Daily Life in Fez

It is hard to believe that two months in Morocco has already come to an end and my studies here are over. In just 24 short hours I will be in Spain and then in several more days back in the United States. At this point I have basically been abroad for an entire year (minus 10 days at Christmas) and the idea of going home still seems a bit foreign to me. Still with a new family member to meet and family and friends to catch up with I am very excited to return home.

Before I leave though I want to share a little bit of my average daily life here in Fez with you. I have gotten quite used to it, but in many ways it is a completely different world here and even the mundane daily life activities like taking a bus or walking home through the souks (shops) of the old medena (city) is quite the expearience. So I have posted a number of pictures to give you a glimpse of what life is like here in Fez as an Arabic student living in the old medena.

My bedroom at my homestay, notice the lack of a door instead I have a curtain!

The road/path outside my homes door (one of the 9,000+ roads in the old medena of Fez)

Food Markets right by my house

The Racif part of the Fez old Medena (where I generally live)

Bus stop. Bus to the new city is $0.30 and a taxi is $1....not bad! Taxis come with the bonus of random Arabic conversations with Drivers and other passengers!

I do not have any photos of my actual school but here is a picture from one of my classes we were studying Arabic case endings (Nomative, Genative, or Accusative)....and I thought English grammar was hard!

Fountain on the main drag of the Fez new city

And of course your local American Imperialist and Capitalist center...I like that McDonalds is also written in Arabic script, talk about a cultural mixture!

One of the Kings Royal Palaces in Fez

Souk (market) in Fez, how good are you at haggling! You can also see a mosque minaret in the backgroung

More Souks

One of the Kings private garden's in Fez...it is a shame it is closed to the public as it looks really nice.

One of the Many Babs (gates) to the Old City of Fez

Street shops, food, and more gates.

Wall of the old city

There are literally Kittens and Cats every where in Morocco. I probably see hundreds of stray cats each day, they are cute but watch out for their claws, these are street cats not house cats!

Entrance to the ALIF (my arabic institute) Riad in the Old City where I enjoy internet while drinking their free tea before heading home each night.

In conclusion Fez is a really neat place to study Arabic and I have really enjoyed my time here. My host family has been absolutely amazing, the city of Fez is always fun to explore (and get lost in), and the people here are very open and welcoming. I would encourage anyone studying Arabic to come spend some time here to study in a country where they actually speak Arabic (even if it is a dialect and not Modern Standard Arabic). If I ever have the chance to study Arabic abroad again in the future I would consider coming back to Fez for sure, but at the same time I would probably prefer to try a new country and city simply for the excitement of a new adventure! Still I will always treasure my time here in Fez.