"It's our last night in Morocco. I'm sitting downstairs.
I heard people speaking in Italian so I came down here and started to write in my journal. I wanted to talk to them so badly, and then I remembered a quote a really good friend showed me:
And you know what? I got that insane courage to talk to them. One of them studies at Bologna, and another is from Ferrara! I love interactions like this.
Yesterday we did our excursion. We were expecting to go to the desert and ride a camel, but we ended up having a 5 hour drive - each way - to an incredible Kasbah made out of mud. We saw mountains with snow, and breathtaking landscapes.
We had people on our bus from Uruguay, South Africa, and Australia. Everyone was so nice. We all sat in the back 4 seats. We snacked on mixed nuts - almonds, peanuts, sugared peanuts - and dates.
We climbed up to the top of the village, which was awesome. To get to it, we had to walk on very cobbled streets through the town, then step on stones and ruck sacks filled with sand (to cross the river). We went up so many stairs to get to the top.
The steps were really far apart, and doorways were short. The doorways also had a raised board at the bottom of the door frame, so you had to step over the board and duck to get through every doorway. This was in case the village was attacked (people wouldn't be able to charge a room).
Not many people live in the village, because if it floods above the bridge, then everyone is stuck.
The Italians asked me if I wanted to eat dinner with them, but I already ate :("
"I stopped writing because the girls came downstairs and we all started talking. I'm at the airport in Madrid now, waiting for the plane, and I just finished talking with a girl named Jacqueline Silvia. She has lived in Bologna for 15 years, but wants to return to Ecuador.
After all of us went to the Kasbah, we hopped back on the bus and went to a super touristy city where some people in our group had lunch, and we went and walked around for a bit. We eventually sat in the shade alongside the main road, where we people watched and finished the mixed nuts.
We talked about our thoughts, what we were feeling, and thinking. We then made our way back to the van, where the two guys from Uruguay showed up and told us they finishing 8 months of travel around the world, including California.
They're architecture students. They gave me hope and taught me things. I don't know their names.
When we were leaving the Kasbah, I talked to one of the guys from Australia for a bit. Him and his friends were traveling for 6 months before they started work. We had a great convo on the differences between the USA, Italy, and Australia. I don't know his name either.
When everyone was getting back from lunch, our driver told us we had to get on another bus, to go back to Marrakech, and then we realized everyone in our car was going to the Sahara. Before everyone came over though, a guy came and played music for us.
His instrument, sounded like a banjo, and he tapped his foot on the ground to make a beat. In his chorus he would sing "How are you?" It was great, but after he paused and waited for money with a huge smile on his face.
We literally had none, so he kept playing. That's when our driver came. I grabbed our jackets from the backseat and we headed to the other car/van.
The car was full of guys and one girl. A mix of people from Canada, Australia, and the East Coast. At first we talked to the people in front of us about where we were from, our majors, and the education system.
Kelly and I then talked about what we've learned here, and various experiences, while Stella slept and Gaby talked with the people up front. Eventually, when it got darker, we started talking with the guys in the backseat.
We talked about music -- whether we would rather see Coldplay, Mumford and Sons, or Florence and the Machine in concert). I brought up if any of them had heard of Cat Empire and one guy from Australia was shocked I knew who they were. He called me "One cool Sheila."
There were two guys behind Kelly and I who were really interesting. I talked with one of them for a bit about music. I said Mumford and Sons was my essence, he said it was his too. I described how Bologna had a small community feel with the intellectual stimulation of a big city. He's from Canada. I don't know his name, but like all of my interactions in Marrakech, he changed me.
The van dropped everyone off, then dropped us near the big square. We headed back to the hostel for a bit to see if some guys from the East Coast wanted to hang out, but we didn't see them.
There were some guys chillin' on the couches and we asked them where a good place to eat for cheap was. They said the market at stand 31 or 34. We went to 31 and we sat super quickly at the back corner at a skinny and long stainless steel table.
We had bread, salsa, olives, cous cous, chicken/veggie tagine, skewers with raw veggies and sausages, fish, and grilled eggplant, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes. We drank mint tea. And Gaby got a coke.
I had to go back to the hostel to relax though because my back and my stomach tightened up. (Hey, when in Morocco!) Gaby stayed with me, while Stella and Kelly went out to browse again. The food was so incredible though. I took a shower. Gaby french braided my hair so it would be curly in the morning, and then I went to sleep.
We woke up the next morning, but decided to sleep in for a bit. There was no power. I had to sprint downstairs to the bathroom because the Moroccan food had gotten to me. I had to leave the door open a little bit to see... awkward.
At breakfast I ate so much. To our right there was a girl from Australia with blond hair sitting at the other table. We then headed out to the markets to look at the booths and find a museum. We passed a row of colored hides that were drying int he sun. I didn't want to spend the money on the museum, so I went and walked around by myself, which I was actually so glad to do.
I got hassled so much less, and had such positive interactions. I would get hassled at first, but once I put my hand on my chest/heart, and shook me head and said "No thank you," it got better. And although it was difficult for both parties, we understood each other. I went to one and started looking -- just to look. I talked to the guy in a super soft voice and we talked to each other about our lives and why we were in Marrakech.
He asked me how much I had to buy said object (I can't tell because it's one of your guys' gifts!) and I told him I couldn't do it because it was genuinely too expensive. He asked me how much I had, and he said it wasn't enough. I comforted him that I knew this and that's why I said I didn't have enough money. We talked for a little bit longer and he offered two of those items for HALF THE PRICE of one.
I was speechless. He said it was because I was so polite and nice."
To be continued...
