1st Day of Classes & More

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Hey everyone! Just wanted to give another update on Morocco. The other day after orientation wrapped up, the student ambassadors organized a trip to Azrou, a town 20 minutes away by taxi. Its not very big, but the ride there was amazing. We drove through the Atlas Mountains passing random clusters of houses, livestock, & little convenience shops. I got some amazing shots on my camera that I'll be sure to post. Azou itself was also amazing. We spent most of the time walking around the marketplace which was filled of amazing things to buy- spices, clothes, pottery, food, etc. I found (& ate) a DELICIOUS pastry drizzled with honey and chocolate layers for 1 Moroccan Dirham (for everyone in America: thats approx. 12 cents). Needless to say I was (& still am) in heaven! Right before we went home to Ifrane, we heard the Imam (a worship leader) from the local mosque calling muslims to prayer over a loudspeaker. I can' t really describe it, but it was really, really fascinating to hear.
Yesterday was the first day of classes. Although I have to wake up at SEVEN AM on MWF, I like all my classes so far- except for Arabic, but theres a reason for that which I'll get to in a minute. On MWF I have Intro to Anthropology, Intermediate Arabic, & Comparitive Religion. On Tuesdays & Thursdays I have North Africa & the Middle East in the 20th Century. One thing I like about all of my classes is that at least one other exchange/international student is with me. The downside is in nearly every one of my classes I have to write at LEAST one ten-page paper in addition to other class assignments and exams. Needless to say I'll be doing a lottt of writing this semester!
The reason I don't like Arabic is because I haven't exactly been to class yet. The reason not being that I'm lazy & didn' t feel like going, but because I accidentally got locked in a bathroom 30 minutes before class started. Long story short: I couldn't unlock the bathrool door. Luckily Rebecca came to my rescue & had a maitenance guy unlock the door. By the time I got out it was too late to go to class. Although I wasn't laughing then, I am now & realize it is a pretty funny story (Not to mention that I learned later on that another girl got locked in too, so it wasn't just me)!
Last night was Rebecca's birthday. To celebrate, a bunch of the international students went into downtown Ifrane for dinner. It was pretty nice; the food was a lot better than cafeteria food haha.
One not so great part of my first week in Morocco is all the electronic issues I've been having! Up until 2 days ago my ATM card wouldn't work even though we notified the bank I would be studying abroad. Also, my laptop decided it doesn't like Morocco & likes to overheat & shut off within 20 minutes of turning on. Long story short, I have to get a new one on Saturday, so crisis averted hopefully!
Today was such a long day, so I think I'll go to bed now. Good night everyone! I'll post pictures soon.

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Photos

photo 1
downtown azrou, morocco @ sunset

photo 2
moroccan countryside

photo 3
more of the countryside :)