8.26.2004
ROCK THE KASBAH
Can I just complain a little bit? Do you mind?
The internal hard drive of my brain is full. I'm finding it really hard to muster up the tone of "Wow, see how amazing the world is" right now. Yeah, yeah, so this medina in Fes is the oldest medieval city in the world. Okay, I've now visited 6 of the 7 continents. So what, I stayed in the neighborhood in Tangier where William Borroughs wrote "Naked Lunch."
I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but all I really want is my old life back, NOW. Errands and bills and all. I'm sick of being a ghost, floating through all these beautiful places, not knowing the language, meeting people and forgetting them again within an hour, packing again and again (the same 3 shirts).
It's really hot here, can you tell? Hotter than India, because the air doesn't move. It's Africa, after all. So hot we couldn't sleep in our room, opted for the roof instead.
This morning while we drank our Moroccan mint tea (they call it Moroccan Whiskey), the old man in front of us (who was born in Wisconsin) turned around and said, "Patience!" (in reference to Moroccan coffee) , and then extrapolated it as a key for living. I'm short on patience as well as memory.
+ + + + +
We took the train from Seville to Algeceris, then crossed over the Straight of Gibraltar (yes, we saw the "rock") via ship to Morocco, and spent one night in the port town of Tangier. It has an interesting history, having been an "Interzone" (international territory) during the 40's and 50's. During those years, it was a fashionable resort renowned for its popularity with artists, writers, bankers, exiles and pedophiles.
The train to Fes was a harbinger of heat to come, as the air conditioning gave out early into the journey. Excruciating in the 100+ F sun. Interesting to all of a sudden be thrown into Muslim culture: people speaking Arabic and French combined; more conservative dress and behavior; Moorish influences in the architecture. Prickley pear replaced olive trees (which were ubiquitous in Spain) as the main greenery flashing by.
Can I just complain a little bit? Do you mind?
The internal hard drive of my brain is full. I'm finding it really hard to muster up the tone of "Wow, see how amazing the world is" right now. Yeah, yeah, so this medina in Fes is the oldest medieval city in the world. Okay, I've now visited 6 of the 7 continents. So what, I stayed in the neighborhood in Tangier where William Borroughs wrote "Naked Lunch."
I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but all I really want is my old life back, NOW. Errands and bills and all. I'm sick of being a ghost, floating through all these beautiful places, not knowing the language, meeting people and forgetting them again within an hour, packing again and again (the same 3 shirts).
It's really hot here, can you tell? Hotter than India, because the air doesn't move. It's Africa, after all. So hot we couldn't sleep in our room, opted for the roof instead.
This morning while we drank our Moroccan mint tea (they call it Moroccan Whiskey), the old man in front of us (who was born in Wisconsin) turned around and said, "Patience!" (in reference to Moroccan coffee) , and then extrapolated it as a key for living. I'm short on patience as well as memory.
+ + + + +
We took the train from Seville to Algeceris, then crossed over the Straight of Gibraltar (yes, we saw the "rock") via ship to Morocco, and spent one night in the port town of Tangier. It has an interesting history, having been an "Interzone" (international territory) during the 40's and 50's. During those years, it was a fashionable resort renowned for its popularity with artists, writers, bankers, exiles and pedophiles.
The train to Fes was a harbinger of heat to come, as the air conditioning gave out early into the journey. Excruciating in the 100+ F sun. Interesting to all of a sudden be thrown into Muslim culture: people speaking Arabic and French combined; more conservative dress and behavior; Moorish influences in the architecture. Prickley pear replaced olive trees (which were ubiquitous in Spain) as the main greenery flashing by.
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