nikhita

The past is taught by those who win
What matters is what hasn't been
We're wide awake and we're thinking
Believe your thoughts can mean something

Morocco. What images come to your head when someone mentions that country? Perhaps camels, mosques, arid land, and women in jilbaab..It's an intense culture shock visitng, seeing the children on the street not asking for money, just food, realising just how much people take advantage of you because you look different to them, realising what the western world actually means.

It rained the entire day we were in Marrakech, we got horribly lost in the medina and even my sense of "we need to be walking in vaguely this direction" couldnt get us out of the small back alleys and hordes of staring locals..we got befriended by an 8 year old girl who was an orphan and who could speak a smattering of 4 languages already, we got lead around by a crazy man who took us to a tannery where they delighted in showing us how they cured leather with pigeon poo and lime...and the carcasses of the dead animals which made me retch and cry..needless to say we didnt give him any money...we met some dutch girls just as we were getting washed away on the road that turned into a river and they very nicely helped lead us back to the central square..where we sat for 4 hours in a cafe speaking bad french to the waiters and trying to get warm...

I'm in love with the ordinary

In general though, people were really nice, I got us lost on the first night in casablanca because the map the hotel gave us didnt have all the roads on it..but some nice guys took pity on my bad french and showed us the way home..We finally found a decent map on sunday and had a good day in Casablanca seeing the mosque, the new medina (we walked through the old one a few times and it's a maze, one which even scared me a little), finding small cafe's to eat in and realising that no matter where they are in the world, the spanish will still not work on a sunday...

This is where our dilligence has lead, the waves roll in to claim our patient steps, can we become more than just ourselves...leave the sand, our want, our will, our doubt..

And now I'm home, and sick...the lack of decent sleep and the stress of being the organised and responsible one three weekends in a row, plus driving over 600km for two weekends, has finally caught up with me...I have almost finished all of my tonnes of work, I have a presentation and translation exam on friday, an essay due in god knows when, my french travail de langue to hand in and two weeks to go before the end of term...this is the longest year i have ever spent in school whilst trying to juggle a life and i need a break. So in august i may go away for two weeks to france to visit one of my best friends and chill out. I'll ask when i see her in about 5 weeks time.

And now pictures: First off my birthday day of animal goodness

And Morocco:

The city has my witness
I am who I want to be
But you could be anything