So, the internet man came and fixed the internet. Good times.

Last night is something I don’t want to repeat in a hurry. I’m not a big drinker as it is, and since I’ve been here, I’ve been totally dry. I don’t see why I should drink really, since it’s forbidden for Muslims to drink and so it just hardly enters into the culture here.

I was persuaded to drink. Heavily. Firstly was a lovely birthday party, with some great bits. Then we moved on to another house to continue, only with alcohol. We started to play drinking games, which can only be expressed as a downward spiral of doom when it comes to lightweights of the drinking world. I was incredibly inebriated by the end. And this morning I was hardly better. Thankfully I had two lovely ladies to help me through it, with an amazing Hammam visit which has left me exhausted, and then a lovely tea at the swishest café in Fes, La Villa.

Now I am going to rest, and try and be less hungover. Once there are photos of the party, they will be here. There were some good moments.

You know how a week or so ago the internet at home crashed out? Well that has happened again. Only this time, my handy internet-fixing BMB is not going to be back until next Monday night, earliest.

This has ruined my life.

That sounds dramatic, but it has got to the point where I can’t stand being here any more. That is not to say that I am homesick. I just don’t want to be here. It is so much mental and emotional effort to always be happy in front of the family, and to come out with comprehensible Arabic and French. And I am worried about two someones who are important in my life, one who is having a tough time, and one who is quite ill. I wish I could be home for them.

This pleases me however. It’s on a loop, so don’t expect anything more to happen.

Also, internet being down, I can’t talk to those important people. Or blog. So I’m sat at school, doing those two things, and school is again, the last place I want to be. Don’t worry though, I’ll perk up, because I am a person made mostly of sunshine. S’all good.

Did anyone sing that hymn when they were at school? I thought about it today. The words go like this

I am having a down day.

If you’re writing me a post of condolence or an email to cheer me up, stop right there. Have you stopped? Good. Then I will explain.

Down days are not a bad thing. Not for me anyway. I consider them a chance to re-evaluate where I am in my life, because they normally start with me dropping to absolute zero. My down day started at about 3pm, after we got back from Lina’s naming. I realised that I had lied to Halima and Aziz so that I didn’t have to talk to our new (and very nice) maid, Houriya. I had told them I had a load of homework, when in fact I only had one piece.

Then I realised something else. I have five tests next week. That is enought to get anyone down. Then after that it just became a spiral ending in me wanting to drop out of my course and go home to lovely snowy England and huddle in a little cushioned ball in a corner somewhere and just be warm and not think about things. When I feel like that, then I have hit bottom,

What that means is that there is only one way to go, and that’s up. So deal with the little things, like getting my homework out of the way (done), do some test revision (done), get a shower in (done), and explain to my amazing Moroccan family why I am having so much trouble speaking Arabic, after having been here for a whole 3 months. The truth of it is that I love my degree and I love the Arabic language. But I’m a slow learner and I have no self confidence. Trying to force me to speak isn’t going to help me right now. But give me some time to get back on the horse. And then I’ll talk you to death.

On the seventh day after a baby is born, they are named at a special naming ceremony. I attended such a ceremony this morning. There was yet more sheep-killing. I feel like it’s a little unnecessary but refuse to question  it on the basis that the rest of the ceremony was exciting and fun (if a little scary).

There was much kissing and greeting to start with, and then we headed down for the sheep-killing bit. It was fairly uneventful except for much singing of the amazing Islamic prayer the women sing. It is wonderful, but I have no idea what it is called or if I could find it online to show you. It’s an experience to watch the women sing though, really amazing. Baby wasn’t phased at all, which is also good. Then we had a huge and wonderful breakfast of everything (Moroccan) that you can possibly imagine.

There is not much to say about the rest. Everyone chatted and talked, and I listened and enjoyed myself. I’m getting much better at understanding Arabic, if not speaking it. My issue I think is that I just can’t call words to mind quickly enough to have a decent conversation. I wish we were prompted to speak more in class, but that’s life.

Now I have homework to do (which explains this post of absolute procrastination). Hope you’ve all had a nice weekend, bring on Monday!

Morning. If you don’t understand the title then you belong in one of three categories.

a) You don’t know me.
b) You don’t know me well enough to know what today is.
c) You know me, but you forgot that today is my birthday.

Don’t worry, I forgive you. I didn’t exactly make a song and dance about it. I’m a big fan of birthdays, but I dislike being the centre of attention just because today was the day where I chose to push my little way into the real world (except I didn’t, but more on that later). Anyway, as a general celebration, I have decided that you can have three posts today in which to get to know me.

THE BODY


So lets start with some random physical information you might not have known about me.

– I was born by caesarian section, which means I didn’t choose to push my way out. I was born by caesarian because like the intelligent young lady I am, I decided to have my head up rather than the conventional down.

– I have a scar on the second toe of my left foot. I got it when I managed to scrape said toe on a rusty gate. It bled loads, but I never realised it had scarred until about a year later. Don’t pay much attention to my toes.

– I really dislike my belly, but my favourite part of my body is my lower back. Clearly I’m a fan of opposites. I think my belly is too chubby.

– I am 5’4″ which makes me just taller than ‘petite’ size. Until last year I thought I was 5’3″ which would have made me the second shortest person in my family.

– I don’t have any allergies, but when I eat certain things I get an itching sensation on my nose, a little bit like I have walked through a spiders web. It’s weird.

– Everyone says I look like my Mum, but I think I look much more like my brother, who in turn is told he looks like his Dad. I think we can conclude that we’re both a mix.

– I sleep on either my back or whatever side is facing away from the wall (or the other person, if I’m sharing a bed). I have no idea why though I’m sure there is some medical explanation.

So there is your first insight into me. Interesting times. Have a Happy UnBirthday everyone, until later when you can hear about some other stuff relating to me.