Moroccan Nights

Sorry for the late post everyone! I got home so late from the medina last night I just didn’t have it in me to write anything. But, I finally have all my gift shopping done! Now, to fit it all in my suitcase…

Speaking of the medina at night, it is a whole different ballgame. Right about the time it is getting actually dark, the shops are starting to close up and the people start filling the square and the restaurants. It’s almost as though there’s a huge summer festival every night, with street performances, fires, and (my personal favorite) corn on the cob stations every ten feet. Morocco really comes alive at night.

Yesterday was another great Tuesday at Le Nid and teaching English. It’s hard to believe it was my last Tuesday here. At the hospital, I got to spend time with a few of the different classes including the special needs class and an early elementary class. I met a little girl who is essentially the spitting image of Sara Toombs circa 2001. She knew that we didn’t speak Arabic, so she proceeded to point, gesture, and mimic to let us know exactly what she wanted us to do. She also very clearly let us know when what we were doing was wrong, and made sure that we were aware of how good she was at counting and writing her name. To top it off, her name is also Sarah. So, you know, there’s a little Moroccan me. Who knew? She did teach me how to write our name in Arabic, which I am pretty excited about.

My English class at the women’s co-op went well, as usual. The women are very eager to learn and quick to laugh at themselves, which is a recipe for a great classroom. Sometimes teaching is really challenging for me though, and I’ve kind of discovered my own lack of patience on this trip. But I’ve also gained a lot of respect for the people who do it every day. Especially English teachers – God bless your souls, because there is no logic in this stuff. “If finger is fingers, and leg is legs, why is foot feet and not foots?” Good question. I can’t answer it.

It’s getting really close to time to come home. I’m excited to be back, but it’s going to be so hard to leave here with all this work left unfinished and these friendships I have made. I guess that just means I have to come visit someday.

Until tonight.