Say YES! To new adventures.

If I’m honest, I should have started this blog earlier (cough, 3 months ago, cough). But in the spirit of procrastinating students everywhere (don’t worry guys, I won’t let you down). I hope this blog will let me share my life here in Morocco, my ups and downs, and hopefully give you the much needed advice and knowledge I wish I had before I even dreamed of Morocco. Therefore, without further ado, here is the the first of many stories of my time studying abroad.

I arrived in Morocco with all the bravado of a drunk fresher at a seniors party (and all of the same knowledge of what on earth I was doing there too.) I can’t say much has changed since that first day, only that my cringe worthy Arabic has morphed and has become vaguely understandable (I hope) and my non-existent French has vastly improved, I can now confidently order my panini avec frites.

Morocco has been an adventure, and like all good stories, this jaunt in Al-Maghrib has had its share of ups and downs. From being serenaded by the neighborhood cats at 2.o0 am, to awkward interactions at the local grocery store, to just simply being able to laugh until my sides hurt. Morocco has been an experience I thoroughly enjoy and I hope that I can convey this to you, dear reader as best as I can.

One mantra I keep repeating in my head, everywhere I go, is that I must “Say YES! to new adventures.” Why else would I choose to come to this country, abandon my friends (and my degree) for the better part of year and continuously struggle to make myself understood in a country where I spoke neither of the two main languages?

“Say YES! to adventures”, I muttered to myself when I first landed, grouchy and sleep deprived as only an overnight flight can make you. Again. I repeated “Say YES!” when we were shuffled from queue to queue to in the airport, not quite certain which was the line for foreign, visa required, English speaking visitors. Once more, I affirmed “…to new adventures” when it was time for my dad to leave me to my own devices and actually start my year abroad.

Again and again, when the going’s gotten tough I remind myself, this is my adventure is it not? As the heroine of this adventure surely what ever the current problem is, surely, these annoyances make the best stories and the best life lessons, of which Morocco has aplenty.

So keep tuned and keep reading, this adventure isn’t even half way through.