Thursday, January 16, 2014

Yet Another Detour


I just got back from the annual teacher's conference for the organization I work for.  I had more fun than in past years, perhaps because I mingled with a number of other schools as well as my own. Whatever it was, the food I was treated to was fabulous and the entertainment one night at a cabaret was great. I roomed with a peer from Fes and we got along splendidly. It was great to share stories and gossip and keep each other company as we attended workshops, roamed through the medina of Marrakech and slipped away from the crowds to provide one another with a running commentary on all the people.

On the sleeper train from Oujda to Casablanca I managed to get off the train too soon based on some bad intelligence (or lack thereof) I received. I found myself standing alone on the station platform at 6:30 am with no familiar face in sight. What to do? I had neglected to get my ticket from the porter when I got off (and why he didn't tell me I was at the wrong stop is still a mystery although in retrospect, he did look rather sad as I handed him his tip for lugging my suitcase off the train). After a few frantic phone calls to my fellow Oujidians still on the correct train, I bought another ticket to Casa Port because the trains at that particular station did not go where I wanted to be and then took a taxi to Casa Voyageur in time for my connecting train to Marrakech. A minor detour.  The upshot of all this was that my peers were constantly keeping an eye out for me whenever we traveled in a pack to make sure I didn't go astray again. They don't know me well enough yet to realize I never take the normal path to anything but I rather like having someone care about me.