Graham and Jessica

We have this wonderful yard guy, otherwise known as a gardener, who has set up our pool, kept up our yard before we got there, and brought our two little girls their greatest gift ever. There names are Graham and Jessica, a boy named after their cousin and a girl named after a friend. They are quite slow and peaceful which is everything mere and pere want as a pet around the house, sorry Flo, you are very cute but very busy, loud and rambunctious, (she is our colleagues pup who came for a visit yesterday). The eat the vegetables and never complain, they are not demanding, and have been made famous by Doctor Seuss, my favorite poet. Here they are with our own two pets.

We have resisted getting any sort of pet for nine and a half years, as our oldest will attest too, along with sister, but since they can live outside in the garden, as long as we block the bottom of the gates so they cannot escape. Graham, whom Hannah calls a naughty boy, escaped from his box a few times, and got out of the yard in search of better feeding grounds. He had us searching the yard and street for the runaway, or should I say crawl slowly away turtle. It is a good thing we did not get pet hares, because contrary to popular tales, they are not slower than a tortoise. They are now safely in a bigger walled box until Sabri can block of the escape routes, which should be today. Which reminds me, we gotta get some lettuce. Maybe we will have to stop at a store along the way to pick up some turtle food. Another simple task, which in our reality right now is a great adventure. Good thing for my spidey sense of direction. Ha!

First Day of School

We have been hard at work getting ready for school, Mom and Dad prepping and planning and going to school, and the kiddos milking every last ounce of fun out of summer, working around mom and dad's schedule as best they can. We are lucky to have two pools, one at our house and one Olympic sized at the school. We have made great use of them both.

We have begun to drive around town as well, in our new to us Kangoo, exploring a few corners of Rabat and not getting too lost along the way. I went out last Saturday and just drove, with a few destinations in mind and my limited sense of direction. I eventually made it home, and actually found the same places a few days later. maybe my infamous lack of direction skills are not so bad after all. We have visited the Marjan, a Superstore and Walmart conglomerate in set up, tonnes of food and cheap stuff to buy, the Acima, a smaller much less busy grocery store in a small mall, and Kitea, an IKEA type furmiture store where we ordered bunkbeds for the girls. It is a fun little car, made by Reault, a bit of a box but practical and roomy, in a European design sort of way.

Today is the first day of school for us and the girls. The girls went to their classrooms and met their teachers and hopefully some new friends. A tearful mother dropped them off, a hard and brave thing to do for a mom who is working fulltime for the first time in years. Good thing we are all at the same place. Mom gets to teach them PE so she we see the love loves.

BTW if you are on Facebook, and you actually know me, I have posted many pictures there, as it is easier and more will fit. Find me and send a request, and if you are not on facebook, maybe it is time you signed up, eh!. I will try and load some up on Flickr or something similar, if I ever find the time.

Day 6 - I think

This is how we sometimes spend our evenings, hanging out on the balcony, watching the sunset real fast into the Antlantic Ocean. It is quite amazing to watch the sun actually move when it sets. The sunset in Vancouver are spectacular; they are the fantastic here as well, though very different without the islands. Sometimes I feel like I am on Lost when all I can see is the ocean, then I remember I am standing on my flat roof, somewhere in Africa. Thank goodness Ben does not show up. 

I hope someone comes to visit, cause I need someone to bring Season four of Lost f

or me, and a few other small items. I can ship them to your house before you arrive. :)

We have unpack all our stuff, acquired a few more items, and plan to shop for more stuff over the next few days. send us a how you are doing

 some time. Our days are busy touring the city, setting up classrooms, shopping, visiting people we are meeting for the first time and and tonnes of paperwork needed to live and move around the city. Yikes, but it is a great adventure. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Cheers

Dan

Day 4 in Morocco

Well, so far I have taken a taxi, walked the Medina, gone to the beach, watch the African sun set in less than a few minutes, seen a swordfish for sale, cheap, killed a cockroach (2 actually but don't tell Hannah cause all living things deserve to live), drove a car, had the runs, and said no thanks to a snake charmer who came to our door wanting to charm his snake for money. Should have said yes. It has been an adventure so far, and I am sure it will continue.

We would love to hear from you, especially the girls. They are desperately wanting to make some new friends, and would love to hear from their old friends. dweeb8@gmail.com. And you don't have Skype yet, you can call us for free if you get it. Email for our user name if you get Skype. The girls are loving it here so far. They love our maid Naima and are with her today. 

We got our car yesterday and hopefully will get insurance soon, as well as internet at home. There is so much to do to get setup here, but one day at a time mentality keeps us sane. We would love to here from you all.

Dan

Welcome to Africa

Greetings from Morocco. We arrive, 12 bags short at the moment, but we have our bikes, bedding and computers. What more does one need. Hopefully the rest will arrive soon. We got stuck on the tarmac in New York for three hours, thank goodness for patient children and laptop computers with episodes of Whose Line and Seinfeld on it. Our bags are somewhere along the way, 12 did not make it out of Vancouver as the plane was full. They are on a later flight. We arrive around noon on Friday and drove straight to our house on the beach. I tell you the pictures did not do justice to the view. 

Our house is amazing, I watched the sunrise from our rooftop balcony (pictures to follow). We met Naima our maid and she took our kids to the beach and help them unpack and made supper while we went shopping. She is lovely. Today we wander the Medina and shop and explore the school. It is quite overwhelming but we are looking forward to settling in. Plasma TVs are everywhere and iPhones are available. More to follow. Send us an email.