The dudest picture of Moh VI ever.

Friday I woke leisurely, keeping an eye on my email for messages from my internship and prospective language school. After receiving a message with great directions to ADFM, along with a lunch invitation, I prepared myself for the day. The taxi ride was a dream (I even got change back without asking!!) and I found rue Ibn Mokla without any problems. I got a tour of the office from my new boss and lunched with the staff. Afterward I fulfilled my first duty of helping to prepare for the press conference on the liberalization of the communal land law. The beneficiaries, the women of Soulaliyates, were invited to attend the press conference and ask questions. You can read about here (it is only available in French). I decided to walk home, which was delightful and uncomplicated. Saturday I was able to move into my room in the apartment and even did a little grocery shopping where I picked up my beloved yoghurt with cereals in it and mortadelle aux olives. Today the perfect loveliness continued as I rejoined dear Hind, who taught me the Moroccan words for pillows, shower curtain, toothbrush and other useful darija.

I am an illiterate adult, according to motivational literature

Arrival in imperial Rabat

After traversing the Atlantic yesterday, I arrived in Rabat with the whole day ahead of me. Unfortunately, I was too delirious to seize the daylight, but I did buy shampoo and Oulmès (Moroccan fizzy water) after lunching with my two new roommates at Salés Sucrés. I woke up today with ease at 7.40 AM (oh that waking at that hour were always so easy) and spent much of the morning trolling the internet for information. I have also acquired a sim card for my well traveled Jordanian Nokia.

This morning, I found this advice, which I will try to follow:

In learning Arabic: “Our goal cannot be to sound Moroccan, but it can be to sound "neutral foreign".”

Thus my mantra is “neutral foreign” instead of “specific foreign.” In addition, the same text conveyed this useful tidbit:
“In Morocco there are also books made for illiterate adults, which is exactly what we are.”

Today was a wonderful day in every way. My new friend, Hind, allowed me to tag along on her errands. We dined at Dar Naji just outside the Kasbah. On her recommendation we had salad Zaaloukwith bread and Chicken Rfissa Medhoussa (trid au poulet). She took hers with white meat and I with dark. You can take a look at both the process of preparing the dish here and the delicious finished product here. The hosting institution of my internship expects me tomorrow, and I begin my Arabic and Moroccan classes on Monday!

Back to Africa

I returned home from Cairo on 8 August 2009. Although I ought to have been thinking about my PhD written comprehensive exams that were to take place just 6 days later, I was already scheming about how to return to the Victorious City. Written comps finished, I enjoyed some idleness in Norfolk and elsewhere while I suffered the agonizing month between writing my exams and defending them. On 16 September I passed my oral defense and can now enjoy the title of ABD—all but dissertation—a title of little importance to most Anglophones, but one that I am nonetheless reveling in until I can upgrade to Ph.D. I arrive in Rabat on Wednesday 23 September, where I will reside for a year at least.

I did punctuate the idleness between trips to Super Saharan Africa (thank you Alex for your enthusiasm) with A) reading about Morocco’s many delights, B) planning a trip to Kenya next spring and C) happening upon validation in mainstream media sources.

First the Morocco books:
1. Morocco (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by DK Publishing (ISBN 9780756605094)

2. Living in Morocco by Barbara Stoeltie and Angelika Taschen (ISBN 9783822813836)

3. Flavors of Morocco: Delicious Recipes from North Africa by Ghillie Basan and Peter Cassidy (ISBN 9781845976064)

4. Living in Morocco: Design from Casablanca to Marrakesh by Landt Dennis and Lisl Dennis (ISBN 9780500282649)

5. Culture Shock! Morocco: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette by Orin Hargraves (ISBN 0761425020)

6. Fodor's Morocco, 4th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides) by Fodor's (ISBN 9781400008049)

7. Made in Morocco by Julie Le Clerc and John Bougen (ISBN 9780143019428)


Second--In the mainstream media, women in development has gotten some great attention here and here.

BBC News got me on camera!

bottom row, 3rd video from right--you can see me!

Sharlina and I are in live footage from BBC Arabic's footage of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights' press conference on 27 July 2009 in el-Manial in Cairo.

UPDATE: the video is no longer available--the screen shot is the only remaining evidence.

Al Jazeera and Egypt On TV were also present but I have been unable to find their footage.

A catalog of travels and latitudes

Here is an ongoing list of places I've visited. It occurred to me in Luxor that I didn't know how far southerly I have traveled. So here is a list of places with latitudes. I am less interested in longitude since its assignment is arbitrary.

Place	Date		Latitude
Pusan, South Korea	January 2002		35° 05' N
Los Angeles, CA, USA	March 2005		34° 03′ N
Gulfport, MS, USA	October 2008		30.36° N
Petra, Jordan	July 2007		30° 20' N
Tafraout, Morocco	May 2007		29° 43' N
Orlando, FL, USA	February 1995		28.51° N
Luxor, Egypt	July 2009		25° 40' N

View Melodee's Travels in a larger map

Updates to old posts and a new post of lists!

Check out some older posts for new photos added.

Also, this post will serve as an ongoing list of books in scribbly (Arabic) that I have collected for my dissertation.

• حالة حقوق الانسان في مصر التقرير السنوي لعام ٢٠٠٨ (The situation of human rights in Egypt Annual report 2008—629 pages)

Human rights, temples and more human rights.

After a wonderful visit to the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights and a fantastic 4 days in Luxor, I am back in Cairo dealing with erratic Internet, spewing air conditioner condensation falling on my head and habitually late classmates.

Firstly my roommate Sharlina and I had the extreme pleasure of visiting the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights on Tuesday 21 July. Not only were the staff members we met incredibly welcoming and open, but they also sent us off with bags full of books in Arabic, including a great pamphlet called “Citizenship” that the organization itself published. I look forward to integrating the experience and the texts in my dissertation research. The visit was so profitable that I was can almost forget that I was spit on by a taxi driver AGAIN. Oh Egypt. The lovely day culminated in koshary, which like all things in Egypt, had a negotiable price. Savvy Sharlina had the good sense to get advice on how much it should cost and thus we arrived prepared to haggle. It was a delightful 90¢ meal accompanied by tap water which didn't phase my (now) iron constitution.

On Wednesday 22 July the CLS group flew to Luxor early in the morning and checked into the Winter Palace Hotel, which sounds far more luxurious than it is.. We visited the Luxor Museum, the Tombs of the Nobles, the Ramseum, the Luxor Temple, Hatshepsut's Temple, Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Dendara, Karnak, the Temple of Ramses III in Medinet Habu and the Colossus of Memnon. The Temple of Dendara and the Ramseum were my favorite sites, although the Temple of Ramses III had the most interesting wall art. Tomorrow Sharlina and I are attending the press conference hosted by the International Federation for Human Rights and World Organization Against Torture for the release of the report of the joint initiative, “The observatory for the protection of human rights defenders.” Speakers include the Special Rapporteur of the African Union on Human Rights Defenders (Reine Alapini Gansou), Secretary General of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (Mr. Hafez Abu Seada Abu Se'da), a Board Member of World Organization against Torture (Georges Assaf) and Hugo Gabbero, Human Rights Defenders desk with the International Federation for Human Rights.