Marrakech....Paris.....where am I?

Am now in Paris, once again at the Sheraton right in the middle of the airport.  I love my AMEX card which has given me the points to be able to stay here.  And I love this hotel.  Because I discovered today that I only have 1/2 the baggage allowance that I thought I was allowed.  Apparently if you come from the US to India you get twice the a amount of baggage than you do if you come from France (or anywhere else).  That doesn't seem fair.  Wonder if I can get a special dispensation because I am an American flying out of France....hmmmmmmm. Are American's bags fatter as well as their bodies?  Anyway, the hotel is going to store my extra bag for FREE for the whole time I am in India...over a month.  And they stored it the 10 days I was in Marrakech.

Moroccan weekend with my "sister" Latifa.  Went up the mountain to the Saturday souk which was packed with all the men and their donkeys and the smell of tagine cooking and everyone dressed in jellabas.  I love this......I felt like I was home.  It just all felt so familiar.  Then I spent a while talking long term goals with some of the older girls who speak English and that was great.  Latifa and I went to the good old Asni hammam for a few hours because she said that I had to get really clean....Moroccan clean.  After that we took the taxi to town and went to pick up her jellaba in a part of Marrakech that is very, very different than the tourist area.  There were a million people out in the streets and food cooking and children running around....and right in the middle was this white woman without a hajab...standing out as usual.  At least I am not blond.

Latifa  spent Saturday night as my guest at my hotel which was fun for both of us. She took a million pictures...the pool, the restaurant....all the rich Moroccans that were there.  She even wanted to go to the nightclub but I convinced her that that would be true culture shock!  We could listen to the music from the balcony of our room and she definitely would have been the only woman in a hajab there...and we would both have been the only non prostitutes I think.   Sunday we walked to Menara Gardens which are beautiful public gardens with a big lake in the middle of the city and all the Moroccan families were out running, pushing carriages...just doing usual Sunday things.  I've asked both Latifa and Aziz why Sunday is a work holiday here but never got a sufficient answer....shouldn't it be Friday? Then we walked to the Jamaa El Fanaa (famous Marrakech souk...snake charmers etc) to meet a friend of ours for lunch which was conducted in French and arabic and tashelhit...forget the English.

Here is sort of interesting  fact.  My friend Aziz told me that a friend of his (a Jewish Moroccan woman who taught with him in Tangier) asked him to contact a Jewish man who lives near Fes who is a fakir.  Apparently her husband left her for a younger woman so she wanted a spell put on him.  Actually a fakir is a Muslim term (also found in Hindu) that means a mystic but apparently there are Jewish ones too.  Anyway, he was supposed to check the guy out and see if he could do the job. I told him that perhaps a hit man would be cheaper but, as usual, the humor didn't translate well. We will see...I asked if the fakir just worked with Jews but was told that he was very ecumenical.  Fakirs are closely connected with Sufi Islam and perhaps there is some overlap since Muslims have their Sufis and Jews have their Kabbalists...both the spiritual and mystical side of the religion.  Will keep everyone posted if it works.  Perhaps I should think of magical spells that I want to cast too......hmmmmm

Off to bed and then to India tomorrow.  Just can't wait to see Beka.  Oh, and also anxious to remember how to speak English :-).  At least I can do that with Beka, i think.

Met with the American School on Thursday.  Bizarre experience to be in Morocco in a school where everyone is speaking English....American English and in the middle of the school there is both an American flag and a picture of President Obama.  Maybe this isn't too strange to Beka but it feels strange to me.  It is a very, very fancy school with is currently through some personnel problems.

So today, Saturday, I left the hotel in the morning and went back up to Asni.  Visited the Asni souk again which is always an experience in reality.

Another day in the mountains

Now I am in the Hotel Andalous where I have spent many nights during the last two years.  It feels good to come back to a comfortable and familiar setting.  The apartment that I rented was not what I thought and I missed having a bathtub so, they gave me a good rate here and I am back.  And I have WIFI and heat and TV at least in French and breakfast in the morning

Today i am going to the American School of Marrakech to meet with the Director and some of the teachers.  I am going there on the bus for teachers which means that I am up early because i have to take a taxi to the place where I will meet Melina, the contact from ASM at 7:20.  I wonder if the American School (ASM) follows Moroccan time or American (Western time)?  Does 7:20 mean 7:20 or does it mean 8:00 or even later.....we will see.

Yesterday, after dropping my luggage at the hotel, I traveled back up the mountain to meet with Latifa and Mina (the housemother of Dar Ourigane) to find out what they need me to do when I come back.  Already I am feeling that I will not have enough time here to make a difference since the girls will be on vacation from January 23rd until Feb 4.

Perhaps I will have a better picture of everything after today....or perhaps not

Moroccan meetings...lots of food

Today Maryk, Latifa, Anny (the current volunteer in Asni) and I went to a meeting in Asni with a variety of organizations dealing with the education system for boys and girls in the Asni and Imlil area.  The whole meeting was conducted in French and I am proud to report that I could hold my own.  Followed the whole conversation (Moroccans speaking French are much easier to understand than Parisians!) and I even got to contribute something.  I was so impressed with the dedication that everyone displayed, particularly, once again, the women.  I have met such incredible and inspiring women here.....well educated, committed to increasing opportunities for girls and women AND religious.  Seems a bit like a contradiction considering the stereotypes we have of women in Muslim societies but it is absolutely true. And the men (well most of them...the man who is the houseparent for the boys house is a very dour, very religious, young man who refused to speak in French during the meeting although he could understand everything and therefore forced the others to translate for him....didn't like him when I was here before and still don't)were very respectful and complimentary of their female coworkers.

So we all sat in a little room around a table (about 15 of us) and they brought out many, many pastries and a variety of food  and lots of tea that we were stuffed.

Then Anny, Maryk and I went to Ourigane, the home that I stayed at for a while in the spring and we met with Mina the housemother. And we had more food...tagine, pasta, cake and lots more tea.  It was wonderful to see those girls again also and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to work with them....they are so lovely and enthusiastic.  I am going to be doing some work with them when I return and Mina and I are just trying to figure it out.  When we got to Ourigane I thought....finally someone will carry on a conversation in English since Mina was an English major (like Aziz) at the University...but noooooooo we had to continue to speak French.  And the girls don't speak much English either.  

Then after many, many hours, Maryk and I drove back to Marrakech and I took the opportunity to walk back to my apartment from the famous Mamounia hotel where she dropped me off.  If you really want to be impressed with a hotel, check out the website at http://www.mamounia.com/uk/index.php .  Haven't been in there yet but I will definitely check it out before I leave.....just have to have the right clothes. Anyway it is a lovely 30-40 minute walk which takes me past the Andalous hotel in which I have stayed many times and through the most beautiful residential area of Marrakech.  And I get some exercise too.  And don't need to continue to haggle with cab drivers about how much the taxi is.......

Think I am going back up the mountain tomorrow or Wednesday and then to a meeting at the American School of Marrakech on Thursday.  Getting a bit fed up with my apartment and may move to the Andalous hotel in the middle of the week (if they will give me a good rate).

And so it goes.......

Today is my third day in Marrakech and it has been an adjustment being back.  As promised, Khalid (the manager of the apartment that I think I am renting) picked me up at the airport.  My bags arrived with no problem. I even made it through Customs with Aziz' PS3 (I was dreading the questions about it for my personal use...so I didn't have to pay tax on it...thought it was going to be hard to convince them that I had the interests of teenage boys!) But anyway, got it through and now once I drop it off with Aziz for his sons, I will be done with the heavy thing.

So the first apartment that Khalid showed me was the one at the price we had agreed to.....but in true Moroccan fashion, there is more to the story.  The first one was about 50 a night and was not very nice...very, very basic.  The second was about 62 a night and much nicer so of course, being the rich American :-) I took the second.  It is still sort of basic by American standards ....kitchen with minimal dishes, stove that works but oven that doesn't, fridge and washing machine in kitchen.  Has two bedrooms, one with a big bed (a bit more on that later) and a large Moroccan salon which is sofas up against the wall around the room and a satellite TV that I can't figure out how to work but only gets Arabic stations only.  The bathroom consists of a western toilet (a pleasant surprise) and a bidet and an open shower that has no water pressure but at least hot water. Oh, and NO HEAT but lots of very warm Moroccan blankets.  Apparently apartments in Marrakech don't need heat (it does have airconditioning though) since supposedly it doesn't get that cold.  But like Norther California...it of course DOES get cold, they just deny it). So far the overhead light in the bedroom has gone out (Khalid will fix tomorrow), the toilet has stopped working (he showed me how to fix it) and the stove needed to be lit but the matches had disappeared......hmm.  Well at least I have electricity.

The neighborhood is great and convenient to everything as I knew it would be.  I have to decide whether I remain here in the New City..Gueliz (with cafes, bars, lots of restaurants and lots, and lots of people speaking French but also lots of Moroccan men hanging out as there are everywhere) or go to the riad that my friends Maryk and Cees told me about which is right near their hotel riad in the medina (old cool city).  Choice between atmosphere and isolation (medina) and lots to do.  In Gueliz (New City) I can go out at night but in the medina it is a bit less active at night.  The riad (fancy house) in the medina is owned by an American with whom I have been corresponding so I am looking at that one tomorrow.  Also, for my Moroccan friends (both male and female) the New City is a more comfortable place to visit....no nosy neighbors wanting to know what is going on and a more Western approach to men and women fraternizing.  

On that......the apartment that I am currently renting is so much money (by Moroccan standards) because it is an apartment that usually caters to single Moroccan couples who want some privacy (hence the big bed and not much in the way of kitchen supplies).  In Morocco you cannot check into a hotel unless you show a marriage license and if you try, you will be arrested!! So much for the fact that Morocco is considered a "liberal" Islamic government.  Don't know how many people they actually throw in jail, but the threat is there.  That being said (and I may have said this the last time too), prostitution is rampant.  But friends, there are no hookers standing outside the door of my building, just private security guards which is fine with me.  It is a nice quiet building.

My activities since I got here:

• took the communal taxi to Asni yesterday and had couscous with the two Latifas, Mina and the girls.  It was so wonderful to see everyone again.  The girls didn't know that I was coming so it was a great surprise for them.
• And I brought them candy canes which, because they are Moroccan and love sweets....they gobbled up.
• in the afternoon I returned to Marrakech and did a big food shopping at the local supermarket and then walked back to my apartment
• today I met with Maryk (on the Board of the NGO...Education for all Morocco).  We also met with Melina who is EFA's contact at the American School of Marrakech.  I will be working with Melina to coordinate activities between the two schools and I have a list of things that I need to accomplish before I leave for India
• Guess I am going to be coming back at the end of January.  It looks like there will be several things for me to do involving the American School coordination (which I will continue once I go back to the US) and also helping the housemothers with activities with the girls once or twice a week.  The logistics still to be worked out.
• tomorrow I am going with Maryk to two of the other EFA houses to see what help they need and what they need from the American School to aid them. Not sure how much individual work I will do with the girls but since I already know the girls at both Asni and Ourigane (from my last visit), I should have some credibility.
• Looks like the activities will take me through the first week of March which should be perfect.

And it is going to be wonderful to spend some time with Latifa again, both in Marrakech on the weekends (hopefully) and in Asni at least part of the time during the week. Still have some personal kinks to work out but it looks good going forward...I'm psyched to be able to be of some use.

More to come........bslamma.....goodbye..my Darija has gone totally out of my head.  The girls also need to teach me Tashelhit again.....

the new trip begins

Today I am beginning my next adventure..Well, actually yesterday.  I am now in Paris and situated in the Sheraton airport hotel.  I did this for several reasons:

• it is attached to the airport and so getting in and out is easy 
• it allows me to just rest up before the rest of my trip
• I can store my luggage here while I take my jaunt to Morocco and then come back to go to India
• it allows me lots of time to figure out what clothes etc I bring to Morocco and what I leave.
• it lets me get over any jet lag after my 16 hour trip from San Francisco
• they upgraded me to a Club room so I have free internet, breakfast and a gorgeous view of the runway without any noise.
• it is a central location to meet my friends for dinner this evening.
• most importantly: I could pay for it with points (actually combination of points and money) so I am staying here for $150 for two days and when I return before India, I am staying for free...Can't beat it.

So yesterday I flew from SFO to Denver; Denver to Iceland (didn't get to see it...it was dark and I only had an hour and a half); Iceland to Paris.  And then I fell asleep until 10:30 this morning and missed breakfast!  

Tomorrow I leave to Marrakech and hopefully will be met by Khalid who will take me to my new apartment.  Supposedly I will have an apartment for the 11 days I am there but we will see.....if he shows up....if the price is as he said it would be...if it is nice.  Otherwise, I always have my favorite hotel to stay in.  Hopefully seeing Latifa and the girls on Friday if all goes well.

So stay tuned.  If there is anyone who doesn't know this yet, here is my schedule:

dec 6-17th Marrakech

Dec 17th: back at the Sheraton at CDG

Dec 18-19: travel to Chennai

Dec 19....reunited with Beka and Michael at 2 in the morning!!

Dec 19-21...stay with the "kids"

Dec 21=30...Beka and I head to Rajasthan

Dec 30-Jan 7...hang out in Chennai with the kids

Dec 8-24...OAT tour of Southern India

Dec 24-26...hang out with the kids

Dec 26th---return to CDG

Dec 26th until March 20....stay tuned!!