Salaam Alaikum

As of Sunday evening, I have officially: been to the African continent, been to an Islamic country, finally gotten customs stamps! (Okay, so there were probably more firsts than that, but that's all I can come up with right this second.)

This weekend I visited Marrakech, in Morocco, with a small group of students from my program. I say small because it was only a fraction of the entire group, but there were still about 35 of us or so, plus three of the program coordinators. I was really excited to go before the trip, but also a bit nervous because I didn't know what to expect, especially with regards to customs of dress and covering up. And so the adventure began.

Thursday afternoon we all took the metro from IES to the airport to meet the group, after checking in and going through security, we had plenty of extra time to wander aimlessly around the airport shops, which was fun, and we finally boarded the plane around 4:30. I was randomly assigned a seat in row 1, in the bulkhead, and it was the most leg room I have ever seen! I could have sat on the floor in front of my seat with my legs fully stretched out! The flight itself was short... only about 2 hours, and around 5:30p (Marrakech is an hour behind Madrid) we began our descent.

The first views of Morocco are very different from flying into Barajas (in Madrid) or Newark. While you could definitely see a city, it's not at all built up (in fact kind of run down), and all the buildings are orange-colored stucco-type structures. On the tarmac you simply deboarded and wandered inside the airport, where there is immediately a customs check. After the customs check we were able to get our checked luggage, but not before another uniformed man checked our passports again. (In case we had, you know, changed our identities in the 10 meters between the customs booth and the doorway). Finally, we collected our luggage and headed for the coach bus which transported us the ten minutes from the airport to our hotel. (Which was very nice, by Moroccan standards. They served us tea while we checked in, which was delicious. They also serve the same sweet green tea after all meals.) Then we took a night bus tour of the city, and ended in the market square of the old city, which they toured us around for about 15 minutes and then let us free.

As soon as they told us we had free time, we all just sort of stood there, shell-shocked. The market was intensely crowded with both Moroccans and tourists. There were tons of shops and stalls around the edges, plus side streets with restaurants and shops, and in the center were dozens upon dozens of food vendors, women drawing henna, men with monkeys and cobras, all vying for our attention (and most importantly, our money). Finally we decided to break off into smaller groups, deciding staying together was important, but that it would be impossible to navigate the crowds with a large amount of people in tow. My group of five decided to brave the crowds and find a food stall at which to eat. Immediately we were surrounded by calls to try the various foods and overeager vendors rushing to show us menus. We resisted the first few and decided on #75. (The food looked fresh and the drinks were free!) We had delicious chicken, lamb, and vegetable kabobs, as well as cous-cous with vegetables and spiced olives with this circular/ flat local bread. It was all amazing. Afterward we wandered around all the stalls, looking at everything for sale and chatting with the vendors. Although it was a little overwhelming, the bartering aspect and all the cacaphony was at the same time extremely fun. We finally returned to the hotel around 10:30, walking the 30 minutes back from the market since the weather was so nice.

Saturday morning we awoke and began our touring at 9:30, visiting a minaret, tombs, an herbologist selling spices, and various other places. In the afternoon we had free time, so 10 of us returned to the markets to brave the vendors again. We first went to lunch on a rooftop terrace, followed by dessert on the street. Many women sit in the square selling trays of cookies, so we finally decided to get some. They were delicious - like macaroons, only not as dense and chewy, more like actual cookies. We then returned to the hotel for a couple hours before heading out to a restaurant closer to our hotel - the Lebanese Cafe. There Paige and I split hummus, tabouleh and falafel (with Lebanese flatbread). Unfortunately they almost forgot about one of the boys' meals so it ended up being a verrry long evening. We tried some delicious Moroccan white wine though! (Can't remember the label). Afterward we joined up with a few others who had been eating at the same restaurant with a different group, and wandered over to the train station, where we got dessert at a rooftop cafe. It was about 65 degrees and absolutely balmy and beautiful. We returned to the hotel around 11p.

Saturday we all met at ten (after breakfast in the hotel, which was amazing because there were OMELETS, which I have been missing), and went to ride camels! It was so much fun! It was a bit precarious to get on them, because we were two to a camel, and when the camel gets up it first stands on its front legs, then back, so the person in the back (me) feels like they might almost fall off! I believe Paige and I handled it very gracefully, however. Afterward we had more time to explore on our own, so this time we headed back to the hotel since we had braved the market twice already, and it was raining. Luckily it cleared for a bit so we all sat out by the pool... and when it clouded over again we went for lunch, which was quite the long ordeal and concluded in four separate receipts. (A single dessert, four other people's desserts, our beverages, our food). By then it was already 4p (and raining, again. It had of course been beautiful for the duration of our meal), so we reconvened in the hotel. We kept hoping it would clear so we could check out some gardens we had heard about.... but the weather refused to help us out. At 7:30 we all as a group went to a dinner at a Moroccan style Medieval Times. For those of you who don't know what that is.... we basically went to this strange, disneyland type palace with food (this part was delicious) and then a spectacle. I didn't really get the point of the second part of the evening, which included some guns and some horses and a belly dancer, but the food was at least good. And we got to see some guys do some really interesting tricks on galloping horses, but that was about it. Also a scary large bug bit my leg and it was really painful... but nothing happened so that's good.

Sunday, the weather was of course hot and beautiful again, because we were leaving. After a quick breakfast, we returned to the airport, standed in long lines, and ran to our flight! But we made it! And now I'm back in Madrid, preparing for my midterms this week and next, and also my exciting weekend in London that lies ahead!