Finally Here!

After a small amount of hassle, Kelsey and I arrived in Casablanca yesterday around 7:45 am!

The hassle (also known as the Case of the Wrong Terminal and the Unexpected Early Boarding):

We flew from National to LaGuardia, and then our next flight was from JFK to Casablanca. To put it mildly, Kelsey and I had some issues getting between our two NYC airports. First, we couldn't find the shuttle to take us from our TINY terminal at LaGuarda to the "main terminal" where we could catch another shuttle to JFK. Once we finally figured that out, we sat in some truly terrible traffic on the Van Wyck accompanied by one very obnoxious man on a cell phone. I know now more about his job (he sublets apartments), his family (from the San Jose area), his ideal vacation (scenic drive, Washington state), and his opinion of New York (awesome, but it will drive you crazy), than I ever wanted to!

Instead of being the smart girls that we (hope we) are, Kelsey and I didn't look at our flight information and went to the wrong terminal. Who knew it would be so difficult to get from one terminal to the other! It took us about 45 minutes to get from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1! Once through security, we decided we would get our nails done while we waited for our plane to board. At this point it was about 6:45 and our plane didn't leave until 8, so we figured we had plenty of time. Fastforward to 7:15 and the "final boarding call" is sounding! We rush over to the gate, with our pants still rolled up, our shoes half on, and holding our hands so we don't ruin our new manicures. In short, we looked like idiots. Kelsey and I appreciated the general hilarity of the situation. The immigration official on the gangway, however, did not! After assuring him that we were not, in fact, smuggling large amounts of money into Morocco nor were we bent on forming an international crime syndicate, we were allowed through!

The flight wasn't so bad but neither of us slept very well as there was a 6 week old baby a few rows behind us that was bent our destroying our sanity.

We found the train from Casablanca to Rabat with little problem (thank goodness I speak French!!!!) and went on our merry way. As the countryside flashed by, I saw people living in villages of shacks with a satellite dish on every one, new highrises being constructed, cows, horses, and sheep living next to tiny cities, and lots and lots of desert!

By the time we got to Rabat, we were thoroughly exhauted so we took a quick nap before heading through part of the "old city" (inside the wall-our hotel is Hotel Majestic outside the wall) to visit Kelsey's host family. I must say that I was not at all prepared for the narrow streets crammed with vendors selling everything from fish, to laundry detergent, to cows hooves! The smells and sights were a bit overwhelming as were the crowds of people fitting in to these tiny spaces! Kelsey's family was absolutely thrilled to see her and they could not have been more kind and welcoming. Though they don't speak much French and we don't speak much Arabic, we managed to communicate fairly well and had a veritable feast for dinner. Alas, I have not mastered the art of eating with bread, which the family found hilarious, especially the two little ones (Aya age 9 and Rabiya (sp?) 6. They did, however, enjoy playing Oregon Trail on my iPod Touch!

By 8 we were exhausted and had to head back to the hotel where we promptly collapsed. We woke up around 1030 today and wound our way through the souq (market-SO MANY BEAUTIFUL THINGS!) to the kasbah, part of which overlooks the Atlantic. We spent some time in a beautiful walled garden there and then headed back down the hill for lunch IN the wall of the old city! Great food, but now, after battling the heat in a collared shirt and long pants, we are exhausted. Kelsey, especially, isn't handling the heat well as she isn't used to anything like it back at home. That being said, I myself am off to tak e quick nap before we head back out.!

Since it is Ramadan, most of the internet cafes with wifi are closed, so I won't be able to post pictures anytime soon. Suffice to say that this city is overwhelming, beautiful, dirty, confusing, ancient and modern all at once! Truly, the people could not be more friendly (though, again, I am quite glad I speak French as Kelsey's Arabic is minimal!)! Sorry this post is so long-I will endeavor to be brief in the future!

Bisous (kisses) to all back home!