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| The inside of the Center of Modern Languages (Centro de Lenguas Modernas) |
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| Waiting for class... |
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| A view of Granada near the school...the path I took everyday |
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| My last gelato!!! |
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| My lovely host sisters!!! |
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
It is not "Adios." Just "Hasta Luego!"
I have been home for almost a week now. It is soooo great being home. I really missed my family and friends while I was away. However, a huge part of me misses Spain. I really wish I could have stayed longer. I did a lot and saw so much while I was there, but I feel like I could have done so much more. I miss my friends, travel buddies, teachers, and host family like crazy! But also, I feel like I took so much away from this experience abroad...which is why maybe it has taken me a week of reflecting before I could sit down and write this blog. Not only did I get to experience and be apart of such an incredible culture, but I did something completely out of my comfort zone...and I fell in love with it!! It is the strangest thing to have to rely on yourself for absolutely everything and having this cultural barrier to overcome at the same time. Keeping a budget, finding your way around a city, and communicating in a new language your basic wants and needs to a family in order to stay on the same page...it can all be extremely overwhelming. However, every single day I learned something new or over came a challenge which made me feel absolutely awesome. It could have been something so simple like speaking up in my language class, or just telling my host mom something simple about my day. I even got around Barcelona successfully! I am proud of myself for going through with this whole study abroad thing :) It was truly a wonderful experience that has changed my life plans and direction. I can't believe how lucky I am to have had this opportunity. So blessed and thankful!!
Friday, July 1, 2011
The Ups and Downs of Morocco
Ok, so...I apologize for the lack of updates!! You will see why I kinda had to let the blog go for a few days later in this blog...
So, I had the most amazing, once in a life-time opportunity to go to Morocco last weekend. It was definitely an experience. It was an adventure all in itself just to get there! We left at 3 am and drove to the port and took a FERRY (literally...I have been on every form of transportation the world has to offer this month) across and over to Africa. It was literally crossing into another world. The coast of Morocco was stunning. Beautiful beaches against the desert sand and little open walled houses all around in the high grass. Just beautiful. We drove down around the coast for 7 hours, turned at Rabat, and went straight to Fes. I wanted to stay awake to see the views, but unfortunately, I took a little siesta instead. We were on schedule until we got into a bus accident. We ran into a truck on the narrow Moroccan roads and the front window of our bus got taken out. No one was hurt, but it did delay our trip by about 2 hours because we had to get the police involved and wait for a new bus. Just an example of how you are not immune from anything when you are studying abroad. You have to be prepared for everything...as you will see again later in this blog :)
We finally got to Fes..18 hours after our initial departure. The next morning it was off to the Fes Medina. Basically, it was like a huge market place. When I say "huge" I mean HUGE. 7,000 individual streets laid out like a maze. Luckily, we had a very skilled, and super fun and sweet, tour guide to show us the ropes and take us around the Medina.
First, we stopped at a leather shop. They showed us how they dye and make their beautiful purses, wallets, shoes, ect.
A picture is worth a thousand words...
This is where they dye everything. Super cool, right!? :)
Then it was time to play "Let's Make a Deal!" Yep, Morocco is known for bartering. Basically, it is a way of life and a huge part of their culture. I saw a beautiful red, buff, and green backpack that I had to have, so I practiced my...urmm..natural bartering skills and got a great price on it! Really though, go in with a bartering plan should you ever be in this situation. I did not and probably could have even got a better deal on it. It is true what they say though about walking away. They will yell at you to come back and give you an amazinggg deal! :)
We spent the rest of the day walking around the Medina. We went to look at rugs (which I just could not afford) and a great shop that wove beautiful scarfs, table clothes, clothes, bags and so on. I have to say, my favorite thing about Morocco was the people. So friendly, nice, and approachable. I made my first Moroccan friend in this shop. He named me "Fatima" and we talked all about American and Moroccan cultural difference. People in Morocco are just so relaxed. They don't believe in being rushed all the time. It just creates stress. These are ideas that could take some getting use to for me, I am always busy and running around, but I think I could adjust!
After shopping all day, we had a great lunch!! I was a little afraid the Moroccan food was going to taste...funky...but surprisingly it was great!!! I could have easily eaten it for a month. Olives, bread, grilled chicken. Yum! yum! yum!! This may have been a mistake....
The next day we drove to the ancient city of Meknes to view the Roman ruins. Once again, I cannot even begin to describe how great our guide was. So friendly and nice!! I feel bad because I couldn't 100 percent focus on the tour because I was so HOT!!! I swear, sweat from every pore. I am not sure how hot it was, but I have never felt anything like that before. I am pretty sure I had a river flowing down my face. But look how amazing the view was! In hindsight...so worth it :)
So, as I said, our tour guide was great!! He became my second Moroccan friend. I was trying to take a picture of a random mule walking around the area. He picked me up and put me on top of the mule, took my camera and snapped a picture.
So, I had the most amazing, once in a life-time opportunity to go to Morocco last weekend. It was definitely an experience. It was an adventure all in itself just to get there! We left at 3 am and drove to the port and took a FERRY (literally...I have been on every form of transportation the world has to offer this month) across and over to Africa. It was literally crossing into another world. The coast of Morocco was stunning. Beautiful beaches against the desert sand and little open walled houses all around in the high grass. Just beautiful. We drove down around the coast for 7 hours, turned at Rabat, and went straight to Fes. I wanted to stay awake to see the views, but unfortunately, I took a little siesta instead. We were on schedule until we got into a bus accident. We ran into a truck on the narrow Moroccan roads and the front window of our bus got taken out. No one was hurt, but it did delay our trip by about 2 hours because we had to get the police involved and wait for a new bus. Just an example of how you are not immune from anything when you are studying abroad. You have to be prepared for everything...as you will see again later in this blog :)
We finally got to Fes..18 hours after our initial departure. The next morning it was off to the Fes Medina. Basically, it was like a huge market place. When I say "huge" I mean HUGE. 7,000 individual streets laid out like a maze. Luckily, we had a very skilled, and super fun and sweet, tour guide to show us the ropes and take us around the Medina.
Some yummy fruit and veggie stands in the Medina!
First, we stopped at a leather shop. They showed us how they dye and make their beautiful purses, wallets, shoes, ect.
A picture is worth a thousand words...
This is where they dye everything. Super cool, right!? :)
Then it was time to play "Let's Make a Deal!" Yep, Morocco is known for bartering. Basically, it is a way of life and a huge part of their culture. I saw a beautiful red, buff, and green backpack that I had to have, so I practiced my...urmm..natural bartering skills and got a great price on it! Really though, go in with a bartering plan should you ever be in this situation. I did not and probably could have even got a better deal on it. It is true what they say though about walking away. They will yell at you to come back and give you an amazinggg deal! :)
We spent the rest of the day walking around the Medina. We went to look at rugs (which I just could not afford) and a great shop that wove beautiful scarfs, table clothes, clothes, bags and so on. I have to say, my favorite thing about Morocco was the people. So friendly, nice, and approachable. I made my first Moroccan friend in this shop. He named me "Fatima" and we talked all about American and Moroccan cultural difference. People in Morocco are just so relaxed. They don't believe in being rushed all the time. It just creates stress. These are ideas that could take some getting use to for me, I am always busy and running around, but I think I could adjust!
My new friend and I! Yea...I got a picture with him....
After shopping all day, we had a great lunch!! I was a little afraid the Moroccan food was going to taste...funky...but surprisingly it was great!!! I could have easily eaten it for a month. Olives, bread, grilled chicken. Yum! yum! yum!! This may have been a mistake....
The next day we drove to the ancient city of Meknes to view the Roman ruins. Once again, I cannot even begin to describe how great our guide was. So friendly and nice!! I feel bad because I couldn't 100 percent focus on the tour because I was so HOT!!! I swear, sweat from every pore. I am not sure how hot it was, but I have never felt anything like that before. I am pretty sure I had a river flowing down my face. But look how amazing the view was! In hindsight...so worth it :)
So, as I said, our tour guide was great!! He became my second Moroccan friend. I was trying to take a picture of a random mule walking around the area. He picked me up and put me on top of the mule, took my camera and snapped a picture.
He is not the best photographer, but here it is!!
Then he made me a crown of beautiful flowers!! I got to keep it too!
Hanging out in the Roman baths. Isn't he cool?! :)
The rest of the trip wasn't really...memorable in a good way. Later that night in the hotel my credit card got taken by the ATM so I had to go through a whole ordeal to cancel it. Then I woke up the next morning sick as a dog. The Moroccan food and sanitary conditions gave me a really bad bacterial infection. Ugh...I made it home alright thank god, but later that night I had a really bad fever and felt miserable. After following the advice of my host mother and ISA directors, I only drank my favorite drink ever Aqurius for 2 days...could have definitely been a worse diet! ;)
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