Morocco!!

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I'm sorry I haven't been able to update lately! I've been busily roaming the streets of Sevilla whenever I'm not studying for my public health class (extremely hard but worth it because I'm getting nursing credit!)

This past weekend, me and fifteen other students from my program traveled to Morocco! It was an incredible experience. I’m glad that I went. I never want to go back.

We left Friday afternoon from Sevilla, and drove about 3 hours south to the straight of Gibraltar. From there we took the “fast ferry” about half an hour to Africa. Once we were on the continent of Africa, we still were in Spain. It was about another 5 minute bus ride to the border of Morocco. The border procedures were extremely scary to say the least. They came on the loud speaker of our bus and told us we weren’t allowed to use our phones or any cameras. They made us all get out of the bus one by one to be screened for symptoms of influenza. All the other cars full of Spaniards or Arabs were fine to pass through quickly, we were the only ones they screened so in depth. We had to wait about an hour for them to let us go after we were all screened and back on the bus. During this time we watched two men jump the border into Spain … one got caught.

Immediately upon entering Morocco there was a huge change. Everything was obviously in Arabic, the women completely covered. As we drove along the ocean, we could see some people swimming. The men wore regular bathing suits, the women swam in their full clothing. By the time we got through the border it was already 10:30 pm and we went to our hotel, had a nice dinner at the restaurant there and went to bed. In the morning we took a two hour bus ride to Chefchauen, an older town in the mountains of Morocco. We had a two hour guided tour through the old city. We got to stop at a tapestry place with beautiful rugs and linens for sale … too expensive for my bank account, so I settled pictures! After we had a traditional Moroccan lunch. We had to be extremely careful that we didn’t drink the water or anything that could have been contaminated with their water (fruits, salads, etc).

After lunch we drove to the famous Moroccan city of Tanger. It is the biggest city in Morocco and the fourth largest city in all of Africa. During the 1900’s it was an internationally ruled city. Multiple countries (including the US and Spain) each had an area of the city with their own embassy, schools, religious buildings, etc. About 30 years ago it went back into Moroccan power, but the separate areas of the city still exist. At one point there is a Mosque across the street from a Cathedral and down the road a Synagogue; a huge change from the conservative Islamic city we had visited that morning. The city is on the coast of Africa, exactly where the Atlantic hits the Mediterranean, so we stopped at that point on the coast and got to take cool pictures. After we went on a “camel ride” that was supposed to be included in the tour. It actually turned out to be a bunch of neglected camels attached to ropes in a parking lot that costs 10 dirhams to sit on a take a picture. We had dinner in our hotel and had free time at night. My friends and I stayed in the hotel room, too scared to venture out into the city. Around 11 we decided we were hungry and we wanted a pizza…scariest pizza expedition of my life! We only had to walk 2 blocks, but there were only men on the streets…tons of them! Every single one said something in Arabic or French to us as we walked by. At the pizza place we waited for about 5 minutes, but men kept walking up and they would get to order before us because they are men and apparently more special. Anyways, we hurried back to the hotel and enjoyed a taste of America with the doors locked.

Sunday morning we went to the city of Tetuan. The took a tour of the old city. There were tons of markets. Each road seemed to specialize in a different good. Some roads were nuts, some vegetables, some jewelry. It was cool to see the different ways of life and life without a supermarket around the corner. We stopped in a more touristy market to buy jewelry and gifts from Morocco. It was fun to barter with the men that owned the markets. We learned quickly that in order to get whatever price you wanted, you just had to name the price, when they said no simply walk away. Once you walk about 10 steps they yell “Chica!” and say they will accept your price. We pretty much got to name the price of anything we wanted … they would accept money no matter what.

Every city had two things in common: They smelled like a mixture of body odor, fish and poop, and the fact that we stuck out like a sore thumb. I enjoyed seeing the ways of another society. To me, they lived in poverty but to them we just lived excessively. I thought I’ve seen other cultures when I drove through the streets of Mexico on the way to an all-inclusive resort, but trust me that is nothing. Walking through the streets was incredibly eye opening. Little kids were sent outside by there parents in attempt to district your with their cuteness and pickpocket you. Men stared and sometimes touched my friends and I in a completely inappropriate way. (Not that we deserved that from them, but most of my friends were dressed completely inappropriately for their religion and society. Their women were considered promiscuous if they had an ankle show, and my friends were walking down the street in shorts and a tank top. Luckily, a few of us used our heads while packing and brought more conservative t-shirts, jeans and running shoes. It was reallyyyyy hot with jeans on, and it still didn’t deter the creepy men, but I atleast felt more respectful to their traditions.)

The trip at least made Sevilla feel like home. We craved tank tops and tap water all weekend and couldn’t wait to just go home (to Sevilla). The culture shock I had still been experiencing by living in another country is completely gone after seeing Morocco. Spain is just like America, so what if they don’t wear flip-flops and take siestas.

This weekend I am going to Granada with my entire school. I’ve heard great things about it and I can’t wait! The meals and accommodations are all covered by my tuition so it will be cheap and apparently really nice!

Lisa gets here on Wednesday night. I can't wait, but reality is starting to set in and I'm realizing that my six week stint in Sevilla was nowhere near long enough! Leaving here will be really hard. We are trying to plan a reunion in the US, and have everyone meet in Chicago, but after this trip I don't know how much money I will have for a vacation in Chicago to see everyone : ( Since a lot of people in the program go to PSU, hopefully some people that are from east of the Mississippi will be able to make it for a weekend there!

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Photos

best friends
some of my best friends ... right off the ferry in AFRICA!

ferry
on the ferry ...."WE'RE GOING TO AFRICA!"

the old streets of morocco
they paint their walls up to 2-3 times per month to keep them clean and shiny!

moroccan lunch
a typical moroccan meal!

Comments

[Danielle]

nice!
julie sounds like your having a blasty blast! i'm glad to see you're traveling all over and having some good experiences! have tons of fun with lisa and TAKE PICTURES! okok see you when i see you, and enjoy your last few days in spain!