Food, Drinks and Beach!

Google claims that Casablanca has a population of 2.95 million, but a local that is friends of the admin at our school says that Casa has way more people and I believe him. There are people EVERYWHERE walking, lounging and driving among the streets. I live in an area of downtown Casa called Gauthier. It's one of the nicer areas to live, has nice restaurants and shops, and wider streets (not any cleaner though). Here's the entrance to my apartment building:

So all of the teachers at Casablanca American School meet at 2 locations that is central for all of us in downtown Casa before going to school every morning. Here's the location that I meet my bus at:

Needless to say I start the day off on an energetic and positive note!





The school bought and shipped over an American school bus and that is what we ride to school in every morning. There aren't ANY school buses of that nature in all of Morocco so when we drive through the city, some people will stare in awe while others just glance at this common occurrence. Yes, I know it's completely backwards that we teachers take the school bus to and from school everyday, but I get a kick out of it every time I see the big yellow bus.


 Some of the veteran teachers own a car and drive to school, but mostly everyone rides the school bus. Cars are expensive to buy and traffic is horrendous. Now, I know LA and NYC also has really bad traffic, but at least it's orderly and organized. I really don't think there are hardly any traffic laws here in Morocco. I only say this because 1. I haven't seen any true traffic signs, except for the few, hidden traffic lights and 2. I have yet to see any Policier (police officials). People drive as they wish and don't hesitate when cutting someone off in order to make a turn. Here's just one example of this unorganized chaos:

Because of it's huge international import scene, Casablanca brings in a lot of international goods. I haven't yet visited a city that had more diverse restaurants than in Casa. We've got American, Indian, Thai, Greek, Asian (Japanese, Chinese, Korean), European, local and vegetarian cafes everywhere! Within one week I've already tried so many different kinds of food! I really enjoyed the Lamb Masala (red curry with chunks of lamb) and Palak Paneer (spinach and cheese curry) at this restaurant called Bombay Palace. Luckily I was with some experienced Indian eaters who helped me with the menu. After a hard day of teacher in-service at school, some teachers socialized at a bar/restaurant then stopped in a Greek restaurant before heading home. Hands-down they had the best Falafel wrap and Taziki/ranch dip that I've ever had. It was mouth-watering delicious. Lunch and dinner are the most important meals here. I'm not so much impressed with their breakfast selection here. Everyone eats some type of Danish or croissant with spreadable cheese along with fresh orange juice and coffee. While this was delicious for the first few days, it started getting ominous with the fact that I'd be eating so much bread and carbs every single day. They are bread-crazy over here with cute bakeries around every corner.

On Saturday, all of the teachers went to Jack's Beach just outside downtown Casablanca. Casablanca is on the western side of Morocco so the Atlantic Ocean borders the shore. The weather turned out great...sunny skies with a breeze. The water was definitely cold [around 70 degrees] and there was no getting in past the thighs for me!

The sand was somewhat clean and was full of tiny shells. This is one of the nicer beaches near Casa.

The school set up surfing lessons for all of the teachers with a local surf shop. Apparently some of the best waves for surfing are found in Morocco. The local who owned the surf shop has won many surfing championships in the area. Here's a picture of me in my wet suit getting ready to hit the waves. My goal was to stand up on the board for at least 5 seconds. My goal was proudly accomplished :) Later towards the day the tide was coming in more quickly, the waves were getting bigger and the current stronger. I definitely swallowed some sea water, but it was all worth it! I'll surely become a pro by the end of my stay here.

 

After a long weekend, I walked to the Mariff [another area within Casa] Market and bought some fresh veggies, fruit, flowers and olives to get me through the first week of school that will begin on Wednesday!