Marruecos!

Hello all! I have finallyyy found time to share with everyone my trip last weekend to….Morocco!! It is impossible to sum it up in one sentence but I can definitely say it was one of, if not THE, best experiences of my life. It was three jam packed days of activities and sights so I think the easiest way is to just go day by day…so here it is:

DAY ONE (2/18/11): We left Spain at 6 am Friday morning…it was not a pretty morning BUT it allowed us more time in the end. We took a 2 ½ hour bus ride to Tarifa, the very tip of Spain which was beautiful because we got to see the sunrise along the way. We took the 9 o’clock ferry and it actually looked more like a mini cruise. There wasn’t much room for standing outside the boat but the inside was super nice. The boat ride was only about 45 minutes though and we could see Africa the whole time…it’s unbelievable how close the two continents are! We arrived in Tangiers at 9, because there is a one hour time difference, met our guide Mouden Abdeslam (or Abdul as he allowed us to call him). He was from Chefchaouen and was with us the whole trip. He only spoke Spanish with us though even though he knew English…my program clearly tries very hard (or rather forces us) to speak Spanish.

 We were only in Tangier for about 4 hours and the majority of the visit was spent at the American Legation Museum. It was the first property acquired abroad by the US and was a gift from the Sultan of Morocco in 1821 (don’t think I’m just pulling out these facts either…I have a pamphlet). It was used as a center for the Peace Corps and other things and now is used for research and is a museum and cultural center. It was interesting, but kind of a bore for just arriving in Africa and going to an American building. Also, we had to sit in this warm, comfy room and listen to a lecture about education in Morocco after having traveled many hours. Don’t get me wrong- I was totally interested in the topic, but it was in Spanish and my eyes just did not want to cooperate. After the tour of the museum, we had lunch at a center for women called DARNA. From what I understood, they teach women and children how to make clothing using both traditional and modern machines, like a sewing machine. They also make others things like scarves, etc. I bought a purse, no surprise. I liked it a lot and I was happy to support them so it was a win-win in my opinion. After lunch we got about an hour to walk around and go shopping, and then we were off to Tetouan!  One thing that seemed persistent throughout the trip was how much I felt like an outsider. I have never in my life felt like such a foreigner. If I walk around in Spain or Italy for example, people look at me and my friends because we look American or because of what were wearing, etc but it seemed that in Tangier, people stared at us, and I mean stared, because we just didn’t belong. It was actually kind of uncomfortable. If I see someone that is Muslim or any other background in the US, I don’t automatically assume they are foreigners. But in Morocco, I feel like we had a sign on our backs that let everyone know we weren’t from anywhere near there.

We arrived in Tetouan at about 4:30 and when we arrived at the hotel, I immediately fell in love. We were RIGHT on the beach, which was beautiful, and in addition had the breathtaking view of the mountains too. And even luckier for me, that is the exact view I had from my hotel room window! My program definitely does their homework with the hotels and meals. Everything I ate I loved and both hotels were AMAZING. The hotel in Tetouan was very modern and sleek. We only had time to bring our bags to our room and get cleaned up because we left the hotel and went to El Instituto Cervantes. A huge part of my trip was centered on this school. It is a Spanish institute in Tetouan for Moroccan students who want to learn Spanish. They offer a number of different classes to people who are out of school, I believe, and older. We have a project with this school during my semester in which we have to keep a blog between one student in my program and one student from Morocco. Upon arriving in the school they kind of just threw us in a huge room with a group of the Moroccan students and said ‘talk.’ We sat in small groups but it was really overwhelming and trying seeing as our only common language is Spanish. There were a couple of students who knew a little English but we weren’t allowed to speak in English anyways, of course. We had time to walk around for about a half hour with the students and then all had dinner as a large group. Everyone had split into small groups and got to know some of the students better. After dinner we went back to our hotel where everyone had some much needed sleep. Pretty busy day 1, huh?

View from my hotel In Tetouan!

Another view

DAY TWO (2/19/11): Waking up in Tetouan was amazing! I really miss being so close to a body of water bigger than a river so it was so nice being right on the Mediterranean. We went back to the school bright and early and met up with the Moroccan students again. There were certain students that were labeled as guides and we split up into small groups for a tour of the old part of the city. I went with the same students I was with the night before and some others. My group consisted of: Me, Max, Samantha (both from my program), Ibrahim, Mostapha, Dikra, and Aema (all Moroccan students form Cervantes). They range in ages from 19 to 24 and were so nice. I’m so happy they had us do this because getting a tour from someone who lives in the city and is my age was infinitely better and more fun than staying in a group of 18 Americans. We went all over the city. The most amazing thing was going through la medina- a maze of narrow streets covered overhead and filled with vendors of all kind-food, clothes, shoes, anything. It was all along the old walls of the city and was so interesting and really gave me a view of the heart of the city. We then were walking along the old walls of the city, with the mountains in the background of course, and we came upon a group of about 15 young boys probably from 8-12 years old, all with drums. It was so cool! They started playing for us and we were all dancing and enjoying our free concert. After that we got tea-which by the way is amazing in Morocco, the Arab tea is so sweet and has the best smell. We sat at a café on the roof of a building, truly amazing. Also at one point during the tour, a woman selling traditional cloths dressed me up in some traditional clothing! It was really hot and kind of hard to breathe since my mouth was covered but also lots of fun! My partner for the project is Ibrahim. He was really nice and like all the other students I was walking around with, very generous! He bought me a bracelet I was looking at and then Mostapha bought the bracelet I was buying for Erin haha and then Dikra bought me a key chain. They also bought my tea and refused any money I tried to give them! I asked out tour guide later and he said that it was normal for them to want to pay for things while we were with them. After the shower of gifts, we met up with the rest of the students for lunch. After that, everyone had to say goodbye which was actually sadder then we all expected I think. We only knew the students for about 24 hours but we got to experience these once in a lifetime things with them and it is extremely hard for them to leave Morocco- because it is both really expensive and hard to obtain a visa. It was sad thinking that we very well may never see these new friends we made! The majority of them have facebook though so we can still keep in touch. Once we said goodbye we were off Chefchaouen!

L-R: Dikra, Ibrahim, me, Katherine & Lauren (both with CIEE), Mostapha

Ibrahim and me, with my traditional clothing

View from the cafe

We drove another hour and a half to Chefchaouen, a city literally on the side of a mountain. The ride was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of when I went to Italy and we drove through the mountains. It was just one windy road after another and our driver drove sooo fast. Everyone gladly took the time to sleep but I couldn’t stand the chance of missing all the scenery! It’s probably safe to say I took about 50 pictures of just mountains in the one ride haha. The ride was primarily just mountains and land until we came upon the city. We stopped just outside of it to take a picture because it was a spot you could see the whole town. It was beautiful! Chefchaouen is a colorful city that is both popular and very authentic. All the buildings are either a shade of white or this indigo, bright blue color. Our guide told us they have to repaint their buildings at least three times a year and those are the two options that have-white or blue. Our hotel in Chefchaouen was AMAZING. The building was so pretty and the decorations inside were so fun and it really looked, well, Moroccan. I was in a four person room and we had so much space and the BEST view! I don’t know how I lucked out with the two best views but somehow that’s how it happened.  My roomies and I decided to walk around a little but we didn’t go very far because the town was much lest touristy than Tetouan and we had no idea where to go.

Me with the city of Chefchaouen in the background!

The coolest thing we did in Chefchaouen was definitely dinner that night. We went to somewhere called Casa Hmamou, which is where someone important lived but I cannot for the life of me remember who, unfortunately. We had a delicious meal featuring soup, anchovies, and more fish-YES I tried it all and it wasn’t horrible. What came after dinner though was better. In the same house/place we got a PRIVATE concert of Andalusia music. It was a three person band featuring a man playing a drum, a guitarist and then a violinist who also sang. He had one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard! The house was big and open so it just echoed throughout the whole place. Everything was in Arab but it was entrancing! Our guide told us this singer, who must have only been my age maybe, sings at a lot of the festivals and is well known in the area. We returned to the hotel in which I took the coldest shower of my life. I would think it was comparable to showering in the ocean back home…and then we had some much needed sleep which marked the end of the second day!

DAY THREE (2/20/11): We woke up early in Chefchaouen to some rain unfortunately. We were supposed to do a tiny hike up the mountain to check out this church but we couldn’t because it was dangerous in the rain. Instead, we had a little more time for breakfast and left for the old part of the town. We got to see some amazing streets and views while walking around and along the way, we were brought to this store that sold blankets and tapestries. They had a man making one right in the store and they began showing us all the many different products they make there. They were all so beautiful and intricate so needless to say…they got a lot of business. I think 75% of my group bought a blanket of some sort, me included. Our guide was from this town and knew the owner so I have a feeling that he brings Americans there every semester and no surprise, they make lot of money. Rosario, my señora, even said when I showed her my blanket that her student last semester bought one too haha. I can’t wait to hang it up in my room when I get back. We had some free time which consisted of my spending lots of money on things such as bracelets, earrings, and bags…typical. We then had our last meal which I think was the best. We had a small dish of some sort which had tomatoes and onions and other veggies in it. Then we had a meatball/egg dish and a type of pastry. It was all amazing! Unfortunately, the rest of the day included traveling…and more traveling. The sun had finally come out and we had to take an almost three hour bus ride back to Tangiers, a 45 minute boat ride (which was actually really nice seeing as I love boats…especially sitting outside no matter how cold), and then a 2 ½ bus ride from Tarifa to Sevilla. It was a whirlwind weekend and I haven’t exactly been feeling 100% health wise since I returned from Morocco but it was all WORTH IT, without a doubt! I hope that in the future I can return to Africa, either in Morocco to revisit the friends I made there or another part of the beautiful continent.

View from hotel in Chefchaouen

What many of the doors and walls looked like...I finally blended

in somewhere with my coat!

~One of the most important personal changes that emerged from this trip…..Africa does not all resemble the Lion King!

Until next time amigos,

Besos