Scavenger Hunt

Day Three

            This whole time thing really isn’t working out for me. Today I woke up to the sunlight, and realized all too quickly that it was two minutes to 9, when we were supposed to meet. Silly me, I forgot that my phone is set on 24-hour time!

            Even so, after showering and walking over to the auditorium, I still got there right as everything was starting. Just this once, the Moroccan sense of time has worked in my favor.

            We had a chance to see the campus in daylight a bit more today. There are tiny blue butterflies everywhere, and the campus is populated by white, heron-like birds and calico cats that lounge lazily on ledges and steps, their gangly limbs sprawling in the sun. They’re people-shy, though, and quick to leave if you approach them.

            Everyone is here now, international students and freshmen, and I’m starting to feel more comfortable moving around the campus. I’ve learned two Arabic words, and picked up my books for class. The weather here is perfect, hot but not humid at all.

            My love of libraries drove me back to the library today, and I signed up my account so that I could check out some books. I feel so much more at home in libraries; it’s reassuring to know they’re the same here.

            Tonight I ran into my first real language barrier problem. We played a scavenger hunt all across the university with the first-year students, and more often than not I was trailing behind, plaintively calling, “But do we know WHERE we’re going?” By the end of the night I was so fed-up that I left the activity before it was finished. Of course, it was almost 1 AM by then as well!

            On the plus side, I did meet some very nice Moroccan people. The girls were quiet but very friendly if you spoke to them. We would end up walking together as the boys ran ahead, and we exchanged polite conversation. I think they were using me to practice their English, but it was nice to talk to someone in English. When they spoke to one another it was loud, fast, and in both French and Moroccan Arabic. Their voices piled on top of one another and overlapped into one mass of noise. The guys were a little pushy, a little loud, but they seem to be good at heart. One guy kept asking me about American women, and another time we had a discussion about my lack of cooking skills. They were baffled. And then they started talking quickly in Arabic, and judging by the sidelong glances I think they were talking about me. Hopefully nothing mean, haha.

            Twice we went into the basement of the auditorium, where the student ambassador stationed there insisted that we leave the lights off (I think his excuse was to save energy). At another station we had to eat gross food that the team before us had prepared. At yet another station, I found the clue on the wall. Unfortunately, I thought it was a joke, and it took us a long time to realize it was real. The clue said to find the “security” guy and to tell him “fuck you.” Yes, fuck you. Finally, after much Arabic yelling and confusion, I asked the guy stationed there if he was the “security”. He said yes.

            “Fuck you!” I replied immediately, genuinely frustrated. However, he smiled and handed over the next clue, so I forgave him. And then my team bolted again, and the rest of us ran to catch up.

            Altogether it was an interesting night, but after the other American students left to go to bed, I felt quite lost amongst the Moroccan students. I don’t speak any French or Arabic, and even though one (Moroccan) girl told me most Moroccans are fluent in Spanish as well, I have yet to find one. The social norms are different here, and I think I made a few friends but I’m not sure how to interact with them. We’ll just have to see.