fun facts

1. when teaching french, 'do' is a very difficult concept to describe. i do the dishes, i did like that movie, i do like mozart, does he live in rabat? i will somehow need to explain this tomorrow...

2. there is a puddle on my floor. it is right in front of my closet, by the sliding door to the balcony. i continue to step in it wearing socks and nothing will make it go away. nothing.

3. it did not rain today. there have been very pretty clouds, and it is still windy and freezing, but no rain is a step in the right direction. another step would be to fix the heating in the house. but at least we now have hot water. baby steps in the right direction. stepping in the puddle in my socks is another step in the wrong direction.

4. my house used to belong to the spanish ambassador. it is 15 years old. that might explain the lack of heat.

5. ... funny stuff about some people in my house that i am censoring in case they ever come across this blog...

6. swearing-in and inauguration are difficult concepts to explain to moroccans in french.

7. "donkey parking" was a term used in my orientation on morocco today. also, the arabic word for east is shark (sharq). rabat means "stronghold of victory" and i think thats a lot to live up to. berbers dont like the term berber. they prefer amazigh. fez just celebrated its 1,200th anniversary. this is a pretty cool place.

8. rice with onions, spices, and raisins is delicious. so is lentil soup, especially when its this cold. i still dont like green peppers and eggplant. sweet tea with mint should be served in every country for every meal. meat should be so soft that it falls off the bone and does not require a knife. if only i could have a cook prepare all of my meals as well as 4:00 tea in the states!

9. weeklong moroccan holidays where it is inadvisable to travel in morocco are really putting a cramp in my style. especially since tickets to france are $200.

10. while putting on spf moisturizer, my oldest student (at a whopping 36 years of age) told me "c'est difficile de reparer ce que le temps a mis en domage." apparently this is a moroccan proverb about being yourself and going with the flow; not trying to stop the damage of time and being yourself regardless. she asked me to translate it. and-- zing-- discussion topic for class tomorrow!

11. i have just been informed that the heat will be fixed next week. which means, for some reason, the hot water will be off all week. sigh. my travel plans suddenly become more important.

12. i love morocco, i love my house-mates, i love my students, i love my broke down freezing cold house, i love the feral cats that play in the yard, and i love view of the sunrise that i can see from my bed first thing in the morning.