hello everybody,

the last two weeks have been nice. i've been getting down to business with the basketball team, got a nice haircut in town, and have been getting some better food. some of my friends are wanting to know a little more about food- i have to say that morocco isnt that big on variety; basically, even a vegetarian would have a hard time finding food over here. meat is usually grilled as is, although sometimes spices and herbs are added (kind of like a sausage); afterwards, it is thrown inside a half- or quarter- soft bread, not too far from baguette (even softer). this is the simple, quick meal: besides the common beef or lamb, one can have heart, kidney, or liver; fish (if you're near the coast, as i've experienced in rabat and tangier), and maybe even a relish to cut the richness...cumin is added on top, and in my opinion makes the sandwich.

besides the moroccan meat sandwich, one can have as a richer, more extensive, and more exotic option the tagine or couscous. simple, but delicious- again, with the same choice of meats (although there can be vegetarian versions). also, there are pastillas- again, meat (this time shredded, wrapped inside a slightly sweet phyllo-sort of dough).

that's about it as far as main courses go. otherwise, morocco has great fruite- oranges (navel variety), bananas, figs, and dates. i have some dates and some amazing olives sitting in my room just now. there are also fine deserts, most of them some sort of cookie-dough stuffed with almond paste (like marzipan, although not as strong).

finally, there are nice, thick drinks (almond drink is my favorite), and the traditional, sweet mint tea (at the end of the meal). thats basically all i've experienced so far. of course, there are different versions of everything, and i'm always up to finding a deal. i saw lamb couscous on the menu at a restaurant in tangier, which i really want to try; for some reason lamb and couscous is one combo i hadn't come across until then...

well, we just got back from spending the weekend in tangier. i'll keep it short, even though it was my favorite weekend so far. tangier really really has a spanish feel, is much more laid-back, has a sea breeze...etc. i really like the feel of the place- the city is built on small, rolling hills; it is crowded but not too crowded, there are great views from the kasbah of the atlantic, gibraltar straight, and spain, and tangierians themselves payed much more attention to us. true, we were hassled pretty much everywhere we went (boys, men, and women), but this also meant we were talking and causing with locals a lot. we went to dean's bar (where tennessee williams, jack kerouac, and ian fleming visited), and spent a couple hours with older men, who kept pilling fried fish, olives, nuts, and seeds onto our table, and inviting us to their restaurant, store, or club (always for free); but we never made it - 

we had to take the bus both ways, because the train to tangier wasnt running (some mechanical problem). so we spent 9 hours friday afternoon and early saturday morning getting to tangier, and all of sunday coming back to fes and ifrane. the drive back on sunday was beautiful, though: the route took us first a ways along the atlantic coast (through tetouan) and then up into the rif mountains. we stopped at chefchaouen, a stunning mountain town. up there, it was a pure blue sky and the sun was shining its brightest. it felt like summer inside the bus, so i got out at chefchaouen, where a man promptly offered to take me down the road to his kif farm. i declined, and tried to talk to him about other things, which only kind of worked.

i'll hopefully have pics from the weekend up by tomorrow, best to all of you back at home, and also to those in other countries,

- sam