Bislaama al maghrib!

This past semester has just flown by, and I’m now writing my last blog entry from home in Belgium. Study abroad in Morocco was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my college life, and now that it’s over I can’t help but connect with a certain passage in Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad (slightly amended):
"We are at home again. We are exhausted. The sun has roasted us, almost.
We have full comfort in one reflection, however. Our experiences in [Morocco] have taught us that in time this fatigue will be forgotten; the heat will be forgotten…and then, all that will be left will be pleasant memories of [Morocco], memories which someday will become all beautiful when the last annoyance that incumbers them shall have faded out of our minds never again to return." (438)
Yes, there were times that I just didn’t want to be in Morocco…standing in a crowded train on the way back from Asilah, with my nose in some Moroccan man’s armpit, not allowed to strip down to my tank top because of those silly cultural expectations; walking down the street in conservative clothing, and still being verbally harassed by any man between the ages of 13 and 83…but just like Twain reminds me, I will soon forget those experiences or my mind will transform them into funny party stories, and Morocco will become what I can ironically call, my Mecca.
I have been attempting to give you all an idea of what these past few months have entailed for me, but I know that it’s rather futile to try and make you understand every part of my experience. There’s only so much I can show with pictures and blog entries, and it’s the small things that I can’t convey…like walking through the crowded medina, giving a beggar loose change, and sharing a meal with my adopted Moroccan family. The other students who were on the trip with me have added so much to the experience (it was Matt that pointed out page 438 of Twain) and it just wouldn’t have been the same without some amazing travel partners. I know they "get it" when talking about Morocco experiences, and we couldn't help but feel like we were leaving a place we could call home, as soon as the plane took off from Rabat-Sale airport. I’ve done a fair amount of traveling in the past 21 years, but there’s just something different about Morocco. Maybe it’s the fact that I was able to connect with the country and the people throughout a longer period of time, or maybe I’m just becoming more perceptive; whatever it is, I’m thankful for the opportunity that I had to step outside (way outside) my comfort zone and experience something that was so uniquely different.
Now that I’ve returned home, I marvel at the sensation of warm water coming from the sink faucet, I feel the need to wear a scarf everywhere I go, and my “salaam aleikum’s” are met with awkward stares (especially from the military guards on base). It will take some getting used to life in Belgium and the U.S., and returning to Chapman will certainly be a shock, but I plan on returning to Morocco hopefully after I graduate, with a research award (insh’allah) so I'm trying not to miss it too much.
As for now…I’m working on some potential post-grad stuff, spending time with my family (yoga with my mom, swimming with my dad), waiting impatiently for Rob and Tara to come visit, and hanging out with friends as they filter through on their way back home from study abroad adventures. And I'll most likely take a few trips into the Moroccan quarter in Brussels.
Thanks for reading my blogs, or at least pretending to, and I hope you all have an amazing summer!