Holidays, pt 2

I am in Morocco now. It is totally crazy and I keep having moments where I can't believe I'm here.

I arrived Friday in Casablanca, squished on the train, and got into the city just before sunset. I found a spanish woman at the train station (or, rather, she approached me and asked me if I spoke English) and we split a cab to her hotel (luckily she was a good bargainer) and then I walked to my hostel. I think one of the craziest and most different things qbout Morocco is the driving--there are crosswalks and traffic lights in a few places, but for the most part they are ignored, and you just sort of have to find a local and stick with him or her as you weave through speading cars, bikes, and mopeds). We met back up and wandered around a little bit and then ate dinner, and then I went to bed early because I was EXHAUSTED.

Saturday I walked around the city a little more by myself, stopping to drink some mint tea, and then walked out the coast to the mosque, which was huge and amazing and beautiful (and also an oasis of calm in the chaos). I walked back towards the hostel and stopped at a random laterie where I got the young guy working to make me a cheese and egg sandwich for 4.6 dh (.46 eurocents). And then I engaged in my first successful bargaining and got a taxi to the train station for 12dh (the bus would have been way too chaotic).

Luckily, trains to Marrakesh come every hour or so, so I bought a ticket and only had 30 minutes to wait. The train was so completely packed, though, that I only barely managed to get on, and then spent the whole time standing or crouched on my pack in the hall between the door and the bathroom, with about 10 other people (two girls actually rode in the bathroom; luckily there was a draft from the open space between the steps and the door or else it would have been stifiling). I got to Marrakesh 3 hours later and managed to find a bus to my hostel, where I met up with Brook and her friend Chiarina, and we got a dorm room (it is 100dh a night per person, which includes breakfast AND dinner!), and then waited for Sara, the third member of our party.

Have to go now, more later!