Trials and Tribulations

Today, a 50/60-year-old man spit at my friend and then at me. What a loser.

One thing that I've noticed since being here is how protective I've become of my language. It makes me angry when people harass me in English, not only because it is annoying to be harassed, but mainly because I feel like harassers are disrespecting my language, since that is the language they use to be disrespectful. It also ticks me off when people assume I can't speak any other language than English. The other day, I went to sort out a bank issue for my friend with her and the security guard there, although I was speaking fine French, asked if I spoke English and then automatically switched over to that. The thing was, he wasn't that good at English, so to prove him wrong, I responded to him in French. And then in Essaouira, another friend and I were trying to solve an issue at a café. I was understanding and communicating well in French, and then a guy sitting at the bar tried to translate for us. I just find it rude when people try to speak to me in English outside of the United States because it makes me feel like I am viewed as incompetent, and I am NOT okay with that. I don't intend for this to be a complaining entry- everything in this blog is about my observations and experiences. Although I love it here in Morocco, it is not perfect and there have been many trials and tribulations that I have experienced in terms of a lot of different things. However, although I experience some negatives, I take everything to heart and I am thankful that I experience them anyway, because it makes me stronger and braver and more willing to try new things. When I come back home, I will have a new outlook on life and the world. The good thing about the bad things is that I feel like I am still living life, but in another place....I am definitely "experiencing", not vacationing.

On a happier note, we had a little orientation today on our Northern excursion. We will be doing a village homestay for 2 nights in Ouazzane. I am living with a family with 5 kids and 2 parents. My host mom is Latifa, my host dad is Rachid. I then have 2 sisters- Faiza, 15 and Kaoutar, 11, and 3 brothers- Ilyas, 18, Ali, 9 and Houssam, 3. I am excited to live a rural Moroccan life, albeit brief, but at least it's something! And two days is plenty of time to bring back some fun stories :-)