Aunt Nicole & Uncle Dave

     Nicole's brother and his wife just left Morocco after a week long visit, with their baby fetus in tow. We were proud to be the official tour guides for our baby nephew's first international trip ever!

& Ricky and Rebekah were fun to hang out with too... ;) 

    In between playing some competitive card games and watching our nephew practically double in size, here are some highlights of the trip:


Camel Burgers
    Since Rebekah couldn't ride a camel while pregnant, we decided to eat one instead....So we ventured into the camel market to buy some meat.

The finished product. It was tasty.

Spanish Cathedral vs. Grand Hassan II Mosque
    We walked by the Spanish cathedral...but found that it was not nearly as impressive as the Grand Hassan II Mosque. The cathedral is no longer in use and seems to be heavily neglected and minimally maintained. We couldn't even go inside.

Spanish Cathedral

     The Grand Hassan II Mosque tour, on the other hand, was quite impressive. Beautiful. It's a shame that the more beautiful of the two represents such an empty religion.

 

Baklava
     In true Lebanese fashion, we bought freshly made phyllo dough and prepared baklava. Yum.

making phyllo dough

The finished product.

Marrakech Nightlife
      Marrakech transforms into a completely different city at night. From street games to musical shows to dogs running around with chicken heads... we saw it all. We even earned a nominal profit from wining a few games.

Rebekah mastered the bottle fishing game

#chickenhead

 Ouzoud Waterfalls
      Arguably our favorite from the trip was our visit to the Ouzoud waterfalls. We wished we had spent more time here. Perhaps next time we will...

Cliff jumping

   
 We're excited to meet our nephew this summer, when we see Ricky and Rebekah again.

 Thanks for visiting!

-David & Nicole

Disputed Lands

      There exist hundreds of territorial disputes, most of which we are largely unaware of (aside, perhaps, from the most newsworthy...such as the disputed land in Israel). Many of these territories, in spite of the fact that their ownership is disputed, are controlled fully by one of the disputed claimants. Such is the case, for example, with the Rock of Gibraltar: a U.K. controlled territory within the geographic boundary of Spain.

     Morocco is surrounded by disputed land. In the south, there is a huge conflict over the Western Sahara region. While many nations consider the Western Sahara to be an independent country, Morocco does not. In the north, there are six additional small territories claimed by both Morocco and Spain. Spain currently maintains full control over all of them, in spite of the dispute. The largest of these six territories are Ceuta and Melilla. Both areas are permanently inhabited by the Spanish, even though they are situated within northern Morocco.

    In our previous post, we challenged you to guess where we were going for our vacation. We said that we were leaving Morocco without actually leaving Morocco. The answer: Ceuta. 

     Four hours after leaving Casablanca, we arrived at the Ceuta border crossing. Prior to crossing the border we were surrounded by sheep, charcoal, and grills (a sign that the Eid sheep slaughtering was about to begin). Immediately after crossing the border, the sheep signs were replaced with an abundance of pork butchers (A concept completely forbidden by the Moroccan culture we had been in moments before). Only those of you who have lived more than a year in a Muslim country can truly appreciate how wonderful this change was.
    Ceuta is an extremely tiny city. We literally hiked across the entire area in about 3 hours (including the time it took to hike up the highest peak of Ceuta: Mount Hacho). We also spent some time relaxing on the Mediterranean beach. However, while we did enjoy both of these things, the highlight of our trip to Ceuta was the pork products. For 3.5 days we filled our stomachs with bacon, ham, salami, and roasted pork loin. Delicious. Of course, we also brought plenty of pork products back home with us as well.

we love pork

-David & Nicole

Suddenly

     Suddenly the first week of school turned into the last week of the quarter. Time has flown by so quickly. Between then and now not much has happened. We have been working hard.

    Suddenly our two days off for the Eid holiday turned into an entire week of school thanks to the Moroccan department of education. Surprise! Last year we spent the Eid with our landlord. This year, the elongated vacation gave us an excuse to make last minute travel plans.

A riddle for you: We are leaving Morocco without actually leaving Morocco. Where are we going?

-David & Nicole

A More Fortunate Family Reunion

    Dave's brother, Steve, recently visited us in Morocco. They last time Dave had seen Steve was in Paris due to Steve's medical evacuation. He's fully recovered now and looking much better. We had a very relaxing week filled with good food, soccer, and surfing.
     Surprisingly for us, this visit brought on a sense of "culture shock" for Steve - who is not used to living with electricity, a working refrigerator, reliable hot water, an abundance of English-speaking friends to talk to, American-style dining options at the Morocco Mall, modern entertainment options such as an ice skating rank, etc.. We tend to take these "luxury" living arrangements for granted, so it was neat to be humbled by someone with such a different perspective on what life looks like in Africa.

*For those of you who don't know already, Steve works in Sierra Leone as the Chief Operations Officer for a juice company. You should check out his blog here.

Dave & Steve @ Hay Hassani soccer with our landlord and his son

    Unfortunately, Steve's visit to Morocco coincided with the very first week of school at GWA. Therefore, Nicole didn't get to take off any time to hang out with the boys. Instead, she was cooped up in her classroom getting to know a brand new group of third grade students, and a brand new team of third grade teachers. Nicole was also upgraded to a brand new classroom, which just happens to be the best room in the entire school....literally. Check out the view from her classroom window:

This year is certainly going to be different than last year for her, but it should still be good.

Nicole & Ruth T. (substitute teacher)

     While Steve was visiting, we were able to finalize our Christmas plans. We booked tickets to visit him in Sierra Leone. Dave's parents will also be flying out at the same time, meaning that this will be our first Christmas where all of us Gruddas are together in 4 years. We are looking forward to experiencing a new culture and enjoying Christmas where he lives. :)

     More recently...ever since Steve's comment about how modern Casablanca is compared to Sierra Leone, we've been trying to be more grateful of how blessed we are. Yesterday, we received a very obvious blessing that was impossible to take for granted:

    We woke up yesterday morning with one completely flat tire. Apparently, we had run over a nail the night before and it had flattened overnight. Since Saturdays are soccer/work-out days, we scrambled to find alternative transportation to GWA so that we could continue with our busy day as planned. Dave intended to work on the tire later in the afternoon. When "later in the afternoon" finally came; however, we looked outside to find that our car had been fixed. Through some careful investigating we were able to discover that one of our Moroccan neighbors, whom we have never once interacted with, saw our car out the window and fixed it while we were out. We were blown away by such a spontaneous act of kindness from some complete stranger that we have never met before in our lives. That would never happen in America. We are planning on making some baked goods to bring over for a proper "thank-you" today.

     Another recent blessing is that we were both able to move up in the technology world by getting i-phones...for FREE. Two good friends here in Morocco gave us their old i-phone 3G's when they upgraded this summer. We are so grateful. Nicole had been anxious to get one in order to start utilizing it in the classroom (Class Dojo - an extraordinary, technology-based classroom management tool). We had budgeted carefully to allow us to get one used i-phone for her this year, but were blown away when we were gifted two free ones instead. We have great friends. :)

     In other news, we have both recently been very dedicated to staying healthy and fit. Dave has been holding to an intense soccer/surfing regime every day. He is incredibly fit and has been having fun staying that way. Nicole, who is admittedly less inclined to work out for "fun", created an exercise chart. She has started to run and follow exercise videos. Every time she works out, she gives herself a star in hopes of reaching a monthly goal that will allow her to receive a reward. She didn't meet the monthly goal in August; however, we're both still proud to show this off:

 

There is a 1/2 marathon in Casablanca on October 27 and Nicole is planning to

 participate in it (walking/running). Dave is still considering.

From this post you can clearly see that we've been busy. :) We'll catch you up some more later...

-David & Nicole

And So It Begins...Again

Today marks the end of two things: Ramadan and the first week of new staff orientation.

    We have both been very busy during orientation. Since Dave was obliged to go back to work in order to help oversee new staff orientation, Nicole decided to volunteer her time to help HR with various tasks during orientation. Among other mundane tasks, she created welcome baskets for all of the new teachers and organized a potluck which was ultimately canceled thanks to the apparent unpredictability of lunar holidays. Dave was more heavily involved in leading group tours into the city, namely in the black market region of Casablanca. We have both really enjoyed our time in getting to know the new staff members.
    Jokingly, this years new staff group could be referred to as the ideal stage for "The Bachelor". There are two married couples joining the GWA staff, and then 21 beautiful, single girls. With Dave's eligible, good-looking brother Steve coming to visit us in just a few weeks, we think his odds are pretty good. ;)

    In other news, Nicole has pretty much mastered stick-shift driving in Casablanca. Recently, she ventured into the French market, the furthest she has ever driven, and did not die. Nor did she stall or engage in any heated road rage "fights" (though she did come close once). As proof that she is such a competent Moroccan driver, Nicole got pulled over for the first time this week for speeding. Her understanding of French/Arabic has improved so well that she understood every bit of what the cop said to her. She probably could have responded in French pretty adequately as well; however, she strategically pretended not to understand and played the part of the "dumb American who only speaks very fast, incomprehensible English" perfectly. As a result, she got off easily with a mere warning and drove back home thrilled about the experience. :)
     Admittedly...the experience will not be so thrilling if it continues to happen more frequently. One of our good friends here, who has lived in country for 6 years, has been pulled over by the police over 150 times. If we recall correctly, he's only paid bribes/tickets about 5 times. While he does hold an impressive record, neither of us has any ambition to compete with that...

& the first day of school is August 28th. We're excited!!

-David & Nicole

Ramadan

 We have lived in Morocco for two years now... so it's high time for a "lesson" on Moroccan culture:

    Ramadan is an obligatory, Holy fast for Muslims. From sunrise to sunset, Muslims refrain from consuming food or drinking liquid (Conservative Muslims also abstain from sexual activity). The hundreds of cafes and restaurants that are typically filled with men sipping Moroccan mint tea and smoking cigarettes are all closed during the month of Ramadan (during the day at least). Every day, the fast is broken at sunset with a giant feast called "ftir". A large meal is also eaten just before sunrise.
     The purpose of this month-long fast is multifaceted: It offers an opportunity for self reflection, and it is meant to draw Muslims closer to God (Allah). Devout Muslims tend to renew their dedication to prayer during the month of Ramadan, particularly on the final day of Ramadan (which is known as "The Night of Power"). The Night of Power signifies the holiest day of the year, as it marks the day upon which the Qur'an was first revealed to the prophet Mohammad. It is said to be the day on which it is guaranteed that God (Allah) will hear and answer your prayers.
    We hope that this time of fasting and praying does indeed draw Muslims closer to God...

    As expats living in a Muslim country during Ramadan, we do face several "inconveniences". Most restaurants are closed, traffic rage tends to intensify proportionately to hunger pains, and store hours fluctuate to accommodate the new feasting (and sleeping) times. Simultaneously however, Ramadan does offer expats the luxury of empty beaches (Muslims typically do not go to the beach while fasting since they cannot drink) and excellent internet speed in the morning since most everyone sleeps the day away.
    While it is not necessary as foreigners to fast, we have chosen to show our respect for Ramadan by refraining from eating/drinking in public. We dine behind closed shutters and graciously accept the fitr feast given to us at sunset every day by our landlord. -We actually love some of the traditional Ramadan treats, especially chebakia, harira, and sellou.
     While science predicts that the next crescent new moon will come next Thursday (Thus signifying the final fitr feast and the end of Ramadan), we must pretend to have no knowledge of Ramadan's end until the actual moon sighting. Inshallah...the end is near.

-David & Nicole

[rewind] 7.19.13 - The Final Days

On our last night at sea, Norwegian Jade hosted a huge chocoholic buffet.  We were very pleased. :)

    After some difficulty finding our final B&B on Venice island, we dropped off our luggage and toured San Marco one last time, anxious to get more pigeon pictures. We also enjoyed a very expensive gnocchi dinner at a canal-side restaurant (Dave truly is obsessed with gnocchi now). 

 

 

David loves gnocchi

     Our final B&B turned out to be quite the dump. Had we thoroughly read the reviews before booking it, we probably would have reconsidered. At the time; however, we were simply looking for the cheapest option on the island of Venice for our final night. The advertised "free" breakfast consisted of packaged crackers, jam, and instant coffee that were set out the day prior. If you wanted milk you had to pay extra. Further, the only time we even saw the owners was during our check-in. They gave us keys and, after collecting our payment in cash, instructed us to leave them hanging on the door when we left. There was no one available to answer questions or to provide the toiletries/toilet paper that were lacking in the bathroom. Needless to say, we gave them a very poor review....

    Ironically, our subsequent night in the Rome airport (we had a 13 hour layover) was more inviting and comfortable than the B&B in Venice. Cheaper too considering we didn't have to pay to sleep there, there were good bathrooms, and we had our pick of many breakfast options when we woke up. 

    Finally, we made it back to Casablanca. Our favorite red luggage bag just barely made the trip back, though. The tear that we thought was minimal when we left ripped through entirely and things were hanging out of it when we received it in Casablanca. Luckily, nothing was missing. Additionally, one of the wheels busted when we were pulling it along the cobblestone streets of Venice (Note: This is why we said earlier that Venice is only fun if you don't have any luggage to carry).
     This suitcase was purchased in 2005 for Nicole's very first trip abroad to Spain, and has traveled to many other countries since. RIP awesome red bag...

And now back to Ramadan ftir feasts every night. :)

-David & Nicole