Blogs from Rabat, Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer, Morocco, Africa - page 8

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Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat February 7th 2010

So, I don't really want to keep a written blog, I'm keeping my own journal of things that have happened. So here's a photo blog of what I've been doing! ... read more
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Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat January 13th 2010

AND THE WINNING FLYER IS.... first a true story. Years ago, in Rabat, Morocco, I traveled around the country and met several Moroccans who lived in or taught at one of the blind schools in that marvelous country. I befriended several of them. One of the most remarkeable (we'll call him "Mohammed": it's as popular a name as "Michael" in many places in the Arab world) who told me how he had fallen from a three story building, had part of his skull crushed and a good portion of his visual cortex destroyed, and had lost all of his vision. "And this" Mohammed declared to me, after telling his story"is proof that God exists!". I was frankly taken aback by his certainty, and I asked him, respectfully, if he could elaborate. With the particular smile on ... read more

Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat December 18th 2009

Hi all, de rit van Meknes naar Marrakech duurt zo'n 7 uur dus komt het goed uit om op de weg een dag halt te houden in Rabat, de hoofdstad van Marokko. Morgen de 2de etappe tot in Marrakech. Rabat lijkt maar weinig op de steden die ik tot nu toe aangedaan heb; het is hier heel open dankzij de brede straten, netjes opgeruimd en bijzonder rustig. Dat laatste komt omdat het blijkbaar een feestdag is, en dat ben ik op deze manier te weten gekomen: ik wordt voor de eerste maal deze vakantie door een blanke aangesproken, een Fransman. Hij legt uit dat hij net in de medina beroofd is van zijn portefeuille en dat de ambassade gesloten is. Hij heeft wel nog een hotelkamer maar zit dus vast zonder geld of paspoort. Een voorbijlopende ... read more
Half open bebouwing
De muren omheen de kasba
De prachtige blauw-witte huisjes

Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat December 6th 2009

Summer 2009: May to August. Well, I'm living in Morocco for a couple months while studying Arabic in Morocco. Studying in the capital, Rabat, and living with a host family. Getting off the plane was alot different than I ever expected. Dirt runway. Nice. Living with a host family in the suburb of L'Ocean. Nicest people ever. I've decided to stay in the city only during the week because there are so many other things to see in this beautful country. My first time in the Medina was crazy. I've never experienced anything like that in my life. People everywhere and dead animals hanging on hooks with dripping blood and flies. I thought I would be grossed out, but I was so in love with everything, I couldn't be. img=http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs086.snc1/4597_10... read more

Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat September 12th 2009

Lair, Lair Lying is, aparently, a deeply cultural thing. As my bespeckled literature-guru Muhammed told me yesterday, "In muslim culture deviousness is considered fine, almost commendable" and this has been the most glaring item of culture shock that i have experienced. An example: Abdel my new 26 year old Maghrebi friend who has spent the last eight years working and living in America was kind enough to show me around his old neigbourhood today, a very ritzy area of Rabat full of yuppy, converse wearing, mercedes driving Maghrab twentysomethings. Abdel speaks perfect Darija (as well as five other languages, as proven by his ability to strike up at lleast basic conversation with everyone in the hostel). And yet even he gets lyed to in this country. When we arrived back at the youth hostel from ... read more

Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat September 12th 2009

Les Jacarandas I wandered around the medina or Rabat today, full of hectic locals buying everything from bootleg DVDs, to the most amawing smelling herbs: corriander and thyme by the cartful. I experienced the Atlantic Ocean for the first time afterwards then took a look up at the beautfil Kasbah aith its painted and lovingly adorned entrances. I was pleasantly suprised to find that growing in one corner was a beautiful, flowering Jacaranda. Home, it seems, can come from the most unlikely things.... read more
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Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat September 11th 2009

Thank Cod for Rabat Casablanca brings forth in my mind the words of Banjo Patterson in my favorite poem, "Clancy of the Overflow": "And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city, Through the open window floating, spreads it foulness over all" As an introduction to Morocco Casablanca can be likened to showing a new tourist to Australia the town of Nambour. On a very bad day. After a small civil war. It is a filthy business town which neither sees many tourists nor wants many tourists. It is a place for businessmen to come and work. To scramble about their day in a surrounding whose sole purpose is brief, financial and contrived. And while i can only assume i will have a different attitude to the city by the time i make ... read more

Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat August 24th 2009

Saturday around 6 PM I said good-bye to my Dad and hopped the train to the Barcelona airport. My flight with Royal Air Maroc (Royal Moroccan Airlines), was scheduled to leave around 9 PM. However when I checked in they told me the flight was delayed an hour. After I got through security, I saw on the monitors that I was now leaving around 11 PM. After grabbing something to eat, the little TVs now said around midnight. Turns out the RAM pilots had gone on strike. I was told to wait it out. By midnight, I'd made good friends with the other three non-Moroccans on the flight: two guys from Bamako and one from Dakar. We hung out in the terminal, listening to techno music from the cafe, until 4 in the morning when the ... read more
Surprise!
The Boys & Me

Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat August 5th 2009

Lucas & I visited Morocco for 5 days (returned this past Sunday). My friend and colleague Karen lives there with her husband Adil, and 2 children - Amira and Salah. We had a great time visiting Rabat & Casablanca, and Lucas loved playing with his new friends. ... read more
Lucas & Amira
Lucas & Amira 2
Dining in the old medina

Africa » Morocco » Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer » Rabat July 17th 2009

I may have more to write when I get home but I want to get these down while I am still in Morocco. I just finished my final exam which was divided into two parts, reading comprehension and grammar. It wasn't too hard and I am not too worried about how I did. Overall my satisfaction with AmidEast is mixed. The homestay has been awesome because I have been able to improve my speaking (in modern standard Arabic) ability exponentially. But as for the classes, I found them to be a little disappointing. I don't feel like I have learned all that much from the classes to be honest. We moved at such a high speed that it was difficult to retain any new grammar much less vocab. At home, Prof Blosser would give us like ... read more




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