Hello family and friends!!
Masae lkhayr (good afternoon)! Today marks the Fes Fives first week in Fes and oh what a week its been! After a few days orientating ourselves in the city and the medina specifically, weve finally settled into our homestays. Its been such a wonderful experience so far! My family is this lovely older couple who are so caring towards eachother and guests (including me) and are always happy and smiling. However, their house is huge so there are always other family members around! Actually, Kelseys homestay family has been living here for a few days so much time has been spent with Kelseys mom and her 2 children. There is a 10 year old boy and a 6 year old girl and Im convinced they are the sweetest, smartest, and cutest children in the world.
There is no one moment in my homestay that stands out that has been amazing or life changing. Instead, the little moments have been special and memorable. I look forward to helping the kids with their French and English homework each night and in return recieving help with my arabic! Also there have been many random, unexpected moments that make life so much fun! Like Kelseys mom turning on some Moroccan music and us girls dancing in her room with the lights off! Or trying on a traditional dress robe after seeing a picture of a family member in the clothes! Or having lunch, couscous!!!!, with 10 family members all around a circular table and afterwards (trying) to play a game of cards! I feel completely at home with my family and Im having some of the best experiences of my life!
I cant finish this post without commenting on two things...
1) The amount of tea I drink every day! Theres a few cups in the morning, then one or two at... midmorning, lunch, after lunch, at tea time, before dinner, at dinner, after dinner with dessert and one before bed! Its crazy! Thank goodness Im a tea fanatic! (Dont worry mom Im also drinking water!!!)
2) There are cats everywhere here! Its pretty crazy! They are on street, in garbage, on streets, on roofs, on streets, in cafes and even restaraunts! They are not pets; however, when I walked into my homestay house what did I see but their pet cat! (They must be the only family in the medina with a pet cat!) They are following us! This cat mob is very bad for already cat obsessed people like Emanne and I!
Much love to everyone,
Gabriella