Ramadan Moubarak Saeed!

Ramadan started here in Morocco on Sunday. This is the fourth time I have fasted for Ramadan, but all the others were in the US so it was a much different experience. Breaking fast alone in the office with protein bars doesn't compare to being in a country where everyone else is fasting with you and where there over a thousand years worth of tradition associated with Ramadan.

My best experience here in Morocco so far was Sunday night. Just before Iftar (the breaking of hte fast) we were all sitting around the table, staring at plate after plate of traditional Morocccan food, waiting in anticipation for the call to prayer to signal that it was time to begin eating. We all started laughing and joking to distract ourselves from the hunger. When the call to prayer finally came we ate what I will probably always remember as the best meal of my life...not only because the food was incredible, but because I was surrounded by my wonderful new family here, and we were sharing such a powerful experience together.

My Apartment

View from Suzanne's Apartment
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

Here's a picture taken from my bedroom window in Fes. It is a beautiful view of the city and I love waking up to the sun rising over the city every morning.

So you want to know my exact address in Fes- here it is:
Apartment 16 on the 6th floor of the building above the chinese restaurant close to the train station. Or if you are speaking to a Moroccan "l'appartment sitesh fee sixieme etage fqt l restaurant chinois qrb min l gar" .

I haven't tried yet sending a letter through the post to this address but my Moroccan friends have assured me that this address (more than the actual # and street name of my apartment) is much more likely to get something delivered to my place. I actually don't e ven know the name of my street.

As for the apartment itself, it has its pluses and minus. Pluses include a huge Terrace, beautiful Moroccan paintings, DSL!!!, a modern refrigerator and TV and LOTS of space. The minuses include being on the 6th floor and having a broken elevator, the lack of air-conditioner, and the slight smell of chinese food that always lingers on the first floor near the entrance...but all in all the pluses are WAY more than the minuses and I am happy to have a wonderful new place here in Fes!!

Lines Composed from Royal Air Maroc Flight 201

Its 12:22 AM in New York, 4:22 AM in Morocco, and I don’t even know if there is technically a time zone for the patch of Atlantic Ocean I am flying over right now. I’m on my way to Morocco. It’s official- I no longer live in the US.

Next Thursday, after my orientation in Rabat, I will move to my new apartment in Fes. For the first time in my life, I have no permanent residence in the US. For the first time in my life, I will have a residency card, a driver’s license, and health insurance in another country. I’m not a typical American- I have visited 48 countries and I have spent “summers” and “semesters” abroad. But this move involved leaving a lot more behind than any other time in the past.

After 7 years, I’m no longer a New Yorker. I’m now Fassi. And pretty soon I’ll be Rabati. By the time I come back to the US next fall I will be some strange Moroccan version of myself, complete with a full command of Moroccan Arabic, the ability to make incredible cous-cous, and a full wardrobe of djellabas and kaftans. Pretty exciting thought, huh?