Tomorrow I set off for two weeks in Rabat, Morocco, where I will work on my Arabic and study how French is spoken there. I've taken the plunge and decided that, even at my ripe old age of "25", I'll give a home stay a try. If you know me, you know I really like my personal space and that living in someone else's home as a "guest" for two weeks plus not speaking their language (Arabic) very well equals a potentially itchy situation. But it also may provide the richest language immersion, so here we go!
I have had a few concerns enter my mind as I prepare for this stay in Morocco. I'd like to document them so I can come back to them and see if I was right about any of them.
- Just how strange will the Moroccans think I am when they see my five-finger barefoot running shoes? I almost made a five-year-old stranger in Argentina fall over as he stared at my alien appendages. What's in store for Morocco?
- [Discretion advised:] Will I be able to ...purge bodily waste standing up? "Turkish toilets," "squatty-potties," whatever you call them, are still common in Morocco from what I've read. Here's to hoping the host family will have a western toilet with a seat so that I suffer no intestinal blockages.
- Will my life become, for two weeks, a Mad Lib? Will I hear everything said to me as, "Do you [VERB] a [SINGLE NOUN]?" "I [PAST TENSE VERB] a [NOUN] because you [PRESENT TENSE VERB]. Let's [VERB] to the [NOUN]."
Despite these nagging questions, I am almost packed and ready to Ma-rock-o and Roll!
Friday, March 08, 2013
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