It's Time for Africa

Hey people,

I just got back from Morocco how insanely cool is that? First I had another six hour bus trip at 1 AM followed by me sitting in Starbucks for six hours. Then the discover excursions people finally came and we were off on another bus, then a ferry, then another bus until we finally got to our hotel in Tetuan. We had traditional Moroccan food the whole trip, which was not as bad or weird as I thought it would be but it was all surprisingly sweet. The next morning we were up and on the bus again to the city of Chefcaouen- the blue city.

you can see Morocco from Spain

It was really all blue and full of lots of shops, people harassing you to buy things and cats (so many cats). We went on a tour and then hiked all the way up a mountain, which was unexpected but still fun. Then we had way too much free time to shop in a not very big area and I almost forgot to mention that it was really, really cold. It would probably not have been so cold had we not thought we were going to the dessert and dressed accordingly. Anyway shopping there was definitely a new experience, everyone spoke Arabic, French, English and Spanish and usually a combination of all four when trying to communicate. They also accept all forms of currency- you can even pay with two at once if you figure out the conversion. Bartering did not go too successfully because everything was so cheap to begin with that I kept forgetting it could have been even cheaper. That night we saw some traditional performers at dinner and Discover Excursions hosted us a sangria party and then we all went to bed- sooo tired.

Me and Meaghan

So much blue!

some dye

View from the top of the mountain

The next day we headed to another city, Tangiers, to ride camels and see the cave of Hercules. This city was really different- we only drove through it but you could still see it- around 80% of the population lives in poverty and after driving through their section for a long time we drove by the kings palace right next to it. I feel like most of the places I go to are not like that so it was really bizarre and sad seeing it. Any way, camel riding was fun but also scary- they're way taller than you'd think. The cave of Hercules (where he supposedly held up the sky) was pretty cool and it has a natural cave opening that is an exact outline of Africa in reverse- weird. Our final city was Assilah, right on the beach and where all the Europeans vacation in the summer. We did some last minute shopping before making the long journey back home again.

Lighthouse- Spain's in the distance

Me on a camel!!

my new friend

Cave of Hercules

Assilah

Morocco was definitely not what I expected it to be although I can't really explain what I thought it would be. Maybe I thought it would seem more African than it was because I usually associate Arabic with the middle east even though I know it's in Africa too. It was also the most different place I've ever been to- probably because I've only been to Europe and America so far. It was such an amazing experience and it was definitely worth the insane amount of traveling I did to get there.

Love,
Sam

Yay Friends!!!

Hey people,

Sorry it's been a while again but I literally have so much work to do since the semester's almost over
:( But this past weekend was awesome because I got to see Caroline, Peter and Lexi!!! Before that though I also went to El Escorial on Friday morning. El Escorial is a monastery and also was previously the summer palace when it was built in the 16th/17th century. I saw the library, which is the second most important Christian library after the Vatican and has lots of original manuscripts- the oldest from the 5th century. I also saw the royal crypt which was incredibly cool and also really gross but I won't talk about that here haha. That was about it before I headed back to Madrid and to the airport to pick up Peter and Caroline.

El Escorial

The first night we went to El Tigre at like 1 AM and then to Dubliners of course. The next day was packed with all the Madrid things I could think of- Sol, Plaza Mayor, the royal Palace, and Retiro park. It was also a holiday (patron saint of Madrid?) so there were tons of people everywhere. The best thing though was renting a row boat in Retiro and we didn't even crash. Then we headed back to the airport to get Lexi and eat dinner at Tierra and basically just hang out. Unfortunately Lexi had to leave after only a couple of hours but I am so glad we all got to be together it was so fun and I missed everyone so much.

Peter and Caroline rowing

Everyone together again :)

Templo de Debod

Our last day we went to the Egyptian Temple of Debod and did some shopping before Caroline and Peter needed to leave too. It was a great weekend before having to go back to all my work, which is unfortunately what I have to do right now too. I will write again after this weekend because I'm going to Morocco so I'll definitely have some great stories to tell.

Love,
Sam

Gooooool!!!!

Hey people,

Sorry I haven't written in a while but nothing much has been going on here besides homework and laziness. Last week I did get to do something super awesome though- I went to a fútbol game!! It was Real Madrid vs. Sevilla. I know that Spanish people are crazy about soccer but you can't fully understand until you go to an actual game. They were screaming and chanting and singing the entire game- one guy even brought a drum to encourage his section. There was only one fight that I noticed but I thought for sure the one lady rooting for Sevilla in our section was going to die (she didn't).

Me in the front row!!

Then there was the actual game itself- me and Meaghan were sitting in the front row because the ticket guy clearly loved us. I had a jersey with a random new British player on it because clearly I know nothing about soccer and the store was out of Ronaldo shirts so the saleswoman was like "hey this guy's British" although I don't know how she knew that would work. Anyway my new favorite player, Bale, ended up scoring the first 2 goals (spelt gool in Spanish apparently, my title is not just a stupid spelling mistake). At the end of the game we won 7-3 and it was, according to everyone I talked to, the most exciting game of the season. I completely agree and add that it was the most exciting sporting event that I have ever been to yay fútbol!!!

Actiony shot

Celebrating after a goal

Next weekend things will pick back up when Peter and Caroline and maybe even Lexi come visit me!!!

Love,
Sam