Please shower with your pans on.

This is what the campus-wide e-mail read this past week, but the message was intended for me. For those of you who don't read Moroccan English, "pans" means "pants", but in this context it is specifically referring to bathing suit bottoms. So, the background . . . well, I'm officially a member of the Al Akhawayn swim team (one of two women on the team), and after a rigorous practice one Monday evening, I hit the showers. Now I won't go into extended detail about my shower routine, but part of it does consist of removing my bathing suit and rinsing out the chlorine. Well, I should have known something wasn't kosher when upon doing this I received a wave of stares, whispers, and 'discreet' pointing from the other women in the shower. Now, I understand women need to cover themselves in public, so that men may not be tempted to lust after them, but I assumed that this rule did not apply to women with other women. And, I assumed wrong. Immediately after this incident, everyone received a strongly worded e-mail asking pool users to shower with their pans on. They might as well have just sent the e-mail directly to me, but reprimanding for any wrong doing seems to be a public event here. So, a word to the wise . . . women, keep your pans on . . . and men, don't remove your pots.

A venture up the coast to Asilah

Some things you are guaranteed to see driving up the coast of Morocco:

1. Roadside stands selling a tasty combination of onions and melons

2. Highway patrol officers stopping traffic to ask for a cigarette

3. Jars of honey carefully balanced upon a tower of rocks

4. A shepherd, staff in one hand, cell phone in the other

5. More honey

6. Flamingos

7. Camels "re-fueling" at the gas station

8. Two men walking along the shoulder of the highway, in the middle of the desert, nicely dressed, and carrying nothing but a silver tray with a complete tea set