Friday, November 1, 2013

my list post

so... things are definitely winding down here. I'm starting to say goodbye to people. I've had to start thinking of things as my 'last'. It's weird to consider that two years are almost over. next week I need to start packing my house over to my site mates and in 9 days I get on a bus to check out in rabat and then in 13 days I board a plane and head home. Holy Cow. This is obviously a highly complicated time so I thought I'd keep this post a little less rambly and a little more cut and dry. so here's that. enjoy!


Things I am going to miss about morocco
-       The kindness and generosity of strangers here
-       How people just give you things for free all the time
-       How little kids need to be entertained ( ie piece of carboard, rocks, candy wrappers) and how parents/adults don’t feel the constant need to be shoving entertainment in kids faces
-       How total strangers will often share food or cold water with you on a hot day or a long trip
-       Sleeping outside in my courtyard for most of the year
-       Going shopping at weekly souks
-       Fruits that are hard to come by stateside- fresh figs, fresh dates, excessive amounts of pomegranates, cactus fruit and fresh apricots (that come with the added bonus of being called mish mash)
-       How being a vegetarian finally pays off ( meat should be more expensive than produce people! )
-       The food- especially Cous cous, msimin/milwi (ie fried bread) and rfisa
-       Donuts and bread and all sorts of other random stuff available for next to nothing on the street
-       Having my own kitchen and having the time to cook and experiment
-       Having my own house
-       How people aren’t plugged in all the time
-    When interacting with teenagers especially girls - I like how in morocco body image and self esteem aren't the first issues that come up. It's really liberating 
-       Knowing people in town- ie my veggie guy, my cookie ladies, my taxi guy etc…
-       Having time to do excessive amounts of crafts
-       Doing yoga in my courtyard
-       The stars! And the meteors/shooting stars
-       Not being stressed about time or money generally speaking
-       Public transportation, cheap taxis and being able to walk places

Things I am not going to miss about morocco

-       F*%#ing flies
-       The water going out for many hours and/or days at a time
-       Sharing water bottles and water glasses with anyone and everyone
-       People coughing on me/ people not covering their mouths when they sneeze or cough
-       The way adults physical discipline children
-       Lack of trash/litter infrastructure and etiquette ie people just throwing trash everywhere.
-       People throwing up on public transport
-       People invading my personal space on public transport
-       Unwanted attention/harassment
-    Ryals- I hate doing math to go shopping- royals are not a real currency just use dirhams!
-       Not having all the produce I may want at any given time
-       Shitty internet
-       How people let their cell phones ring loudly and for a long time and also just pick it up whenever they choose for example when we are in the middle of a conversation, while they are driving a very crowded taxi etc etc… (but the Christmas ring tones are great, I personally have heard silent night, jingle bells, frosty and rudolph)
-       People taking craft projects out of my hands or bag to work on them…. I do not share my crafts well.
-       Having to “dance monkey dance” every time I need to do simple things such as shopping (ie bargaining ) or having to deal with my mumbling incomprehensible bank/post office guy for 30 minutes just to take out my money
-       Being constantly asked about my child and marital status.
-       Feeling anxious about what I wear every time I leave the house
-       Paying 1/3rd of my rent for a bottle of booze

 Things I am looking forward to Stateside
-       Trees!
-       Hiking trails
-       Getting to dress however I want and not feeling too weird about it
-       The accessibility and ease of things- ie no one giving a shit (no harassment)
-       Big cups of delicious coffee
-       Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, and Indian food- let’s be honest how much variety there is in food
-       Intentional vegetarian cuisine- not just a meal that’s been cooked without meat
-       Living in a more secular culture again
-       Better craft supplies ( I cannot wait until my first shopping trip to a yarn store- it’s going to get crazy!) 
-       Heating and hot showers
-       Simple meals and the novelty of cooking things from scratch instead of always having to cook things from scratch
-       No one paying me excessive unwanted attention
-       The familiarity

-       Family and Friends!