So, unsurprisingly, I've been slow about getting around to adding another post. In my defense, my internet has been fairly unreliable lately when I've tried emailing and Skyping, so I wasn't too keen to type a whole blog post only to have it delete itself. Aside from my procrastination, life is going well; my classes have been good so far, and I had another enjoyable weekend. But I am getting ahead of myself...

(hiking through the cedar forests)

Most of last week passed quite uneventfully: I went to class, did homework, spent looong periods of time eating dinner with friends in order to avoid doing homework. The usual. I also tried running a bit last week, and discovered that my body was not adjusting to the altitude quite as effectively as I'd thought; the slightest hill set me huffing and puffing. It was not altogether good for my self-esteem, but I hope to improve as the semester progresses. Hopefully the pool repairs will be finished soon. :)

The only event of any real importance that happened during the week occurred Friday morning as I was getting ready for class. I had just showered and dressed, and had begun to blow-dry my hair (my roommate had been letting me use her hairdryer every morning, so I wouldn't have to buy one) when all of a sudden, it started shooting out sparks. I yelped as one or two landed on my arm, then started panicking as the cord to the hair dryer caught fire. I hurriedly unplugged it, opened the bathroom door, and starting fanning out the thick, black smoke with a towel. When the cloud had cleared, I shakily inspected the hair dryer to figure out what had happened. It seems that the wire in the cord had somehow become disconnected from the machine and had overheated, melting the insulation and starting the fire. It was a fine way to start the morning, I can assure you, but luckily my roommate was very understanding, and not the least bit upset that I'd fried her hair dryer. She even tried to talk me out of buying her a new one, which made the whole ordeal seem less overwhelming.

(coming down from the mountains, looking out at the farmlands)

On Saturday, I had a lovely outing with the Explorer's Club, a club I've joined here for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. Our first trip was a hike through the mountains to the (somewhat) nearby city of Azrou, about 20 kilometers away by road, and slightly shorter the way we went. Don't let the distance fool you, though; I was nice and sore--not to mention muddy--after hiking nine hours uphill through the mud left by recent rains. The experience was definitely worth the pain, though: the scenery was absolutely gorgeous, and I had a lot of fun getting to know the other students and the guide. We hiked through mossy cedar forests (not what most people expect to see in Morocco, but no less beautiful for that) and through hilly farmland. We searched for Barbary apes, which live in the mountains here, but didn't see any; however, we did see a scorpion, a soft-water turtle, and lots of farm animals. If you're interested, I'll try to post more pictures from the hike on Facebook, but most of them don't have people in them (as usual) and don't seem to convey how beautiful everything actually was, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

More later. :)