SUURrrPPriseE!

I'm home!
Back to the city of mild weather, sitting here with the almost empty box of captain crunch and a glass of milk. I promised myself that when I got home I would start eating well again.. but more than forty eight hours of flight induced panic vaidated this slight sway from healthy eating...

I left for a flight to Barcelona from Casablanca late Monday morning. Unfortunqtly that flight was indefinatly delayed (what the hell does that even mean?? They couldn't just put cancelled?) Instead they put me on a very indirect flight to Paris, and then Paris to Barcelona. I stayed the night in the airport, caught another flight to London in the morning, and booked it to get to my flight to Vancouver. In Vancouver my bags did not make it on the same flight as me, so I got to wait before catching a flight to Vic.

Fortunatly for me, British Airlines treat their customers well, and I had two small bottles of wine (out of a total of four during the flight) in my bag to keep me company while my luggqge was being found.


I initially had plans (complete with a fake visa, health insurance, and flights) to go to cameroon for five months to volunteer. Unfortunatly I handed over more than a couple thousand dollars to a scammer.

The NGO that I was going to Cameroon with was a legit organisation..if you talk to the right people. Someone pretending to be with the organization, with ilegal access to their emails and website, duped me. or bamboozooled. Or whatever you call it when someone you trust takes your money and gives you a fake airline ticket and visa in return.

The day i figured out I had been duped goes a bit like this.



12 am- Pulling an all- nighter, so that I wont miss my 6:15 flight

3 am- Goodbye Morrocco (or so I thought). A 200 DH taxi ride to the airport out in the boonies.

3:30 am- Airport is tiny, not open, and deserted. taxi throws my bags out and drives away.

3:45 am - My new homeless friend gives me some cardboard to sit on.

4:00 am - All the other dumb foreigners start to show up.

5:00 am - The Airport opens

5:15 am - Stupid sleep-deprived me packed twelve metal kebab sticks in my carry-on. This calls for not just repacking but also search of all my bags.

5:30 am- I am told I am not in their systems, and I do not have a reservation. It finally clicks that I have been scammed.

5:31 am- No DH left, no ATM, stuck in the middle of nowhere with my obese bag.

5:32 am - Unrestrained hysterics

5:35 am - Shaking of fists and and profuse swearing

5:45 am - My homeless friend sees me, takes my bags, leads me to his taxi driver frind, who then takes me back to the hotel for free.

6:30 am - A few more hysterics, free chocolate, and a very long hot shower.

7:30 am - I read my moms email, who figured it all out before I did.

8:00 am- Aimless wandering about, no male botherings, must of had my bitch face on.

9:00 am - More chocolate, feeling better, if not a bit stupid.

9:30 am - bedtime.

Ironically, even if I had tickets to that flight to Paris, it was delayed because of the Air France strike, and I would have missed the connections. Paris is alot more expensive then Casablanca, and a lot less friendly.

The week after this little 'incident' I spent a good deal of time eating and shopoping with my dwindling supply of money. My month of extra time in Morrocco was not wasted, and I am actually happy I got to stay for longer. I made some really good friends, travelled to Rabat twice , and relaxed about with numerous books. My favorite bakery and cafe knew my name and order, I met other hotel dwellers, and I would be invited in for supper. Not only did I get to experience travelling Morocco, I also got to experience living it :)

i would definatly reccemond travelling there, and would like to do so again some day.

I still have not decided what I should do, juggling school in Jan, where to live, where to work etc. Despite the chqnge in plans, I am happy to be home. I am ready to spend time with my friends and family, get rid of my horrible farmers tan, and maybe plan Cameroon again for next year!