Rabat!

This place is great.

When we got to the house last  night, we found our assigned rooms, and I have about 7 roommates in this large, spacious room with bunk beds that opens out onto a balcony which will be perfect for yoga (three of us have our yoga mats with us!). The house is in an upper-class neighborhood where a bunch of diplomats live, and it is quite large with a beautiful garden out back. After exploring the house a bit, we had dinner--tangines for meat-eaters and lots of vegetables for veggies. The olives are amazing!!

Today has been very busy. After breakfast, we had an orientation, where we met all the staff, and where we learned about house rules and some stuff about going around in the city, which is pretty safe. We took a short walk to a shopping area (where I think we will go tonight for a glass of wine), and walking through the neighborhood, you can see beautiful houses (FB picture shows one) behind walls and gates, where the diplomats live. The walk was just to kind of orient ourselves to the neighborhood, and then we had lunch, and then we had orientation for our volunteer placements. I am going to be working at the children's hospital, and my duties will be: play. That's it. The kids just need someone to play with them. I will be good at that!!

Some of us went to the medina later, which is the old city surrounded by walls (and having no cars). It's all about shopping!! Rows and rows of shops and goods down these narrow brick lanes, and selling shoes, purses, clothes, teapots, pouffes (made out of camel leather!), spices, and et cetera. So many wonderful things! On our way out, we stopped at this table where a man was selling sweets, and I bought  some chocolate-sticky-nutty concoction (5 durhams worth). Soooo good.

More tomorrow--volunteer placements start at 9am!