Morocco: The Best Four Days of My Life

Hello everybody! I know it's been awhile, but it's been a crazy 10 days!! This post is gonna be a long one, so sit tight!

On September 20, after taking our level test, we all jumped on a bus and headed off to Tarifa, Spain for one night.  Bright and early the next morning, we were off to Tangier, Morocco!!!  The ferry ride between Spain and Morocco was only an hour long and consisted of only 9 miles!  9 miles of water was all that separated two very different lifestyles.

View of Africa from the ferry

 

 

After we got off the ferry, we hopped on a bus and went to a  local market.  When we walked into the market we were greeted with the smell of fish, chicken, and other meats. It was not a good smell combination.  After getting some snacks and water, we walked to a women's center called DARNA.  Here we got a tour of the building and were told what they do there.  The center teaches women modern sewing and traditional sewing.

Traditional sewing



The center also teaches women how to read and write.  According to our guide, 40% of Moroccans are illiterate, and the majority of these people are women.  After our tour, we had lunch/discussion with 3 Moroccan women.  It was really interesting to talk to them and hear their views.  One thing we spent a good amount of time talking about was head scarves.  I always thought it was a requirement of their religion.  From these 3 women, 2 who were wearing head scarves and 1 who was not, that this is not true.  It is not a requirement, but a choice.  One woman said that it is a way to show their love of god.  Another thing was talked about was women independence in Morocco.  Now-a-days, women are becoming more independent: they live alone and have jobs.  While women can get jobs, it is extremely hard to find one.

 

After the center we had an hour bus ride to Asilah.  Right before we got there, Allen, the leader of our group, stopped the bus so we could ride a camel along the Atlantic Ocean. 

Looks cool, right?! Well it was. And it was terrifying!  When camels get up and go down they do so in a rocking manner.  Yup, almost fell off the camel going up.  But I didn't!!  So that was really exciting at the time.  This was definitely an interesting experience, but I'm glad I can now I say that I rode a camel along the Atlantic Ocean in Africa.  If any of you decide to ride a camel one day, here's a little tid bit for you: camels buck.  Didn't know that?  Neither did we, until my friend got bucked off a camel.  Luckily she's okay, but now we all know: camels may look calm, but once they get sassy, they will buck you right off.

After the camel ride, we walked through Asilah.  It was beautiful.  Instead of describing it, I'll just show you pictures instead.

Mural

View from a pier

 

Mural

 

Beyond beautiful.  In Asilah, there are some walls that are painted white each year, then artists come and paint a mural on the newly painted white walls.  All of the murals were amazing!

At one point during the walk we got to a pier.  While standing on the pier, we saw a group of boys who were jumping off the pier into the water! Did I mention the pier was between 2 and 3 stories high?  Yeah.  Crazy!  But you could tell they were having the time of their lives!! 

 

After Asilah, we drove to Rabat to meet our homestay families.  My homestay mom was the sweetest, nicest, most precious lady I have ever met!! She was beyond welcoming and made my friends and I feel right at home.  In each homestay, it is a requirement that one person speaks English.  We were fortunate enough that our homestay mom actually spoke English.  So we were able to talk to her very easily!  On our first night in the homestay, our homestay mom taught us how to make Moroccan tea.  Alright everybody.  This tea.  So simple.  Yet it is literally the best tea drink I have ever had! (That's why we were all so excited she showed us how to make it.) Let me tell ya, Morocco knows how to do tea.  To make Moroccan tea all you need is: really hot water, black tea, mint leaves, and sugar.  Simple.  Yet soooooo good!!   

And that was just day one in Morocco.

My homestay

My homestay

 

The next morning our host mom showed us how to get from our house to the meeting point.  We were the farthest away, but I was okay with it because in order to get to the meeting point, we had to take back roads.  I loved it because I felt I saw real Morocco.  My friends and I would be walking and see kids running around playing tag or football and looking beyond happy!

Anyway, so the next day we went to a GNO in a town across the river from Rabat.  Before this, we drove past a slum or shanti town.  You know, you can see slums in movies or pictures and read about them, but nothing, and I mean nothing, can prepare you for actually seeing a slum.  I was near tears just driving by one.  It broke my heart.  Our leader, Allen, told us that it is next to impossible for people in slums to get out.  Once you're in...you're in.  The slums we drove past were extremely unclean and rundown.  It was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever seen.

After driving past the slum, we went to the GNO which was very interesting and informative.  We had a discussion with two Moroccans who were about our age.  It was interesting because the two of them were just going at it.  They were discussing the Koran and whether it should be followed 100% or should be looked at in a different light.  I know I've used "interesting" so many times, but it was! 

After the discussion we saw Roman ruins and gardens.  Once again, beautiful!

 

Later in the day, we got into groups of 3 and walked around Morocco with a Moroccan.  It was awesome!  The person who we were with was great!  We literally talked about everything under the sun.  I loved talking to the Moroccans because, in one day, I heard 3 very different view points.  Awesome!!  Finally, that night we went to a Hammam which is a traditional Arab bath.  It was an experience, let me tell ya that.  However, they do give you this scrub pad to exfoliate your skin.  My skin was so smooth for days! It was great!

And that, was day two.

 

The next day we left our homestay and drove to the Rif Mountains.  Before we left Rabat, we stopped at the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V.  This is the current kings grandfather.  Also buried at the mausoleum is the current kings father and uncle.

This is the mausoleum.







After this short visit, we drove to the Rif Mountains where we had lunch with a family who live and farm there.  The walk through the village and up to his house was unreal.  The only real way to describe it is through pictures.

Walking through the village.

This is how they get their water.

 

Walking through the mountains.

Once we finally got to the house, we all sat in this large room on cushions on the floor and had a short discussion.  The owner of the house did not speak any English.  For this reason, we had a translator with us.  Everybody introduced themselves and then we were able to ask some questions before we had lunch.  We ate lunch sitting on the cushions and it was just a free for all, but it was all delicious!! The family has 6 kids, I think.  The kids who were there were the most well-mannered children I have ever seen.  After lunch, we took a tour of the farm.  The view was...unbelievable.

After saying our goodbyes, we headed off to Chefchaouen.  This was another beautiful city that's set in a valley of the mountains. 

As soon as we got there we headed off to our hostel.  Once we got settled we finally had free time!  That meant shopping time!  Now, people here like to haggle, so that was fun!  Finally, it was our last dinner in Morocco.  I decided to be adventurous and try something called a pastilla.  It's shredded chicken wrapped in a filo dough type thing and sprinkled with powered sugar.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great.  But I'm glad I tried it!

 

After dinner we went to the terrace of our hostel and had a reflection meeting.  I'm not gonna lie, I had a hard time listening because I was too busy watching the moon rise above the mountains in Africa.  :)  Beautiful.  Beyond beautiful.  After the meeting I stayed up on that terrace for awhile talking and just enjoying the view.  It was so peaceful and beautiful up there.  The pictures will never do it justice.

So what did I learn in Morocco?  I learned and was reminded of a lot.  I learned that, if I have to, I can use a Turkish toilet.  I was reminded that even people of the same religion and political view disagree.  I learned that the Moroccan people are some of the nicest and most welcoming people I've ever met.  I was reminded of how fortunate and blessed I am.  And I learned that, even though we are on different continents, the people I met and I have a lot more in common then I ever thought.  Morocco was the best four days of my life.  Four days.  That's all it took to give me a new perspective on the world. 

 
 

 



My adventure with the telephone store

Alrighty.  So today I finally buckled down and got a cellphone.  You would think it would be easy. I go in, get the phone, and leave. No.  That's too simple, and life, is never simple.  Especially when you're one of the last people to get a cellphone. 

So our story begins with my friend Marissa and I leaving school.  We decided to go to H&M first because we both wanted to pick something up there.  We both knew what we wanted, so we figured we'd be in and out in 10 minutes.  Lies.  You see, I'm the type of girl who gets into a store and can't resist trying on 10 different outfits, and that's what I did, more or less.  Marissa and I found what we wanted to get, and then some.  So naturally our 10 minute stop turned into a 30 minute stop.  But we still had a little over an hour, and we still figured that would be enough time.

So we finally get to the store...and it's packed! But we found a short line and thought we would get through it in no time.  Uhhhh...no.  We stood there for 20ish minutes before we were helped.  When we got to the counter we told the lady exactly what we wanted and pointed to it in the ad.  She knew exactly what we wanted and went to grab it from the back.  Everything was going swell.  It was all downhill from there.

When she came back, she started the process right away.  Now since it was busy, you would think the lady would move quickly.  Well this lady didn't.  She moved slower then a snail.  She was very nice and all, but she moved soooooo slllooowwww.  Along with this, she had no idea what she was doing.  Every 5 minutes she would have to go ask another guy what to do, or why something wasn't working.  They'd come along, fix it, and repeat.  Oh, and to top it off, the computer was being sassy! Rude!! 

My friend got her phone first, so we thought that maybe the second time everything would be grand.  I seriously don't know what we were thinking, cause it wasn't.  The lady still didn't really know what was going on, the computer still wasn't working, and then, some lady came in and tried to cut everybody and was being very rude to the employees and to my friend and I after we helped translate for her.  We thought we were in the clear when I had paid for my phone, but no.  The computer was once again being sassy, and then I heard one of the employees say to give me my money back because it wasn't going work.  Uhhhh....let's just say...I was really frustrated by this time.  The lady decided to give it a few minutes, and thankfully, it finally went through!!  It only took an hour and a half to get 2 prepaid phones. 

After we leave the store, I rush home because I was 15+ minutes late for dinner.  After dinner, I go to open my phone and charge it........and I don't have a phone!!! At this point, I just wanted to lay down and cry.  Instead I just freaked to my roommate who was kind enough to just let me rant.  I then emailed my friend who I went to the phone store with....and the lady put my phone in her bag!!!

So lesson today: 1) Don't want till the last minute to get your phone; 2) Shop after you do what you were originally supposed to do; 3) Check to make sure you have your phone before you leave the store.

Rant. Over.

What a beautiful, lazy day!

So today was exactly what the title of this post is: a beautiful, lazy day!  It was nice to be able to sleep in and not have to do anything.  Well, I did have to work on some school stuff for a bit, but it involved me walking outside, and it was a gorgeous day for a walk!  It was a fairly boring day, and then dinner happened.  This is the main reason for why I am writing tonight.  I was laughing so hard, I just had to share with everybody!

During dinner tonight we were watching the show American Pickers.  Now this show is a favorite in our household.  My mom, brother, and I all love it.  Why?  Because we love old things!! So I told my homestay parents that this is one of my moms favorite shows, so we kept watching it.  Almost every time the price was given of what was being bought, my homestay parents would say things like: "That's so expensive!"  My favorite though, was their comments towards some of the objects being bought: "What's the point of that?" "Who needs that?"  "Who would buy that?"  I couldn't help but laugh and answer the questions in my head: 1) It's old(ish), it looks cool, maybe somebody can find something on Pinterest to do with that; 2) everybody and nobody needs this crap; and 3) my mom would buy that...and that...and that...I'd buy that...maybe that...oh my mom would definitely buy that...maybe not that...

It was really interesting to hear their questions and comments about the show.  I know that when I watch it, I don't really see the stuff they buy as junk; they do.  I've grown up where little things like a rusty bike is considered old; whereas their idea of old are century old buildings.  We all have different definitions of things, what's old and what's not, and it's interesting to see what other definitions are.

Alhambra

Hey everybody!! I survived the first week of orientation!! Woooo!!  Today we took a tour of Alhambra, which used to be a city.  It was beautiful!! We took a bus to Alhambra, thank God because I was not feeling a steep uphill trek at 10 in the morning.  We started our tour in a side entrance.

This is on the arch of the door and represents the 5 obligations of Islam.

Just forewarning...this pictures do not do Alhambra justice.  It is amazingly beautiful.  The only way to truly see it is in person.  After we entered we went into the military area of the city.  Here we saw the foundation of what used to be the living quarters, and where they kept their food, water, and prisoners. This is a picture of what the living quarters looked liked:

Next, we walked up to where they used to keep watch.  The view of Granada was unbelievable!

Next, was the palace. 

There were different designs, like the one below, throughout the palace.





 

After the palace, a few of us decided to stay and see the gardens and the summer palace.  The gardens were gorgeous!!!

 

If any of you decided to come to Granada, Alhambra is a must!! The detail that went into it is amazing.  During our tour we saw some ceilings that were just beautiful.  Sadly, it was one of those things that you just couldn't capture in a picture.  It just wasn't the same.

 

After the gardens, a few of us walked back down the hill towards home.  We had no clue where we were going, expect for we knew we had to go down.  But we made it, and we didn't get lost!! Meera and I had brought bocadillos, so we sat in a plaza and ate our lunch.  We stopped in a shop beforehand to get some water and chips.  I don't know if it's because I've been away from American food for a week or what, but those were literally the best Salt and Vinegar chips I have ever had!!

 

After lunch, it was siesta time.  After walking around all day at Alhambra, I was exhausted!! Plus, I had to rest before we went shopping!! It's interesting to shop here because their sizes are different from ours.  So I would want to try something on then go...is this even going to fit...what size is this...this not real...  It was fun! I did make my first big purchase.  After months of looking everywhere, I finally got a pair of boots!! (My mom will be happy to hear this!)  Now we're done for the day and it's just relaxing till Monday.  :)



 

The last 2 days.

Hola!!! Yesterday, September 11, wasn't very busy. We didn't have a meeting in the morning, so I slept in.  Which was really nice!  Before lunch, some friends and I decided we would go out and get phones.  Well, it turned out that pretty much every phone store was sold out of prepaid phones.  No bueno.  So, we decided to run some errands.  Their host mom told them about a good store to go to.  So we went there.  It ended up being this department store, that had a grocery store inside.  It was interesting.  It took us awhile to find it, but when we finally did, we couldn't find the entrance.  When we found it, the guy at the front of the store told us that we had to seal our bags (we went to a store beforehand).  To do this, we had to put our plastic bag in another plastic bag and seal is shut.  You could definitely tell we were new to it because we looked awkward trying to do it.  After lunch we had class.  Class went well again.  After class, a few of us went out for tapas.  This time, our tapas were clams.  I tried them, and they were very good!!! Me gusto!  For dinner we had san jacobo, which are really good, and French fries!  I decided to stay in for the night.  It was a good choice because I was out like a light at 11. (which is a big deal here)  :)

Today, September 12, was great!!! We had a quick meeting this morning.  After the meeting we went and got chocolate and churros.  Okay folks.  These are not your ordinary chocolate and churros.  This is a cup, like a coffee cup, filled with chocolate. Delicious, wonderful chocolate! And the churros, they're like 10 inches long.  Beautiful. Wonderful. Delicious. Soooo good!!!  After churros, my roommate and I shopped for a bit.  For lunch we had pasta, again. After lunch, we watch television with our host parents.  The show we watched was interesting. It was similar to Judge Judy, but it was a debate show.  So the people presented their case, then the audience talked about it, then the judge gave his ruling.  It was really funny to watch!! Later we had class.  Class was great today! My professor for the second hour and a half is hysterical!!  It really helps to make the class go back quick and to make studying fun.  After class we met our intercambio.  An intercambio is a student of the University of Granada.  They study and live in Granada.  It is one intercambio for 4 or 5 of us American students.  Our intercambio, Irene, is great! She wants to teach English eventually.  She is very patient with us, which is good cause I struggled a bit.  But I can definitely tell that my Spanish is getting better.  Even though I've been here for only 5 days, I feel like I am understanding more and can talk a bit better.  While I'm still not close to fluent, I am definitely more confident in my Spanish then when I left.  Whenever my group started talking in English, Irene stopped us and told us only English.  Being forced to speak Spanish is really helping me advance.  Tomorrow is another easy day.  And Saturday we're visiting Alhambra!

All I can say is..WOW!

Hey guys!! Yesterday was a long day, so I didn't get a chance to write.  But let me tell you, these past two days have been beyond marvelous!! Yesterday was our first day of orientation.  Meera and I managed to walk to our school without getting lost, which in my mind was a win! When I was walking to school I noticed a lot of adults just meandering around.  It seemed like everybody was in no hurry to get anywhere or do anything.  It was nice to not have to rush around and to not have everybody rushing around you.  We started our orientation with a meeting that didn't start till 10:30a.m., which was nice.  After the meeting we went on a walking tour of part of the city.  It was beautiful!! Even though this is my second time to Europe, all of the architecture still amazes me!

This is city hall.

This is an old hotel.

I just thought these were cool looking. :)

At this cathedral they used to execute people and you can still see some of the bullet holes in the cathedrals outside walls.  Now people get married there.

La Catedral de Granada.

This was on the cathedral above.

This was also on the above cathedral.

This is a fountain I walk by on my way to school.  It is located in a plaza that is very popular.  A lot of families will bring their young children, or children just come and play on their own, but either way it is always filled with animation!

After our walking tour we had lunch.  We had a packed lunch called a "bocadilla" from our host family.  A bunch of students in the program just sat outside on some benches and ate our bocadillas.  This was my view for lunch:

After lunch, we went back to the school to take our level test for orientation.  This test told us at what level of Spanish we were at.  The test was over an hour and a half long...my brain hurt...I was exhausted...it was rough.  So, to treat ourselves on getting through the level test, a few of my friends went to get tapas after dinner. 

 

Today, September 10, was a long, but good day.  I may have possibly stayed out a little late last night.  Sooooo...I was a bit tired this morning.  We had another meeting at 10:30a.m. The entire walk there I was wondering about my level test.  I was nervous because I didn't want to get a level 1, and I just had no clue what to expect.  I was hoping we would walk into our meeting and instantly find out our level....pero no.  We talked about some stuff, then finally we found out our levels.  I got into...level 4. Which is were I should be, so I was happy for that!  After our meeting we went on another walking tour of the city.  This walk was rough!! It was uphill (steep uphill) and rocky and rough! For a few seconds, I thought I was going down.  However, this trek up the evil hill was worth it because at the top we saw Alhambra.  It was gorgeous!!! Definitely worth the hike!

 We also saw a place where people used to go before they went to the mosque to take baths and get clean.

After our tour we had our bocadillas and then classes started!  We had 3 hours of class.  For an hour and a half we had a grammar class, and the other hour and a half we had a speaking class.  My professors are great!! I was nervous about both classes, but my professors are very relaxed and made the class fun! At one point we were all laughing so much I started crying! (Shocking, I know!)  I also appreciate the fact that I understand them like 95% of the time!  It could be because they are not talking as fast as they usually do, but I'll take what I can get!! :)