feel free to applaud..

5 February 2008

How nice to return from an unpleasant journey to the prospect of reward! Dear Ian and Debio have bestowed upon my own self the Excellent Blog Award. How grand is that? Thank you both for thinking so well of me. I appreciate the gesture. As an official approval junkie, I can never have too many awards and you can never give me one too many times.

Today, after a month of “it is coming”, my Barbie Washing Machine arrived. It is very cute, but I am somewhat concerned as to the plumbing accoutrements as both the “technician” and Abdul kept repeating, “No problem,” and smiling. Now any of you who have spent time in India know that is the phrase that strikes fear into the heart. I am at present putting through a load downstairs, and carefully monitoring sounds… Should I mention that all the instructions are in French? Yes, I know I never read the instruction manual of anything – unless and until there is a problem – but I’m just saying… Ah and success! No flooding of the kitchen, no ruined clothing, no pink knickers (a long story of my beginnings in the world of domesticity as an adult), and no electrical fatalities. I call that a win.

6 February 2008

It’s official, that older woman I’ve seen at Abdul Latif’s house is his mother. How do I know this with such certainty you ask? Because this morning on my way out of the Oudayas he stopped me, “You tried the machine? It is working?”

“Yes, it seems to work quite well,” I said.

“But I see you have clothes out. Your clothes on the terrace. It does not finish?” He was referring to the clothes I had put on the line on the terrace this morning to dry while I am off to my office in Soussi. His inference was of course, that the washing machine would also dry the clothes. Keeping a straight face was one of my better examples of self-control. He then spent some time explaining to me that there is a criminal gang on the loose in the neighborhood of the Medina and the Oudayas – young men are apparently whizzing by persons as they walk along, and grabbing the bags and computer cases or whatever right off and then keep going. Having personally observed the feeble speeds of the mopeds in our area (think hair dryers from the sixties or a 1950 vacuum cleaner or Roman Holiday) I feel quite safe but I appreciated the warning as I was rather loaded down this morning with my computer bag and my gym bag.

I’m off to Casablanca at the end of the month – a meeting. I haven’t been there in ages and I’m thinking of staying over a day for a walk about to see what is the same and what has changed. Not my favourite city, so no longer than an extra day I think.

Ciao.