مطر

I promise you I had a lot of fun in Morocco but it surely rained almost the ENTIRE time. Before we got there we were all excited to leave Granada because it had been rainy or cold all week so everyone in the program was thinking “great we get to go to Morocco which is in Africa so it should be warm and sunny!”…wrong.

We left Granada Friday night after our exam and bussed to Algeciras, one of the most southern cities in Spain on the Mediterranean coastline. We didn't do anything there but stay in a hostel and head to the ferry. My group (we were split into 3 groups) was the only group to be able to ride the ferry at our designated time. For some odd reason, the bus system and drivers were being feisty and let other passengers get on as opposed to all of our groups even though our program had warned them of all of the groups. Luck was definitely on our side today. 

On board the ferry, it was extremely rocky (even for someone who doesn't get motion sickness very easily was feeling the waves) so we headed up to the top of the boat! It was so windy and so wet and SO MUCH FUN! We were sliding all over the place and falling and just flat out laughing. It was beautiful out there with the Mediterranean being so blue and the sky right in sync with it. It was sweet  (and crazy!) to see Europe on one side and Africa on the other. Here is a really fun picture of Audrey, Mandy and I but there are many many more of these ferry pictures.

We docked in Tangier, one of the most northern ports of Morocco, and headed to DARNA. DARNA is a women's center in Tangier that focuses on helping illiterate women become literate and also helps women develop skills like sewing traditionally or modernly and typing/computer knowledge. After our tour of DARNA, we were able to speak with the 3 young women who were giving the tour. Their discussions and responses are located in the other two blog posts. Here is a group picture of all of us together on top of the building. 2 out of the 3 women are in this picture--one in the center and one in the far right.

After Tangier, we got back on the bus to what we thought was lunch. As we were driving along, most of us either awing at the scenery or dozing in and out, we suddenly stop along side a beach. We all were wondering if our lunch was actually a picnic on the beach or something when all of a sudden we see CAMELS! All sorts of loud cheers went up! Because of the rain that was happening on and off, we were told that we may not get to ride them because the men that owned the camels had to walk 2 hours in order to get to us. They surely came through for us and they all are under our gratitude. It was so crazy to be able to ride a camel, in Africa, along side the Atlantic Ocean! I thought those things only happened in movies. Another dream come true. It was beautiful and so much fun! Once again we took lots of pictures of the ride and posing funny ways with the camels that you can check out on Facebook or Picasa. Here's a preview! =D

After the joyous camel rides, we drove to Asilah where lunch actually was. It was amazing! It was called Chicken Tajine and I don't know what was in the sauce that covered chicken and french fries, but I was a major fan.  Before lunch we walked through the Medina--old part of town--and learned why there was so much blue everywhere. But you'll have to tune in to the next post to find out! Towards the end of the walk, we went to an overlook of the city and Atlantic Ocean. Here is a picture of some old colorfully tiled tombs on the right and the ocean/city everywhere else.


Onward march...well onward ride. We finally arrived in Rabat later that night. Rabat is not only the capital of Morocco, but also the city where we would be spending the most time and staying with a host family. Audrey, Mandy, and I all stayed together as we were shown our host mom--Fatima. She was an adorable woman. We were told that every household had someone that spoke English in order to translate between us and our "family members" but our English speaker (the daughter of Fatima) was sick with a cold/flu so she slept most of the time. Therefore our only means of communication was through gestures. It was truly something else (explain later).

The first night we ate at Fatima's husband's sister's house for she lived below us and had 3 other girls from our program staying with them. At their house we got to try on the traditional Islamic clothing and even attempt to eat (and not spill food) in them! It was so cool! They're pretty comfortable too if I were to say so myself.

In Rabat, our group was able to talk with a neighborhood association whose vision was to give boys and men a place to go to when things weren't going so well in order that they wouldn't result to terrorism. Its comparable to USA neighborhood associations that try to keep kids out of gangs. This group was lead by 3 men as a counter of the 3 women we talked to the day before. It was neat comparing their answers and thoughts to the women's and to our American presumptions. Later that day, we split up into smaller groups to get to know some other Moroccan young people and walk around Rabat. I was lucky enough to be matched with 2 of the guys from the morning session. It was cool to get to know them on more of a friend basis than a interviewer basis. It rained the ENTIRE time we were out walking around but it did not damper one minute of the fun we had together! We still went to the overlooks and to the beach; we still laughed and raced with each other; we still talked and hung out; and we finally stopped for warm delicious coffee. What I learned and gathered from them is in another post.

Beyond talking about the culture, we also got to experience it by going to a traditional Hammam bath house. We talked with one girl from the States that was studying in Morocco who said that this was her favorite part of being here. It is a public (yet separate male and female) bath house that has 3 different rooms varying in heat/steam and 2 different water choices--scorching hot or nipping cold. Then you got this olive oil type soap thingy that once you put on, let sit, and rinsed off, you would scrub all of the dead skin off your body. Nasty, yet you felt really clean afterwards. After getting over the publicness of the bath house (if you know what I mean), most of the girls really enjoyed this experience (myself included). The heat was definitely welcomed after a day in cold rain as was the scrubbing part just because we all hadn't showered since we left for Morocco two days previous.

The last full day in Morocco we had to say goodbye to our host families and get back on the bus to head to the Rif Mountains. Fun Fact! It is in these mountains where the term Riffer (like for marijuana) originated. So we were warned that we would most likely be offered marijuana but it was still illegal for us to take as students and as people in Morocco. Back to travels, our first stop was a small village in the mountains. Here we got to talk with a family, eat with the family (yum yum couscous!), and even dance with the family. While some people saw it as a lower version of life, I found it completely beautiful and homey. Their discussion will join the others.

From the pueblo, it was off to Chefchoen--a GORGEOUS town in the mountains. It was another town covered in blue. This is one of the more touristy areas in Morocco so we were able to shop...well bargain--not a fan. We were bombarded everywhere we went of look at this, just take a look, how much you want, its real nice, student discount, blah blah blah. It was a very stressful situation but I survived and got some really cool stuff. After bargaining, our group got together for a big delicious meal--I didn't think I was all that hungry and I ate all of my Bastilla which was a chicken stuffing esque pastry with cinnamon and powdered sugar on top. Amazing. After the meal, we started talking about all of our experiences in an attempt to debrief. It was really cool to hear everyone's thoughts and how their life may be changed after this experience. The next morning we took a hike and saw the city from a mountain side right at sunrise. Take a look at this sight =)

The last day in Morocco was more travel back to Spain...which oddly enough, consisted of going through a Spanish owned city in Africa. Now that was a culture shock after the sketchy, sketchy, sketchy, border crossing. But we survived and we were homeward bound!

He explorado, soñado, y descubrió