I start off today on a good note by enjoying a full Moroccan breakfast with my host family. There was an assortment of breads, fried eggs, and Baybell cheese, and of course, I can’t forget the piping hot mint tea. I already know I am going to miss it so much when we leave. Once I got to CCCL, we started our Arabic lesson. At first, I thought I was getting the hang of it, but as we went on, it just felt like the instructor was speaking faster and faster. It was fun getting the chance to roleplay a regular conversation in Arabic and learn key words to help us during our stay. I know the phrase I’ll be using is ‘Ana baghit atay bla skar.” I would like tea with no sugar, please! It was actually very quick how helpful this lesson became when I was at home with my family later during the day. My sister is 5 years old, and her name is Nada. Today, she was more open to playing with me and letting me talk to her, and she asked me ‘Chos Smyitik?. When it clicked in my brain that she was asking me what my name was, I answered her, and I was so happy I understood that simple question, because 24 hours ago, I wouldn’t have been able to.

I really enjoyed the lesson, learning new phrases, but I think bargaining takes the win. I love to shop, and I love getting items I want at a cheap price even more. Thanks to Noel, we were able to go out to the Medina and bargain our way down to spending only 30 dirhams on an item. We were first taught some techniques, and a lot of them I was familiar with because they are also used in India. Learning and understanding how it is an art in a way to be able to negotiate and bring down the price of something you want is always fun to me. I have already walked into so many little shops, and the vendors come after me to persuade me to buy something, or negotiate a price that I am happy with. The experience I had today was when I was buying a few tea cups. I went to the store simply browsing, and the cups I wanted caught my eye. I asked for the price, and the shopkeeper said 60 dirham. I had said never mind and kept browsing the store, and eventually left, not even thinking of the cups anymore. He had called me back and asked me my price, and I told him 30, and we ended up meeting at 35. It was as simple as that, and I was extremely happy with my purchase!