"As Time Goes By" still plays in Rick's Café Americano

Welcome to Casablanca, Morocco.
What a welcome reception it was for us SAS kids. After breakfast we walked fifteen to twenty minutes just to get out of the port. This included being stared down my lots of men, walking in the dirt, dirty water, and tons of traffic including taxis and trucks. It was not pleasant. I was traveling with 5 girls and once we got into the city, which turned out to be nothing I had expected. Then again, I tried to go into this port with no expectations. We were told that the women needed to be covered up, hair pulled up and wear closed toe shoes. We were told to not look into the eyes of men and keep our head down. Now, understand that about 98% of people who live in Morocco are Muslim and these traditions root from Islam and the women’s role in the community. I respect, but do not necessarily agree with these traditions. But, we did as we were told and were literally stared out while walking up and down the streets, glared at men while trying to find places. I did not see a woman after walking for twenty minutes. There were lines of chairs outside cafes and tables inside which looked out into the street, with tons of just men drinking coffee and tea staring out into the street.
It was very intimidating. After awhile, we felt more confident and found a place for lunch. We had something similar to gyro, but instead of lamb meat we had chicken. It was pretty good and cheap. It cost about four US dollars for lunch and a soda. We continued on and checked out the Old Medina or known as the shouk marketplace. What a crazy crowded and insane place to be, but very interesting. I might do some bartering tomorrow there. The pastry shops look delicious and though they told us not to, I had the ice cream and it was so yummy. Didn’t get sick either!! (Because of unpasteurized milk)
Overall, this is a cool place to be, but if we had another day I would’ve gone to Rabat-the capital which I heard is a lot nicer, or Marrakech-which is supposed to be amazing. But, camel riding in the Sahara Desert will have to wait for another time. I am volunteering in a children’s village tomorrow which will take most of the day. I am excited to see how that experience changes my thoughts about this country.
A few good things included: mint tea.
It’s so sweet and amazing yummy here. I loved the taste and had two teapots! The markets are actually really cool and your US dollar equals about 8.47 Dirham. So it’s fun. I might buy a teapot or a cool ceramic plate to take home. There’s a lot of really interesting things here to bring home. I haven’t decided yet. But I’m trying to save my money or India, China, and Vietnam.
Alrighty, off to finish a paper on Obama’s administration and how they could impact the problems in the Middle-East.