I have been so utterly slow in updating my blog lately, and I know I'm super behind. I had my first day official Jordan ISA day today, so before I know it, my stories will all run into each other and be forgotten. Today is the ABSOLUTE last day to upload for Spain, so I'm going to try and make it as concise, amusing and interesting as possible!
The first thing I should tell you is that the morning I left for Spain, I left my itouch at home in Meknes. This might not seem an important detail right now, but I'll come back to it. All you need to know about this moment is that I had no way of contacting my parents or any source of wifi or internet or anything.
From the very beginning, I think that God sent me little angels along the way to keep me safe and keep me company. As soon as I got off the train in Fez, a nice gentleman (Moroccan) came up and started talking to me. He told me that he found me incredibly pretty, but he knew there was more to me, so he wanted to get to know me a little better, maybe by phone or email...and that's when I cut him off. I thanked him for his kind words but explained that I was leaving the country and wasn't coming back. He seemed a little sad, but regardless, he took the initiative of calling his boss, telling him he was going to be late for work, and waited with me until my bus came to take me to the airport. When I told him he didn't have to do that, he said that he would never think of leaving me alone, especially with so many "shady" people around me. So, that act of kindness, even when I refused his advances, was really appreciated. On that same bus, I met an older gentlemen who had the same flight as me to Barcelona. He took me through all of the steps, helped me with my luggage, and literally stayed with me until we landed in Barcelona, keeping me company, talking to me and sharing his stories, and keeping me safe. As if that weren't enough, on my bus from the Barcelona Girona airport to Barcelona center, I met a guy who was around my age (and super well traveled) and his mom who had just made the trip from Morocco to Barcelona. We talked the whole hour bus trip to the center, and we shared stories and secrets and tips. They were super sweet and even sent me an invitation for dinner during one of the nights we were both in Barcelona. Needless to say, I was super spoiled on my way to Spain, being incredibly blessed by these little guardian angels.
The hostel I stayed at in Barcelona was really awesome. It was called Arte y Casa, which was a super artsy, small, laid back hostel. As soon as I walked in the door, I made friends with the hostel owners (as did everyone else) along with 3 super sweet (and cute) Canadian guys who had graduated a semester earlier from college and were taking a 6 week break from work to travel across Europe. Since I was traveling alone, they immediately adopted me and made me part of their group. We explored Barcelona that day, and later that evening, we made friends with other people staying at our hostel and ended up all going out clubbing together. Let me just say thing, DANCING WAS SO LIBERATING! Haha, my newly-found friends made fun of me because as soon as the music came on, no part of my body could stay still! We danced until the wee-hours of the morning, alternating from dancing and going to the beach, which acted as a patio to these clubs. The next day, the same friends I had gone out with and I went to explore other parts of Barcelona, such as the Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, the Modernist Buildings, La Rambla, and touring a cute little student "center" coming back from Park Guell. That evening, our group of friends (which totaled 12 people!) all went out clubbing again. We ended up splitting up that night, but it was still a really great evening. I spent my time with one of the Canadian boys (Jeremy), and we walked on the beach and broke into this super nice hotel at the end of the playa and just chatted until 5am. By the time we made it back to the hostel, we all had questions about each other's nights and who had made it back safely and who hadn't made it back, and around 6am, we all went to sleep. After one hour of sleep, I sleepily got up, said a quiet goodbye to my friends, and made my way to Sevilla.
Sevilla was by far my favorite city because it was the most breathtaking city. What I liked the most about this city was the architecture and the continued Islamic/Moorish history that I learned about and witnessed first hand. I know that sounds like a complete nerd, and it complete defeats the purpose of "going to Spain to get away from the Middle East," but my interest in the area of Andulasia was successfully satisfied after seeing this area. I only spent one night in Sevilla, but I got to eat some amazing Spanish food (local secrets), shop, see a Flamenco, and visit the sites.
From Sevilla, I had an interesting adventure. Dumb me, I stupidly booked a train to Malaga (which was my final destination in the trip) instead of Granda. So, I made it to Malaga, and then made my way back up to Granda lol. Also, by this point in time, I realized that my camera was in Sevilla. Thankfully, I left it at the hostel and I had befriend the hostel owners there as well, so they were able to keep it safe for me until I went to pick it up two days later. As you can therefore foresee, I have no pictures of Granada. That doesn't mean, however, that I didn't see some amazing things and loved every minute of everything I saw! My hostel (which was IMPOSSIBLE to find...it was up in the mountains in the old Arab quarter called Albaicin) had a FANTASTIC view of the Alhamra. I got to see the sunset on this breathtaking castle from the patio of my hostel. I was able to take an amazing tour of the city and really get to know the Albaicin. I learned about the tragedy that is befalling that part of the city due to cuts in transportation by the Granada city government, and got to meet some really amazing people along the way.
My last stop (after picking up my camera in Sevilla) was Malaga. That was the ultimate way to end my vacation. I spent a whole day on the beach, ate some delicious food, went shopping, and ate some more! I walked around the city, took a long run on the beach in the morning, and visited some really beautiful churches and old Moorish sites. I found a little concert in one of the gardens, bought my Spanish fans, talked to some really great locals and non-locals, and over all just enjoyed my final days in Spain.
Getting back to Morocco was a different story. From the moment I put on my fake wedding and engagement rings, I felt this weight on my shoulders that had been lifted when I first left for my trip in Spain. In Spain, I was free. I was no longer trapped by cultural taboos. I rediscovered my body and sensuality (I forgot I had a body at all while in Morocco because the whole time I tried to hide it to avoid drawing unwanted attention to myself), and realized how much of a free spirit I truly have. It was so satisfying to be able to walk alone at night without having to worry about being harassed. It was nice going out on my own and exploring the city without being accompanied. It was nice to wear clothes that showed up my shoulders and knees lol. Going back to Morocco took 12 hours, and they were really exhausting and exasperating twelve hours. The bus from Malaga to Tarifa was late, which made me late for my ferry ride from Tarifa to Tangier. Waiting in line to get my passport checked took forever on the ferry. The worst part, by far, was trying to get a taxi from in Tangier. I tried to flag down a few taxis that wanted to over charge me for a ride to the train station. I broke down on the side of the road because I was literally so frustrated. I hated the fact that I was covering myself up again. I hated the fact that no taxi would stop for me because I was woman, and because I was unwilling to pay their ridiculous high prices. I hated the fact that men started harassing me the moment I stepped foot on Moroccan soil. Finally, a petite taxi driver stopped, picked me up, and took me to the train station. By this time, I was in hysteria, and the poor taxi driver was so worried about me that he even walked me into the train station. After I bought my ticket, everything settled down somewhat.
Around 10pm that night, I finally made it back to my house in Meknes. I had the most amazing greetings and hugs waiting for me, so that was really nice. However, once I got over the initial happiness of being home, my host mom took me aside and told me the not-so-soothing story about what had happened to my itouch. Long story short, my itouch got stolen from my house, reprogrammed, and sold. My host mom had to go seek my itouch out, buy it back, and then have my host brother try and reprogram it. I felt SOOOO bad, but my host family made me feel better about everything. I am literally just so lucky to have such an amazing host family and host particularly host mom.
My last couple of days in Morocco went by so fast. Actually, they weren't days, it was exactly 1 day and hours lol. My directors and friends were so nice, and it was really hard saying goodbye to them. Luckily, I made some lasting friendships and relationships with everyone in Morocco, and I know that inshallah I will come back to visit one day.
Well, there you have it folks, my very quick wrap up of my Spain travels and my last few days in Morocco. I left out a million things, but I already feel bad because this seems like such a long read. But if you want to hear more in depth stories about any of this, feel free to ask me!
Thanks for tuning in and have a good rest of your day!
The first thing I should tell you is that the morning I left for Spain, I left my itouch at home in Meknes. This might not seem an important detail right now, but I'll come back to it. All you need to know about this moment is that I had no way of contacting my parents or any source of wifi or internet or anything.
From the very beginning, I think that God sent me little angels along the way to keep me safe and keep me company. As soon as I got off the train in Fez, a nice gentleman (Moroccan) came up and started talking to me. He told me that he found me incredibly pretty, but he knew there was more to me, so he wanted to get to know me a little better, maybe by phone or email...and that's when I cut him off. I thanked him for his kind words but explained that I was leaving the country and wasn't coming back. He seemed a little sad, but regardless, he took the initiative of calling his boss, telling him he was going to be late for work, and waited with me until my bus came to take me to the airport. When I told him he didn't have to do that, he said that he would never think of leaving me alone, especially with so many "shady" people around me. So, that act of kindness, even when I refused his advances, was really appreciated. On that same bus, I met an older gentlemen who had the same flight as me to Barcelona. He took me through all of the steps, helped me with my luggage, and literally stayed with me until we landed in Barcelona, keeping me company, talking to me and sharing his stories, and keeping me safe. As if that weren't enough, on my bus from the Barcelona Girona airport to Barcelona center, I met a guy who was around my age (and super well traveled) and his mom who had just made the trip from Morocco to Barcelona. We talked the whole hour bus trip to the center, and we shared stories and secrets and tips. They were super sweet and even sent me an invitation for dinner during one of the nights we were both in Barcelona. Needless to say, I was super spoiled on my way to Spain, being incredibly blessed by these little guardian angels.
The hostel I stayed at in Barcelona was really awesome. It was called Arte y Casa, which was a super artsy, small, laid back hostel. As soon as I walked in the door, I made friends with the hostel owners (as did everyone else) along with 3 super sweet (and cute) Canadian guys who had graduated a semester earlier from college and were taking a 6 week break from work to travel across Europe. Since I was traveling alone, they immediately adopted me and made me part of their group. We explored Barcelona that day, and later that evening, we made friends with other people staying at our hostel and ended up all going out clubbing together. Let me just say thing, DANCING WAS SO LIBERATING! Haha, my newly-found friends made fun of me because as soon as the music came on, no part of my body could stay still! We danced until the wee-hours of the morning, alternating from dancing and going to the beach, which acted as a patio to these clubs. The next day, the same friends I had gone out with and I went to explore other parts of Barcelona, such as the Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, the Modernist Buildings, La Rambla, and touring a cute little student "center" coming back from Park Guell. That evening, our group of friends (which totaled 12 people!) all went out clubbing again. We ended up splitting up that night, but it was still a really great evening. I spent my time with one of the Canadian boys (Jeremy), and we walked on the beach and broke into this super nice hotel at the end of the playa and just chatted until 5am. By the time we made it back to the hostel, we all had questions about each other's nights and who had made it back safely and who hadn't made it back, and around 6am, we all went to sleep. After one hour of sleep, I sleepily got up, said a quiet goodbye to my friends, and made my way to Sevilla.
Sevilla was by far my favorite city because it was the most breathtaking city. What I liked the most about this city was the architecture and the continued Islamic/Moorish history that I learned about and witnessed first hand. I know that sounds like a complete nerd, and it complete defeats the purpose of "going to Spain to get away from the Middle East," but my interest in the area of Andulasia was successfully satisfied after seeing this area. I only spent one night in Sevilla, but I got to eat some amazing Spanish food (local secrets), shop, see a Flamenco, and visit the sites.
From Sevilla, I had an interesting adventure. Dumb me, I stupidly booked a train to Malaga (which was my final destination in the trip) instead of Granda. So, I made it to Malaga, and then made my way back up to Granda lol. Also, by this point in time, I realized that my camera was in Sevilla. Thankfully, I left it at the hostel and I had befriend the hostel owners there as well, so they were able to keep it safe for me until I went to pick it up two days later. As you can therefore foresee, I have no pictures of Granada. That doesn't mean, however, that I didn't see some amazing things and loved every minute of everything I saw! My hostel (which was IMPOSSIBLE to find...it was up in the mountains in the old Arab quarter called Albaicin) had a FANTASTIC view of the Alhamra. I got to see the sunset on this breathtaking castle from the patio of my hostel. I was able to take an amazing tour of the city and really get to know the Albaicin. I learned about the tragedy that is befalling that part of the city due to cuts in transportation by the Granada city government, and got to meet some really amazing people along the way.
My last stop (after picking up my camera in Sevilla) was Malaga. That was the ultimate way to end my vacation. I spent a whole day on the beach, ate some delicious food, went shopping, and ate some more! I walked around the city, took a long run on the beach in the morning, and visited some really beautiful churches and old Moorish sites. I found a little concert in one of the gardens, bought my Spanish fans, talked to some really great locals and non-locals, and over all just enjoyed my final days in Spain.
Getting back to Morocco was a different story. From the moment I put on my fake wedding and engagement rings, I felt this weight on my shoulders that had been lifted when I first left for my trip in Spain. In Spain, I was free. I was no longer trapped by cultural taboos. I rediscovered my body and sensuality (I forgot I had a body at all while in Morocco because the whole time I tried to hide it to avoid drawing unwanted attention to myself), and realized how much of a free spirit I truly have. It was so satisfying to be able to walk alone at night without having to worry about being harassed. It was nice going out on my own and exploring the city without being accompanied. It was nice to wear clothes that showed up my shoulders and knees lol. Going back to Morocco took 12 hours, and they were really exhausting and exasperating twelve hours. The bus from Malaga to Tarifa was late, which made me late for my ferry ride from Tarifa to Tangier. Waiting in line to get my passport checked took forever on the ferry. The worst part, by far, was trying to get a taxi from in Tangier. I tried to flag down a few taxis that wanted to over charge me for a ride to the train station. I broke down on the side of the road because I was literally so frustrated. I hated the fact that I was covering myself up again. I hated the fact that no taxi would stop for me because I was woman, and because I was unwilling to pay their ridiculous high prices. I hated the fact that men started harassing me the moment I stepped foot on Moroccan soil. Finally, a petite taxi driver stopped, picked me up, and took me to the train station. By this time, I was in hysteria, and the poor taxi driver was so worried about me that he even walked me into the train station. After I bought my ticket, everything settled down somewhat.
Around 10pm that night, I finally made it back to my house in Meknes. I had the most amazing greetings and hugs waiting for me, so that was really nice. However, once I got over the initial happiness of being home, my host mom took me aside and told me the not-so-soothing story about what had happened to my itouch. Long story short, my itouch got stolen from my house, reprogrammed, and sold. My host mom had to go seek my itouch out, buy it back, and then have my host brother try and reprogram it. I felt SOOOO bad, but my host family made me feel better about everything. I am literally just so lucky to have such an amazing host family and host particularly host mom.
My last couple of days in Morocco went by so fast. Actually, they weren't days, it was exactly 1 day and hours lol. My directors and friends were so nice, and it was really hard saying goodbye to them. Luckily, I made some lasting friendships and relationships with everyone in Morocco, and I know that inshallah I will come back to visit one day.
Well, there you have it folks, my very quick wrap up of my Spain travels and my last few days in Morocco. I left out a million things, but I already feel bad because this seems like such a long read. But if you want to hear more in depth stories about any of this, feel free to ask me!
Thanks for tuning in and have a good rest of your day!
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