A cool day

I am enjoying this cooler day so, so much. There is actually a breeze. I am actually comfortable, for once. Beside me one of the other singers is talking on the phone to her boyfriend. Syrupy voice again. Everyone who talks to their luvah on the phone puts on the worst voice. I swear, if I EVER talk that way to ANYONE... (and if anyone ever talks that way to me...it is BEYOND corny...there is love and there is THIS)

Sometimes it is nice to be single. The girl beside me is in TROUBLE with her bf because she is going to Venice this weekend with some other singers and I guess she promised him she would go to Venice with him one day. Nice to be single, sometimes!

So, I went to Tolemello today, a tiny town on the hills behine Novafeltria. Looking down, I couls make out my apartment building, and the view of the castles on the mountains was superb. I love vistas. Some of the other singers had hiked UP to Tolemello the other day. Forget THAT. For less than a Euro I took a comfortable bus up the hill and could skip blithly down the stairs unexhausted by the hike up.

So, not much else to write. I need to call home and then finish handwashing my shirts, which have nasty smears of sun lotion all over them. The lotion here is thick and is impossible to rub in. I am used to the ghostly pallor, but oh, my shirts!

The STORM!

IT is aboput to storm here. BREEZES! SWEET! I am so, happy. What am I doing writing about it, I should be out there in the cool weather enjoying it. Oh, maybe it will rain all night, oh I hope hope so!

I saw a scorpion today. Maybe that will be good luck and I will find tuition money under a rock or something??

Such a busy day!

I am once again a melty Melanie puddle. Why? Because as ususal it is well over 30, and the hotel that hosts the Internet has rented out all the fans to other singers and has left none for the computer room, alas.

The town hod a market today, and I filled up the fridge with grapes, bread, watermelon and candy. I KNOW, but it is good candy (er...WAS good candy)...

The Adriatic Sea

I do not know if I spelled it correctly, but I SWAM in it today, lovely lovely cool waters. I have been so dreadfully hot for so long and am still hot now.. but it was lovely while it lasted. I was going to write more, but the guy beside me on the phone is being so sachharine I think I am going to THROW UP!! Gah! I get it, love love love.. it is too hot for love...

Time for bed

Another chilly day

...I only wish! It is almost 8 pm, and the air has finally cooled off to 32 degrees. I. Am. So. HOT.

I decided to take the bus to Rimini this morning, to buy sunglasses. My sunglasses had gone missing with my purse (both pair) and occiali in Rimini start at 80 Euros. Um, NO! I woke up, showered, bought my ticket and was on the 160 to Rimini in 8 minutes. I was FAST this morning! Although the bus was air conditioned, I did not think of all the unwashed people who had been capering around in the heat before climbing on the bus. Stinky. But still, the air conditioning WAS lovely, and I found the perfect sunglasses in Rimini.

Even on sale, most glasses were at least 30 Euros, but I saw two really cute pair in the window of a drugstore. I asked how much they cost and was informed that they were free with nail polish purchase. My nails are happy. I can actually see. It is a good day!

Tomorrow I may head to San Marino to see what it is like. I have just under 20 Euros remaining, with possibly a week until I get more cash, but who needs money...right?

The hottest city ever

I am melting. MELTING. This little city melting in the mountains is so, so hot. Yesterday the temperature went up to 38 degrees. The day before that, 40. Today it is at about 36 or 37. How do people LIVE in heat this intense?

I am thinking of taking the hour-long bus to Rimini tomorrow or friday. Not because I want to go to Rimini, (although I DO... sunglasses here are 80 Euros.. this, the land of well-made knock-off designer sunglasses, and none have made it into the mountains yet) but because the big motorcoach looks air conditioned. Oh, if it IS...
Also, Rimini is on the Adriatic sea, whoch means a beachy day or two is in my future.

I had Italian class this morning, where we discussed films. I think fun discussions will soon segue into evil verbs. Funny, though, I used the word 'edifice' in class and EVERYBODY looked at me blankly. Seriously, has NOBODY heard that word before??

It is honestly too hot to type much, and I am thinking in Italian more and more while I am here (and losing important English words). So, ciao!

The first rainy day

It has not rained here in 2 years. But lucky me (and I am NOT kidding!) It is raining NOW. Or will be, any minute. Sweet, sweet rain. It is 32 degrees and the breeze is fab.

I have managed to avoid the mosquitos thus far, and the wife of the lanlord came to my apartment last night with a plate of formaggio and prosciutto. And some aperatifs. I may have written this already. How nice of her, though! Nothin else, the thunder is rumbling non stop, am a little worried about the 10 minute walk to my apartment...

Today in italian class we learned the sordid past of this region. two families: Montefealtra, a noble line, and Malatesta, and non-noble line, used to fight all the time. V. Interesting, and I understood EVERY WORD. Hurrah!

In Novafeltria

So I am in Novafeltria. The town is gorgeous. It is too hot though to appreciate anything. 37 degrees at 4 pm, which for some reason is the hottest hour of the day (it was only 35 degrees at noon)

I still have no bank card, and when I exchanged my American dollars I was quite dismayed at the exchange rate. All is not lost, however. With my emergency credit card and my 20pound note I should be able to get by for ages. And I am not even spending any money now, since the landlord offered to let me use his computer for email. Hurrah, 1 Euro saved for gelato tomorrow!

My sunscreen and sunglasses are missing. My GOOD CLINIQUE sunscreen as well as the ombrelle. The pharmacies were closed today, but tomorrow I have to go on a little shopping.

Lets see, what else. My first coaching is tomorrow. Almost everyone here will be going to my school next year, so I am making a bunch of friends even before classes start! There was a market in the square today selling underware and bathing suits and crockery. Aldo fruit, and I have VERY MUCH been enjoying my new watermelon!

Okay, I should not impose on this nice landlord (His wife brought up wine and prichuitto sandwiched earlier today...too bad prischutto is HAM) and they are so nice.. okay, I am too hot to make sense. I handwashed all of my clothes today and my hands REEK of zero. I hate the smell of zero. Also they are sort of burning...

That is all, basta!

Oh, FUCK *or* WHO wrote a travel guide?

Bona sear from lovel Novafeltria Italy!

I am here (yay!)
My passport is here (yay!)
My camera is here too (yay!)

However, not all is here. My handbag seems to be missing from my suitcase. It was the best, handbag too, came free in a Cosmo magazine in London last week when I was passing through. It was black, and lined with black and white, with the cutest little buttons...Lost!

And, of course, if my bag is missing than the contents also have run away somewhere. Hey! I think I have remembered where! I BET the things are in the hotel in Milan...I was barely awake when I stumbled out of the hotel this morning...
I will get the telephone guy to call them

Anyway, besides my great bag I am missing 30 Euros, 2 pairs of sunglasses, my driver's license and my VISA and debit card. Damn, damn damn!!

At least I am not a complete idiot, since
1- I have backup cash (hurrah!)
2- I have insurance (hurrah!!)
3- All I have to buy for the next month are groceries pretty much (hurrah!)

And maybe it is in the hotel after all.

But that is not all...
My suitcase has completely degenerated. I should have guessed that would happen, as the twin to it died not long ago. I had hopes, though, that this bag could survive the journey. This is in fact the second bag that has broken this week. One of the straps fell off the great black bag I use ALL THE TIME. It can be fixed (I hope), but has been a pain in the ass to haul all around.

The part of the suitcase that is raised - the black plastic bar - fell off. The hand strap also fell off. There is no way to pull the case. No way to lift the case. No way to ANYTHING the case. Why MEE!!??!?!

That is all, I am in Novafeltria now. It is almost 9 pm and is still 30 degrees. You can imagine how hit the day gets. Also there are apparently masses of mosquitos here (Although thus far I have seen only one). I cannot WAIT to see what gets swollen first (um, that is sarcasm).

I am wishing I was at home. I LOVED that driver's license picture. And it is too BRIGHT to have no sunglasses. At least I have the backup cash (although it is not in Euro currency) and another VISA card, as it is safer to have them in 2 different places always.


Cry. WHY is it always MEE

A Bang in Madrid

So, one of my 5 male roommates and I found ourselves wandering the streets of downtown Madrid at 1 am last night. To either side of us were tourists and locals alike, practically SODDEN with drink. The PT guy an I had not been drinking (I forget his name, Curtis, maybe? But he is a PT guy back in the USA). It was a little late for touring. So, what WERE we doing?...

I will not draw out the suspense, because I have a great deal of reading to do today. Last night, at 1:01 am, the last Harry Potter book was released. Now, I am not a die hard fan (The PT guy bought 3, so compared to him, I barely know who HP is), but I saw the line at the bookstore when I was walking back to the Hostel at 10, and at a quarter to one, PT guy and I decided that if there was no sleep to be had, we might as well have an adventure. It was good that we had an activity that took us away from the hotel room for a while, for the Saloon (yes, an old west salloon in MADRID) was loud. Remember the song Cotton Eye Joe? Well, I certainly do now, I must have heard it 6 times last night! And a strange German mountain song, too...the salloon even had salloon girls shaking their practically bare bottoms at the crowd, and a wild west drunkard, who stumbled through the crowd with blacked stubble, spurs and a fake bottle of whiskey (He was probably the only person besides us who was ot actually drunk, as later in the night he put on a skillful fire juggling show. Also, I am sure, a staple of the old west(

But back to Harry Potter. The bookstore was mad. The crowd was dressed up, with a circle of lose-oops, I mean FANS touching wands seconds before the books were unveiled. Madness! But now, I have a book to read. If I can get through it before I have to catch my plane, I can return tit to the store, who no doubt is sold out already, and will not have to carry it.

...And about my bang? I DID get one, from a skillful guy named Max. But alas, this bang is in no way of a sexual nature (so don't worry, mum) it is simply the haircut I had dreamed of for the past 3 weeks. Hurrah! Only cost 4 euros too, for a little snipping! (Hee hee, yes, I PAID Max for the bang...and tipped him too, he was so good!)

Melanie in Madrid - Hey, catchy title!

So it is day 2 in Madrid, which is important, because being in Madrid is an ADVENTURE. However, also important is the fact that the harry Potter book is being released HERE 7 hours before it will be out in North America. Ha ha ha! If people aren't nice to me, I will totally ruin the ending! The book is going to be mas overpriced, but I sold two of MY books, so I am riiich today!

It is a funny story, actually, I have brought the copies to send to the hostels featured in the book, but last night I ended up sharing a dorm with 4 girls from Korea who were exploring Europe on school break. We started talking, and 2 of them wanted books. Well, I wasn't going to say no!

This morning I woke up early (actually the girls from Korea gathered around my bed and giggled at me until I got up for 'breakfast'. I think they are in awe of me (Good, everyone SHOULD be...just kidding!) because I was teaching them some words of french and they can barely get by in English. That must make traveling difficult. The breakfast wasn't worth getting up for. Us and an American family - parents and 2 young children - from Lousiana. Everyone else was sleeping off the drink from the night before. Or still passed out drunk. Madrid is that kind of city. Anyway, even the crackers at breakfast were stale, so I wandered around the streets until I found a cute restaurant for breakfast. The mum from Lousiana and I swapped books, so that is one more thing to read. Hurrah! Every time I leave a book it is a major triumph, as it is one less thing to carry, but still. There will be no books to be found in Italy in the middle of nowhere!


Actually, that is not exactly accurate. First I lined up for 30 minutes to get tickets for the opera tonight. Sold out. Then I got on one of the Red double-decker buses that tours all around the city all day. It is extremely reasonable compared to other cities, only 15.30 euros, but the tour is really tinny thorough microphones. I DID spot a good place for breakfast FROM the bus, though, and have been riding it around on and off all day.

Breakfast was tea and a mini sandwich with brie and tomatos (SO good) and freshly-squeezed orange juice. Lunch was half a bag or greasy potato chips and another cup of freshly squeezed orange juice. Everything is meaty here. Everything is HAMmy here. I vowed that this trip I would not eat at the McDs, but it still may occur. It is SO HARD to find anything to eat, and no0one goes to the sit down restaurants alone here.

I spent most of the day today at the Prado (not Prada) museum. It has some fantastic art masterpieces, with Goya and other Spanish and (wierdly enough) Flemish painters. I learned a lot about art today, and looked at paintings until I almost believed I could paint something passable. Almost...

Okay, time to look for some food. I had really good hummous yesterday, but I don't think I should have that again, if you know what I mean...ugh!

Thanks for the comment, mum!

In Madrid

Within 5 minutes of climbing out of the SOL subway station in Madrid, I realized that I was right in the middle of an international incident. Unlike Afghanistan or Pakistan, however, this international incident involved fashion. SO scary. Do you ever go into H&M or Old Navy and look at some of the clothes in horror? Sure, the bright orange stripld sailor tops and black-and-green pokladot knee socks are available for purchase, but WHo EVER BUYS THEM? Well, now I know. The Spanish. Madrid is a city of clothes clothes clothes, all on sale. Sales in Europe only happen twice every year, and from the beginning of July to the end of August os the main sale period. SO sweet. However, with my less-than-stellar current financial situation and 12 extra kilos of bag weight I am currently having to sneak onto each flight, shopping is not a good idea. But I will tell you a secret: I LUST for the pretty carrier bags. Everyone walking in the street has at least three! Oh well, MODEST MELANIE is a good concept. At least where being a shopaholic is concerned. Besides, the Harry Potter book is being released in just 2 days, and I found a bookstore here that is will be selling it.

It is almost 11pm in Madrid, which means everyone is going out to party. Alas, I am aLONE and cannot party. Besides, I am too tired to do anything much. It has been a long day.

This morning I left for work with Rebecca and spent and hour wandering around the streets around the embassy. As there are eery day, the streets were lined with people waiting to drop off applications for visitor visas, and it is hard for one not to feel a LITTLE smug when one can march right up tot he head of the queue, breezily ask to see a diplmat, and then to be granted entrance(!)

I had to catch the 10am train to Casablanca. At 9 I found the beauty salon that Rebecca had showed me on my first day in town. Now, I have a good sense of direction, but on the first day in a new place things are always a bit turned around, and Morocco has thwarted any directional sense I naturally possess. An hour to find a certain doorway was not so bad, actually. So, I arrived there at 9. By 9:20 I had gotten a leg and underarm wax (In Canada that costs I think 36 for the leg wax and 40 for underarms, or something like that shen the tip is added). In Rabat, I paid 50 dirhams. Total. That is approximately 5.60$ SOO sweet!

So, I was running short on time by that point, so I caught a cab back to the embassy to get my suitcase (which was waiting in Rebecca's office...sound familiar, Wendy?) and then to go to the central station. The first cab did not have change for my 100 dirham bill. That is 12$ only, so I had to get out of his cab after going a couple of blocks and then find another. With the two rides and the 5-minute stop the ride ended up costing only about 16 dirhams. I love Morocco!

I decided to save my dirhams and to ride second class to the airport. It was a LONG ride. And ahot ride, and there was b.o. everywhere and lots of pushin, and getting the extra weight on the plane was a bit of a struggle this time. But I am here! SO , so tired though. That's all for now, tomorrow I am probably going to ride one of those red buses all over the city so I can tour without getting too lost of too tired.

Ciao, bellas - or however they say it is Spanish, bloody confusing language compared to Italian!

Crazy Marrakesh - Part 1

Fist; let me say that I am sorry about all of the typos; but I want to get this down and if i stay too long it aill cost -gasp60 whole cents; and I will melt and die in a puddly mess. Marrakesh is HOT HOT HOT. Probably about 42. It hasd been a crazy day but I hardly bought anything; ahich ; considering my overall financial situation; si good:

I left Rabat at 745 this morning; and unlike 1st class of course; and unlike the traain to fez; ahich had AC and a dining area and a woman on board JUST O CLEAN THE WC, this train had nothing. It was hot and crowded and the bathroom had pee all over and newspaper stuffed in the toilet: eew: The ride was about 5 hours, but I managed to fnd a cab right away, sharing aith a persian from Englans who insisted on paying the 3 dollar fare. After a frustrating time looking for my RIAD, I located the owner of my riadd visiting izth a friend in another riad: Phew, a break from Heros Quest 3 living, at lest for a minute/ And whenever I played Heros Quest I always had the walkthrough handy for ahen I got lost: No walkthrough available of the Marrakesh medina; unfortunately...

My room is SO cute qnd SO moroccon; qnd costs only 100 dirqms; which is 13 dollars/ A lovely ptivate room: After a number of false strts I got to the FAA square and ahich is now a square of utter madness; the activities just building as the day went on:

For example, it is now 815 pm, and in the square are: monkeys, snake charmers, makeshift apothecaries, including antelope heads and live turtles, henna girls; beggars, pickpockets , Berbers, who are selling water from sheepskins, acrobats; storytellers; Koran prayers, spice booths; snail booths; mint tea booths; some sort of gambling booth involving coke bottles and fishing rods, but I am STAYING CLEAR, donkey-taxis, real taxis; policemen, who also serve as themodesty patril, as no intersex touching is allowed in public, musicians, a dentist with a set of pincers and a pile of extracted molars who i suspect makes more money from posnig for pictures than from his actual dentristy, more henna girls; fresh orange juice staalls where a cup of juice costs only 30 dirams - 35 cents, 40 or so makeshift kabob stands where lamb heads and full lambs are roasted oer the spit/ And reside,ts and tourists/ You can imagine the din. and every little while the different immams compete over loudspeakers to call the muslims to prayer.

I had eaten supper . so,e tabooli couscous thing. onn a balcony overlooking the crazyness/ On the way out of the restaurant I met my taxi-persian from befpre and his fiancee, a Breitish immigration staffer, so I went to eat some sorbet with them.

My dqy hqs pretty much been wandering thtough the market, drinking cheap juice (because when else will I be able to drink qll of the fresh OJ I cqn get??) and being lost. Many stories. I bought one ppurse. After a round of extremely vigorous bargaining we agreed on 250 dirams (I know; kind of a pricy purse, but I WOULD have paid that at home, it is so great) aith a matching wallet thrown in for me and one verse and a chorus of La Vie En Rose thrown in for him//a good bargain!

The din outside shows no sign of dying down at all, and as much as I would like to out there, I will arite a bit more so I dont fiorget everything that has baan happening

Day 2 in RaBAT - Part 2

The pool party was at the house of a locally-engaged immigration staff. Actually, that is not strictly accurate. The party was at ONE OF HER HOUSES. A white stone mansion a mere block from the south african-style slums of Rabat. A huge residance that her father had bought from one of *his* friends to help him out of some financial dificulties. A house that was currently sitting empty because all of his 7 children considered it "too big" to live in alone. The house did have a pool, though, and we spent the afternoon splashing and lying in the fleeting sunshine. (The house was not exactly empty. It did have many fine works of art, and antique four-poster beds, and of course handmade rugs and embroidered pillows and wooden armoires. It did not have toilet paper, but hey, you can't have everything I guess.)

After the pool party, we went to visit a friend of the locally-engaged staff member (Rachel was her name, and by 'we' I mean myself, Rebecca and Karine). His house was fantastic. The grounds were an entire hill. After passing through the entrance gates our car wound up and up through a dazzling garden. At the top of the hill-garden was a pool, tennis-courts, wild lawns, a summer house, a regular house, and acres more of estate that we did not see. We sat by the pool drinking wine (them) and Moroccan tea (me). The kitchen sent out some polenta-like bread cake (delicious) along with a bowl of butter (churned from the cow the estate keeps for butter) and honey from the aviaries which are also on the estate. The family also keeps a donkey, and as we lay by the bool we could hear his braying as well as the muezzin calling the faithful to prayers.


At around 7 we all went out for supper. A friend of a friend was meeting Rebecca (a boy, so she got all excited about it) and the 5 of us had supper together. The food tool at LEAST an hour and a half, and at 11:00 I decided I was too tired to play anymore and took a cab home. Besides, the girl driving had had almost a full bottle of wine. I don't care if it is not Canada, and I don't care if she chooses to run herself into a tree. I wanted to go to fez tomorrow intact. So here I am. Rebecca is not back yet, and soon I am going to bed. Not much actually happened today, and look at all there was to write! Wait until tomorrow!

Just a few final things:

1- I do not feel I should have to tip a bathroom monitor when the lights of the bathroom are OFF and she just watches calmly as I fumble for the switch, and when neither of the toilts in that washroom have seats, and one of them has no flusher. Just saying.

2- The cabs, too are blue. No Evil eye there either!

3- I have not seen a cockaroach yetl. Yet. That is good!

4- Oh right! I forgot to mention that after breakfast we stopped at a beauty salon (using that term *extrememly loosely*) and I got my arms and bikini wazed. Hurrah! I am hopefully (if things grow enough) going back Wednesday morning for leg waxing also. SO CHEAP! 6$ for arms and bikini, instead of 90$ at home!

Okay, that is all. Night!

Rabat - Day 2

Okay, to continue with the story...

I woke up today at about 10:00 am. My eye and forehead were properly swollen, but hey, what is an adventure without disfigurement? I popped on a pair of dark glasses, grabbed my camera, and Rebecca and I went out for breakfast at a corner cafe.

Many, many cafes live in Rabat. Apparently some of these are for men-only, and if a girl sees a bunch of men eating at a cafe, they should not go it. This cafe was full of men eating, but I guess it was okay, as we grabbed one of the last tables outside and tried to flag down the waiter.

Did you know, Morocco used to be french. And the French love crepes. And
*I* love crepes, and crepes at a french restaurant in Morocco cost just 32dir-um, whatever the money is called. That is under 4$ for a Deeelicious crepe. Under 3.50 actually. For a crepe with prelene paste and butter all over it. SO good.

After breakfast, Rebecca and I went to the Rabat Medina. A Medina is a market (I don't know why it is not called a Souk, like in most of the other Arabic countries). In certain cities, like Marrakesh, there is a slipper souk, a spice souk, even a henna souk. Here in Rabat everything was together, but it was still fascinating. Surprisingly clean and bright, it was STILL just like Arabian Nights.

I started to poke around at the merchandise. Poke, poke, look look. I ADORE looking at sou-er, medinas. Except for when my companion was bored. Yes, I looked over at Rebecca, and she had a patient-but-done-it-a-million times look on her face. Not FAIR! I could have spent all day in the medina. I had hoped to spend all day in a medina! I offered Rebecca and out: If she was tired (read: hung over, which she was) she could go back to her apartment and I would just take a cab back in a while. But no, she was tired but she did not want to nap. Darn! She perked up when we got to her favourite jewelry store (with scarcely a pause on the long tempting-wares-ful walk there) and I felt more comfortable with examining everything. Rebecca bought 3 pairs of earrings and a heavy chain, and I bought a silver shain for me (21 dirs or about 3$) and a heavier, longer silver chain for mum (120 dirs or about 13.50$). The silver was sold by weight and nobody bargained. Hm. I LIKE to bargain, but the prices sweemed fair. Leather is also very cheap here, and I will probably end up buying a purse for NYC.

(Just a little interlude here. Although of course they are not to be found in the Media, there are many North American shops in Rabat. Such as Aldo. And Pizza Hut - I haver seen 2 of those thus far. Also McDonald's, currently featuring the McArabia burger...)

The madina was great, and I have 2 more medinas coming up, one in Fez tomorrow, and in Marrakesh the next day (I have decided to tour around a little after Rebecca said I HAD to see at least these two places). However, this medina was still SO kewl. Carpets and wrought-iron lamps and all sorts of leather. Men holding hands and playing checkers, kittens, women in flowing robes...

After the Medina Rebecca and I went to some sort of imperial garden, and then to a blue neighbourhood just beside the medinal. Blue keeps the evil eye away, so we were quite safe on these narrow streets with blue doors and blue stripes on every wall. Many of the cars were also blue, and the people, too, were clad in a similar shade. The air was salty, and going through an ornate archway, Rebecca and I arrived at a piazza overlooking the beach.

The beach! It was covered with thousands and thousands of people and umbrellas, and quite possibly animals too. It was mad, and I was happy to be above it all (although if Rebecca had been game I would have liked to venture own and sip my hot toes in the ocean for a minute). Instead, we watched the crowds for a while, then bought (undrinkable) pear juides and took a cab back to Rebecca's apartment to dress for our pool party.

Morocco - Rabat, Day 1

So, I am finished my first full day in Morocco. Thus far it has certainly been interesting, and different from anything that I have done before. Actually, to be honest, Morocco is *exactly* like my favourite old Sierra game, "Hero's Quest". I think it was Hero's Quest III, set in an Arabic city near a desert... uh, Morocco, anyone?

So, I am here, and what have I done? Well, last night I attended a goodbye party for Karine, a Canadia diplomat who is returning to Canada.
The language of the party was French. I was jetlagged and exhausted and although I KNOW French, I found it hard to put together answers, especially with Vouz and Tu changing from person to person.

Anyway, it was a good party, with a to-die-for mango sorbet/merangue cake for desser. The house was a mansion, with mosaic terraces, a fountain, 2 wings, chandeliers, and amother huge mosaic that took up the entire dining room. And a wooden, hand-carved ceiling. SO great. Lucky diplomat who gets assigned THAT residence.

The party went on and the drinking went on and ON so I decided to have a snooze in one of the many guest bedrooms. I slept for maybe an hour, wne I was half-awakened with THAT feeling. Something was wrong. Something was wrong... with ME! But it didn't make sense! All through the party people had been boasting that nary a mosquito ever dared venture near Rabat. Not a one. But my face felt hot, and I felt poison coursing through my blood.

Sure enough, I had a bit on may forehead and another on my EYElid, which had already started to well. I showed my disfigurement to the even-drunker gaggle of diplomats, and soon was rewarded with Rebecca offering to leave (hurrah!)

Whew, all this writing and I am not even at today! I am going to send this in case it gets erased by accident...