Why is it so hard to find a good kabab restaurant in America??

Hey everyone! Wow so much has happened! I left for Dulles on Wednesday around 1pm and arrived at my apartment in Casablanca around 10:30 am the next day. It was so exhausting! Another intern, Nora, arrived the day after me and a third will come in mid June. The apartment is big.. three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a large living room (with a small tv) and good size kitchen. It is fully furnished with sheets, towels, pots and pans, washer/dryer, glasses, mugs & silverware and even some coat hangers. We have a microwave and a full size fridge, two sofas and a dining room with an 8-top table. We also have balconies overlooking a busy street. We are just a short walk from the US Consulate. The city is hard to describe. The buildings aren't extremely tall (not skyscrapers.) Morocco is a second-tier economy.. An easy way to understand the tier system is that first tier has Macdonalds and Starbucks, second tier has Macdonalds but no Starbucks, and a third tier has neither Macdonalds nor Starbucks. Casablanca has a population of about 7 million people. Also, there are no real "bad" sections of town; there is no physical divide between the rich and poor. An elaborate mansion can be just a couple blocks away from shantytowns and beggars. Lamborghinis and donkey-carts share the roadways. (By the way, Casablanca has the 5th highest  vehicular fatality rate in the world. Pedestrians and drivers alike are careless!) The city is dirty, but not like trash/dirty but more like dust/sand/dirty. In fact, the streets are rather litter-free and I have seen street cleaners several times. But the dust and sand settles on cars and in the streets and all over the place. I think this is probably an effect of the lack of rain that would normally wash these surfaces. 

There aren't big grocery stores or department stores in the city where we are. Instead, there are corner bakeries/patisseries, corner butchers shops, and corner fruit stands. Conceptually, these shops are similar to what can be found in NYC. Also, I was surprised to see how many people speak French here. Almost all buying/selling is in French. Nora has taken French so I've been relying on her to order stuff and talk to everyone! (By the way, we went to this amazing kabob place today. Official new favorite restaurant. It was so so so so good!) 

We went a little out of town today to a large grocery store that would put any military commissary on payday to shame. It was huge, and they had everything imaginable. The fresh fruit stand was massive, offering kiwis, pears, bananas, pineapple, apples, everything.. Whole stingrays and sharks that were probably alive yesterday were on display at the fish counter. Also the magnificent display of hundreds of blocks of cheese made our decision very difficult. Oh and mom, there was a stand for spices; and no not those bottled Macormick spices, but the these large pits filled with every color and scent. The explosion of cumin and safron both through sight and smell was astonishing. As I understand, a trip to this grocery store is quite a treat. It was an interesting experience. 

On Thursday I went with some Consulate people to the Habbous, which is a fascinating cultural/historical part of Casa that isn't seen in town where I work and live. The Habbous is a souk/market area where everything from rugs to paintings and handmade bronze items are sold. Imagine the scene from Aladdin when Jasmine sneaks out of the palace and ends up in the marketplace. This is similar to the Habbous except the Habbous is much more quiet and friendly, and the merchants have a hole in the wall out of which they sell their items, instead of a cart or a stand. I only went for a couple minutes because we were on a mission to find something, but next time I will take pictures and buy something. Probably a gift for Natalie.

Work at the consulate has been busy for me because there is a large conference coming up for DHS. I guess I came right in time to help out with that! Everyone at the consulate is very nice; I love hearing all their stories, as there are a lot. Everyone has been very welcoming to the interns and we have received a lot of help and advice. Last night we were invited to the Consulate General's (CG) residence for a piano recital. Her house is beautiful. It was Churchill's residence during the Moroccan-hosted Anfa Conference. This conference was significant to the outcome of WW2 and was one of the first steps for Morocco to gain independence from France. (Fun fact: when the Allies were planning on a location for the conference, the Germans translated "Casablanca" as "the White House," as in the White House in DC. Knowing the US/DC was impenetrable at that time, the Nazis didn't even attempt to attack/infiltrate/spy on the meeting.)

The next week will be busy busy busy, but I will hopefully be able to write some more! Somehow, we are managing to steal WiFi from a local network so I will pretty much have unlimited access when I am in the apartment. Oh and pictures will come soon. Love you all and thanks for reading.

http://casablanca.usconsulate.gov/about_history.html 

Almost there!

Hi! Since my last blog, lots have happened! I got in contact with the management officer that will be organizing the logistics of my arrival and I have also emailed with one of my bosses. I will be leaving on May 27 from Dulles and will return August 6. I will be working in both the Management and Homeland Security offices. Usually interns work in only one office, so I'm not sure how this will go. I was told that I will be living in a large apartment within walking distance of the consulate. And that I will have a fellow intern roommate. The housing situation is very good at this post. At other posts, interns may have to find and pay for their own housing.. and there is no guarantee of a good location. There are stories of interns trying to find housing at post from the US and ending up with an over-priced apartment and a 45 minute commute. I am very lucky. 

Now with a departure date set and communication with the bosses, I have some assurance that this is not a dream! It's actually happening! How did I get so lucky??