Well. I haven't officially described to you all my experiences in Madrid and Morocco, and I think it's time I do that.
I kept putting it off, because there's so much to say.
The first night I arrived in Madrid, I hopped on the metro and headed to Gaby's place. She was staying in an apartment with a host mom.
Her host mom was so cool. She is a tiny, sassy, politically charged, yet loving Spanish woman who could be so loud and quiet all at the same time. She was a sucker for trashy Spanish love movies, and had style like none other.
That night Gaby and I strolled around Madrid for a bit. And ate this amazing friend fish and drank this sangria-like drink. It was so good.
The plane ride was incredible. Seeing Spain from above gave a new perspective. It's kind of flat, a little bit red, and a bit dry. Seeing the straight between AFRICA and Spain was surreal. When flying into Morocco, I saw slums -- in person -- for the first time.
When we were talking about going to dinner, one tall and skinny guy, with long thick brown/gold dirty hair, asked us if he could join us for dinner. His name is Tony.
Before he asked, he introduced himself to everyone. He is quite an incredible person. As in, one of the most amazing people I've ever met.
After Tony talked to him, got to know him, and learned his side of the situation, we were offered a discount if we came back to the restaurant. We kept checking out different places, but they were more expensive. We started realizing that the first place was cheaper."
Stella got a whole meal, Gaby lemon chicken, and Tony skewers. We all shared a little bit of our plates with each other. To drink we had bottled water and more mint tea. We had chocolate cakes, a lemon tart on a shortbread crust. We also got two free yogurt/fruit dishes for free. All with a 20% discount.
Today was eye-opening. The city is beautiful and chaotically organized, and smells disgustingly good. Everything is so crazy and overwhelming, but it's so interesting.
I kept putting it off, because there's so much to say.
The first night I arrived in Madrid, I hopped on the metro and headed to Gaby's place. She was staying in an apartment with a host mom.
Her host mom was so cool. She is a tiny, sassy, politically charged, yet loving Spanish woman who could be so loud and quiet all at the same time. She was a sucker for trashy Spanish love movies, and had style like none other.
That night Gaby and I strolled around Madrid for a bit. And ate this amazing friend fish and drank this sangria-like drink. It was so good.
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| Plaza del Sol |
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| Christmas Markets being set up. Since Europe doesn't have Thanksgiving, all of the decorations start being put out at the end of November. They slowly unpack themselves. First the lights, then the booths for the Christmas Markets, and then the store decorations. |
We then kept walking, and stopped to get some churros and hot chocolate. It was so delicious. There were a couple guys there from the US who noticed our accent and started talking with us from across the room. It was kind of awkward. But still cool to meet some other people from the States.
Morocco Day 1: (From my Journal):
"Being in Morocco has been a crazy experience so far. Gaby and I left for the airport, and stopped for sandwiches inside the airport. I got a potato omelet baguette. So good. We then found our gate and sat for a little bit and then I saw Kelly and Stella.
The plane ride was incredible. Seeing Spain from above gave a new perspective. It's kind of flat, a little bit red, and a bit dry. Seeing the straight between AFRICA and Spain was surreal. When flying into Morocco, I saw slums -- in person -- for the first time.
The taxi experience, was well... an experience. Horses, vespas, bikes, pedestrians, cars, and buses all shared the highway. And people don't really follow the distinct lanes, it's kind of just a suggestion.
He dropped us off, and we "wandered" for a bit. The moment we got out of the taxi, the local guides immediately went for us. I mean, we kind of scream "foreigners." One eventually said he would show us how to get to our hostel without charging us, but he ended up asking us for money, but the hostel owners helped us with that situation.
He dropped us off, and we "wandered" for a bit. The moment we got out of the taxi, the local guides immediately went for us. I mean, we kind of scream "foreigners." One eventually said he would show us how to get to our hostel without charging us, but he ended up asking us for money, but the hostel owners helped us with that situation.
We figured out our excursion details for tomorrow, but when we first arrived we were greeted with mint tea, it was delicious. To our right there was a group of guys sitting on the couch smoking hash.
We paid for our room. I'm lying on my bed now. It's room is in a "U"/half moon shape and the door is at the the arc of the U. I'm on the left side of the room against the wall.
When we were talking about going to dinner, one tall and skinny guy, with long thick brown/gold dirty hair, asked us if he could join us for dinner. His name is Tony.
Before he asked, he introduced himself to everyone. He is quite an incredible person. As in, one of the most amazing people I've ever met.
As we were walking to dinner, he told us that for 8 weeks, he had been taking a Vespa from Amsterdam/Holland to Morocco. He's heading back tomorrow.
He has a website where he puts videos and he's going to make a movie:
www.morgendoeikhet.nl
www.morgendoeikhet.nl
The main square is huge and full of booths. We wandered for a bit, found an atm, and looked for a restaurant. Everyone seems so confrontational at first, and one person in particular -- who we ignored and then Tony started talking to him -- was saying, "Do you think I like this job? Do you think I like doing this?"
After Tony talked to him, got to know him, and learned his side of the situation, we were offered a discount if we came back to the restaurant. We kept checking out different places, but they were more expensive. We started realizing that the first place was cheaper."
The whole time we were figuring this out, Tony was trying to understand our thought process, why we were interacting with people so harshly, and why we weren't being more open.
"So we went back to the first place, and they were so grateful, and it's beyond understandable. When you think of so many years of suppression, and then trying, or more so being forced, to assimilate to tourism, there are so many pressures and terrible changes that surface.
The roof was beautiful. We could have sat at a red lit room, but we went closer to the balcony. The terrace was covered, our table was huge.
Typical Moroccan lamps hung from the outdoor ceiling. There were candles and roses on the tables, and a flame thrower for entertainment. (As beautiful as this was, it felt so wrong for me to be there). The food was delicious. I got tagine with onions and raisens, which was this amazing beef that fell to pieces when you cut it. I shared that and a salad with Kelly.
Stella got a whole meal, Gaby lemon chicken, and Tony skewers. We all shared a little bit of our plates with each other. To drink we had bottled water and more mint tea. We had chocolate cakes, a lemon tart on a shortbread crust. We also got two free yogurt/fruit dishes for free. All with a 20% discount.
At dinner we explained what Thanksgiving is to Tony, and then went around the table and said what we were thankful for.
Afterward, we lingered outside. Tony rode one of the guy's vespa. There was a guy (a friend of the guy who had originally convinced us to eat there) who told Kelly he'd give her family 1,000 camels if he could marry her. Gaby promptly (and jokingly) replied by saying, "How would your mother feel if you didn't come home one day because you married someone? She would kill you wouldn't she?" That eased the conversation. It eased our cultural differences. We all laughed.
The guy kept saying how beautiful Kelly was. The guy who originally flagged us down, then looked at me and said, "Oh no, I want her, she has diamonds in her eyes." Oh, Morocco.
We all started joking around together and quoting Borat and giving each other high fives. We then looked around the plaza and got some dried fruit and nuts. After, we wandered around trying to find our hostel. Tony had headed off to go back to the hostel, and all of the landmarks that we had used during the day to navigate to the hostel were gone, because it was 1. dark, and 2. shops were closed.
We all started joking around together and quoting Borat and giving each other high fives. We then looked around the plaza and got some dried fruit and nuts. After, we wandered around trying to find our hostel. Tony had headed off to go back to the hostel, and all of the landmarks that we had used during the day to navigate to the hostel were gone, because it was 1. dark, and 2. shops were closed.
Today was eye-opening. The city is beautiful and chaotically organized, and smells disgustingly good. Everything is so crazy and overwhelming, but it's so interesting.
At first, you don't know what to do with it, and then you trust people more, and realize where they're coming from and it gets better. Dealing with men is interesting. The streets are nuts."
Imagine tiny little streets, filled with vespas, people walking, donkey and horses pulling carts, shops, people asking and pleading for you to buy something from them, guys cat-calling you, people telling you where the nearest landmark is, the smell of spices, steam, smoke, trash, horse and donkey shit, and the sound of drums and horns.
"Everything is so condensed. But so beautiful. I learned so much from Tony today. To just live and do what makes you happy and to trust people. That is so important. Trust. Because we are all just trying to live."
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