Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone!
Insh'Allah you're all doing well and are in the best of health and the highest of iman today. Needless to say I've had a bit of extra time on my hands, and didn't feel like mopping the floors today, so I decided to give my blog a little makeover, yay! ^_^
Do you like it? Hate it? I'm working on making a snazzy header as well, but that's going to take some time. I'll leave it for another day when I don't feel like mopping the floors lol.
As for the question I asked last time...I've decided that I will try to look for a job. If I get hired and I like it, great, alhamdolillah! Insh'Allah I'll be working until I have kids, and I'll be helping out my husband as far as household income is concerned. If I don't find anything, then alhamdolillah as well! I can occupy myself with the appartment, learning about Islam, memorizing Qur'an, and insh'Allah I would like to learn how to crochet lace from Khalti M (!!I'm really excited to learn insh'Allah...I know basics of knitting, but I've always wanted to learn how to crochet but never found the time!!)
Insh'Allah I'll be back soon with the posts about Moroccan weddings, I promise!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Update That Turned into a Short Novel...Sorry!
Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone, insh'Allah you're all in the best of health and the highest of iman!
Sorry for not posting yet again for a rather extended period of time...as I kind of mentioned in my last post, my husband and I have been a bit busy getting ourselves situated in our new appartment. Alhamdolillah we're pretty much all settled in now (we officially moved in the first of March), and pretty much have all the basics covered (we still need a refrigerator though...which pretty much means that we haven't been eating much in the way of "real traditional" meals...although yesterday my husband got ingredients so that I could cook a tagine for dinner...my cooking still needs perfecting, but alhamdolillah it went better than the last time I tried to cook a tagine...we also need an oven so that I can cook delicious cakes and cookies *ahem* I mean...bread...LOL, but I guess the oven isn't really a necessity, so it can wait for later). After a while insh'Allah when we have the finances I can think about interior decoration and making it look more "homey."
I was also at my husband's aunt L's wedding on Saturday. Mash'Allah she made such a beautiful bride! It was a women's only wedding, which was pretty cool, because the other wedding I was at in January, in Marrakesh for my husband's cousin R, was a mixed wedding...and for obvious reasons I didn't really feel that comfortable dancing. Anyways, I'll talk more about weddings here in another post (or two!) in the future insh'Allah...because they're beautiful and there's so much to talk about...food...negafa...takshetas/kaftans...wedding traditions...so insh'Allah that'll be something for y'all to look forward to! ^_^
Alhamdolillah all my paperwork for my residency permit FINALLY was able to go through last Wednesday (after my poor MIL and I had been going there for almost a month trying to get it done!). Subhan'Allah, people can never tell you the correct information the FIRST time around when it comes to paperwork here; it's so FRUSTRATING!! We had to go to the police headquarters literally four times...sometimes having to wait in line for HOURS...just to be told that we didn't have all the paperwork needed/they needed more legalized copies of this or that/my husband doesn't make enough money to support me (this lady supposedly wanted my husband to make 20,000dh a month to "prove" that he could support me...when my MIL told me this I was like...seriously?!?! Does she really think that I'm THAT high-maintenance?) Another thing that I found extremely annoying is that people there, even after knowing that I can speak and understand French at a near-fluent level, INSIST upon speaking to me in English. Now I don't want anyone to think I'm stuck up or anything when I say this, so PLEASE don't take this the wrong way, but if someone is going to go through the trouble of talking to me in heavily accented English when I'd be able to understand them much better in French anyways, at least they should be able to understand when I respond to them in English as well. However, I find that whenever I do so, I'm often confronted with the blank "I didn't understand a word of what you just said" stare. JUST SPEAK TO ME IN FRENCH DARN IT! I SWEAR TO YOU I WILL UNDERSTAND! I guess it's just not that believable that an American can speak more than one language *eye roll*
Anyways, now that I will have my residency permit, insh'Allah, I will be able to look for work here...if I so choose. So now, I am stuck with a dilemma: to work or not to work? I only have a high school diploma (the equivalent of having your BAC)...and the only real marketable skill that I have would be to teach English. I have always wanted to teach...but doing this would require that I at least pass a TEFL certification first, which of course will take a few months. I also feel very strongly that once I have children, insh'Allah, I DO NOT want to work outside the home. I also know that I would like to start having children rather soon (i.e. 1-2 years time insh'Allah). I also know that, even though he won't say it, if I worked it would help my husband out a lot. I asked my husband what his preference was, and he told me outright that he doesn't really have a preference either way; the choice is up to me. I should also mention that as of now, if I am not accompanied by my husband or MIL outside the house, I am pretty much helpless (i.e. I've never gone outside alone), so I don't know how comfortable I'd be having a job outside my house. So my question to y'all is this: would it be worth me trying to find a job now, or should I forget about it?
Sorry I've basically written a book...insh'Allah I'll be back soon with more posts!
Sorry for not posting yet again for a rather extended period of time...as I kind of mentioned in my last post, my husband and I have been a bit busy getting ourselves situated in our new appartment. Alhamdolillah we're pretty much all settled in now (we officially moved in the first of March), and pretty much have all the basics covered (we still need a refrigerator though...which pretty much means that we haven't been eating much in the way of "real traditional" meals...although yesterday my husband got ingredients so that I could cook a tagine for dinner...my cooking still needs perfecting, but alhamdolillah it went better than the last time I tried to cook a tagine...we also need an oven so that I can cook delicious cakes and cookies *ahem* I mean...bread...LOL, but I guess the oven isn't really a necessity, so it can wait for later). After a while insh'Allah when we have the finances I can think about interior decoration and making it look more "homey."
I was also at my husband's aunt L's wedding on Saturday. Mash'Allah she made such a beautiful bride! It was a women's only wedding, which was pretty cool, because the other wedding I was at in January, in Marrakesh for my husband's cousin R, was a mixed wedding...and for obvious reasons I didn't really feel that comfortable dancing. Anyways, I'll talk more about weddings here in another post (or two!) in the future insh'Allah...because they're beautiful and there's so much to talk about...food...negafa...takshetas/kaftans...wedding traditions...so insh'Allah that'll be something for y'all to look forward to! ^_^
Alhamdolillah all my paperwork for my residency permit FINALLY was able to go through last Wednesday (after my poor MIL and I had been going there for almost a month trying to get it done!). Subhan'Allah, people can never tell you the correct information the FIRST time around when it comes to paperwork here; it's so FRUSTRATING!! We had to go to the police headquarters literally four times...sometimes having to wait in line for HOURS...just to be told that we didn't have all the paperwork needed/they needed more legalized copies of this or that/my husband doesn't make enough money to support me (this lady supposedly wanted my husband to make 20,000dh a month to "prove" that he could support me...when my MIL told me this I was like...seriously?!?! Does she really think that I'm THAT high-maintenance?) Another thing that I found extremely annoying is that people there, even after knowing that I can speak and understand French at a near-fluent level, INSIST upon speaking to me in English. Now I don't want anyone to think I'm stuck up or anything when I say this, so PLEASE don't take this the wrong way, but if someone is going to go through the trouble of talking to me in heavily accented English when I'd be able to understand them much better in French anyways, at least they should be able to understand when I respond to them in English as well. However, I find that whenever I do so, I'm often confronted with the blank "I didn't understand a word of what you just said" stare. JUST SPEAK TO ME IN FRENCH DARN IT! I SWEAR TO YOU I WILL UNDERSTAND! I guess it's just not that believable that an American can speak more than one language *eye roll*
Anyways, now that I will have my residency permit, insh'Allah, I will be able to look for work here...if I so choose. So now, I am stuck with a dilemma: to work or not to work? I only have a high school diploma (the equivalent of having your BAC)...and the only real marketable skill that I have would be to teach English. I have always wanted to teach...but doing this would require that I at least pass a TEFL certification first, which of course will take a few months. I also feel very strongly that once I have children, insh'Allah, I DO NOT want to work outside the home. I also know that I would like to start having children rather soon (i.e. 1-2 years time insh'Allah). I also know that, even though he won't say it, if I worked it would help my husband out a lot. I asked my husband what his preference was, and he told me outright that he doesn't really have a preference either way; the choice is up to me. I should also mention that as of now, if I am not accompanied by my husband or MIL outside the house, I am pretty much helpless (i.e. I've never gone outside alone), so I don't know how comfortable I'd be having a job outside my house. So my question to y'all is this: would it be worth me trying to find a job now, or should I forget about it?
Sorry I've basically written a book...insh'Allah I'll be back soon with more posts!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Libya, Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia, and a Little Life Update
Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone,
insh'Allah you're all doing well, and are in the best of health and the highest of iman today. I know I haven't been updating as regularly as I would like to be, but as always, I have an excuse! For about a week and a half my husband and I were visiting my in-laws in Ain Chok (another neighborhood in Casablanca), and because my FIL ALWAYS rushes me when he comes to pick me up (I understand that he hates to wait, but there is little I hate more than being rushed...it really stresses me out...and also, seriously, I would think he would be able to wait for about 10 mins and sit and talk with my MIL's side of the family (his khalla and khal, or "maternal aunt and uncle" by the way...yes my husband's parents are cousins!)...but he's not really the type to "shoot the breeze"...anyways) and in the rush, I forgot to bring my laptop with me. So, couldn't update. I didn't really have that much time to myself there anyways, because I was kept busy with making preparations, along with my MIL and SIL, for T and myself to move into our own appartment next month. Alhamdolillah I'm so excited that we're finally going to have a place of our own! There are still a few things we need to get, but insh'Allah next month we'll be moving out of his grandparents' appartment and living on our own. It's not that I haven't enjoyed staying here, mash'Allah everyone has been really warm, welcoming and kind...it's just that I think it's time that T and I move out and establish ourselves insh'Allah...because, well, we're going to have to do it at some point anyways! Please keep us in your du'ahs that the move and transition goes well for us!
Also, in the interest of not making this post all about me, cause, well, you know, there are a lot more important things going on in the world right now...I know that just by looking at my blog, it may not seem like I have been following the situations in Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Libya, but I have. I watch the news pretty much every day, and the images that have been, and still are, coming out of those countries are heart-breaking and powerful at the same time. Alhamdolillah things in Tunisia and Egypt have died down for the most part...but remember that the people in these countries now have to deal with the aftermath of the revolutions there...something that is NEVER easy. Since I only get the chance to watch the news in Arabic, I'm not aware of all the details and minutia of the situations, all I know is that people have, and are dying and suffering because their own governments were, and are using violent force to quell the uprisings, and that is enough for me to say that we should keep all of our brothers and sisters there in our du'ahs insh'Allah. May Allah(swt) ease the suffering of our brothers and sisters in these countries, and may He(swt) grant them sabr (patience), ameen!
insh'Allah you're all doing well, and are in the best of health and the highest of iman today. I know I haven't been updating as regularly as I would like to be, but as always, I have an excuse! For about a week and a half my husband and I were visiting my in-laws in Ain Chok (another neighborhood in Casablanca), and because my FIL ALWAYS rushes me when he comes to pick me up (I understand that he hates to wait, but there is little I hate more than being rushed...it really stresses me out...and also, seriously, I would think he would be able to wait for about 10 mins and sit and talk with my MIL's side of the family (his khalla and khal, or "maternal aunt and uncle" by the way...yes my husband's parents are cousins!)...but he's not really the type to "shoot the breeze"...anyways) and in the rush, I forgot to bring my laptop with me. So, couldn't update. I didn't really have that much time to myself there anyways, because I was kept busy with making preparations, along with my MIL and SIL, for T and myself to move into our own appartment next month. Alhamdolillah I'm so excited that we're finally going to have a place of our own! There are still a few things we need to get, but insh'Allah next month we'll be moving out of his grandparents' appartment and living on our own. It's not that I haven't enjoyed staying here, mash'Allah everyone has been really warm, welcoming and kind...it's just that I think it's time that T and I move out and establish ourselves insh'Allah...because, well, we're going to have to do it at some point anyways! Please keep us in your du'ahs that the move and transition goes well for us!
Also, in the interest of not making this post all about me, cause, well, you know, there are a lot more important things going on in the world right now...I know that just by looking at my blog, it may not seem like I have been following the situations in Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, and Libya, but I have. I watch the news pretty much every day, and the images that have been, and still are, coming out of those countries are heart-breaking and powerful at the same time. Alhamdolillah things in Tunisia and Egypt have died down for the most part...but remember that the people in these countries now have to deal with the aftermath of the revolutions there...something that is NEVER easy. Since I only get the chance to watch the news in Arabic, I'm not aware of all the details and minutia of the situations, all I know is that people have, and are dying and suffering because their own governments were, and are using violent force to quell the uprisings, and that is enough for me to say that we should keep all of our brothers and sisters there in our du'ahs insh'Allah. May Allah(swt) ease the suffering of our brothers and sisters in these countries, and may He(swt) grant them sabr (patience), ameen!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Qur'an Recitation: New Video
Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone,
as usual I hope that insh'Allah you're all in the best of health and the highest of iman!
Anyways, I've finally gotten around to making videos and posting them to my YouTube channel again. Little did I know that it would take so long for them to upload, subhan'Allah O_o Just this simple Qur'an recitation video that's under two and a half minutes, with a file size of around 16MB took six hours to upload! Perhaps I should start compressing the files when I publish the video in Movie Maker so that I'll have an easier/quicker time uploading them? I don't know. Insh'Allah I will continue to post videos, but I hope that they don't all take as long to upload as this one did. It's a recitation of Surah Al Aala by Mo'eed al Mazeen. Please enjoy, insh'Allah ^_^
as usual I hope that insh'Allah you're all in the best of health and the highest of iman!
Anyways, I've finally gotten around to making videos and posting them to my YouTube channel again. Little did I know that it would take so long for them to upload, subhan'Allah O_o Just this simple Qur'an recitation video that's under two and a half minutes, with a file size of around 16MB took six hours to upload! Perhaps I should start compressing the files when I publish the video in Movie Maker so that I'll have an easier/quicker time uploading them? I don't know. Insh'Allah I will continue to post videos, but I hope that they don't all take as long to upload as this one did. It's a recitation of Surah Al Aala by Mo'eed al Mazeen. Please enjoy, insh'Allah ^_^
Monday, February 7, 2011
Doctors in Morocco: My Experience
Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone!
Insh'Allah you're all in the best of health and the highest of iman ^_^
I appologize for going a week without posting, but last week my mind was kind of all over the place. I had to go to the doctor last Thursday because I hadn't been feeling so hot...including nausea and migraine headaches...ugg...I had one that was so bad Wednesday night I was convinced that my head was going to split open...my poor husband and I didn't get much sleep :(
So I went to the doctor, and alhamdolillah it wasn't really anything serious, I just had an old infection that I was begining to get over anyways, but she put me on antibiotics just to speed up the healing process inshallah. Mash'Allah she was really nice...she's an older German lady, and I was happy to know that she could speak English. I still don't know what's been causing the nausea and migraines (she couldn't fully examine me...she just did the basics); she said I should go to a specialist to get further examined because she didn't have the necessary tools in her office. Lol when my husband heard this he asked, "is it really necessary for you to go to a specialist? That's always what private doctors say! It's so that they can get more money from referrals, that's all they want! On the other hand...if you had gone to see a public doctor, even if there was something seriously wrong with you, they'd tell you that you're perfectly fine...that's why I HATE doctors here!" I should mention that this is just my husband's opinion, and might not actually be the reality...my husband has had a few bad experiences with doctors here before...and that's why he generally tries to avoid them like the plague. I had to explain to him exactly WHY I need to go to said specialist, because they have to do x,y and z...and alhamdolillah he understood that it was a legitimate need and not just a way for the doctor to make money. So, I'll be going to the specialist sometime next week and hopefully insh'Allah everything will go well, and there won't be any problems. Hahaha I should also add that I got weighed at the doctors...I've gained 15 pounds since I came here, and I'm the heaviest I've ever been...perhaps I should ease up a bit on the delicious food/try to get more exercise :P (the weird thing is that all my clothes still fit...strange...well, I guess that's the danger of elasticized waists and wearing pj pants almost 100% of the time...you can't really tell when you've gained weight until it's way too much).
Also, the picture doesn't really have to do anything with the post, but it's my wedding henna. One of my husband's aunts is rather artistic and she did it for me, isn't it pretty, mash'Allah?
Monday, January 31, 2011
Okay...So My Entire Post Just Disappeared...
Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone!
As usual insh'Allah you're all doing well and are in the best of health and highest of iman ^_^
Has anyone ever written a long and involved blog post/email before, only to press "publish" or "send" and have it completely disappear because of a sucky internet connection? Yeah, lol that just happened to me -_-' Okay, I'm stretching it just a tad...it wasn't that involved, but it was a bit of a lengthy explaination as to why I don't have a ton of pictures to share at the moment, even though I would love to share this beautiful country with everyone. Lol, maybe it was best that you were all spared. Essentially what I wanted to say was the reason I am lacking in photos at the moment is because
a) when I do get the chance to go outside I usually forget to take my camera with me ex. I went to the beach the weekend before last with two of my husband's aunts and wanted to take pictures/videos of the beautiful waves subhan'Allah...however I was extremely dismayed to find out that I had left my camera back at the appartment...wallahi I was so crushed :(
b) Casablanca is not a touristy city (unlike Marrakesh for example) except for around the beach/Hassan II Mosque...so I tend to stick out enough as it is (more like I tend to confuse people enough as it is...lol...I apparently get a lot of stares *says my husband, after wearing hijab and an abaya in the US I'm pretty much imune to staring at this point and don't notice when people are doing it*...I told him it's probably because people are trying to figure out if I'm Moroccan or not...people here tend to assume that either I'm from the north, around Tanger or Fes because people there apparantly tend to be lighter in complexion with light eyes or that I'm French...I even had the owner of a local bakery ask one of my husband's aunts when I was with her buying pastery if I was Moroccan...he was completely shocked to learn that I was American...alright enough with this giant tangent...lol) so I would stick out even more taking pictures of things that most people considere every-day. Needless to say, even though I always see things that would make beautiful pictures...I'm always shy/a bit afraid to snap photos.
Despite both of these things, insh'Allah I will try to take more photos because as I said, I really want everyone to see how beautiful this country is ^_^
So that's it for now, insh'Allah I'll be back soon with photos next time...and insh'Allah posting this time will work! GAH!
As usual insh'Allah you're all doing well and are in the best of health and highest of iman ^_^
Has anyone ever written a long and involved blog post/email before, only to press "publish" or "send" and have it completely disappear because of a sucky internet connection? Yeah, lol that just happened to me -_-' Okay, I'm stretching it just a tad...it wasn't that involved, but it was a bit of a lengthy explaination as to why I don't have a ton of pictures to share at the moment, even though I would love to share this beautiful country with everyone. Lol, maybe it was best that you were all spared. Essentially what I wanted to say was the reason I am lacking in photos at the moment is because
a) when I do get the chance to go outside I usually forget to take my camera with me ex. I went to the beach the weekend before last with two of my husband's aunts and wanted to take pictures/videos of the beautiful waves subhan'Allah...however I was extremely dismayed to find out that I had left my camera back at the appartment...wallahi I was so crushed :(
b) Casablanca is not a touristy city (unlike Marrakesh for example) except for around the beach/Hassan II Mosque...so I tend to stick out enough as it is (more like I tend to confuse people enough as it is...lol...I apparently get a lot of stares *says my husband, after wearing hijab and an abaya in the US I'm pretty much imune to staring at this point and don't notice when people are doing it*...I told him it's probably because people are trying to figure out if I'm Moroccan or not...people here tend to assume that either I'm from the north, around Tanger or Fes because people there apparantly tend to be lighter in complexion with light eyes or that I'm French...I even had the owner of a local bakery ask one of my husband's aunts when I was with her buying pastery if I was Moroccan...he was completely shocked to learn that I was American...alright enough with this giant tangent...lol) so I would stick out even more taking pictures of things that most people considere every-day. Needless to say, even though I always see things that would make beautiful pictures...I'm always shy/a bit afraid to snap photos.
Despite both of these things, insh'Allah I will try to take more photos because as I said, I really want everyone to see how beautiful this country is ^_^
So that's it for now, insh'Allah I'll be back soon with photos next time...and insh'Allah posting this time will work! GAH!
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!
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!
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