Rain or Shine

Before I came to Morocco, I was warned: be prepared for the winter, you will be cold. Thinking of myself as a hardy Michigander, I laughed off their warnings. I thought: how could 40 degrees feel cold to a girl who has survived sixteen Midwestern winters?

Well, I thought wrong.

I have never been so cold as I have been this winter. Winter in Rabat really isn't that terrible, temperature wise. The coldest it's been is about 40 degrees. But indoor heating is non existent, and my host family often opens all the windows in the apartment during the day. I find myself coldest when I'm sitting at home, so I've learned to bundle up in multiple pairs of pants and the fleece bonnet my host mom gave me (we have matching fleece bonnets). I warm up immediately when I go outside, due to the intensity of the sun.

The sun here is bright. But when it isn't beaming its rays onto everything in its path, the rain is there instead. I can't count the number of days I've showed up at school, soaking wet, after forgetting my umbrella. I do enjoy rainy days when I remember to wear my rain boots/umbrella. It seems that (in general) Moroccans love the rain. Most Moroccans, including those living in cities, have ties the countryside, where rain is life. Whenever we discuss the rain, my host mom thanks Allah for the rain, and tells me how happy she is that it's raining. It didn't rain that much during my first months here, but now it rains frequently.

It's going to start getting warm again before I know it, and instead of shivering under piles of blankets each night, I'll have the windows wide open. I'm looking forward to swimming in the ocean, because I've yet to do so in Morocco. My regular route does not take me by the ocean here, but lately, I've been walking a different way to the Medina, and this new path allows me to see the stunning sea. Though the ocean is only a few blocks from my house, it's easy to forget that it's even there at times. I don't want to neglect the beauty of the ocean, and the time I have to live so close to this huge body of water, so I'm glad that I've been getting more glimpses of it lately.

river to the sea 

One thing I do miss about my home in Michigan-- trees and green space!  There are trees here, but in much smaller numbers. When I return, I will appreciate clean green space in general--whether the trees on my street, the nature preserve, or the smell of a freshly cut lawn. The sky, no matter where I am, inspires me.  I marvel at the sky in Michigan, and I marvel at it in Rabat. It's the same sky, but I'm looking up at it from two very different places, both of which I am lucky to call home.