!اهلاً و سهلاً أصدقائي و عائلتي

This is my blog for my semester abroad in Rabat, Morocco studying at the College of Letters and Humanities at Mohammed V University – Agdal in partnership with AMIDEAST. I'm studying Middle East and North African studies, Arabic, and bad puns about old Nickelodeon shows.
David the Explorer

David the Explorer

Do Azrou please.

These past two weekends have been a whirlwind of travel, so apologies for the lack of updates. I have pictures and stories for you from Casablanca, Fez, Meknes, Azrou, and Ifrane, all of which are very, very different areas in Morocco. In fact, it was remarkable how I could go from having a snowball fight to playing with monkeys to sitting on Roman ruins all in one day. But that’s Morocco for you.

About ten days ago, I went to Casablanca with a large group of friends from my program on an unofficial adventure. We took the train there–it’s only an hour away and only thirty dirhams, so the whole process is pretty easy. We did the first logical thing to do once we arrived, which was to go to Pizza Hut. I would describe the cheese-filled crust and the ceremonious conclusion of my pepperoni abstemiousness in detail, but you would probably be _____________. (Off-screen, David the Explorer shouts, Disturbed! Disgusted! Ashamed! in Spanish.)

February 16, 2012 5 comments Read More
Men In Briefs: The Series

Men In Briefs: The Series


Morocco’s been more or less the same since I last checked in. Darija has been getting slightly easier; I keep thanking my lucky stars that simple pop songs like “Gimme More” exist so my friends and I here can keep practicing the new words we learn (“Oh na na, wesh smitee?”).

I’ll start off and diffuse any titular mystery: I went to the hammam this past weekend. For those who aren’t familiar, the hammam is a sort of a bathhouse/spa that is incredibly important to Arab and Turkish culture. Eliot’s and my host brother, Marwane took us there this past Sunday.

But first we went to get Marwane’s hair cut. The process took about two hours in a tiny room filled with men chatting. Though a mundane detail, I thought it sort of symbolized most of Moroccan life: schedules are less important, things take more time; instead of stressing, people go somewhere and relax and enjoy their company. Marwane left pink and zween from his beard being threaded, but little did I know how zween we were actually about to be.

February 2, 2012 0 comments Read More
“A” Ventura: Rabat Detective

“A” Ventura: Rabat Detective

I accidentally told my mom she was an incredible kitchen instead of an incredible cook.

Everything’s been going well here. Except for the fact that it gets really cold at night (the buildings are designed to keep the cold in which apparently is a blessing during the summer). Thankfully, I have a questionably sheepskin blanket and traditional Moroccan slippers called babouche that are emblazoned with two sabres. Day to day, I’ve been getting into my groove, doing Arabic and English tongue twisters with Latifa, and teaching my family about crockpots.

And in accordance with this article’s aspired accomplishments as well as to assure this assignment’s avid and ardent analysis with an adept, arranged, and allocated ambiance all while avoiding appearing abecedarian, I have adjudged that this assay will abide as an amalgamation of affilate affairs alone (and ancillary addendum), all anteceded by an A.

January 25, 2012 2 comments Read More
Hey Agdal!

Hey Agdal!

At last. Time to sit down and write. The past week I’ve been in Morocco has been non-stop sensory overload. I’m talking thing-after-thing-after-bread-after-thing-after-exhaustion-after-Arabic-after-being-touristy-after thing. There’s a lot to write about and a lot to tell you all, but there’s not a lot of internet nor is there a lot of time, so let’s see how this goes.

Like a brothel but with more women!

Arrival

This was my least favorite part of the trip so far. I arrived at the airport, disheveled and filled with Swiss eggplant parmesan, to find another student on my program named Sarah who is very funny and reminds me of my friend Rena. That was comforting, but after being driven by a man bearing only a sign reading AMIDEAST and speaking in what I can only describe as parseltongue, we were deposited at a hotel. And I don’t mean just dropped off. I mean straight up deposited. As in no communication with anyone save our roommates until programming the next day… programming which took place at AMIDEAST’s location in Agdal, which we had to get to ourselves. Somehow. After this culture shock and fending for ourselves, I slowly began meeting everyone (all twenty!) and beginning orientation week. I could describe the latter more in detail, but most of it was exhausting and exhaustive programming. Let’s just say I’m excited for classes to start. But more on that later.

January 21, 2012 2 comments Read More
Aaahh!!! Israel Monsters

Aaahh!!! Israel Monsters

Tufts champions Mount Masada!

Right now I’m in Emma’s cousin, Rebecca’s kibbutz in Akko, Israel—we’re waiting for a taxi to come pick us up, as we forgot that trains don’t run on the Sabbath and we have to be at Ben Gurion Airport at 3 AM for our flights. Impending doom, stressed packing, and Emma’s snoring aside, I thought this would be a nice time to write a blog post.

After Shabbat, something happened in our group where everyone started getting closer and closer. People started becoming acclimated to Israel’s many climates and used to using the bus as a Holiday Inn. Israel and travel started clicking, and after that hurdle things became even better and better. People started becoming really good friends.

Much like Abraham, we needed a way to represent this newfound covenant, and the lowest place on Earth is as good a place as Mount Sinai in my opinion. That morning, we had come from Har Hertzl where I complained of frostbite in a sweatshirt and a jacket, and that afternoon we were at Mineral Beach in bathing suits ready to swim. Israel baffles me.

January 14, 2012 2 comments Read More
Legends of the Second Temple

Legends of the Second Temple

Hello. My name is David Schwartz, and I’ve been Internet sober for six days.

In other words, I landed safely here almost a week ago. So far, I’ve stayed in two kibbutzim, including the oldest one in Israel/the world; in a Sephardic center in Golan Heights; and a hotel in Jerusalem. We’re in the holy city now and leave tomorrow to float in the Dead Sea and stay in Ein Gedi AYHA. Whatever that means.

"Welcome back!" everyone tells us.

After a literal day of traveling including beautiful Swedish stewardesses and no REM cycles, we arrived in Israel. I’m here with around 40 kids, most of whom are from Boston University. Now, we also have eight Israeli soldiers traveling with us. Everyone on the trip is great, but I’ll give some character breakdowns later. (Click “Read More”)

January 10, 2012 3 comments Read More
David Explains It All

David Explains It All

Melissa Joan Hart from Clarissa Explains It All

The trendy star of Clarissa Explains It All

Similar to my hazy memory of the hit teen sitcom, I am relatively in the dark about what will be happening once I board a plane at 5 PM this coming Sunday. Sure, my Birthright coordinators have done an excellent job sending me extensive e-mails highlighting the importance of purchasing a fanny pack/money belt combination and listing all of the cool places we’ll be visiting. It’s just a lot to take in. I have absolutely no idea how these two experiences—Israel, let alone Morocco, especially being back-to-back—will be. But my philosophy is that if Melissa Joan Hart as Clarissa Darling could survive and thrive from middle school all the way to high school, I can survive and thrive in Israel and beyond. Right?

I leave the first day of 2012. Sunday morning, my mother will be driving my brother and me to New York City, where I will be deposited at JFK in an attempt to find my Birthright group. I will be without a phone and am expecting most things to go wrong. But that makes it more exciting. Then, I will board a plane for six hours, have a quick layover, and hop back in the air only to land four hours later in Ben Gurion Airport, ready for Jewish adventures. (Click “Read More”)

December 31, 2011 6 comments Read More