Morocco

Africa! I have recently returned from the dark continent of mystery. It was pretty crazy and I have rarely been to a place so different from my home (any of them, Vashon, Haverford, Granada). Even disregarding the insane political, social, economic, and cultural differences, the bare sensory input was an onslaught of smells, tastes, sights, and sounds brand new to me. They drink a mint tea with tons of sugar several times a day unlike any tea I've ever had (and I have had a LOT of tea in my life). The cous cous is delicious and the streets smell like the bakeries which constantly bake sweet bread. The cars are bright and poorly made, the walls are stone and the architecture is Islamic, there are cats everywhere, and the people dress in intensely patterned clothing. I guess Northern Africa is more like the Middle East than what is typically thought to be "Africa" (to truly see "Africa" I think you have to go quite a few countries south). The people are predominantly Muslim and the country is Arabic, although these words' meanings are very non-specific. What it means to be Muslim in Morocco wasn't at all necessarily what one might think it means typically. Essentially, this trip threw a lot at me in every way from food to food for thought. As usual, I will explain the details with my photos...


This is the Rock of Gibraltar! It is entirely encased in a cloud -- I am told this is because when the English took Gibraltar they brought their awful weather with them. Anyway, we hiked to the top which was awesome (minus the lack of view) and this is also where the monkeys are!


The monkeys! They sit on your head! There are apparently about 300 on the rock and it is unclear exactly how they got to Gibraltar or why they are still there and no where else in Spain.

We stayed in Gibraltar for the night before taking the ferry boat to Tangier! It was a ROUGH ride, but totally worth it, obviously.


The food in Morocco is delicious -- this is 7 vegetable cous cous and it was incredible. Another wonderful dish: baby noodles with cinnamon and almonds, mmmmm.


WE RODE CAMELS! Ha, be jealous. It was really crazy to be on a camel and their joints bend at very strange angles.


So we stayed with a host family in Rabat -- the city we went to after Tangier -- and stayed for two nights. Within an hour of arriving at our host house (we stayed in groups of 3 Americans), our host mother decided to dress us up in three different outfits each of her traditional clothing. She took over 120 photos of us for over an hour. Moroccans are known for their hospitality, but that was not what I was expecting...


The markets were pretty crazy. You have to bargain with the shop-owners and everything is squished together and insane! I did buy a pretty scarf and some earrings though!


We went to the Rif Mountains to this TINY village to talk with a Moroccan family. Their children were SO CUTE. We gave them a soccer ball and it was almost as big as the little boy. ADORABLE. Anyway, it was interesting to see what village life is like. It seems very isolated, but extremely beautiful. It was such a weird experience to see their small children and think of how different their life would be compared to mine. I guess in some ways it was just as interesting to realize how similar they would be, too.


After stopping by the Rif Mountains, we arrived at Chefchaouen, which is back in the Spanish part of Morocco (Rabat is farther south and thus in the French region). It was all blue and white; the buildings are made of white stone and painted blue in many places. They sell lots of colorful items and it was a lot of fun to shop and walk around such a beautiful city.

On Monday, we left Chefchaouen and took the BEST FERRY I HAVE EVER TAKEN from Ceuta (a Spanish territory in Morocco) back to Spain. The seats were huge, cushy, and could recline quite a ways. Just had to mention that for an Vashonites who might read this. I know you guys would have appreciated this ferry's clear awesomeness.

Some other awesome experiences without photographic evidence: We went to a Hammam, which is an Arabic bath, and scrubbed layers of skin off of ourselves and also got massages! We got henna as well on our hands, although mine is actually almost all gone already. We went to the beach in Rabat briefly, as well, and I went into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time! Surprisingly, even though I go to school on the east coast, my first time in the Atlantic was on the African coast... Oh, and we got to see storks! They are, for the record, not big enough to carry babies so that is a very misleading tale.

Now, I'm back in Granada for the next couple weekends. Some friends from London were just here and it was SO GREAT to see them! We took them out to our favorite tapas places, churros y chocolate, and the best tea in Granada. Another friend is visiting from Berlin on Friday (Inshallah -- a very useful Arabic phrase meaning "If God wills it") and then my friend Cameron comes next week! Turns out we have only 4 more weeks of classes and 5 more weeks in Granada! Ah! But I guess I can't be too sad about returning to the best coast and living in beautiful Seattle for the summer!