Farewell, CCCL

Last Friday, I had a farewell lunch with the staff at the CCCL. It was a lovely event! Usually on Fridays, the CCCL staff get together and eat couscous for lunch. I was feeling a bit worried, because I have managed to skip 6 out of 8 couscous Fridays already. But the time came, and Brahim set up the tables beautifully, and they begin by serving some appetizers. Then he brings out the tajine, and opens up the pointy lid, and inside - tajine aux viandes et legumes! Meat and veggies! It was a delicious meal, and afterwards there was even watermelon and peaches.

Tajines aux Viandes et Legumes 

Watermelon and peaches!

After lunch, my supervisor got out a bag, and she gave a little speech, saying thanks for my work these past two months! It was so unexpected and wonderful. Then they gave me a present - a Moroccan jellaba! It's purple, and it is very beautiful and comfy. I put it on, and then we took lots of group pictures! They also gave me a card signed by the office, and some pretty CCCL earrings.

I'm definitely going to miss this place. I have two more days of work, not including today. This week I've just been finishing up the projects that I've been working on. But beside that, things are really coming to a close!

The little blue and white city on a hill

This past weekend, I went to the beautiful town of Chefchaouen and the coastal city Tangier! It was very very beautiful!
On Saturday, we left Rabat at around 8:30am, and drove to Chefchaouen, arriving around 1:30pm. After checking into our hotels (7 rooms total, we booked out the entire hotel) and unloading our bags, we went into the old Medina and ate lunch at the Casa Aladdin. It was a three-course meal that took 3 hours to eat! But it was yummy, and the waiters wore Aladdin pants and pointy-toed shoes. For my appetizer I had a French omelette, my entree was beef kebabs, and my dessert was crepes with chocolate and almonds. Delicious! After our 3-hour meal, we went on a guided tour with the cutest little Moroccan man ever. He would be like "Hello! Hello! come on! Yalla!" and when we were walking down a slope, he says "Don't ski without the snow! No skiing!" He was super cute. After that, we trekked up a hilltop and found ourselves on the top of a hill, looking down on the beautiful blue and white town. Here are some pictures!

On top of the hill: Chefchaouen

Tour guide explaining that these are the paints that they use for painting the houses!

A house in Chefchaouen 

On Sunday, we drove over to Tangier, on the coast of Rabat. There was a beautiful beach, where the water was very turquoise-y! We had lunch by the beach, then went on a guided tour of the Medina there.

My roommate, Maggie, and I

The tour guide took us to a "millionaire's house"

Moroccan shoes - in Morocco, they are called "Belgha". I do plan on buying a pair to wear in the States!

While leaving Tangier, we stopped by Les Grottes d'Hercules - Hercules' Cave. This Africa-shaped hole was very cool! There were little kiddies jumping off the edges here.

So it was a great weekend!
Upcoming:
- This weekend: Fes, Meknes, and Volubilis!
- Next weekend: Merzouga - the DESERT. Camel rides, turbans, sunrises on the dunes. All that good stuff.

Sending love from Morocco!

The Return of the Cockroach, Jellaba, and Mint Tea

Yes, that is correct. The cockroach came back! If you remember, I found a cockroach in my clothes last week while about to take a shower. Yesterday, while about to get into the shower, I see Mr. Cockroach, lying inside the bathtub, wounded. I did feel bad for him, but I was also screaming on the inside. So I may have kindly, sadly, drowned it....but then I was just too miserable and freaked out to do anything else, so I called Mama Hyatt and she laughed as she grabbed a tissue and just crumbled it up. Then I started to take my shower, but halfway through, I see baby cockroach in the bathtub!! No fun. I left that one alone though, and he scurried away. It was not a pleasant experience. Sad and confused.


In happier news, the other day, my family had me try on a jellaba! It is a Moroccan dress (usually there is a headpiece, but I didn't try that one on). This one they had me try on is for a Moroccan wedding. So if I were to ever have a Moroccan wedding, this is what I would wear!

Moroccan wedding dress

I'm looking a little pregnant here though, because the belt that goes around my waist was too big for me. Also, I recently learned that in Morocco, there is no such thing as boyfriends! It's either friends, fiancé, or husband. No boyfriends! (Sidestory: This makes sense now! The other day, a creepy guy was following me and asking for my number, and I just kept saying no, but he kept on insisting. After about 3 blocks of following, I tell him I have a boyfriend already, but he says it didn't matter to him, and that he just wanted us to be friends. No worries though! He finally left, and said "tu es une fille méchante!" ("You are a mean girl") Now I understand!)


Also a big Moroccan tradition is mint tea! Mint tea is delicious, and is usually drank daily during tea time. My family hasn't had tea time these past two weeks, but we do have it for breakfast every morning. They use fresh leaves from the garden to make the tea, and it is usually served on a silver platter, in little glasses. I will definitely be buying a set of teapot and cups to bring home to my family!

Typical Moroccan breakfast: bread, pancake-type things, cheese, mint tea, and more bread. 

Moroccan mint tea

Also, I now have an internet key! Which means I will have internet while I'm home, which means skype time with family and friends! My skype is awang4829, add me so we can talk!