Fez and the ALIF

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Salaam Alekuem,
I'm in Fez, the magical city that completely changed my life last year. This is so far my most favorite place in the world. To be honest, I was a little nervous about whether it would be as exotic as a I remember it: I have not been dissapointed.
I started school at the Arabic Language Institute yesterday, we jumped right in and learned all the vowels and 3 consonants. There are 5 people in my class, we have 4 hours of instruction each day and an hour or 2 of homework. Tonight I move out of the hotel and into a Moroccan home for the next three weeks. It should be an incredable experience, since I'll be there for the end of Ramadaan. I'd imagine that every night when the sun sets, we'll be having some incredable meals.
I'm really looking forward to getting to know Fez. The heart of Fez is the medina. A medeival labyrinth of alleyways and twisted passages. There's a surprise around every corner, whether its coppersmiths, tanners, carpet looms, donkeys loaded with crates of Coca cola, strange dysfigured old men, live birds, bloody camel heads, musicians, snake charmers, ancient mosques and everything else you can think of. Outside the walls is the new city, a pleasant but sleepy town of wide tree-lined boulevards and european banks, hotels and cafes. The school is in the new city behind a security wall with an armed guard. It was a wonderful garden and library and a residence hall across the street. There's also a third district in Fez with the royal palace (yes Morocco is a genuine Monarchy) and the old jewish quarter (which still boasts several thousand sephardic Jews I understand).
As far as my plans, the only thing I know for certain is that I'm going to take the full 6 week session instead of the 3 I was planning. I'm toying around with finding a terrace apartment in the old city and staying for a year or so while studying at the school, or I may travel south through Africa then return to study, or mix 6 week sessions of school with 6 week sessions of exploration in the Sahara and the Atlas mountains. We'll see. I was set on leaving Morocco at the end of November, but I may just decide to stay put for who knows how long. With a laptop and DSL, I could even work from here. Anyway, I must getting back to school.
A la fois prochaine,
Brad

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