Signing Off

It has been a whirlwind, emotional, fascinating, and exhausting four and a half months.  This last week was a true test of my endurance, with computer breaking, phone being stolen, computer breaking again, a lousy trip to the post office, atm trouble, and emotional goodbyes.  On top of all of that the weather never fell below 80 degrees, even at night.  With the brief internet connection and a few minutes of reflection, I leave you with this image.

I will be home in 30 hours, with 20 hours minimum of travel.  Only a few hours left to go, and they will be spent sleeping and having dinner with the family.  I have said goodbye to all of my friends and school.

Thank you, Morocco.

Signing off- Caitlin Guszkowski

Last Week of Skype

Sometimes Skype is great, and in comparison to my connection while studying in Brazil, it opens up whole worlds of communication.  It is cheap and pretty consistent.  And then there are days...

Thank you, Nate, for showing me how silly I look in Morocco.

The End of a Chapter

Today Leah left Morocco.  We woke up at 5:45 and slowly she gathered the last of her things and said goodbye.  I just can't believe it is over and how much I have learned being a roommate.  That is one thing I didn't expect from the program, but appreciate wholeheartedly.

Yesterday was a very productive day for Leah and me.  We started out, a little sick from the night before, with a trip into the medina with our host mom.  In all honestly I haven't seen our host mom outside of the house since the day we moved in.  It is not that she doesn't go out, because she works five days a week, but I just don't leave the house with her.  So, it was pretty strange and cute.  She walked arm in arm with us and explained a lot of little things to me that I hadn't yet understood.  We bought nice saffron for $3 and she bargained a nice couscousier for me down to $12.  Happy mother's day to her!

After lunch and packing Leah and I headed back to the beach for some sun.  We brought lemon slices to lighten our hair and lived dangerously, showing skin up to our knees!

Later we went into the medina with Carson and Mackenzie for a last whirlwind affair with Moroccan food.  Hopefully none of us will have food poisoning today.  Smoothies, medina sandwiches, and snail soup were our dinner.  One bowl of snails was enough for all of us to share... at least we tried it?!  While eating and wandering, we headed to the cliffs to watch the sun set, and then wandered back through the medina at night when it is bustling.  Something special happened for me on those cliffs, which can't be expressed in pictures or words.  And what matters is those other three people understand.  Even if we never see eachother again, move to different parts of the country or the world and keep moving forward, that moment mattered.

So, Goodbye to Leah.  May we see eachother again, wherever we end up.

Best Day Yet!

It seems that every weekend someone claims that they are having their best day yet in Morocco.  I have said it before.  Usually I move the superlative up a little to say it is the best day, morning, or breakfast OF MY LIFE.  Those moments are the reason we are here.  New experiences, discoveries, and adventures.

Our courageous travelers, Leah and Rebecca.

Yesterday we spent the whole day celebrating our time in Morocco before my roommate, Leah, and our friend, Rebecca, leave.  They are taking off a little bit earlier than the rest of us, so it seemed like a nice opportunity to try some new activities together.  Leah decided on kayaking in the ocean.  So, right after our final exam in FosHa, we trooped over to the Atlantic Ocean for some kayaking.

Amelia giving the ocean some attitude.

We went to the Club Nautica in a bay just behind the old city.  Leah and Rebecca got out past the big waves for a fun time kayaking.  Then Mackenzie and Amelia got out on the water.  Soon Macarena and Catherine got out on the water and then in the water.  They flipped twice.  Our instructor then decided the waves were too rough for kayaking, so everyone headed back in and Macarena, Catherine, and I went swimming.  In our clothes we practiced the fine art of wave jumping and learned how to boogie board with our instructor.  The rest of our friends played beach soccer and sat on the beach.  Soon enough we had had enough sun and headed home to change and eat couscous.  

My tiny closet.  So soon we will have to part!

After a shower, Leah and I had a quiet afternoon of packing and napping.  For dinner we met up with everyone again for sushi.  After that indulgence we marched en masse to the ex-pat bar near school and shared wine all around.  It was one of those picturesque nights where no one gets belligerent, everyone laughs, people share funny stories, and there are no regrets.  Now we can look forward to meeting up on the other side of the ocean and recounting days like yesterday.

Our last sushi night.

Bye, Leah!!

No matter how much fun I had yesterday, inevitably I had one of those icky mornings that comes after so much "celebration".  Yet, while tossing and turning I had a waking second where I was washed with warm feelings and everything felt like it was sparkling.  When I remembered where I was, I realized that I thought I was at home, waking up in my Milwaukee bed.  Soon enough.

So, I hope you have a good day, a good weekend, and a good week enjoying where you are and the people you are with.  Time passes faster than you ever imagined it could so these moments can't last forever.

Clearly debauchery was on it's way.

Expect the Unexpected

Each day in Morocco we have worked towards learning the important skill of expecting the unexpected.  Today was my second to last day of normal class.  We had a guest speaker in French, Abdelfattah Kilito, an author whose book we read early in the semester.  Later I had a nice lunch and conversation with my friend, Adriane, made some weekend plans for the last week in Morocco, and set off for home.  Then I ran into a good friend, who I hadn't seen in quite a while.  

Khaled, who graciously accepted me and later me and friends, into his home for couscous and fun at the beach, was hanging around school.  We started talking and after a while we head into the medina for some adventuring.  I saw so many new things, and this is coming from someone who tends to head into the medina at least four times a week.  He showed me back alley malls where there were nicer clothes for cheaper than on the main drag.  I got to watch him do business for his shop back in Temara, and then we walked around the medina to the kasbah.  I had been at the kasbah only yesterday, but while up there we decided to head down to the other side of the shore.  

I had only been there once, early in the semester.  Now, almost four months later it was so different.  Not only is it hot, but it has huge waves.  Gorgeous waves that look as if they are trying to prove to you the true power of the Atlantic.  We had a great time and I came home sticky, sweaty, and exhausted, and with a few more memories for the pot.  I spent the whole day wandering, without thinking of the internet or home.  I guess the unexpected here is that there is still so much to notice all around me.  Tomorrow the gang is going kayaking and then out on the town.  It is time to celebrate our experiences and begin moving forward.

Took Myself For A Walk Today

The police have these cute
 umbrellas they stand under
when not controlling traffic.  CUTE!

With my fisheye camera in tow, I took myself for a walk today.  For the first time in a long time, maybe the first time ever, I was a tourist.  But I was a hippie hipster tourist.  Which is sorta better than a run of the mill tourist.  Especially now that everyone thinks our country is insane.  I even had an acquaintance who I know only by brief encounters suddenly approach me to ask me what I think about "recent events".  We have to be very careful what we say, but it was nice of him to talk to me, at least!

Just found this while working on a picture project...

I think this was in Fez, but I can't be sure.  Under HAPPINESS it says "school of languages".  And the inner linguist in me smiles.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

When it rains like this on a Sunday night, I get this dinner delivered to my bedroom:

Yes.  It is a real chantilly cream filled mille feuille.  And cookies.  And hot chocolate.

But, don't feel too jealous, because it is raining like this, and I am under "house arrest" due to rain, fear from civil unrest, lack of activities because all of my classmates are still working on finals, and the warning sent out by the American Consulate due to certain actions taken by the US in Pakistan.

Daydreamer

The street behind my house where there was a riot on Friday night.

There are protests galore across Morocco today in honor of Labor Day.  I spent all of yesterday locked up at my homestay in fear of everything going on here, nowadays.  But there is only so much I can take.  As sweet as my family is, I am only in Morocco for another 12 days and I need to experience all that I can of the country.  So, instead of daydreaming of home in bed, today I am working on my final exam prep in a cafe with my roommate, drinking horribly sweet iced tea (pictures to come).

Showing Nate how happy I am (even though
my eyes are two different shapes) locked up at home.