The Magic of My Universe

Watch Your Kids!!!!

2011-08-05T00:16:00.004-04:00

After a long hectic day, I decided to go to the mosque for Taraweeh prayers. The first 4 rakaat, weren't quite bad as I was struggling to focus on the imam's recitation and actually be able to feel some Khooshoo3 because he had no microphone on him...so it was quite a challenge to keep up with him. The last 4 rakaate, however; were more challenging because of Bani Adam. It took literally 2 Moroccan women to enter the mosque to make fitna in the women section. Their kids were rude, loud, and annoying. They kept on talking really loud..running, jumping around the ladies..to the point I wish I could grab one of them and throw him out of the window. I struggled to remain calm and focused on my prayers. But what annoyed me really the most is that they would literally start roughly a minute behind because they keep talking..mainly gossiping asking one another about really stupid stuff going on at the mosque. For instance, whose daughter is sitting here and whose son is sitting there. But the most frustrating of all, those women were Moroccans...and their kids were nothing but a true reflection of wild animals.

I Dream of Freedom

2011-06-09T02:29:00.002-04:00

Trapped in guilt and fear
To the expectations I should adhere

It is what it is...Some call it a turning point of life...but all I can see is obscure darkness that I can't possibly see through it. I might be wrong in my feelings. I know I just need to muster some courage and get through this combat of life to move on with my life. But it's not easy to be totally free of fear..It's hard to not be free of doubts...I can't help but ask myself one question: What the heck did I sign up for in this life? I shall find out soon iA. For now, all I need to do is pray hard, work hard, and not forget to catch my breath from time to time...oh and remember to enjoy life.

"ORaric" Disappointment

2011-01-13T18:19:00.002-05:00

One would think the era of discrimination based on the color of skin has vanished from the surface of earth but to my shocking surprise, today, I realized I was wrong. I attended a laparoscopy surgery where the room was divided by one black team and white team. Once in, I was astonished to see incomprehensible favorism towards my black partner by the black anesthesiologist. I thought to myself, well maybe she attended a previous surgery with this team and they know her very well. Throughout the surgery though, the general surgeon was mainly addressing me and another resident who was assisting in the surgery. Oh I gotta stress out the fact that the general surgeon was white. He hardly ever looked at the side of my partner. The OB/GYN performing the surgery was an Asian guy with dark skin... Even though he’s the doctor I am attending, and the surgery is his…he wasn’t quite given a chance to utter a word as the general surgeon was doing all the talk as if he was leading. So surgery was done and my partner and I reported back to the OBGYN’s office, and before we left he stopped us to ask if we noticed the discrimination between white and black in the OR! My eyes just bugged out as I was thinking it was all in my head at some point…but it really was not!!!! Never thought such backward way of thinking exists among the highly educated people! What a disappointment! I thought to myself why the hell is he putting up with this as he is one the finest surgeons with a lot of experience...but I realized once you live through daily discrimination throughout your life, your skin become thicker to any stones thrown at you. This fine doctor had long stories about his struggles back in UK, even though he was raised there...but his skin color was more of a burden to him in life yet he resisted and kept on going his way and claiming more success in his field.

Never thought British people could be awafully racist by dividing people according to their color and race! The funny part, to the white general surgeon I was white...maybe he didn't pick out my accent..but to OB/GYN I was a foreigner: A Moroccan..he thought he could share his struggles in life with and spare me some advices.

Weird & Random Invitation

2011-01-11T20:34:00.003-05:00

Well I received a total weird random wedding reception invitation from my uncle's ex-wife. What a joke!

A Change I didn't witness

2011-01-06T09:27:00.002-05:00

So I don't know what got me click on Moroccan news media this morning to get a scoop of some Moroccan flavor of news..unexpectedly and surprisingly, the first video I click on, which is an interview with a political figure in Morocco happened to be my father's best friend (or maybe used to be). Last I can remember he was no where near becoming a prominent political figure in the country...so how the hell he climbed the ladder?! and when this happened? Last I can remember of him is being part of diwane of a particular department in the country...well that happened because our political party (well my parents') won the elections and took over some departments...and oh boy life started changing from then. It was one of those magical days, where I truly witness the uneducated, and the poor rise and shine and become some political figure...and of course take advantage of the country resources, build villas here and there, pay cash for kids tuition in France or US...it was the same period of time, my father gave up his political activities for unknown reasons (or at least to us) and decided to keep living a normal life while we were all watching everyone we know climbing the ladder in society through active political involvement.
So back to the story, this old friend of my father didn't even get his high school diploma...so how the heck he got elected on the first place?! Knowing him that well, and knowing where he came from and what he has done...makes me want to vomit. So the interview went on mentioning how of a great politician he is not mentioning any of the highlight of his frauds: such as stealing lands from government, building villas using the government's money, and so on and so forth. I can go on endlessly.
I guess I just wanted to vent off how corrupted the government is in Morocco!!!!

Denial

2010-08-15T03:00:00.002-04:00

Perhaps the hardest thing for any health care provider to deal with is accepting health complications of himself or his family or any loved one for that matter. Denial depresses the heck out of ya and torments you psychologically and emotionally. Doctors are good at preaching and giving patients hopes whenever they get slammed with poor prognosis for whatever condition they have, yet when they themselves walk though the shoes of sickness, they lose hope in the world and hardly ever seen any light by the end of tunnel. I am not sure why though but it's true that they can't handle the distress and they suddenly lose control of the steering wheels. Irony of life!

Ramadan Welcome!

2010-08-11T06:12:00.002-04:00

Today is first day of Ramadan. My excitment for this month is endless especially this year, actually this moment. I wanted to fly home yesterday since I was in a "effy" mood, and quite nostalgic to be with family but some unprofessional illerate spanish manager on duty didn't allow me to be on board because I had a doctor note with me stating stating that I was sick and needed to get where I wanted to get ASAP. There wasn't a medical emergency really. I just needed to be on the first flight leaving and the airlines wouldn't have allowed me to do so at the last minute unless I had some medical reason. When I got them the medical reason the big fat lie turned out to be a nightmare. I was almost treated like a criminal by the agent as if I had some disease of unknown reason and i was a threat to everybody. I have never cursed or used an F word in my entire life until yesterday. I just wanted to smack the hell out of her. I am like seriously your must be effing smoking weed if you think i am a threat. I am medical student and I know better. I was just too angry to deal with her ignorance. Sure the company is hearing from me when I get back

Free Time and My Tiny Mini Depression

2010-08-01T12:27:00.004-04:00

Free time depresses the heck out of me because I don't know what to do with as I have never had this privilege of having free time in life. My routine has been the same for years and years...and it can't get any better...always running to my classes 5 min before the classes start with a cup of coffee or cup of fruits in my hand (I don't know why my husband insists about those fruits)! I started writing a collective book with two of my friends, and even though it was my idea, guess whose part is unfinished? MINE! My thoughts are all shattered, and if I were to make some efforts and pick them up...ahhhh it gets painful for me to organize them in my head as this one is getting bigger and bigger!

Free time depresses me big time, and I end up bothering my husband and depressing him as well. So today I took the pledge of studying 13 hrs straight with short breaks for lunch and prayer time! Let's fight this mini-depression! Freaking board exams are around the corner!

Afghanistan

2010-07-30T19:00:00.002-04:00

So I watched a documentary about this young girl named Islam describing her miserable life with her abusive husband and how she was married to him at a very young age...basically she was sold to him. To put an end to her miserable life, Islam poured diesel fuel over her body. A very heartaching story. Although this happened long time ago, I just felt the need to write about it because for almost a year now I have been heavily exposed to the Afghani culture and Afghan people since my very close friend happened to be an Afghani...she is the star of my group. She did PA school before but decided to join medical school as soon as she graduated. Every time I study with her, she just fascinates me with her knowledge in medicine and criticial thinking of putting things together. I always try to imagine what if my friend was living back in Afghanistan under Taliban ruling, will she ever be given the privilege to be the smart person she is now. Will she even be studying medicine? What would her life be like? I just think it's quite sad that a lot of potentials gets wasted in war or has been wasted during war especially under Taliban ruling.

FB insanity!

2010-07-29T12:20:00.002-04:00

So what is it with people and facebook these days? Some are reporting every its and bits of their life step by step as if the entire world cares about them. I had this friend and her husband update their page at least once a day, exchanging love messages, husband posting pictures of his wife every time she eats an icecream then weighs herself, or ends up going to the gym, and some other silly STUPID pics where he says " look at my beautiful wife" Ok !! we get it! your wife is cute and you look just like a giant old bald beast next to her. Good news, I don't have to read their comments because they blocked me after I said enough is enough and suggested that it'd be easier to videtape themselves instead so we can get a more detailed scoop:) Was I mean? Totally!!! was I rude? Definitely!!! Do I regret it?! HECK NO!!!

Now I have another interesting friend who was diagnosed with something in her brain (can't remember for my life because every time I talk to her she tells me some new diagnosis). So this friend every time she takes a shot, she reports how many she did take, and if she feels any pain afterwards, and all the drama with her medical status updates. She seems more of a histrionic type of personaly with some bipolar disorder.

I totally understand the need of sharing some info with friends, but there is only much you can share people!!!!

Dear Friend. Sorry I forgot You Are (or were) My Friend

2010-07-16T13:52:00.002-04:00

I received an email from an old friend, apologizing for not being a great friend to me while I was always good to her...Apology was mainly because she forgot to congratulate me on my wedding. Jeez totally forgot she never congratulated me...heck I even forgot that she never responded to my wedding invitation. In my head, I just assumed she was somewhere in some part of the world and she couldn't squeeze me in her schedule. But then again, true friends are there for you to share the greatest moments of your life with you...and the bad ones. My friend was very sincere in her apology and she ended her email by expressing the need to stay in touch with me. Jeez once again, I just sent her an email checking up on her few months ago, but then I couldn't remember if she ever responded. How could I be so dumb?!
I felt crappy after I finished reading her email. Though she was sweet and sincere, and I hold nothing against her even though she couldn't make it to my wedding...it's just that I realized that I am so naive in my friendships...I give my 100 % to my friends and I get nothing in return..most cases. and the people I don't expect anything from them, they were always the ones to be there for me in time of need or even share the happiest moments of my life like graduation ceremonies,engagement, and wedding. I just realized I have bad luck in this field...some don't deserve my friendship at all.
My birthday was few months ago...and I got surprise birthday cakes from random people I didn't even expect them to know my birthday....but as far as the people that I thought were truly my friends, they were so busy with their lives to the point of forgetting to wish me just a fake happy birthday.
Before my birthday was a friend's birthday...I spent literally 3 weeks organizing it...well it was a suprise party and I made sure she gets pampered the WEEK of her birthday and not just the day of her birthday...this friend happened to move out of the area...and someone so naive like me would expect her to at least give me a phone call to wish me a happy birthday...but instead sent me FB message: happy birthday dear friend. I felt she wasn't sincere in her wishes...and I didn't expect her to spend a penny on me but I was just hoping she would show some sincerity especially that I spent GOOD MONEY on her birthday....

Moral of the story...choose your friends carefully.

Gotta Be Selfish

2010-07-03T03:35:00.002-04:00

It's one of those days...didn't know what to do with my time the entire day! Been devouring chocolate like there is no tomorrow for the past days, waking up every morning with a bad stomachache promising myself it'd be the last day to put myself through this pain...yet I find myself doing it over and over again as if eating chocolate would eliminate all of my stress. This is really pathetic...I can't wait for the sun to rise to lock myself in the library and be selfish! Why do I need to care about the world?! right?! I shouldn't give a rabbit about who is alive and who is dying! God, how I feel stupid for caring so much for sacrificing my time, energy and feelings to lift them up when they are desperately in need for someone to listen to on the expense of priorities. Jeez I want to cry and kill someone now!

I had a meeting with the dean yesterday, and stupid me broke into tears as always. This god damn med school made me cry rivers! I feel like I am in the military and not med school... one valuable advice he gave me : " you know how the horse sees? He doesn't have peripheral vision, he can see straight only, and that's how you should start seeing things...straight and focused and forget about everything else. be selfish". No wonder I get effed all the time !

Boy boy, how I am emotionally drained! There is so much on my plate and so many expectations, and balancing between this career and personal life has been a challenge. I just want to be anti-social, and focus on my well being and carry a healthy lifestyle! Screw the rest of the world and F* what people would think of me...I was always perceived as arrogant anyway! it's not like going to change anything this time!

My Morocco--Are You Still Mine??

2010-05-15T03:03:00.004-04:00

It just occured to me that my nostalgia is dying slowly either consciously or unconsciously. I could have made some efforts to go for a visit for a week but I chose not to for some reasons because nothing is the same, and everything is foreign to me in my native country. Somehow, I don't feel safe internally being there all alone...I feel something is missing in me. I am sure I won't survive too long on my own and I will end up booking myself a ticket to come back next day. I don't know if I changed over time or maybe Morocco has changed so much that I lost track of time from where I remember it and I just need to condition myself to get used to it. I know for sure it's an amazing feeling to smell the fresh air of Rabat. It just feels right to be there. It feels home. It brings back a lot of awesome memories. But unfortunately I can't link anything of those memories to my present...NADA...which is normal I guess because that's the course of life.

I just realized that my family is falsly attached to a culture they hardly live. So what is this lie about preserving our culture if we hardly go on visits to Morocco and 90 % of time we speak English instead of Darija excluding my cousins generation who speak it 100 % at all times (some pretend to not know it, others pretend to have hard time twisting their tongue, while other the most blunt one think of themselves as quite not cool to speak a foreign language of country where they were not born.)
How can we be lying to ourselves?! How how we stress out the necessity of having a Moroccan living room area in the house with all the Moroccan traditional decorations, and show off about our ethnic food to the Non-Moroccans, and brag about the beauty of the country, the hospitality of its people, etc., yet we hardly live the Moroccan life.

So what does it take to be a Moroccan? parents' origin? birth place? language speaker? Moroccan salon? collection of tagines in the house? authentic food with the nice aroma of safron and olive oil?

I don't know...I do know; however, something is missing. Just like I know it's a lie to say we are holding tight on our culture or traditions since we hardly speak the language and we pretty much don't have any Moroccan traditions we live by...oh yeah except for the couscous tradition. But wait a second! that's food!!! forgot to mention we cook other ethnic food more than Moroccan one!!! and we still consider ourselves Moroccans!

Where is The Right Person???

2010-05-15T02:30:00.003-04:00

yep...right person...looking for the right person with the perfect match list.

He has to be Educated, rich, handsome, well-built, cute accent, caring, not stingy, good family background....

She has to be educated, gorgeous, nice body, nice accent, family orientated, good cook, ready to give up the world for me....

and of course the list never ends for both parts. How can you find him and how can you find her???? Well for those of you who have been looking so hard...those of you who are so stressed out that they will die single...and those of you who are literally desperate for just a glimce of light...an ounce of hope and love, I say don't lose faith.

and for those of you who lost hope, I say don't give up and never say never.

Live day by day, and trust me it will happen when you least expect it to happen.

I'm always picked on to talk about my personal life either at school or with friends, and I quite hate it sometimes. I have no magic in my hands to spare and no golden advices to give. I just happened to be a normal person, whose heart got broken, and instead of getting bandaided it went through a major reconstruction to freshen up and be ready to embrace a new life and beat again...so I am a survivor on so many levels. I thank God for everything.

I find it quite pathetic that people become so desperate to have someone in their lives. Just like I find it so foolish to have an annoying list to stick in front of your nose to guide through the crowd to find the right person. What happened to faith in God? What happended to mystery? What if you were to live your life normally and enjoy every tiny bit of it, and switch the negative energy to a more positive one...smile to life so it can smile back at you. Give yourself a chance to beathe!!!! and stop stressing about marriage! Stop stressing about deadlines to find her or find him, and give a chance to people you meet in your life. You never know where the wind will take. You might land where you never expected yourself to land.

I am quite overwhelmed with the negativity of some people around me and I am sick and tired of listening to their dull boring whinening about finding him and finding her..It's really getting out of control!! The most annoying part is when people literally allow themselves to express jealousy right on my face, or even criticize my life with my husband to make a point about how they want to have their lives to be as if I give a damn...

Cut the crap and live your life!

Leishmaniasis in Rachidya, Morocco

2010-05-10T01:24:00.004-04:00

I was really stunned when I came across a video featuring the epidemic of Leishmaniasis in a small city called Rachidya in Morocco, and inability of affected people to get the right medications for it because there is no doctor in the area. It's quite shocking that the so called Health Ministry is not moving a finger to send appropriate health care providers to start treatment before it gets complicated. Mind you that Leishmaniasis is treatable in most cases except in HIV infected patients.

What really caught my attention about this video is how desperately those patients are using all sort of topical creams or natural ones hoping and praying that something will work somehow some day. How could we be living in 21st century and still be faced with this poor health service to society. This is outraging!

When The Dream is Over

2010-05-07T01:37:00.002-04:00

So you grow up your entire life believing in a dream, and you get so closer to it, then all of the sudden it shatters right in front of your eyes. It gets stolen from you, and you can't do anything about it but leaving it away and turning your back to it. I saw her crying like a baby from the bottom of her heart for the first time, and it was weird to me because I am used to her big smile from ear to ear. She was broken to small pieces, devastated to an unimaginable point and wanted to vanish from the surface of earth. I spared her few advices and I continuously questioned myself whether I was a hypocrite trying to make her feel good about herself and give her a lift up to erase some of her sadness or maybe I should have just criticized her and blamed her for her misery. Unfortunately there is no light by the end of her tunnel. It's quite sad to see people getting filtered out every term from the program. It became like a race, at the beginning of every new term you become eager to see who made it through and who was whipped out.

I will definitely write a detailed blog entry about my friend's story.

Awaiting That Light By The End of Tunnel!

2010-04-10T20:48:00.003-04:00

There is a price for everything... Sometimes, I wonder if I made the right decision or was I too selfish wanting everything in my life to go the way I want it to go?!

Either way someone will always be disatisfied...so I chose to sacrifice my marriage for the moment, and it really breaks my heart and I feel like crying blood at this moment because I know I am selfish. I am becoming numb to the world, and to everything around me...I just want this freaking dream, which is a nightmare for me now, to be done. I am physically, emotionally, and psychologically beaten to the bottom... I want my normal life back so badly. I know it's just a matter of time..but I am becoming impatient and stress is eating me up so fast.

I impatiently waiting to see the light by the end of this ugly dark tunnel...

Dying Consciously

2010-03-30T12:04:00.002-04:00

I looked at the mirror this morning and I almost wanted to cry ... My face was sick pale, my skin looked dry, and my eye-lids were half-closed (literally ptosis as if I had Horner's Syndrome)...slight fever, with nothing in the stomach but Soda (my natural amphetamine) for literally the past 3 days...what did I get myself into? I was very nauseous and about to vomit..my whole body started failing me when I needed it the most...I needed strength and I needed confidence to get myself up and go on with the day..as I was stepping out of the house, my heart couldn't stop beating...I couldn't control my body...I just couldn't.

Although I love the challenge but sometimes I just want to say F**** it I am done with this, I want my normal life back.

....but I am trying to survive....I just hope my body doesn't fail me for the last week of this term.

Evil in The Heart

2010-02-20T12:19:00.003-05:00

It was a joy to finally meet a Moroccan in my medical school program & also have her in my class. I must admit that this is the first time I have ever encountered a Moroccan in my field of studies let alone any school I have been to. A naive person would think a strong bonding will be formed between us but to my shocking experience I got nothing but bitter competition based on jealousy and big mouth watery with gossips. She is a quite unique package that contains a great deal of misrepresentations of Moroccan culture and islamic religion. However, I must admit that she still has one little thing inside her that make her a proud Moroccan---her Fassi heritage. Since day one, the so called- Fassi American dissected my last name to figure out exactly where I am coming from with the help of her mother who too was eager and curious to trace my ancestry, and road-map to where my family lives exactly back home. I am not sure if they succeeded in their hard work study-case of mine though!

My fassi-American (Moroccan born but pretends to not speak much darija because she migrated to the US at a young age, even though I have heard her speaking it on a several occasions while she was on the phone with her mother) perceives me as a little nomade and by that I mean a true nomade . She is constanly criticizing the way I dress up even though I don't see it any different from her or style or the rest of our colleagues as we all wear same uniforms but her watery mouth has to throw a comment here and there all the time to make me feel I am somehow lesser than her. If I, little nomade, got dressed up for any occasion or get-together, the fassi-American finds it quite shocking to her little brain to believe that I have something called "clothes" to wear and I am not some little nomade her brain portrayed me in her mind. Good or bad, I am always criticized in a way, that I over-dress up for an occasion if I am wearing something nice or I am just not taking care of myself if my face looks swelling during exams season. Needless to mention the torture she gets me to endure when she makes me sit and listen to her family stories (the rich uncle who owns half of Morocco, and the rich aunt who built the first orphanage in Casablanca, or her asshole non-Moroccan husband who is making her life miserable)...It's beyond my little brain that starts swelling quickly as soon as I start listening to her family's autobiography.

So I take my distance, and I isolate myself from her suffocating environment and I find peace in my little horizon..

Junky Learning How To Take Care of Others' Health!

2009-09-23T00:58:00.004-04:00

I was pondering in my thoughts today about how my life had became after starting my medical school and really I am quite shocked how unhealthy of a person I became. My daily stress has turned me into a junky person--who basically eats anything that is junky without sparing it a second of thought. My mother calls me every weekend to check on me and of course review my diet (mommy is a nutristionist freak) and spare me couple of advises on how to manage my stress (which never sink in)...but really, is there time for it?? Oh...Let alone my appearance-- I used to be one of those high maintenance girls, who will have to apply 100 layers of creams and make sure my make-up is well done before getting out of the house...but now I am so lucky if I get to comb my hair once a week! I am not even joking!!! Eye liner are applied in case I get puffy droopy looking eyes after longs hrs of studying and sticking my eyes to a computer that is by my side literally 24 hrs a day and has never been shut down since it got turned on during first day of class.

Oh well, just a random thought at a random time of my life-- an excuse to blog to run away from my studying :( Totally bad!!! Bad me!!!

A Post From Moroccooooo

2009-06-04T16:03:00.002-04:00

Ahhhhhhhhh no bills to worry about, no morning traffic, no school, no waking up early, ohhh just no stress....I haven't enjoyed Morocco as much as I am enjoying it now. The first second I landed in Rabat airport is the very same second I felt my brain cells getting wider and wider embracing Morocco's freedom. This visit unlike my previous one to Morocco is somehow very unique and special for several reasons. The main one is taking a BREAK from school's deadlines and hectic lifestyle as well as celebrating and enjoying the happiest moments of my life with all my reunited (finally, a long deep sigh) family members in our home country, Morocco.

Tazmamart, A Story of Horror

2009-05-10T17:22:00.003-04:00

I watched each and every episode of “Shahid Ala Asr” on Aljazeera channel featuring Ahmed El Marzouki’s, (former political prisoner) testimony of the horrendous 18 years of his imprisonment in Tazmamart prison along another 57 military prisoners, from which 28 only emerged alive…and quite frankly I cannot find the right words to express the mixed feelings I grew inside me while watching and living each and every moment Ahmed El Marzouki was describing about their life and struggle inside the cell.

El Marzouki’s descriptions were highly detailed and extremely vivid to enable us visualizing the brutal life of “cave men” as he calls it in a forgotten deserted that lasted a period of 18 years. It’s extremely hard for me to process it all in my head. It’s just hard for me to believe that such brutality took place on the ground of a country I dearly loved and believed in with every fiber in my heart. No…sorry let me reword it, what’s harder for me is to believe that some people hide beasts inside them that know nothing about humanity.

The 58 political prisoners had no major contributions to the planning of the attempted coups against the king of Morocco, Hassan II. They were following orders and had no preconceived idea they were ordered to attack the king. Even though some of them were sentenced for 5 years only, Hassan II sent them in Tazmamart prison, a prison built specially for them lacking basic means of survival to teach a lesson they never forget.

I highly salute Ahmed Mansur for stepping out to interview former prisoners of Tazmamart and both Ahmed El Marzouki and Pilot Saleh Rachad for their courage to share bitter injustice that took place in now demolished Tazmamart prison.

.

Expecting A Baby!!

2009-04-13T19:26:00.002-04:00

Few months ago, it was so easy to call friends and hang out with them whenever we are free from school/ work. It wasn't a big deal to find time. On saturdays morning, we would go to the mall...on the evening, we'll go to off the hookah, or just walk by the beach. We used to do all crazy stuff to entertain each other and man it was a lot of fun. Even though 50% of the girls were married and the other 50% were not, it was never a problem for us to make time for our hang outs. Well, things have changed now... We no longer live in the same place and we hardly keep in touch with text messages, phones calls, or mostly facebooks messages...and my god...most of the girls are married and the majority are expecting already!!!

As I was reading our group messages today about how much we miss each other and how we should get together inshallah...in the back of mind I was saying" y'all sure, we can meet and hang out again, without having to worry about breastfeeding, or changing diapers, or god knows what?!" I don't know how to describe the feeling, but it feels a bit weird to live these changes in my social life. Now, it's all about kids, and it's no longer about single hang outs!

Another thing I noticed, which I found quite troubling is that every time someone gets pregrant, she'll start preaching about how nice to be a mother and how married girls should hurry up to get pregnant too so that all our kids get to play together!

I attended a sbou3 party "newborn celebration in Muslim communities) and there were at least 5 women pregnant, and when they all start talking about kids, everybody turns around and ask me the same question " so what are you waiting for? when is your turn coming?" I mean really how inconsiderate they can be to get in people's business. I always believed that this topic is the most sensitive one ever to talk about because really what if the couple was trying really hard to have a baby and things were just slow, or maybe it will never happen or god knows...do they have to elaborate on their plans?!!

I'm Offended

2009-03-25T19:51:00.002-04:00

I never realized that I grew up in a bubble filled with empty etiquette and retarded rules until lately.

2009-03-16T17:48:00.002-04:00

They say honesty is the best quality; however, when a one speaks out with all honesty, this latter might be taken for arrogance or even worse, ignorance in some cases. And then they say you cannot be too honest and you just have to go with the flow and make people hear what they want to hear to keep honesty under control, which I just think is pure hypocrisy.
I just have hard time being hypocrite to my own blood!!!

Why Don't You Become A Nurse?

2009-03-13T10:24:00.004-04:00

Me: oh by the way tomorrow will be my last day at school because of my school and my traveling during summer.
Christina: so what do you for school.
Me: Medical school.
Christina: ohh wow woman, you will be getting a lot of money as a physical assistant.
Me: no it's not physical assistant it's an MD a doctor.
Christina: oh that's long, why don't you go for a nurse.
Me: well believe it or not I did one year of nursing program when I first started college as an undergrad but I ended up switching because my advisor advised me to do normal premedical studies because my chances of getting to medical school might be low because they don't like taking nurses for some reasons.
Christina: Oh I am telling you should go for RN it's two years and you work at the hospital and they might be paying some of medical school for you. You work from morning until 12. and they give you the afternoon free
Me: But I am already in Medical school, I can't waste another two years as downgrade to become a nurse. Besides that I gotta be full time at school.
Christina: Oh do LPN is only 6 weeks and you go to people's house and you take care of them and clean them and they pay 15 dollars an hour.

Well obviously we were not on the same page!!! But it was a very interesting discussion because Christina was convincing to become a Nurse and every time I say no to a certain type of nursing she comes up with a different suggestion. Something was missing.

Social Services & Child Abuse

2009-03-13T10:12:00.003-04:00

I never thought that I could be the type of person who will favor the separation of kids from their parents. I have always thought of American system as crazy when they take kids away from their parents when they beat them. Beating up or disciplining kids with light spanking, few pinches, and sometimes slaps is a normal type of disciplining kids and teaching them good behavior back home country. I never thought of it as something wrong because it does work often times when oral warning doesn't work. However, when physical discipline leaves bruises on the body of the kid then is considered an abuse and that's when my heart shrinks and I start favoring the separation of kids from parents through social services.

Low Score Exam

2009-03-03T20:49:00.002-05:00

....makes me sick in my stomach. I feel like a fresh undergrad who can hardly get over her low score of first exam. Expect that this is not my first exam .... I feel like killing and punching and screaming out loud. How can an important medical exam be a matter of luck? I don't get it!!!! How can I be so damn sure about my answers and get shocked with low performance? I am in such a bad mood that I feel early symptoms of depression started overwhelming my body and set of mood. What makes me even angrier is that I cannot leave that stress outside my home. I bring it in and I nag about it. Instead of making dinner I nag about my score.

Desperately Looking For Good Books To Read

2009-02-24T11:30:00.004-05:00

I miss reading, I miss writing, I miss a lot of things. My aunt gave me some books to read, supposedly interesting, but did not like any one of them. I found them dull and yaki. By all means, I know they are great books but for some reasons they just did not stimulate my interest. So I decided to surf Amazon in desperate hope to find couple books of my liking. Special thanks to the new feature amazon added to some books, now, shoppers can read first few pages of a book before they decide on purchasing it. So I did that and ended up not liking the books I selected to purchase. Makes it even worse!
I am interested in reading something related to Islam, Arab Culture, Struggle...I don't know something I am somehow familiar with just for a change. But strangely enough, all the books I skimmed through that cover the issuses I forementioned are redundant. All the shit that happened in the heroes' lives is blamed on either religion or culture! What a unique way to make Islam and Arab culture shine nowadays!!!

Medical Malpractice In Morocco

2009-01-17T13:05:00.005-05:00

A young woman enters the operations room for childbirth, she undergoes C-section, the baby girl comes out fine, she hugs her very tightly and she sheds few drops of tear from endless happiness. Few hours later, she calls all of her family members and close friends and invites them to a party she plans throwing at home to celebrate the birth of her third daughter.

Sometimes toward the end of the first day after childbirth, the mother starts feeling a sharp pain in the stomach, the doctor does not do anything about it and reassures her that everything is fine and is very well normal to feel a pain. But the pain goes for three days straight until she could no longer tolerate it, and suddenly dies.

She dies? how could she die from a stomach pain? Hasn't the doctor reassure her that everything is alright?? How could she die???? The husband goes crazy almost ready to lose his mind over the death of his wife. The doctor tells the husband that is god's work, and it was meant for his wife to die. The husband insists on finding out more, then he gets to be told that his wife's blood pressure and cholesterol were very high and caused her death.

Husband files a lawsuit to find out more about the real cause of his wife's death; officials tell him it will take some time before they authorize her autopsy. He goes home with his baby, and finds all family members and friends invited by his wife to celebrate the birth of their daughter mourning over his beloved's death...he cries and cries hard, and he suddenly decides to drop the lawsuit because even if they find out about the medical mistake that brought unfair end his wife's life , nothing will happen to doctors responsible for her death.

In fact, the husband would rewarded an amount of money for medical malpractice and case would be closed.... Well, the husband just could not swallow the death of his wife and could never ever imagine himself living off the cost of his wife's life. He decided to bite on his pain, mourn the death of his wife silently, and raise his daughter far away from the drama of unnecessary investigations that would not bring justice to his wife.

Because this man happened to be my father's half brother, I was very outraged when I heard the lawsuit was dropped, so I decided to call my parents hoping to encourage them to convince him to not give up on going after his wife's butchers...but then, I just realized that we have no law that protects patients against medical malpractice.

Furthermore, my mother gave a list of people's names we know that have died from medical mistake. One case made it to National TV and newspapers, but nothing happened to the medical team responsible for the death of that patient. What's even worse, she told me about two cases where the families never found out about the real cause of their sons' death thinking they just could not make it because of severe complications.

Also, I just recalled that my cousin was part of the medical team operating on my aunt, when she found out they left a medical device inside her aunt from a previous surgery she had, which caused her internal bleeding, which in turn caused her own aunt's death. Though her niece, who witnessed the irresponsible work of her colleagues, and son, a lawyer, could have gone with a medical law suit, they decided to drop the case and mourn her death quietly because of the same reason for-mentioned before: in Morocco, there are NO LAWS THAT PROTECT THE PATIENT FROM MALPRACTICE AND NO LAWS THAT PUNISH DOCTORS FROM COMMITTING MEDICAL MISTAKES AND CAUSING DEATH TO THEIR PATIENTS.

I find it very absurd and unethical to not have BASIC standards and regulations for medical malpractice in Morocco, and I wonder if Morocco will ever adopt a law to protect the patient from intended or unintended Medical Malpractice.

2009---New Resolution?? Heck NO!

2009-01-01T19:11:00.002-05:00

Unlike the past years, this year I decided not to have any imaginary resolution list period. I honestly don't understand why most people wait for the end of year to come to prepare an endless long list of things they hope (or sometimes wish) to fulfill by the start of the new year?! I personally find it an old Cliche' and frankly not realistic.

I was listening to the radio the other day, and the speaker started talking about her new year resolution and how she wants to better herself in everything, especially healthwise (I'm assuming she wants to lose weight) and made it sound almost a necessity to have a resolution ready to start a better year.

I find it quite ironic to wait until the end of the year to jot down some goals to accomplish in the next coming 12 months of new year. Isn't life called life because of the meaning the word "life" entitles? In other words, an ongoing experience a one gets to live, which makes us learn new things, adapt to changes we undergo....and and and and....

Isn't life all about goals and challenges and accomplishments, success and failure?
Then why do we wait until the end of the year to make a committment for the next 365 days. Why wait for a resolution to be written to realize that we need to start working out more to get rid of the fat that make the belly look like a big watermelon?!
Why wait until the end of the year to decide to change career? Why not live a day by day?

Why not??!

I am NOT Moroccan

2008-11-21T14:25:00.003-05:00

I chose to not be Moroccan nowadays, and I am enjoying. The fact that I encounter a handful group of Moroccans and Arabs every now and then, makes me swallow my Darija, making sure my accent doesn't show that way I don't have to speak Moroccan to anyone and I don't have to deal with anybody. Unsure of what made me change though but I think I have started opening my eyes big and widely to what's happening in the country among our community, which made me rethink my thoughts about holding tight on my community and whether I should take any active role in it or not. As for now I choose to be an observer, at least until I fulfill my personal goals.

Black President, So What??!!

2008-11-11T12:27:00.003-05:00

I am sick and tired of the media reports about the election of the first African American president in the U.S, portraying it as a historical event, and improvement for the rights of Blacks in this country. Don't get me wrong, I am all for Obama, and was praying hard he wins. What annoys me though is how a lot of African Americans started reviving the black history and slavery of African Americans, making Obama's win in elections sound as a victory for all African American citizens and their ancestors who suffered during slavery era in this country. Come on y'all, Obama's ancestors were never slaves!!!! He is the son of an African Immigrant who was born & burried in Kenya.

Obama won because of his promises to the citizens of this country and not because of his skin color. Obama won because he is the hope to better the cursed economy of US and save the American dream of people.

I'm not really sure, why some people insist on bringing up the skin color & SLAVERY every time they make a comment about the presidential elections. I even started believing that some people can't look beyond their skin color!

Une Kheddama in The US

2008-11-02T12:40:00.004-05:00

I am not talking about maids...in fact, I am talking about lkhedama-type we see in Morocco. Yeah, I am talking about the same concept of having Kheddama doing chores around the house a la marocaine. Seeing one in the heart of US, makes my skin shiver.

Not long time ago, I was attending Eid prayers in Turkey Park in Orlando, Florida, and my eyes almost popped out upon seeing a real kheddama bossed around by a Moroccan-born lady. The young Khedamma, who probably has not reached 20 years old, was wearing a scarf like the rest of traditional kheddamat in Morocco. She had on multiple colorful thin layers of shirts and was wearing pants and a skirt on top of it. The young kheddama was carrying her lady's bag and was following her wherever she goes.

Just couple days ago, once again, I see another Moroccan Kheddama, in a different state. Kheddama swept the floor, wiped off dust from tiny home decorations, helped preparing couscous, served the table, cleared it out when everybody was done and of course washed dishes.

Not that I'm against the idea of having a kheddama to help with the chores around the house but I am totally against the concept of treating kheddama like a kheddama, as an object I mean. Like another Kheddama, I saw serving another Moroccan family. As soon as she finished serving dinner, she isolated herself in the corner of the kitchen watching us eating chhiwate she made. It ticked me off depriving her from having dinner witn us. She was just a Kheddama, and of course in big families, kheddamate don't get mixed with guests period.

No Residency For You Because Your Son Has Down Syndrome

2008-11-02T11:40:00.004-05:00

Australian Department of Immigration rejected Dr Moeller's application for residency because his son Lukas, who has down syndrome, does not meet "the health requirement" and is "likely to result in a significant and ongoing cost to the Australian community" according to their statement.

What's funny though, is that the Australian government recruited Dr Moeller, internal medicine specialist, from Germany to fill up the shortage of physicians in rural areas. So it is okay to use his experience and benefit the Autralian Community from it, and it is definitely NOT OKAY to grant him a residency just because his sick son might cause a financial burden on taxpayers for his special education and health care services.

It's very sad how a lot of countries take advantage of immigrants, without giving anything back. I guess slavery never reached an end; it's just taking different forms and shapes in different centuries.

Read more about this outlandish story.

Giving Hopes & Saving Lives

2008-10-26T15:49:00.006-04:00

While browsing CNN online news, I decided to check CNN heroes section to find out more about it. Upon reading the section, I found my tears brushing my cheeks non-stop. Goodness, inspirational and uplifting stories of couple nominees moved every fiber of my heart.

Simply awesome job done by a group of people for the sake of humanity. How nice to see people cultivating the sense of community in their hearts and going beyond their preceived limits to make a HUGE difference in people's lives. They educated kids, fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, and gave them a chance to have a future when they stopped hoping and dreaming about one. They brought hope to their lives and gave them a strong sense of living.

It was very challenging for me to pick one nominee to vote for because they all deserved to be encouraged and voted for. With that said, I finally settled with one story I found very close to my heart. I voted for Maria De Silva for her inspirational story Giving Hope to Orphans of AIDS because my heart bled and still bleeds for kids with AIDS in Africa. In fact, I volunteered for One Life Revolution, a non-profit organization that helps and supports kids with HIV in Zambia. So I can, somehow, relate to Maria De Silva because I fought for the same cause and I know exactly how it feels to bring life to an HIV orphan.

Kudos to those who put their hearts and souls into community service and helped drawing smiles on a lot of sad faces for the sake of love and humanity ONLY.

University Professor Killed By A Student In Algeria

2008-10-24T16:33:00.001-04:00

That's right!

Ben Chehida, the chair of the Computer Science department at the university, was stabbed more than 20 times on October 18th by a disgruntled student apparently unsatisfied with his grades. The 58-year-old professor was pronounced dead the day after being taken to hospital.

Read more

Back soon

2008-09-10T12:39:00.002-04:00

I have been disconnected from the outside world for five months only and it feels like ages. Getting married, meeting new people, and spending more time with family, focusing on my career are taking top priority in my life.

Back soon.

Lost In The Traffic Of My Thoughts

2008-07-09T01:25:00.002-04:00

Literally lost! I have been musing in my thoughts a lot lately (which is not something new) but hardly got the time to write anything down about my the changes I adopted in my life. I am not sure what it has become so hard for me to write or just read though I have so much to write about....anyhow, I will make some efforts and inshallah I will bring life to this unforgotten blog.

My Head Hurts

2008-04-23T16:20:00.002-04:00

It wasn't until lately that I started feeling a bit confused by the mystery of life and its non stop surprises. It wasn't until lately that I started getting angered by my Moroccan culture and its traditions that are annoying me to the point of sickness sometimes... It wasn't until lately that I started feeling that indeed I'm different from a lot of people... my own people so to speak...

Ah, endless thoughts jailed in my head... but they will soon be released.

2008-01-12T13:27:00.001-05:00

I have so much to get done, yet I turn a blind eye at everything.

In moments like these, I wish I could close my eyes and find myself in some island far away from the world... just imagine with me, the calmness and serenity of the mind.....ohhhhh

WHAT THE HECK????

2007-12-27T12:32:00.002-05:00

Yes. Bhutto is DEAD. She was KILLED. LOOK AT THE WORLD FALLING!!! NO JUSTICE AND NO FREEDOM

Injustice At Its Peak: Saudi Arabia

2007-11-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

A 19 year old married Saudi Arabian woman got raped by 7 men 14 times and ended up receiving a sentence for 6 months & 200 lashes for being in car with a friend male (who got raped too) prior the kidnap and rape. The victim's lawyer was kicked out of the courtroom and his licence was suspended. Read more.

I shrink and turn a blind eye at the inequalities in the Gulf region, especially in Saudi Arabia. The victim was traumatized, raped, and on the top of it got punished!!! The judges were so unfair and the assailants should have received harsher punishment.

Now, what really stunned me in this story even more is that Hillary Clinton is asking Bush's admnistration to do something about it. "I urge President Bush to call on King Abdullah to cancel the ruling and drop all charges against this woman. As president I will once again make human rights an American priority around the world" Mrs. Clinton said.

Once again, I shrink at Clinton's interest in this case. She is calling on human rights and calling it as an American priority while knowing that hundreds of Iraqi women are being raped on a daily basis by the sexually frustrated american troops yet she is not doing anything about it. or has she done anything about the rape cases that were reported from Iraq???! Ahh elections ya elections! I seriously hope Hilarry's interest in this heartbreaking story stems out of care and nothing more but care for the victim who was abused by those animals and the so-called judges of justice!!!!

I couldn’t help it but remember an exchange of comments I had with a fellow blogger from the gulf about a month ago about the sexual frustration of men in Gulf area. I still wonder, why so much sexual frustration in the gulf region?

Let’s look up this subject closely:

The 5 men are all married, yet they found pleasure in kidnapping and raping a married woman.

Now I can’t help it but ask myself, if they are all MARRIED, then why wouldn’t they pour their sexual frustration on their women?

Why would the SA judges harshen the women's verdict and increase the number of her lashes because she appealed the case and contacted the media.

This is mind-boggling and I am sick of the animalistic behavior of some men in the gulf region! way too much!!

IslamAbad, Bhutto vs. Musharraf

2007-11-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

Musharraf is silencing Bhutto for demanding him to give up his power over the state of Pakistan. Bhutto gets arrested in her house and thousands and thousands of her supporters are being arrested and sent to jail. The Secretary of state is flying to IslamAbad to discuss the stability and democracy of the region with Musharraf. (???!!!!)....and the whole world is watching.

Although the US current mission is to spread love and peace and democracy in the whole world (me, turning a blind eye) I doubt they will step in to denounce Musharraf's actions against Bhutto or even support this latter to run for for a president for the following obvious reasons:
Musharraf has been a good buddy to the US with their hunt for bin Laden. US is pre-occupied with presidential elections. US is busy with their mission in Iraq...

So, let's keep watching IslamAbad...who knows what might happen next.

I Need Your Organ

2007-11-09T09:47:00.000-05:00

She described me every little detail, how she got in the surgery room, unhooked the tubes from his body, washed the blood away, covered him up with a clean white sheet, kissed his forehead, put the Qur’an by his bed, and composed herself to meet his family. While she was describing the whole scene I felt a great gush of blood rising to my head. I felt every ounce of sensation she felt at that moment as if I was in her shoes. My god, if one organ fails and we can never make it to the top list of candidates for transplant the rest of body crashes.

This story made me rethink about my take on organ donations subject. I have always nodded with a "NO" whenever I was asked if I would like to donate my organs. But recently, I seriously started thinking about giving it a second thought. Can you imagine one little organ can save someone's life?! Can you imagine how many lives will be saved? Can you imagine that this old man who came all the way to the states for an organ transplant could have been alive today if he made it to the top list.With that has been said, I was wondering if Islam has discussed this topic in anyway or shape. Is it okay to donate organs to non-Muslims?? I don’t see why not because Allah is gracious and for life.

Poor those who can never make it to the top list, and poor those who cannot afford buying an organ.

So my question: Would you donate your organs after death?

Chapeau Bas Mon Roi

2007-10-16T18:51:00.000-04:00

Sa majeste le Roi Mohammed 6, vient d'annoncer la composition magique du nouveau gouvernement a Rabat:

- Abbas El Fassi : Premier ministre.

- Mohamed El Yazghi : ministre d'Etat.

- Abdelwahed Radi : ministre de la Justice.

- Chakib Benmoussa : ministre de l'Intérieur.

- Taieb Fassi Fihri : ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération.

- Ahmed Toufiq : ministre des Habous et des affaires islamiques.

- Abdessadek Rabiî : Secrétaire général du gouvernement.

- Mohamed Saâd Alami : ministre chargé des relations avec le Parlement.

- Salaheddine Mezouar : ministre de l'Economie et des Finances.

- Karim Ghellab : ministre de l'Equipement et du Transport.

- Ahmed Taoufiq Hejira : ministre de l'Habitat, de l'Urbanisme et de l'Aménagement de l'espace.

- Mohamed Boussaïd : ministre du Tourisme et de l'Artisanat.

- Amina Benkhadra : ministre de l'Energie, des Mines, de l'eau et de l'Environnement.

- Yasmina Baddou : ministre de la Santé.

- Nawal El Moutawakil : ministre de la Jeunesse et des Sports.

- Aziz Akhenouch : ministre de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche maritime.

- Ahmed Akhchichine : ministre de l'Education nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Formation des cadres et de la Recherche scientifique.

- Khalid Naciri : ministre de la Communication, Porte-parole du gouvernement.

- Jamal Aghmani : ministre de l'Emploi et de la Formation professionnelle.

- Ahmed Chami : ministre de l'Industrie, du Commerce et des Nouvelles technologies.

- Abdellatif Maâzouz : ministre du Commerce extérieur.

- Nouzha Skalli : ministre du Développement social, de la Famille et de la Solidarité.

- Touriya Jabrane : ministre de la Culture.

- Abderrahmane Sbaï : ministre délégué auprès du Premier ministre, chargé de l'Administration de la Défense nationale.

- Nizar Baraka : ministre délégué auprès du Premier ministre, chargé des Affaires économiques et générales.

- Mohamed Abbou : ministre délégué auprès du Premier ministre, chargé de la Modernisation des secteurs publics.

- Mohammed Ameur : ministre délégué auprès du Premier ministre, chargé de la Communauté marocaine résidant à l'étranger.

- Abdelkébir Zahoud : secrétaire d'Etat auprès du ministre de l'Energie, des Mines, de l'Eau et de l'Environnement, chargé de l'Eau et de l'Environnement.

- Anis Birou : secrétaire d'Etat auprès du ministre du Tourisme et de l'Artisanat, chargé de l'Artisanat.

- Saad Hassar : Secrétaire d'Etat auprès du ministre de l'Intérieur.

- Latifa Labida : secrétaire d'Etat auprès du ministre de l'Education nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Formation des cadres et de la Recherche scientifique, chargé de l'Enseignement scolaire.

- Ahmed Lakhrif : secrétaire d'Etat auprès du ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération.

- Latifa Akherbach : secrétaire d'Etat auprès du ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération.

- Abdeslam Al Mesbahi : Secrétaire d'Etat auprès du ministre de l'Habitat, de l'Urbanisme et de l'Aménagement de l'espace, chargé du Développement territorial.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

La nomination des ministres du nouveau gouvernement demonstre une grande habileté politique. SM. le roi a oublié d'ajouter ministre de la misère de pensée car on en a besoin! Ne croyez-vous pas?

Basri Is Dead

2007-08-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

The formal interior minister of Morocco, Driss Basri, died in Paris this past weekend.

Driss Basri was known for his enormous power in Makhzen. He had so much control over local governors, business, and a great part of the Moroccan economy. In short, he was a legendary figure.

When Mohammed VI became the official king of Morocco, Driss Basri got fired. It was very obvious that the king did not share the same admiration for Basri as his dad used to.

Driss Basri, the man of many mysteries and scandals is dead now. He will surely serve as a good example for those who take advantange of the their high political status in the country to allow themselves to do about anything to serve their personal agendas.

Nevertheless, may his soul rest in peace.

Sakhafa--Morocco Jails Irish Paedophile

2007-08-10T11:02:00.000-04:00

Morocco jails Irish paedophile
AFP
Published:Aug 10, 2007

RABAT - A 67-year-old Irish national living in Morocco has been sentenced to a year in prison for the sexual abuse of two boys under 16, an anti-child abuse organisation said yesterday.
A fine of 10,000 dirhams (900 euros, 1,200 dollars) was also given to the defendant.
The Don’t Touch My Child organisation called the August 2 sentence handed out in Agadir in the south of the country "too light".

It's a good thing the old Irish was thrown to jail yak? but for one year only? Come on dear Moroccan government, the psycho abused TWO minors and he gets to be sentenced for ONE YEAR and pay a fine of $1200.00 ONLY?

WHY? Because Moroccan Kids are cheap sheeps ?

The Ruby Sandal---Another Call For Submissions

2007-08-09T10:37:00.000-04:00

"Female empowerment doesn't begin in the boardroom; it begins in the bedroom" is the THEME, ladies!!!!! The Ruby Sandal is calling for women from Middle East and North Africa (Arab in general) to participate with their writings (essays, poetry..) and talk about their life, love, marital, (...and more...) experiences.

Go Arab women go Arab women!!!

For more detailed information visit the blog at www.rubysandal.blogspot.com or contact the editor at: rubysandal@gmail.com .

Not For Sale - No! to child sex tourims in Morocco

2007-08-08T01:53:00.001-04:00

Certainly NOT for sale!

SOS Morocco is a non profit organization that was launched last month by a group of Moroccans living in America. The mission statement is to FIGHT sex tourism in every way possible to protect our Moroccan kids from sexual and psychological abuse.

www.sosmorocco.org

Vagabondeuse

2007-08-02T13:46:00.000-04:00

It's a journey I am taking on my own this time. Far away from people that I love and far away from the country where I was born and raised. Vagabondeuse by choice this time. Vagabondeuse in my thoughts and lifestyle and even in my ups and downs.

the journey seemed so long and tiring but has not been bad at all: friendships, unexpected kindness from some people, and perhaps the most precious thing of all, is the discovery of inner strength and love.

Vagabondeuse jusqu'a je mets les pieds sur terre encore une autre fois.