Finally it happened !

Today two magnificent things have happened. Or should I say that one
is magnificent and second is of a lower importance. So the fist one is
that today I understood the theory of relativity and why the time is
not absolute ! Never tried to understand it, but now I am reading a
fascinting book and apparently the issue can be simply exained ! The
second thing, is that I been to a performance and once again was
surprised to acnowledge how shallow and simple the art can
be.............

Morocco - Casablanca

Finally i have time to publish this piece, about Casablanca - The arty and the economic capital of Morocco is a bit dissapointing. We arrived to the city at 5am after a night bus journey, which was quite a stinky experience. Our hotel was very nice and located in the medina, and though we arrived at 5am, they checked us in and gave us a room. Medina is once again - a huge Market, but we walked almost all over the city. The city has it's huge streets and interesting arcitecture in French and Spanish styles, but the crowds are still medieval.
The most impressive and probably the only thing to see in Casa is the new Hasan Due mosque. It is enourmous and probably the only mosque which is open for tourists. The decorations are good and very classic, this is why it's hard to believe that the structure was built only ten years ago.
Funny conversation we had with one of the locals, he was saying that all the achevements in the country are due to foreighners and the locals did not accomplish much and that Marrocans still need to learn and develop.
Two streets away from our hotel we found a very nice restaurant. Restaurant is a big word for a place which is run by a family from their house and has two tables and four chairs. One evening we tried a tasty Harira, the local famous soup, and on the second day we had a delicious home made cuscus with vegetables and chicken. From strange experiences; I tried the cooked snails, which were sold on a trolley and was brave enough to try the soup, which is the watter in which the snails were prepared. We also had fried sardins in a strange looking restaurant, just at the entrance to the port. The stommack is still fine :)
To summarize, Casa is much dirty and still a third world city. After two days in the city, we took a train to Fez. The train was overcrouded but we managed to have a seat and met a nice jewish couple from Australia.

Morocco - fez

Sitting and waiting for a night train from Fez, the religious and spiritual capital of Morocco. Just few jours ago people were working and hand making products in the old city, and it was really a midieval experience, and now at the train station there is free wifi, which doesnot exist in London or New York, and I can actually remote-desctop my desctop computer in London. The replies from the remote computer make me believe that this midieval experience is not forever, and there is still life out there :)

Morocco - Second Day - Essouira

We arrived at midnight to Essouira, and a taxi driver took us from the
bus stop to the Medina. I hoped to find the hotel on my own, but it
was impossible to navigate in the Medina (old market type side of the
city), therefore we had to take a guide. The hotel is verb nice, with
arabic style and good size room. The only problem is that it has no
outside windows and stinks ...a bit.
In the morning we had breakfest at the hotel; pankakes type bread with
jeam and very tasty honney (!). This day we walked to the city side,
seeing the huge povety and loads of abandon industrial buildings. On
the way back we visited the Jewish cemetry, with very odd type
gravings: they were very thin, long and very disorganized. Also, we
visited the local and only Synagogue, visiting which was kindly
advised for us by two Israeli couples we met. The synagogue keeper
came after a ring, a phone number was over the entrance, she showed us
around this small but very cosy and well kept place. Apparently there
are only three Jewish families left in the city; all what ish left
after a big comunity.
Lunch we had in a very local place, liver meat with pita bread, and
tea at the end. Nice and simple, but when we asked for a bill, we were
surprised to see a sum of 50dirhams, which was probably three times
over what locals pay there, because it was on the street.
The evening we spent at the hotel, talking with the worker named Said
- very simple but very kind chap, who works only night shifts at the
hotel and apparently has a wife and three daughters back home.

Morocco - First Days

Whose silly idea was it to go to Morocco I wonder ?!

After arrival, we took a taxi from the airport and it took 20min ride,
in a taxi which had no front lights and the speedimeter did not work,
to arrive to Agadir. Agadir is a modern type city on a coast, as it
wad almost fully rebuilt after 1960 earthquake. The driver dropped us
in a wrong place and we tried to find our destination but the maps
were somehow misleading, therefore we ended up a number of times in a
completely wrong places. Interestingly, though the time was well after
midnnight, many stopped on the street to check if we are not lost and
if we need some help. For me, being precausious, seeing two guys on a
half broken bike asking if we need help was a bit strange, and I
kindly declined the help. The following day I realised that being nice
and friendly is part of their culture, and when we did ask for help;
all of them helped.
Agadir is a gods-forgotten-place with almost nothing to do and many
taxi drivers trying to wrip off fresh tourists. Funny enough, it is
something like 20dirhams to travel from one side of the city to the
opposite.
Finally, we tried the Tajin - local food prepared in a ceramic dishes,
cooked on fire. We had one with fish, reminded a carp, for branch and
a chicken version for dinner. A place we can very recommend is close
to the hotel Sinibad, on the same side, down the street, just after a
juice shop.
We also tried entering a Mosque but women at the entrance stopped us,
the locals later explained us that mosques are off limit for tourists;
I wonder if it is true everywhere.
Now we are in a very stinky bus, heading to Easoueera for 50dirhams
per person, and drimming of a mint tea with exsessive sugar (at least
I do!) :)

Marry a Japanese

Bummer, I am not as strong as I used to be ! Three pints of beer and what a headache! Nothing helped, even drinking water and going back to bed did not work. Finally after a cup of coffee I half healed headed to the uni and spent all the day without adventures working on a patent application, it's quite tricky if one writes it for the first time.

During lunch I was sitting with a Scottish guy who is married to a Japanese girl …. another one ... The issue is becoming of a wonder for me, it seems that everybody who can, marry a Japanese girl. Can anybody explain to me the reasons for it please ? I did ask the victims I met, but all of them smile back and look down - in the direction of the floor, this puzzles me even more; it can not be the sex issue, can it?!!!!

From my prospective, the criteria for a perfect partner would be: a happy and not a moody person, with a bit of intuition, which means that the arguments are sorted even before they become into an argument … and of course attractive … this means that a girl should have a sense of taste !

Do I ask too much? It seems that Japanese girls answer all the criteria’s; Smile, positive, attractive … is it the best a man can find ? With this question I have approached my Japanese friend, to which he replied that its not all honey … Japanese women do argue with husbands and do shout on them, they do get moody and with more than that, they run the house as they please … and a husband must obey, giving away all his salary …

Therefore it sounds more like of a hell than a heaven … but many of the men are very happy … will keep asking and would write another post on the topic …

By the way, was John Lennon happy in his marriage with Yoko Ono ? My dad once mentioned … that he was not …. according to some books … does it support my theory I wonder ….

Japanese Bureaucracy

Today I could not wake up, how novel is that ?!

When eventually I arrived to the university I realized that a number of students were standing on the pathways and watching in the direction of the sky; apparently I am missing the eclipse of the universe. It was beautiful, but due to the fact that it was cloudy, I could not see much.

Then I was exposed to the Japanese bureaucracy in its full swing, it was just unbelievable; a reader may be aware that I live an hour away from the college, and apparently there is a dormitory inside the college in which I can move, and this may save me two train hours a day ! I went to try and rearrange my location, and interestingly it turned into a nightmare experience. First of all, I was told that my supervisor should call them, then I was told that there is not much which can be done. Later, after walking into many offices and applying my special charm, (oh it was hard as their body language is different!), I was told that potentially moving is possible but the paperwork arrangements may take as much as one month time! “Month time for what !?” did I ask myself. Ofcourse I collected some information and I knew that there is an empty room, and it would be pity to miss it! Unfortunately, the clerks were saying that they must make some checks and it would take a month, full dot. After sweating quite slot and making myself funny, I managed to reduce the Checking-Time to three weeks, but the feeling was that I really stretched the system. Is this is the way the country would try to fight the recession I wonder ? When I asked one of my Japanese colleagues, why does it take so long, I was told "welcome to Japan, here everything takes time"

Later in the evening, I met my Japanese friend, an artist whom I met in London.
We were sitting in a tiny restaurant on typical Japanese "underground" in Shinjuku area. Friends brought friends and eventually there were 4 Japanese and 3 Italians around me. It was very strange to listen about the life in Japan, about the cultures and even about the local mafia! I will expand on the topics in specially dedicated issues, work on which is ongoing.


Also, I loved the beer-filling machine, it tilts the glass at the beginning and straightens it, as the glass gets full! Why nobody thought of this in Europe !!!??

At the moment I am heading home on the latest train so far, 00:30 and still half an hour to go.