59. So I loved it when the taxi driver on Friday told my roommate and I on Friday night, "I am glad that I can help you today...did you know that I am the ONLY taxi driver here who speaks English?! I will take you where I you are going and you are very beautiful yes! How is my English?! I can speak French, English, Spanish and more, but just for communication... I am the only taxi driver who speaks English here, yes?!" My roommate and I laughed as he confidently boasted about his multilingual skills. As we drove we were behind a bus that unbeknown to the bus driver was carrying four roller blading teenage boys who were slapping the sides of the bus while their friends aboard the bus looked back and laughed at them. The taxi driver then said,"....take out your camera get a picture...you can be like a journalist...the traffic here is crazy...." I wanted to take a picture, but the bus and our taxi was swerving from side to side and the driver suddenly put on the breaks and cursed in English! LOL We finally reached our destination and the taxi driver wished us a good time in the city and much success. LOL
60. Last Friday I attended a wedding of two coworkers. I realized quickly ( 30 minutes into the reception) that I should have taken a moment to rethink the three shirts and long john's worn under my keftan to keep from being cold. As soon as the almond milk and dates were served we all started dancing and with so many people in a confined space the temperature rose rapidly! The wedding was beautiful and I am so glad that I had a chance to be a part of such a blessed event.
61. I am making friends here that remind me of my friends and family members back home. I never thought that would happen, but it is helping me adjust in a new culture.
62. I am learning new words from my students each day. They really enjoy correcting my broken French and my Arabic (Darija).
63. Everyone in my neighborhood speaks to my roommates and I as we pass in the street. Our neighbor who lives above us loves to stop us in the street or on the stairs to invite us to tea at the moment she sees us which always seems to be at an inconvenient time for both of us....when she recognizes this she says in Arabic (Darija) '....wa ha incha allah...'which means 'ok! God willing!' we will have tea with her.
64. So there is some semblance of Christmas here! My friend went to Marjane (the equivalent of Walmart here LOL) and found that they have a small section at the end of the household isle with tinsel, lights, ornaments...and a plastic Christmas tree! The sad reality is that I have decided not to purchase one due to my roommates plans to travel over the winter break.
65. I will make short day trips to neighboring towns over the winter break but I also plan to do the following in this order:
1. get my hair trimmed and styled by a trusted beautician (cross your fingers for me! LOL)
2. finish writing postcards to my friends and family
3. celebrate the holidays with new friends here
4. play and sing my guitar at a Christmas program (wish me luck :)
5. buy meat for the first time from a butcher's shop in my neighborhood instead of taking a taxi to a convenience store 10 minutes away from my apartment
(wish me luck again!)
6. read the two books that a friend loaned me a while ago (The World is Flat and another written by Brenda Salter McNeil)
7. plan a trip to Paris to meet my sister over Spring Break.
8. find a shoe store that sells shoes in my size. (see #66 below)
9. cook a new recipe (Tagine, Cous Cous, a new dessert!?)
10. skype with friends
11. pray for my future plans
12. journal
13. read up on ancient history (Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China) to teach my students in January
14. catch up on email
15. catch up on world news
16. wander through the Medina for apartment decorum
17. try a new food in town
18. go on a winter hike in the atlas mountains
19. run on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean again (Rabat)
20. learn more Arabic (Darija) and review French
66. So I went to buy shoes because my shoes that I brought with me from Illinois have taken a beating on the city streets... Some roads are paved and some of the streets have gaping holes or uneven sidewalks etc...so my shoes are not holding up to well. Last week I went to the Medina and a shoe salesman kept handing me shoes that were a fashion faux pas and too small for my feet yet he insisted that I try them on...so I did and they did not fit. I kept asking for a bigger size and he said that he did not have another size larger. I asked him kindly to check once more and he came back and said that he would try his best to get shoes for my feet 'incha alla' ('God willing!') which basically means tough luck lady! LOL
I went to a neighboring shoe shop and I asked the young man for shoes in a size 43 here which apparently do not exist here! LOL He said, "This is N.Africa! N. African women have small feet!" So I said "...you mean to tell me that I will not be able to find any shoes for my BIG feet here?! anywhere?" He replied, "Miss, you can go to Spain...they will have shoes for you there." I turned to him and said, "Sir, I think that it would be good for your business if you ordered just a few larger shoes for all of the tourists and foreigners who come to this Medina, because all of them would know that you have BIG shoes for their LARGE feet and increase your sales!" He laughed and tried to find another shoe for me to no avail. So I left and have been told by friends that if I go to another business district in town I can have shoes specially ordered for my BIG feet! LOL If I find some shoes I will be sure to post a picture for you all! LOL
I hear ya on the shoes! And their feet aren't just shorter, they are really really narrow too!
ReplyDeleteShoot, I want to go hiking in the Atlas mountains with you.