Putting On My Big Girl Pants

Hello!
Wow, so I have been to a couple places in Morocco. This is such a beautiful country with very welcoming people. The landscape is very dry and it’s not green it’s more brown. The buildings in Casablanca and Rabat are white and as you go more south in the country the buildings get red to blend in with the dirt. Several of the sidewalks are titled it’s really interesting because you will be walking along and then find a loose one and lose your balance. :) Everything is made of stone or concrete. Also the windows all have bars on them (fun decorative ones), but not screens.
Everything is like a new adventure. We are here during Ramadan, but most of us are not Muslim so we are learning so much about being Muslim. It’s very interesting. During Ramadan you are not to eat during the day light hours so the meals are

Skor- which is right before sunrise, you eat it and then go back to bed.

Liftor - which happens right after sunset, it is the same food everyday, but they are special dishes that are only made during Ramadan

Dinner (I forgot the word in Arabic) - which happens at about 10:00pm.

Some of the main foods that we eat are oil and vinegar tomatoes with red onions, oil and vinegar cucumbers, tuna, bread, this soft spreadable cheese, melon that is like honeydue melon, but much much better, and olives. :) Today they had made French Fries and even brought out ketup. It was a really nice surprise.

One thing that I have gotten more accustom too is buying everything from an open air market. It’s a little different because you have to bargin for things and walk to several different vendors to find all the things that you need. It takes a lot more time then shopping in the US does. Although I have been exploring the souk (market) several times and found some pretty great stuff, I got some really cute nail polish the other day. They also have a lot of makeup, but I have decided that I am not going to wear it for the next few years. :)

Along those lines I have adopted a new phrase that I really love. “It’s time to put on my big girl pants.” I use it for those times when I have to or I should do something that I don’t really like to do, but it won’t kill me. For example I don’t really like hard boiled eggs or banana, but those are two really easy things to safely prepare and they are cheap, so I need to start to like them. :) (That’s one of my goals. :))

I feel like I have really made some awesome friends who will be a great support network for me when times are a little tougher. Also when we put our heads together and brainstorm ideas, we come up with some really great stuff! We all come from such different backgrounds that our conversations are very interesting. They will be great people to look for inspiration from.
I also have learned a lot about the United States relationship with Morocco. I never knew that Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States has a country. That is one of the coolest things that I have learned. It says a lot about what can happen when governments work together.

All in all I feel like I am getting my feet underneath me.