{week one} Hotel Darna

I am convinced there is nothing more uncomfortably intimate than occupying the middle seat between two strangers on an international, overnight flight. It was a long journey to Morocco; 3 flights, 3 countries, and 3 continents in 24 hours. While waiting for my flight to Rabat in Paris' Charles-de-Gaulle airport, I met quite a few other students studying abroad or interning in Morocco. There are three SIT (School for International Training) programs based in Rabat for the fall semester; "Journalism and New Media," "Migration and Transnational Identity," and "Multiculturalism and Human Rights." I am in the Journalism group, affectionately known as 'J-Squad,' which is made up of 11 young women from the U.S. and Europe. More than half of the students are from or attend college in Minnesota, which is an interesting coincidence. This, along with the fact that the program is all-female (for the first time), makes me feel like I have a bit of Minnesota and Mount Holyoke here with me in Morocco. 

I arrived in Rabat a day earlier than most of the SIT program students. I booked my flight before we were given an exact date and time to fly in. Luckily, there was another student in the Migration program, Caleb, who had done the same thing. We were on the same flight from Paris and shared a taxi from the airport to Hotel Darna, where students would be staying for orientation week. Our taxi driver spoke little to no English, just Darija, the Moroccan dialect of Arabic, and a bit of broken French. Whisking through the city streets in a vehicle with no seatbelts and no A/C in the 95 degree heat, I sat exhausted and wide-eyed with immediate culture shock. As we crossed the river from Salé and entered the city of Rabat, I lit up—the picturesque view of the beautiful, fortified coastal city appeared right before my eyes. It was the spitting image of the first photo of Morocco I saw when considering study abroad (included below). Thankfully, between Caleb's study of Arabic and my passable French we were able to engage in casual conversation with the driver, and, more importantly, get ourselves to where we needed to be. 

My first visual impression of Rabat, courtesy of Google images

Views of Rabat's Medina (old part of the city) from the rooftop terrace of Hotel Darna, which rests just outside

Very few families own washing/drying machines; most laundry is done by hand and then hung to dry on the rooftop terraces

Stray cats roam the streets of Rabat, looking for food & lounging in the sun

 To combat jet lag, Caleb and I stayed awake until a reasonable evening hour the day we arrived. We explored the area near the hotel and grabbed dinner on a restaurant terrace. Our 3-course meal featured the famed sweet Moroccan mint tea (above) and chicken tajine. 

View of the Atlantic Ocean

I've been using and relying on my French a lot more than I anticipated. Because Moroccans learn French as a second language, they are patient with my grammar mistakes, and I feel much more comfortable speaking with them than I do with native French speakers. Essentially, they avoid conjugating as much as I do. 

Encompassing all that has happened this past week in one blog post is next to impossible. I've met so many wonderful, interesting people both within the SIT programs and out. As I write this from the top terrace of the Cross-Cultural Center for Learning, I still can't believe I am here. The Atlantic on my left, the entire city of Salé across the river to my right, and Rabat (Medina and all) behind me, I am in disbelief. I have already been challenged in many ways, such as learning to bargain with shopkeepers in basic Darija, completing a "drop-off" exercise in which I had to find my way back to the CCCL alone from a random location in Rabat, and living with my Moroccan host family, who only speak Darija, Fus'ha (Modern Standard Arabic), and some French.

My days this week have been long and full; I am excited for a more relaxed weekend with my host family. More to come next week!