On the way to Casablanca

It took nearly two days to get to get from Wisconsin to Casablanca. It started with a morning bus ride to the Chicago O'Hare airport, then a long wait for my flight. The most surreal moment was when a sparrow swopped down from the ceiling and hopped up toward the check-in counter. It was quite amusing to watch as people noticed it hopping and flying around.

The flight was mostly uneventful. As we flew in over Belgium, I was struck by the layout of the cities, outlined by the lights (all I could see, since it was still before dawn). Unlike Americqn cities, they were completely un-grided, even the highways connecting cities. All the roads twisted this way and that, following some geographical feature rather than the shortest route between two points.

Before we reached the airport the airline showed a video about the airport -- I think it was supposed to help us get around. All I got from it was that escalators go up to transit centers (though I wasn't sure what those were). We landed and were herded out of the fairly deserted airport. There is something depressing about empty airports. I found the appropriate transit center (by going up the escalator). After sitting for a few hours to wake up and wait for the sun to come up, I headed out to the city.