Hola familia y amigos!
Lo siento, it has been much harder to keep up with this blog than I’d
imagined! I have so much catching
up to do that it’s overwhelming, but my time here is almost up so there will be
many blogposts coming to you in the next couple of weeks!
Anyway, a few weeks ago I went to
Morocco. It was definitely the
most different and interesting place I’ve traveled to. I went with Discover Sevilla, a touring
group of American students, figuring that would be the safest way to visit
Northern Africa. Morocco is a rich place with a culture thousands of years old, and highly Arab-influenced. We were told by Discover Sevilla before going to dress conservatively due to local customs. My program director, Michael, warned me that part of this is because men in Morocco think that all western women are prostitutes, and if a woman even so much as looks them in the eye they think it is an invitation for sex. Having been there I'm not sure if this is true, but then again, I wasn't exactly making eye-contact with the locals. We were also told not to take photos of women or children because it is not only a sign of disrespect, but if we did it, we'd be asked for money. Michael asked me not to wear my Star of David necklace and to not discuss politics with ANYONE. He said that many Moroccans are critical towards American government policies, especially since 9/11, so it is best to avoid talking about anything remotely controversial. I was also warned not to drink the water or even brush our teeth in it. I was buying water bottles all weekend.
Morocco wasn't as scary of a place as I felt like it had been made out to be. We began with a tour of Medina (old town) in the city of
Tetouon. We had a very personable tour-guide that
spoke beautiful English, and was so passionate about what he
was talking about that he was really fun to listen to. A few girls expressed that they were nervous about being in Morocco and he
said, “If anything happens I will protect you.” It was very sweet.
He showed us the royal palace and we walked all around the city and saw
people performing their crafts and selling traditional Moroccan goods. During the tour we passed by a few
women folding traditional Berber garments. The guide asked for two volunteers, and soon enough the
women were dressing up girls in our group! I didn’t originally volunteer because I didn’t know what I
was volunteering for, but now I wish I did. I love playing dress-up!
After
touring the city for a while we went to a Pharmacy where one of our guides
showed us a plethora of Moroccan oils, spices, and teas. We got to smell every spice, try every
oil, and try out a sinus-clearing herb.
I got an AMAZING massage with this incredible oil. I bought the sinus-clearing herb because it totally worked, and a bunch of spices for my Mom and Aunt to cook with. After that we went to get lunch, and I
had the most delicious vegetable cous-cous and tea.
There was a man performing for us… dancing with a plate on his head,
playing with fire, and break-dancing on the floor. While he did that, men in the corner played some Moroccan
music on the drums. It was such a
fun way to dine!
After
that, we hopped on the bus and took a two-hour ride to Tangier for the
long-awaited camel rides! When we
arrived the camels “weren’t ready yet,” which I think is hysterical, so we hung
out on the beach. The weather was
absolutely stunning. We played
soccer and took off our shoes, enjoying the sand and the crisp blue ocean. Finally, the camels were ready for us,
and we headed over for our camel rides.
It was a little anti-climactic after having gone on much longer camel
ride in Israel a few years ago, but it was fun nonetheless. There were two baby camels on the side and they were so cute!
The
following day we had a buffet-style breakfast at the hotel before heading off
to Chefchouen. Chefchouen is really striking because all of the houses and
shops are shades of blue. We had a
tour of the city and saw typical public Arab baths from the outside, which are
heated with firewood. After
touring the area we had another delicious lunch at a restaurant that overlooked
the city. Then our trip leaders
set us free to roam the marketplace and do some bargaining with locals! I was looking for a purse for my mom
but didn’t see anything that I thought would strike her fancy, so to speak, so
I just watched some of my friends practice their bargaining skills. The only thing I ended up buying was a
traditional looking Moroccan candle-holder. While roaming the streets, tons of beggers came up to us, and they were relentless.
Even if we said no to someone 5 minutes before, they would come back and
beg us again 10 more times. I understand that beggers and poverty are unfortunate realities in the third world, but I was shocked to see so many children begging. It made me think of the innocence of my childhood and how it seemed to be lacking there. It broke my heart that they were begging in the streets when they should be playing. The saddest thing I saw was when two kids, not even 12 years old ran
after our bus and tried to get under it to get our luggage. The bus driver had to stop short in
order to avoid hitting them at one point.
It was a little scary, and the thought of kids doing that blew my mind a bit. But that was one of the
many things that Morocco opened my eyes to.
After
shopping in Chefchouen, we headed to the busses to get on the Ferry back to
Spain. (Did I forget to mention we
took a ferry? Yeah, we did.) When we were entering the ferry we saw
two men hiding in the rocks, and eventually they ran and tried to sneak onto it but the police managed to get them away. Anyway, after a rocky ferry ride, I hopped on the bus back
to Sevilla. I was so sad to say
goodbye to my new friends and tour guides, but I couldn’t wait to
get to a place with real toilets and toilet paper instead of holes in the
ground.
I
hope to visit other countries that open my mind and my eyes the way that
Morocco did. It was such a cool
experience and I’m so thankful that I was able to go.
Now
I am off to cook dinner, but check back here every few days for new blogposts!
Hasta luego!
Elyssa
No comments:
Post a Comment