Moving into our new home

7/31/24

Our last day before beginning our new jobs is tomorrow. Mike will be the Primary Principal and I will be the Director of Teaching and Learning. It’s hard to believe we moved into our home a week ago today. The time escapes us as one day rolls into another. We’ve gone through our share of roller coasters with the move-in, which is all part of the learning, trying to find humor through the challenges (yes, there are many), but seeing the progress as each day passes to maintain momentum. 

Our house, which is referred to in Morocco as a villa, is within a gated community (which sounds upscale, but not really, it’s more casual). On move-in day, we went through a checklist making sure everything was in working order, and discovered the AC and dishwasher weren’t working. Living overseas, you have to make sense of what you can let go of and what to press that will impact your quality of life. 

Dishwasher, we’ve let go of, AC, we’re getting close to giving up on that one as well. So far we’ve had 4 different technicians visiting the house for the AC, each one comes with a different “panel” and says they need a new part or piece. Honestly, all I can hear from above is a hammer, not sure this tool is working so well with the repairs. While it was really hot the first few days we moved in since our house has a consistent ocean-cross breeze with the windows open, I don’t anticipate using the AC much. Apparently, AC does help with the humidity.

So imagine moving into a home where everything is different. Talk about stepping outside of your comfort zone. While everyone adjusts to this when moving into any new home, the difference overseas is if any adjustments or repairs need to be made there’s the language barrier to navigate. Mike and I have been alternating between two different translation apps- Google Translate and SayHi. While this has helped, we still find ourselves resulting in hand gesturing. Yesterday, the French response from the security guard said something about paying for sex, don’t think that translated correctly (or at least let’s hope not). :-)

The first night in our new place I didn’t sleep a wink. While I was completely exhausted, the cars, motos, street lights, and unfamiliar sounds kept me awake. Meanwhile, Mike was snoring away. I wondered if we made a mistake moving into this community as it seems to be more of a summer escape. Well, fortunately, that only lasted a night and those fears have subsided. We’ve become friends with the security guards and they keep watch day and night over the complex. We’ve also discovered all the sound buffering features at night including the blinds that close to block out any street noise. 

Now, a week later, while the AC still isn’t fixed, and the cleaned pool was filled again with soil as they replanted trees in the backyard, we’re beginning to discover the beauty of our home including a few highlights:

• Built-in stairmaster (57 steps from the ground level to the rooftop)

• Beginning and ending my days with views of the Atlantic Ocean. At night we have rooftop dinners with a view of the water and sunsets. In the morning I look out at the water from my balcony and fall asleep to the sound of the ocean.

• A kitchen that’s easy to navigate and I love cooking in. Well, the cooking part I’m still working through a
  

• s I’m getting familiarized with the produce and spices I can buy. 

What’s been the biggest adjustment? 

With this being our second adventure overseas, I can’t help but compare it to our transition when we moved to Istanbul. In Ortakoy, Istanbul we didn’t have a car, everything was within walking distance (the butcher, grocery store, outdoor markets, gym, Bosphorus, school, public transportation, really anything you could imagine), it’s not the same in Casablanca. Here, you need to drive to get anywhere and purchase anything. We’re living about 20 minutes from the school and city in a sprawling beach town, Dar Boazza. Driving is completely insane and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. There is a ton of road work taking place and you have to be on 100% to navigate the motos, wagons, mules, other cars…..just about anything on the road. You also have to have a list of what you need so it’s a one-stop shop to minimize the number of trips. This ain’t easy when moving into a new place. 

To give you a sense of our early grocery shopping and driving experiences, I’ve attached a few videos. 

As we begin work, Mike and I are trying to figure out our morning routines so we can be on the road to avoid traffic by 7 am, making it a 15 min. Versus 45 min. Drive if we left at 7:15. We have to keep reminding ourselves…baby steps.

In the beginning, when living overseas, you see everything with fresh eyes because of all the differences. Coming from the States where everything is orderly and efficient, we’re able to squeeze so much into a day, the irony thought is it often feels like it’s not enough. This is something I’m still trying to shake as I’m hard-wired to be productive. The lul of the ocean in the backdrop has been a welcome reminder for me to slow down.  

Day by day, I see how my mindset is shifting and I’m relaxing. We’re also appreciating our home, the 80 degree temps, and the sunsets.