Friends in Fes

So I have been here for 2 weeks already – time flies when you’re not doing much at all! It’s so nice to have a break from uni, I have been sleeping in until 10 or 11 every morning and then of course there is the mandatory siesta in the afternoon. I have read 5 books and watched a few movies, and spent hours sitting in cafes drinking fresh OJ and watching the world go by. 

That’s not to say that there hasn’t been any excitement – the last week has bought quite a few house guests! Firstly to Azia, the cutest kitten in the world… Karim is friends with a Canadian girl, Sarah, who is living here for a few months and she has adopted a street kitten. So when she was going away for a holiday, I was quick to volunteer to be the cat-sitter! Azia is maybe 4 or 5 weeks old, very uncoordinated and curious, with surprisingly sharp claws and teeth. And I love her! I’ve only got her for a few more days and I’m certainly going to miss her when she goes home to her real mummy. 

Knowing how much I have enjoyed having the kitten to play with, Karim somehow convinced me to get a 4-legged friend of my own – a pet tortoise! It’s definitely not as fun as a kitten, except when it plays hide and seek and I have to go searching under the couches to find it. For that reason I have named him Wally – as I constantly seem to be asking where he is. Azia and Wally are not friends, as much as I think they could be the next youtube sensation!

But it was the 2-legged variety of visitors that were the most exciting this week – Jay and Julia; friends from somers camp. They stayed with us for 3 days and it was great to catch up on their travels and share a bit of my Moroccan life with them. Jay and Karim bonded over soccer and Karim now has a soccer team in Australia to support (Melbourne Heart), while Julia and I bonded over pumpkin seeds. They were also able to enjoy Friday family couscous, which was demolished in record time! Unfortunately they had to head off yesterday to spain so they won’t be around for the wedding, but I have plenty more visitors arriving in the next few weeks to keep me busy!

And finally, we are very excited to announce that we have booked Karim’s plane ticket and insh’allah he will arrive in Melbourne on August 17, where a whole new world awaits him. But for the time being I am very happy to share his world for a few more weeks! 

 

Wally!

Azia and Wally

Azia

Me with some other kittens

peek-a-boo!

Double date!

Couscous - before

Couscous - after!

Celebrations all round!

Lots of things to celebrate in the last few days, so let’s start from the start. Firstly, I’m in Morocco again after a long 4 months! Karim came to meet me in Casa airport and we made our way back to Fes, my home away from home. Our apartment is really nice, in a great location and the bed isn’t even too hard! And most importantly, there is some couch space for friends to stay! It’s so great being back here with Karim, it’s almost as if I never left. 

The second thing to celebrate is the amazing weather! After missing 2 winters in a row, the weather in Melbourne was really getting me down, so I’m slowly being revived by the Fes sunshine! It’s not too hot either, and even quite cool at nights, although it’s set to get hotter in the next few weeks! With the sunshine comes the delicious fruit – cherries, watermelon and apricots have been my favourite so far, not to mention fresh orange juice every day!

The next thing to celebrate is our upcoming wedding, which we have been busy organising. And by we, I really mean Karim as he does all the work! I think most things are booked now, the venue, the bands, the photographer and the lady who will have my dresses. We have been helped a lot by a Karim’s chef friend who we went to visit last night at another wedding he was catering. This wedding was a little larger than ours will be, with around 600 guests invited, so I don’t think they noticed us 2 gatecrashers! It was all very grand with a red carpet entrance, stunning chandeliers and at least 4 different music groups, including a brass band! At 3am, we were the first ones to leave, so I hope the rest of the guests didn’t have to work or go to school today!

Celebration number 4 is my birthday – today! After last night, we slept most of the morning so it hasn’t been too eventful. My one request was to go to the supermarket so we will do that after lunch and then I think we will have a nice dinner somewhere in the medina. Then tomorrow we are going to see Bjork as part of the Fes world music festival. My second birthday here in Morocco and I wouldn’t wish to be anywhere else! 

The last and most important thing to celebrate is the one thing I have wanted more than anything else in the world. The other morning we received a phone call from the Australian embassy in Cairo notifying us that Karim’s visa has been granted!! I think I’m still in shock; I have to keep checking the acceptance email just in case I imagined it. I never allowed myself to think it would happen, and definitely not so soon. We were expecting at least another few months for a decision and even then there was a chance it would be refused. But after countless prayers and having our fingers and toes permanently crossed our dream has come true, Karim gets to come to Australia! At this stage it will be late August and I can’t wait for him to finally be a part of my Australian life!

That’s it from me for now, a very eventful few days! 

Me in our new apartment

The pool in our new apartment. I wish! A beautiful moroccan palace/restaurant with some traditional music

The food for the wedding

The bride and groom making their entrance

Kittens!

Phoebe and Karim - Thanks for the well thought out birthday surprise mum!