I'm in Rabat!!

 We landed on Monday at around 2 PM, after traveling for almost an entire day. The airport in Rabat is super tiny, only one gate, and you walk straight off the airplane onto the ground. We had to pass through customs, which took about half an hour, and after that we boarded a bus that took us to our hotel. The weather could not have been more beautiful. It was (and has been every day since) about 70 degrees and sunny. There are palm trees and orange trees everywhere and it's absolutely gorgeous! We spend a lot of time complaining about how cold we are though, because the buildings in Rabat don't have heat. It is not so bad during the day, but when the sun goes down it gets a bit chilly. Oddly enough, it is warmer outside than inside. Most of the buildings are made of stone and are therefore damp and cold inside.

We are taking classes at the Center for Cross-Cultural Learning (the CCCL) which is located in the medina (old city) of Rabat and it is beautiful. The building was built in the 19th century (although the CCCL didn't move here until around 2000) and is centered around a courtyard. The rooms are all tiled with beautiful patterns, which make you kind of dizzy if you stare at them for too long, but are a lot prettier than the boring paint which adorns the wall of BU. The courtyard now has a roof, but it used to be open to the sky (and most of the buildings in the medina still have their courtyards open to they sky), so the building had to be built to accommodate rain. This means that there are steps everywhere, leading in and out of every room, in the idea that rain would only fall on the center of the building and would not get into the rooms. This is a good idea, but I am positive that I am going to trip and break something while I'm here...

We have been having orientation all week and staying in a hotel this week, but our home stays will begin this Friday. I can't wait!

 We have to go to a reception with our teachers and CCCL staff now, but I will write later about what we have been doing during orientation. Hope everyone is doing well!