Hello Rabat!

First day in Rabat, check. I flew AirFrance over and felt like I got a little bit of an immersion in French culture on my way over as it seemed like the moment I boarded the plane in Dulles Airport everyone was speaking only French, Then, very much to my surprise, the overwhelming presence of the French language carried over since my arrival in Rabat. Signs are in French everywhere, and the average person in Rabat can converse with you fluently in French. In fact I was amazed by just how many Europeans there are in this city who appear to assimilate so well with Moroccans! Its funny because one of the main reasons I chose to study in Morocco as opposed to anywhere else in the Middle East is so I can also learn French and that had recently slipped my mind. I did buy a “Learn French in 30 Days” book from Borders while I was in Boston and even though I have only gotten to page three, the four years of French from high school are quickly coming back to me.
The Amideast program is also very interesting. Most students enrolled know very minimal Arabic and are instead depending on their French to get around. Its odd though, because for the first time while I am in the Middle East I truly feel like a tourist because I am always moving about in this huge group of Americans. We stand out like a five year old stands out in a college calculus class. Its Ramadan though so the city is much quieter than usual and most things are closed during the day. I arrived last night and after dinner went straight to bed. This morning I woke up and was fasting, the only student in the program, but it went surprisingly well. We spent the morning in the Amideast office, which is this building right beside a McDonalds in Agdal that appears to have no connection to the University. After that we toured some awesome ancient ruins in the area, which was the first time I really realized I was fasting. Rabat’s weather is surprisingly tolerable. Not just tolerable, but beautiful, as long as youre not standing in the sun. Tomorrow morning is our placement exam. At this moment we do not know which classes we will be taking, nor do we know our host family. It’s a little weird in that sense, but oh well! My goal this semester is just to take things easy, enjoy life and not stress about things. Essentially do the opposite of what Ive been doing at Penn for the last four semesters!