What’s School Again?

September 8

Hi All,

You’ll be happy to know that I am feeling better (at least for the moment). There is a special kind of horrible you feel when you are sick in a new, exciting and wonderful place. The stomach meds, tea, and lot’s of rest did just the trick, although I was experiencing some pain throughout the day.

Today’s post is coming to you from the beautiful balcony on the roof of my host family’s house. It is peaceful, I have an amazing view and of course, there’s an outlet up here! The best part is that there is only a door separating my new reflection place and my private room. It’s just my thoughts and me…and the chickens (who are fighting and killing my vibe)!

On to the day…

Today was officially the first day of classes for me and, boy, did it hit me HARD! I started the morning off with two, count ‘em, TWO hours of Arabic. This will be the norm for the next couple of months. Besides the fact I am quite rusty, the other intermediate students and I have been assigned a teacher that speaks very little English. Although this will improve my language abilities tenfold, I left this first session very frustrated. It’s only up from here, right?

The other two class sessions I had today were with my program director, Mary Stucky. Being new to the business of Journalism, she provided some excellent insight on what a story is, how to write one, and how to ethically conduct research. I will not go into that with all of you (it is an exhaustive amount of information), but I think I am ready to get some good work done! Our second session sought to connect the readings we were given before our departure from the United States to what we may want to pursue here on the ground. From today alone, I can tell that I have some AWESOME classmates. I am inspired by so many of them daily and I am glad that we have and continue to become such a close family. 

We ended the day with one-on-one conferences with Mary. After meeting with her after classes, I feel a lot more confident in my abilities and a lot less intimidated by the many students in the program who have impeccable journalistic backgrounds. Academic writing has always been my strong suit, but Journalism is brand new. They are COMPLETELY different. I hope to develop a skill with finding and reporting on all that Morocco has to offer, which is way too much to even fit into an entire semester. We both agreed that this will be a process and I feel great knowing that a renowned journalist like Mary Stucky started about where I am now: a good writer with an interest in reporting.

And so, I have refocused my food project from vegetarianism to the business of catering. This brings me to my factoid of the day:

“There are no fancy trucks in Rabat, but instead women who cook out of their own kitchens and then deliver to clients. The events can be large, like weddings, or small, but the work that is done is remarkable.”

Let’s see what I can find in the coming days. I am also in the process of researching for my independent study project, which comes in the final months of the program. I’ll keep it a secret for now, but it is a BIG ONE!

I stopped by Naget’s house at lunch today, but she wasn’t there. It was a total bummer, especially since I brought a couple friends to meet her. At least I was able to enjoy her beautiful terrace before heading back to school (which is visible from her place). I guess it was a good thing that I was not able to interview her, since my story direction has changed.

On the way home, I stopped by my host parent’s food shop and got a delicious snack. I have NO idea what it is called yet, but it was basically a flatbread with cheese and vegetables. I love bringing my classmates there and my host parents love the smiling students and booming business. I am the luckiest girl in the world! Free food and good people! I am back into the swing of things, folks! My goal has always been excellence, and senior year, even in a foreign country, is no different!

More tomorrow,

Rae