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Well, I should be at bellydancing class right now, but unfortunately for me, I’m not feeling too well. So while my four friends are shaking [and sweating] off tons of calories, I’m sitting in my room blogging. So sad!!!
Yesterday was our first full day of class. Three hours in the morning and three hours in the evening is just about the least fun thing ever. We woke up at 6:45 and were at school by 8 for our 8:30 class, which was horrrrrrible. Our teacher is a sweet little man but he has a stutter, as people often do in their second or third languages, and has latched on to the phrase “if you want”. He says it at least twice in every sentence and it drives me absolutely crazy. Three hours dragged by. The only exciting event was the fact that we found a baby bat no bigger than a silver dollar clinging to one of the steps at the University- it was so cute! Don’t worry Daddy [or Mr. Wiggins- ha!], I didn’t touch it. It looked like it was hurt and I wanted to, but I didn’t.
Coming home was not fun; it’s so hard to catch a taxi from the University back to our apartments. The girls got a ride with our teacher, but there wasn’t enough room for all of us, so I stayed behind with the boys. We walked halfway home, then got a taxi ride the rest of the way- finally! Ughh. Thank God it was cool and breezy yesterday!
We took a siesta, did some homework, and ate lunch, then went back to school for Arabic. I really, really like my Arabic teacher and he teaches very well, but three hours is just a long time to be sitting in class. It crept by. Luckily, we have a break around the two hour mark in each class; if it weren’t for that, I’d die!
After we were all done with class at 7pm, the real fun started. It was our favorite person’s –Ben’s- 21st birthday yesterday, so Julia, Alexa and I went straight to Label Vie after our teacher dropped us off to stock up on supplies. I’m sure we fulfilled the Arabs’ views of stereotypical alcoholic Americans as we bought two large bottles of vodka and one of wine [I’m loving the lack of a legal drinking age here- but it’s turning us all into alcoholics since we can’t go out at night; all we can do is stay in and drink!], plus tons of Sprite and orange juice to mix the vodka with.
We came home [after being followed by a creepy shirtless Moroccan guy for a few blocks- gotta love the sexual harassment] and ate our first un-enjoyable meal since being here: some kind of chicken with cucumbers absolutely swimming in fat and oil. It literally fell apart in your mouth, but not in the good way. Instead of forcing ourselves to block all of our arteries, we opted to go downstairs and buy some French fries to eat.
Ben is Jewish, and we all make Jew jokes [so un-p.c., I know, but we’re college kids, c’mon] all the time, so we made a huge Star of David on our living room wall that said “4 Lyfe” inside of it, plus a huge hastily-constructed banner that said “Happy Birthday Ben”. The girls used this as an excuse to get dressed up and so we all donned our cutest dresses and did our makeup- for once! Then at 10PM the boys brought Ben up here and everyone yelled “surprise!” and the drinking commenced. The horror stories are too numerous to mention; things were broken, people got sick, people almost hooked up- all in all the party was a success! It was the most fun night we’ve had here so far, even if we can’t remember all of it. Don’t judge me.
I have tons and tons of pictures from all of our adventures lately that I need to put online somehow, but my computer has been lame-sauce lately and even at school I can’t pick up any wireless. I really wish you all could be here and see and experience everything that I am. It’s incredible, really. It already feels like we’ve been here for years; we have a daily routine, regular hangouts, and cross the street like pros. Even at the worst of times, like when I’m standing out in the heat for half an hour trying unsuccessfully to hail a grand taxi, I would rather be here in Meknes than anywhere else. Even with the constant staring, incessant sexual harassment, oppressive atmosphere for women, and lack of toilet paper, I still absolutely love Morocco. The people I’m with make day-to-day life infinitely better, and I love them all dearly. Without them, I don’t know what I would do.
I hope you are all doing well, and not missing me too terribly. Rest assured that I am learning a lot about myself and the world beyond what I knew. I love you and miss you all and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks. Take care and be safe; I’ll do the same.

Salaam wa hubb,
-Danielle