This evening was the opening ceremony for the "bridging the gap" program. It was all in french, but I actually understood basically everything. During the ceremony, they showed a video clip of 9/11 and I got surprisingly emotional, more so than I ever have in the past about it. I'm not sure exaclty what has changed to make me more sensitive about it, but maybe it's the fact that I have recently been surrounded by so many different cultures that now I feel a stronger identity with my own. During the ceremony, Nadia, Monica, and I all made short presentations. I made a powerpoint presentation in french and spoke in english about the different stereotypes people have of americans. For example, everyone thinks we are all self-centered and don't care about people of other countries and cultures. I said that, however, that is just a stereotype and I have known tons of people in the US who do care about other people and devote a lot of time, money, and effort to community service, not only in the US but in poorer countries, as well.

After the ceremony, we were invited to a Moroccan poetry reading, which was at a beautiful traditional building that is often used for weddings. A band of about 15 men played authentic Moroccan music and then a few poets recited some poems in Arabic. A woman from AISEC started translating it to me, but then I noticed the poet randomly switched to french (which is normal here), so I told her I understood french. When the poet switched back to Arabic, she started translating to me quickly in french. Even though I didn't understand everything she was saying, it was good practice for me. Icham, who doesn't speak much english, noticed her speaking to me in French, so he started doing the same and I spoke with him for the rest of the night. The head of the event then introduced Nadia, Monica, and me and asked us to say a few words to the crowd. Because everyone there was Moroccan, I decided to speak to them in French. I probably made a few mistakes, but I think people appreciate that I am making an effort.

After the event, we walked around the area with the men because it is unsafe for women to walk alone at night here. Around 8 pm, all the shops close and people sell things in the street, which is illegal to do during the day. We saw people selling toys, piles of shoes, counterfeit dvds, and even turtles-- all for very cheap. Men cooked delicious smelling Moroccan cuisine-- meats, vegetables, spices-- and people were gathered all around. It's so nice that we have locals from Rabat to show us around, because there are things they are showing us that typical tourists would not know to go see. We get the unique opportunity to see it like they see it.