July 26, 2015

Today we took a ferry from Taniger to Tarifa, Spain. The trip itself was only around thirty minutes. I always knew that northern Africa is extremely close to European nations, as they are only separated by the Mediterranean Sea, but I never knew how close. I can literally see Spain and Portugal out of my hotel room window. How crazy is that?

I was completely taken from the moment we got to Spain. I mean, practically the first thing you see is a medieval castle. It’s hard to believe you can go from continent to continent in that short period of time, and how completely different the two places are despite their closeness. I wanted to take a photo of each and every street, because the entire town looked like it should be on Pinterest.

The food was incredible. We stopped at a little café on a pretty street, and all got breakfast since they were not yet serving lunch. It was amazing, and afterwards we explored the streets, got gelato, and hit the picture perfect beaches. People failed to mention this to me my entire life, but I’m pretty sure it’s a rule that you have to be beautiful to live in Spain. All of the girls were flawless and the men of all ages were handsome, who knew! We stupidly left our bathing suits behind, but when we got to the beautiful beaches, we noticed that many women were topless, and as a joke someone threw out that they were going to go topless, but then it turned into the real deal. We figured, we didn’t have bathing suits, we wanted to swim, the beaches were pristine, and we would be assimilating to local culture. It felt odd at first because we were in our American minds which tend to believe that nipples are somehow a big deal, but once we actually did it, it felt amazing to be free in a beautiful place where we didn’t have to worry about getting in trouble for showing the bodies we were born with. It was a sense of freedom I would never have in America, because I would never be able to go topless like that and have it be so accepted. It was a great insight into European mind and culture. They are so much more laid back than us, which we noticed when we were eating too. You don’t get your check here unless you basically chase your waiter or waitress around, because once you have the table it’s yours for as long as you’d like, unlike America where they kick you out as soon as you’re done eating.

We ended up getting dinner at the same place after doing some shopping, and it was just as good as breakfast. The food was fresh, carefully made, and simply delicious. The other girls tried the traditional seafood dish of paella, but that was a bit too much for me.

Taking the ferry ride back to Spain, I felt like I was in a movie. How beautiful is it to wake up in Africa, spend the day in Spain, and then be back in Africa to sleep at night. I’m always amazed where my life's path takes me and what adventures I end up on, and this trip definitely has me counting my blessings.

July 24, 2015

Let me start off by saying that today was my favorite day so far. I’ve never experienced travel like this and it makes me feel like my soul is awake. I’m constantly learning and exploring, as everything is new and exciting and interesting. I want to see and do as much as I can, while still having an authentic experience.

First of all, the overlook that we went to at the start of the tour was absolutely stunning. It overlooked the old city, which used to be the capital of the country. The Medina of Fes is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and parts of it are being restored so they can be preserved because of it. It is home to the world’s first university, which we got to see. But before we went to the Medina we hit a pottery place that was unreal. They took us through different rooms so we could see the different steps and processes into how the different types of pottery and mosaics are made. In one room the man who was painting small tajine pots painted a design and my name in Arabic on my hand, and did the same for some of the other girls as well. I had never seen my name written out in Arabic before so I was impressed. I couldn’t stop taking photos the entire time because I didn’t know what else to do since everything was so beautiful I wanted to buy it all. At the end he took us to a room filled in every nook and cranny with finished pieces for sale, and I couldn’t resist.

We then explored the many twists and turns of Fes’s Medina, and I felt as though I were in an Indiana Jones movie. Everything looked so incredibly ancients, and some pathways were narrow enough that only one person could pass at a time. My least favorite part of the day was when we visited the tannery. I didn’t even know what I tannery was until that day, I had never heard the term before so when I had been looking over the trip itinerary I didn’t realize that this was something we’d be doing. Anyway, the tannery is the place where they turn the animal skin into leather. The smell of leather was so overpowering when you first stepped into the store that they handed out fresh mint to hold under your nose, which I was very thankful for. Outside you could see them with the skins, which was a sight I wasn’t prepared for. However, to make things better, after we left the tannery we visited the scarf shop. They taught us how to properly make turbans and showed us the machine they use to make the scarves.

Today was also Imari’s 22nd birthday as well as the day Sarah was to be reunited with her boyfriend after three years. So this evening all of us girls went with Sarah’s boyfriend Soufien and his friend out to ice-cream, and sang for Imari.

When we had class in Marrakech, which turned out to also be amazing discussion, we talked a lot about identity. As I reflect on the trip thus far I realize that I have been thinking a lot about my personal identity. I have reflected on my ascribed identity and how I believe others view me versus how I would like them to view me and how that is different from the way I view myself (avowed identity), but in an ideal world all three would be the same I think. I’ve been digging deep into who I am and what I want, and I think this is the perfect environment for me to do that. I’m mostly thankful for the opportunity to see if I love other parts of Africa, and so far it’s looking up.

July 21, 2015

Last evening we left for Marrakech but before we left the city we stopped at one of the universities in Casablanca to meet with a couple of students and several professors. It was interesting to see the campus and facilities. Everything was very beautiful. I enjoyed the discussion we had because it provided us with another opportunity to create dialogue with locals about important issues and questions, but this time we could hear it from the perspective of adults as well. It’s a unique experience to be able to ask serious questions about local and regional politics to indigenous people instead of just hearing the perspectives of journalists and news commentators. We get a much more real approach and get to hear stories and perspectives we never would have otherwise. These are important learning moments. However, I believe you should take everything people say with a grain of salt, because even though someone is from a place, doesn’t mean what they have to say is necessarily true. I would hear countless different opinions on American politics depending on which American I asked as well.

When we finally made it to Marrakech, I was completely taken by the city at first sight. I knew immediately I was going to like it better than Casablanca and feel like it had more culture to offer. Different from Casablanca being the city of white, Marrakech is the red city, and the walls to the Medina are beautiful. On top of that, our hotel is by far the most beautiful hotel I’ve ever stayed in.

Today we did the tour of the city of Marrakech, and it was unbelievable. I had a day unlike any I’ve ever had before. First we stopped in some gardens overlooking a beautiful mosque, and then visited La Palais de la Bahia, described Wikipedia as: “Set up at the end of 19th century by Si Moussa, grand vizier of the sultan, for his personal use, this palace would bear the name of one of his wives. Here, the harem, which includes a vast court decorated with a central basin and surrounded by rooms intended for the concubines. As the black slave Abu Ahmed rose to power and wealth towards the end of the 19th century, he had the Bahia palace built by bringing in craftsmen from Fez.” It was absolutely brilliant, which coincidentally, is what the name Bahia translates to.

From there we visited the souk, which was nothing like the one in Casablanca, in a good way. I didn’t know where to look because everything was bursting with character, color, and art. We first stopped at an oil and spice shop, and the man who worked there was very informative and helpful by explaining the uses of everything and letting us smell things and have samples. We all ended up spending tons of money but it was worth every penny. This is the kind of stuff Morocco is known for, and what some people come here specifically for. Plus, buying this kind of stuff in the States would be much more expensive.

After a lunch of tajine in a beautiful restaurant located inside of the Medina, we explored the souk a little more on the way out and we even got to see the snake charmers and a couple of us got a small snake put around our necks for photos. I got a taste of the aggressiveness of some of the people there trying to make money when I snapped a photo of a cart of pottery in the direction of some men who were dressed up and dancing, because they thought I had taken a photo of them and insisted that I pay them. I finally decided that trying to denying it was useless and it would be easier to just give the guy some change than have him follow me around complaining and making a scene.

Our final stop was the Majorelle Gardens, but this is the truest instance of saving the best for last. According to Wikipedia, “It was designed by the expatriate French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and 1930s, during the colonial period when Morocco was a protectorate of France.” It’s immensely beautiful to be inside breathtaking gardens that are somebody else’s expression of art. I feel like this trip also exposes us to different types of art such as these gardens and the architecture of the buildings as well as the craftsmanship of some of the products.

All in all, I had one of the best days even though I have quite literally never been that hot in my life. Temperatures were pushing 115 degrees Fahrenheit and we were walking around in the sun the entire time. At least it was a dry heat! Sarah, Imari, Micki and I couldn’t stop dancing in the car on the way back from the gardens despite it being even hotter inside the bus and the water in our water bottles being hot enough to make a cup of tea. I quickly became drenched in sweat from dancing but I wouldn’t have it any other way. C’est la vie.

At night the rest of the girls wanted to go to the nightclub, and I tagged along even though I knew I was going to hate it. There was a twenty-dollar cover, which attracts an interesting crowd. Most people in Morocco can’t afford such frivolous endevours, so it was a lot of foreigners and wealthier locals. I’ve actually never been in a nightclub like that, so it was an interesting experience even though I’m lame and I didn’t drink or dance. Despite being twenty bucks shorter, I’m happy I went for a little just to have the experience and see what a nightclub in Morocco is like.