Day 7 – Thursday
I feel like I’ve gone on a lot over the last few days, but I didn’t want to miss out any fun detail which might interest you guys. Or that I might want to remember years from now, since this blog is essentially my diary. More pokémon was played yesterday evening (I decided that today would be a good day to document this trip, as I won’t get back to Fes until Saturday now) once I had fully decided that I didn’t understand the cards. I was also horrified by the fact that it got dark at just after half five. Tuesday night classes are not going to get any easier for me, that’s for certain.
Today I woke up at half 7, but stayed in bed until half 10 on account of fun lucid dreams and it being really comfortable. I took a shower, which proved unfortunate for BMS, because it meant that during hers the gas ran out, leaving her without hot water. Apparently it always catches her out, rather than anyone else. I had breakfast while the rest of the family chopped up Jimmy the Sheep (if you name them post mortem it’s not as traumatic, I feel) for the rest of the meat. Some goes to Fatema, the maid, and then the rest will get eaten by us, over the next few days. I’m hoping for more meat and less offal, but I will get what I am given, so best get over that hurdle now. We’re having guests for lunch, and then possibly going out for dinner. Twill be fun, no doubt.
Day 8 – Friday
Friday was a ridiculously long day (this is now being written on Sunday – for anyone keeping up). We got up nice and early and started organising the house at Temara. Then Aziz, BMS and I went to Marjane to buy fleeces because it’s getting cold here now – aside from all the rain. I bought a nice purple one. On the way back from Marjane we stopped by Avenue Bir Kacem to look for my old house. We found the right road, but I couldn’t remember what the house looked like from the outside. It was cool to go back though, at any rate. From there we carried on to an aunties house, where we met with BMB and Halima and much more family to have Couscous. I ate copious amounts, on account of being sat next to the grandmother, a fabulous lady who though she didn’t talk to me at all gave me some of the most stunning smiles. I had girl time with BMS and our cousin Fatima-Zahra, which shall be related in the post Love and Marriage. BMB left to go to Marrakesh with his friends, leaving us in a single car, with all the food – sheep included – to cart back to Fes in a single car.
In the afternoon, we went to Casablanca. This is because in Morocco (as in my family in England, as my brother will testify gladly) plans change without anyone actually telling anyone else. So the plan changed in favour of us going to Casablanca. We ate with yet more family, and stayed the night.
Day 9 – Saturday
Today we drove. At 11 we set off from Casa after a good breakfast. We reached Temara at midday. At one we were finally packed up in Temara, and ready to leave for Ifrane to drop off BMS. I physically couldn’t move once we were in the car, such was the amount of sheer STUFF we had with us. When going on holiday in a Moroccan family it is wise to consider that they bring the whole amount of food and drink which they could possibly want with them. Not to mention they leave nothing in the freezer, in case of it going off. Which begs the question – has anyone ever explained to a Moroccan mother exactly how a freezer works?
It took us until about 5 to get to Ifrane, which seemed long. I didn’t sleep (I don’t really sleep on car journeys) and it rained, and Aziz kept his window open, and it was cold. We dropped off BMS, and then quite swiftly hit the road again. We stopped off at Imouzzer for apples and doughnuts, and made it back to Fes for 7. It took half an hour to unload the car, and then took me another half to re-install all the programs which I had lost through my computer troubles. And thus we find me back in Fes, tired and greasy, and finally finished with my blogging for the week I was away. I shall now wash, and then get back to you all. Because I’ve missed you EASILY as much as you’ve missed me.
Sorry for the general density of text. It’s interesting though, go back and read if you missed some.