This is not a Riad

Google "riad" and check out the images. This is what I did when I first learned we would be coming to Morocco. I fantasized about living in one of the exotic traditional riads for which Morocco is famous - the beautiful houses built with interior courtyards filled with gardens and fountains. Let me just say, this will not be the year of living as a Moroccan princess. My fellow Fellow just posted pictures of her "villa" in Oujda. It exudes a mysterious Moroccan beauty. Our apartment here exudes a shabby chic vibe skewed heavily toward shabby - think of the apartment you rented in college when you didn't know any better and were just happy to have a place of your own. I am desperately awaiting the arrival of my decorating and cleaning team (Brianna and Andy) to whip this thing into something we can call home. It's going to take some serious creativity. In the meantime, I look up from my bed at a bare light bulb dangling from the ceiling (there are five of those in the apartment) and remind myself that money saved on the house means more money for travel. So with each little odd quirk that I find, I imagine the next adventure I am going to plan.

The good news is that my rusty French skills have been more than adequate to start working on that all-important relationship with the building "handyman." I awkwardly try to negotiate the slippery slope of being friendly, professional, unoffensive, and  yet assertive enough to get things done without sending any of the wrong messages that will poison this all-important relationship for the year to come. Yesterday, after having one full night to discover all of the quirks, I approached Abdul to start putting in my requests. He listened patiently, seemed to understand what I was talking about, made a few notes, and told me he'd take care of a few things right away and a few things on Monday or Tuesday (if Monday turned out to be a holiday based on the sighting of the moon on Saturday night). The lunar Islamic calendar and its impact on life here is a topic for a blog post of its own.

Abdul and his sidekick, Hassan, came up to the apartment to get to work. Hassan replaced two of the three non-working light bulbs in the bathroom. I asked about the third, and Abdul said this was good enough. "No problem!" I decided this was not a battle worth fighting and agreed that I could, indeed, see myself with only two bulbs. Next they moved on to the stove and oven. The oven worked just fine, but it had no rack in it. I am not a chef, but I don't think it works well to just lay things on the bottom of the oven. Abdul found the bottom of a broiling pan and slid it into the oven. "Voila!" Problem solved. I guess this will work too. Next I inquired about the gas cook top. I could not get the burners to light. I had purchased a lighter, so I knew that wasn't the issue. Apparently the gas tank needs to be turned on manually (oops), so that should have been an easy solution. Three of the four burners ignited just fine with gas flowing to them. The fourth, however, needed cleaning according to Abdul. He sent Hassan scurrying off for cleaning supplies. Hassan returned a few minutes later with a potato. Abdul sliced off a chunk and proceeded to scrub the inner workings of the burner with the potato. I don't know if this is common practice when working with propane, but I was intrigued. After the cleaning, the burner lit with the tiniest flame. It screamed, "Yes, I appear to be burning, but I am actually leaking propane at the same time. Don't worry." Abdul decided that I should just use three of the four burners. "It will be fine." He's a smart guy.

Towel racks, hooks, and light bulbs for the rest of the house are all on the agenda for Tuesday. I have also discovered a door handle that is hanging by a thread that needs repair. I am quite certain that Abdul will tell me that I really only need a knob on one side of the door - that it will be fine just like it is. I suppose if Brianna and Nolan don't mind being trapped in their bedroom all year, then it will be no problem at all. Perhaps we can just shove a chunk of potato in there, in place of a handle, and carry on. No problem.