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?
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.
I was so glad to see YOUR CAMEL. It looked very friendly.Did it spit? I've heard they do.It sounds as though your food likes are changing from your descriptions and comments. I guess you got a little seasick on the trip on the ferry and what a scare when the passport blew away. It sure sounds wonderful to hear of all your adventures .Hope you're keeping a log with pictures so you can write a travelogue. Perhaps we can meet your friends when y'all get back.Of course your folks will meet them over there, I forget they're coming over before the semester is over . By the way my little fandango lady has a special place . I am enjoying her so much.Thank you again I miss and love you! Oh yes , I received a card from Sevilla today,Love you too Grammy
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