Aid Al Fitr (The First day after Ramadan)

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000180 EndHTML:0000006989 StartFragment:0000002370 EndFragment:0000006953 SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/jorgeportillo/Documents/blog%20posts.doc

This day (slash weekend) deserves it’s own post. So much to say! (pictures to follow…hopefully)

So Thursday was the last day of Ramadan, but no one knows until the night when they look for the moon.  If the cresent is seen that means Ramadan is over.  During ftour on thrusday night an announcement came on the TV, which is essentially never off, saying that Ramadan was over! 

For ftour that night we had typical ftour food AND dinner all at once, because, accordning to my host mom, I don’t eat anything and I’m never there for dinner, So basically a lot of food was eaten.

Some friends came over after ftour/diinner (mine not theirs) and we all went to get henna done. 

Got it on one foot, and one hand.  It was an all night affair since six of us got it.  It was expensive (according to my host family) but worth it.

Then walked around with my friends, barefoot at first so as not to mess up our henna….so grimy.

Went to hear live music at McDonalds, yes that’s right, live music at McDonalds.

Friday morning, woke up to a breakfast of multiple types of cookies, bread, jam, honey, and tea.  After my mom made me drink an entire teapot of the sweetest mint tea I have ever had I walked around with my littlest host sister.  She took me on a “tour” of Rabat, I bought her a $6 ice cream (which is REALLY expensive here) and we ran through the streets.  Back home where of course MORE food was waiting for us (this time couscous with vegetables, which I keenly observed were not cooked with meat YAHOO).

Then I packed up my stuff and went to meet friends for our evening getaway to a town called Haroura, where a girl in my program had booked a house for us to spend the night.

Unfortunately the house was only for 16 people and thirty people came so there was a little drama and a lot of uncomfortableness but luckily people found another house and everyone got to stay.

The house overlooked the water and it was so nice to be in a place and only speak in English.  Unfortunately since it was a holiday almost everything was closed and it was really difficult to get food and impossible to get alcohol, which was a part of the point of going away (and there were real showers).

We did manage to get hash though and I smoked my first joint of hasish in Morocco! It was awesome.

We all watched Titanic 2 on someone’s computer (which I suggest NEVER watching) and then to bed.  Woke up this morning and explored the rocks a little, then took a bus back to Rabat.  From Rabat we took a taxi to Agdal, a more modern part/suburb of Rabat,  to try to a place to eat…..got a “salad” that would have been good had it not been covered in a weird milky dressing and actually consisted of lettuce.

Then I went to the Hassan Tour, which is an old Mosque that was never finished and is beautiful in it’s incompleteness.  We (Anna, Drew, Adelaide, Jonah and I) then decided that it was time for an afternoon cocktail so we went to a ritzy hotel, sat on the rooftop terrace by the pool and ordered our first alcoholic beverages in Morocco, which went straight to our heads….success.

After finishing our drinks we grudgingly walked slowly to our respective homes where English is not spoken, and alcohol is not okay.

I, of course, was met with a table of cookies, bread and tea……I really hope that was diinner and not just an early evening snack.

Tonight I’m going to see a jet ski competition (which is apparently a really big deal here)