Well nothing like a good protest to welcome one back to the Middle East. Of course, at this point it seems like an unusual day if there aren't any protests. Luckily, the experts tell us that what happened in Tunisia and Egypt can never happen in Morocco (funny, they said that about Egypt too....). I really don't know what to think of it but apparently Standard and Poor's rated Morocco the least likely to have political unrest. Cool. From what I've gathered, things are much freer in Morocco than they were in Egypt. However, as I write this I can see and hear quite loudly the protesters parading around and chanting in front of the Moroccan Parliament. I've also gathered that the King of Morocco is quite popular. Officially, it's a Constitutional Monarchy but the King has sweeping powers to dissolve the government and appoint officials including the Prime Minister. All I can say is, I'm ready for Round 2.
Other observations: Rabat seems like a quiet little beach town compared to Cairo and Alexandria. It is home to about 2 million people but you would never know it. Rabat's streets are clean and the air is actually breathable. The traffic is nothing like Cairo either. I'm getting pretty excited about living here (now that I'm here) though I'm still a little nervous about the whole host family experience. Getting to Rabat was somewhat interesting as well. I had to take a train from Mohammed V airport to Casablanca then another train from Casablanca to Rabat. Needless to say I just kind of stumbled through it with the dumb tourist expression. But, here I am. Welcome to Morocco.
Other observations: Rabat seems like a quiet little beach town compared to Cairo and Alexandria. It is home to about 2 million people but you would never know it. Rabat's streets are clean and the air is actually breathable. The traffic is nothing like Cairo either. I'm getting pretty excited about living here (now that I'm here) though I'm still a little nervous about the whole host family experience. Getting to Rabat was somewhat interesting as well. I had to take a train from Mohammed V airport to Casablanca then another train from Casablanca to Rabat. Needless to say I just kind of stumbled through it with the dumb tourist expression. But, here I am. Welcome to Morocco.
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