Ruth and the Excitement of Houses and Cheese

Today marks 100 days that I have been in Morocco. Yay, me! (And all my staaj mates!) The last three months and ten days have been an absolute blur, in the best possible way, although it's incredibly difficult to focus on exactly what has happened. All I know is that I know a little bit more darija than I knew 100 days ago, *sometimes* people understand what I'm trying to say (sigh), and that I've eaten enough sheep/goat/mystery meat to last a lifetime.

To add to that excitement, there have been some exciting things happen to me in the last 4 days:

- I signed the contract with my landlady for my new house. My own house as of January 1!

- I discovered the amazing cheese counter at the Marjane in Agadir. Blue cheese! Feta! Mozzarella!

- I got a pink Christmas tree in the post from my mum. And a slinky!

- My town got flooded and there's 10 foot deep holes in the mud roads. Swimming!

Wait… scratch that last.

So, to add to point number one - I finally have my own house - and I am the proud new possessor of keys. Just a few more days until I can finally have my own space back, unpack my suitcase, not worry about a four year-old slapping me in face as a greeting each morning, and not have to eat unidentifiable (and questionable) pieces of meat for lunch and dinner. It's no palace, but it's cozy, has a new tile floor in the bedroom, and a bigger window than it had 2 weeks ago. And very soon, it will have lots of new things in it, like buckets for flushing the turk with. Yay!

And to add a few things about the Marjane in Agadir, and Agadir itself - very pretty beach, will be gorgeous in the summer I'm sure, but lots of nice little cafes on the boardwalk, although I have yet to find the souk. Marjane is going to be my new escape, for those days when I need to get away for a hot minute. Cheese, yes, lots of cheese, which we all know makes me very happy. But also - Nutella, Haagen Daaz ice-cream, "grape juice", cheese, soy sauce, Dolmio sauce, Colgate toothpaste, cheese, good shampoo… all sorts of fun things.

And as long as all my escapes from site end in cheese, all will be right in the world.

xoxo