Morocco: Day Ten

3.4.07 - At 6AM, I rolled over and shook myself awake. I was miraculously still on the bench upon which I had fallen asleep only a few hours before. Before long, the six of us reconvened and located our departure gate, only a few people movers away. We ate an overpriced breakfast at the only thing open and boarded without much talking. Soon we were in the air and on our way back to Rome. When we arrived at Fiumicino, we grabbed the regional rail line to Tuscolana and parted ways at the station. Loaded with gifts and my bag of very dirty clothes, it took me a bit longer than usual to reach Marina’s apartment. When I made it to 56 Via Lidia, as always, I awkwardly positioned myself inside the elevator and pressed S for Superfloor. When I entered the apartment, Elena was there to greet me, and after I had dropped my bags and hosed myself down, the two of us (I hadn’t seen her for over a month since she had been traveling Europe performing) caught up on life. After a while, one of her enthusiastic, chain smoking friends came over and the three of us began clamoring away at all aspects of life, from my trip (I made sure to share the photos) to spirituality and extra-physical forces. I had a fantastic time explaining my morocco pictures in Italian, and to my great satisfaction, I was immediately comfortable with the language. It was as though I had been practicing the whole time I was in North Africa. Pretty soon thereafter, Marina walked in the door and we were a family once again. Food was put up for dinner and all of us (with the exception of Elena’s friend who had left by this point) sat around the table and just enjoyed each other’s company.