Farewell Fes!

It is with much sadness that I am writing this blog – what will possibly be my last entry ever, or at least for a long time. On Sunday morning I will be saying goodbye to Morocco and going home. I can’t believe how fast these 6 months have gone, but looking back so much has happened, so I thought I would take a bit of time to reflect on my time here...

For those who don’t know, I was meant to be going to Uni this year to do my Dip Ed. For almost a week I struggled with the decision I had to make – go to Uni or go to Morocco. I can now unequivocally say I made the right choice! My life has completely changed in these last 6 months, it’s strange to think where I would be if I had taken the other path. 

For one, I wouldn’t have a husband! We started these 6 months as boyfriend and girlfriend, but with a relationship founded mostly on Skype. We had never even spent a month together at one time! So to have these 6 months together has been incredible. I didn’t exactly expect to return home a married woman, but even at the start it was clear we had something special and I couldn’t be happier that things have turned out the way they have. I’ve also had lots of time to get to know Karim’s family, and Karim was able to meet most of my family when they visited earlier in the year. So I guess getting married was definitely the highlight of the trip! Now we just have to wait a few more months and insh’allah we will be able to enjoy married life together in Australia! 

Aside from Karim, there have been a lot of other great things about spending this time in Morocco. I understand a lot more about the country, about the culture, about Islam. I’ve participated in Ramadan and have celebrated both Eids with Karim and his family. I’ve met a lot of lovely people; the generosity and hospitality of Moroccans is second to none. I went to a music festival, a cherry festival, and have been to birthday parties, a circumcision party and a wedding. I can find my way (to some extent) around Fes, although most of the medina remains a mystery! I have also travelled to parts of Morocco I have never been before. And even though I didn’t learn as much Arabic as I expected, compared to when I first came it has improved 10 fold! 

In short, I have fallen in love with this country, and Fes especially. So I have compiled a list of things I’m going to miss.

-          The colours, sounds, and spices

-          The perfect summer weather

-          The beautiful buildings, fountains, and handicrafts

-          Mint tea and pumpkin seeds

-          The cheap, fresh, abundant fruit. Especially pomegranates!

-          Kittens!

-          The cafe culture and relaxed way of life

-          Fresh orange juice and honey pancakes

-          The prices – most things are so cheap!

-          The Moroccan food – I’m still not sick of it despite what I originally thought!

-          People watching

-          Roof terraces

-          Hypermarches

-          Watching my football team Barcelona on TV every time they play

-          Eating with my hands and not having to worry about table manners

-          But mostly the people. Not only Karim and his family, but all the lovely people I have met along the way. 

Of course, things haven’t always been pomegranates and kittens! There were times when I hated everything to do with this country (mostly to do with all the paperwork), and more than once I have been reduced to tears in anger and frustration. There were times at the start when I was quite homesick; I especially missed my friends back at home. Not knowing the language it was hard to make friends here, and often Karim would be the only person I would speak to all day. I also had to give up a lot of my independence. So there are definitely things I am looking forward to;

-          My soft bed, with soft pillows and soft couches

-          Perfectly flushing toilets with abundant toilet paper

-          Reliable hot water throughout the house

-          Having a washing machine, oven, microwave

-          My dog and dogs in general!

-          Not getting harassed walking down the street

-          Vegemite toast and bacon and ham and all things pig!

-          The variety of food – Vietnamese, Indian, anything that isn’t Moroccan every day

-          Cider

-          Not getting ripped off

-          Not having to pay bribes to get things done

-          Recycling and public bins

-          Driving my car

-          Being able to understand what people say

-          Privacy

-          Not having to wear conservative clothes all the time

-          And of course seeing all my lovely friends and family again!

So there you have it. 6 months of life in Morocco. I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye, and its especially hard seeing as I probably won’t be back until mid next year. But I am returning home with a lot of wonderful memories and a task accomplished; I came here looking for love and pomegranates and found both in abundance! 

A view over the Fes medina

Dusk in Fes

Beautiful details

Tiles

Even the doors are pretty!

Pomegranates - my number 2 love

Karim - my number 1 love!