We are really happy with our neighborhood where we live: it's easy to walk to everything we need (grocery store, restaurants, green spaces, the tram) since we don't have a car. It's downtown, near tons of great things to see and the old market where we can explore and buy stuff for the house.
And we're also enjoying getting to know our neighbors in the apartment complex. Everyone has been so kind to us in the coming and goings in the stairwell.
And yesterday a couple of neighbors stopped by and chatted with us over tea. One is a nursing student and the other works in the media sector. It is lovely getting to know them and we look forward to much more time spent in each other's homes.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
When inside is colder than outside
Rabat has a wonderfully mild climate - highs in the 60s in the winter (though this winter has been chillier than usual) and highs in the 80s in the summer. Yesterday was GORGEOUS jeans and tshirt weather with beautiful blue skies.
More than getting really cold in winter, Rabat (and Morocco) gets rainy. Not a huge deal, just need some rain-worthy shoes and a little more time for the clothes to dry out on the line.
The trick is this: we can see our breathe inside our apartment.
It's always colder inside than outside. Yesterday, I wore a jeans and tshirt outside, but inside I needed a fleece. Also, there is no indoor heating mechanisms in homes here. Space heaters are all we got.
For those of us who never used heat at home, it's fine!! I'm used to wearing my coat to bed :)
Cory is not much into wearing his coat to bed and has searched out all the warmest blankets he could find. He found some incredible ones. And we got a space heater.
But it wasn't quite cutting it. Cory was still cold.
UNTIL
A friend gave us an electric blanket.
This magical gift has made our bed a warm place to sleep at night and and we are no longer fighting each other for blankets in our sleep. Hurray! Thank you Shin Hyun!
More than getting really cold in winter, Rabat (and Morocco) gets rainy. Not a huge deal, just need some rain-worthy shoes and a little more time for the clothes to dry out on the line.
The trick is this: we can see our breathe inside our apartment.
It's always colder inside than outside. Yesterday, I wore a jeans and tshirt outside, but inside I needed a fleece. Also, there is no indoor heating mechanisms in homes here. Space heaters are all we got.
For those of us who never used heat at home, it's fine!! I'm used to wearing my coat to bed :)
Cory is not much into wearing his coat to bed and has searched out all the warmest blankets he could find. He found some incredible ones. And we got a space heater.
But it wasn't quite cutting it. Cory was still cold.
UNTIL
A friend gave us an electric blanket.
This magical gift has made our bed a warm place to sleep at night and and we are no longer fighting each other for blankets in our sleep. Hurray! Thank you Shin Hyun!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Getting it Right
I love my dry goods grocer. He has been unfailingly kind to Sarah and me and extremely patient when I'm trying to remember what I need for the house or kitchen and trying to tell him in Tamazight. This story made me love him even more:
I was getting near the end of my long list of groceries for making a meal for guests. If it's just Sarah and me I don't get too fancy. But for guests, we roll out the culinary red carpet. So I was getting to the end of the list, and he suggested that maybe I wanted a couple baguettes too. I said something like, no thanks, those are not the bread of my people. And I could tell from his face that something finally clicked for him. He blurted out, you're from America, not France. You speak Arabic and Tamazight, but not French. You don't eat the French food. It's like, you're a foreigner, but you're not French!!! Exactly.
I was getting near the end of my long list of groceries for making a meal for guests. If it's just Sarah and me I don't get too fancy. But for guests, we roll out the culinary red carpet. So I was getting to the end of the list, and he suggested that maybe I wanted a couple baguettes too. I said something like, no thanks, those are not the bread of my people. And I could tell from his face that something finally clicked for him. He blurted out, you're from America, not France. You speak Arabic and Tamazight, but not French. You don't eat the French food. It's like, you're a foreigner, but you're not French!!! Exactly.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Our first visitors
This cute couple is coming to visit tomorrow!
Makes sense that they're arriving on Three Kings Day ... Coming from afar to bless us with their presence :)
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