First week of Darija

This was the first week of Darija, which is the Moroccan Arabic dialect. Every Arabic country has their own unique dialect of Arabic and the one in Morocco is called Darija. The specific dialects usually share many words with each other and are very similar to Modern Standard Arabic, which is kind of a common dialect that all the languages share. Each dialect has its own specific words though, which can be created in the culture, borrowed from other native cultures or in the case of Morocco borrowed from conquerors. France occupied Morocco for a number of years and left their mark by leaving their language. We spend most of the morning learning Darija and then spend the rest of the day in lectures usually. The days have pretty normalized now and I have kind of fallen into a routine. I'll try to go for a run early in the morning while it's not to ungodly hot. Then in the evening I'll either wander around the souk and medina or around other parts of the city with some friends. Go home and try to do some homework, but the family always wants to hang out. Hanging out usually consists of watching TV, so homework doesn't always get done. No biggie though, I'm here to learn Arabic and in this kind of situation that doesn't really mean doing homework. The one thing I might complain about is the food, my stomach really hasn't adjusted to the ethnic Moroccan food yet. The family also kind of forces food on you "Kuli, Kuli; eat, eat"! Now as many of you know it is a rare time when I turn down food, but the plethora of grease and oils isn't the most appetizing thing. There is bread with every meal too, there has to be since there is no silverware and you use the bread to eat. Overall I have been having a great time though and am really relaxed. This is damn near a vacation and the little paranoia I had at the beginning has disappeared. It is kind of a trip hanging out with all these 'kids' though since I am 6-8 years older than most of them. Here are some pictures of the latest and greatest adventures.

Partying at the El Palatino club. There really is alcohol here and young Moroccans like to drink it for sure, as do American students

The center courtyard of my temporary home