4em Etage

Today we took placement exams and had a small tour of Moulay Ismail University. It is only a short walk to the Grand Taxi stand and from there you can get a ride to the front of the University. Then you catch a Grand Taxi at the back of the university to get a ride back to our neighborhood, where one makes the same short walk home.

Home is on the fourth floor (that's the fifth floor to you Americans) of a small apartment building. There is only one apartment above ours. The apartment of my host family occupies the whole fourth floor, and it looks as though at one point it could have been divided into two, but today it is one giant U-shaped apartment.

When one enters the apartment, one can see that it is by no means a cheap apartment, yet it looks like perhaps its glory days have past. The halways are dim and the elevator must be from 1920. As one climbs the stairs, windows allow more light in and the tenants of the different floors decorate their landings to their own taste. Some are simple-a picture or two in the hall, others are over the top like the Israeli below us who has about 6 chairs and a giant portrait of the Mona Lisa shoved into the small space. Our landing has a simple two person bench and a vase of dried flowers.

When you enter the door, the maid's kitchen is directly in front of you. Beyond the kitchen there is the maid's bedroom and the master bedroom suite. I have not explored this part of the apartment, so we will move on. if one turns left, one enters the living area of the apartment. The living area stretches the length of the apartment (minus the back bedrooms) and there is a large balcony that runs parallel to the living area. Giant windows and sliding glass doors separate the living space from the balcony so the room is always well lit with natural light. The balcony has the family's dining table as well as many plants and an area to dry clothes. The living room is divided into three sitting areas. There is a grand piano in the middle section and a more formal dining table as well. On the walls there are many large paintings of muslim women and men, some depicting religious or other events.

On the other half of the apartment is a kitchen that Anne and I can store extra snacks in, and it also houses the overflow of fresh and frozen food. Then comes Mamoun's bedroom then Anne and my bedroom is at the back. Our bedroom has a double and a single bed with a small balcony and a closet. The decorations are sparse, but we're hanging up pictures and our calendar to make the room feel more "ours". From our balcony we have a pretty good view of the city and we can also see the mountains in the distance. But the best part about our room?? Well of course it is the speaker 10 meters away that gives the call to prayer every morning at around 5am-reminding us as we cover our ears with pillows that we are, in fact, in Morocco.