I arrived in Rabat-Salé Airport today in a sleep-deprived jet-lagged stupor and was immediately struck by how bright the sun is. The weather is hot, around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and dry. I squinted my way through customs and baggage claim feeling completely disoriented and alone, but also filled with an overwhelming sense of possibility. No one knows me here. If I so chose, I can adopt an entirely different persona: Maral in Morocco.
Of course I am still me, but I am excited at the prospect of living the next four months in a manner completely at odds with what I have become accustomed to. Hopefully my entries here will reflect my growth and development so that everyone at home, and anyone else choosing to follow my blog, can virtually share some of my experiences with me.
Today my peers and I studying at Ecole Superieure de Direction et de Gestion, Université of Mohammed V, and Institut Hassan II will be relaxing and getting accustomed to the city before orientation begins tomorrow. I will meet my host family on Wednesday and am confident that they will be as friendly and welcoming as the other Moroccans I have encountered in the few hours I have been here. Everyone has a smile and is more than willing to accommodate to my weak and broken French. One of my goals while here is to improve my French at least to the point where I can have a conversation without having to prompt the person listening to try and guess at what I'm attempting to tell them. I already feel it coming back, though slowly.
This is a meager beginning to my blog, but there will be much more to come once I have actually set off to explore the city. And on that note I
will be on my way.
Maral,
ReplyDeleteYou are a truly amazing writer and I look forward to following your blog, it will be highly enjoyable to read, I'll tell you more in e-mail. I miss you so much (the fact that your farther makes it different)
Love Stasia