The Lazy Gregarious American...

Brahim and I We rode the train from Rabat to Marrakech the evening of October 30th. The train left Rabat at about 6:00pm, and the ride took about five hours. The train was divided into compartments. Eight people were in each compartment, and we sat on benches facing each other. I don't remember much about the ride because I kept falling asleep.

We arrived in Marrakech, and a taxi driver managed to fit all my luggage in his car! :) The cab driver took us to Brahim’s parents’ house near the old medina in Marrakech. His brother and sister were up to welcome us. Brahim's sister Khadija greeted me with a kiss on both cheeks. She speaks French, Spanish, and Moroccan Arabic but very little English. It's a good thing that smiles and laughter are a universal language. :)

Brahim's brother Achmed works in the tourism industry, and speaks excellent English, in addition to French, Italian, German, Romanian, and Moroccan Arabic.

Khadija served us pasta, fruit, and tea. They were all surprised that I don’t take tea, but the sister brewed me some herbal tea with fresh mint leaves and sugar. IT WAS SO GOOD! Much better than any mint tea I’ve ever had in the United States.

Khadija called me gregarious. She also told Brahim that when I am in the classroom the students won’t want to pay attention to the lessons, they will only want to watch me. What do you think Shishmaref kids? Is that a problem in our classroom?

By the time we were done eating and visiting, it was after 1:00am. I slept in a room off the main room of the house. The walls were covered in tiled mosaics. Beautiful! Check out some of my surroundings:













I was very comfortable...maybe too comfortable because I slept until 2:00 the next afternoon!!!!! Yes, that's right, thirteen hours of sleep. Khadija and Achmed both came in to check on me. I assured them I was fine, just tired. Yowza.

When I finally pried myself out of bed, Khadija told me I was too lazy to be a teacher! Apparently, teachers are not supposed to sleep the day away...