Jiggity jig/Through the labyrinth

Today as I waited for my ice cream from my favorite ice cream place (unwilling/unable to escape my Izzys Ice Cream roots) I saw a police officer judo a cheeky ruffian to the ground. I got two scoops - peach and date. 10 DH = $1 (aprox.)

As I waited for my pizza to be made in the souk (market) I saw a rat crawl out of a sewer directly in front of one of the Medina cats. We both had a good lunch that day. Margarita pizza and rat. 15 DH = $1.5 (aprox.)

My point is that if you sit in any one place in Rabat for more than 5 minutes you'll see some wild shenanigans.

One of the main entrances into the walled Media. Very few cars enter the Medina and residential areas are accessible only by motorbike. 

My host family is wonderful. My dad is a mechanic and my mom is a loving mother. My younger brothers, 5 and 11 and full of energy and curiosity. Even though there's about 5 words of English between us, but a lot can be said without speaking. They're a very hospitable and beautiful family.

Throngs file through the Medina market shopping for everything from shoes to knock-offs of the Apple and Beats by Dre.
Minarets line the blocks representing the strong presence of Islam in Rabat. 

My home is nestled in the heart of the Medina. One wrong turn and you're a supporting character in the movie Maze Runner. At least for visitors. I made that mistake the other night. The walls are high and everything looks the same in the day and like a different city after the shops close at night. Long story short I ended up drinking tea in the back of a shop with two police officers while the owner, a family friend, called my dad. I felt vivid nostalgia back to the many times I got lost at the Minnesota Science Museum. No one to page my parents over the intercom though.  I'm learning to navigate by Minarets.

Life is amazing here. A fantasy-world blend of tradition and multiculturalism clinging to the impending modern lifestyle carried by globalization. For example, even in the most pious homes the TV is ALWAYS on - a member of the family. We're watching Batman Begins for the second night in a row as my home stay dad does the evening prayers.

That's pretty wizard.

-Simeon