Rockin' Morocco

Last week I went to Morocco from Saturday-Tuesday and it was one amazing time.  We left the friday night before to drive 4 hours down to a city in southern Spain in which we were going to take the ferry the next day.  We got there at about 9 pm and we all passed out because we were going to have a next early day.

                                                             We're going to Africa!!!!

 On saturday we got up at 615 for all of us in the room to have enough time to get ready.  Being lucky me I was the first one up but I got the hottest shower that i've had since i've been here so i'm not complaining.  Oh how I envy the people who have nice steamy hot water for more than 10 minutes.  We got on a bus from Algecris to Tarifa Spain so we could get on the ferry.  It was about an hour ride.  Then we crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Tangier, Morocco.  That was not a fun boat ride because I got sea sick and ended up throwing up.  I think this means I probably won't be able to ride on a cruise ship.  Once we got to Tangier we went to a women's center called DARNA which helps women get a better education to help them get better jobs.  We had a conversation with a couple Moroccean students about their lives and how things are much more modern now than conservative.  For lunch we had the traditional meal of couscous which is rice, vegetables, and meat.

                                                                            coucous

After that we had our drive to Asilah on the Atlantic Coast where we also got to ride camels.  Yep that's right we got to ride camels.  How cool is that!?!  It was scary getting on and off because you feel like you're going to fall off but it's totally worth it.  It was a one time thing for me though.  There was one time where I was taking pictures on the ground beside a camel and he turned his head at the same time as me which scared the crap out of me but my friend got a picture and it turned out really cool.  They are very gentle and calm because you could get right up next to them and they wouldn't do anything.
  

                                                              me riding on the camel

                                 we were turning our heads at the same time and I wasn't paying attention!

Once we got to Asilah it was beautiful.  We got to go on the dock of the town and the waves were crashing down below us.  You got the view of the whole town and of the Atlantic coast which was amazing.  The pictures don't describe how pretty it was.  All the buildings on the coast towns have white and blue paint on them because of Jewish influence that was there.  We also walked through the Medina which means the old part of town.

                                                              Atlantic coast of Asiliah

Once we were done in Asilah we drove to the capitol city of Rabat which was 3 hours away.  We met with our home stay families and me, Emma, and Becca all lived together.  We stayed with a lady who had grown up in her house and now lived there with her sister, and her sister's child and grandchild.    They have 4 other sisters who live in different towns throughout Morocco.

On Sunday we visited an NGO site in Sale (which is a sister city to Rabat).  An NGO site is something that is created by the king and it's funded to help students get better education.  In Morocco the public schools are really bad so you have to have your siblings teach you or go to a private school.  We went to a public market which was a very interesting scene.  We walked through a place with veges, then meats (which were in all sorts of shapes and parts), and then the fish market.  Let me tell you it did not have the best smell and was very gross looking.  Then we went to visit Roman ruins which were right outside the city.  They were so big and there was this huge wall holding them in.  Me and a couple other people went up on the wall but then we got in trouble and had to get done.  Our motto here is that go somewhere until they tell you that you can't!

roman ruins

me sitting on a toilet seat

                                                     
                                               me, emma, and  becca at the front of the ruins

Later after lunch with our families which was the traditional couscous again we went to Rabat's Kasbah which is an old fort and went through the Medina market.  The market we went to was huge and had lots of really cool stuff.  I ended up getting quite a few things because everything is so cheap there.  For example I got a pretty ceramic bowl for 40 durhma which is 4 euros which is about 5 dollars.  Everything that I got cost me total of less than 20 euros.  The conversion rate for dollars to euros is 1.2 for us.

                                             what I bought: a scarf, blanket, wodden camel,
                                                   ceramic bowl, and eye of fatima keychain
  

That evening we met with Peace Corps Volunteers along with a Fulbright Scholar who talked about their time in Morocco.  The main difference between them was that Peace Corps work for 2 years for volunteer while Fulbright works 1 year for pretty good money.  It was really interesting to hear about and made you think.  It made me figure out what i'm going to do after college and maybe do one of those as a possibility.  I don't know how well my parents would handle me being that far away from them for 1-2 years though.  That night we went to a Hammam which is a public bath.  We went in our swimming suits and they have nice hot water with a steam room and special soap that you use.  You feel so much cleaner after you go and it's such a cultural experience.  Also we had traditional mint sweet tea which was served with us at every meal.  Our host mom also had us eat couscous in little balls and I tried to do that too but it was unsuccessful!

                                                   our host mom feeding us couscous balls

                                            me trying to make one as well but it wasn't
                                             working out with only using one hand!

                                                                   traditional mint tea

On Monday we left our host families and drove up to a village in the Rif Mountains which was about a 4 hour drive.  The family that we met with had a mother, father, and 5 kids.  It was interesting to hear how happy they were with how little they had.  Also the people there are really hospitable which you don't normally find back home.  They have a huge amount of land where you could see the mountains and it looked amazing.  It kind of reminds me of Colorado except so much prettier.    It was so good! I would know because normally i'm not a tea drinker, you can ask my parents or my friends who drink it all the time.

                                                           we slept on really long couches

                                                               me and my host mom

                                                        where king mohammod V is buried

                                                what was supposed to be the biggest mosque

the gorgeous Rif mountains

After we met with the family we went to the town of Chefchaouen which is a town of about 30,000.  We did so much walking there because it was in the mountains.  My butt was in so much pain the next day.  It's crazy how everything here is so steep, it gives you a workout 24/7!  We went shopping through the Medina that night and then ate at supper with some people in my group.  The place that we went to had really good food and a great dessert which was yogurt with cinnamon and strawberries.  That night we stayed in a hostel and had a group talk about our time in Morocco.  Our group leader Justin gave us Moroccean friendship bracelets and key chains that were of the eye of fatima (which is a goddess in Morocco).

                                                                 our junk food stash

cheese omlet that had no cheese in it

                                                                    homemade hot bread

a pasta dish that I tried and loved (which me and Emma switched plates)

                                       our delicious desert of yogurt, cinnanom, and strawberries

On Tuesday we spent the day driving back through the mountains and riding the ferry home.  It was a day spent traveling and relaxing which was nice to do.  All of us were excited to have a real shower and food once we got home.  Now we all consider Granada our home.  It doesn't feel that i've only been here for 3 weeks.  I feel like I have lived here much longer.