Well... The Good Choice : There in fez where you can learn that and new things ,
1 no idea i guess! in fact kirsten! explain and i'll try to give some info , advices...
2 don't know because i see all the things that you will need! you will find it here!!?
3 there is laundromats and things LOL! and you even be able to hire someone to do the laundry or some maybe other things as well , anyway you will find that here for sure!
4 there is a modern apartments too and appropriate for a babies and things, you can find some is really by expensive prices and also you can see the beautiful ones is sheaply,

Good Luck!
Samir ,

Sorry for a late responce to this..

1. Yes

2. Things that you can only get in the states. Things like Tylenol, or Aleve, or Allergie medicine, you can not get here. There really isn't over the counter drugs like that here.

3. Yes

4. Here is Marrakech, the starting rate of a nice apartment is 1500 dhs. per month, which is about 200 US.

For some simple advice, bring extra money that you can allocate into your 'I am new here and getting ripped off' fund. Seriously. YOU WILL GET RIPPED OFF AND UNFORTUNATELY PEOPLE WILL TRY TO CHEAT YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE AN AMERICAN. Once you are here for a bit, you will get into the groove and learn what the correct prices for everything are.

Kirsten,

I moved to Morocco 25 years ago for 2 years (and now live in the States), so some of this advice may be dated, but...

1. Generally countries want some assurance that you're not going to become part of the welfare state (which is nearly non-existant in Morocco, but still). A letter from your University providing assurances of the duration of your program could help. When I travel for business I'm often advised to carry a letter from my company explaining that I am their employee and traveling on business for them, which provides a similar assurance to immigration officials.

2. Supplies I brought to Morocco:
* a 2-year supply of gentle shampoo, creme rinse and body oil of the brand I preferred (so reliably gentle baby products would be something I'd consider if I were you). I ended up using traditional baths (hammem) frequently in Morocco and so acquired a set of bath items for use (scrubbers, bowls for rinse water, cloths, wide-toothed comb, rjell soap) but my hair was happy I had its brand of shampoo along. Your mileage may vary.
* vitamins (I had to explain to customs that I was importing only for my own use :-))
* prescription medicines (Moroccan postal authorities were quite willing to open and rifle through any packages sent from the States, so you may need to arrange with friends coming to visit that they hand-carry replacements if you run out of anything).
* over-the-counter medicines (are less pure due to lack of regulation in Morocco, so you'll want to bring stuff you might need for the baby, including but not limited to baby Tylenol, cough syrup, vapo-rub, diaper rash creme, etc.)...you should be able to buy band-aids (which may be called plasters) and antisceptics and things like that
* bed sheets (hard to find the kind we take for granted in Morocco, and again if you are sent linens from the States they'll never make it through the Moroccan postal system)...if I were you I might consider buying good sturdy cloth diapers to bring along, although I'm sure by now disposables are available in Morocco, they can't be good for the environment anymore there than in the US)
* a good sleeping bag (desert countries can get cold at night, and our concept of camping gear is pretty sophisticated compared to what's available even in England, much less in Morocco).
* long underwear (again, it gets cold in the night in the desert. Nice to have the layer next to your skin be predictably soft and warm)
* a good radio with AM/FM and Shortwave Bands (nice to be able to hear BBC News in English)
* recorded music (you'll find a lot of music available in Morocco, but not necessarily music that comforts you when everything feels foreign. These days a full iPod and speakers would be enough).
* spices or condiments you must have. Moroccan food is fabulous, but in 2 years I got pretty homesick for certain tastes. Cinnamon, Tumeric, Ginger, Cloves, Garlic, Cumin, Pepper, Salt are all easy to come by in Morocco. Tarragon might even be possible (it was a French colony after all) but if you really have to make, say, sauerkraut with caraway seeds in it at Christmas...you're going to want to bring in some caraway seeds. We had to make our own peanut butter, corn tortillas (masa harina was impossible to find but somebody brought us some) and we brought in fish sauce and dried lemongrass for Thai food. On my last visit I brought maple syrup in for an american friend who was missing pancakes with real maple syrup. You'll have to think what things you would miss.

Things that are easy to buy in Morocco:
* most clothes, shoes, etc. Speaking of which, you'll want to wear head scarves at least some of the time. It just makes life easier if you can blend in a little. Also it keeps your head and ears warm.
* fresh produce and meat (although you'll have to get used to the sight of open butcheries). Poultry and even some sheep and cows can also be purchased alive and butchered at your home, although you'll not want to store meat for long. Sheep are typically purchased and home-slaughtered for holy days and all of the meat is eaten over a weekend. Cows might be purchased for a wedding and used over 4 days or so. Having your maid kill and pluck a chicken or pigeon on the roof is completely common.
* oils, nuts, bread, butter, milk, yogurt, tea, coffee, eggs
* furniture (beds, Moroccan banquette couches, tables etc. are very easy to find and not expensive
* rugs (some very beautiful woolen ones that you'll want to bring home with you)

Things I had sent to me:
* books. There are some english language bookstores in the biggest cities, but I found without TV (there was only one state-owned channel when I was there...by now you can probably get anything on TV via satellite) I was reading voraciously. Lots of chances to read on long bus-rides.
* money. This was illegal, but my parents used to slip spending money to me in the post. As I say all postal mail from overseas was opened by customs, so they used to tape photos together back to back and slip folded money inside. We checked in by phone (which in those days you had to go to the post office to arrange an overseas call) and I think I got more than 80% of the money they sent (meaning it was undetected by customs). US money could be easily changed in those days for Moroccan, not sure how that works now.

Things I brought on my last visit to Morocco (2 years ago, for business):
* computer (I brought a Mac, so 220 volt power supply and foreign plugs were no problem)
* powerstrip with surge protector (single biggest cause of computer failure in developing nations is power spikes)
* digital camera
* digital sound recording equipment (Moroccan music is FANTASTIC, but would also be very useful for recording Arabic lessons)
* VISA card (you can get money out of your US bank account at ATMs in big cities now

Things I would consider bringing if I were you:
* Depending on how small your daughter is, you may find you want a Pram. Moroccan women carry their babies or tie them on their bodies (in the back). Its practical and a good thing to learn to do, but you may find that sometimes you don't want to carry the baby and the shopping and everything else. I'm not sure whether prams are available in big cities, but possibly.

3. There are indeed laundromats in big cities like Fez, but they are expensive and most foreigners end up hiring someone to do the washing, cooking and cleaning. Its unbelieveably inexpensive to do so and is sort of expected (enhances your standing in the community since you are contributing wages). You'll want to hire a maid with references, because they'll have access to your house and belongings, but to the question of laundry. My maid washed my clothes the day after they were soiled, hung them on the roof to dry and then expertly ironed or mended them and returned them to my room. My biggest challenge was teaching her not to scrub them to threadbare, but I found I didn't need many changes of clothes because they were never in the laundry for long. She also cooked lunch, did the main produce shopping and swept / mopped and dusted around my house. I paid her the equivalent of $10 a week. It was a really good idea for her to do the shopping, even if I accompanied her to direct the choices. She was a more effective bargainer than I was and I got ripped off less often as a result, so really she paid for herself.

4. My rent and utilities cost me $75-$85 a month at the time. My comparable college apartment near UCLA had cost $650 a month for comparison. I had a 2-bedroom flat with kitchen and western bathroom. The flat was unheated and in my part of Morocoo people mostly used charcol braziers for heat, which are really unsafe (carbon monoxide poisoning and burns being the risks). I bought an extravagant small electric space heater and also an electric fan in Rabat and brought them back by bus to provide spot heating / cooling and they were both great investments. By now microwave ovens are probably common, in which case I'd consider bringing or making those microwaveable rice-filled hot pads for getting baby (or yourself) warm and cozy at night or during a cold spell. We used hot water bottles filled from a boiling kettle to warm our sheets and tummies on cold nights. We put locally woven rugs on the cold terrazzo floors and wore sweaters around in the house and generally kept moving to keep warm (and I was 20, so pretty hardy). My kitchen wasn't furnished except with a basin and tap. I bought a propane range (cooktop), cutting boards, knives, pots and pans, garbage pail, bowls, dishes, utensils etc. for about $50 total and my kitchen was complete. I didn't live in a big city, but when I visited friends in Casa or Rabat I saw western-style ovens in houses. We used to bake at the local bakery (a huge clay beehive oven used communally for a fee). We made pizza, bread, even brownies and brought the goods ready to bake to the baker and he slid them in the oven and took them out when he thought they were ready. In the case of brownies this required some education :-). You'll have fun with this.

More free advice...

If you're going to "learn Arabic" do you mean Moroccan Arabic (aka Derija...which is mostly a spoken language and derivative of both French and Arabic) or do you mean Classical (as in Saudi) Arabic? If the latter, then I'd advise you to learn the former while you're still in the US. There is a copy of the book we used in Peace Corps to learn Moroccan Arabic available online at Friends of Morocco friendsofmorocco.org/PCDay.htm . This site was compiled by some of my fellow Peace Corps volunteers and is very useful, if dated material (they don't seem to be updating it these days). If there are Moroccans in your town in America, you should consider taking one to lunch and asking them to record some of the phrases in the book into a recorder for you so you can practice the pronounciation. You'll need either French or Derija to conduct daily business (talk to your maid, etc.). Classical Arabic shares some words with Derija, but is a much more complicated (and beautifully written) language, but even counting is a little different in everyday Moroccan. Many many Moroccans never learn Classical Arabic other than what they pick up reading the Koran in Madrassa (religious school) or in music from Saudi Arabia. Of course in large cities like Fez you'll meet people who speak English, but dealing with all strata of society will require that you learn at least a little Derija, I promise.

About innoculations. I had the whole gambit of them because I worked for the Peace Corps and we had to. Never the less I got sick about once a week and so did everybody else working with me. Didn't matter which town they lived in, its just a fact of life with so many different germs around. You get smart about what you choose to eat and how often you wash your hands, etc. Since then I've traveled the world largely without vaccines (although I keep tetanus and polio up to date) and have never gotten seriously sick from local germs. The real risk seems to be airplanes, where I've caught all three of the last bad colds I've suffered. I do travel with CiPro and Biaxin (CiPro for SARS and Biaxin for Bronchitis) just in case. But for example I took my 7-year old son to India with no vaccines except Tetanus and Polio and he did just fine after he learned not to put his hands in his mouth (had a couple of nasty tummy flus before he learned). But I wasn't in a Malaria area. If I had been I would have considered prophylaxis. Be advised that Polio and Cholera are still endemic in parts of Morocco. If you do get vaccines, ask your doctor or the World Health Organization for a vaccine record card for each of your family members. Some countries will only allow you to enter if you have proof of certain vaccines.

Things to read before you go:
www.amazon.com/Culture-Sh.../1558682414 can help you know what to expect culturally, although I think he tends to be a little over-zealous about warnings. In my experience Moroccans were very friendly and if they ripped you off it was because from their point of view you were so wealthy that you couldn't possibly miss a few less dirhams.

Wow, I'm jealous that you're going to be there. Have a blast! Sent pictures.