Blogging
From Abroad

My eyes watered up a bit as I dipped the chicken nuggets into the barbecue sauce, just like they did when I said words like ‘milkshake’ and ‘quarter pounder’ at the counter. “Would you like fries with that?” Yes, I would, quite frankly. Heinz ketchup and a McArabia sandwich—essentially an Arabic flat bread schwarma with two all-beef patties—completed the meal. I think I could faintly hear the Star Spangled Banner in the background. I made a McDonald’s/US Embassy run today and it was more glorious than you could ever believe.

Ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating McD’s greatness but in this context it is much different. It is the power of the brand name, McDonalds, that protects the quality of the food. Many families, both Moroccan and international, sat and enjoyed the food as I reveled in the fact that I would not be sick later that evening. It was a pleasant reminder of home, even though I ordered in Arabic!

I’ve spent the last couple weeks in the library trying to give myself some free time to travel at the end of the semester. Recently, the university has had a series of lectures ranging from the Annapolis Conference to Morocco’s fight against terrorism. Within the last few weeks they’ve also had a German opera, an art exhibit, and a Berber music night, which has made it enjoyable to stay on campus to study. However, while all of these are great, I’m still not a fan of midnight curfews and wearing a down jacket and toboggan in the classroom (seriously). Usually, I’ve had to find a balance between learning on campus and learning through traveling and talking with people. However, I’ve had a lot of very enlightening political discussions with students and professors on campus lately and I’ve find out how the US is perceived throughout the region.

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Fencer and I decided to get out of Ifrane for a few hours and traveled to Fes for the afternoon. After fine dining at McD’s, we explored the medina once again to practice our Arabic and find some gifts for our triumphant return home. Four months ago in Fes I knew but a few words in Arabic and my pronunciation of French would make folks scream ‘sacrebleu!’ It’s interesting to see how immersion aids language skills. In speaking Arabic in the medina, people were much more receptive and curious than my first time through. I even debunked a ‘Muhammad Couscous’ and found that his real name was Amine. “You know, Morocco was the first country to recognize the American independence,” he stated. I do and greatly appreciate it. I remember how culturally different I found Fes to be during my first visit there in August. It now seems to be incredibly normal?of course you are slaughtering chickens in the street and of course we’ll just sit here and drink mint tea and talk politics with complete strangers for hours!

As we were walking through the main gate of the medina, the Bab el-Mansour, Fencer remarked, “Ah, the familiar faces of Fes! There’s the bird dude (referring to the man who always sells bird whistles in the market square)...and that guy from that restaurant!”

Two weeks left in Morocco. I’m quite excited for the following: Christmas, Brittany, family, friends, cross country skiing in the Mountain State, the freedom of living in the US, and Black Bear. It has been an incredibly educational experience and that is essentially why I self-exiled; I’ve experienced a lot but it is my time to come home.