a long, hot shower (feeling properly clean for the first time in months) and a long-awaited reunion with my wonderful bed. After sleeping on a tiny, hard couch in a minuscule shared room for months, my bed feels like heaven. As I snuggled under my comforter, I could almost feel all my muscles relax in the familiar surroundings of my bedroom.

For everyone who has asked me to meet up, I'll get back to everyone soon. My globe-trotting days are done for the year and there is a long, relaxing summer of unwinding to look forward to. At the moment, I'm just so relieved to be home and can fully appreciate why people call America the greatest country on Earth. Home at last.

Nothing left to say but goodbye

They call the country of Morocco 'Maghrib' - "where the sun sets." The sun is setting now as the azan for the evening prayer rings throughout the city and this unbelievably long semester finally comes to a close. There have been good times, great times, bad times, and awful times, but I definitely won't forget any of them. I don't feel sad because I've been waiting for this day for so long, but I feel an odd sense of zen as I reflect back on this year and think of everything I've been through. I thought of the things I'm going to miss and here's my list: halal food, morning azan, Arabic, and my host mother Meriem. Not necessarily in that order. Meriem is the biggest sweetheart and she gave me a huge wrapped box as my parting present, which she told me is a Moroccan tea kettle. Can't wait to open it when I get home. Other than that, Morocco will always be here if I choose to come back, insh'Allah. It's been quite the experience but I've never been more ready to go home.

مع السلامة المغرب

M'assalema Morocco. Until we meet again.

Update 10:14pm: The taxi just came to pick me up and we're driving to the airport now. As I was saying bye to Meriem, we both teared up. Well what do you know? <3

My Arabic final

If there's one thing I learned this semester, it's that I'm awesome at Arabic, all modesty aside. Of course I had already memorized tons of suras in the Qur'an since I was a kid, but this semester I re-learned the alphabet, perfected my writing, covered 8 chapters in Al-Kitaab, learned how to speak in conversation, and passed every exam in the class with an A+. What. Up.

My main reason for coming and the best part of being abroad, hands down.

Got my nails did

Got a French mani and pedi today for 80 dirhams, aka $10. Can't beat that.

The man who hijacked my religion

This week when the news broke that America’s most wanted terrorist of 10 years had been killed, like all Americans I was relieved. Osama bin Laden’s death symbolizes a lot of things for Americans. Patriotism. Relief. Justice. But for Muslim-Americans, it signifies the death of the man who in one day destroyed the image of Islam in the United States.

September 11th 2001 affected me in three ways: as an American, as a New Yorker, and mostly as a Muslim. As an American, I grieved with millions of others over the 3000 lives that had been lost that day. As a New Yorker, I was horrified that my home city had been subject to such a brutal and merciless attack. However, as a Muslim, I have been dealing with the consequences of 9/11 for ten years because Muslims all over the world were overshadowed by the extremists who took over as the new face of Islam.

Muslims have been subject to continuous abuse and attacks for the past decade. Islamophobia has become viciously prevalent in our society due to hateful and unjust commentary by politicians who use the fear of radicalism to create fear of the religion itself. Islam has been demonized to the point where it is acceptable and even encouraged to openly make anti-Muslim remarks as a campaign booster.

The extremists who hijacked our religion have made it harder to be a Muslim in today’s world. Every time I hear the news of bombings, the first thing I now think is, “Please don’t let it be a Muslim.” Every time I board a flight, I’m subject to random searches because of the color of my skin. When the topic of 9/11 comes up in conversation, I have to be extra careful with what I say because my words will be judged as those of a Muslim, not of an American.

I still remember watching the Twin Towers go down in smoke from the window of my school in Queens when I was 13 years old. I remember parents rushing to the school to pick up their children in panic. And I remember my mother refusing to let us out of the house in the following days because Muslims, both children and adults, were being attacked throughout the city. It was a scary time to be a Muslim, and the situation today hasn't improved much.

Bin Laden’s death does not change a much in the face of global terrorism or foreign policy. One man’s death does not justify the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost in the war against terror. In reality his death is nothing more than a reminder of all the lives that have been lost due to terrorism.

Yet, as I watched people on the news celebrating throughout the country in light of his death, one image stuck out to me. There was a brown-skinned man wearing a shirt that read, “I’m Muslim, Don’t Panic” waving an American flag. The crowds were cheering him on. This is the image of what bin Laden’s death symbolizes for me as a Muslim. I hope that people will begin to remember that we are Americans too, and we mourned on 9/11 just like everyone else.

Sigh.

Is it time to go home yet?

Terrorist attack in Morocco

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.

Marrakech - the NYC of Morocco

This weekend we visited one of the most popular destinations in Morocco, the city of Marrakech. It was a 5-hour bus ride to get there but the city city was probably one of the prettiest in Morocco, with clean streets and colorful flowers everywhere. What we noticed immediately is that it was tourist central, like the New York City of Morocco.

We stayed at Hotel Andalous, which was very impressive at first sight, with a huge lobby and a gorgeous pool. However, when Lauren and I were given our room, we walked in and to our disgust, it hadn't been cleaned, the toilet was foul and there were drops of blood on the floor. The hotel was delayed in cleaning the rooms, yet another example of Moroccan unprofessionalism. I immediately demanded a room change.

Later that day we visited Jamal el-Efnaa, a popular square which is an entertainer's dream. There were snake charmers and monkeys and singers and performers everywhere. Men with water snakes draped over their necks approached us from all sides and treid to put the snakes around us without even asking. The monkeys jumped around and there were crowds of tourists everywhere.

The medina behind the square was one of the largest I've seen so far, with numerous souks leading through the maze. In one particular souk, I was looking at a pair of pants but after bargaining with the shopowner, I decided not to buy them. The shop guy got so mad he said, "You know what- f*** you!" Just another example of how uncivilized people here can be.

The next day we visited the Saadian tombs, which were tombs of royals from the Saadi dynasty in the late 1500s which had been discovered in the early 19th century. They were very anti-climatic after a long wait in line. Afterwards, on Sunday we visited the Majorelle Garden which is owned by designer Yves Saint Laurent. It was more of a bamboo forest than a garden, with tons of crazy looking cactuses and beautiful flowers.

Overall Marrakech is more of a site-based tourist area, with many specific places to visit unlike other Moroccan cities where you just take in the scenery of the city. Be prepared to get hassled by men trying to sell souvenirs on every street and overcharged by cab drivers. It was entirely too touristy to really enjoy and I wouldn't choose to stay there for more than a weekend. This trip was the last of my travels in Morocco and now I am simply awaiting the final countdown before I can head home.

Raphael the turtle

He lives on our balcony. We thought he was a ninja but apparently his only superpower is eating impressive amounts of food

The Sahara Desert

“Knowing is going,” our tour guide Abi said as we headed into the vast Sahara desert from the small town of Merzouga. The 7 of us lined up on our camels as he led us deep inside the magical landscape of perfect sand, sweeping dunes, and endless blue sky.

As we delved further, the town of Merzouga eventually faded from sight and all we could see were endless miles of sand and hear nothing but the trembling stillness of the world’s largest, hottest desert. It was like trekking inside a psychedelia and setting up camp. We stopped at an oasis where we were served Berber tea before we gave our camels a break and headed up the dunes on foot to catch the sunset.

With the cool, smooth sand beneath our feet, we hiked higher and higher and I felt sure that I would slip downhill. Catherine and I lagged behind the rest of the group and I wondered what would happen if we got separated. “We could yell,” Catherine suggested, “but sand drowns out sound.” How comforting.

The sun began to set, shooting parting rays of light and casting shadows throughout the landscape as the dark sky came over us. We reached our tent area and set a blanket on the ground to marvel at the breathtaking sight that had just revealed itself above us- an incredible array of twinkling stars, sparkling so brightly they could have been planets. As we lay down, I told the girls the story of “The Magician’s Nephew,” the first of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.

Soon the cold fell over us and we went inside the tent for dinner. The Berbers played us music and sang and danced before they brought out chicken tagines, which we scarfed down.

After dinner, I found the most challenging part of the trip – using the bathroom, or rather, finding a secluded space in the now dark and open desert. Having never gone camping before, it was not a fun experience. By then, we were all exhausted from a long, hot day of trekking and our bodies were aching all over from the bumpy camel ride.

We woke up early to catch the sunrise, and watched as the morning sun bathed the entire desert in a golden hue. After a calm breakfast out on the sand, we headed out again. This time the camel trek was miserably painful since we were already sore from the first day. After reaching a small Berber village where we had lunch, we headed back to the hotel in Merzouga.

What I learned this weekend is that camping is absolutely not for me- I can't handle the bugs and the outdoor bathrooms. However doing it in the Sahara desert was a pretty surreal first time experience. The sights itself left a lasting impression in my mind and I hope these pictures can convey some of that. Enjoy.

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!