I see white people!

Still haven’t been to the old part of the city, as I’m not really sure how to get there (or, more importantly, how to get back), but I did find the touristy shopping street in Guéliz (Hence the title). Haven’t really explored all that much, as I was dying of dehydration and sun stroke at the time, but I was still excited to see some familiar-ish looking things, like the Canadian flag (don’t know why), counterfeit designer bags and (unfortunately) MacDonald’s. 

Interesting new developments:

There is a sushi restaurant about a 20 min walk away from my place! Probably not a very good sushi restaurant, but sushi none the less.

There is a Vietnamese restaurant about a 10 min walk away from my place. Seems a little random, but no more so than a sushi restaurant. Now if I can just find an Indian restaurant, I’ll be good food-wise. Also, pizza. Real pizza though.

I found a shoe store, so I can buy new shoes that won’t mangle my feet. The only thing that’s weird is that in most of the stores (primarily selling junky tourist stuff but some cheap clothing places too) there don’t seem to be very many customers, or, ANY customers for that matter. Maybe that’s because we’re at the tail end of summer tourist season (although I can’t imagine what it’s like here in July) or because tourists spend more time in the medina (the older, “historical” part of the city), but it’s still a little weird how empty the stores are.

There is a movie theatre! From what I can tell, it plays Wolverine in French, and nothing else. It also doesn’t have any dates or times posted. Either Moroccans have some kind of telepathic connection with movie theatres or there’s a trick I have yet to learn. I’ll figure it out. Or I’ll find someone who knows and bug them until they tell me. The same goes for store opening and closing times. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of pattern or rule. I will investigate more.

I no longer flinch at the sight of dead animals. The dead kitten I saw today made me a little sad, but not as queasy as it would have a couple of days ago.

I am developing a fear of dogs. Those motherfuckers are scary. Also, nothing like the “dogs” I’ve encountered before. I have come to the conclusion that the animals that we, in the US, consider to be dogs are actually very large, particular dumb cats or possibly children in disguise (RIP Lulu). Real dogs have multiple rows of teeth like sharks and can give you rabies by just looking at you. Do. Not. Touch.

I have to fight the urge to take home the cats I see on the street. They probably wouldn’t appreciate my attempts to save them, and my landlord definitely wouldn’t appreciate the fleas. (But they’re so cute and I need a cuddly little friend and there’s an adorable little ginger cat on my street and I would name him Hobbes and love him forever [said quickly in a high pitched girly voice]).

Things that have stayed the same:

My internet dies for a couple of hours every day. Usually at the most inconvenient moment possible, like right before leaving when I want to consult a map (or right after returning and wanting to consult a map as I may have a vague idea of where I am now, even though Google maps doesn’t), right before a Skype date I’ve been looking forward to all day or in the middle of a conversation with my mother, who assumes that some kind of violent abduction scenario is the reason for my abrupt departure. This is irritating and probably not fixable. I anticipate it being a problem for future attempts at lesson planning, given that the internet blackout is always in the evening.

Marrakech is roughly the same temperature as the surface of the sun. I don’t anticipate this changing in the near future.

I still have no friends.

I caused ANOTHER car accident today. The guy actually looked injured this time. Not severely, but you never know, internal bleeding and whatnot. Once again, he turned around on his MOVING motorcycle in the middle of a BUSY INTERSECTION to continue staring at me and got side swiped by a car, which threw him off his bike. I have no sympathy. I doubt he learned anything from the experience. I will never get used to the constant catcalls and honking cars and being followed on foot or on motorcycle or by car. I know it’s cultural and something I’m “going to have to get used to” but I really hate feeling like I’m under a microscope all the time. I already feel awkward and sweaty and out of place, being constantly singled out doesn’t make it better. Do they really have nothing better to do than leer at me? I know I’m white and have cool hair, but I’m really not that big of a deal. Get over it.

That is all for now.