E/Char/Reb and A&A Extravaganza!

Hanging out with Rebecca and Eric in Rabat

My next set of visitors this spring hailed from Dallas and Alabama. I had the pleasure of hosting three friends from my alma mater, UT Dallas: Eric, Rebecca and Chara. Eric, Rebecca and I were something of a trio my last couple of years in Dallas and it was clear from the second I received news of my Fulbright acceptance that they would be coming to share a part of this adventure with me. Although I didn't know Chara as well as the others, she had the availability and resources, so she hopped on board and we found ourselves in a satisfied little quatro, bumbling around Rabat.

After only 24 hours with the first three, my brother and sister-in-law, Aaron and Annie, also made their way to Morocco for a couple days of their grand world tour. I was soooo pleased to have so many of my loved ones in the same place with me, especially in Morocco! We were able to squeeze in visits to some little tourist spots as well as a night at a bar and a fancy fancy dinner before Annie and Aaron headed back to Europe. Having family visit has been critical to my time in Morocco and I was touched that they were able to come. Plus now we'll have funny tales of "Remember when you visited me in Morocco" to tell their kids....

Cheers! With Annie, Aaron, Rebecca and Chara in Rabat

Eric, me, Chara, Annie and Aaron at a fancy Moroccan restaurant just before Annie and Aaron left and the illness took over our lives....

After Annie and Aaron were safely on their way, it became apparent that our grand plans for driving all around Morocco were going to be halted by an enemy force: stomach flu. At first, we were hoping that maybe Rebecca was just dizzy and nauseous because she was a huge wuss, or maybe it was the swine flu but only she would be affected (no big deal if only one of us dies). But then Eric got hit and one by one, we all fell victim to the dastardly force of traveler's sickness. Maybe it was swimming in the nasty polluted Rabat waters, maybe it was something we ate, or maybe it was Allah telling us that our adventure plans were misguided; either way, we were stuck on my couches in Rabat for the next couple of days.

Eventually, we were able to muster enough strength between the four of us to rent a car and head south. First to Skhirat, just outside of Rabat, and then all the way down to Essaouira for some much needed beach time. The drive itself provided some amazing views of the ocean and one fascinating interaction with a police man. Here's how it went:

Police man, looking very angry and blowing a whistle: (motions us to pull over, speaks to Eric in French)

Me, in French: Bonjour! I'm sorry, my friend doesn't speak French, can you speak with me instead?

Pissed off Police dude, still all in French: You have committed 2 infractions! You didn't do this and that and the other and I'm going to write you a ticket and it's going to be 400 dirhams (about 55 bucks)!

Me, in Arabic: I'm very sorry, sir, but I don't really speak French very well. Could you speak with me in Arabic?

Surprised looking Police man, eyes changing instantly from dark and angry to soft and happy: What? How do you know Arabic? Where are you from? You are very pretty and wonderful and I love you like a daughter! (that's a paraphrase...you get the point)

Me, in Arabic: I'm American and these are my stupid American friends:) We're just trying to get to Essaouira so I can show them some of your beautiful country. But we don't know how to get there! What do you think is the best route, since you are clearly very wise and wonderful and strong as an ox? (again, it's an approximation of the conversation...)

Then the now-jolly police officer, named Said, gave us tips on the most beautiful road to take, welcomed us to his city and asked my name, saying that if I ever needed anything at all, he would help me. He also jumped over a median, forgetting all about the 400 dirhams, and stopped oncoming traffic so that we could pull an illegal U-turn and be on our way. Sighhhhhh. I love speaking Arabic!

Anyway, we eventually made it all the way to the windy beaches of Essaouira, thanks to Eric's magnificent and appropriately cautious driving. My Essaouira friends were more than accomodating and helped us find a beautiful apartment to rent as well as surf lessons and puppies to play with on the beach.

In Essaouira: Me, Rebecca, Eric, Chara and Spanky, my friend's puppy

Eric in Essaouira, feeling much better and looking much more relaxed

At the market with Akram, buying supplies to make a tagine

All smiles with our Essaouiran-American conference over a piping hot tagine

In the end, though the sickness took a great deal of our precious time together, it couldn't kill our spirits and we enjoyed to the fullest our few days of travel and relaxation. We were all smiles and no tears and I am looking forward to more quality time, barfing or not, with my dear Dallas friends.

Rebecca, soaking it up in Essaouira