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