A very nice day

I found out where the showers are yesterday and had a nice hot shower this morning.  What a difference if makes.  I felt really warm.  I also made myself a hot cup of tea in the kitchen (bought the tea at a little store last night.)
Things are really starting to happen now.  Arriving on Saturday meant I was here when no workers were here and most students hadn't arrived yet.  Today, Leila, the lady who cleans came.  She's wonderful.  She will be a good resource - very friendly.
I went to the office to get my schedule and pay my fees.  It's a great schedule.  I have classes Mon - Thur 10:00 - 12:00 and 4:00 - 6:00.  On Friday, I have classes 8:00 - 12:00.  Lots of students arrived today.  Leila told me the residence is now full - 14 students.  (There are other students on home-stay or living other places.)  Leila told me I'm very lucky to have a private room.  (I started emailing them in November to ask what I could do to be sure I have a private room.)  This afternoon, I sat on the roof and studied.  That's definitely the place to go - nice and warm and sunny.  Linda (registrar) told me that the last few days have been unusually cold.  She said the cold air is coming down off the mountains.  It looks like it will get a little warmer in a few days.  I do think that my room will always feel cold, though.  Outside seems to always be better than in. 
I'm still working on learning my way around.  I have only walked around this area.  When I feel that I know it, I'll go further.  Page suggested taking a taxi to the old part of town and then walking back.  I think that sounds like a good system.  I've done quite a bit of walking each day and haven't had any problems with my foot.
Tomorrow, classes start.  I'm excited.  (And a little nervous - hope I'm not the weakest student in the class.)

My first full day in Fez

I slept pretty late - mostly because I didn't want to get out from under the warm blankets.  Then, I wandered around the city - not far, just this section - and got lost.  When I found my way back, I was feeling very tired and I took a nap.  I went back out in the afternoon because I knew I had to get out of here to get warm.  So, I went to the corner restaurant and had pizza and then walked around.  I got lost again, but found my way back faster the second time.  In the afternoon, it is sunny and really pleasant to walk around.  Later, I was sitting on the porch reading and Remy came out (That's the kitchen guy).  He told me that it's very pleasant to sit on the roof.  Nothing blocks the sun, so it's nice and warm and there's a great view.  I'll try it tomorrow.  I also talked to Page (my 3rd friend!) in the kitchen just now.  She's from Chevy Chase and has studied in Jordan.  She was telling me how to get to a big supermarket that's kind of like a Walmart.  I'll definitely go there tomorrow.  I need a towel (couldn't fit it in my suitcase) and some other stuff.  I'm hoping everything will get busier tomorrow.  The school will be open, so I should be able to talk to people there, get my schedule and, hopefully, other new students will come.  Classes start Tuesday.

Computer quirks

So, in addition to Blogger being in French, here are some other things that have now changed:

• When I go to google.com, it automatically transfers me to google morocco.  It asks if I want the sites it lists translated into French and also has a place I can click to get an Arabic keyboard and do searches in Arabic.
• When I go to Yahoo, the page comes up in Arabic.  I can click on English to get an English page.
• The others are fun, this one's annoying:  My ipod touch has changed to a French keyboard.

Still, the internet is so wonderful.  Having easy access to internet brings me really great joy because it's such an easy way to stay connected with everyone.  How did we live without it before?

Day 2 - starting my sejour in Fez

This morning I took the train to Fez as planned.  The train trip was about 4 hours and quite interesting.  I saw cows, horses, sheep and donkeys.   I also saw some large piles of garbage.  We climbed some mountains and my poor ears which have not recovered yet from 2 flights were not happy with the change in elevation.  The train arrived 30 minutes late, but the driver was still there waiting for me.  When we got to Alif, Yousif (housing guy) came running over and showed me to my room.
There was an American guy sitting on the patio outside reading a book.  After putting my bags in my room, I went outside to catch him and ask some questions before he disappeared.  His name is Jeremy.  (I need some friends right now.)  It turns out Jeremy just arrived 2 days ago, so he could use some friends too.  He says everyone else he has met is about to leave.  There may be some people who are continuing from last session, but they might be away on vacation during the break.  So, Jeremy showed me how to get in the gate when it's locked and told me that I don't need a password for the internet.  He says the server cuts out sometimes, which made it difficult for him to skype with his girlfriend (hope he doesn't mind me telling the world his personal stuff on my blog!), but for emails, etc it should be just fine.  I asked him where I could get lunch and he walked to a cafe with me (a good thing, since women don't really go to cafes alone here.)  Then, we came back and there was a guy here cooking.  We stayed in the kitchen to talk to him.  He has been here since September, so he was able to give us a lot of tips on living in Fez.  It's nice to talk to the two of them because we can discuss issues of learning Arabic and of living in Morocco.  It feels like we have so much in common.  Jeremy and I are going to get dinner at 7:00.  So, I have one friend!  (The other guy is about to move out.)
I have been worried about recharging things here.  I knew the Mac says that you can just use the plug adapter and the computer knows what the current is, but I was really afraid to try that.  I asked Jeremy and he has been charging his Imac in exactly that way, so I am charging mine right now, as I type.  It hasn't blown up yet.
As for my room.  There's nothing fantastic or exotic about it.  It's next to the bathroom so that's really nice.  It has a set of shelves a little like the ones in Wendy's apartment.  I have put my clothes on them.  I also have a desk, sink and a twin bed.  I'll try to take pictures tomorrow.
And it's definitely quite cold.  Sitting at my desk, I'm trying to remember where I packed my gloves so I can wear them while I'm typing this.  Right now I am wearing jeans, silk long undershirt, turtleneck, and a heavy long pull-over sweater.  I took my coat off, but I would be comfortable with it on.   Jeremy says he has been sleeping with a blanket and his coat on him.  (I think I'm prepared for the nights.)  There is a coffee maker in the kitchen.  I'll go out and buy coffee tomorrow.  I still need to learn my way around.  In the meantime, the delicious chocolate-covered coffee beans that Susan gave me have been sustaining me well on my trip. :)

Arrived in Morocco

So I’m now about to spend my first night in Morocco (for this trip.)  The flight over was long, but fine.  You’ve got to love Air France.  They still give you at least one meal and free wine on all their flights.  My seat-mate (a lovely Ivorian woman who works for the World Bank) and I had champagne with our dinner last night.  The pilot on the second flight was wonderfully informative.  About every 15 minutes, he pointed out a landmark (Pyrenees, Madrid, Gibraltar, etc.)  After going through customs, changing money and finding the train station in the airport, I had to wait an hour for the train into Casablanca.  This meant I arrived just at sunset.  I heard the call to prayer as I got off the train, then walked into my hotel room with a Christmas tree in the lobby!  I haven’t had much luck yet with getting a phone.  The one I thought I could use won’t charge and all stores were closed in Casablanca after dark.  I’ll probably wait for Fez to look for one. 

As I’ve been typing this, I’ve just met a young Australian couple who are working their way around the world. And blogger has automatically changed the tabs at the top to French.  I wonder if Wendy's blog tabs were in German when she was there.  She never mentioned that.

Plans for when I arrive

My second post in the same day!  Here's a place I intend to check out when I get there:
http://cafeclock.com  A lot of Americans go there.  I don't want to spend all my time with Americans, but it's a good "comfort" place.  I looked on google maps and they are only a 4 minute walk from my school.  They are famous for their camel burgers.  Also, in looking at what's going on there this week, I see that they have a workshop called Fez Download.  It says: "Let us introduce you to Moroccan culture, customs and language with Khalid. In 1:30hrs you will wow your way round the souks."  Perfect for me!

Wait - Am I getting ahead of myself?  I will be studying at the Arabic Institute in Fez (ALIF) from Jan 3 to Feb 20.  Hopefully, my Arabic will get better.  It still won't be fantastic.  All you ESL teacher friends, think about how much English your students speak after 6 weeks in the USA.

Contact info

I'm leaving tomorrow evening.  Here's my itinerary:
Liese is driving me to Dulles Airport.  I fly Air France to Paris and get there on Friday morning.  Then I fly to Casablanca.  I arrive in Casablanca at 3pm on Friday.  I will buy my train ticket for the next day and spend the night in a hotel in Casablanca.  I take the train to Fez in the morning, so I will hopefully be all settled in my room at the Alif Residence on Saturday evening.
Here's the info for my school.  I forgot to ask whether there's a separate address to write to me.  I'll see if I can get that.  At any rate, it's easiest to email.  (And the postal service's website says it cost $35 to send a 1 pound package to Morocco and takes 3 - 5 days.  Hopefully, I won't need anything sent.)

The Arabic Language Institute in Fez
BP 2136
Fes 30000
Morocco