Whew. What a day! So Ohio was the easy part. After waiting 5+ hours in the airport I finally make it on my plane to Paris after an hour delay! Although my landing time stayed the same. That was strange.

The flight wasn't that spectacular, except that I could really sleep at all. I even took some melatonin, but that didn’t help much. I had two meals on the plane, so I was well taken care of.

My lovely french breakfast. Nutella included!

Not so impressive dinner

 I even had movies and games in the seat infront of my so I was well entertained. I finally got to see Guardians of the Galaxy!


 After 8 hours in the air I get to Paris with a 45 minute layover thinking my connection would be pretty close.

False.

Charles de Gaulle airport is actually a mess. I get off my flight and all there is is this long hallway that everyone else is walking down, that has signs that say connections. I wasn’t exaggerating with long either. It was a good 15 minute walk, the whole way there were no boards that showed connections or gates or anything. Just some cool photography.

Nice sign, but little help in navigation! 

We finally reach the end of the hallway and there are all the connection boards, except now everyone is crowding in front of the them. So me, with my bad eyesight, had to wait and elbow my way to the front. And then none of the terminals are in logical order. They have K,L,F and E. My gate just happened to be a train ride away, through security and at the end the terminal! I made it just in time also! They had just started boarding! That's where I met 4 of my classmates and we were on our way to Casablanca. Like most flights it wasn't very exciting. Just waiting to actually get there! 

It was in Casablanca that I learned a very important lesson from traveling. Never ever NEVER never overpack! I thought it would be worse to leave something but, overpacking was a bad idea.  Especially if you have to carry it all! I packed all of this plus a backpack.

These across... 

... this are not very fun!

 And then I had to carry it across the airport and through the train stations. Which were layed with brick. If you don’t know, brick and luggage wheels don’t work very well. Not only was it tiring and frustrating, but it was extremely embarrassing! Everyone was rushing ahead of me while I was sitting there struggling! The train into Casablanca was pretty nice and nothing spectacular. What really struck me was how everything look outside of the train. We passed through a lot of country areas with many poor looking houses. There were run down apartments by the tracks and there was trash piled up by them. None of the building were brick or steel, like I am use to seeing. They were a concrete/stone/plaster looking material and some of them, especially the apartments, were painted bright colors. Some houses only had tarps held down tires for roofs. My guess is that these people were farmers because they also had all types of goats and cows. And then in the distance you could see these huge gated estates. It was a strange contrast to the poor houses next to the tracks.

Once at the Casa Voyageurs station we took the intercity train to Fez. It was a four and a half hour ordeal. The train was so crowded that the group had to be split into different cabins, but it was a great experience because I got to sit with a group of Moroccan who helped me with my darija! They were all very nice, excited and welcoming to me! No one spoke English though! Only Darija (Moroccan Arabic) and French. I was lucky enough at one point to have a guy who was studying American Culture at University and spoke English. It seems so weird to me that people study American Culture!

The Fez Station 

The view from the station 

At the Fez train station we had to wait a bit for the University to pick us up and when they finally got there we got to ride through the city before going up the to the University. The city was amazing. Lots of apartments again, but they were nicer. All the houses were colorful and open, but had these big gated yards so it was very private. I can’t wait to get the chance to actually walk around and see things! I get chances on the weekends as well as field trips to go see so many cities for very little money!

We didn’t get to the University until about 8pm local time though. I was so jet lagged and tired from not being able to sleep that I only really had time to eat and go back to bed! I barely had time to call my mom. I think I gave a few people heart attacks because I just didn't have the internet connection to stay in touch. I had to use my roaming in order to contact my mom and that stuff is expensive!!

My dorm is nice though. I had a bit of trouble with the shower. It has only cold and lukewarm water and them if you hook the shower hose up to the overhead hook it shoots across the bathroom. So… I’m going to have to work on that one. I have a nice bed, desk, wardrobe and dresser. The food is pretty good. The student ambassadors told us that they hated it, but I think its pretty damn good!

Today was relaxing as well. I caught up on my sleep so I’m not all that jet lagged any more. I actually adapted pretty well. Although that might change when I have to wake up for orientation tomorrow! But today we went for a scenic hike around the campus. Apparently there are monkeys that are in the woods around us, but we didn’t get the chance to see any!
 

We were probably too loud for them to come near us. There are cats everywhere though! One of my classmates said that there was one just chilling in his common room. I got a little more settled in and explored campus some as well. Tomorrow is orientation and we will be going into town and learning more about the upcoming semester!

Until next time!

Game Day!

And so it begins. I’ve packed my things and said my goodbyes. I’ve planned for months and stressed for hours. And finally I’m here.

At the Cincinnati airport….

It smells like chili and the air has the stillness of waiting. On the inside I’m a melting pot of 30 different and paradoxical emotions, but on the outside I sit quietly in a corner typing at my computer. If you passed by me I’m sure you couldn't even tell that today is the most important day of my life.  

But I made it!! It’s game day, and there is no turning back! I really do feel like doing a happy dance! Something about social norms is stopping me from doing that in the middle of the airport though. Instead here is a picture of me waiting in the Cincinnati airport outside of McDonalds.

Where I will be for the next 5 hours before my connecting flight to Paris. After 8 hours in the air I have one hour to catch my  flight to Casablanca (less if it gets delayed!). Once landed I need to go through customs, collects my bags, exchange my money, get a local phone and then catch the train. I am being picked up by the University at the Fez airport. However, in order to get there from Casablanca I need to take two trains. One city train that stops in the airport and connects to the intercity train that will take me to Fez. So, I have a long and exciting day ahead of me. Even though it is very exciting and overwhelming, it is matched with a lot of sitting and waiting for things to happen!

There are also a few weather delays due to winter weather. My flight to Paris had already been delayed which means I may miss my flight to Casablanca. I’m worried, but I can’t control it, so I am just going to see how it plays out. I booked the same airline the whole way so I know that if my flight gets delayed they will take care of me. I've spent so much time stressing that now is the time to relax and enjoy the trip!

I’m taking this time for mental preparation. I've done my research and I know life will be very different for me in the next few months. There are going to be a lot of cultural and religious differences that are going to be hard to swallow. I won’t agree with or like everything, but somethings need to be done in order to maintain my safety and cultural appropriateness. Things like walking in groups with men. Women do not normally go out on their own, so if I want to avoid street harassment it is suggested I go in large groups, or groups with boys. I also need to watch my tongue and strong political views when I’m not in the University! There is also the consideration that I need to dress and act more modestly in public. None of these things seem particularly exciting to me, because I have been raised with the American empowerment to do what I want, independently, when I want, how I want. But it is all a part of discovering new cultures. You have to be open-minded and respectful of other peoples beliefs, even if you don’t agree with them. How can you ever expect someone else to respect your beliefs if you can not do the same?

To say the least, life will be different. But I got an amazing farewell from my family (Grandpa included!!!) along with several farewell feasts (compliment to the chef my mom, my Dad and Grandpa), and many well wishes from everybody. Everyone is so excited and happy for me, that the only thing I can do is have an absolutely, unforgettable, once in a lifetime, marvelously grand time!  

I’ll be posting again soon! Until next time!