Arabic Language Institute of Fez

Let me just start by saying, I love Morocco.

The girl I'm living with and I have a new home. It is mold free, we have a window in our room, a toilet and a shower! We are so blessed. We both woke up today feeling so much better. They do smoke, including the mom, which is weird because I was under the impression that it is something that is looked down on in Muslim cultures. But they are considerate of us and don't smoke in the house, or at least do it by a window. They are so nice and offered to do laundry for us right when we got there. Which when you're in 100+ degree weather every day, there's no way you want to wear those sweat filled clothes more than once. So sweet!

Every day here has been 100 in the shade! No one ever goes into the sun, the whole city pretty much shuts down between 12pm and 4pm for everyone to eat lunch and take a nap because there is literally nothing else you can do because it's so hot. I will never complain about it being hot once I get back home, and I will always love the cold weather. Because it's so hot people start coming out at around 7pm when it starts to get cooler and the whole city, especially the Medina, is alive until way late at night. The whole heat and daily schedules of Fes have been the strangest thing to get used to. They have dinner usually around 10pm, sometimes later, which is hard for us because we have to be up for class around 6:45am. But if that's the least of my worries for the next 5 weeks then that's fine.

I love my classes! My morning class has a teacher who is super nice. She's very direct and speaks almost all Arabic. My evening teacher is hilarious! Our first day we all got into a discussion about Moroccan politics and the upcoming vote on their constitution. It so interesting. The nice thing is that he's really animated so he keeps me awake during class. The classes are so much more challenging than my previous Arabic classes and I feel like I'm really learning things every day. It's wonderful!

I'm so glad I'm going to school at the University of Minnesota, the program for Fes includes all the trips in their price so I get financial aid for them instead having to pay out of pocket. We are taking a day trip to Meknes and a weekend trip into the Sahara Desert, I think I get to ride a camel! We stay overnight in hotel on Friday and then I think we camp in the desert on Saturday night. I'm so excited! I also have the opportunity to travel to Madrid Spain for a weekend with four other girls. With transportation (flying) and rooms it's only $110 for the whole weekend! Bomb! I have been just so blessed with all the places I have been able to travel to and the people I have met along the way. I am just in awe. Also, with going from moldy room to modernity, both the girl and I just wanted a non-moldy room and we got all the comforts of home. The Lord just keeps showering me with blessings.

If you could pray for one huge thing. While our new host family is really nice, it feels very spiritually dark and oppressive in their home. It's just a sense I feel from being around them and being in their home. Pray that I would trust in the Lord for my spiritual growth and that He would truly be my refuge. That I would find daily encouragement from the Word every day and from another girl who is a believer. It's strange because in our previous host family it did not feel dark at all, whereas this one does. - Huge praise though! I was able to Skype with my parents yesterday for about an hour which is the first I have talked to them in 3 weeks other than email. It was so good to be in real time with them and hear their voices! Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement.

Being in Morocco has been a real challenge but has taught me so many things. I am so thankful for the little things now. Having a toilet to use instead of a hole everyday, for cold water instead of warm, for little kids who remind me of my little brother. Just little encouragements like these have taught me that I really am blessed. I was born into one the richest countries in the world for heaven's sake! What could I possibly want! I will try so much more to be thankful for everything the Lord gives me, no matter how small. God is so good! All the time!