Shopping at the souk

I'm pretty proud of myself today, as I have finally made my own way into the medina by bus and around the souk all by myself. Until now I've usually travelled with at least one friend, who has usually known a lot more French than me - and we usually split a taxi instead of taking the bus, but turns out the bus is a much cheaper option when travelling solo. Now that I've worked out where to catch it I'll be using it a lot more I think; there's not really bus stops as such here, just places where people gather and jump on to any bus that slows down enough - never actually stopping - for them to get on.

Once in the souk I successfully haggled my way through to buying a new daypack, using broken French and hand gestures. When I paid he actually congratulated me on my success - not sure how to take this; I'm fairly certain he was laughing at me. I then made straight for my favourite dvd sellers, turning down one marriage proposal along the way with a firm 'la!' Somehow I think he had a fairly short-term marriage in mind :)

I guess most people reading this are fairly aware that I enjoy watching the occasional dvd now and again; I was actually thinking that I wouldn't be doing much of this in Morocco - wrong! When the only book I have with me is Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose, (I chose it thinking that it would take me a little longer than most books to read - correct!), and there's not much to do in the house after 7:30, dvd's take on a whole new appeal. The process of buying dvd's however is not always straightforward. They tend to be sold by guys at the souk or at the side of the road, from a rug on the ground - or occasionally a basket. Something about selling burnt dvd's (I haven't seen an original since arriving) must bring something out in people because most of the guys selling them are fairly unpleasant. I've managed to find two that are pretty decent, and now they pull things out for me that are in English and chase up things I ask for. Now that they've stopped trying to sell me that crappy comedy 'scary movie' - a misunderstanding that arose when I was trying to explain to them that I liked horror movies - we get along pretty well.

I have no idea where to catch the bus that actually takes me home, so a taxi it was. I timed it perfectly so that I arrived home in time for the afternoon tea - a staple in the Moroccan diet; mint tea with cookies or crepes/pancakes/cake. Mmm... So that was my afternoon today; obviously I have more time on my hands now that most of my group have gone home - look out for more long and rambling blogs! On the upside, only 9 more sleeps until Damien gets here :)