August 23, 2001
It occured to me yesterday as I was about a block away that I did have other things to say in which you all might be interested. Here are some of them.
The weather here in Rabat is pretty good. Its cooler than it is at home, so about 70s to mid-80s, but much more humid because its on the coast. What worries me is that there are some volunteers who spend their summers in Rabat or Tangiers because their sites are too hot (130°). They do summer projects, which would be fine, and so are obviously in the desert for the permanent sites, but I don't think I really want to deal with that much heat.
Maybe because of the weather, the food schedule is similar to Southern Europe; they eat late. Our family eats at 9 which is fine, but there are horror stories at school about host families not eating until midnight or later (especially a problem when most of us have to be up by 6:30). Bedtimes are also adjusted accordingly, again not a problem for Moroccans since most places close between noon and 2 or 3.
Driving is a huge problem here, especially if you're a pedestrian! Papa said once that the general observation was that the farther south you drive in Europe the worse the driving gets (in terms of traffic laws being obeyed), so if you think of North Africa as an extention of Europe, the rule still applies. I'm sure there are traffic laws here, and I've even seen road signs and I know there are lanes, but no one seems in the least concerned with any of it. All cars drive in the middle of multiple lanes, horns are used with great abandon, pedestrians are fair game, and the
bigger your vehicle, the more lax you can be about the whole thing. Never, ever walk in front of a bus, even
if it has a red light! One of the most amusing aspects is that cars actually speed up when they see you walk into the crosswalk.
Stuff is really cheap here. The exchange rate is about 11 dirhams to the dollar. This cafe costs 12 d per hour, so its about a buck. Toilet paper costs .25 (and yes, I bought some, because I am not quite prepared for the alternative), air mail stamps to the States are expensive at 10 d each. We have yet to buy food, but are assured it is equally inexpensive except meat and eggs. I bought a small bottle of water this morning and it cost 3 d. This can be a problem if you only have large bills (like a 200), because some owners of small stores will refuse to sell to you if they don't have change, which can be very frustrating.
Water is another issue here because there has been a drought for several years and at the present rate of
consumption, Morocco is due to be out of water completely by 2020! I don't know what is being done about it, but I certainly hope something. The new king is generally seen as very progressive and modern (though I don't think you're allowed to say anything bad about him or you could go to jail) and it was his birthday Tuesday. He was in Tangiers for the celebration, but there was a parade here and I did get to see some of it.
School is actually a school. Peace Corps rents out a girls boarding school for the summer, so there are places to stay (dorm style) and showers and squat toilets. Coming from the States I have a hard time believing that anyone would pay to send their daughter here, though. The paint is peeling, the beds sag terribly, and more importantly, there is a severe leaking problem from the upstairs bathroom, through an electrical socket. Of course despite all this, we now think of it as home.
There are lots of other things I could say, but this is probably already taxing in its length so I'll sign off. I hope you all are doing well!
