Traveling Light, Feeling Alive ~ Brittany's Travel Blog: Welcome to Casa!

We made it!!

Greetings from Sunny Casablanca, where we just touched down and settled into our hotel rooms. Cathy and I left Washington D.C. at 4:15pm EST, arrived in France at 5:45am local time, left Charles de Gaulle airport at 7:15am, then arrived in Casa around 9:30am. After 15 hours of travel, needless to say, we were exhausted! However, all of that changed the minute we stepped outside of the airport. It was a beautiful, sunny day with a light breeze. Rows of palm trees met us as we walked towards our car. And the sounds of French, Arabic, cars, planes welcomed us to our home for the next 30 days.

Our 20-minute ride from the airport gave us an even bigger introduction into what our interactions would be like. Our driver, Hicham, was extremely friendly, and as soon as he discovered we had never been to Morocco, he was eager to explain everything we needed to know. 90% of our conversation was in French since Hicham was more comfortable speaking French and Arabic, and I was determined to begin speaking the language as soon as possible. Our questions ranged from how many people spoke or learned English (not many, since most students begin learning English around the age of 15) and what were the popular dishes we had to try (if we didn't try couscous or mint tea, it would be as though we were never in Morocco!), to debunking some of the myths and stereotypes we were confronted with about the culture (men and women equally enjoy the outdoor cafes). He even offered to take us on a 2-hour driving tour of the city, but we politely declined since we felt we needed a bit of rest. Perhaps later this month!

I will be back later this weekend to tell you more about our activities, but I wanted to encourage you to also check out our team blog, Mi Casa Su Casa, to find out more about the group's activities and thoughts. I'll also have a few pictures in a slideshow, but here are a few from the trip in the meantime: