Suzanne Moyer's Little Corner of the World

Life is Good! Kulshe bikheer...elhumdullilah!!

2007-03-24T20:27:00.000-04:00

Most of you know that I am generally a very happy person. Even during my "bad weeks" I tend to out-smile most people during their "best weeks." But the last two weeks have been especially great...khsnee ngul elhumdullilah!! (I have to say thanks to god!!)

I will abide by my "no personal stuff" on the blog rule and stick to the professional side of my happiness. First, I participated this week in the 17th Annual Maghrebi Studies Forum which was organized by the Fulbright commission here in Morocco for the current Fulbright grantees to present their research projects. It was a great experience and I was interviewed on both of the major Moroccan Television channels about my research. For three or four days after the presentation, everywhere I went people would say "Hey I saw you in television!". It was an interesting glimpse into stardom :)

I was also asked to speak at the official celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Fulbright Commission (MACECE) in Morocco about my experience here. I am used to speaking in front of large groups, but I have to say that this was a rather intimidating crowd (US ambassador and all the embassy staff, head of two major Moroccan universities, and lots of Moroccan business and political leaders.) I am happy to say I pulled off the speech without embarrasing myself too much. I even managed to give part of my speech in Moroccan Arabic, although I did make one little mistake..instead of saying "Drop by drop the river rises", I switched two letters and said "Drop by drop the river dreams" You say kayhml, I say kayhlm but since its an old moroccan proverb everyone understand and I quickly corrected myself. aiwa...dakshi li kayn :)

Lastly, I was able to participate this week in AIESEC's MENA Leadership Development Seminar which took place in Bouznika, just a little ways outside of Rabat. I spent Monday with 250 students from over 20 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas facilitating sessions about the perceived divide between the East and the West. It was a very rewarding experience and I think I learned more from talking to these bright young students than I could have possibly taught them.

So, the last two weeks have been CRAZY (hence the lack of blogging) but life is GOOD, very GOOD....elhumdullilah!!!

And the feeling comes back...

2007-03-12T08:42:00.000-04:00

About an hour after arriving in Casablanca from Rabat this morning, I found out about yesterday's bombing in Casablanca. A man walked into a cyber-cafe and started browsing through radical websites. When the owner of the cafe noticed and asked the man to leave, the two began fighting and the fight set off the explosives which the man had strapped to himself. The "word on the street" is that he was trying to receive instructions about where to go to set off the bomb.

I can't really explain what I felt when I heard this. Its funny how all those old buried emotions from NY to Sharm el Sheikh come back in a wave and give you that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach. You can't live your life always thinking about it. But when it happens again it surfaces all those old feelings of disgust and fear. Its been a long time since I have been faced with that, but this morning it came back. As someone who was in NY for 9/11 and in Sharm El Sheikh the week of the bombings there in 2004, I have seen the effects of terrorism first hand. I won't accept to live my life in fear, but when those feelings come back its hard to suppress them again. Hopefuly this will be an isolated occurance and life here will go back to normal soon. For now, Casablanca is full of police and I find myself looking with extra suspicion.

Monday Morning Zen

2007-02-05T06:15:00.000-05:00

Tanga
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

It's a hazy Monday morning and I am sitting in a smokey cafe in Casablanca so I have wifi internet access. But if I had my choice I would be here...I took this picture in Tanger two months ago.

Here's to all the beautiful places we could be instead of at work this morning!!

A taste of "home"

2007-01-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

This week is my 5 month mark in Morocco- 7 more months to go. For the first time since I have been here I did something unthinkable. I had 30 minutes between meetings and I hadn't eaten lunch. I had accepted the harsh reality that I wasn't going to get lunch because in Morocco even the fastest restaurants take at least an hour. And then I saw them..the golden arches. I don't eat McDonalds in the US, but I had no choice so I joined the 100s of well-dressed upper-class Moroccans enjoying a little bite of America. I can't say that the food was particularly worth the $4 that I spent on it, but I guess its the experience of "being in America" while you are still in Morocco that everyone spends the money on.

As for my experience, I ordered McDonalds in Arabic for the first time in my life. And of course, the cashier responded in English because people here somehow can't quite get it in to their head that I ACTUALLY speak Moroccan Arabic :) Well, I guess I can't blame her too much...my guess is that most American's that eat at McDonalds while they are in Morocco don't speak Arabic :P

A little social research

2007-01-28T15:51:00.000-05:00

So here is an interesting little social research that I did this week. 35 of the 42 women I have seen on the bus from Rabat to Sale this week were veiled. 3 of the 35 women I saw in Megamall (the big western shopping center) in Rabat this week were veiled. To explain the difference in these numbers it requires a much further discourse on the social, class, and religion identity crisis that Morocco is facing. I will leave that for another day when I am not so swamped with work.

However, in the meantime it is proof of how easy it is to have a bias in your research. As I set out on my research project here it is a good learning to keep in mind.

Happy New Years!!

2007-01-22T17:15:00.000-05:00

For those of you who think I am 22 days too late, I will remind you that yesterday was the first day of 1428 (the current year in the Islamic calendar) so Happy New Years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unlike 2007, 1428 will start with me making a commitment to blog again.

It is normal for people to make New Year's resolutions, but this year My Blog has decided to make its own New Year's resolutions. Here they are....

Suzanne's Blog's 2007/1428 New Year's Resolutions

#1- To truly capture the experience of my remaining 7.5 months in Morocco and to communicate to all of you through pictures and words what life here is really like.

#2- To become multi-lingual. Now that I have mastered the Arabic keyboard, look forward to Arabic and French commentary to be added to the site.

#3- To stay out of my personal life. For all my friends who want my personal gossip, I will start sending more personal email updates. For all my fellow bloggers, don't forget that anyone in the world can see your site and the people most likely to google-stalk you are the people you least want to find you.

#4- To be consistent....I know, I always say that. But I really want to try to post more often so that I don't have to get all the "Why haven't you blogged emails, voicemails, and comments on the street."

#5- To get a pretty new design and some new links. I've been looking at this orange stuff for
years now..and I need to make some nice new links to my pics and stuff.

Looking forward to the great year to come.....for me and my blog!!

October in Morocco

2006-11-09T12:37:00.000-05:00

The month of October flew by in a whirlwind. My brain has been overloaded the last few weeks due to intensive arabic immersion, dealing with the logistics of becoming a Moroccan resident, and constant travel. To summarize, the themes of the month for October were:
1) TRAVEL 2) LANGUAGE 3) CARTE DE SEJOUR

TRAVEL: I have travelled about 25,000 Kilometers in the last month. I somehow made it back to the US only 1.5 months after arriving in Morocco, not to mention my heavy travel schedule here in Morocco. In the last 5 days alone I have been in Fes, Casablanca, Rabat, Sale, and Marrakesh. With Dana coming this weekend to visit, the travel schedule isn't going to ease up anytime soon :)

LANGUAGE: I would be a great guineau pig for a language acquisition research project. Every day here I speak four languages. My Moroccan Arabic is getting REALLY good...I went a whole day yesterday without using any other language! This was my goal for month four here and I hit it at only 2 months..elhamdullilah!! Unfortunately, I am now unable to speak Classical Arabic (Fus-ha) without using Moroccan words and I realized this week that in my Fus-ha class I am now THINKING in Moroccan and translating to Fus-ha instead of thinking in English to Fus-ha. My French also gets better every day and my English, well, it keeps getting worse. Pretty soon I am going to start writing these posts in another language.

CARTE DE SEJOUR: After 6 trips to the police station, hours of hassle/paperwork/photocopies/notarization, SUZANNE MAYER is officially a resident of Morocco. My god...can you imagine my face when I saw that on my carte de sejour which I worked so hard to get had the wrong name on it? I'm going back tomorrow and inshallah it will be fixed in about a month :)

That was my October in Morocco! An exciting, amazingly intense, and rewarding month!

Random acts of "not-so-kindness"

2006-10-06T23:06:00.000-04:00

Its been a weird week here in Fes...read my posting on the Nomadlife Ramadan Blog to find out more.

Ramadan Moubarak Saeed!

2006-09-26T07:23:00.000-04:00

Ramadan started here in Morocco on Sunday. This is the fourth time I have fasted for Ramadan, but all the others were in the US so it was a much different experience. Breaking fast alone in the office with protein bars doesn't compare to being in a country where everyone else is fasting with you and where there over a thousand years worth of tradition associated with Ramadan.

My best experience here in Morocco so far was Sunday night. Just before Iftar (the breaking of hte fast) we were all sitting around the table, staring at plate after plate of traditional Morocccan food, waiting in anticipation for the call to prayer to signal that it was time to begin eating. We all started laughing and joking to distract ourselves from the hunger. When the call to prayer finally came we ate what I will probably always remember as the best meal of my life...not only because the food was incredible, but because I was surrounded by my wonderful new family here, and we were sharing such a powerful experience together.

My Apartment

2006-09-11T11:51:00.000-04:00

View from Suzanne's Apartment
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

Here's a picture taken from my bedroom window in Fes. It is a beautiful view of the city and I love waking up to the sun rising over the city every morning.

So you want to know my exact address in Fes- here it is:
Apartment 16 on the 6th floor of the building above the chinese restaurant close to the train station. Or if you are speaking to a Moroccan "l'appartment sitesh fee sixieme etage fqt l restaurant chinois qrb min l gar" .

I haven't tried yet sending a letter through the post to this address but my Moroccan friends have assured me that this address (more than the actual # and street name of my apartment) is much more likely to get something delivered to my place. I actually don't e ven know the name of my street.

As for the apartment itself, it has its pluses and minus. Pluses include a huge Terrace, beautiful Moroccan paintings, DSL!!!, a modern refrigerator and TV and LOTS of space. The minuses include being on the 6th floor and having a broken elevator, the lack of air-conditioner, and the slight smell of chinese food that always lingers on the first floor near the entrance...but all in all the pluses are WAY more than the minuses and I am happy to have a wonderful new place here in Fes!!

Lines Composed from Royal Air Maroc Flight 201

2006-09-04T11:22:00.000-04:00

Its 12:22 AM in New York, 4:22 AM in Morocco, and I don’t even know if there is technically a time zone for the patch of Atlantic Ocean I am flying over right now. I’m on my way to Morocco. It’s official- I no longer live in the US.

Next Thursday, after my orientation in Rabat, I will move to my new apartment in Fes. For the first time in my life, I have no permanent residence in the US. For the first time in my life, I will have a residency card, a driver’s license, and health insurance in another country. I’m not a typical American- I have visited 48 countries and I have spent “summers” and “semesters” abroad. But this move involved leaving a lot more behind than any other time in the past.

After 7 years, I’m no longer a New Yorker. I’m now Fassi. And pretty soon I’ll be Rabati. By the time I come back to the US next fall I will be some strange Moroccan version of myself, complete with a full command of Moroccan Arabic, the ability to make incredible cous-cous, and a full wardrobe of djellabas and kaftans. Pretty exciting thought, huh?

Frenetic Summer!

2006-06-21T18:40:00.000-04:00

There is only one word to describe my life these days...Frenetic! So much to do, so little time! My flight to Morocco is booked...August 8th is the big day that I will be flying from Cincinnati to Casablanca.

So, what to do with the next 6 weeks? Well, between two trips to DC for my Fulbright orientation and High Atlas Foundation event at the Moroccan Ambassador's house, a trip to Michigan to finish up some work stuff, a few days of AIESEC's Summer Conference in Indiana, a trip to see my parents for the 4th of July, and planning the rest of my move there isn't a whole lot of time left to really enjoy NYC.

I have a whole list of fun things I want to do before I leave...but we will see how many I actually manage to do :)

Luckily I will have a bit of a break in August when I will be travelling around Europe before I start Arabic classes at the beginning of September in Fes. Look out Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, and Germany....I am on my way :) Oh, and maybe to Serbia or Egypt too!

Urban Adventures Part II

2006-06-07T01:16:00.000-04:00

Urban Adventures Part II
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

Last weekend we had a plan for a REAL outdoor adventure. We had reserved the campsite, bought sleeping-bags, organized tents, and were ready for a weekend in the real wilderness(the hinterlands of New Jersey.) Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn't like the idea and heavy rains came on Friday with no sign of stopping.

Most people would have given up on camping, but my innovative friends decided to invent a new sport...URBAN CAMPING. Saturday night 10 of us convened at my apartment for a crazy night of candle-lit non-electricity activities, roasting smores on the stove, singing camp-fire songs, and sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor. It was almost like real camping...except for the part where we ordered Thai food for dinner, or the part where we turned the air-conditioner on because it was too hot.....ok, truth be told..it might have been BETTER than real camping!!!

Urban Adventures Part I

2006-06-07T01:11:00.000-04:00

Urban Adventures Part I
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

My NYC friends and I have been experimenting with self-organized Urban Adventures over the past few weeks. Two weekends ago we rented bikes and trekked 30 miles (50 KM) around Manhattan and Brooklyn, including riding over the Brooklyn bridge. Since Brooklyn is as close as you get to "the wilderness" in New York City, it was a fun-filled adventure complete with trees and grass. As we sped through the streets of Bedford-Stuyvesant we passed all the hassidic jews wearing their traditional sabbath dress. When I realized that they were staring at the strange half-indian, 1/8 irish, 1/8 australian, BIKE GANG traversing the streets even more than we were staring at their funny hats...I thought to myself..."Only in New York."

Lets meet for coffee!!

2006-05-25T18:47:00.000-04:00

"Virtual Coffee Break"
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

5:30 on a Thursday. I am hitting a low..can't stare at the laptop screen any longer.. Bea MSNs me from El Salvador and we start joking about "Meeting for Coffee." What a great idea!!

Two digital cameras, one 30 minute international phone call, 5 minutes of playing in Adobe Photoshop and two cups of coffee later Bea and I are enjoying a "Virtual Coffee Break". Almost like the real thing :)

Hey, its not easy having your best friends all around the world, but it can make for some creative digital socializing!!!

The Guiltiest Guys in the Room

2006-05-25T14:02:00.000-04:00

I saw a great movie this weekend "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." Complete with first-hand accounts by Enron employees of the corruption leading up to Enron's ultimate downfall, the movie is DEFINITELY worth seeing.

After watching the movie I felt a sense of relief reading this:
"Lay and Skilling's Day of Reckoning" (CNN)

The jury today convicted Lay and Skilling of a combined 19 counts of fraud, conspiracy, fast statements, and insider trading.

Looks like the "Smartest Guys in the Room" just became the "Guiltiest Guys in the Room."

In the words of Abraham Lincoln "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Seventy Days and Seventy Nights in NYC

2006-05-22T01:39:00.000-04:00

70 Days....That's how long I have before my big exodus from NYC. Just a little over two months left and so much to do. I spent 4 hours today just making lists of all the things that I need to take care of before i leave the country for a year.

I realized I have been cheating in the "nomad"game during the 7 years I have lived in NYC. I have spent more than half my time outside of the city during these years, but I have had the same home-base the whole time. Along with a steady home-base comes complicated things like furniture, appliances, mobile service contracts, and a HUGE collection of books. These are things that real nomads don't have to deal with.

There is something emotionally liberating about selling everything that you can't carry with you...but I think I am beyond that point in my life. I love my furniture. I love my books carefully collected over the last 15 years. I love the idea of spending a year abroad, but there is something therapeutic about owning "stuff".

I'm having such mixed emotions right now. Every day I grow more excited about the year I will spend in Morocco, but at the same time I can't help but let the melancholy start to creep in about what I am leaving behind. After seven years I can say, without a doubt, I LOVE NEW YORK.

The good news is that New York will always be here(unless of course you believe those movies which project that it will freeze over or be flooded or attacked by a huge gorilla)!! They say you never know what you have till you lose it...well, New York, in 70 days I'm going to lose you. Let's see how I feel about you a year down the road!!!

My Journalistic Debut

2006-05-09T22:22:00.000-04:00

You know, for all the intelligent things I have said in my life it had to be THIS that got me quoted in the BBC :) Yes, that is right, I was the one chanting "Don't Die, Don't Die" as David Blaine heroicly tried to drown himself last night in Lincoln Center.

Makes you think...

2006-05-04T16:37:00.000-04:00

saki's wreck
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

This photo is taken at the scene of a major traffic accident in Cairo that one of my friends was in this week. A truck plowed over a bunch of cars, most of which burned in the explosion. Thank God my friend Hassan came out with only minor injuries to himself and not-so-minor injuries to his car.

He calls himself "Lucky" but I am becoming more and more convinced that Hassan is actually an alien or super-human since he has survived several crazy accidents that would have killed any normal person, each time coming out with only scratches. If he is, in fact "human" then God must keep saving him because he has big plans for him! Once those scratches heal up we expect big things from you Saki!

Paulo Coelho is Blogging!!

2006-05-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

Paulo Coelho, my all time favorite author, has recent started blogging. You can check out his blog here: http://www.paulocoelhoblog.com/ .

Ever since I first read The Alchemist I have felt such a strong connection to Paulo and it is so great to see this more personal side of him. Of course I have read every book he has ever written (many two or three times and some in multiple languages), but his blog offers a whole new insight into his approach to life.

Paulo is proving more than ever that he is one of us...a true nomad! Here is an excerpt from a recent email I received from his mailing list:
Throughout the months of April, May and June, Paulo will be in Ukraine, where he will participate in the homage of the 20th birthday of Chernobyl, then Tunisia, Italy and Bulgaria. From Moscow, he will take the famous Tran Siberian train and will stop in the following cities Novosibirsk, Irkutsk y Vladivostock, to organize more book signings of Walking the Path.

Wedding and Cancun Pics

2006-04-24T22:09:00.000-04:00

I have finally uploaded my pictures from Hanna & Denis's wedding and from the rest of my time in Cancun. Check them out here:

Hanna & Denis's Wedding Photos
Other Cancun Photos

Happy Viewing!!

ANGRY...VERY ANGRY!!

2006-04-24T14:53:00.000-04:00

3 Bombs went off in Dahab....

Anger wasn't my first response....
First, there was NAUSEA as I first heard about the bombing and got that sinking feeling in my stomach.
Next came CONFUSION as I searched google news and refreshed CNN and BBC every few seconds, finding almost no details about the incident for about 20 minutes.
Then there was PANIC as I rushed to grab my phone and call Luli whose last words to me on Thursday were "We are heading off to Dahab for the holiday."
Next was FEAR as I dialed and dialed to get through to all my friends in Egypt. Almost everyone was somewhere in Sinai because of the long holiday weekend.
RELIEF as I hear voices and see text messages from those who could of (or in some cases should have if it wasn't for a last minute hotel problems) been there.
That left me with LINGERING ANXIETY of the ones who didn't text back, or whose messages aren't showing delivery receipts.
The ongoing FRUSTRATION of the "Sorry, All International Circuits are Busy Now" recording that i keep hearing over and over again as my fingers get sore from trying to get through.

And then, only then, comes the ANGER . Then I start wondering how many times we have to do this. This isn't the first time, and I wish, god how I wish, I could say that I think it will be the last.

They are saying over 100 dead but don't take that number too seriously. They try to hide the Egyptian deaths because they don't want to freak-out tourists with big death tolls. I was in Sharm el Sheikh a week after the last bombings in July. BBC says 60 people died in those attacks, CNN says 86, but my friends who were there said there were over 200-300 dead. Poor egyptian hotel workers are easy deaths to hide. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those who lost friends, loved ones, parents, children in this horrible act...even those who will never get counted in the "death count" ticker on CNN.

Fairytale Wedding

2006-04-17T23:39:00.000-04:00

Hanna & Denis on the Beach
Originally uploaded by suzannemo.

Just arrived off the plane from Cancun and barely processing the return to reality.

Hanna & Denis's wedding was amazing...truly a fairytale as this picture proves. I took over 200 pictures and will post them soon.

Weddings seem to have become the equivalent of conferences for AIESEC alumni (except no annoying morning plenary) and this one was a huge reunion. Almost my entire MC from my first MCP year was there and it was incredible to catch up with everyone.

Mazal Tov Hanna and Denis..you are gonna have some beautiful kids who really know how to dance!!!

The Best Birthday Present Ever

2006-04-17T23:16:00.000-04:00

This year I got the most expensive birthday present ever. It came from Mr. J. William Fulbright. The letter (dated on my birthday April 7th) reads... "It gives me great pleasure to congratulate you on your selection as a Fulbright grantee to Morocco." It also mentioned that 35 Fulbright grantees have been awarded Nobel Prizes so now I have my eyes set on a new competition.

So, my friends, after much anticipation it is official!!! Sometime later this year (probably the beginning of September) I will be moving to Morocco to spend between 9-12 months researching Morocco's progress with global economic integration, looking at how Morocco is addressing the challenge to build global management capacity-building, and watching first hand the implications of free-trade implementation on the first country in Africa to sign an FTA with the US. I am SOOOOO excited about this opportunity and I can't thank the Fulbright Scholarship Board enough for this incredible birthday gift.

Walkin' on Sunshine...Whoo Hoo!!

2006-04-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

10 reasons why Suzanne is in a GREAT mood today:
1) I don't ever have to wear my stupid walking cast again..I am back in SHOES!!
2) We had 4 sunny and warm days in NYC this week
3) I am going to see my family in Ohio this weekend.
4) In less than 1 week I will be on a beach in Cancun, Mexico where I will be attending HANNA and DENIS'S WEDDING!!
5) My best friend from High School, Taura, just got back in touch with me...and I might even get to see her this weekend!!
6) Two of the Salaam Trainees just got MARRIED (talk about impacting someone's life!!)
7) Three amazing concerts in 2 weeks- Coldplay on Monday of last week, an amazing Accapella performance on Saturday, and this Thursday Jim and Scott are performing.
8) I started looking for tickets to Egypt for my MCP reunion in May..it is going to ROCK!!
9) I just rediscovered my summer wardrobe.. you know that great feeling when you dig out your boxes of clothing and find all these things you forget you had?
10) I am turning another year older this week and I don't care at all. 28...Bring it!!

Life is good...very good. 'Nuff said.