The picture is a little of one of the paths to the next town...its a little steep and can be tough. I decided to visit with some friends from training in Khenifra for the weekend and had a great time catching up. The only problem was the heat. Summer has rather suddenly hit morocco and the heat is quickly becoming difficult to handel. You will probably have to listen to me complain about this for at least 2 more months...sorry. This might be a good time to discuss a little about transportation in general for me here. I took a grand taxi for the first leg of the trip. Grand taxis are nearly all mercedes from, I would guess, the early 80's. I have no idea where they all came from but there are thousands of them still running in Morocco. The taxis are old and have seen better days but I have yet to break down, so they seem reliable. Grand taxis carry 6 passengers and the driver...thats 4 in the back and 2 in the front seat. It can be terribly uncomfortable at time and I have never wished to be a small and petit so frequently. But alas, Im not... Often there are no handels for the windows and you have to suffer with all windows up, except of course the driver. Many of the mountain roads are curvey and car sickness is common. The sick individual is given a plastic bag and the driver continues, unfased. The boy sitting next to me was sick about half of the ride....
This pic is 'donkey parking' at souk. Every souk has an area and some even charge a fee. Once I arrived at the midway point I asked for directions to the bus station, found the bus station and paid for a ticket...all in berber thank you very much. I was quite pleases with myself, I have to say. There are two types of busses, and I took a souk bus for the first time. They stop at every town between the two destinations and pick up as many people and livestock as will fit into the bus. There was supprising little chaos, and I arrived at my destination in a respectable time. Unfortunatly, there are no windows on the bus either. By this point it was mid-day and I was roasting. Maybe one day I'll adjust. Aside from waiting at the bus station for 2 hours on the return trip, it was also quite smooth and uneventful. I am happy to have my first major trip alone under my belt.
This is a picture of part of my host familys kitchen. They also have a fridge and a sink that my host mom doesnt use.This trip also made me realize something. My language is getting to the point where I can fool people into thinking Im much better than I actually am. I can exchange the typical long greeting and when they ask about me knowing berber I can explain that I am learning little by little. At this point they have been convinced and proceed into a rapid fire conversation, and the deer in headlights look returns to my face. If they follow the predicted pattern of where are you from, how do you like it here, how long will you be here, I can struggle along. But if they stray from the path, which they do far too often (why cant everyone follow the script in my book!) I'm soon lost. And then they looked like the confused ones because they were so convinced that I was better. At any rate, its good to know I am improving even if it seems slow.
Almost all of the walls are built to the final height, but there is still alot of work to do on the house. I didnt get many good pictures this week, I dont know whats going on...Well I guess thats all for now, pray for a cold front to overtake Morocco for the next two months...please.
