Back Up and Running!

Hamdulaluh!!!! (An all-ecompassing Arabic expression praising God, but used to describe gratitude for anything pleasant). After almost a month, I finally have a computer again. The hard drive crashed the first week in November, and since logging into this blog from the French computers changes all the blog commands to French, I've been a little lax. But I've missed writing this, so I'll try to use a couple entries to catch everyone up. 

November 4th-9th was the Eid Al-Adah, very similar to Muslim thanksgiving. According to the Q'ran, Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Issac. Allah, being the great and merciful he is, at the last minute let him sacrifice a sheep instead. Therefore, every year around this time, Muslims all over the world celebrate with the slaughter and feast of a sheep. Early in the morning, they bring the sheep, usually on the roof, and the man of the house slits it's throat. If there is no man, sometimes the knife is placed in the hands boys as young as two, and their hand is used to kill the sheep. They then butcher the animal, keeping a third for their family, giving a third to their relatives, and giving a third to the poor.They then slow-roast it over a spit and feast away. 

An Unfortunate Sheep.. I felt like it knew...

I originally planned to go use my much-needed break from school to go to the desert, but at the last minute changed my mind and decided to make a second visit to Merrakech and Essouria. This turned out to be a wise choice, since the group that did go ended up getting caught in a blizzard driving over the mountains, and had to sleep in their rental car until they could be rescued. The irony of this amused me greatly, especially since I wasn't the one spending over 24 hours stuck in a car. 

The trip overall was very relaxing. Having seen the major sites of both cities my first week in Morocco, it was great to just chill with my friends and eat good food. We arrived in Merrakech late Friday night, and Saturday morning rented a car to road trip to Essouria. It was a pleasant change to travel by personal car after being squished into so many grand taxis. We spend out time hanging out on the beach and exploring the medina, where we met some interesting characters:

This random shop owner with his un-politically correct black cat "Obama"

Our goofy selves- Always strange...

What could compete for the world smallest bookshop-All english language!

The Mustafas- They own this shop and split their time between surfing and selling shoes. Not a bad life.

The Fortress at sunset

We almost took this one home

Some sweet art in the city park

Viagra for Women anyone?

Regretfully, Sunday we headed back to Merrakech to spend the Monday holiday making a proper Moroccan/American/Danish Eid feast. Before returning to the car we stopped at the Marjane, which is basically the Moroccan version of Walmart, only smaller, more cramped, and much more disorganized. The shopping stress was very similar to trying to buy a turkey the day before Thanksgiving. First world problems, I know. We arrived late Sunday to our apartment in Merrakech. It's worth noting that this was by and large the best apartment I have stayed in since coming to Morocco: not a single cock roach, hot water, and a sparkling-clean kitchen with marble counter-tops, all located in the Ville Novelle, the richest part of Merrakech. 

Monday morning the five of us prepared our own Eid feast, planning to share with several of our friends who were also in town. We watched the king slaughter a sheep on TV, which was accompanied by much praying and singing by men in white robes and tasseled fez hats. No Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, but quite interesting. We also visited the Djam El-Fnna square, one of the most famous sites in Merrakech. Usually a carnival full of tourist-trap shops, street food, and entertainers, on the holiday the square was practically deserted. After exploring the emptiness for a bit, we cooked our feast and celebrated with our friends. The menu was lamb, mashed potatoes and a veggie stir-fry, with fresh salsa and bri cheese on crackers for appetizers. My friend Quinn brought here Aunt and Uncle who were visiting from Chicago, and they entertained us with guitar-playing and stories of being Peach-Corps volunteering in Hondouras. 

Our Beautiful Apartment.. I'll get around to blogging about the wonders of a Moroccan-style living room

An eerily deserted Souk.. Usually every door is open and goods are spilling out and it's so crowded you cannot walk. We probably saw this on one of the three days a year it looks like this.

I fell in love with this door. The decorations are the hand of Fatima, which protects against the evil eye. 

Fountain in central Merrakech

The Mosque

Tuesday we took in the square at night, with was only partially back up and running. It was great to just chill, explore, and use our beautiful apartment to cook in. We also had a Tangea delivered, which is a ditch prepared only in Merrakech. Mutton is cooked in a deep earthenware pot with a special blend of spices for about twelve hours. 

Wednesday it was an 8-hour train and taxi ride back to Ifrane and real life. We had classes on Saturday to make up for the "extra" day of vacation they gave us (don't ask), so I really didn't have a weekend. Instead, I took three major tests and gave a lab report. Taking off the adventure hat to put on the thinking cap hasn't become any easier… but I know saying "poor me, I must study MacroEcon in between trips to the beach" will not win me much sympathy. I really have grown to love my life here. I've probably said this before, but I am living the adventure of a lifetime.. and plan on fitting many more in. 

We had last Friday the 18th off of school, so Thursday I headed to London to get my computer fixed. More on that trip in another entry. 'Ma-Salamma!