Ancient Portuguese fortress in El Jadida
Moroccan chic
Traditional Ramadan breakfast
Henna
Me with 2-year old Moulay Driss!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Morocco Pics
Ancient Portuguese fortress in El JadidaMoroccan chicTraditional Ramadan breakfastHennaMe with 2-year old Moulay Driss!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Important Poll
Is the itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie yellow polka dot bikini:
a) white with yellow polka dots? OR
b) yellow with white polka dots?
These are the quagmires of my new life. Please vote for your choice!
a) white with yellow polka dots? OR
b) yellow with white polka dots?
These are the quagmires of my new life. Please vote for your choice!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Update from Morocco
As I sit here writing this on the morning of my 9th day in Morocco, things have already turned out differently than expected. Great, but different. I'm not totally sure what I was looking for when I originally set out to come here, besides the desire to realize a dream I had held in my heart since the Fulbright days of yore. I pictured myself spending a month in Marrakech, living with the family of my father's business acquaintence, fasting for Ramadan, visiting hammams, and immersing myself in the culture. And the reality of the situation, now that I am in it? I am bored. Unfulfilled. And hungry.
Don't get me wrong, I am having a blast. I sleep in until noon every day to give myself less waking hours of fasting time, walk through the medina buying artisan jewelry, scarves, and dates; I help make traditional Moroccan cuisine with a kitchen full of women, and I read - a lot. When I can, I have been shopping for textiles for Saxie. In the evenings, we eat our "break fast" meal around 6;45, watch a movie; then go to the hammam or to a cafe to sit drinking coffee or Moroccan mint tea and smoke hookah. Then we come back around 1am in time to help prepare for our "dinner" meal at 2am. Then, to bed around 3;30, sleep until noon, and do the whole thing again. In truth, this is probably the exact bohemian Moroccan life that I had envisioned. But what I had not anticipated was feeling to devoid of purpose, so unfulfilled.
All I can think about is Saxie. Maybe it was getting picked as a finalist in Collection 1.0, but its all I can think about and all I want to do. And if I really, truly want to make it happen - to produce bikinis to be sold for the 2008 season, then I am piddling away precious time ambling around the medina buying dates. Trying to orchestrate things from another country is an obstacle I dont think I can work around. Besides the sheer craziness of the family I am living with (I will spare the details because I truly feel bad about speaking poorly to all of you about the family that has, overall, been so generous, hospitabe and kind to me), the time change, lifestyle, and communication issues are serious hindrances. I have surprised myself with the degree to which my priorities have shifted even in the mere months since I booked my flight to come here.
Which is why I have decided to come home early from Morocco. My flight departs next Monday, September 24th, 15 days after I arrived here. And I will leave with a suitcase stuffed full of fabric samples, scarves, and silver jewelry, hands and feet covered in henna, with fond memories of what has, in all honesty, been more like a Moroccan vacation than a vision quest; secretly relieved at the prospect of finally eating during daylight hours again.
Most of all, I will leave with a reinvigorated determination to make Saxie Bikinis a reality in the world.
hamdullah! thank god
Don't get me wrong, I am having a blast. I sleep in until noon every day to give myself less waking hours of fasting time, walk through the medina buying artisan jewelry, scarves, and dates; I help make traditional Moroccan cuisine with a kitchen full of women, and I read - a lot. When I can, I have been shopping for textiles for Saxie. In the evenings, we eat our "break fast" meal around 6;45, watch a movie; then go to the hammam or to a cafe to sit drinking coffee or Moroccan mint tea and smoke hookah. Then we come back around 1am in time to help prepare for our "dinner" meal at 2am. Then, to bed around 3;30, sleep until noon, and do the whole thing again. In truth, this is probably the exact bohemian Moroccan life that I had envisioned. But what I had not anticipated was feeling to devoid of purpose, so unfulfilled.
All I can think about is Saxie. Maybe it was getting picked as a finalist in Collection 1.0, but its all I can think about and all I want to do. And if I really, truly want to make it happen - to produce bikinis to be sold for the 2008 season, then I am piddling away precious time ambling around the medina buying dates. Trying to orchestrate things from another country is an obstacle I dont think I can work around. Besides the sheer craziness of the family I am living with (I will spare the details because I truly feel bad about speaking poorly to all of you about the family that has, overall, been so generous, hospitabe and kind to me), the time change, lifestyle, and communication issues are serious hindrances. I have surprised myself with the degree to which my priorities have shifted even in the mere months since I booked my flight to come here.
Which is why I have decided to come home early from Morocco. My flight departs next Monday, September 24th, 15 days after I arrived here. And I will leave with a suitcase stuffed full of fabric samples, scarves, and silver jewelry, hands and feet covered in henna, with fond memories of what has, in all honesty, been more like a Moroccan vacation than a vision quest; secretly relieved at the prospect of finally eating during daylight hours again.
Most of all, I will leave with a reinvigorated determination to make Saxie Bikinis a reality in the world.
hamdullah! thank god
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
I AM A FINALIST!!!!!
Hi everyone; I am in Morocco attempting to type on a french keyboqrd; I just looked online and saw that i was selected as a FINALIST in Collection 1.0!!!! check it out: http://www.blaec.com/collection1.0-finalists.shtml
very exciting!
very exciting!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
The Deadly Syndrome
Hey all! Nick's brother's band, The Deadly Syndrome, will be releasing their debut album, The Ortolan, on September 11th. We saw them in July when they came to Santa Barbara to play a show, and - all biases aside - they are truly incredible! The LA Times called their album "unbridled euphoria." You can listen to their music on their MySpace page.
The Deadly Syndrome: can you guess which one is Nick's brother?Sunday, September 2, 2007
Wine Tasting in Napa!
Nick and I stopped in Napa on our drive from Santa Barbara back to Seattle and visited a bunch of great wineries for tours and tastings. It was incredible! What a perfect way to end our summer in California.
Vision Quest Reading List: Phase 1
I have been doing a lot of reading thus far on "the quest," and not surprisingly, the books I have read seem to reflect a lot about my frame of mind during each phase of the quest. That being said, here are the books that I read while in Santa Barbara:
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