Morocco Day 2

After a failed excursion to find a lunch spot, Michael and I took a much needed nap, then rejoined our group for a brief info session.  The info session's most important reveal was that our group would have a hilarious guide named Zuhair.  He then took us to a small store (which we keep referring to as a bodega, if that gives you an idea), to get water and snacks.  I also got to practice my Arabic with Zuhair, which was incredibly fun.  That on the heels of a successful Arabic-only exchane to buy water in the Casablanca airport has really revived my desire to continuing to study Arabic.  Maybe after the TESOL courses...

Our first dinner experience in Morocco was a bit disappointing; we ate at the hotel, and as it caters to tourists, much of the food was not native (pastas, fish, turkey, etc).  They did have some nice chopped veggie salads with beets and cukes, plus couscous and tagine. (A note on tagine- it is a style of cooking that involves throwing all the raw ingredients in a conical pot, then leaving it over the fire for several hours- think crockpot minus the need for electricity.  Ingredients are usually meat, veggies, and spices,  and then it's served  with rice or couscous. Michael and I have been looking forward to this since first trying it with Hlavka and Palmer at the Moroccan hookah place in Baltimore.)

Dinner was followed by a hookah excursion, wherin I was able to practice more Arabic.  Right now, Mulslims are observing Ramadan.  During this whole month, they must fast during the day, which includes not drinking any water and abstaining from sexual contact in addition to the no food.  Exceptions are made for kids, pregnant women, older people, and those who are ill.  As makes sense, people try to avoid being out in the heat of the day if possible, and while Michael and I certainly saw people during the day, there was a much greater presence at night.  Everyone is very friendly and receptive to the cobbled together Arabic spoken by me and the French spoken by Sandy, an American girl we've become friends with.

The hookah bar was a fun experience, because we were seated in a spacious room decorated with rugs and sofas, but with trees growing in it and open to the night sky.

While Morocco is a Muslim country, there is a great range in what women wear.  We've seen everything: burka (everything including eyes covered), niqab (slit for the eyes), to chador (big cloth that covers head and upper body, with pants on the bottom), the hijab (scarf covering hair), and then finally no head covering whatsoever.  We have also noticed some Moroccsn women wearing short sleeves or skirts.  As for foreign women, supposedly you can wear whatever, and while there are some in our group who do, the most daring I'll go is a cap sleeve shirt, still with pants or skirt below the knee.

A final note on day one is our cast of characters:

Along with Zouhair, mentioned above, Idris is our other guide. Both wonderful and experienced tour guides. Idris has been bitten by a scorpion twice and lived to tell the tale, so he may be a desert god.

Sandy and Vicky- two American girls who are travel buddies of the same age as Michael and myself.

Jackie, Kristen, and Vinnie- 3 amazing Californians, mid 20s, and super friendly.

Adam and Glenn - two British guys that can drink more than should be humanly possible. They a quite nice (we learned from them over the trip that this genuinely means they are great, whereas a Brit simply saying "nice" may mean anything from indiference to f***off).

There are certainly others on the tour, perhaps 30 in total, but these will be the familiar names over the next few days.