French, food and friends

It's really been a great 2nd week here- we settled in a lot more, took a day trip to Marrakech to pick up a few more bags (which the Zinns had carried over for us) and started French lessons.

John, who has never studied French before, is doing so well- I'm really impressed. I think he'll learn well and I am working on remembering what I learned in the past. The hardest part for me is speaking since that wasn't really the forte of French class in high school and college.

Sam is doing well too but John and I are still quite green when it comes to parenting- some days we'll think we have it down and then the next day Sam is pretty fussy and we realize that our theory didn't hold up. But Sam is cooing a lot and holds up his weight and is really active and alert so that is fun. I especially love my morning smile and chat with him- his face really lights up when I say good morning.

We've had some great foods this week- started making fresh squeezed oj for breakfast and the fresh breads and pastries are great, and we ate in the garden of a nice French breakfast restaurant (which serves ham- a rarity in this Muslim country). And my mom has continued to make us dinner every night which is a really great treat. I feel like I'm catching up on all the spoiling that kids get from their parents when they come home in college, since I haven't lived in the same country as them since 1998.

The major excitement for this week is that our friends the Zinns and the Jones' are here for a bit of Morocco exploring. We'll be going to Fes, Chefchaouen and Volubilis- see the next post for info on that trip. We'll also go to a spa for a traditional Moroccan treatment with a black clay masque and body scrub and such. I'm sure it will be a blast. I'm looking forward to things settling down even more after that though- even though we'll be blessed with a slew of visitors this year- family visiting my parents mostly but since we're here we'll get to see them too.

As always, living overseas has its one main drawback- being away from friends and family in the States and that hit hard this weekend. My cousin Erik got married in Seattle yesterday and I really would have loved to have been there to celebrate with he and his wife and to hang with the rest of my extended family. I can't say that it's a small price to pay, as it's the one real sacrifice I make in this lifestyle.

We still don't have internet at home, so no pics still, but I will post them eventually :-)