Wednesday, January 19, 2011

...and I'm back!

Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone!
Insh'Allah you're all doing well and are in the best of health and iman!

...so, remember me? Worst blogger/vlogger in the word? Yep, I'm back from my un-official, un-announced hiatus, yay! ^_^ I'm currently in the process of sorting through comments and messages I've gotten here as well as on my Youtube channel over the past couple of months, so if you sent me a message, and are still waiting for a reply, PLEASE BE PATIENT, insh'Allah I'll get around to responding asap.

You might be wondering what I am up to these days...or maybe not, who knows? Well, I will give you a general update on my life if regardless of whether or not you are interested, bwahahaha. I find that my thoughts often work best in list form, so here it goes:

1. Alhamdolillah my hubby T and I are now happily married!!!! It took one long month of running around all over Casablanca and Rabat fetching this paper and that signature, waiting in lines and in government offices, having to shell out a rediculous amount of money to the US consulate just to have them notarize two pieces of paper ($100...wtf man seriously?!?!) and having to go through a couple of interviews with the police, but alhamdolillah it's all over now, and we were officially married on December 10, 2010. In the process I also had to "officially" say my shahada again because I didn't have a certificate of Islam "proving" that I'm Muslim. The adoul (like a religious lawyer) was so confused...lol...at first he thought that I hadn't converted to Islam yet, and then he asked for my passport for identification, took one look at it and was like, "wait...you're American? I thought you were French...and wait again...how long have you been Muslim?" (I'm obviously wearing hijab in my passport photo) So yeah, another $40 my husband had to pay just so that I could say shahada -_-'

2. It gets a lot colder here than I thought it did (especially at night). I didn't know this before I came here, but they generally don't have heating in houses or appartments here because for most of the year it's not needed. I regret not packing more sweaters. They are currently sitting in my parent's house in the US because they were making my suitcase too heavy. Regardless, I still had to pay an overweight baggage charge for one of my bags, as well as a second baggage charge because all my stuff wouldn't fit in one suitcase *shakes fist at Alitalia*

3. Doing housework here is different...I had to re-learn how to clean Moroccan style. I still have to learn how to cook Moroccan food (yummy yummy yummy by the way...) So far I only know how to make bread and prepare tea...which I guess are two of the most important things to know how to do after all. I miss sushi.

4. THERE ARE SO MANY CATS HERE. YA ALLAH I'M IN KITTY HEAVEN!!!!

5. The people here are generally some of the kindest, most generous and welcoming people I have ever met, mash'Allah!

6. I'm learning a lot of darija (the Moroccan Arabic dialect)...alhamdolillah I can now sort of follow and pick out words and phrases in most conversations...wheras before I was totally lost...now Tamazight (the language of Amazighs, the native people of Morocco) is a completely different story. Luckily for me, even though Tamazight is the native language of all three of my husband's grandparents, they almost always speak in darija. Of course knowing French is really useful, but not everyone speaks French here ^_~

7. Hearing the adhan (call to prayer) five times a day is amazing, as well as having a mosque every few km or so! It was also really cool celebrating Eid al Adha here, because as opposed to back in the U.S. here it actually feels like a real celebration because almost everyone around you is celebrating as well. It was also nice not having to listen to tons of Christmas music (at my old job starting the day after Thanksgiving or "Black Friday" every other song they played was Christmas music...and by the second week or so of December it would make me want to tear my hair out...no, I have nothing against Christmas at all, but Christmas music and I do not get along).

So, in the interest of not writing a novel for this post, I shall leave you all for now. Insh'Allah I'll be posting again soon, as there's quite a bit I can find to talk about. If there's anything you'd like me to write about, feel free to suggest topics to me!

10 comments:

  1. Mash'Allah congratulations sister on getting married! :) and welcome back!!

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  2. FINALLLY!! I know you've waited your socks off for this time to come, alhamdulilah.

    The price of a shahada these days! pft, i don't see how they can put a price on it but it#s done now.

    Sounds like you're having lots of fun, inshallah it continues

    tc xx

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  3. btw, I came across this site a few days ago. Its a poll of the 'best morocco blogs' but also has links to them. Lots of info on cooking, language, things to do and see etc. Hope it helps.

    http://moroccoblogs.com/

    -Don't forget to take some pictures inshallah :)

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  4. Really glad to know everything went well and you are all happy Mashallah!!
    Please post some pictures of Morocco if you could, that would be a treat :)

    I hope things are OK with regards to inflation over there (sorry to bring it up, but that's the world we live in today..)

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  5. @Zainab
    jazak Allah khair sister, thank you so much for the congratulations ^_^
    @Yara
    yay, I know alhamdolillah so much for everything Allah(swt) has blessed me with in my life...and jazak Allah khair for the link! Insh'Allah I'll be taking pictures to post for y'all
    @Junaid Shahid
    insh'Allah I'll try to take pictures of different things around here that I think might be of interest to y'all
    and in regards to inflation...yes, I had a bit of trouble with money, not necessarily due to the exchange rate (1 USD is equal to approx. 8.5 MAD at the moment...) but because I neglected to rectify things with my car and my insurance before I left the country...and they ended up taking money from me that I didn't have...but that's something that I don't want to get into too much here...thinking about money tends to stress me out...I'm still in the middle of working things out but insh'Allah everything will be resolved.

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  6. ^^ Our prayers are with you, inshallah things would be rectified!!

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  7. Masha'Allah, amazing sister! Even though I just got to read your blogs and watch your videos, I'm amazed for someone who newly converted to Islam! Really, I'm impressed :D tabarakallah 3alaiki.
    Although you may be surprised what you are about to read... but I am half Moroccan and am currently leaving in Morocco! And what you said about Morocco are all true. But I kinda find it annoying... you know, the Moroccan style cleaning, cooking (but I agree the food is delicious ^_^), etc. In our house I/we never do Moroccan style... because the only original Moroccan here is my father.
    And yup! I'm amazed there's so many cats here (I'm a-kitty lover, too~)
    I'm happy to know about you, sis...
    May Allah help you with your new life ^^
    I have so much to say but I got to go now.. OK, assalamu'alaikum! See you around soon! :D

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  8. @ Khawla L
    Wa alaikum salaam sister, and welcome to my blog, alhamdolillah I'm so glad you stopped by! Lol, and yep I agree with you, sometimes chores can be very annoying/labor intensive sometimes (i.e. sweeping the rug/taking the rug all the way up to the roof to beat the dirt out instead of using the vacuum cleaner that is being neglected all the way up on a high shelf lol) but it's how I get my exercise nowadays because I don't get to go out much lol so I can't complain lol! Jazak Allah khair sis for your really sweet comment, alhamdolillah I'm really glad to meet you! ^_^

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  9. Walaykumsalaam again ^^
    Sorry for my belate reply. I've been very busy in this pass few days XD
    When you said chores can be very annoying, do you mean ordinary chores or Moroccan chores :D ??
    Moroccan chores are just so TIRING! The rules are just too tough TT^TT -> I don't do it anyway XD
    Please keep on the good work, I love your writing style :)
    Oh, and... if you need any advise regarding Morocco, its people or its culture, don't hesitate to come to me >:D I will try to help you in any way possible \o/
    AlhamduliLlah, I'm really glad I met you, too ^_^

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  10. @Khawla L: salaam alaikum sis! No worries, I've been away from the internets for a week or so myself visiting my in-laws in Ain Chok and getting our new appartment ready to be lived in next month (insh'Allah! Alhamdolillah I'm so excited that T and I will have a place of our own!)
    XD yep, I was talking about Moroccan chores...I try my best to avoid them myself, but I kind of feel obligated because I'm living in an appartment with my husband's maternal grandparents, and I feel guilty when I'm sitting around doing nothing :P
    Jazak Allah khair sis for coming by, and insh'Allah if I have any questions, I deff. come to you! ^_____^

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