Morocco, Padres, Barcelona, Prague--¡La vida buena!

Oh gosh, where to even begin?

I know I’m a terrible blogger but I’ve been busy/exhausted. Traveling is tiresome (not that you should feel bad for me!) I’ll try to keep this pretty brief and I’m finally including pictures!

So first I went to Morocco with this program called Morocco Exchange, designed for study abroad students to give them a more cultural/less touristy trip. It was an incredible, eye-opening experience and I’m not even sure I’ll be able to explain it in a way that would do it justice but here are some of the highlights:

-After getting off to a little bit of a late start due to ferry complications, we finally arrived and made our way to Rabat. We were driving when all of a sudden our van pulls over on the side of the road and we walk down to the beach where there are camels waiting for us to ride!

-Upon arriving in Rabat we went to the medina to meet our home stay families. We were taken to this beautiful home with at least 10 people living in it, only one of whom spoke English (and he wasn’t even home til later.) Although it was slightly awkward at first, through little bits of English, Arabic, French and Spanish, we managed to have a really nice meal together.

-The next day we saw some of the major sites in Rabat including the Roman ruins and the mausoleum where Mohammed V is buried. Afterwards, some students with a concentration in English in Rabat University showed us around the city and took us to a hookah bar. It was really fun to talk to kids our age and see how our lives can be so similar and so different at the same time.

-Later that night, we spoke with some Peace Corps volunteers, a Fulbright scholar and a Rotary scholar. It made me realize just how many options there are after college and while I don’t know if I’m capable of the amazing things these people are doing with their lives it certainly gave me a lot to think about. (Like I need more post-college confusion!)

-The next day we drove into the Rif mountains and had lunch in a home in a small village. We ate delicious couscous and ended up having a very intense political discussion with our translator regarding U.S. foreign policy. He had a lot of anger and frustration and A LOT of opinions—some of which I share and some I found unfair. Still, it was really amazing to me that we can come from such different ideologies and come together and talk it out with a sense of mutual respect and not a trace of hostility. Also, everywhere I go—it’s astounding how well-educated people are about the U.S. and our internal and external politics, whereas I knew virtually nothing about Morocco. I guess it’s to be expected considering the role of the U.S. in the world, but I can’t help feeling arrogant and self-important and naïve and I hope I can make a conscious effort to be less like that. (Okay, now I’m off my high horse.)
-That night we made it to Chefchaouen, a beautiful, albeit touristy, town in the mountains. We did some souvenir shopping and were taken from a store to some guy’s house so his sister could give us henna tattoos!

We left early the next morning for Ceuta, which is technically Spanish soil although it’s on the African side of the Med, and then headed back to mainland Spain on another ferry. The trip was really unlike any I’ve taken and I’m still processing all the things I learned. I’m really, really glad I went.

The day after I got back, my parents came after spending a weekend in Madrid and Toledo. It was AMAZING to see them and I’m glad they got to actually see Sevilla after hearing me talk about it for over 2 months! Gloria made us a beautiful dinner one night and it was really fun having them meet-although a little bit intense for me—I felt like a UN translator! We saw the sites, ate some great food and did plenty of shopping. Then we went together to Barcelona and met up with Christine and Jackie.

Barcelona was such a cool city—it was a mix of a classic old European city and a totally modern one with some totally unique elements (lots of that thanks to Gaudi!) We saw the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and 2 of the Gaudi houses and it was crazy to see such surreal works of art in the middle of a normal city street. We also walked around the Gothic Quarter, La Rambla (the main thoroughfare—complete with birds, flowers and the biggest produce market imaginable) and saw the Olympic Stadium and the sea. Jackie, Christine and I saw a flamenco show one night where the dancer was actually a man. It was a little less traditional than we were expecting, but he was actually the best flamenco dancer I’ve seen in Spain!

We came back Sunday afternoon and planned to go to Córdoba on Monday…However, I got really sick Sunday night (food poisoning?) and my parents decided to stay back in Sevilla and take care of me (they’re the best, aren’t they?) They continued on to Granada Tuesday and as sad as it was to see them go, I’m glad they had such a good time and knowing I’ll see them in a month made it easier.

Luckily, I was all better by Thursday to go to Prague and visit Laura with Jackie. Prague was absolutely gorgeous even though it was freezing. My body was kind of in shock after having grown accustomed to the Andalusian climate, but once I stole warm things from Laura and broke out the long underwear it was excellent. I really liked just walking around and taking it all in—it’s totally different than I thought it would be. I expected it to be very pretty but kind of gloomy and dark but it’s actually very charming and fairy tale-esque. The people are noticeably reserved though and Laura says it’s easy to see the generational difference between those who grew up under the Soviet regime and those who didn’t so I guess that makes sense. It was also really cool to see what another study abroad program was like—I love mine, but I’m kind of jealous at how they all get to live together and hang out whenever they want. Homestays here are so valuable, but proximity to friends is definitely something that suffers.

As for now, I’m trying to get my life a bit organized and start facing the realization that I do in fact have a paper to write here. Danny comes tomorrow and I’m very excited to see another familiar face (I’ve been so lucky with that, I’m having a great run) and also do some of the touristy stuff again!

Happy Thanksgiving—eat lots of turkey and sweet potatoes for me!

P.S. I wrote this all out and got photos all ready and now Blogger doesn't want to upload them right now. I'll try again tomorrow. Get excited.