Day 5: Another Day, Another Dirham

            Another short post today. It was another great day at the orphanage. We’re really getting the hang of the schedule and the people. The kids are beginning to recognize us when we come in and are much more interactive. We were working in both washrooms today, one for the older kids and one for the babies. I’ve found that my favorite part of the morning routine is dressing them. It is sometimes a challenge as some of their arms and legs are stiff and difficult to maneuver into sleeves. But what I really enjoy is the one-on-one attention we get to give to each child. For a lot of them, getting bathed and dressed is the most interaction they get all day. I like feeding them also, but the milk-bread mix sometimes makes me gag. Oops.

            Anyway, new development with Nadir: if I actually try during our tag games, running my fastest and strategically jumping out from behind trees, he gets tired and we can stop playing more quickly. Whew. Also, we brought bubbles today, which was definitely a hit. Things like this really highlight the similarities between all different cultures. No matter whether it’s an Arabic, French, or English speaking child, they all love bubbles.  :)

            This afternoon, we learned some more Arabic from Khadija. We talked a lot about conjugating verbs, which seemed a lot easier than in other languages. Then we had tea at 4, as usual. But today at tea, the pastry was out of this world. It was like fried dough, but crispier, and sort of looked like a crab rangoon, but softer and minus the filling. Oh my gosh, with the powdered sugar, we all devoured it. Miam-miam!

            Kate, Meghan, Malone and I took a walk to Marjane later in the evening, which is kind of like a Walmart. The place was MASSIVE, like a warehouse with everything you could imagine. There were boucheries, patisseries, et boulangeries all within the grocery section and we liked looking at all the American brands and Moroccan knock-offs. Best purchase was definitely Kate's Arabic copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Naturally, I bought a jar of peanut butter. That and a few other small gifts cost me 43.25 MAD (Moroccan Dirhams), which is equivalent to about 5 dollars. So cool. I am loving this exchange rate! Almost as much as I am loving speaking French. :)

Fruit

Chicken and thyme flavored Lays?

            Tomorrow marks another day in the orphanage as well as a trip out for dinner, so stay tuned!

Bonne nuit!

-Allie