This is officially my 2nd to last week here in Morocco and I have to be honest with you, this is a bitter sweet moment. Reason being is because I've gotten to meet more new students from all over the world that I'm now use to and they are now my friends, and because my body is finally becoming accustomed to the Moroccan food and time frame. The best city that we visited in my opinion was Casa Blanca it's definitely different from all the other places in Morocco because it's so modern, it actually reminded me of home because of how up to date people were there. The shopping was amazing and the food all over this country is pretty much the same .... DELICIOUS I absolutely love the cuisine here. While in Casa Blanca we took a tour of one of the third largest mosques in the world also known as Hassan II and man I must say that it was so beautiful. The decor in that holy place was so exquisite and tasteful that it made me appreciate the religion Islam on a whole other level. I'm seriously going to miss it here because the tradition and customs are so interesting. To end the week my group went on an excursion to the infamous Blue City of Morocco better known as Chefchaouen were we got to see exactly why it was called the Blue City. All the house were in painted blue and the village was by the water and in the mountains. On the way there the scenery was seriously beautiful that even a Kodak moment wouldn't justify its beauty. After going there we went to Tangere were we enjoyed the beach and freshly squeezed juice while looking out to the Mediterranean, I'm going to miss this place and I wouldn't have asked for a better study abroad trip, now it's time to focus for finals and leave here with flying grades.... The GATA WAY
Ahhh! i'm home on Saturday! It's honestly crazy that I have been in this beautiful country for 4 weeks. Despite the fact that I ended up eating something bad and catching an infection in my intestines the last week, I'm still hanging in there. I missed out on paintballing today which I'm really sad about, but I'm sure I can find some people to go when we get back to the States.
Week 3 was honestly incredible. This weekend, we visited the cities of Chefchaouen and Tanger. They were so beautiful. Of course,I'm obsessed with Chefchaouen because my favorite color is blue and I got an AMAZING photo of the hotel lobby which I loved. The people were incredibly friendly and just made the experience that much more incredible. We did hike to a mosque built by the Spanish that no one uses, but unfortunately I could not finish the hike due to my illness. I got right to the base and couldn't do it. I still loved the view and experience (despite a rolled ankle).
Prior to our departure to Chefchaouen, a small group traveled to Casablanca to tour the city. Oh. My. Goodness. It was honestly amazing. We toured the Hassan II Mosquee and it was incredible. Our tour guide did give us a good laugh, but the mosquee itself was incredible. The pictures I took doesn't even justify its beauty, I loved every minute of touring that mosquee.
Tanger was also a beautiful sight. I love sitting on the beach and relaxing, so that was definitely a treat for me even though it was slightly chilly and windy. The snack I had as well (it was like a doughnut covered in sugar) made everything 10 times better.
Hopefully, this sickness will pass and I will be able to finish out my week on a high note. I am extremely nervous for this final at the end of the week, but I plan to study extremely hard and hopefully do well on it. Wish me luck so I can rock this out True Blue style! :)
I’ve loved every minute of our trip so far and I can’t wait to see what the last week holds. I know we will all stay busy trying to fit in every minute of Morocco we can. I want to get the last of my shopping done and have fun with my new and old friends. I’m super excited about the henna because I’ve been waiting the whole trip to get some! Our trip to Chefchaouen and Tangier this past weekend was so much fun! They were so different in every way. Chefchaouen, the Blue City, has beautiful mountains and I enjoyed the hiking, even though I fell. Tangier on the other hand is a beach paradise with a wonderful view! It was kind of overcast but I could still make out Spain in the distance. It was also awesome meeting up with the GSU study aboard group from Spain, Eagles all around the world! Paintball today was a blast; I have never seen Youssef get so aggressive! I’m glad he was on my side cause I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side. Although I think I’ll probably find a couple of bruises in the morning. I’m ready to take on this last week with some of the people that have meant the most to me in the past 3 weeks.
This week was again amazing! We went to chefchauoen and tanger which were both awe inspiring. To me, chefchauoen is now my favorite city. The blue was beautiful and I love the mountains so it was already number one in my book. However the people were extra friendly so that made it number one in my book. I haven't been to casa yet so we will see which one I like better. I'm now a lot more comfortable going places on my own to do things in Rabat which I'm really enjoying. This past week I also went to the hamam and it was definitely a cultural experience. We thought you would be able to keep your clothes on but since it was a private one it was not the case. But we got the full experience which I am happy about. This week we have finals and our presentations so it's study study time. However it is our last week so we still have to have fun with all of our new friends. I'm looking forward to it!
Benisbatilii, (sound it out) the third week in the Morocco trip has been the best one yet! I attended the concert Sting put on at Mawazine with Mr. Youssef and some friends. Sting out on a great show! I also throughly enjoyed visiting the blue city of Chefchaouen, which, by now I hope I am spelling correctly. My favorite part of the trip was our hike up the hill to the Mosque overlooking the city. We all got some cool pictures up there! Also, the restaurant we went to in Chefchaouen for both lunch and dinner was my favorite because there I was able to try bastilla, a powder-sugar covered chicken pie. I like sugar and I like chicken. Put them together and you get my favorite meal ever! Also, overlooking the city from the restaurant's terrace was very cool, especially as the sun set over the mountains in the evening. I love the little blue city in the mountains. After spending the night in Chefchaouen we traveled to Tanger where we went to the beach. That was my first experience swimming in/near the Mediterranean Sea. That being said, it was very cold. But I had a lot of fun! I always love the beach. Classes are going okay. Honestly, I wish we could get out more. I don't do well sitting in a desk for 4 hours/day. At least I'm learning! 👍🏼 whoopwhoop. Oh! And we also played paintball today. I had fun even though I didn't shoot Youssef, but I got a couple of other hits I was proud of! Haha!
I have to say that I think that this past week has been the best one yet. Traveling to Casablanca was an amazing experience. I had never rode on a train before Friday and I’m glad that I got to experience that with my classmates. A part of me wishes that I could say a little just so I can be able to walk around the city. The mosque there was so pretty and I couldn't stop admiring the details in side. I mean a picture just doesn’t do justice of how beautiful it is. Traveling to Tangier was a good experience as well I finally got to barter the sells men for a lower price. And do a little last minute shopping. I got to hike up a mountain, take in the view and enjoy everyone’s company. The beach was fun even though the water was cold it didn’t stop me from getting my feet wet. Although I miss home I’m going to miss being in Morocco and I’m sad that I’m going to be leaving in 5 days.
These past few weeks have been an amazing experience. I have seen and done so much and I could not be more grateful. All of the excursions we have went on have been my favorite things so far because it has been such a great way to explore and see the country and practice my Arabic with the locals. From the locals, I also liked how I have been learning French and Darija, not just Modern Standard. One of the best moments I have had on an excursion was the trip to Chefchaouan and listening to the Barcelona game at the restaurant. I liked how we could hear the locals cheer from all the way at the bottom of the mountain. The city was beautiful and I liked taking the hike to the mosque and petting the goats when we reached the top. I do admit that I have had a problem touching almost every animal I pass but I haven't had a problem yet! I also liked swimming in the Med. Sea and finally being able to kick a soccer ball with someone. School has also been really amazing and I'm happy to say that my Arabic has improved dramatically and that was the whole purpose for this trip. The most memorable moment has been the bus rides and everyone singing especially Jeremy. I have met so many amazing people from all over the world and I couldn't be more happy with this whole experience. THe food has been so good and I'm going to miss our maids cooking and making us tea everyday. However I am ready to eat a breakfast besides eggs and bread. This is definitely a great adventure I am happy to have gone on and I'm not ready to leave but I will for sure be back (:
My third week in Morocco went by too fast. I really enjoyed this last excursion. Tangier was beautiful as was chefchaouen. I swam in the Mediterranean sea. It was cold but fun. I really enjoyed the hiking in chefchaouen. It was a beautiful area to be in I wish we could have spent more time there. The classes are wrapping up and I can't help but feel like Im going to miss Morocco. I have made friends for a lifetime here and I want to come back again. Oh and I ate a whole chicken. It was an accidental order but by golly I ate that chicken. Brandon Alexander
Chefchaouen and Tangier were beautiful. But for info on that, check the other posts on this thread. I just want to share a specific experience! So, this week my life kinda changed and I reached a new level of communication abilities. I had a very hard time in class, especially on Tuesday for some reason. I have to speak only classical Arabic in class, but in the streets I use about 20% Darija when I can and the rest is all French. I've had many opportunities to use French, Arabic, and Darija here, which is why I came to Morocco to begin with. For some reason this week, I could understand literally everything said within earshot, no matter the language. A taxi driver spoke Italian to me, and I understood every word, though I've never studied it for a minute! I replied in what I call "Frarija" but he didn't believe that I wasn't Italian after I understood him! My teacher spoke Arabic to me, and at any speed I understood her. I understood side conversations between locals in Darija. I understood Spanish in Tangier and Chefchaouen! I understood French everywhere, of course. Sometimes the groups I'm with need me to say complex things in French to locals if we don't know what to say in Arabic or Darija. I helped a guy sweet talk a waitress by translating back and forth between "Frarija" and English for about an hour! It was awesome! All of these things got in my way, though, on Tuesday as I said before. I couldn't speak anything but Frarija in class. It was better than my English! But like I said, only MSA Arabic is allowed. So I panicked. I understood everything and couldn't form a sentence in MSA Arabic at all. It blew my mind, and I got a massive headache from the stress of not being able to speak it, though I'm at a decently high level of communication in Arabic. I talked to my main man Youssef about it, and he let me in on a secret. He reminded me that THAT was the reason I was here, in this beautiful country. I had experienced exactly what I needed to, to attain a new level of speaking and listening to languages. I love it when my groups ask me to translate something, or to ask people for things in French. They don't need me, but I love being the one person they can fall back on if they need it. I love being here, experiencing culture shock, losing my mind because of it, and gaining everything I've desired in all my language pursuits since I was 11 years old in my first French class. If you're reading this, and you have similar goals, please study abroad, but not in some cheesy ass western country wherein everyone knows English. Step out of your comfort zone. Live it up. Be scared to talk to people and overcome it. This is the best experience of my life, by far. -Jeremy Busbee
From beginning to end, this trip seems to be getting better and better. On Monday I went with my Professor, Youssef, and saw the Hassan the 5th Mosoleum. I was blown away by how spectacular the architecture and sheer grace of the building and everything, inside and out, was. It was truly a work of art and beautiful. Afterwards, he showed me around Rabat to many different sites and places he went and knew of from his time here, and we had coffee. It was one of my favorite days of the trip.
The excursion we went on this weekend was to the cities of Chefchouen and Tangier. Chefchouen is a mountain town that is called the blue city because all the houses are painted white and light blue. It looks like a city that is straight off of a postcard. There is a beautiful spring in the town and we climbed to the top of a hill to a mosque that has an incredible view of the entire city. In Tangier I went to the beach, had some great juice at a café that overlooks the beach and the Mediterranean sea, saw camels chilling on the beach, and could see the mountains of Spain on the horizon. This weekend was great and I swear the trips each weekend get more and more incredible.
My classes seem to be going great. My skills in speaking Arabic are getting sharpened, and I think, and hope, that I will be leaving here with great grades. That being said, I do not want to leave. I have been here for 3 weeks and do not want to go home. I love it here and want to stay. I have decided that when I retire I will be buying a place somewhere in Morocco, but I hope that I will return long before then. the end is bitter sweet but I have so many great memories and this is the greatest experience of my life.
I've had a terrible time in Morocco this first week. I mean what was up with all the inclines in steps in Chefchaouen and all the blue buildings. and that climb to the mosque? what am I a donkey? or what about sitting in a cafe with friends and watching Barcelona win! it's like the city was trying to make me miserable! But what about Tangier? well, Why does the Mediterranean sea have to be so cold? I nearly didn't go into it and have a great time with Kilgore, Brandon, and Madison. And the sea side cafe with the amazing view? full smoothie dumped on me by accident by the waiter! Wow it's not like I laughed for a solid fifteen minute after ward or anything. Oh and after that we all immediately had to run off and and eat lunch down the road at a restaurant with another amazing view of the Mediterranean sea. Where do all these cafes get off having great views and great food. I honestly think this is all just an elaborate ruse to get me to come back or something. OH oh oh and before I forget its like everyone wants to offer you hash! just wow, it's like," no bro I don't need any of your awesome product, and I totally don't want to see your cannabis farm. All in All just a bad trip, just terrible. END SARCASM. Disclaimer:(no hash or other cannabis products were consumed during this weekends trip, due to my all consuming fear of prison and especially prison outside my home country, and for the sake of Prof. Salhi and how that would make him look professionally.)
Hey guys! it's week three and it has definitely been one of the most eventful weeks so far! We started to the week off with classes and after that we had a couple workshops. The first workshop we had was a calligraphy class and I had Mr. Mohammed write my name in calligraphy. it was possibly the coolest thing that happened at school. After that we went to the kitchen for a cooking workshop. Our weekend was awesome as well. We all went to the city of chefchouen and hiked around for a little bit and I bought a couple of gifts for my folks. After that we all went to tangiers. And while most of my friends waited on shore me, brandon, eric, and madison hit the surf and didnt come out until we were numb from how cold the water was! In total it was a crazy week and i cant express in words how great it was! see yall in a week!
The third week of our trip was jammed packed with adventures and new experiences. During the week we had a cool field trip to the Saudi cultural center and explored its library. We also had two workshops hosted at the school where we learned different styles of Arabic calligraphy and how to cook tagine kafta. We visited a school that helped keep less fortunate kids out of the streets. I also went to the Mawazine festival and visited the African stage. The crowd was so lively and I got to watch a bunch of young men break dance. It was a great time. My weekend trip to Casablanca, Chefchaouen, and Tangier were the most exciting part of the week. Casablanca was really beautiful. The mosque that I visited there was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. I have never encountered a building that was so meticulously detailed. I was in complete awe the whole time I walked around inside of it. Chefchaouen had some really beautiful scenery the mountains took my breath away and the locals were so friendly. Tangier's beach was beautiful and it was awesome being able to stick my feet into the Mediterranean sea. Definitely made some memories I will never forget.
This is officially my 2nd to last week here in Morocco and I have to be honest with you, this is a bitter sweet moment. Reason being is because I've gotten to meet more new students from all over the world that I'm now use to and they are now my friends, and because my body is finally becoming accustomed to the Moroccan food and time frame. The best city that we visited in my opinion was Casa Blanca it's definitely different from all the other places in Morocco because it's so modern, it actually reminded me of home because of how up to date people were there. The shopping was amazing and the food all over this country is pretty much the same .... DELICIOUS I absolutely love the cuisine here. While in Casa Blanca we took a tour of one of the third largest mosques in the world also known as Hassan II and man I must say that it was so beautiful. The decor in that holy place was so exquisite and tasteful that it made me appreciate the religion Islam on a whole other level.
ReplyDeleteI'm seriously going to miss it here because the tradition and customs are so interesting. To end the week my group went on an excursion to the infamous Blue City of Morocco better known as Chefchaouen were we got to see exactly why it was called the Blue City. All the house were in painted blue and the village was by the water and in the mountains.
On the way there the scenery was seriously beautiful that even a Kodak moment wouldn't justify its beauty. After going there we went to Tangere were we enjoyed the beach and freshly squeezed juice while looking out to the Mediterranean, I'm going to miss this place and I wouldn't have asked for a better study abroad trip, now it's time to focus for finals and leave here with flying grades.... The GATA WAY
Ahhh! i'm home on Saturday! It's honestly crazy that I have been in this beautiful country for 4 weeks. Despite the fact that I ended up eating something bad and catching an infection in my intestines the last week, I'm still hanging in there. I missed out on paintballing today which I'm really sad about, but I'm sure I can find some people to go when we get back to the States.
ReplyDeleteWeek 3 was honestly incredible. This weekend, we visited the cities of Chefchaouen and Tanger. They were so beautiful. Of course,I'm obsessed with Chefchaouen because my favorite color is blue and I got an AMAZING photo of the hotel lobby which I loved. The people were incredibly friendly and just made the experience that much more incredible. We did hike to a mosque built by the Spanish that no one uses, but unfortunately I could not finish the hike due to my illness. I got right to the base and couldn't do it. I still loved the view and experience (despite a rolled ankle).
Prior to our departure to Chefchaouen, a small group traveled to Casablanca to tour the city. Oh. My. Goodness. It was honestly amazing. We toured the Hassan II Mosquee and it was incredible. Our tour guide did give us a good laugh, but the mosquee itself was incredible. The pictures I took doesn't even justify its beauty, I loved every minute of touring that mosquee.
Tanger was also a beautiful sight. I love sitting on the beach and relaxing, so that was definitely a treat for me even though it was slightly chilly and windy. The snack I had as well (it was like a doughnut covered in sugar) made everything 10 times better.
Hopefully, this sickness will pass and I will be able to finish out my week on a high note. I am extremely nervous for this final at the end of the week, but I plan to study extremely hard and hopefully do well on it. Wish me luck so I can rock this out True Blue style! :)
I’ve loved every minute of our trip so far and I can’t wait to see what the last week holds. I know we will all stay busy trying to fit in every minute of Morocco we can. I want to get the last of my shopping done and have fun with my new and old friends. I’m super excited about the henna because I’ve been waiting the whole trip to get some!
ReplyDeleteOur trip to Chefchaouen and Tangier this past weekend was so much fun! They were so different in every way. Chefchaouen, the Blue City, has beautiful mountains and I enjoyed the hiking, even though I fell. Tangier on the other hand is a beach paradise with a wonderful view! It was kind of overcast but I could still make out Spain in the distance. It was also awesome meeting up with the GSU study aboard group from Spain, Eagles all around the world!
Paintball today was a blast; I have never seen Youssef get so aggressive! I’m glad he was on my side cause I wouldn’t want to be on his bad side. Although I think I’ll probably find a couple of bruises in the morning. I’m ready to take on this last week with some of the people that have meant the most to me in the past 3 weeks.
This week was again amazing! We went to chefchauoen and tanger which were both awe inspiring. To me, chefchauoen is now my favorite city. The blue was beautiful and I love the mountains so it was already number one in my book. However the people were extra friendly so that made it number one in my book. I haven't been to casa yet so we will see which one I like better. I'm now a lot more comfortable going places on my own to do things in Rabat which I'm really enjoying. This past week I also went to the hamam and it was definitely a cultural experience. We thought you would be able to keep your clothes on but since it was a private one it was not the case. But we got the full experience which I am happy about. This week we have finals and our presentations so it's study study time. However it is our last week so we still have to have fun with all of our new friends. I'm looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteBenisbatilii, (sound it out) the third week in the Morocco trip has been the best one yet! I attended the concert Sting put on at Mawazine with Mr. Youssef and some friends. Sting out on a great show!
ReplyDeleteI also throughly enjoyed visiting the blue city of Chefchaouen, which, by now I hope I am spelling correctly. My favorite part of the trip was our hike up the hill to the Mosque overlooking the city. We all got some cool pictures up there! Also, the restaurant we went to in Chefchaouen for both lunch and dinner was my favorite because there I was able to try bastilla, a powder-sugar covered chicken pie. I like sugar and I like chicken. Put them together and you get my favorite meal ever! Also, overlooking the city from the restaurant's terrace was very cool, especially as the sun set over the mountains in the evening. I love the little blue city in the mountains.
After spending the night in Chefchaouen we traveled to Tanger where we went to the beach. That was my first experience swimming in/near the Mediterranean Sea. That being said, it was very cold. But I had a lot of fun! I always love the beach.
Classes are going okay. Honestly, I wish we could get out more. I don't do well sitting in a desk for 4 hours/day. At least I'm learning! 👍🏼 whoopwhoop.
Oh! And we also played paintball today. I had fun even though I didn't shoot Youssef, but I got a couple of other hits I was proud of! Haha!
I have to say that I think that this past week has been the best one yet. Traveling to Casablanca was an amazing experience. I had never rode on a train before Friday and I’m glad that I got to experience that with my classmates. A part of me wishes that I could say a little just so I can be able to walk around the city. The mosque there was so pretty and I couldn't stop admiring the details in side. I mean a picture just doesn’t do justice of how beautiful it is. Traveling to Tangier was a good experience as well I finally got to barter the sells men for a lower price. And do a little last minute shopping. I got to hike up a mountain, take in the view and enjoy everyone’s company. The beach was fun even though the water was cold it didn’t stop me from getting my feet wet. Although I miss home I’m going to miss being in Morocco and I’m sad that I’m going to be leaving in 5 days.
ReplyDeleteThese past few weeks have been an amazing experience. I have seen and done so much and I could not be more grateful. All of the excursions we have went on have been my favorite things so far because it has been such a great way to explore and see the country and practice my Arabic with the locals. From the locals, I also liked how I have been learning French and Darija, not just Modern Standard. One of the best moments I have had on an excursion was the trip to Chefchaouan and listening to the Barcelona game at the restaurant. I liked how we could hear the locals cheer from all the way at the bottom of the mountain. The city was beautiful and I liked taking the hike to the mosque and petting the goats when we reached the top. I do admit that I have had a problem touching almost every animal I pass but I haven't had a problem yet! I also liked swimming in the Med. Sea and finally being able to kick a soccer ball with someone. School has also been really amazing and I'm happy to say that my Arabic has improved dramatically and that was the whole purpose for this trip. The most memorable moment has been the bus rides and everyone singing especially Jeremy. I have met so many amazing people from all over the world and I couldn't be more happy with this whole experience. THe food has been so good and I'm going to miss our maids cooking and making us tea everyday. However I am ready to eat a breakfast besides eggs and bread. This is definitely a great adventure I am happy to have gone on and I'm not ready to leave but I will for sure be back (:
ReplyDeleteMy third week in Morocco went by too fast. I really enjoyed this last excursion. Tangier was beautiful as was chefchaouen. I swam in the Mediterranean sea. It was cold but fun. I really enjoyed the hiking in chefchaouen. It was a beautiful area to be in I wish we could have spent more time there. The classes are wrapping up and I can't help but feel like Im going to miss Morocco. I have made friends for a lifetime here and I want to come back again. Oh and I ate a whole chicken. It was an accidental order but by golly I ate that chicken.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Alexander
Chefchaouen and Tangier were beautiful. But for info on that, check the other posts on this thread. I just want to share a specific experience!
ReplyDeleteSo, this week my life kinda changed and I reached a new level of communication abilities. I had a very hard time in class, especially on Tuesday for some reason. I have to speak only classical Arabic in class, but in the streets I use about 20% Darija when I can and the rest is all French. I've had many opportunities to use French, Arabic, and Darija here, which is why I came to Morocco to begin with. For some reason this week, I could understand literally everything said within earshot, no matter the language. A taxi driver spoke Italian to me, and I understood every word, though I've never studied it for a minute! I replied in what I call "Frarija" but he didn't believe that I wasn't Italian after I understood him! My teacher spoke Arabic to me, and at any speed I understood her. I understood side conversations between locals in Darija. I understood Spanish in Tangier and Chefchaouen! I understood French everywhere, of course. Sometimes the groups I'm with need me to say complex things in French to locals if we don't know what to say in Arabic or Darija. I helped a guy sweet talk a waitress by translating back and forth between "Frarija" and English for about an hour! It was awesome! All of these things got in my way, though, on Tuesday as I said before. I couldn't speak anything but Frarija in class. It was better than my English! But like I said, only MSA Arabic is allowed. So I panicked. I understood everything and couldn't form a sentence in MSA Arabic at all. It blew my mind, and I got a massive headache from the stress of not being able to speak it, though I'm at a decently high level of communication in Arabic. I talked to my main man Youssef about it, and he let me in on a secret. He reminded me that THAT was the reason I was here, in this beautiful country. I had experienced exactly what I needed to, to attain a new level of speaking and listening to languages. I love it when my groups ask me to translate something, or to ask people for things in French. They don't need me, but I love being the one person they can fall back on if they need it. I love being here, experiencing culture shock, losing my mind because of it, and gaining everything I've desired in all my language pursuits since I was 11 years old in my first French class. If you're reading this, and you have similar goals, please study abroad, but not in some cheesy ass western country wherein everyone knows English. Step out of your comfort zone. Live it up. Be scared to talk to people and overcome it. This is the best experience of my life, by far. -Jeremy Busbee
Oh! And I saw Sting in concert for FREE! :) -JB
DeleteFrom beginning to end, this trip seems to be getting better and better. On Monday I went with my Professor, Youssef, and saw the Hassan the 5th Mosoleum. I was blown away by how spectacular the architecture and sheer grace of the building and everything, inside and out, was. It was truly a work of art and beautiful. Afterwards, he showed me around Rabat to many different sites and places he went and knew of from his time here, and we had coffee. It was one of my favorite days of the trip.
ReplyDeleteThe excursion we went on this weekend was to the cities of Chefchouen and Tangier. Chefchouen is a mountain town that is called the blue city because all the houses are painted white and light blue. It looks like a city that is straight off of a postcard. There is a beautiful spring in the town and we climbed to the top of a hill to a mosque that has an incredible view of the entire city. In Tangier I went to the beach, had some great juice at a café that overlooks the beach and the Mediterranean sea, saw camels chilling on the beach, and could see the mountains of Spain on the horizon. This weekend was great and I swear the trips each weekend get more and more incredible.
My classes seem to be going great. My skills in speaking Arabic are getting sharpened, and I think, and hope, that I will be leaving here with great grades. That being said, I do not want to leave. I have been here for 3 weeks and do not want to go home. I love it here and want to stay. I have decided that when I retire I will be buying a place somewhere in Morocco, but I hope that I will return long before then. the end is bitter sweet but I have so many great memories and this is the greatest experience of my life.
-Brennan Patrick
I've had a terrible time in Morocco this first week. I mean what was up with all the inclines in steps in Chefchaouen and all the blue buildings. and that climb to the mosque? what am I a donkey? or what about sitting in a cafe with friends and watching Barcelona win! it's like the city was trying to make me miserable! But what about Tangier? well, Why does the Mediterranean sea have to be so cold? I nearly didn't go into it and have a great time with Kilgore, Brandon, and Madison. And the sea side cafe with the amazing view? full smoothie dumped on me by accident by the waiter! Wow it's not like I laughed for a solid fifteen minute after ward or anything. Oh and after that we all immediately had to run off and and eat lunch down the road at a restaurant with another amazing view of the Mediterranean sea. Where do all these cafes get off having great views and great food. I honestly think this is all just an elaborate ruse to get me to come back or something. OH oh oh and before I forget its like everyone wants to offer you hash! just wow, it's like," no bro I don't need any of your awesome product, and I totally don't want to see your cannabis farm. All in All just a bad trip, just terrible. END SARCASM. Disclaimer:(no hash or other cannabis products were consumed during this weekends trip, due to my all consuming fear of prison and especially prison outside my home country, and for the sake of Prof. Salhi and how that would make him look professionally.)
ReplyDeleteForgot my name ERIC McLENDON!!!!!!!!!
DeleteHey guys! it's week three and it has definitely been one of the most eventful weeks so far! We started to the week off with classes and after that we had a couple workshops. The first workshop we had was a calligraphy class and I had Mr. Mohammed write my name in calligraphy. it was possibly the coolest thing that happened at school. After that we went to the kitchen for a cooking workshop. Our weekend was awesome as well. We all went to the city of chefchouen and hiked around for a little bit and I bought a couple of gifts for my folks. After that we all went to tangiers. And while most of my friends waited on shore me, brandon, eric, and madison hit the surf and didnt come out until we were numb from how cold the water was! In total it was a crazy week and i cant express in words how great it was! see yall in a week!
ReplyDeleteThe third week of our trip was jammed packed with adventures and new experiences. During the week we had a cool field trip to the Saudi cultural center and explored its library. We also had two workshops hosted at the school where we learned different styles of Arabic calligraphy and how to cook tagine kafta. We visited a school that helped keep less fortunate kids out of the streets. I also went to the Mawazine festival and visited the African stage. The crowd was so lively and I got to watch a bunch of young men break dance. It was a great time.
ReplyDeleteMy weekend trip to Casablanca, Chefchaouen, and Tangier were the most exciting part of the week. Casablanca was really beautiful. The mosque that I visited there was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. I have never encountered a building that was so meticulously detailed. I was in complete awe the whole time I walked around inside of it. Chefchaouen had some really beautiful scenery the mountains took my breath away and the locals were so friendly. Tangier's beach was beautiful and it was awesome being able to stick my feet into the Mediterranean sea. Definitely made some memories I will never forget.