Train to Casablanca Update- Feeling Just Fine

My first blog post this trip was about sitting on the train to the Casablanca airport, completely losing my mind, wondering how I could possibly live for six entire weeks in this unfamiliar place where I had spent my first full day feeling pretty generally overwhelmed.

This morning I once again sat on the train to the Casablanca airport, and I am pleased to report that in the six weeks between, for all intents and purposes, I’ve been perfectly fine.

It’s been a pretty crazy six weeks, with new challenges popping up each time we had begun to feel comfortable with our current situations.

We spent three weeks in Fez, where we learned to navigate the taxi system and the winding roads of the old medina. We got to know our host families, even with somewhat of a language barrier. After three weeks, routine had set in. Get up, taxi to school, take our daily classes, perhaps embark upon a minor after school adventure like visiting the Fez gardens or ordering a four-cheese pizza at our favorite café (hold the rocks, please), go home for snack with our host families followed by homework and dinner at a time most would call a midnight snack. And all again the next day. This routine set in and suddenly it was time to go to Rabat.

A new city, a new host family, a new roommate for me and Bailey, a new school, and a new friendly school cat, Rabat was a new face of Morocco. While we were pretty sure that our homestay was actually just an AirB&B, Rabat felt like home in many ways. I enjoyed going for runs in the old city, walking along the beach, and trying out new restaurants near Qalam.

Besides falling into daily life within Fez and Rabat, the most wonderful part of the trip was adventuring around all of Morocco’s beautiful cities and sights. Marrakech, Merzouga, Tangier, Meknes, and Casablanca showed different sides of Morocco and offered a welcome break from the classes of the week to explore the country. More than just sightseeing, being in Morocco for six weeks was a glimpse into a style of life so much different than my own in the United States. I loved Morocco because I could be slightly late everywhere I went, because I learned to feel comfortable in a place initially so uncomfortable to me, and because of each surreal moment that made me feel so grateful to be exploring somewhere new with some of the coolest people around.

Here’s hoping to an eventual return to Morocco! Bislamah!

Bailey and me at the Hassan II mosque in Casablaca for the second time, feeling much more relaxed

1 comment to Train to Casablanca Update- Feeling Just Fine

  • I’m impressed, I need to say. Really not often do I encounter a weblog that’s each educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Your concept is excellent; the issue is one thing that not sufficient people are talking intelligently about. I am very completely happy that I stumbled throughout this in my search for something regarding this.

Leave a Reply to fashion Cancel reply

You can use these HTML tags

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>