It is hard to believe that next week will mark the one year anniversary since the day I left for Granada. I remember freshman year saying that I was going to study abroad during my time at Hope. Never did I think that the statement I made as a freshman would actually come true. I filled out the application sophomore year and things move from there. My professor turned in one of my recommendations late and so I played the waiting game a while longer, while I watched others around me get accepted to the program. Then finally the acceptance letter came and it all became real. The stress leading up to my departure, including filling out the looming VISA form and figuring out what I was actually going to pack, was overwhelming. The days and hours right before I left, I was postive that I needed to back out. There was no way that I could get on a plane and go to a foreign country all by myself. But the day came and I did it. I waved to my family with tears running down my face with an overwhelming sense of uncertainty of what I was getting myself into. After many hours on the plane, days of jet lag, a week without a computer, and little ability to speak Spanish with my host mom I began to get into a groove.
Over time things became easier. I went on trips pratically by myself. Flew more times in one week than I will ever fly for the rest of my life. I made the most wonderful friends. Took classes that inspired me in more ways than one. I immersed myself in the culture. My time in Granada changed my life. I became someone who is independent and more confident. I felt a greater sense of faith and a passion for life. My experience in Granada was like a pomegranate, with so many seeds of adventure packed into one small fruit that have left a stain on my heart and in my life. I truly believe that my time abroad has made a better person. As I graduate from college this year and move on to the next part of my life, I know that my Spain will feed into my life more than I could ever imagine.
Granada, mi amor, mi pasión, mi vida, mi aventura, mi fe. Te echo de menos.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Swimming in a sea of happiness
So it has been so long since I have made a blog post and a lot has been happening. Things have been so crazy here in Granada. And I am down to less than two weeks here in this beautiful city that I have called my home for four months.
So what have I been doing you may ask? Well...
I went to a karoke night with my barrio. It was so much fun. We sang songs like Tik Tok and the Macarena. It was great to let loose and hang out with my friends from my barrio.
I also went on a trip to Priego. Priego is the hometown of my host mom and she was so excited for me to see her little city. I went with a group of IES students and we visited an olive farm. It was super cool because we were able to see trees that are more than a 1000 years old. We also visited the factory where they make olive oil. I learned what makes a good olive oil and what makes a bad one. I am now knowlegdable in the types of olive oil that are best to buy!! Priego was gorgeous and the weather was perfect to walk around, eat lunch by a fountain, and watch a flamenco show!
Another cool thing that I was able to experience was a bullfight. It was a little scary when they killed the bull, but it was so interesting how they maneuvered their bodies around the bull. My favorite part was one when of the bullfighters sat on the ground in front of the gate when the bull was about to come out. He got trampled a little bit, but he was okay. A few days later I was able to meet a real life torero and a very cute one at that. He talked about how much preparation and training actually goes into bullfighting. We got to touch his cape, which was super heavy. And he showed us some bullfighting techniques.
Here in Granada in the beginning of May there is a festival called Dia de las cruces. During this festival the normally private historical houses of Granada open up their doors and let the people come in. In their houses there are crosses made out of flowers. Each cross has its own distinct theme and surroundings. The participant with the best cross wins a prize!
I have learned that Spain is such a perfect place to have class. For my watercolor class we took a trip to the campo where our director has a friend who owns an organic farm. We were able to go to the house and paint. The house was amazing. The family had a tennis court, a pool, and tons and tons of land with perfect views of the mountains. It was so nice to sit outside in the sun and paint.
Also, I have had one of my favorite trips this past month. This past weekend I went to Cabo de Gata, which is a city along the coast. It was one of my favorite trips by far. We took a bus to the beginning of the National Park and then hiked 9 miles along the coast. We climbed cliffs and maneuvered around rocks. At the top of the cliffs I was able to see the most breathtaking view of the sea. Even though it was so hot it was well worth it when we made it to one of the beaches and took a nice refreshing dip in the sea. Along the walk to the hostel I even stopped on the beach to touch a jellyfish1! That night we all ate pasta and salad at a restaurant by the sea. I saw the most beautiful sunset and then I was able to look at the most spetacular stars while laying on the beach. I star tipped and played the shoe game. I got so dizzy, but laughed a lot. The next day I woke up and headed straight to the beach to lay in the sun and relax. Only taking a break from sunbathing to go kayaking in the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Kayaking, although hardwork, was so worth paddling through the waves to see hidden coves. The trip was short, but the memories from it will last forever.
As my days here in Granada are quickly coming to an end. As I am bogged down with papers and end of the semester work. I cannot help but go sit in the park, finding a sunny spot in the grass and think of how blessed I am for such a wonderful experience. How grateful I am for all the sights that I have seen and all the great friends that I have made. I have grown so much as a person from coming to Spain. I feel so at peace where my life is right now. I am awestruck by the miracles Grananda has worked in my life. I am truly thankful for this opportunity.
So what have I been doing you may ask? Well...
I went to a karoke night with my barrio. It was so much fun. We sang songs like Tik Tok and the Macarena. It was great to let loose and hang out with my friends from my barrio.
I also went on a trip to Priego. Priego is the hometown of my host mom and she was so excited for me to see her little city. I went with a group of IES students and we visited an olive farm. It was super cool because we were able to see trees that are more than a 1000 years old. We also visited the factory where they make olive oil. I learned what makes a good olive oil and what makes a bad one. I am now knowlegdable in the types of olive oil that are best to buy!! Priego was gorgeous and the weather was perfect to walk around, eat lunch by a fountain, and watch a flamenco show!
One of the 1,000 year old trees on the olive tree farm
Another cool thing that I was able to experience was a bullfight. It was a little scary when they killed the bull, but it was so interesting how they maneuvered their bodies around the bull. My favorite part was one when of the bullfighters sat on the ground in front of the gate when the bull was about to come out. He got trampled a little bit, but he was okay. A few days later I was able to meet a real life torero and a very cute one at that. He talked about how much preparation and training actually goes into bullfighting. We got to touch his cape, which was super heavy. And he showed us some bullfighting techniques.
Here in Granada in the beginning of May there is a festival called Dia de las cruces. During this festival the normally private historical houses of Granada open up their doors and let the people come in. In their houses there are crosses made out of flowers. Each cross has its own distinct theme and surroundings. The participant with the best cross wins a prize!
I have learned that Spain is such a perfect place to have class. For my watercolor class we took a trip to the campo where our director has a friend who owns an organic farm. We were able to go to the house and paint. The house was amazing. The family had a tennis court, a pool, and tons and tons of land with perfect views of the mountains. It was so nice to sit outside in the sun and paint.
Also, I have had one of my favorite trips this past month. This past weekend I went to Cabo de Gata, which is a city along the coast. It was one of my favorite trips by far. We took a bus to the beginning of the National Park and then hiked 9 miles along the coast. We climbed cliffs and maneuvered around rocks. At the top of the cliffs I was able to see the most breathtaking view of the sea. Even though it was so hot it was well worth it when we made it to one of the beaches and took a nice refreshing dip in the sea. Along the walk to the hostel I even stopped on the beach to touch a jellyfish1! That night we all ate pasta and salad at a restaurant by the sea. I saw the most beautiful sunset and then I was able to look at the most spetacular stars while laying on the beach. I star tipped and played the shoe game. I got so dizzy, but laughed a lot. The next day I woke up and headed straight to the beach to lay in the sun and relax. Only taking a break from sunbathing to go kayaking in the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Kayaking, although hardwork, was so worth paddling through the waves to see hidden coves. The trip was short, but the memories from it will last forever.
As my days here in Granada are quickly coming to an end. As I am bogged down with papers and end of the semester work. I cannot help but go sit in the park, finding a sunny spot in the grass and think of how blessed I am for such a wonderful experience. How grateful I am for all the sights that I have seen and all the great friends that I have made. I have grown so much as a person from coming to Spain. I feel so at peace where my life is right now. I am awestruck by the miracles Grananda has worked in my life. I am truly thankful for this opportunity.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Semana Santa [10 days of European adventure]
So sorry it has taken me so long to write this blog post about semana santa. Semana santa was not so relaxing so after coming back to Granada I needed to digest and relax for a little while before writing. For semana santa, which was 10 days long, I traveled to Germany, the Netherlands, and Scotland. It was such a great trip full of tons of traveling, sightseeing and meeting new people. This may or may not be a super long post. Feel free not to read the whole thing.
Germany.
On Friday March 30th, I took a city bus full of people to the bus station in order to head to the airport in Malaga to fly to Germany. I was full of nerves because I had never traveled by myself before. After what seemed like a long bus ride to Malaga we made it to the airport and from there it was another waiting game. The gate for our flight was not called until 10 minutes before. My travel partner Alicia and I were both a nervous wreck. But we made it on the plan and prepared for our 2 hour flight. We finally began to decend and all I could see was farm land. We got off the plane and the smell of cow hit me. We arrived at Dusseldorf Weeze airport, which to my surprise is not actually in Dusseldorf, but about an hour away from the city. At this point I tried to stay calm and figure out how we were going to get to the city. We asked the information desk and the German woman wasn't very helpful. She told us to take the bus to the train station, but when we walked out to the buses there were none to be see and lone behold all the information was written in German. So we headed toward the door of the aiport to talk to someone else when we run into someone from my program. He just happened to be spending his break in Dusseldorf with an old foreign exchange student. I asked the foreign exchange student if he knew where Gruiten was and by some miracle it was his village, which we found out was really small. He offered to drive us to our destination. We hopped in the car with him, and sped down the autobahn toward the family's house where we were staying. The house of the family was pretty far into the woods, but was so peaceful. The family was absolutely amazing. Feeding us amazing food like German sausage and potatos, chocolate, ice cream and so much more. They even had the fuzziest cat I have ever seen. The cat is the son of the Friskies cat, so he is pretty much famous too.
On our first full day in Germany we visited the Neanderthal Museum, which was supposed to be about an hour walk away, but turned out to be 2 hours with us getting turned around in the woods. It was a great walk despite all the wind and sprinkling. The next day we headed to Cologne. As we were at the train station buying our tickets these two German men saw that we had bought the wrong ticket and offered to take us to Cologne on their ticket. So we headed to Cologne with these men who turned out to be super nice. They showed us a little bit of Cologne before they had to head to their meeting. Walking across the bridge into part of Cologne we saw this really cool display of engagement locks. People who are engaged write their names and the date and put a lock on the bridge. It is so sweet! While in Cologne we visited the Dome where we climbed up 533 steps to the top. It was such a rush being up that high. We also went to the chocolate museum where we sampled some Lindt chocolate and got to see how it was made. I also disovered that there are Roman ruins pretty much everywhere. The next day we headed to Dusseldorf where we saw lots and lots of shops. There wasn't too much to do there besides shopping. Here are some pictures from Germany!
The Dome
The next day we took a train to Amsterdam. Holland turned out to be nothing like the Holland, Michigan that I know. The only thing in common is the tulips, but there ends the similarities. In Amsterdam I saw things I thought I would never such as the red light district (such a sad sight). While in Amsterdam for our short time we tried to pack as much in as we could. We visited the Anne Frank house, which was such a blessing to see and to experience. We also visited the Tulip Museum (I assume now that it was meant for people on drugs). I also went on a canal ride and saw a lot of the city. We visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Marijuana Museum (more informative than you would think). The 2 days that we were there were absolutely packed. Here are some pics!
Anne Frank House
After just two days in Amsterdam we headed to the airport once again to go to Edinburgh, Scotland. We arrived pretty late at night there and went straight to bed after a long day of travel. The next day we woke up and were ready to explore the city. The day provided for beautiful sunny weather (unusual for Scotland) so we decided that it was the perfect day to climb up to Arthur's seat. It was such an amazing view. Along the way we got to see the Queen's castle where she stays when she visits Scotland. The view from the top was breathtaking and a bit windy. On the way back down we decided to take the path less traveled, which we will just say was interesting. That night even though we were tuckered out, we decided to go on the free pubcrawl with our hostel. During the pubcrawl I met the crocodile hunter, a 33 year old man from Australia who decided to creep on me. I was officially creeped out. The following day we went to the Craigmillar castle and had fun weaving our way through the rooms. Then after that we walked through the National Museum of Scotland. The museum was huge and had so much stuff in it. You would have to spend days in there to see everything. It was crazy! That night we went on a free Potter trail tour in which we got to see the places where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books and where she found her inspiration. Our tour guide was dressed in robes and even handed out wands. It was pretty awesome! The next day we took a day trip through the highlands to Loch Ness. It was a lot of riding in the bus, but was worht the views that we were able to see! Too bad I didn't get to see Nessie though. The following day was the day we had to leave and it was Easter. I had a chocolate bunny and a cadburry egg to celebrate then we hit the double decker bus to the airport and then headed on our way back home to Spain. Here are some pics!
Arthur's seat
Craigmillar Castle
Tour guide for Potter Trail tour
Haymish the highland coo
Loch Ness
Scottish Monument
Happy Easter!!
Overall the trip was so great. Full of planes, trains, and buses. Three countries in 10 days was a lot to handle, but I am just so blessed to have had the oportunity to travel to these places.
Germany.
On Friday March 30th, I took a city bus full of people to the bus station in order to head to the airport in Malaga to fly to Germany. I was full of nerves because I had never traveled by myself before. After what seemed like a long bus ride to Malaga we made it to the airport and from there it was another waiting game. The gate for our flight was not called until 10 minutes before. My travel partner Alicia and I were both a nervous wreck. But we made it on the plan and prepared for our 2 hour flight. We finally began to decend and all I could see was farm land. We got off the plane and the smell of cow hit me. We arrived at Dusseldorf Weeze airport, which to my surprise is not actually in Dusseldorf, but about an hour away from the city. At this point I tried to stay calm and figure out how we were going to get to the city. We asked the information desk and the German woman wasn't very helpful. She told us to take the bus to the train station, but when we walked out to the buses there were none to be see and lone behold all the information was written in German. So we headed toward the door of the aiport to talk to someone else when we run into someone from my program. He just happened to be spending his break in Dusseldorf with an old foreign exchange student. I asked the foreign exchange student if he knew where Gruiten was and by some miracle it was his village, which we found out was really small. He offered to drive us to our destination. We hopped in the car with him, and sped down the autobahn toward the family's house where we were staying. The house of the family was pretty far into the woods, but was so peaceful. The family was absolutely amazing. Feeding us amazing food like German sausage and potatos, chocolate, ice cream and so much more. They even had the fuzziest cat I have ever seen. The cat is the son of the Friskies cat, so he is pretty much famous too.
On our first full day in Germany we visited the Neanderthal Museum, which was supposed to be about an hour walk away, but turned out to be 2 hours with us getting turned around in the woods. It was a great walk despite all the wind and sprinkling. The next day we headed to Cologne. As we were at the train station buying our tickets these two German men saw that we had bought the wrong ticket and offered to take us to Cologne on their ticket. So we headed to Cologne with these men who turned out to be super nice. They showed us a little bit of Cologne before they had to head to their meeting. Walking across the bridge into part of Cologne we saw this really cool display of engagement locks. People who are engaged write their names and the date and put a lock on the bridge. It is so sweet! While in Cologne we visited the Dome where we climbed up 533 steps to the top. It was such a rush being up that high. We also went to the chocolate museum where we sampled some Lindt chocolate and got to see how it was made. I also disovered that there are Roman ruins pretty much everywhere. The next day we headed to Dusseldorf where we saw lots and lots of shops. There wasn't too much to do there besides shopping. Here are some pictures from Germany!
The next day we took a train to Amsterdam. Holland turned out to be nothing like the Holland, Michigan that I know. The only thing in common is the tulips, but there ends the similarities. In Amsterdam I saw things I thought I would never such as the red light district (such a sad sight). While in Amsterdam for our short time we tried to pack as much in as we could. We visited the Anne Frank house, which was such a blessing to see and to experience. We also visited the Tulip Museum (I assume now that it was meant for people on drugs). I also went on a canal ride and saw a lot of the city. We visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Marijuana Museum (more informative than you would think). The 2 days that we were there were absolutely packed. Here are some pics!
Overall the trip was so great. Full of planes, trains, and buses. Three countries in 10 days was a lot to handle, but I am just so blessed to have had the oportunity to travel to these places.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Call Me Maybe
So I decided to do two blog posts since it has been a long time since I have written and I think that writing down both Morocco and the other days in one blog is way too much. So lucky for my readers here is another blog post and I promise this one will be shorter.
So after a wonderful week in Morocco I returned to classes on Wednesday. I was lucky because we only had two days of classes before the weekend. On thursday I had a test in my language class and then I took a field trip with my favorite professor, Ana, to the Alhambra. It was such a fun field trip because we got special VIP passes and we got to go in parts of the Alhambra that only special groups get to go into. We got to enter the Queen's dressing room and we got locked in the tower of the captive princesses. So I guess that makes me a princess now. lol.
The weather has been beautiful here. Perfect for eating ice cream...especially at Los Italianos, my new favorite. It is also perfect for going to a great restaraunt called the Mirador that overlooks the Alhambra to celebrate my friends birthday. And also, a perfect time to go hiking in the Los Cahorros. Hiking through the mountains was breathtaking and again waking up early was well worth it.
Well, this week brings only 3 days of classes. There is a strike tomorrow in the entire country of Spain so I do not have class. Then friday I am off to Germany for Semana Santa. Cannot wait to share my adventures from my first travel experience in Europe!!!
Ps. Thank you to everyone who put stuff in my care package. I feel so loved and blessed to have such great family and friends. Miss everyone!!
So after a wonderful week in Morocco I returned to classes on Wednesday. I was lucky because we only had two days of classes before the weekend. On thursday I had a test in my language class and then I took a field trip with my favorite professor, Ana, to the Alhambra. It was such a fun field trip because we got special VIP passes and we got to go in parts of the Alhambra that only special groups get to go into. We got to enter the Queen's dressing room and we got locked in the tower of the captive princesses. So I guess that makes me a princess now. lol.
The weather has been beautiful here. Perfect for eating ice cream...especially at Los Italianos, my new favorite. It is also perfect for going to a great restaraunt called the Mirador that overlooks the Alhambra to celebrate my friends birthday. And also, a perfect time to go hiking in the Los Cahorros. Hiking through the mountains was breathtaking and again waking up early was well worth it.
Well, this week brings only 3 days of classes. There is a strike tomorrow in the entire country of Spain so I do not have class. Then friday I am off to Germany for Semana Santa. Cannot wait to share my adventures from my first travel experience in Europe!!!
Ps. Thank you to everyone who put stuff in my care package. I feel so loved and blessed to have such great family and friends. Miss everyone!!
I bless the rains down in Africa...
I WENT TO AFRICA!!
Morocco was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I am so glad that I had an opportunity to go. My time in Africa was packed with so many things, but not the usually touristy things that you may be thinking of. So I guess I will just break down my time in Morocco day by day since there is so much to the trip.
So on Friday, March 16th I woke up bright and early in the morning and was all ready, with my backpacked packed, to head to the bus. I was so nervous for what the trip would bring, yet so excited. Once on the bus we headed to the line of Gibraltar where we would be staying in a hotel for the night. Upon arriving there we ate lunch on the rocks alongside the beach and then headed to Gibraltar. It was the strangest experience just walking across the border into another country which was filled with residents speaking Spanglish. I was confused the whole time which language I should be speaking. Gibraltar was fabulous. For those of you who do not know, Gibraltar is a colony of Britain that is in Spain. While there our group took a guided tour in a van with a man named Pepe. He told us all about the history of Gibraltar. He was quite the jokester, saying that on your left is the American embassy (McDonald's). It was so funny. On the tour we visited some caves and we got to hang around with some monkeys. Later in the day after drinking a delicious smoothie we head up a path leading to the top of the rock of Gibraltar. It was a hot and sweaty walk, but well worth it after seeing the sunset over the ocean. Beautiful. That night we ate at a restaraunt that had fish and chips and all kinds of British cuisine, which was much appreciated after the long hike.
Saturday. Once again we hopped on the bus and headed to Tarifa, an area in Spain where there is a port to cross to Africa. The stretch between Spain in Gibraltar is a very short distance. As a result of the short distance, many Africans try to swim across to Spain in order to have a better life. Many of them die trying. On the ferry I went to sail across the Straits to Africa (how crazy!). Once finally in Tangier, Morocco after an hour ferry ride we headed to DARNA, which is a women's center where they teach women skills like sewing, reading and writing so that they can get jobs. It was so cool because we were able to talk to some Moroccan students about life in Morocco and about their perceptions of Americans. After eating lunch with the students we headed to Asilah. Along the way, to my surprise, we stopped on the side of the road. Our leader had said we were not going to ride camels, but she tricked us. I got to live one of my dreams and ride a camel along the beach. It was so cool!!! I was so excited!! After that little stop, we headed into the city of Asilah. We walked through the street filled with blue and were able to see some really cool artwork. Next we headed on our 3 hour drive to Rabat. After being on the bus for what seemed like forever we made it to Rabat. In Rabat, we met up with our homestay families. My two friends and I headed with our host mother, who spoke only Arabic, and host sister to our home. There were amazed to find that we were going to be staying in a palace like home. The house had three floors and was so spacious. We ate a great meal with our host family and we even got to meet some of the cousins. One of whom, was only 11 and spoke Arabic, French, and English!!
Tangier
Asilah
Sunday. We ate an early breakfast with our family and then headed to our van again. Then we went to an NGO in Sale, which was just across the river. There we got to talk again with some Moroccan students, who were so intelligent and knew so much about what was happening all across the world. We also were able to see a shanty town that hold about 50,000 inhabitants. The poor town was so close to the rich homes. The contrast was shocking. On our way back to the NGO, there was a group of men who apparently really excited for a soccer game. They came up to our van and started banging on the windows with their flag sticks and hands. It was a little frightening. Next we headed to visit the Roman ruins and the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V. In the ruins there were so many storks flying around. In the Mausoleum there were some really cool looking guards with funny looking uniforms. Finally after walking around a lot we sat down with our families to eat lunch. Then we met up with some more Moroccan students who took us on a tour of Rabat. We got to see the ocean and the other sights. The boys we walked with were so much like us, yet so different. It was really cool to learn about them and their culture. After this we regrouped and gather all the stuff we needed to go to the Hammam. The Hammam is an arabian bath, a public bath. It was such an enlightening experience. The women in the bath were so comfortable with their bodies. There was no shame. It made me feel good to just let go and be vulnerable. Then after getting really clean in the bath we went to a house and got henna. The woman who did our henna worked really quick, but did an amazing job.
Guards at the Mausoleum
Roman ruins
Henna!
Monday. This day we packed up all our stuff and said goodbye to our homestay families. I was really sad after having such a great time with my little host sister Kenza who was turning 5 that day and with our two maid friends who covered us in perfume and took pictures with us. But it was time to head to a village in the Rif mountains. After a long and twisty turny ride we finally made it to the village. We were able to talk to a family with whom we discussed politics, ate couscous, and took a walk to a beautiful overlook. Afterwards we drove to Chefchaouen. The blue city. There we went shopping, which was basically bargaining. We ate dinner at a place called Casa Alladin. And we slept in a hostal.
Rif Mountains
Tuesday. We woke up early this morning and went on a hike up to the Spanish mosque. The view from the mosque was breathtaking. You could see the entire city and the mountains beyond. It was well worth waking up early and hiking through the rocks. After the hike we ate a delicious breakfast and then got on the bus once again and headed to Ceuta where the border between the Spanish colongy and Morocco is. Crossing the border in Cueta was another experience. There were so many people trying to cross the border. People were pushing through to get their passports checked. Once we made it through that mess we walked through no man's land and made it into the Spanish colony of Algeciras. In Algeciras we had to grab a taxi. We used our offensive techniques to snag a taxi from all the people who were trying to get one. We drove to the port and got on the ferry and headed back to Spain once again.
Chefchaouen
There was so much more to this trip that I cannot even describe. I learned so much. Some things that I learned include, but are not limited to...
1. I am horrible at bargaining in Spanish and in English
2. I am selfish. I know nothing about other cultures and news around the world.
3. I love dates, figs, and almonds.
4. I need to learn more languages, and put more effort in trying to speak spanish.
5. I need to step out of my little bubble and try to experience more, because I am so lucky to have all of these opportunities.
6. I know a few words in Arabic now...shukran (thank you), shabet (full), kooli (eat)
Morocco was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I am so glad that I had an opportunity to go. My time in Africa was packed with so many things, but not the usually touristy things that you may be thinking of. So I guess I will just break down my time in Morocco day by day since there is so much to the trip.
So on Friday, March 16th I woke up bright and early in the morning and was all ready, with my backpacked packed, to head to the bus. I was so nervous for what the trip would bring, yet so excited. Once on the bus we headed to the line of Gibraltar where we would be staying in a hotel for the night. Upon arriving there we ate lunch on the rocks alongside the beach and then headed to Gibraltar. It was the strangest experience just walking across the border into another country which was filled with residents speaking Spanglish. I was confused the whole time which language I should be speaking. Gibraltar was fabulous. For those of you who do not know, Gibraltar is a colony of Britain that is in Spain. While there our group took a guided tour in a van with a man named Pepe. He told us all about the history of Gibraltar. He was quite the jokester, saying that on your left is the American embassy (McDonald's). It was so funny. On the tour we visited some caves and we got to hang around with some monkeys. Later in the day after drinking a delicious smoothie we head up a path leading to the top of the rock of Gibraltar. It was a hot and sweaty walk, but well worth it after seeing the sunset over the ocean. Beautiful. That night we ate at a restaraunt that had fish and chips and all kinds of British cuisine, which was much appreciated after the long hike.
Saturday. Once again we hopped on the bus and headed to Tarifa, an area in Spain where there is a port to cross to Africa. The stretch between Spain in Gibraltar is a very short distance. As a result of the short distance, many Africans try to swim across to Spain in order to have a better life. Many of them die trying. On the ferry I went to sail across the Straits to Africa (how crazy!). Once finally in Tangier, Morocco after an hour ferry ride we headed to DARNA, which is a women's center where they teach women skills like sewing, reading and writing so that they can get jobs. It was so cool because we were able to talk to some Moroccan students about life in Morocco and about their perceptions of Americans. After eating lunch with the students we headed to Asilah. Along the way, to my surprise, we stopped on the side of the road. Our leader had said we were not going to ride camels, but she tricked us. I got to live one of my dreams and ride a camel along the beach. It was so cool!!! I was so excited!! After that little stop, we headed into the city of Asilah. We walked through the street filled with blue and were able to see some really cool artwork. Next we headed on our 3 hour drive to Rabat. After being on the bus for what seemed like forever we made it to Rabat. In Rabat, we met up with our homestay families. My two friends and I headed with our host mother, who spoke only Arabic, and host sister to our home. There were amazed to find that we were going to be staying in a palace like home. The house had three floors and was so spacious. We ate a great meal with our host family and we even got to meet some of the cousins. One of whom, was only 11 and spoke Arabic, French, and English!!
Sunday. We ate an early breakfast with our family and then headed to our van again. Then we went to an NGO in Sale, which was just across the river. There we got to talk again with some Moroccan students, who were so intelligent and knew so much about what was happening all across the world. We also were able to see a shanty town that hold about 50,000 inhabitants. The poor town was so close to the rich homes. The contrast was shocking. On our way back to the NGO, there was a group of men who apparently really excited for a soccer game. They came up to our van and started banging on the windows with their flag sticks and hands. It was a little frightening. Next we headed to visit the Roman ruins and the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V. In the ruins there were so many storks flying around. In the Mausoleum there were some really cool looking guards with funny looking uniforms. Finally after walking around a lot we sat down with our families to eat lunch. Then we met up with some more Moroccan students who took us on a tour of Rabat. We got to see the ocean and the other sights. The boys we walked with were so much like us, yet so different. It was really cool to learn about them and their culture. After this we regrouped and gather all the stuff we needed to go to the Hammam. The Hammam is an arabian bath, a public bath. It was such an enlightening experience. The women in the bath were so comfortable with their bodies. There was no shame. It made me feel good to just let go and be vulnerable. Then after getting really clean in the bath we went to a house and got henna. The woman who did our henna worked really quick, but did an amazing job.
Monday. This day we packed up all our stuff and said goodbye to our homestay families. I was really sad after having such a great time with my little host sister Kenza who was turning 5 that day and with our two maid friends who covered us in perfume and took pictures with us. But it was time to head to a village in the Rif mountains. After a long and twisty turny ride we finally made it to the village. We were able to talk to a family with whom we discussed politics, ate couscous, and took a walk to a beautiful overlook. Afterwards we drove to Chefchaouen. The blue city. There we went shopping, which was basically bargaining. We ate dinner at a place called Casa Alladin. And we slept in a hostal.
Tuesday. We woke up early this morning and went on a hike up to the Spanish mosque. The view from the mosque was breathtaking. You could see the entire city and the mountains beyond. It was well worth waking up early and hiking through the rocks. After the hike we ate a delicious breakfast and then got on the bus once again and headed to Ceuta where the border between the Spanish colongy and Morocco is. Crossing the border in Cueta was another experience. There were so many people trying to cross the border. People were pushing through to get their passports checked. Once we made it through that mess we walked through no man's land and made it into the Spanish colony of Algeciras. In Algeciras we had to grab a taxi. We used our offensive techniques to snag a taxi from all the people who were trying to get one. We drove to the port and got on the ferry and headed back to Spain once again.
There was so much more to this trip that I cannot even describe. I learned so much. Some things that I learned include, but are not limited to...
1. I am horrible at bargaining in Spanish and in English
2. I am selfish. I know nothing about other cultures and news around the world.
3. I love dates, figs, and almonds.
4. I need to learn more languages, and put more effort in trying to speak spanish.
5. I need to step out of my little bubble and try to experience more, because I am so lucky to have all of these opportunities.
6. I know a few words in Arabic now...shukran (thank you), shabet (full), kooli (eat)
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Spring has sprung and it is keeping me on my toes
Spring is on its way here in Spain. I am really loving the weather. Sixty degrees and sunny. It is a nice change compared to enduring the cold weather that Michigan brings. I cannot wait for it to get even warmer here. So along with spring, the month of March has brought with it so many cool outings and activities, and unfortunately also projects in tests (I guess I did come to Spain to study, not just lay around the whole time).
This past week I had my first test, in my Lorca and Andalusian Literature class, and I had to turn in several project proposals. Actually doing homework has been to tough to get back into because I had such a long break, but hopefully it will all come back to me how to to homework and study.
On Wednesday, I had my second and final spanish cooking class. We learned how to make lentil soup and we made this really tasty apple tart. It was so much fun because it was actually my turn to cook. I helped cut up the apples and put them on the tart. It was such a simple recipe. I definately want to make ti when I return home.
Thursday was an especially awesome day. In the morning I had my orientation for Morocco. We got our packing list and helpful hints on what to expect while we are there. The orientation got me really excited to go. I cannot believe that I will be in Africa this upcoming weekend!! What a life!! Also on Thursday, my art and architecture class got a brief lesson on caligraphy. I learned out to write my name in Arabic during the session. It was sooo cool!!! Also that night I went out with some girls from my neighborhood and we had a game night!! We went for tapas first and then we went to this cool place that had all kinds of games like Tabu, Trivial Pursuit, and Uno. It was such a relaxing and fun evening.
My name in Arabic!!!
On Friday I took a field trip with my class to Malaga. We went to two museums, including the Pablo Picasso museum. Picasso was born in Malaga and live there for some of his life. Antonio Banderas is also another famous person who is from Malaga. In the Picasso museum we got to do a workshop where we scratched a design into a CD and then covered it with ink and the pressed the design into paper. I am so lucky to have an opportunity to do such hands on things. After we finished up the workshop some of us headed to the beach to eat lunch. Although it was freezing, it was still really nice to sit by the sea and relax for a little while.
My CD design.
Yesterday, Saturday was yet another packed day. Around 5pm I headed to a Granada basketball game with my neighborhood group. It was so fun!! We got free strawberry milk and I got popcorn and we sat and watched the game. Even though Spain is not the best at basketball and our team lost, it was still a fun outing. Later on after the game I went out with my friends to my first ever discoteca. We danced into all hours of the night. It was such an interesting experience experiencing the Spanish youth culture.
Basketball Game!
Next week I have two exams and a project proposal due and I leave for Morocco on Thursday!! Another busy week. And soon it will be Semana Santa, for which I have finally finalized my plans. I will be heading to Germany, Amsterdam, and Scotland!! I am so excited for all there is to come!!!
This past week I had my first test, in my Lorca and Andalusian Literature class, and I had to turn in several project proposals. Actually doing homework has been to tough to get back into because I had such a long break, but hopefully it will all come back to me how to to homework and study.
On Wednesday, I had my second and final spanish cooking class. We learned how to make lentil soup and we made this really tasty apple tart. It was so much fun because it was actually my turn to cook. I helped cut up the apples and put them on the tart. It was such a simple recipe. I definately want to make ti when I return home.
Thursday was an especially awesome day. In the morning I had my orientation for Morocco. We got our packing list and helpful hints on what to expect while we are there. The orientation got me really excited to go. I cannot believe that I will be in Africa this upcoming weekend!! What a life!! Also on Thursday, my art and architecture class got a brief lesson on caligraphy. I learned out to write my name in Arabic during the session. It was sooo cool!!! Also that night I went out with some girls from my neighborhood and we had a game night!! We went for tapas first and then we went to this cool place that had all kinds of games like Tabu, Trivial Pursuit, and Uno. It was such a relaxing and fun evening.
On Friday I took a field trip with my class to Malaga. We went to two museums, including the Pablo Picasso museum. Picasso was born in Malaga and live there for some of his life. Antonio Banderas is also another famous person who is from Malaga. In the Picasso museum we got to do a workshop where we scratched a design into a CD and then covered it with ink and the pressed the design into paper. I am so lucky to have an opportunity to do such hands on things. After we finished up the workshop some of us headed to the beach to eat lunch. Although it was freezing, it was still really nice to sit by the sea and relax for a little while.
Yesterday, Saturday was yet another packed day. Around 5pm I headed to a Granada basketball game with my neighborhood group. It was so fun!! We got free strawberry milk and I got popcorn and we sat and watched the game. Even though Spain is not the best at basketball and our team lost, it was still a fun outing. Later on after the game I went out with my friends to my first ever discoteca. We danced into all hours of the night. It was such an interesting experience experiencing the Spanish youth culture.
Next week I have two exams and a project proposal due and I leave for Morocco on Thursday!! Another busy week. And soon it will be Semana Santa, for which I have finally finalized my plans. I will be heading to Germany, Amsterdam, and Scotland!! I am so excited for all there is to come!!!
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