Jiggity jig/Through the labyrinth

Today as I waited for my ice cream from my favorite ice cream place (unwilling/unable to escape my Izzys Ice Cream roots) I saw a police officer judo a cheeky ruffian to the ground. I got two scoops - peach and date. 10 DH = $1 (aprox.)

As I waited for my pizza to be made in the souk (market) I saw a rat crawl out of a sewer directly in front of one of the Medina cats. We both had a good lunch that day. Margarita pizza and rat. 15 DH = $1.5 (aprox.)

My point is that if you sit in any one place in Rabat for more than 5 minutes you'll see some wild shenanigans.

One of the main entrances into the walled Media. Very few cars enter the Medina and residential areas are accessible only by motorbike. 

My host family is wonderful. My dad is a mechanic and my mom is a loving mother. My younger brothers, 5 and 11 and full of energy and curiosity. Even though there's about 5 words of English between us, but a lot can be said without speaking. They're a very hospitable and beautiful family.

Throngs file through the Medina market shopping for everything from shoes to knock-offs of the Apple and Beats by Dre.
Minarets line the blocks representing the strong presence of Islam in Rabat. 

My home is nestled in the heart of the Medina. One wrong turn and you're a supporting character in the movie Maze Runner. At least for visitors. I made that mistake the other night. The walls are high and everything looks the same in the day and like a different city after the shops close at night. Long story short I ended up drinking tea in the back of a shop with two police officers while the owner, a family friend, called my dad. I felt vivid nostalgia back to the many times I got lost at the Minnesota Science Museum. No one to page my parents over the intercom though.  I'm learning to navigate by Minarets.

Life is amazing here. A fantasy-world blend of tradition and multiculturalism clinging to the impending modern lifestyle carried by globalization. For example, even in the most pious homes the TV is ALWAYS on - a member of the family. We're watching Batman Begins for the second night in a row as my home stay dad does the evening prayers.

That's pretty wizard.

-Simeon

Dispatch 2: Is good deal, no?

As-salamu alaykum! Labas? Labas. 

I haven't even been here a week but Rabat has already enveloped me in her mystical yet very tangible blend of modern and traditional cultures revealed in the architecture, language and of course - the food.

A rooster roosts atop a fresh veggie shop. More fruits and veggies than you can imagine color the Souk of the medina. 

Every building is a work of art. From my hotel room where I'm staying for the week I can see far across the rooftops into the adjacent city of Sale. Sale and Rabat are separated by a river, not that different from my beloved Twin Cities back in Minnesota. But that's only geographical. The rich cultures deposited by each passing empire, (Romans, Phoenicians, Arab, etc.) have each left a noticeable footprint in many areas.

This morning a couple friends and I walked through the Souk (market) in the old medina and ended up at the river very near to the Atlantic coast. The locals are very friendly and it didn't take long for an older gentlemen by the name of Hamid to engage in friendly conversation with us and offer a tour of the area. What I expected to be a simple directional orientation turned out to be a journey deep into the history and personality of the city. Hamid explained so much, from showing us the original French consulate, to the first hotel in Rabat, to the pirate's fortress (with canons still in place) in the Kasbah, to the Sultan's old palace, to explaining why older street shops are above ground to avoid flooding before there was a drainage system. And so much more.

Later in the day we set out on our first assignment - bargaining. Given a few rudimentary phrases, we were set into the streets to find a local shop (not difficult) and using Arabic, French or limited English, bargain the price of an item down. Different shop keepers have different attitudes, and I'm not great with numbers yet, but it was a success.

I'm healthy and happy.

Peace,
Simeon

Dispatch 1: The eagle has landed

I hit the ground running on Friday afternoon at the Rabat Sale airport and promptly tripped. My baggage was left behind in Amsterdam(n).

No worries. I took a taxi and checked into my hotel. Next step: sustenance. It felt a little like a reality TV survival game where I'm dropped in a land where I don't speak the language, have limited resources and have to rely on basic hunter gatherer skills to survive. I beat that level and got safe looking street food and bottled water in the market, just around the corner from my hotel.

Re-hydrated and with a short nap in me I hopped in a taxi and headed back to the airport for a three hour hassle to get my luggage. Another success. Another harrowing yet exhilarating taxi ride back. I love how they drive here.

Got a mighty dose of sleep and spent most of Saturday and Sunday walking the beaches of the Atlantic coast, reading in the shade and spray of the waves and watching fishermen fish. Sunday evening - now - I've connected with the rest of the group and had an amazing dinner at the CCCL (Cross cultural center for learning) where we will be taking classes.

Met a young boy while walking the beach today named Hakim. He learned all his English from TV. Quite impressive. I hope to be at least half as fluent in Arabic by the end of my stay.

Rabat is a beautiful city - quite stunning really. Calls to prayer and dazzling sunsets envelope the rooftops with tranquility.

-Simeon

Jazzed

Greetings blog followers!

I've had a lot of you ask if there's a way to follow my adventures while I'm away in Morocco so I decided to make a blog. Taking you with is going to do exactly that - take you with. This semester I'm studying abroad with the School for International Training (SIT) through Round Earth Media. The setting is seaside, the business is journalism. 

In several hours I'll be getting on a plane at MSP for a 15 hour flight to Rabat, Morocco. The nation's capitol, Rabat is a coastal city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million, according to Google. As I approach the final hours before my departure I find myself excited and a bit edgy. Could be the caffeine. Needless to say but I'll say it anyway, I'm jazzed. 

Anyway, here's the jist of it. I'll be keeping these posts short. Won't have a lot of time for anything besides adventuring as it is. This is a place where you can see cool pictures I might post, read short stories I might write and learn a little about my experience as I immerse in Moroccan culture. My goal is to update every couple days, but limited internet and adventures in the style of Indiana Jones might keep me otherwise occupied.

 I need to finish packing. For the last time in the Twin Cities, peace. 

-Simeon