Casablanca

The flight from Paris to Casablanca was fine, it was supposed to be 3 hours but we had a strong tail wind so it was only 2 and a half which was nice. We got off the plane and on to a bus that drive is to the terminal, then I was off to baggage claim. There was an issue with some bags and they created a dam on the belt so everything got piled up. It was interesting to see two airport workers sit there and watch the passengers try to solve the problem it was a learning moment for me about cultural differences. :) I had to make my way to the train station with my luggage and then try to load my luggage on the train. Thankfully everyone here has been so kind and helpful. :)

I got a taxi to take me to the hotel that I would be staying in with my program hoping they would have a room available for me, and they did. I spent most of the rest of the day catching up on some sleep which was really nice. I woke up and it was dusk so I decided instead of wandering the streets alone at night looking for food I would just eat in the hotel's restaurant. 

I was served vegetable soup which was really good, the main course was beef stroganoff with rice and vegetables and for dessert I had yummy yogurt. 

 I remembered my phone this time to take pictures. 

After dinner I went back to my room to sleep. In the morning I got up and went to eat breakfast. While when the elevator arrived, Iman form student services for my program stepped off and recognized me as being in the program. She welcomed me to Morocco and made sure I would be able to get something to eat (it was almost time for breakfast to end) and told me she would meet up with me shortly. She came to my room and gave me a map of Casablanca with suggestions of sites to see or places to eat, an emergency contact card and a small English to Darija (Moroccan dialect) phrase book. 

I stayed in my room for a little while looking at the map Iman gave me and mustering up the courage to go out and about on my own. I also had to switch rooms because it was the night most people arrived and i would be sharing with my roommate for the program. I left my hotel and went around the block, then decided to go down a different direction when I got back to my hotel. This is where the it gets interesting. 

While I was walking I noticed an older man, he was probably in his mid 70's, walking at my same speed and almost next to me. Well, I was just kind of out for a stroll so I found it a little odd that he was next to me so I turned the corner hoping that I was just being paranoid. 

 

He turned the corner too. Ok, no big deal it's a big city and I'm in an area of town where people frequent, right next to the main post office and government buildings. I saw a square with a fountain and about a zillion pigeons and some people so I thought I'd test my theory of whether or not he was following me. There were men there taking pictures of people with the pigeons eating out of their hands with the fountain behind them and a woman doing henna. While it was a little difficult to have to keep telling them "la, shukran" (no, thank you) especially once they saw my Noor necklace and tried to act like we were old friends, I eventually left that square for one across the street. 

There were people sitting on the benches and since it was a nice day I sat down. I was hoping to be able to hear the call to prayer since I hadn't heard it yet. Well, the old man, who I thought really wasn't following me came and sat next to me in the bench. I didn't know what to do. He just sat there and stared at me. I decided I would just ignore him, since even if I'd wanted to I wouldn't have been able to talk to him. Eventually he left the bench and went and stood next to a tree at the next corner of the square. 

Behind me on the bench on the grass was a man playing with his son, it looked like he had been teaching the boy how to ride a bike and they decided to stop for awhile. The man and his son left and the old man swooped in to claim that shady spot of grass. From there he whispered words at me. I didn't understand him except for one word, "latifa" which means, nice. I just ignored him again and didn't turn to look at him at all. Eventually he gave up and left. I waited until he turned the corner nearly a block away before I moved, making sure he really was gone this time. 

I walked around the square and then another man, probably in his 40's started to walk circles around me. I was really uncomfortable and walked quickly back to the hotel. When I got to the lobby I heard two guys speaking English and asked if they were part of my program. They were so I sat and talked to then for a few minutes until one I them went up and got two more people. They were all hungry and decided to go to a pizza place just down the street. I wasn't going to go with them but decided it would be better to go then to sit in my room alone. 

The pizza place was interesting, trying to communicate with a crazy mix of English, Arabic, French and Italian, but we eventually all got what we ordered and the food was tasty. 

I decided to go back to my room after eating while some of the group went to see the fountain square with the pigeons. I watched a little tv in my room and fell asleep. I woke up when my roommate Jen arrived. She got in about 5:30, we introduced ourselves and then eventually made our way to the lobby for our group meeting. 

In the group meeting we introduced ourselves and got to know a little more about the director Daniel and the student services members, Iman and Mohsin. They're all really nice. Daniel grew up in DC and did his own study abroad program in Spain which lead him to working with ISA and eventually being here in Meknes as director. Iman and Mohsin are both Moroccan, Iman was born and raised in Meknes and Mohsin moved to Meknes when he was 15. 

After our meeting we went to dinner which was buffet style and everything I tried was yummy! A few of us decided to walk just across the street to buy water and then went back to the hotel to sleep. 

Up next will be my adventures in Casablanca with my ISA group. 

Kayla نور