This Title Should Be in Arabic

I'm a couple days behind, but I just got back from a 5-day trip to Morocco, sponsored by IES (my study abroad program)...So as not to go through each day with a fine-toothed comb, here's a few highlights:

•Gibraltar- We started by driving from Granada to Gibraltar so we'd be ready to brave the strait over to Morocco the following day. Turns out this place was well worth a stopover, as Gibraltar is basically an alternate universe. As a bit of background, it's a British possession on the tip of Spain, in sight of Morocco. We played with monkeys, walked through some caves complete with an auditorium inside, talked to our guide in Spanglish (the actual language), climbed the rock of Gibraltar, and ate at a pub that offered fish and chips, sangria, and curry. I've been trying to describe this place for a couple of days, and haven't come up with anything better than a comparison to a dream in which you can't quite explain to others what was wrong with the situation. The mixture of Spaniards, Englishmen, Arabs, Jews, Genoese, and Indians probably had something to do with it. It was also founded by Hercules.

•Camel rides- Tourist thrill, but still fun. Especially after working with a camel all of last summer that I never got to ride.

•Home-stay families- Part of this trip was living with Moroccan families in Rabat, the capital, for 2 days. Because of a mixup, I ended up with 2 different families, which was fine. The first lived in an old house, with an open patio, tall ceilings, and rooms with bed/couches lining the walls. The second family consisted of a young couple, who showed my roommate and I their wedding album and let us try on wedding dresses. However, the highlight was trying to communicate with a 9 year old neighbor who was just learning English. I attempted to say some really impressive things in Arabic ("I like green tea"/"My name is"), which I'm starting to study, so we finally got him to ask us a couple of questions and talk about football.

•Wandering around Rabat's market with some university students. I spent most of my time talking to two sisters, one of which spoke English, and the other who spoke Spanish. It was an interesting language triangle consisting of Arabic, French, English, and Spanish. This was just one of many experiences which impressed upon me the importance that Moroccans place on learning languages. Most people with any education are fluent in Arabic and French, and most also can speak some or all of the following: English, Spanish, Berber, German, Italian.

•Visit to a rural town- We got the chance to eat in a family's home and ask them questions. It was just really nice to get out of the city for a little while, and wander among the donkeys, chickens, and mountains.

•Bargaining- Definitely an activity that everyone should try at least once in their life.

This trip was one reason I chose to study in Granada, and I think it was well worth it. I was really impressed by how well everything was coordinated, and the chances to talk to *gasp* Moroccans. My program is not equally as good at that in Granada; it's been a little difficult to meet Spaniards, as we haven't been given many opportunities through IES, outside of professors and host families.

Some pictures!














Monkeys in Gibraltar.














The view from the hike up the rock of Gibraltar.


















Lest I forget to mention the food. We ate cous-cous, pictured here, three times.














A sampling of what the markets looked like.















Some camels forlornly looking at their fellows, who are being ridden by us.


















The room where I slept in the first house.













Walk in the countryside.














A view of Chefchaouen, our final stop. I only wish it had an "i" in its name.

I Didn't Go to Bruges

So my first adventure out of Spain was to the lovely city of Brussels to visit my dear friend Emily H, who I have mentioned a few times in this blog. But lest you think everything was charming and wonderful, let me recount my journey there.

Granada is a hard city to travel out of. It has a tiny airport, much like that of Binghamton, with 3 gates. Nor is it on the high speed rail line, though it does have a good bus station, with lots of useful buses. My plan was to take a bus from Granada to Málaga, which has a big airport, to catch a plane at 11:45 am. Took the bus at 8, which got me there at 10, a little late. Waited for 20 minutes to catch the bus from the bus station to the airport, got a little worried. Traveled for 40 minutes to get to the airport because of construction, got a lot worried. Walked up to departures and realized I had no idea what to do because I had booked with an obscure airline, panicked. I ran around for 10 minutes before finding the right desk, only to find out at the next desk over that it had closed 10 minutes ago and I couldn't check in to my flight that hadn't even started boarding yet. (Lesson learned.)

So, completely and absolutely calm, I headed over to information, where I was given my airline's number and was told that the next flight to Brussels on a different airline left around 2. I went to that airline's office, where 2 of the people that had previously told me that I couldn't check in told me that I couldn't talk to someone until 12. Believing that this unknown worker was on break until 12, I waited until 12:30, when the same two people shifted over a desk and beckoned me to come talk to them. Long story short, I bought another ticket from them and boarded without a problem. Except that I had locked my phone by turning it off for the flight, and didn't remember the key to open it.

Once I got to Brussels National, I wandered around the airport for a half hour trying to find the buses. Found them, got off at the right stop, and asked for directions from various store owners, since I had Emily's address and no phone. I managed to find her at last, and collapsed exhausted with some bread and cheese.

We met Mike at the train station later (see his post for his fun travel stories that also involve buying another ticket) and proceeded to have a great weekend! Brussels is a really beautiful city that gets the shaft because it's a stopping place for Paris, Bruges, etc. Public transportation is rather confusing, but everything's lovely, a bit quirky (Brussels claim to fame is a statue of a peeing boy), and delicious.

Some highlights:














Brussels is home to the EU, so there are lots of imposing glass buildings.














Touring the Parliament building. Security is really top-notch (nope) at the EU, but Emily's
interning there, so we had an in. This is a big room where they decide important things.


















Here's a couple of Brussel's really cool old buildings. We did lots of walking around, seeing the sights and staying warm.














We also went to Museum Night, where we had access to 14 museums in 5 hours...We did 4. The instrument museum was by far the coolest. You wandered around and listened to music from 1000s of different instruments on a headphone set while looking at said instruments.


















The instrument museum quickly turned into a dance party. This picture is great- it serves for purposes of anonymity and hilarity.

Other highlights included food/drink. I had a healthy array of Belgian waffles, Belgian chocolate, hot chocolate, french fries with mayonnaise, pastries, bread, cheese, and Belgian beer. Not all together. Though I did eat some chocolate for breakfast.