Last Day at Al Akhawayn University

Today is my last day at Al Akhawayn University. I have a series of meetings and then one larger presentation today, and then my driver shows up around 7:00 to take me back down the mountain to the Riad al Pacha in Fez. It's been a wonderful trip so far and everyone at the university could not be more supportive or enthusiastic about the project. As with all trips there have been difficulties - it's now Monday at noon and my luggage has been MIA since Thursday. Still no leads. For the last couple days I have been struggling with a particularly nasty lower intestinal bug (probably the result of my tea with the sheikh, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything). You would think that after all my trips to India I would be immune to everything on this earth, but apparently not. At lunch yesterday one of the professors told me that I should go to the local pharmacy and picked up some Zithromax, which is an over the counter antibiotic which is supposed to lay waste to anything. I marshalled my resources and walked to town yesterday and picked up the stuff - I'm now two doses into the three dose pack and things haven't turned around dramatically, but I'm feeling a tad better. I don't know if I'll have the opportunity to post anything else about Fez until I get back because the Riad al Pacha doesn't have in-room internet access (or phones or clocks). I'm supposed to fly out 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning to Casablanca and then on to JFK. Maybe, inshallah, I'll even have my suitcase.