Monday, January 30, 2006

fluidity

so ive got a few more minutes to write as ive been back now doing nothing in the office for 2 hrs already. one of the things that the media centre director, bob told me before leaving was that in this country (as in most developing nations i would suspect) i would have to be fluid...as one of my new roommates tried to describe in english: "dissolve"...basically go with the flow, or become a part of. last night i repeated the word "fluid" over and over to myself when the girls told me that we were going to mcdonalds for dinner--my first moroccan restaurant experience consisted of the McArabian meal...pretty much burger in a pita. "fluid" i whispered to myself as a cold breeze danced across my face while trying to fall asleep last night. "fluid" is something God is asking me to incorporate into my everyday life, however, and not just while travelling, so i guess ive got a few months to practice before going home!

moroccan life seems to be this amazing life full of contradictions. the modern and the ancient flow together like nobody`s business. hooded men in their jillabahs (floor-length hooded cloaks) herd sheep by the roadside and look like theyve walked off the set of LOTR. or they just sit around and drink mint tea all day. farmers manuevering their way through the streets atop mule-drawn carts. all this just outside their version of the local walmart called "Marjan", whose parking lot full of bmw`s and other european imports rests amid a foot of rain water (which hasn`t seeped its way down through the lot`s single drain). Inside Marjan is an 'eclectic myriad' (sorry, that`s an inside joke) of spices, child`s semiautomatic toy weapons, and local musicians....along with whatever else a superstore or walmart might carry!

oh gotta run....off again at a moment`s notice! FLUID!!!!!

not in the desert yet!

this will be short as ive just arrived at work and this is a different keybord so dont mind my lack of grammer....which has pretty much all gone to pot anyway because m in the midst of learning 2 languages and relearning 1. after 2 days ive made some headway w/ pronouncing arabic....i have about a dozen basic phrases in my repetoire...french is interesting because ive forgotten so much since high school....coming back to me though! i live w/ 2 sisters around my age, really fun....theyve been teaching me moroccan dancing....im pretty rythmically challenged as it is....its freezing here....i sleep in all my clothes plus tuque, mitts etc....no heqt plus the wind was actually shaking the apartment last night....the windows were shut but the curtains were blowing! food is good....lots of bread...i dont think girls my age buy a lot of meat in any country! but i have to run....first day taking pics! bsslama مع السلامة