what a weekend.

Ok... so like... its been a long weekend...

it all starts thursday

night.

i will do this sort of list form because it is easier that way...

Thursday :

-Group meets at train station at 18:45

- Our 19:15 Train to Meknes is delayed 30 Min.

- Train arrives at 20:45

- Train is pack to the point where people were hanging off of the sides ( think India)

- Group realized that 11 more people can not physically get on this train

- Train pulls away and is very clearly leaning to one side

- we call CTM ( bus company ) to cancel our reservations for the bus that would transport us from Meknes to Rosani

- We call a hotel in Meknes to make reservations for the night.

- Train arrives at about 21:00 in Rabat

- we arrive in Meknes at about 00:30

- wake up at about 11:00 and get breakfast at hotel

- decided that we should visit the site of an ancient Roman out post near Meknes

- Ruins are amazing

- we return to meknes

-we catch out 21 45 bus to Rossani at 22 : 45... you have to love " Moroccan Time"

well unfortunately i have have to go now, but i will finish this later

here are some more pictures of the medina where i live.

PICTURES!!!

Ok these are the first pictures coming out of Morocco from me... sorry there are only a few, but i will start to get them up more regularly... they are of my house, and the view of Rabat from the top of my house in the Medina, Morocco is amazing.

.... its been a long day....

Ok, i am going to walk you through my day.

I woke up at 8 AM. took a bucket shower ( fill a bucket with water and use a smaller bucket to shower yourself) ate breakfast ( a large piece of bread with butter) walked about 15 0r 20 min. from my house to Babchalla which is on the other side of the medina and where i pick up a taxi to go to work in Takadoum district. Walking through the medina i see at least one hundred ( no joke) stray cats, 6 cow heads cooking on a grill, 3 mosques and many other stands for water and cellphones. once i get to Babchalla I have to go to the correct taxi place and make sure i am getting in the right taxi, to do this i say Takadoum and nod my head. if he says oui or nam ( arabic for yes) i then say Nokata ( the stop where i need to get off) . I then get in the taxi, but with a slight twist... this is a taxi that is more like a bus.... in a normal sized car, 4 people jam into the back seat, and 2 in front next to the driver. Once we drive the 20 min. all crammed together i think each person has lost about 5 lbs in water weight from sweating. There is no AC in these taxis and most of the time the handles for the windows are broken off. Right when you think you are about to pass out from the heat and overall intense lack of personal space we arrive at Nokata. From there it is about a 15 min. walk to the place where I am teaching. This is on the 3ed floor of a old building in a back street of what i found out the other day to be the slums of Rabat.... hey, it keeps things interesting... as if they wernt before just from the cow heads.... so i go to my class room which is about 20 feet long by 10 feel wide with 9 desks and about 15 chairs. i sit down at my small desk at the front of the class, i was told to be at work at 9:40 for my 10 o'clock class.... the students showed up at 10:45... now here is the fun part.... on the first day.... i showed up at the school knowing nothing other than how to get there.... i didnt know how many students i would have, how old they would be, or what skill level they would be at... well today i taught 3 different classes.... the first one i had , was about 6 students.... um... ok english... well like.... had studied for one year before... so.... they understood about 1/5th what i was saying... there was one though who had studied for about 4 years.... he helped say what i was trying to say to the other students.

the second class... 2 students who spoke 2 years worth of english.... so they understood about 2/5ths.... the third class.... well they are apparently the beginners from what i was told ( WOOT!!! INFORMATION) well if by beginners they mean 3 students one who spoke NO english... the alphabet.... we are still working on it... the other two... why they think they need to study english... no idea... we were having conversations.... after class ends at 830 at night, i am leaving to go home, and the director of the center hands me some books and said this is what i will be teaching from.... um.... why i couldn't have been given these sooner... no idea... having several more questions i tried to ask, and with his lacking english skills and my remedial french i decided it would be best just to say thank you, put on a smile and take that 15 min walk through the slums, find the correct taxi, cram in with 5 other people, and walk past the now devoured cows heads... i am now sitting in my kitchen with my room mate ( Matt from Canada) thumbing though these books that i was given and thinking... what have i gotten my self into...

At the same time.... i cant imagine being anywhere else...

WIFI

OK!!! so this is exciting, and also a bit amazing... currently i am sitting in the main room of my house in Morocco. in the back ground i can hear the call to prayer , my host mom is watching tv along with the girl who helps out around the house, it is dark out, and we have WIFI today i met with some of the other people who arrived over the weekend, and it was really cool, there is Jana from germany, Elin from wales Salfar from U.E.A. and Helena from France. and i guess there are a bunch of other volunteers that we will me tomorrow , it is still amazing to me that I am in morocco.

I learned where I will be teaching today, It is in another district of Rabat. I will be the first english teacher there. I do not know how many students i will be teaching, what age level that they will be at, or any of those things, but i have my scheadual.

I will teach on Mondays and Wednesdays a class from 10-12 then come home for lunch, then i will teach from 4-6 and then from 6:30- 8:30. On tusedays i will teach from 10-12 and from friday i will teach 4-6.

Today me and some of the other people in the program met up and went to the casbah and went to a cool cafe there that overlooks the atlantic. ( rabat is a costal city). The weather here is really hot, so i am drinking alot of water.

um, if you have an questions feel free to like email me or call my cell ( 0665787763) and i will be more than happy to answer them, and hopefuly tommorow, i will get some pictures up.

Cafe Arab....

I am now sitting in a cafe right outside the medina... it has been an interesting day, i found out where i will be teaching, i am so excited. Each day i will travel to where i will teach by white taxi. i will pay 5 DH for my seat and we will fit as many as 6 people in the car. when in morocco... but yeah, it is crazy to think i am actually here... like... to picture morocco , Think of all of the movie that have parts in morocco, the old cobblestone streets women walking around with the veils crazy streets cars zooming around... like... it is just amazing, every street corner has new smells and shops, there are crazy mounts of cats everywhere, um... i unfortunately need to go now, i am meeting up with some of the other people from projects abroad and hang out. like... i still cant believe that i am here. Tommorow i have the afternoon free so i will come and write a more lengthy blog... but this is just to let you know that i am here, alive , and loving every min. of this

Cafe Arab....