I just got back last night from 5 days in Morocco!! It was an absolutely amazing experience in so many ways. I was a little nervous beforehand about going but I am SO glad that I went! We left at 7am Friday morning and took a bus to Tarifa, Spain. From there we got on a ferry that took us to Morocco. Quite a rocky ride but it was fun! When we got to Tangier, we ate couscous at Darna Association of Women. Here began the drinking out of only bottled water! haha Then we got a tour of the beautiful city on the coast, it was absolutely beautiful. When we were touring the city as a group, a boy was along with us that we all thought was part of the tour group, but he was just a random kid off the street following us and constantly guiding us where to go and telling us to watch our step. It was very creepy that we all thought he was part of the group, but definitely made us realize even more how conscious we had to be of our surroundings while there. Then we took a bus ride to the CAMELS! As many of you probably know, my favorite!! As I named it when I was eight years old in Israel, I am in love with "cameling"! We got to ride them right where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It was so fun and my camel's name was Nadeo! Then we drove to Asilah and spent the night there. We got a short tour and I bought a painting from a lady who painted everything with just her toes. She had some sort of disability where she couldn't use her hands. She was SO talented it was really neat. Throughout all of our walks in the cities, people were constantly shouting things at us. It was very obvious that we were Americans. One kid shouted out, "HEY! It's the spice girls!" at a red head, a brunette and a blonde in our group! Another man shouted out, "Hello America! I am here! Do you remember me? We met on planet mars!" Some comments were very creepy and some were hilarious. The next day we got up and drove to a town called Fes. We drove through the countryside and we saw people living in horrible living conditions in tiny huts in the fields. It's crazy to think about how these people are riding their donkeys to get the little food that they can afford, struggling to live, in comparison to our lives in the states. It doesn't even compare. We saw a baby just laying in the irrigation pipe on the side of the road, people chasing roosters around, lambs chasing each other, and lots of donkeys. We stopped at Meknes on the way and we had lunch and went to the market. It was a scary experience because we had to guard our purses with our lives and never go anywhere alone. They warned us to stay away from children because often times, they will distract you. Once we arrived in Fes, which is a lot more modern of a city, we ate diner at a palace and it was so fun. There were people playing Moroccan music and we were all dancing in the middle of dinner. It was such a neat cultural experience, as much as I hate dancing! haha The next morning, we went to the Medina which is like a community. We went to a tannery there and saw where they died animals skin to make products. We were given a mint leaf because it smelled so bad there. We also went to a silk shop where we could watch them make the scarves. We did a lot of shopping in Fes also, where we could barter all the prices. We then saw the oldest university in the world, which was built by a woman in the 9th century that is now a Mosque. That night, we arrived in Chefchaouen which was the home of our tour guide. This was my favorite city by FAR. The whole city is blue and white. All of the doors are blue which originated when the Jewish refugees came to Morocco from Spain as a symbol of warding off the evil. The next morning, we took a hike up the Ref mountains where there is a Mosque at the top of it. Then we went shopping for the rest of the morning. For lunch, we got to eat with students from Chefchaouen. My friend Marlee and I were together and went to a 16 year old named Aya's house. Later that day there was a basketball game between my program and Moroccan students. I was laughing so hard the whole time because our players had no idea what they were getting themselves into. We lost pretty badly but it was still fun to watch. We got to spend the rest of the evening with the students. Their English was amazing! Some of them had only been learning it for a couple years and they were fluent. I was so amazed. I have never met a culture that is SO welcoming. They were all so happy to spend the day with us and were all so sweet. Yesterday we spent the whole day traveling and got back about 9pm to Granada! This trip was so life changing. I feel so much more cultured now and I love seeing how people are living their lives all over the world. This trip made me very thankful for life in the states and once again made me realize how good we have it. I was definitely not read to leave Chefchaouen but it's always nice returning to a vacation from a vacation! I'm in Granada now for two days and then will be going to Madrid this Friday for the weekend! Can't wait for more adventures :]
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