Most everyone has left because the program has ended, but I have been lucky enough to be able to stay an extra two weeks. My fifth week has been pretty boring, but any week in Morocco is still pretty fantastic.
I started a new class this week, Beginners 3, and it's a little challenging but I'm really enjoying it and I think that I will learn a lot in this class. My teacher doesn't speak English at all so sometimes it's hard to ask questions or ask how to say something, but he's very kind and seems to be in a good mood even though teaching us is probably difficult and takes a lot of patience. I'm happy that I get to study with him for two weeks, but I wish I could stay the full month.
I've also started tutoring in darija. It's so fun and exciting because every time I talk to a teacher or someone else at the school in darija, they get so excited and happy! It's like a completely different language, but I love it nonetheless. I've been telling my family back home that studying three different dialects (one at GSU, one at Qalam, and studying another in my free time) has been challenging but also pretty exciting. I'll be ready to live in Morocco in no time. :)
I'm making a lot of new friends. There are some people who are still going to be here for a few months and I'm pretty jealous of that. I'm hoping that I get a chance to come back next summer to continue my studies, hopefully in darija. I am so in love with this country, I'm sad that I will be leaving on Saturday, but I know that I will be back eventually. I couldn't stay away from something that I love so much.
I feel like I've learned so much about myself here, and so much about life and people. I've changed a lot over the last month, and I think that Morocco has had an important impact on me. The way I feel here is unlike anything I've ever felt, and the way the people make me feel is something I will never forget. I will always come back for more, and I know that a piece of me is going to be staying here after I leave, replaced with a little piece of Morocco that I will carry in me always.
When compared with my first month in Morocco, my fifth week here has been pretty low key. Most of our group went back home so it's kind of quiet around here now. We graduated from our old classes last week and started new classes on Monday. On that same day, I went to Chellah with Carley so we could eat lunch together and study. It turns our eating lunch there wasn't a great idea because there were all these cats that kept following us around trying to get at our food. They were really persistent. The rest of the week was filled with shopping mostly. We did find out that Oliveri opens up after 2 pm during Ramadan which is nice. We had a cooking workshop this week as well where we learned how to make Moroccan tea. Honestly it feels like I haven't really done anything this week. Last month was so busy and it felt like we were always on the move. This week I spent a lot of time hanging out at the residence, only occasionally going out for coffee or food. I'm excited to start my sixth week in Morocco tomorrow. I'm going to try and make it a busier one than the last.
It is Savannah here. It has been an interesting past week in Morocco. There is only about four of us here, because the program has ended. I moved out of the residence and moved in with a host family which is pretty cool. The only person in the family that speaks English is their daughter, and she doesn’t speak English well. It makes it hard to communicate sometimes, but it forces me to speak as much Arabic as I am able to which is a plus. It also has helped me learned some new Arabic words, but in Moroccan dialect not formal Arabic. It has been interesting to hear how the Moroccan dialect and formal Arabic differs. This past weekend I met up with a friend in Mohammedia and met their family and did some charity work with the group “Ladies of Morocco” and two other groups. We put food together and went to two different hospitals and gave the food to people that were really ill and people with cancer. It was a sad experience in the way that they had to be in the hospital, but it was a happy experience in the way that you could see the joy on their faces when we walked in and gave them food. They, I think, just enjoyed people being there and taking time out of their way to do something like that for them. Mohammedia was a super nice city. You pass through it to go between Rabat and Casablanca. I took a train to Mohammedia, and it was only my second time taking a train since I have been here. I am glad I didn’t miss the train! My week has not been as busy as it was when the group was here, but luckily I made some Moroccan friends in the first month of being here, and they have been keeping me occupied
Angel Perry
ReplyDeleteMost everyone has left because the program has ended, but I have been lucky enough to be able to stay an extra two weeks. My fifth week has been pretty boring, but any week in Morocco is still pretty fantastic.
I started a new class this week, Beginners 3, and it's a little challenging but I'm really enjoying it and I think that I will learn a lot in this class. My teacher doesn't speak English at all so sometimes it's hard to ask questions or ask how to say something, but he's very kind and seems to be in a good mood even though teaching us is probably difficult and takes a lot of patience. I'm happy that I get to study with him for two weeks, but I wish I could stay the full month.
I've also started tutoring in darija. It's so fun and exciting because every time I talk to a teacher or someone else at the school in darija, they get so excited and happy! It's like a completely different language, but I love it nonetheless. I've been telling my family back home that studying three different dialects (one at GSU, one at Qalam, and studying another in my free time) has been challenging but also pretty exciting. I'll be ready to live in Morocco in no time. :)
I'm making a lot of new friends. There are some people who are still going to be here for a few months and I'm pretty jealous of that. I'm hoping that I get a chance to come back next summer to continue my studies, hopefully in darija. I am so in love with this country, I'm sad that I will be leaving on Saturday, but I know that I will be back eventually. I couldn't stay away from something that I love so much.
I feel like I've learned so much about myself here, and so much about life and people. I've changed a lot over the last month, and I think that Morocco has had an important impact on me. The way I feel here is unlike anything I've ever felt, and the way the people make me feel is something I will never forget. I will always come back for more, and I know that a piece of me is going to be staying here after I leave, replaced with a little piece of Morocco that I will carry in me always.
When compared with my first month in Morocco, my fifth week here has been pretty low key. Most of our group went back home so it's kind of quiet around here now. We graduated from our old classes last week and started new classes on Monday. On that same day, I went to Chellah with Carley so we could eat lunch together and study. It turns our eating lunch there wasn't a great idea because there were all these cats that kept following us around trying to get at our food. They were really persistent. The rest of the week was filled with shopping mostly. We did find out that Oliveri opens up after 2 pm during Ramadan which is nice.
ReplyDeleteWe had a cooking workshop this week as well where we learned how to make Moroccan tea.
Honestly it feels like I haven't really done anything this week. Last month was so busy and it felt like we were always on the move. This week I spent a lot of time hanging out at the residence, only occasionally going out for coffee or food. I'm excited to start my sixth week in Morocco tomorrow. I'm going to try and make it a busier one than the last.
It is Savannah here. It has been an interesting past week in Morocco. There is only about four of us here, because the program has ended. I moved out of the residence and moved in with a host family which is pretty cool. The only person in the family that speaks English is their daughter, and she doesn’t speak English well. It makes it hard to communicate sometimes, but it forces me to speak as much Arabic as I am able to which is a plus. It also has helped me learned some new Arabic words, but in Moroccan dialect not formal Arabic. It has been interesting to hear how the Moroccan dialect and formal Arabic differs. This past weekend I met up with a friend in Mohammedia and met their family and did some charity work with the group “Ladies of Morocco” and two other groups. We put food together and went to two different hospitals and gave the food to people that were really ill and people with cancer. It was a sad experience in the way that they had to be in the hospital, but it was a happy experience in the way that you could see the joy on their faces when we walked in and gave them food. They, I think, just enjoyed people being there and taking time out of their way to do something like that for them. Mohammedia was a super nice city. You pass through it to go between Rabat and Casablanca. I took a train to Mohammedia, and it was only my second time taking a train since I have been here. I am glad I didn’t miss the train! My week has not been as busy as it was when the group was here, but luckily I made some Moroccan friends in the first month of being here, and they have been keeping me occupied
ReplyDelete