Americans!

I met up with Tori, Kaylyn, Jake and Logan this weekend. It was Kaylyn's birthday so she came to visit us in Khenifra. Its amazing what a few weeks of immersion in another culture will do to people! I met up with everyone mid-afternoon and they had been talking since mid-morning. We continued to talk well into the night – I think it was close to 3am by the time we called it a night! Everyone had stories of host families, mild harassment in their sites, frustrations with the language and cultural barriers and those moments where all you can do is laugh at yourself because you are failing miserably to communicate with someone in your site. Lacking any solid time to interact with people who speak English, it felt like we had to get the most out of our time together. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

It is miserably hot this week, but I had no idea how hot it was. My village is at an elevation of approximately 6,000 feet and it was 100 F! Down in Khenifra, which is closer to sea level it was even hotter. Growing up in Chicago, where humidity can reach 100% and 90 F can be deadly, I was somewhat surprised at how well I was faring. OK, I wasn't doing fantastically, but I don't really have anyone to complain to, so I wasn't complaining. I have never really bought into the whole dry heat theory, but it has earned some credibility since I've been in Morocco. But, hot is still hot and my butt still sticks to the plastic chair at the internet cafe even in the “dry” heat. Thankfully, it cools off somewhat at night, although I have spent a few nights sleeping on the floor because simply laying on a bed was too hot.