Day 2 in AFRICA!

We woke up this morning and my cold was so much worse but I brushed my teeth in the Moroccan sun which was incredible! I took my cold pill and ate breakfast, mint tea and bread with honey on it, yum. We left the house lead by the host sister who picked us up, Sabat, and headed to the meeting spot.
We got there and went to the "Boys House" where we had a very open, honest and moving discussion about the relationship between the West and the Muslim nations. We went from here to the Mausoleum but the King was coming there to pray and we went on the the ancient Roman ruins of Chellah which were awesome. After this we went to our homes and ate couscous which I do not like very much. It was okay but not the best.

Chase, Lyndsey, and me in front of the entrance to the ruins

Patrick and me in the ruins.

At this point I think the security guard had taken Lyndsey and my cameras and was playing our photograper. Including telling us where to go and how to stand. Priceless.

 After lunch we met back up with the guys from the center and divided into groups so that we could get a more personal experience with them. It was awesome. I was talking with one of them the whole time, Abdelmonnim, or Abs for short. He was really interesting and we hit it off instantly. We went down to the beach with the guys and then to the market to walk around. We sat down and had tea with them and then we went back to the meeting point to go to our homestays and get our stuff for the Hammam.

On a rock at the beach.

Abs and me on the beach. 

Pouring my tea.

We made our way back to the meeting point with our Hammam gear in hand and then met up with the woman who took us to the Hammam. Our host sister Sabbah was also there because she said she would go with us and sit with our stuff while we went inside. The Hammam was quite the experience. It did alot for body image I thought. The women there didn't have perfect bodies but that had nothing to do with the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

¡Marruecos! (Primer Día)

Thursday, March 17, 2011
I woke up this morning at 6 am without problem. With excitement in my chest! As I woke up to turn off my alarm, Lyndsey called to make sure I was awake! My stuff was all packed and clothes picked out so all I had to do was throw them on, pick up my clothes, and head out the door! I found my Sevici last night so I met Kyle on the corner and off we went to go to AFRICA!! (I did however, wake up sick, like full on sick and I'm currently willing it away. Hopefully that will work. )

We all got to the meeting spot this morning and got on the bus at 7:30 am and headed to Tarifa, Spain. A city on the very southern tip of Spain where we could cross the Straight of Gibraltar to reach Tanger, Morocco! The bus took us about 2 1/2 hours and I slept the entire way!

Once we got to Tarifa we met our guides briefly and then we got on the ferry to cross the straight which they said would be 30 minutes but it felt like an eternity! It was so bumpy! I had to go stand on the deck for a long while... like most of the trip. While we were standing on the deck, Alex- one of the guys in our group, had his passport in his jacket pocket and it somehow flew out and there was a harrowing moment when the wind was dragging it further and further away and he had to jump a barrier to go get it from another deck! Passport back in hand we all made our way back inside! Once we arrived we changed our money and then got in our van and took off!

Isn't their money pretty?

Our guide's name is Alicia and she is so much fun! She was in the Peace Corps but her time was up 2 years ago but she had married a Moroccan and so she stayed for a while after and now they're trying to get him a visa to travel to come live in the US with her.

We have such a great group!! Our group is: Kyle, Chase, Billy, Alex, Patrick, Brian, Emily, Heather, Lyndsey, Stephanie, Lauren, Anna, Lora, Katie, Danielle, and me! We are going to have an awesome trip! I can feel it!

We went to the Darna Center for Women first. This is a place that was created to help women who didn't have the opportunity to go to school learn to read and write and a trade!

The modern sewing classroom

The old school sewing room.

We got a tour and then had lunch with 3 Moroccan students who talked to us about life here. It's so interesting to find out how similar we all are really. They have so many things that are so similar to our own. They had some really interesting things to say, I wish that I could've recorded it somehow but I know it would come out to be just like one of those documentaries that seem so cheesy, but the moment was not cheesy at all. Just real.

After this we got back on our bus, complete with African sounding music blasting and mini-curtains, and headed to Rabat! We pulled over to "stretch our legs a little bit" and they had camels waiting for us on the beach!! We each got a turn to ride a camel!

My camel. 

Lyndsey and I on our camels! It's a lot harder than it looks! They're awkward creatures...

I'm a natural.

After the camel we got back on the bus and went to the town of Asilah and to their Medina (old town). It was gorgeous! It reminded me a little bit of Greece because it was all blue and white! From there we got to go to this gorgeous vista where we could look out over the water!

From the vista looking back on the medina.

Heather, Me, and Lyndsey at the vista

First Moroccan sunset :)

After we got to Rabat we met our host families! Lyndsey and I got the best one! Sabah came to pick us up and her english was pretty good and then when we got to their house we met her sister, Ouidad, who spoke pretty close to perfect english! And, she said she learned it from the TV!! We were both so impressed! Before the first round of tea had even been served they told us that WHEN we come back to Morocco we will stay with them because we are part of the family. We had tea with bread and honey after that and then we went for a walk around the market area. When we got home we had dinner which consisted of a salad (onions, tomatoes, green bell peppers, and salt) and then we ate potatoes with chicken! yummy! 

Me (makeup-less) and Ouidad

Our bathroom.

View from our living room.

The weeks get shorter and shorter it seems...

When I got home from Barcelona Mercedes had an envelope waiting for me... it was my Sevici!!! This wonderful little card allows me to rent a bike at one station in the city and ride it for 30 minutes at a time for  free!! What a great invention! And, if I need it longer than 30 minutes I just turn it in and re-check it out! LOVE IT!
Monday came, and went and all I basically did was workout.
Tuesday we had our meeting for Morocco!! Ahh! So exciting! I think we have such a great group! And, I cannot wait to see how this weekend goes!! I'm so glad that they didn't cancel our trip too! It hasn't sunk it yet that I'm going to Africa in 2 days! :)
Wednesday was just a hard day. I worked out and improved my 5K time by 30 seconds which was good but then I started to feel sick, sore throat, runny nose, the works. Noo! Not for Morocco! :( Then I rode my new Sevici home! And lost the card. When I was cleaning my room and packing I realized that I didn't know where it was. I had a breakdown! But, when I finally regained my composure I found it in the pocket of my shirt from that day. Whew! Well I went to bed after that, I had to wakeup at the crack of dawn to leave for Morocco!!!

Barbra Streisand.

We. woke. up. way. too. early.

We woke up on Friday (Mar. 11) at approximately 7:45 am. This is just fine if you were not out the night before until almost 3 am. But if you are, and if you had pulled an all nighter the night before and if you are me (the grouchiest morning person ever) then the two don't mix but I did it. Without complaint! We had breakfast at the hostel and met Kyle and Brian's friends from back home! They were really fun girls and we all went around together for the day! Jaime had a copy of Rick Steve's Guide to Barcelona. For those unfamiliar with Rick as we like to call him, Rick is a travel book author who spends 100 days each year traveling the world to put out new improved editions as frequently as possible for all kinds of destinations. We became great friends throughout the day. He gives you bus information, which monuments to go inside which not to, everything you could possibly need to know! So with Rick in tote we launched ourselves on Barca!

First stop: La Boquería. And Dunkin' Donuts (for coffee). La Boquería is an open air market located along "La Rambla" which is a very touristy street that runs through Barcelona. It's also where our hostel was. There was so much color and such a great atmosphere there! There was a lot of hustle and bustle and the food all looked incredible, well aside from the meat and such that was there. That will never cease to be disgusting to me.

La Boquería

Different candies at La Boquería

Gummies at La Boquería.

They had tons of these! They are each blended up fruits.

Stop número dos: La Sagrada Familia.

Rick said to pay the extra few euro and go in and see the inside as well as ride the lift to the top. Well worth it to go inside, score one for Rick. Not so sure about the lift part though, we had to wait inside the church for over an hour until our ticket times were valid and then when we got to the top the view was mostly blocked because of all the construction. This is one of the many Gaudí masterpieces in Barcelona although it is not completed and is not in fact scheduled to be complete until at the earliest 2026! Antoní Gaudí was incredibly talented. I have always had an appreciation for architecture, what people can design and build is increíble to me. But Gaudí took it to a whole new level. His work is just whimsical but it's still a building that has lasted through time. La Sagrada Familia is the cathedral that he was building when he died from a tram accident in 1926- no, I do not know anything more about this, that's just what Rick told us. It was an incredible structure. From the stained glass to the sculptures, he thought of everything!

Lyndsey and me inside La Sagrada Familia

Stained glass in La Sagrada Familia

Lyndsey and Me at the top of La Sagrada Familia

After La Sagrada Familia we went to Park Guell which is also some of Gaudí's work. It's an area of town that was going to house the elite upper class of Barcelona but was never completed and so became a beautiful park with lots of "Gingerbread houses" and scultpures that have Gaudí written all over them!

Park Guell

The Gingerbread Houses at Park Guell

Famous sculpture at Park Guell

Kyle, Lyndsey and me at Park Guell

At the top of Park Guell

From here we went to Casa Mila. Gaudí designed several homes for the very wealthy of Barcelona in his day and this was one of them but it has been transformed into a little museum almost dedicated to Gaudí. It's filled with his drawings and models for some of his work to give you a little insight into how he created these things. I think the most interesting part to me was a contraption that hung from the ceiling with chains hanging down that were looped back up and it had a mirror under it so that he could create the arches he wanted and know where the support was needed. Beyond my grasp a little but still very cool.

On the rooftop at Casa Mila

At this point a siesta was desperately needed! We went back to our hostel and took a fantastic siesta for probably 2 hours! We then got up and got dressed to go out to "La Bolsa" which means stock market in Spanish. It was a great little bar that was suggested by Rick. The menu was on TV screens and it was set up like the stock market would be. After words we went to a disco called "Razz-ma-tazz" which was really fun as well.

Trying to teach Kyle to dance at La Bolsa (The Stock Market bar)

We woke up on Saturday morning and it was pouring down rain. Lyndsey and I got up and got set to do our own thing today so we got dressed and then took off for La Boquería and to plan our day. We sat down at the Dunkin' Donuts with our coffee and decided that the Cathedral should be our next stop, then head to Barceloneta for lunch.

The Cathedral

Inside the garden in the Cathedral

In Barceloneta, a neighborhood that sits right on the beach/boardwalk

This umbrella is useless. It was "accidentally" forgotten in the hostel the next day.

After lunch Lyndsey and I went to my favorite part of the city! Casa Batlló. It was absolutely incredible. The detail that went into this place were indescribable. He thought of everything. From small windows that open and close on the walls to allow for air flow to a seat next to the fireplace for the "chaperone" to sit when young ladies had dates.

Inside Casa Batlló. My new love.

Outside of Casa Batlló

Rooftop of Casa Batlló

Well, Kyle spent that entire day singing the song "Barbra Streisand" by DuckSauce. If you want to know a song that will NOT GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD, that's the one. That night I took my first ever hostel shower. It wasn't too bad! I had my shower shoes so I was fine. It was a little tight in there but overall it was okay! When I got done showering and was getting ready in the hallway by the bathroom this funny group of British guys walked up to Lyndsey and I and started talking to us and then out of nowhere one of them (mind you they were all pretty plastered) took off his shirt and started telling us he was David Hasselhoff! haha oh boy was it hard not to die laughing in his face! Later we went to the bar called "Chupitos". It's right on the boardwalk and has hundreds of themed shots and they all have something special about them. It only took us wondering for over an hour to find, but, hey! next time I will know exactly where it is! We did the Harry Potter shot which I put a picture of for you to see!

The "Harry Potter" shot at Chupitos. 

On Sunday morning Lyndsey and I packed up our belongings and headed to get coffee before we headed out to the airport while the boys went to Casa Batlló since they had napped the day before when we went through it! When they rejoined us Brian said the funniest quote about and I just have to repeat it because it sums up my language experience for study abroad pretty perfectly... "Study abroad has been counterproductive for Kyle, instead of his Spanish improving, he's just forgetting English." This I have found to be true for me as well. Between Mercedes and all the Spanish that I've been dropped into and the way my British European Union teacher spells things I may never be able to speak or spell in English again. Oh well. Price you pay for this fabulous experience! :) Overall, it was a fantastic trip and I was really pleased with our group! :)

Barcelona.... Night #1

Well, I ran home from my classes on Thursday (Mar. 10), packed my stuff, and got myself to the bus station. I got to the Prado de San Sebastion bus stop and a very nice Spaniard pointed me in the exact wrong direction of the airport bus stop and I had to run in order to catch the bus, thank gosh Kyle called me and told me it was there and that I needed to run! I probably would've missed that one, had to wait 30 minutes and never been able to live it down. Ever. 

Kyle, Brian, Lyndsey and I made our way to the airport where we waited for our flight. We were on Spanair so we got to check our bags though! Hallelujah! I really hate having to carry on all my luggage for trips. It's such a hastle! Good call on the Spanair choice!

We got to Barcelona at night and took the bus to Catyuna (or something like that) and from there were approached by a man with a SOB story about his lover who had cheated on him and, I knew where this was headed, he concluded by asking us for money. Brian caved and gave him 70 cents and then we walked on our way down La Rambla to find our hostel. We left the boys in charge of directions. Poor judgement on our part. We realized after approximately 1 hour of walking, bags in hand. But, they are good guys and they are great about traveling with girls at night! They made sure we were with them and in the middle, not on the edges, and Kyle even stopped once to make sure a group of guys didn't bother us! Well, we got to our hostel eventually and as Kyle is constantly hungry because his host doesn't feed him enough, we went out for some food/drinks. 

We walked around again for a while before coming all the way back to a bar we passed and made fun of Kyle for suggesting, calling him Grandpa Kyle. A name that stuck. We had a beer each, Kyle tried to steal a glass but got caught by the table next to us (HILAREOUS!), and then we went and had a kabob and then went home for the night. I thought I would be able to sleep like a baby. Boy, was I wrong! There was a man snoring louder than anyone I've ever heard! Daddy, he was louder than when you wake yourself up on the couch!! I know! But it IS possible to be louder than that! 

oh school...

Well, this week (March 7-10, short weeks here I know! :) ) was miserable. I had 4, count 'em, FOUR midterms. I mean, I am in Spain so who can really complain but still! 4 in one week is excessive!

Monday rolled around, after Carnavales en Cádiz, and I had my business spanish test. It wasn't too bad. There was only one or two that I wasn't sure of.

Tuesday, no exams! But, alas, it was filled with studying for my 3 remaining exams.

Wednesday, international marketing midterm. I love Nano. He is so good about making sure the review covers everything! Feel good about this one too. After class, Lyndsey and I skipped the gym because I have 2 midterms tomorrow, the hard ones, and we leave tomorrow after class for Barcelona!!! So excited!!

Thursday, took my history of Spain midterm as well as my European Union midterm. I think I did okay on both of them! We'll see how this all turns out!

Carnavles de Cádiz

Hola Todos!

Sorry this blog has been a LONG time coming but here we go,

March 5, 2011- Carnavales de Cádiz
This is a night of much tomfoolery when basically the entire student population of Sevilla gets on a bus with some sort of travel agency (if they're foreign) or just a city bus (for the natives) and goes to Cádiz for Carnavales.

It's like a mixture between Mardi Gras and Halloween all wrapped up into one city on the coast of Spain. It's a blast! Lyndsey and I dressed up as "Mariposas" or butterflies for my non-spanish speaking friends. We had masks and wings that were adorable, unfortunately, they were not so durable and they broke almost immediately upon arrival. But, Lyndsey and I definitely figured out how to work them in our photos! :)

Lyndsey and Me getting off the bus in Cádiz! 

We had the best bus ever on our way there too! It's approximately an hour and half and after about 10 minutes the radio on the bus stopped working but, we were with a ton of CIEE IBCP people so we were all laughing and having a good time when the back of the bus (us) started to sing popular songs from the US as loud as we could to liven the mood. Leah Grubb started to belt Michael Jackson like it was her job! And she was good! Although, this did not make us friends at the front of the bus. (They were jealous of our fun) There were a couple girls dressed like characters from Avatar who wanted to start a fight. I don't think I'll ever understand why though, we were all just having a good time and they had 3 and we had more than 12. My money would've been on us! 

Anyways, we got there and had an amazing time for like 4 hours and then had to turn around and come back but it was awesome! Once we got home Lynds and I shared a taxi and I came strolling in around 7 am when Mercedes was getting ready for work... oops! :)