Trip Log: Fes 2
What did you do last night? I got naked with a bunch of guys in a steamy room…Moroccan style. I’m talking, of course, about a hamman, the traditional Middle Eastern communal bathhouse, which is often the only way locals are able to bathe.
I decided to get down with the local Fassis (Fes citizens) and so I walked down to a nearby hammam. After stripping down nearly completely, a big hairy man gave me two buckets filled with extremely hot water that was being heated by a nearby fire. I walked into big hot tile-covered room and then wondered what to do. Where do I sit? Who do I look at? Am I sitting too close? Whose hand is on my butt?
I took a seat and sat for about 30 minutes as my skin soaked up the steam. I then rubbed a special black soap over myself. At this point, I could have taken advantage of one of the attendants to scrub the soap off of me, but I chose instead to do it myself. Had I used the attendant, I probably would have ended up like the poor guy next to me, who was forced to lie stomach-down on the floor while the attendant stood on his back, interweaved his legs around him, and then proceeded to perform painful moves that I’ve only seen on WWF wrestling. Maybe next time.
One last thing: attention potential future Lonely Planet Morocco readers. If you follow their instructions on proper hammam etiquette — which is a good idea — be careful not to make the same error I did. They recommend bringing an “extra pair of knickers”. I misread knickers (British for underwear) as kickers (American for shoes) and so I ended up showing up with two pairs of shoes…but zero underwear. Awkward. There was a full moon over Morocco tonight!
(Apologies if this photo makes anyone vomit.)
Trip Log: Fes
It’s time again for travelling. The current adventure brings me to Morocco, where for two weeks I plan to explore the intersection of Arabic, French, and African culture. My trip begins in Fes, and we’ll see where it goes from there.
The trip got off to an exciting start during my first flight when a flight attendant announced over the intercom that there was a passenger who needed medical assistance, and they were asking if anyone could help help. Time to shine, peoples. My hand swiftly shot up in the air and I was taken to the back of the plane. There, they pointed me to a middle-aged woman having a hard time with some vague symptoms and an even harder time trying to articulate herself since she was only Spanish-speaking…it’s as if I never even left Hillcrest. After talking to her for awhile, taking her vital signs, and doing a brief exam, it seemed she was having an asthma exacerbation as well as a mild panic attack. Nothing Dr. Schricker couldn’t handle…and next thing he knew he got a free meal and a free flight upgrade.
Once in Fes, I spent much of my first two days looking around their very expansive markets (souks). Almost all of ancient Fes is covered with these, and the extremely narrow and winding streets make it a human-sized maze. A little claustrophobic at first, but nothing you can’t slowly get used to. You want to see Fes? This is Fes:
Wearing a Fes…in Fes.
One of the many donkeys on the streets. These guys are the hardest workers in all the city.
Morocco hasn’t captured my heart just yet, however. I’m sure part of it is the non-stop hassling by the locals, all of whom want to give me a tour, sell me something, or get me to view their carpets/blankets (if I ever again hear “Fes has 9400 streets and 14 gates, let me show you around” or “why you no want support Moroccan community?” or “come look at rug, it’s like Berber Picasso”, a Morrocan face might get punched.)
I nearly had it this afternoon when I was walking and had to ask a kid for directions. I didn’t ask him to, but he chose to escort me the entire way there. When we arrived I thanked him for his service, and he expected me to tip him. I offered him 10 dirhams (approximately one dollar) but got an unexpected surprise when he refused, accepting nothing less than 50. After some verbal arguments he, and his ugly-ass sidekick (who jumped out of nowhere all of a sudden), wanted me to hand over my backpack. Um, no. Or the contents of my backpack. No. What about my hat? Hellll no. I threw two coins at them and walked away.
But something that brought my opinion of Fes way up was the food. After sitting at a streetside restaurant and being served piping hot mint tea, a plate of fresh olives, and then a tajine filled with tasty meatballs in a bubbling hot spicy sauce, I almost forgot about the rest of my day.
My New Travel Pack
It’s travel time again, which these days means time to buy a new bag. I will be traveling to Morocco next week and decided that in addition to my large North Face backpack, I’d need a smaller day pack to walk around with. I found this cool little bag from REI. It’s cool because it looks like this:
Grand Canyon Trip
I just returned from a great roadtrip to the Grand Canyon. This was my first time there, and the Grand Canyon definitely lived up to its reputation. Here are some highlights of the trip.
Phoenix:
- Eating the Big Unit at the Alice Cooperstown restaurant. The Big Unit is a monster two-foot sausage with all the fixins that prompts a bell to be rung whenever it is ordered. Big U-NIIIT!
Flagstaff
- Staying at the Little America, a great hotel that put us up in an awesome suite.
- An unexpected snowstorm that blanketed the city and streets with new snow.
- Amazing beer-battered fish tacos at San Felipes restaurant, which is no small feat considering San Diego knows fish tacos.
Grand Canyon
- The Grand Canyon itself. There’s good reason it’s not called the “Pretty Good Canyon”.
- Watching a helicopter retrieve a car from inside the Grand Canyon used by someone who committed suicide by driving into the canyon.
Miscellaneous
- Getting to drive a few miles on historic Route 66. Exciting…and oftentimes weird.
- Arizona radio stations can play only two songs: “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga (”Ra-Ra Ah-Ah-Ah”) and “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus (”And the Jay-z song was on!”). I’m ashamed to admit I kind of like them now.
Photos on the way soon.
A Very Southern 4th of July
Back in the South. The best part of the South, other than the food, is the fact that fireworks are legal. Kenny and I put together the greatest fireworks show that money can buy, called “Battle For America”.
Can’t wait till next year!
Comfort Food
Time to visit the dirty South. What started out as a trip to make a few fellowship interviews soon turned into a competition to see how much food we could eat (or, how much a stomach can be assaulted without permanent injury).
Thursday night landed me at the Cracker Barrel. I was torn between all the choices in their menu but finally chose “chicken and dumplins”. Stupidly, I didn’t think that would be enough food so I also ordered a side of turnip greens, steak fries, and corn bread. The waiter soon delivered a heaping pile of dough and chicken. “Chicken and dumplins”? More like “coronary artery disease on a plate”. I was only able to make it through one-third of the plate before feeling like I needed to purge. Biggest surprise of the night: the huge volume of food brought to one person. Second biggest surprise: learning the turnip greens weren’t meat-free.
Friday, now joining up with Kenny, our first stop was the Cook Out, a fast food restaurant chain in the South that features grilled hamburgers and milkshakes — make that 40 different kinds of milkshakes, including Snickers, banana pudding, and watermelon. Pictured below is Kenny holding our two trays o’ food and me holding my Huge Tea. By the way, included in my tray o’ food was a cup of chili that didn’t have any beans in it. Who needs beans if it frees up room for more meat?
Now, back in California, time to decompress … and replete my vegetable-deficient body.
Shrimp Boil Video, Finally
Here it is, the edited video from our authentic Southern (aka “low country”) shrimp boil, which we held for Ricky’s birthday. This event actually took place in July…but six months late ain’t bad!
Gotta love low country food.
Belize Photos
Back from Belize. It was a great trip with lots of snorkeling, diving, lobster eating, and Belikin beers. And, unfortunately, sand bugs.
Anyway, check out my Belize photos.
Geek Humor
But I still think it’s funny!
An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer. The bartender says “You’re all idiots”, and pours two beers.
Internship Is Over
My year of hell is finally over! No more notes, no more pre-rounding, and no more writing H&P’s. Now only two more years of general medicine before I begin training in what I’m truly interested in.