Well this is an adjustment period...

Tomorrow will mark my first full week in Ifrane, Morocco. When I first went for this opportunity, I was excited but also very concerned about how I would react to being on my own on a completely new continent for at least a year. I have always been the kind of person who values being surrrounded by the people that she loves (and I love fast and hard, it's kind of my MO). So yesterday when I was chatting with a friend of mine online and he asked if I loved it already, I was surprised. "I'm not going to say I love it yet, I like it a lot though." So I decided to write about the things I really like about this place and how this week of adjustment has been going. 

When I landed, I was exhausted. I sat down on my couch for a few minutes and cherished the silence (as I had been in an out of airports or cars or rest stops for 14+ hours). I looked at my four bags and decided to start to unpack. This was also a shock because I had joked the previous day with one of my closest friends about how I would probably be living out of my luggage for the first six months, mainly because I'm usually that kind of person. I started to unpack and put things away in the various dressers that I had in the bedroom. When I had opened all of the space-saver bags that I had packed, I realized one thing. I had completely forgotten to pack a towel. Okay, not a big deal. I also realized that I packed quite a few things that were useless, and thought about a few things I probably should have packed. I thought about the nice kitchen knives I left with my sister and thought, "Damn, I could've put them in my checked luggage." I brought my HD Roku stick and then slowly realized, I don't even have a TV here, nor am I dying to have one. 

I also realized how many things I thought were silly to pack and how thankful I am that I packed them. When I was packing, I made the decision that I was bringing my comforter with me. I've had this blanket for around 4 years (I think?) and it's honestly nothing crazy special. It was on sale at Target and I needed a new comforter so I chose this reversible white and orange thing. It is currently draped on my couch where I like to cuccoon and watch Netflix. I also have two pillows that I packed: one was a gift from my mom, made from a Parker Avenue School T-Shirt (my elementary school, which has since closed), and a very old unicorn pillow of my fathers. My sister and I both have one and I almost left mine with her but I'm so glad I have it with me. A collection of dinosaur magnets given to me by a darling friend for my birthday, or Christmas, or something (?). My piggy bank which is an old glass Skippy peanut butter jar shaped like a beaver. An apron that I took from my childhood home when my parents moved, the same apron that I wore while cooking an entire Thanksgiving dinner this past year, my phone in the pocket and me dancing around the kitchen with my headphones blaring. A stegasaurus toy that was given to me by a student years ago, the same toy that has also traveled Europe with me. I brought enough little peices of home that now it just feels comfortable. That has been the easiest adjustment...

...but the challenges continued...

On this first day, I decided not to walk into town, because I was genuinely as exhausted as humanly possible. Luckily Al-Akhawayn was kind enough to give all new arrivals two bags of necessities so you can survive the first night or two without going out. This bag was a big confusing to me because it contained: a 1.5L bottle of water, a bag of Fusselini pasta, two small cans of tomato paste, a bottle of oil, salt, three instant coffee packs, a box of tea, a container of Laughing Cow Cheese, two small boxes of milk, a pack of brownies, a box of Mango Nectar, and a jar of orange marmalade. Luckily I boiled some pasta and made a cheese sauce with the cheese and milk and was able to make a pretty decent cheesy pasta (Since then, I've become a master of cheesy pasta, but that's for later). The second lucky thing is that Netflix DOES WORK HERE. I swear, it is one of the reasons why I am adjusting so well to this place. Yes, I can write when I feel the urge, but I can also watch some movies or a series. Thank goodness gracious for Netflix.

Sunday was my second full day and I decided to start exploring and going out. This is easier said that done, and a lot less daunting when you actually have access to a data plan, which I did not. I was with a monthly pay as you go service that did not provide service in foreign countries, so here I was in Ifrane and all I had was the map in my memory, a hope and a prayer. I also had no money on me, so the big thing was trying to find the ATM. I started to walk and there were a few people about 1000 yard in front of me who looked like they were going somewhere important so I followed them. They were following the general direction where I was supposed to go so I figured, "Hey, why not?" That's how I found the small market stalls closest to my apartment (about .7 miles). Again, I had no money, but at least I could start mapping out where to go. So I wandered around, and considered asking if people took cards but then I realized how ridiculous and American that is. So I decided to turn around and go home and boil some more pasta. That's when I got lost. It was around 19:40 (another adjustment that has me practicing my mental math on the regular), and the sun was starting to set. I did NOT want to be stuck on these back roads in the dark, by myself, with no grasp of either language (French or Arabic). Luckily, I recognized a row of houses and realized I had just gone one block to far, and I found myself home. I went to bed that night thinking, "Tomorrow we are going to try again and we're going to find the ATM and we're going to get food.

So, into Day 2 and I was feeling okay about it. I started the walk and realized where I was going. I walked by the shops I had seen previously and I had mapped out in my head where I was going. I went past a rotary (they have a ton of rotaries!) and continued on a street I hadn't explored yet. I finally found the ATM and here was my second challenge. During previous travels, I have never brought cash with me. Exchanging money is a pain and the rates are terrible so I always just bring my ATM card and get money out when I get to whatever destination. It has never failed me. This time it almost did. I got to the ATM and put my card in, typed in my secret code and the screen with which account you want to take money out of pops up. Except it isn't Checking and Savings: it has Savings, Current, Default, and Credit. I am now entirely panicked. I try savings, and it denies me. I try default, and it denies me. I try literally everything and it keeps saying no. I have no internet so I can't even check my account. I finally try Current again and drop the amount to 500 DH...SUCCESS. So now I have about 500 DH and I can at least try to get food and such. So I continued to wander and map out the city for myself and on my way back I managed to get orange juice, some rea, a bag of pasta and Paprika Pringles. I also stopped by the pharmacy and spent way too much on shampoo and a thing of Nivea lotion (a godsend because I now use it for everything). I got home and at least had a different kind of pasta to eat. Day 2 was a relative success for my second time out of the house.

Then we're onto Day 3. Being the overachiever that I am, I started to go back to an email that was sent to all new faculty highlighting where to find things. They had mentioned fresh bread at L'emprint and when I looked it up I realized I recognized it from my explorations yesterday. I looked up the Marche and realized I had been right there the day before too. So I decided this was the day, I was going to have a good day shopping. I went to the bakery and got a mini-baguette for 1 DH (about twelve cents). On the way back I continued to randomly explore and mark it down on the map in my head. I was back near the pharmacy I had stopped at the decided to stop at some of the stalls. I managed to get some vegetables (cucumbers, carrots, an onion, potatoes, and garlic), two things of cheese, dish soap, and some drinks. I spent about twelve U.S. dollars. I challenge anyone to buy this much in the U.S. for 12 bucks. I'm not even sure if you could do that at Aldi's...and they're massively inexpensive. 

Onto Day 4, a Tuesday, and I've officially gotten used to how to get where I need to be for various things. I know that I need to continue exploring because I have yet to see any butchers so I know there is something hidden that I haven't been able to find yet. So I walk all the way down to the giant stone lion in the park. I see a small market that actually looks like an American convenience store. I find two different versions of Laughing Cow cheese (Gruyere & what I assume is Edam). I pick up two bags of chips (Fromage & Oignons and Paprika). I also pick up a jar of strawberry jam (because I tried with the Orange Marmalade...but...no). I'm looking at the tea when I find the oddest combination I've ever seen and I have to try it: Caraway, Rosemary & Peppermint). I buy two tea bags and I'm excited to go home and try them. Then I stop at L'Emprint and pick up two loaves of bread. 

On the way back, I continue exploring the market and I go into this small area I haven't explored yet and it is quite literally a hallway FILLED on either side with butchers and vegetables and fruits and small stalls with various products. I cannot tell you all how excited I was when I finally saw this place. We're talking freshly butchered meats and vegetables and fruits I didn't even recognize mixed in with those I knew quite well. I walked down the hall, wide-eyed, as if widening my eyes would make it possible to inhale everything I could into my mind. This place was so cool and I kept thinking about the possibilitied. I could get a whole chicken and I could still manage to make a decent chicken broth for soup over the winter! I could pick up ground beef and tomatoes and make a damn good tomato sauce! The cook in me rejoiced. At the last stall I found dark chocolate! I don't even eat chocolate but the thought that I could have one bar of really good dark chocolate made me so happy! The cook in me was so excited I could barely handle it. The irony was also not lost on me. The woman who spent so much time at Taco Bell in the last few years that they knew me by name was excited to fresh produce and freshly butchered meats. I guess this is what personal growth feels like. 

So far, exploring the markets is my favorite thing. The hardest is that I don't speak the language and often when I ask how much, they just repeat it over and over, like if they say it enough times I will understand how much through osmosis. When I finish writing this, I will be going back to the Marche and picking up some veggies and meats, as well as a whole box of that tea and hitting up my favorite bakery again. While this whole process is an adjustment, it's also a lot of fun. It's like a daily challenge: How much can I get, how heavy can my bag be and still walk 1.2 miles home, what can I create without having the resources I'm so used to having in the states. This adventure is testing my resourcefulness, and to be quite honest, it's a blast. Not many people would want to do this, but to me it's a daily battle that I'm winning right now, and I love to win.