I don't have much to say because the past week consisted of a lot of studying and minimal outings and I highly doubt you want to hear a rant about studying.
The past couple of weeks have been a blur. Midterm season is about to hit its peak and all of the students are at different levels of stress. My stress level is at a particularly high state as I have pages and pages of reading to complete, exams coming up, and my LSAT score will be posted this week--AKA I have to start applying to law schools at the end of this week. Every university student goes through an experience such as this, and we all have our own ways of dealing with and coping with the stress. Personally, I run for a long time and workout intensely when my stress levels get too high. Luckily, there is a gym on the campus; unluckily, I still haven't figured out what the hours are. I usually get lucky and go at the perfect time (or so I think) because it is open or, like this past Sunday, about to open. One would think that I could create a mental schedule of the gym hours in my mind from the times that I have gone during the day, but that logic was proven incorrect on a couple of occasions. For now, it works, I just hope to hit the correct timing but I hope to grow the courage to ask for the schedule. At this point, you are probably wondering, is this girl really shy? 'She has to grow the courage?' Well, yes I can be shy, but in this situation, I am more concerned about the language barrier between myself and the people behind the desk. Maybe at some point, I will try, but for now, I am content with this ongoing guessing game.
Other ways that I deal with an overload of studying for, and reading for classes is by switching up my study scenery. Here at Al Akhawayn University, there are many stunning views on campus. There are always people maintaining the landscape every moment of every day--or so it seems. While the weather is still moderate and sunny, I have been taking advantage of studying outside. One of my favorite places is the outside amphitheater that overlooks the Mosque, as depicted in the picture to the left. 
Now, don't worry, I have not completely become a studying-hermit. I have been trying to find a balance between all of the school work and enjoying the fact that I am in Morocco. I may not have traveled this weekend, but I did go out on the town with some of my friends for a study break. Every Weekend, at least the ones in which we spend in Ifrane, we go to the Marche or the downtown area to eat out in the evenings. With financial maintenance in mind, we usually make sure that the restaurant that we choose is one of a reasonable price for Morocco. However, there is a sushi place that we occasionally eat at. The prices are not that bad, but they are not that great. On the contrary, the food is wonderful; therefore, we rarely indulge. After we ate dinner, we explored the town. This consisted of us walking around aimlessly until we found something to do. On Sunday night, as we were walking and talking, I noticed a soccer match screening in two cafes. It was hard to miss because the cafes were unusually packed and occasional cheering would float from the cafes. I looked at my friends and insisted that we find a spot to watch the game. Our first attempt didn't work because the cafe was full. I didn't want to make my friends hang around outside until a table opened up, so, I suggested that we could just go back to the University. They saw the excitement dissipating from my eyes, and came to the decision that we would try different cafes until we found an open table. In the end, not only did we find an open table, but the table was extremely close to the TV. We ordered our usual, Moroccan Tea and enjoyed the game and the exciting atmosphere. (The game was an elimination match for the World Cup between Gabon and Morocco--Morocco won 3-0).
Now, I return to the Midterm crunch.
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