Our 2-Week Anniversary

Today marks Aaron and my second week out of the country.  So far we have moved into a room in the basement dungeon of the student villa, completed nearly two weeks of classes a piece, and sampled a generous amount of local delights.  

I feel as though I haven't been as proactive with getting to know Fes as I would like.  We live in the Ville Nouvelle, which is the newest, French-built part of the city.  Fes' medina is a World Heritage Site and is the largest pedestrian (i.e. no car) area in a city in the world.  And I have yet to go!  

Aaron went last weekend, but I was concerned about my asthma acting up because it has been SUPER cold.  I've been getting asthma attacks just walking outside, and I'm happy that I brought my inhaler although I should have probably brought a back-up.  Regardless, it has been ridiculously cold.  We had been warned of 60 degree weather - not a problem.  That's like the persistent San Diego winter that no one puts heat on for.  But this has been in the 30's with below freezing temperatures at night and snow in the mountains.  Brrrr.  As a result, I don't stray far from the villa or the school because I like to be able to dive under blankets when it gets unbearable.  As I am writing, the radiator is on next to me and is a welcome relief, especially since I had to take a cold shower today (and I even waited until 5 p.m. to guarantee hotness!).

School has been good.  I tried to jump into MSA 200, but (as I experienced at Palomar) the lessons taught in الكتاب are just too different from اهلا و سهلا .  At least with this one, we're really working on conversation skills, which is nice because the last time I took Arabic it was just memorizing vocab (such as animals, body parts, household things) and learning conjugation.  Important?  Yes.  But conversational?  No.  

Tomorrow is the first quiz and I have to learn some new vocab tonight that we never really used, like clock or paper.  Funny thing, the teachers here have no problem just cancelling class, moving it around, etc. to fit their needs.  Just a little bit different.

We've also all become addicted to Matt's game: Dutch Blitz.  And by all, I mean everyone.  People who live here, people who don't, anyone who's been in the villa.  There is almost always a game going on, and if there isn't, you can usually find 3 people who want to play.

We had a free couscous meal last Friday as a welcome gesture.  And last Sunday, we were all present save Leigh for Jacob's birthday, catered by his wife Anne.  And on that note, some pictures: