I have finally made it to Hotel Mercure in Rabat with the Fulbright group. The journey was long but surprisingly not too stressful from Portland to Casablanca. I was the first to pick my bag off the luggage belt and passed through customs without hassle. A large tourist bus was waiting with our extremely accommodating director at the airport and after about an hour and a half though some very dry-looking countryside we arrived in Rabat.
It has already been a long day: though it is still Ramadan here in Morocco, the hotel restaurant prepared us lunch (nothing to write home about, but still very satisfying after a day of travel), we signed more documents, were taken to the cell phone store where I dropped the equivalent of $35 on a nicer model than one I have at home, and went on a walking tour of Rabat.
I’ll be in Rabat until Thursday, listening to lectures and ironing out more details. Then I’ll be dropped off with the rest of the Fulbright researchers in Fez where I’ll meet my host family and start up
It is hot here in Rabat and humid too, and have been sweating through my conservative clothing, but other than that, I must say so far, so good.
lauramcadams.com 
Sounds great. Papa and I were watching your plane on a website. We are glad that you made it ok. Can’t wait to see the videos. Ramadan…great way to pig out at night. I bet you’re excited for that! Drink some mint tea to feel snazzi with a hijab (sp?). And…please get a video of the call to prayer. Does it sound different from Egypt?
Hi Amy,
I promise to get a great video of the call to prayer soon. In the right time at the right place, it still takes my breath away. The muezzin, or man who recites the call to prayer, recites the exact same lines here in Morocco as a muezzin would in Egypt, or any country where there is the call to prayer. (Although technically, there is a small difference between the Shia and Sunni versions.) As for the hijab, I won’t be wearing it. The hijab is a complex issue: it is more than just a headscarf. It can be a religious, cultural, and/or political symbol and each woman who wears the hijab has her own reasons for it. Since I don’t have any reason to wear it, I won’t even go there.
Yay Laurs!! You’re there! Excite!
Janelle and Aunt Suzanne say Hi! We hope all goes well and will be thinking of you every day!