Stop 2: Casablanca, Morocco…but before going into details about our trip, I would like to say a few things about my grandmother. We had one day on the ship between Spain and Morocco, and on this day Chloe and I found out that our grandmother passed away. Part of me knows that this is what she wanted, after years of battling cancer and months of succumbing to the disease, I know that she was ready to move on. Nonetheless, I can’t even begin to describe how much I miss her and how affected my time at home in Colorado will be without her. I had a very difficult time not being with my family during this time and not being able to attend her service. I know that this is where I need to be and she would want nothing else for me though. It is so good to have Chloe here with me, and we had our own memorial time on the top deck of the ship for her. I can’t believe I won’t be able to tell her all about this adventure, have her there to watch me graduate in May, or invite her to my wedding one day. I can’t believe she will never sit with me in bed and read to me, or pull me into her embrace when I have nowhere else to go. These past few months, there have been countless times when I believe she is one of the only people who understands me, or has any desire to try to. I know that my upcoming battles will be immensely more difficult without her on my side. So grandma, wherever you are…I hope you’re exactly where you want to be, and I hope you’ve heard all the things that we’ve whispered to you in the darkness of the night. I miss you, and I love you.
So onto the latest adventure…The port we arrived at in Casablanca was much different than the one in Cadiz. In Cadiz we were around other passenger ships and only had to walk about 20 feet into town. In Casablanca were docked in a much more industrial port, with only carrier ships around us and a necessary shuttle to get out of the port area and into town. This made the first impression much less appealing than Cadiz. Chloe and I were both going on trips that left that afternoon, so we saw the ship into port and then went back to our rooms to get packed and ready. I boarded a bus with other Semester at Sea students that would take us on a 4-hour drive to the town of Marrakech. The drive was eye-opening, to say the least. We drive by shanty towns composed of a few small, desolate homes, and saw people and children walking around miles away from any sort of civilization. There were also tons of cows, mules, sheep, and goats, sometimes we would drive for 10 minutes without seeing anything, then suddenly see someone riding a mule in a field with absolutely nothing around them, and then see nothing again for miles after that. It was all very strange and I wondered what these people were doing or how they got so far away from their towns or villages. Once we arrived to our hotel in Marrakech, we explored the town a little, ate a good buffet-style dinner at the hotel, and went to bed early to prepare for the next day’s activities.
The next day, we awoke to have breakfast in our hotel; Moroccan pastries are far superior to the ones in Spain, if you ask me. We loaded onto the bus for a day of sightseeing. The morning began with a visit to The Saadian Tombs. These tombs are a popular attraction because of their beauty and decoration, and are the final resting places for many members of the Saadi Dynasty, including royalty and family and soldiers and servants. Although it was pretty, the entire area was crowded and too small for so many people. We took some pictures and quickly walked to our next stop, the Bahia Palace. This palace was sensational. This palace was built by a slave who rose to become grand vizier, it was looted after his death but there are still incredible remaining areas and gardens. The architecture was beautiful and the tangle of rooms and courtyards and corridors went on and on and on. I have no idea how we got into all of the areas or how we got out. We stopped for lunch at a terrific traditional Moroccan restaurant. I have no idea what we ate but it was delicious and consisted of a lot of chicken, spice, and large portions. We finished the meal with mint tea (delicious!), and headed out to the crazy souks of Marrakech. The souks are a winding maze of reed-covered bazaars, look like they came straight out of Aladdin, and are undoubtedly the easiest place to get lost in…ever. We tried to maintain a sense of direction and we went through countless little streets with vendors absolutely everywhere. We were shouted at from all directions and asked to “just look” at all sorts of traditional Moroccan goods- clothing, tea sets, carpets, scarves, wood carvings, jewelry, shoes, etc. I highly enjoyed the souks and loved interacting with the locals, even though every single Moroccan assumed we were British and would greet us by saying “fish and chips?” I had a great time bargaining with the vendors, who were clearly trying to rip us off, and would agree to almost any price if you just walked away after giving your final offer (sometimes they would even chase us through the souks to make a deal!), and I was able to buy souvenirs for all of my loved ones back home for under $100 American dollars. The souks eventually led us into the Djemaa El Fna Square, where there were more vendors, henna artists, snake charmers, musicians, and other entertainers. I was busy watching a snake charmer when before I knew it, his snake was around my shoulders and I was posing for photos with a snake around me and a cobra just a few feet away. The men then tried asking for way too much money and were angry when I argued “I have no money, and I didn’t ask you to put that thing on me!” Just a few minutes later, a man with a monkey on a leash put his monkey on my arm and I looked at him and firmly stated “I do not have any money. And you cannot just put a monkey on someone. Please get this off of me.” I bought a few postcards and stamps and hopped on the bus to go back to the hotel for dinner and a relaxing night at the hotel.
The next day, we drove into the palm groves. This was a day of activity and fun, and I really enjoyed it. We split our large group into four teams and had various competitions and games to play. We began by having a race to see who could navigate some obstacles while riding a camel, and I am proud to say that I represented my team well during this competition. We then played games of soccer, had ATV relay races, and then played donkey polo- which was a crazy mess of mules, Moroccans, and Americans with sticks, and was a highlight of the day. We drove ATV’s to lunch about 20 minutes away, and had an incredible meal in a little house where we all sat on pillows on the ground and ate with individual spoons out of huge group platters. I believe that everyone should eat this way! The locals played some great Moroccan music for us and we all lay on the pillows, extremely full, and enjoyed this time together. We went back after lunch and all rode camels, which was great fun, and eventually took the bus back to the hotel. That night about ten of us decided to attend “Chez Ali”- a big Moroccan production consisting of all sorts of entertainment. We walked through the gates of the Chez Ali location and were suddenly in a giant Moroccan square, completely constructed for the entertainment of tourists looking for a fun night out. This was like Moroccan Disneyland, or like a giant Moroccan-style Casa Bonita, for all my Coloradoans out there. We walked through a long “street” with singers, dancers, and musicians surrounding us, and sat down for food and drinks in a giant tent. The night ended by watching a big show in a central arena with fire eaters, belly dancers, horse-riding acrobats, a “flying carpet” and fireworks. It was a little ridiculous but SO much fun, and I’m really glad I decided to attend.
After breakfast the next day, we got on the bus for the long ride back to Casablanca. After searching all of our bags, we finally got back on the ship, and I waited for Chloe to return from her trip and relaxed for the rest of the evening. On Monday, our last day in Morocco, Chloe and I walked to the huge mosque in town. The walk was interesting, we were surprised by how dirty and impoverished and unkempt Casablanca was. We didn’t want to pay to take a tour of the inside of the mosque, but we loved exploring the outside and spent at least an hour walking around the entire building and taking pictures. We got back to the ship early so as to avoid any kinds of lines or potential of being late, and settled back into our cabins for our evening departure.
Now we are somewhere outside the west coast of Africa, and will arrive in Ghana on Tuesday morning. I am really looking forward to this port for many reasons- first, I am only doing day trips, no big overnights, so I will be able to spend a lot of time in the town and not be running around and trying to do extensive travel; second, the interport student and interport lecturer from Ghana that are currently on board are both very nice and interesting, and I am looking forward to spending more time with locals; and third, because this is the first time that SAS has gone to Ghana, and it will be the most Americans to be in Ghana at one time EVER, isn’t that incredible?
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Spain!
Hello everyone! So I’ve been on the ship for two and a half weeks now, and it’s definitely begun to feel like home. I boarded on Wednesday, August 27, to begin my work study position, and then helped all the other students board the next morning, so we could depart Halifax at 1700 hours on the 28th of August (Among other things, Semester at Sea has made me very efficient with the 24-hour time clock). The ship is nice- there are 9 classrooms, 2 dining areas, a pool, a gym, a library, and a computer lab- but everything is very small! There are also snack bars and various seating areas, like on the outside decks or a “piano lounge” in the middle of the ship.
Classes are good; they’re very interesting and small so there’s always a lot of discussion and involvement. I love traveling between class days because it makes our lessons very relevant and applicable. Everyone on the ship has to take global studies, and I am also taking anthropology of reproduction, intercultural communication, and the U.S. South. We go to class almost every day that we are at sea, and our schedule depends on alternating “A” and “B” days (i.e.- I have global studies and US south on A days, and intercultural communication and anthropology on B days). So far, we have had 6 days of classes, 3 of each day. In fact, because we don’t have class while in port and we have various days off like Neptune Day and Sea Olympics (more to come on those), we only have 46 days of class total during this 109 day voyage.
Enough about the ship, on to my adventures! I am rooming with my cousin, Chloe, who is a sophomore at Pepperdine and we are having a great time. We get along wonderfully, which I believe stems from the fact that we both strive for the best academically, but also want to absorb and experience the cultures when we are in port and out of class. Seasickness consumed me for awhile but I survived due to free motion sickness pills and no classes to worry about for the first couple days. On September 5, after eight days at sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean, we arrived in our first port of call- Cadiz, Spain. I took a tour sponsored by SAS called “Churches of Cadiz”, which was essentially a city tour with a focus on the churches and cathedrals in the city. It was a great way to be introduced to the city and see some of its greatest sights. After that, Chloe and I explored the city on our own, which only took a couple hours; Cadiz is very small. It was a wonderful representation of a small European town though- flower markets, lots of vespas zooming about, decorated balconies, tiny back streets of cobblestones, and gorgeous architecture everywhere. That night we went to a free flamenco show in the square by our ship, which was truly entrancing. We could not look away as the women took the stage in their beautiful dresses and men played live music behind them. After the dancers, multiple men came on stage and played guitar or sang. It was a fantastic way to spend our first night in Espana.
The next morning, Chloe and I began our independent Spanish adventure by catching a bus to Sevilla. After we found our way away from the bus station to the main part of Sevilla, we visited the enormous Sevilla Cathedral. This is the largest Cathedral in the world and proves so by displaying a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records. Chloe and I could have spent hours in there, it was more like a museum than a church, with all of its various sections dedicated to different people, art, and architecture. If you are ever in Spain, this is not something to miss. Especially with a discounted rate for students with a school ID! We then proceeded to our hostel, a tucked away place called “Oasis”. We found this hostel through the advice of the prior occupants of our room. It is tradition for the students to write on the back of the large picture hanging on the wall in each cabin, so the two girls who stayed in this room before us left the advice “In Spain, take the train to Sevilla, and stay at the Oasis hostel”, which is exactly what we did. The hostel was terrific, we met young people from all over the world- traveling and seeing the world, just like us. Our roommates were Australian, French, and Indian, and we all had a great time getting to know one another and exploring the city together. Chloe and I heard through the grapevine that there was a bullfight that night, and we hopped in a taxi to see it. For the sake of anyone reading this, I will spare the details, but it is fair to say that we were both horrified and fascinated by this event. The matadors are quite incredible, beautiful, talented, and graceful, but this display unfortunately ends up in a relatively gruesome death for multiple bulls. We then went to dinner and discovered the lengthy event that is a Spanish dinner- something we were not able to get used to even after eating multiple meals in the country.
The next morning we woke up early to get breakfast, and passed by a large church in the middle of a service. We joined in for some readings and communion, accepting “El cuerpo de Christo” (the body of Christ), before ducking out to see what else Sevilla had to offer. We checked out Casa de Pilatos, a large house that was legendary for its relation to Pontius Pilate. The entire ground floor consists of a grand courtyard, gardens, and multiple rooms COMPLETELY covered in tile. It was absolutely gorgeous and consumed us for hours. One of the best things about Spanish culture is the traditional Siesta, which Chloe and I had no problem participating in that afternoon. We had new hostel roommates who joined us for paella dinner on the rooftop of our hotel, a local flamenco show, and a fun night out in the squares around Sevilla.
We packed up the next morning in preparation for our bus back to Cadiz, but began the day by going to the Real Alcazar, a palace that is absolutely gigantic and far too easy to get lost in (and free for students with ID!). Parts of the architecture date back to AD 913 and the splendor of this palace is indescribable. We quickly made friends with a gardener, Raphael, who became our personal tour guide and catered to our very tight schedule. We pointed to a picture in the guidebook, he said a bunch of stuff in very fast Spanish, and then took off through the maze of rooms and gardens to take us to the spot we were looking for. We read the description of the area, took pictures, tried to decipher what Raphael was telling us, and moved on. We made it to the bus stop for an early afternoon bus and arrived back in Cadiz around 1530 hours, plenty early for the mandatory on-ship time of 1800 hours.
So then the ship set sail again. The seasickness came back and I was in bed early! Sevilla was incredible and Chloe and I agree that we had a successful first trip which we were proud to have planned and executed on our own. Besides the long meals, very fast Spanish, and intolerance of many of the locals (waiters, taxi drivers, store owners) towards our broken Spanish and unfamiliarity with the city, we had a wonderful time finding our way around southern Spain. There are a few things we are planning to bring from Spain to the US- painted wooden fans, flamenco dresses, and siesta time, to name a few.
Rather than going back to class after Spain, the shipboard community participated in “Morocco Day” during the one day it took to get from Spain to Morocco. This day consisted of a guest speaker, a movie, and multiple meetings relating to the culture of Morocco and the logistics of being a Semester at Sea student in Morocco. Only 36 hours after leaving Cadiz, we arrived in Casablanca, Morocco. And that is where this long entry ends. I will write again when we set sail from Casablanca!
Classes are good; they’re very interesting and small so there’s always a lot of discussion and involvement. I love traveling between class days because it makes our lessons very relevant and applicable. Everyone on the ship has to take global studies, and I am also taking anthropology of reproduction, intercultural communication, and the U.S. South. We go to class almost every day that we are at sea, and our schedule depends on alternating “A” and “B” days (i.e.- I have global studies and US south on A days, and intercultural communication and anthropology on B days). So far, we have had 6 days of classes, 3 of each day. In fact, because we don’t have class while in port and we have various days off like Neptune Day and Sea Olympics (more to come on those), we only have 46 days of class total during this 109 day voyage.
Enough about the ship, on to my adventures! I am rooming with my cousin, Chloe, who is a sophomore at Pepperdine and we are having a great time. We get along wonderfully, which I believe stems from the fact that we both strive for the best academically, but also want to absorb and experience the cultures when we are in port and out of class. Seasickness consumed me for awhile but I survived due to free motion sickness pills and no classes to worry about for the first couple days. On September 5, after eight days at sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean, we arrived in our first port of call- Cadiz, Spain. I took a tour sponsored by SAS called “Churches of Cadiz”, which was essentially a city tour with a focus on the churches and cathedrals in the city. It was a great way to be introduced to the city and see some of its greatest sights. After that, Chloe and I explored the city on our own, which only took a couple hours; Cadiz is very small. It was a wonderful representation of a small European town though- flower markets, lots of vespas zooming about, decorated balconies, tiny back streets of cobblestones, and gorgeous architecture everywhere. That night we went to a free flamenco show in the square by our ship, which was truly entrancing. We could not look away as the women took the stage in their beautiful dresses and men played live music behind them. After the dancers, multiple men came on stage and played guitar or sang. It was a fantastic way to spend our first night in Espana.
The next morning, Chloe and I began our independent Spanish adventure by catching a bus to Sevilla. After we found our way away from the bus station to the main part of Sevilla, we visited the enormous Sevilla Cathedral. This is the largest Cathedral in the world and proves so by displaying a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records. Chloe and I could have spent hours in there, it was more like a museum than a church, with all of its various sections dedicated to different people, art, and architecture. If you are ever in Spain, this is not something to miss. Especially with a discounted rate for students with a school ID! We then proceeded to our hostel, a tucked away place called “Oasis”. We found this hostel through the advice of the prior occupants of our room. It is tradition for the students to write on the back of the large picture hanging on the wall in each cabin, so the two girls who stayed in this room before us left the advice “In Spain, take the train to Sevilla, and stay at the Oasis hostel”, which is exactly what we did. The hostel was terrific, we met young people from all over the world- traveling and seeing the world, just like us. Our roommates were Australian, French, and Indian, and we all had a great time getting to know one another and exploring the city together. Chloe and I heard through the grapevine that there was a bullfight that night, and we hopped in a taxi to see it. For the sake of anyone reading this, I will spare the details, but it is fair to say that we were both horrified and fascinated by this event. The matadors are quite incredible, beautiful, talented, and graceful, but this display unfortunately ends up in a relatively gruesome death for multiple bulls. We then went to dinner and discovered the lengthy event that is a Spanish dinner- something we were not able to get used to even after eating multiple meals in the country.
The next morning we woke up early to get breakfast, and passed by a large church in the middle of a service. We joined in for some readings and communion, accepting “El cuerpo de Christo” (the body of Christ), before ducking out to see what else Sevilla had to offer. We checked out Casa de Pilatos, a large house that was legendary for its relation to Pontius Pilate. The entire ground floor consists of a grand courtyard, gardens, and multiple rooms COMPLETELY covered in tile. It was absolutely gorgeous and consumed us for hours. One of the best things about Spanish culture is the traditional Siesta, which Chloe and I had no problem participating in that afternoon. We had new hostel roommates who joined us for paella dinner on the rooftop of our hotel, a local flamenco show, and a fun night out in the squares around Sevilla.
We packed up the next morning in preparation for our bus back to Cadiz, but began the day by going to the Real Alcazar, a palace that is absolutely gigantic and far too easy to get lost in (and free for students with ID!). Parts of the architecture date back to AD 913 and the splendor of this palace is indescribable. We quickly made friends with a gardener, Raphael, who became our personal tour guide and catered to our very tight schedule. We pointed to a picture in the guidebook, he said a bunch of stuff in very fast Spanish, and then took off through the maze of rooms and gardens to take us to the spot we were looking for. We read the description of the area, took pictures, tried to decipher what Raphael was telling us, and moved on. We made it to the bus stop for an early afternoon bus and arrived back in Cadiz around 1530 hours, plenty early for the mandatory on-ship time of 1800 hours.
So then the ship set sail again. The seasickness came back and I was in bed early! Sevilla was incredible and Chloe and I agree that we had a successful first trip which we were proud to have planned and executed on our own. Besides the long meals, very fast Spanish, and intolerance of many of the locals (waiters, taxi drivers, store owners) towards our broken Spanish and unfamiliarity with the city, we had a wonderful time finding our way around southern Spain. There are a few things we are planning to bring from Spain to the US- painted wooden fans, flamenco dresses, and siesta time, to name a few.
Rather than going back to class after Spain, the shipboard community participated in “Morocco Day” during the one day it took to get from Spain to Morocco. This day consisted of a guest speaker, a movie, and multiple meetings relating to the culture of Morocco and the logistics of being a Semester at Sea student in Morocco. Only 36 hours after leaving Cadiz, we arrived in Casablanca, Morocco. And that is where this long entry ends. I will write again when we set sail from Casablanca!
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