Thanks for making overseas travel a bit safer, America!- or at least the majority of you.
We did it!
I already feel a hundred times safer traveling abroad now. Even before the election, whenever I would tell someone that I was American, I would immediately follow it with, “Barack Obama! yeah!” just to let them know that I wasn't a supporter of the administration's foreign policy. I couldn't stop smiling on Wednesday after I heard the news and really enjoyed chatting with Moroccans about it.
I heard the news Wednesday morning as I was groggily waking up in the cafe of my hotel in the south, near Zagora. I've been fighting a nasty cold ever since I froze my butt off in a high mountain village called Imilchil so I was feeling a bit grumpy that morning, not really tuned into the world yet as I sipped my cafe au lait and worked on clearing out all the phlegm that had accumulated overnight. The television was on and of course, I couldn't understand more than a word or two but when I heard the words, “Barack Obama” my head jerked up and I tried to make sense of the screen. I turned to two men next to me, eating breakfast and asked half in Arabic, half in English, too excited to make a sensible sentence, “Barack Obama? Huwa... uh, uh.... he won?” and they nodded.
Forgetting I was in a culture where women don't really express a lot of emotion publicly, I whooped and hollered and punched my fists in the air. When I saw them grinning at me, I explained how happy I was and how many of us Americans were concerned that the same Kerry/Bush scenario would repeat. And then I saw some clips of people back home celebrating and I had a good discreet cry then. Wow! I am just sorry to have missed it all... but I can tell you, from what I gather, the rest of the world and Sarah Palin's favorite “country” of Africa is celebrating with us.
For the rest of the day, I couldn't stop smiling and whenever I got the chance, I shared my excitement with the Moroccans I met who seemed equally happy. More than once, they would ask me about Bush and seemed quite tickled when I made nasty faces.
Oh yes- now I won't be tempted to tell everyone that I'm Canadian.
If any of you taped the debates or any of the TV coverage of the election, boy would I love to watch it when I get back.
