Morocco postponed
So the trip to Morocco I'd been planning for some time has fallen through, or so it seems. I'd been told I would go for a week and have all my expenses paid and would interview a bigwig advisor to the King and all would be swell. It seemed likely that a sexy photographer would be coming along. But then it turned out that the Moroccan tourism board would not be paying, this owing mainly to miscommunication. A try was made with the travel agent to get them to fly me for free in exchange for PR and advertising with the newspaper I write for. But as all this had to travel through intermediaries, the hoped-for result was predictably lost.
So now I'm sitting here at the newspaper writing this wondering if this is a positive use of my time. Can I think of any fond memories that come from sitting writing? A few. Fond memories of walking through the woods? Many.
Of course I have fond memories of my time in Morocco. In Essaouira by the sea, in Azrou in the mountains, in Marakech. But to go for just a week at my own expense? To miss out on work here, to miss out on money. To travel alone is great, but for a month, not a week. And things have changed. I'm with family now. My ideal trip would be to an environment where my freedom is enhanced and my responsibilities lightened. If we were to travel to as a family to France to visit Wu in her country house, for example. Or even to Israel to visit Isaac. Or to the US?
But maybe this week could be fun. It just strikes me that it would cost more than the $400 that Aziz has said. If the airfare and accomodation were to cost just that much, I would still need some spending money on the ground, say $200 to be something close to comfortable. That's $600, leaving $450 on my account. If lucky, I'll have 100 000 HUF coming from corporate communications and the newspaper. That might cover rent and bills. With more work on the way, I could drain the account and beg for cash from Mary Ellen.
Of course if I went at this stage it would be without Bianca, the photographer, which dampens things considerably. Such a project needs better planning.
So now I'm sitting here at the newspaper writing this wondering if this is a positive use of my time. Can I think of any fond memories that come from sitting writing? A few. Fond memories of walking through the woods? Many.
Of course I have fond memories of my time in Morocco. In Essaouira by the sea, in Azrou in the mountains, in Marakech. But to go for just a week at my own expense? To miss out on work here, to miss out on money. To travel alone is great, but for a month, not a week. And things have changed. I'm with family now. My ideal trip would be to an environment where my freedom is enhanced and my responsibilities lightened. If we were to travel to as a family to France to visit Wu in her country house, for example. Or even to Israel to visit Isaac. Or to the US?
But maybe this week could be fun. It just strikes me that it would cost more than the $400 that Aziz has said. If the airfare and accomodation were to cost just that much, I would still need some spending money on the ground, say $200 to be something close to comfortable. That's $600, leaving $450 on my account. If lucky, I'll have 100 000 HUF coming from corporate communications and the newspaper. That might cover rent and bills. With more work on the way, I could drain the account and beg for cash from Mary Ellen.
Of course if I went at this stage it would be without Bianca, the photographer, which dampens things considerably. Such a project needs better planning.
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