Life is a Game we Play.

Mohammeds and bicycles

To start out this adventure, I feel it only appropriate to begin with the dream I had Wednesday night...
I woke up abruptly and immediately grabbed my phone to check the time. It was 7:58. I moved my phone back and forth in front of my face, unable to believe that I’d somehow slept through two alarms and missed out on a free trip to Morocco. I was supposed to meet my friends on “our corner” at 7:10 to walk to the bus scheduled to take off at 7:45. I called my friend Liz to see if the bus had already left, and she answered, crying, saying she wasn’t going. She told me her boyfriend just called to inform her that he got stranded rock climbing on some island, and that he was waiting for a tour bus with the city name painted on the side to drive by so he knew where he was. I hung up with her, and then my señora walked into my room to ask why I was still there. I told her, she gave me a hug, and told me she’d see if she could work it into her schedule to prepare lunch for me.
*This is about where I woke up for real, frumped a little bit, considered how much it would cost me to pay for a 3-day trip to Morocco because I believed I actually missed my bus, and then remembered that the background on my phone in my dream was different than what it is in reality... Relieved, I decided to check what time it actually was...it was 5:34am. I could go back to sleep for an hour. And I did.
On Thursday morning, we all hopped on a bus bound for Algeciras, where we boarded a ferry to take us to Morocco. The ferry was enormous had the most amazing, freshest glazed donuts I’ve ever eaten. :-) Not to mention the musical blast-from-the-past playlist coming through the speakers:
TLC-No Scrubs
Sisqo-The Thong Song
Will Smith-Just the Two of Us
Jennifer Lopez-If You Had My Love
Kevin Lyttle-Turn Me On
Marc Anthony-I Need to Know
LL Cool J-Control Myself
Black Eyed Peas-Hey Mama
Upon arriving at the border of Morocco, I exchanged 30 euros for 331 dirhams. We drove to Tetuán and were greeted in our hotel with some mint green tea and date-filled cookies. We drank this tea 3 times within 4 hours...
We met up with our Moroccan tour guide, Jamal, and he took us to “La Escuela Taller de Tetuán,” a workshop/school where they learn to make jewelry, tapestries, plaster and wood sculptures, etc.
For lunch, we had some typical Moroccan food...couscous, vegetables, chicken, some soup that kinda tasted like Chef BoyArDee, and beef kebabs. This is where Jamal helped us out with a little bit of Islamic culture. He began by telling us you couldn’t be from Morocco unless you had a son named Mohammed and a bicycle. And that women cost more than men...alive and dead ones. A rich man invited us into his home (palace) to take a look around. We learned that there are fountains in the middle of the house as well as music playing so that the children don’t hear their parents having sex. Interesting...
We walked through an outdoor market and had the opportunity to buy some handmade rugs. No price is final...you have to haggle. If you show interest in something, a salesperson will take you somewhere private where you can debate prices. A girl from my program got this gorgeous tablecloth and another rug for 90euros total, while another boy paid 160euros for the tablecloth alone. It made me feel really uncomfortable/claustrophobic...you can’t look at anything without someone breathing down your neck saying: “10 dirham, 1 euro, special student price, very cheap, you like, no?” I ended up spending less than my 30euros...I bought some tea, a handmade blanket, and a bracelet.
On Friday, we had a company visit in Tánger at Tulantex, a textile factory where they make professional uniforms (eg. the streetcleaner uniforms). The visit was very poorly run. We basically barged into this factory while people were doing their job (that they earn a depressing 200euros a month for) and treated them like they were an exhibit at the zoo. We were obviously a huge distraction for the workers, and I think the whole thing made us look disrespectful and inconsiderate.
The trip took a dramatic turn for the better after the visit when we got the chance to ride camels! We also got to visit Hercules’ caves...Looking out the cave at the ocean, you can see the map of Africa in reverse Here's my best attempt to capture that:
The best part of the whole trip was Friday night, where we got to have a cultural exchange with some Muslim students studying Spanish at a Cervantes Institute. We went to a local café, drank some more tea, and talked in Spanish. The girl that I talked with and I got along really well. We talked about our different cultures/lives/experiences, and when it was time to leave, she started crying and told me she hoped I would return and stay with her to talk to her family. It was really cool to feel the impact I was able to have on her in an hour and a half.
Saturday, we traveled to Chaouen, a small town nestled in the mountains with bright blue streets and white buildings. They paint the streets every 15 days, so they always look clean. I don’t even know how to describe how beautiful it was. We got to experience a little more of the Moroccan gastronomy ...we ate tortillas filled with pulled chicken and rice and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon. After lunch, some girls and I got henna tattoos. Haha.
Now, it’s Sunday...I have a ton of homework to do for tomorrow, but we’re going to have a photo party to exchange all of the pictures from the trips and smoke some shisha...because like 25 people bought hookahs in Morocco. Tonight, we’re going to go out for Mexican food and go see this movie...it’s been nominated for an Academy Award.

posted by Erin @ 10:44 AM