Random videos- and catchin up :)

The Blythe's in Spain

1. The family in front of the pool at the Alhambra.
2. Us kids and Dad figuring out the city with the map!
3. Us kids in front of some grafitti in a plaza.
4. At the beach in Malaga!
5. The family in front of the bus stop!
6. My beautiful parents in front of a fountain.
7. Us kids at a discoteca!
Since I don't want to spend much time on the computer with my family being here and all, I figured i'd just upload some pictures for Grandpa and Grandma to look at :) Here you go! Enjoy! love you!

Updates, Updates, Updates.

So this is Paco, my 71 year old host-dad... blowing bubbles with his grandson, Curro, at our dinner table. It was one of the most adorable things i've ever witnessed in my life... and you can hear Maria in the background. Seeing them interact with their grandson was so neat to watch....i'd never seen them act that way! So loving, and they were bending over backwards for him. They were just like any other grandparents. :)

So as far as updates..ill start with two nights ago :). Tuesday night... It was a LONG day. I was at the school building from 8:30 in the morning to 9:30 at night! Granted, i had two small hour breaks inbetween, but it was a long one! Anyway, it was the end of the day, and I was waiting for Alex to get out of her class. She had told me that she would meet me in the lobby of our school... but for some reason I wanted to wait for her outside instead. It was a nice night, and that way she didn't have to walk all the way into the building. It was taking her her a while to get out of class, and I stood by the side of the street for about fifteen minutes. I was fine with it, just people watching is always fun :) As I was people watching, I noticed a little old lady trying to cross the street. She had a walker in each hand.. and was walking SO slow, struggling tons. I was about to go help her, and then at the same time there was a car pulling out of an alley right to her left. She had her back turned, so she had no idea this vehicle was on its way to hit her. While witnessing this I had so many different thoughts flying through my head. Try and stop the car myself? Run to the old lady first and catch her as she falls? Or try to make it to the car in time to hit on the drivers window... I picked the last option. I ran into the street, screamed, and hit on the window. They screeched to a halt, and the sweet elderly lady got to live another beautiful day in Granada. She finally realized what had almost happened. She yelled, "Gracias!" And I responded with a an appropriate coloquial response, "Nada!" It was just kinda a neat reminder, we are all in the right place at the right time.. according to God's plan. If Alex hadn't had been running late, or if I would have chosen to wait inside as I had told her... I could have missed out on being able to help this woman! So thankyou Jesus, for pefectly orchestrating our lives according to your plan. :)

Secondly, The other night I went out for tapas with Chris, Ben, Robert, and a local waiter at a cafe here in town- named Maurrecio! We spent about two hours speaking in SPANISH. He was originally from Argentina, so it was interesting to hear his story- Especially the differences between Argentina and Spain. He helped us a bit with our Spanish... and it was super fun! When we greeted each other, (the Spaniard) it is custom to do a kiss on each cheek. Well, we did so, but when I went in for the second *kiss *kiss, he stood back. It was so awkward! He then proceeded to tell me that since he was from Argentina, he's not used to the kisskiss thing yet. It was funny after that... and kind of neat because I was WEIRDED out by him not doing the proper customs! That sure means I am getting used to it over here. :) Its nights like those that make this experience even more worthwile. Making those memories and relationships with actual PEOPLE are going to be the ones that really influence me and give me stories to bring back home.

Yesterday Paco and Maria's grandson was over here, as I mentioned earlier. I really can't say enough about how much I enjoyed it. Seeing them interact made me feel like I was part of the family in a way... I could just feel the love and joy. It was contagious. I'm so fortunate to have the opportunity to have a home-stay!

Tonight at dinner we had plenty of laughs again... it was a good one! We had some great convos, and its so cool to see/hear how much better Alex is getting at her Spanish! She's so bright, and is catching on so fast. Also, Maria made this great egg/vegetable dish! They were deviled eggs and vegeatables. MMM MMM GOOD. It was my favorite meal yet! Super good. I think I'm about to ask Maria for my nightly hot chocolate. :) Alex and I are currently watching "He's just not that into You." Gotta induldge sometimes ;)

As in my last post, its still raining! I'm so sick of it... maybe my family will bring some sunshine to this country ;) I'm banking on it! They are on their way here right now! Its so crazy to think... I can't wait to hug them, and show them everything that i'm experiencing! I think I'm going to take them to the beach of Malaga on Saturday. We'll see how the weather holds up! Its supposed to be 60 and sunny! Tomorrow night we are going to a ba to listen to some live "latin jazz" music. I hope its good! I"m sure it will be :) Wednesday we are going to a Flamenco show... I'm pumped for that as well! So much to look forward to... and just seeing them will be more than enough. :) Until next time.

Rain, rain, go away....

Today is just another dreary Monday, rainy... the sun is trying to peep out behind the clouds, but is efforts aren't so successful. On my way home from class this morning I decided to snap a couple photos. The second picture is of the Plaza that I walk through everyday on my way to school. The trees are SO bare... because they trimmed off leaves to keep the pigeons from pooping in them. (Apparently the smell was horrible this fall). I think its just beautiful. The first picture is just a random tienda (store) on my way home. Its named "Eden"- and is comically a store for "big and tall men." Its absolutely crazy to think that I have been here for a month now. Time has gone by so fast! I feel as if I have only been here for two weeks... Its crazy. Also, when I look back on everything that I have done already... it blows my mind! I've been to Morocco AND Switzerland in the past month. Here's a few things that I have accomplished in the past month. :)
1. I managed to go 33 hours without sleep on the journey to Spain.
2. I packed my bags "lightly", and my check in bag weigh in at exactly 49.8 pounds
3. I have had conversations over the dinner table with Paco and Maria about the government of the United States vs. Spain, religion,about their love story, and the lives of the young people here (that was interesting).
4. I stayed with a Muslim family in Morocco for 3 days. Only one of them spoke limited English. I ate Cous-Cous, tried many different Moroccan foods, and LOVED Moroccan tea.
5. I rode a camel in Morocco as well... and almost had my nose chomped off.
6. I heard the call of prayer countless times in Morocco, and walked with the people towards the Mosque.
7. I saw the burial site of Muhammed V.
8. I got to pray, while taking in a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean sea.
9. I have eaten Paella, and tried to enjoy Flan here in Spain.
10. I got to ski in the Swiss Alps, eat Swiss cheese AND chocolate. (Also spent about 17 dollars at McDonald's there as well).
11. Accidently sat in first class on a very nice Swiss Train, then got scolded.
12. Slept in an airport.
13. Had the best birthday YET, while celebrating in Granada with my new friends... and got into a discoteca for FREE, due to my sweet talking skills in Spanish. ;)
14. Started class, and am currently learning about the society of the middle ages in Spain, as well as the prehistoric art forms. (Which I LOVE).
15. Been challenged to hold my breath and try to breathe through my shirt when Paco lights up a cigarette at the dinner table.
16. Come to love dried fruit and cafe con leche more than anything else.
17. Missed everyone back home, but have found ways to keep my thoughts from becoming over-powering.
18. Worshiped in a Spanish-speaking church... and sang songs to OUR Lord (Jehova) and Savior.
19. Found ways to alternate clothing, so that I end up having clothes to wear by the end of two weeks..(until laundry is done).
20. Managed to keep my showers under 3 minutes, considering theres no water pressure or hot water for that matter.
21. Laughed until I cried with Alejandra (Alex) and Maria at the dinner table.
22. Joined a gym, and am starting to get back in shape. :)
23. Grown up a lot, and becoming more independent as each day goes on.
24. Learned to appreciate so many things that I never noticed before being abroad.
25. Expanded my taste in music, AND food.
26. Eaten Kalimari and swordfish.
27. Spent a day at the Alhambra, and took in amazing views.
28. Lastly, I've already had an AMAZING experience in just this one month.... :)

Dia de Valentinos

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope that you are all having a very blessed, and full of love Sunday. This morning Alex and I got up, and had breakfast with Paco and Maria. We had the usual toast... and I put my much loved Nutella on it, of course. Paco and Maria told us "Happy Valentine's Day" and asked what we called it in America. After breakfast when Alex and I walked back into our room Alex found a surprise from her boyfriend, Brian. :) On her desk was a beautiful bouquet of lilies and roses. (I went on a secret mission yesterday to find those, and hid them in the spare bedroom until this morning.) She loved them- good work, Brian! :) We then just layed in bed for a while, and tried to stay warm! Its been so cold here lately- we're MORE than ready for the sun to come out again... and to get rid of this rainy, dreary weather! We got ready for church, and met our friend Shayna just down the street. She took us to a church she went to last week... La Iglesia Evangelica. Its an Evangelical Free/Baptist church. It was TINY, and there were so many people stuffed in one room, but it was really neat at the same time. Having the opportunity to worship with the Lord's children, in another country and language, is really powerful. The service was based on the book of Joel. Basically, the pastor talked about how no matter where you are in the world... you're going to go through times of hardship. We need to find our joy and strength in the Lord... He will provide. It was really neat to sing songs in Spanish as well. We sang a song to the tune of "Jesus, Lover of my Soul." I thought it was really powerful. Super neat! Then today Alex and I have just been relaxing, catching up on some sleep and homework... Tomorrow starts another full week, and my family will be here on Friday. CRAZY. I'm so excited there are hardly words. :) Can't wait to see you guys!

Week 1- DONE. AND Birthday fun :)

Ok, so I do realize that title is a it cheesy, but I'm in somewhat of a rhyme mood. Its been a while since i've blogged, so ill try and fill in as much as I can! First, I'll get into the first week of classes. I absolutely love my classes. I am enrolled in 1. Hispanic Literature 2. History of the Art of Spain 3. The History of Spain 4. A Grammar class 5. A writing and speaking class. In our Hispanic Literature class we are just starting a portion on poetry. I think im really going to like it! Its going to be lots of reading and disecting literature, but I think its going to be a great class. Last week I answered a question in class (in Spanish remember) and the Professora looked and pointed at me, smiled, and said "Exactamente!" That boosted my confidence and made my day a bit more bright :) I also really enjoy my History of Art. Right now we are going through the first types of art such as cave paintings and sculptures. SO interesting. Apparently I'm taking after my mama in this way! She loved art history in college- and was really good at it! I haven't been to my History of Spain class yet... I just added it. So we'll see how that goes. History classes and I have never really 'gotten along'...but who knows! My grammar class is really boring. We have a workbook, and have to do like, 14 pages of homework at a time. NOT fun. The writing and speaking class is alrigt. Nothing special. The first day I went to the wrong class not once, but twice... Not the greatest start! But thats alright :) I got there eventually! Apparently we can only miss four classes of each subject for the semester, so I'm going to have to make sure I get myself out of bed every morning for those 8:30 classes of mine! No class on Fridays is a definate bonus though!
Moving on to yesterday, my birthday. It was just wonderful! I got to sleep in until 10, got out of bed and had some breakfast. Paco pinched my cheek and told me happy birthday, and Maria gave me a kiss. :) They are just so precious. After breakfast I worked out, and got to take a nice long hot shower (those are always a treat!). Then I walked to school to check for any mail, and I actually had two packages! One from Cory, and one from my family. :) They absolutely made my day. :) The day before I had received one from my Grandpa and Grandma Blythe. So sweet, as well! Receiving mail is one of the best feelings EVER. So please, keep it coming! We then had lunch, which was actually my favorite that Maria makes! It is chicken with potatoes and onions.. with a really rich olive oil sauce. After that I talked to some family and friends, took a nap... and then Alex and I went shopping for a bit! It was SNOWING which was weird, and not my favorite! I stopped to get a Kabob on the way home.. and it hit the spot :) Alex and I then started getting ready for our night out on the town! We went to Beauty and the Beast with four of our guy friends and Caitlin- and there we enjoyed some good ol' tapas. :) After that we went to an Irish pub where all the kids have gone to watch American football. The owner is really nice, and he even speaks English! We met up with more of our friends there, and had a great time! The entire pub sang me happy birthday :) After that we went to Granada Diez, which is a HUGE discoteca/dance club. It is three stories high, and was a theater back in the day! Theres a stage and everything. When we first got there they were telling us that we had to pay 10 euro to get in... However, with my sly skills, I talked to the security guards, told them it was my birthday, and asked if my girlfriends and i could get in for free considering it WAS my birthday and all! Needless to say, I paid zero euros, and the guys ended up having to still pay. Haha. Rough. Granada Diez was a blast. There were Spaniards all over the place. They were nuts! So fun tho :) We were there until 4 in the morning! It went by so fast! When we were leaving, there were still people coming in! They stay out so late... its crazy. We were so tired when we were done there, and ready to go to bed! It was a blast, like I said... and then we slept in until 2 in the afternoon today. That was much needed! Today we've just been chillin out, and catching up on talking to people at home. Tomorrow I'm going to check out a church-and i'm really excited about that as well! All in all, I am STILL having the time of my life... learning alot about the world and myself as well! :) Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Classes

My classes have been going GREAT! I have had each class once, and tomorrow is my last day of class for the week! I'm a big fan of this 4 day week thing :) I'll go into more detail about my classes later... for now... its bedtime. These long days are EXHAUSTING! I need to start hitting the hay earlier. Anyway, buenos noches para ahora!

Switzerland Videos

Morocco Videos

Interlaken, Switzerland

Our Switzerland trip was ABSOLUTELY amazing…. Wow. For starters, we got back from Morocco on Tuesday night, and within about 6 hours we were on a bus starting our next adventure! We rode a bus from Granada to Madrid, flew Ryanair from Madrid to Milan, took a train from Milan to Spietz and then to Interlaken! The trip took us a bit longer than we had anticipated, with long layovers and exchanges… But we arrived in Interlaken around 10:00 the next night. We were exhausted, but SO excited to finally be in Switzerland! We somehow found our hostel within 5 minutes of exploring the city, with no directions whatsoever. The hostel we stayed at is called the “Lazy Falcon.” It was a LEGIT hostel. There was always great music playing in the bar/restaurant area and we had breakfast included for only 22E a night! Quite the deal I must say… Anyway that night we were so hungry and exhausted, so we hit up our American comfort: McDonald’s. The bad part was that everything is SO ridiculously expensive in Switzerland. A big-mac meal was 11.50 franks… which is basically 11 American Dollars! The cost of living is higher in Switzerland, so it works for them, but for us travelers, it kinda stunk! I asked a worker of McDonalds about this and he said that he gets 50,000 a year….. which is GREAT for a McDonald’s worker, compared to the states! So I guess it all evens out in the end for them. Anyway, the next day we slept in until about 9:30, ate breakfast, and then the guys hit up the slopes. They were going to explore the mountain and how all of the rental stuff works. Us girls stayed back at the hostel, shopped, went to the grocery store, and just explored Interlaken. While we were shopping we saw Swiss army knives, watches, and coo-coo clocks EVERYWHERE. It was actually pretty funny. We also made sure to indulge in some Swiss chocolate. AMAZING. It’s such a beautiful little town. “Interlaken” means between lakes. The city is surrounded by water and mountains basically. Also, since the water comes straight from the Alps it was CRYSTAL blue. The most beautiful water I’ve ever seen in my life. Us girls bought things to make sandwiches and pasta… and just chilled. We had the pasta ready for the guys when they got back from their day on the mountain. I think they appreciated that quite a bit  It made us girls feel good to do something nice for them as well! Later in the night, we explored and found a bar that was playing live music. There were two women singers that had GREAT voices, and it was a very relaxed atmosphere. I really enjoyed that. We went to bed at a decent time because the next morning we woke up at 6:30 for our day in the mountain! Everything went so smoothly that day as well! We got on a train in Interlaken that took us up to the mountains. We rented our gear, and we were ready to rock and roll! The train ride up to the way top of the mountain was absolutely breath taking. At this point in the day, it was bright and sunny, and there is something magical about the mountains in the morning. The entire way up we could see little Swiss cottages which were adorable. Skiing was SO awesome… some of my friends were trying to learn to snowboard/ski, so Chris, Ben, and I stuck with them for the first run to try and teach them. Then we went off on our own and hit the slopes hard. We met up for lunch and had some goulash soup, which hit the spot! We had about 3 hours left to ski after lunch, so we decided to do a few runs, and then take a run that would take us from the way top all the way to the bottom (which is where we needed to return our rental stuff). By this point in the day, it was BLIZZARDING on the mountain. I was wearing sunglasses with my helmet, and it got to the point where I literally couldn’t see because they were being fogged up and pelted with snow! We were absolutely drenched when we were done, and we were ready to shower up and eat some more pasta! We had to walk from the grocery store back to our hostel in the RAIN, and that took us about 30 minutes…. Not my favorite! Our pasta was once again delicious… and SUPER filling! (Note: If you are poor and need a filling meal, pasta is undoubtedly the best choice) After dinner we just chilled out, and got ready to go out dancing! We went to a hostel called the “Funny farm” and met lots of kids from all around the world! The dance floor was pretty dead when we got there, but we kids (being the fun-loving Americans we are) spiced it up. We jumped on stage, and from then on the entire place was having a blast. Caitlyn, Ben and I got kind of tired, so we decided to leave early. The only problem was that we didn’t quite remember how to get back to our hostel… We ended up on the outskirts of town; luckily saw a road sign with an arrow pointing us back into Interlaken. After trudging along railroad tracks with snow up to our knees for about 45 minutes, we flagged down a taxi and asked him how much it would cost to take us back to our hostel. He told us it would be 50 franks…. We thought that was a bit ridiculous so we kept walking. We saw another taxi dude and asked him, and he told us 12… so we took it! (I don’t think the first taxi driver spoke very good English, and didn’t understand where we really wanted to go). That night I had a long talk with one of my Australian roommates in the hostel about “life”, including dreams and goals we had for ourselves. It’s always neat to meet others and learn from them. During our train ride into Milan, we ended up sitting in first class without knowing it. When the lady went around to check our tickets ¾ of the way into our ride, she told us we need to go back to our seats “NOW.” Little did we know! I was wondering why the seats were so large and comfy, though. Oh well- maybe from now on I’ll pretend like I simply don’t understand my ticket, and pull that trick off on a regular basis. Our flight from Milan to Madrid was MAJORLY delayed…. An hour and a half. Boo… we were so antsy to get back to Granada… and exhausted, needless to say.

All in all, this trip was amazing in so many different ways. I found my new “family” (the eight of us became super close after living, eating, and traveling together), We have so many inside jokes now through experiencing hilarious moments, my abs are sore from laughing so hard, I got to ski in the Swiss Alps, I met people from Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, and even met men in the Swiss army….I saw the most beautiful mountains/water that I have in my entire life, I ate Swiss chocolate AND cheese on a regular basis, also I learned how to get around Europe on bus, train, metro AND plane. I witnessed people slodging (sledding) down the Alps, as well as people on wooden bikes going down the mountain (really sweet but dangerous!). Last but not least, I managed to learn how to pack my entire life in ONE backpack. Holler! Though the trip was pretty expensive, it was worth every single penny. I recommend Interlaken to anyone- whether you are a skier or not. On our way back we had a two hour delay in the Bergamo, Italy airort... not so much fun! Our trip back took us 24 hours- from Interlaken, Switzerland to Granada, Spain. It was a LOOONG one.... lots of stops and changes of transportation! Now i'm back in my room in Granada and Maria made me a welcome home pizza. Its so good to be back, but I had an AMAZING TIME in Switzerland! Now I'm just going to get ready for class to finally start :)

Morocco!!!!

Since I never had access to internet in Morocco, I decided to try and journal as much as I could! I’m going to try and “summarize” my journal for the world wide followers of Paige’s blog. ;) I realize that there is a lot here… so if you don’t have time to read it, or don’t want to… don’t even try. It took up about 4 pages on my “Microsoft word.” For those of you who do, enjoy!
January 29, 2010
As of now I am in my very own single room in the hostel. I was pretty surprised as to how nice it was! Alex had a little run in with the shower… and ended up drenching her entire bathroom. So funny.  Anyway- today I found out that I was placed in lengua y cultura. I was pretty stoked about that. That means that I don’t have class on Fridays! Immediately some friends and I rushed to the computer lab, and booked a trip to Switzerland in fifteen minutes. They had already booked their trip because they knew that they would have class off for this next week…so I basically passed my credit card around and they took care of all of the details! I’m really stoked to go to Switzerland! Our bus ride here, to Algeciras was fine and took a little over three hours. I’m super excited for Morocco and to see what God has in store for me there. I can’t wait to talk to the people and try to understand them. I was reading our little handbook of Morocco, and apparently you can NOT use your left hand when you eat… sweet. They use that hand to wipe themselves… mmm. I’m going to be a little struggle bug at the dinner table trying to use my right hand. We’re waking up at 7 and taking the “last shower” for a while. I’ve been watching this show called “la busqueda”… and it’s about family members trying to find someone that they have lost touch with it. It’s been in Spanish, and I’ve found myself getting really into it- I even teared up at one part!
January 30, 2010
On the Ferry: We just passed a neat little strip of land named “Gibraltar.” Apparently it is owned by England because they didn’t want to be run by Spain. Our tour guide is named, Allen. AND he lived in Spain illegally for one year. Apparently the shortest point between Spain and Africa is only nine miles short! Andrew came up with the best idea ever- Him and I had to have a soundtrack for our first sight of Africa… and guess what I chose. “Hakuna Matata” We goofed around on the back of the boat and had salt water flying in our face. Great memory.  I have learned that “Inshallah” means if ‘God wills.’ A lot of the Moroccans say this at the end of phrases like, “See you later!” During the entire bus ride from Tanger to Rabat I sat in the front seat in between the bus driver and Allen. Today we got to have a talk with three women at a woman’s shelter. They all three brought different perspectives One of the ladies is married and is more ‘in between’ as far as traditional and more modern Islamic views. Another was very modern, and the other SUPER traditional. It was neat to hear them tell their own personal stories as far as dating perspectives, family structure, women’s roles, and dress. Apparently they can marry their cousins in Morocco and it’s very common. Dating is frowned upon, and arranged marriages are still very common. As of in 2004, women can now initiate divorce in Morocco. Our bus drivers name is Hasheem. We got to ride camels this afternoon! It was SO cool, except for the fact that the camel was super mean. After I was done riding the camel, I got off and wanted a picture with it. As the camel is sitting on the ground, I stand next to it and lean in. The camel then WHIPPED its head back and literally went for my nose. Good thing I have cat-like reflexes and jumped away, because even with me jumping I still had camel saliva on my nose. That could have been BAD. After that we walked through some shops in the city of Asilah. After that we had lunch at a little restaurant where I had my first experience trying Cous-Cous. I didn’t like it very much.. it was a bit bland for my taste. There WAS bread and olive oil though! The land here is so luscious and green. NOT what I expected Africa was going to be like! Also, the people of Morocco have been so welcoming already! Smiles are surrounding, kind hello’s and kids running/playing everywhere. Apparently 70% of the population is children! I absolutely love it here… I am currently sitting in the front of our van on our drive to Rabat. The sun is starting to set, and I have to keep pinching myself… I’m in Morocco! Its just like a dream. It is also so intriguing to see Arabic signs everywhere… everything is so traditional. There’s cats everywhere… and you rarely see dogs. This is apparently due to the fact that Mohammed was a cat person…? There are horse drawn wagons on the street, and tons of vintage looking cars. I did however have two little boys following me on the street trying to sell gum and trinkets. They huge brown eyes melted/broke my heart. These KIDS were begging… it was horrible to watch. We also drove past a few shanty towns… and then the King’s palace is basically right across the street…. Morocco is a place of great contrast in that manner…between the wealthy and poor. I can’t wait to meet my family. Apparently visitors are a gift from God. 
10:00
WOW. We are now in our home in Rabat. The family was very talkative for the most part, what they could do at least… but their daughter, Senah, was the only one that could speak English. She is 20 years old, but is SUPER shy. The food was really good though! We had a hash brown cake, bread, and a puréed green soup. I had to consciously tell myself to not put my food in my mouth with my left hand. It was tough to do! I’ve been kinda dizzy tonight and I’m not sure why… overtired? Sleep please? Our room is tight, and the house is fairly large. There’s tons of “beds” in here… which are actually just long couches. Alex, Tori, and I are all in one room in here. Its FREEZING in here, but what’s new?! We’re pretty used to it by now. As of now we’re trying to sort through a bit of culture shock. It was awkward at dinner because we really couldn’t even try to start a conversation. I feel really out of my comfort zone. The music, food, homes, decoration, language, religion… its all so different! Very cool and interesting, but different. The shower head was just chilling out on the bathroom wall with the toilet, and there were two bird cages above the sink. It was neat hearing the call to praer at various times a day.
January 31
This morning we had a panel discussion with five Moroccan men. Since we had already heard the perspectives from the women, it was neat to hear the guy’s as well. They said that they were aware of all of the assumptions that Americans have of the Arab people. They also said that the only impression they had of Americans was from the media as well. They believed Americans to be Egocentirc, imperialistic, and hypocritical. These men were so peaceful and full of joy when they were talking about their religion and way of life. They gave us some insight into why they live their lives the way they do, and the peace that comes from the core of their beliefs. One of the men said,” If we are not all brothers and sisters in Chris, we are at least cousins… So why fight?” They also said that if they could say something to Bin Laden they would tell him that he is NOT Muslim, and that he doesn’t belong to their ‘people.’ Muslims do NOT kill people, because they are not supposed to have any hate in their heart. They do not believe that Jesus is the son of God. They said that God doesn’t have sons because He is not human, and if He did… He wouldn’t have just let him die on the cross. They also believe that Mohammed was the last prophet, and that Jesus was just another prophet. Through talking to these men, I realized something about myself. Though I have always considered myself a pretty open and tolerant person, deep down I had some pre-conceived ideas about the Islamic culture that were COMPLETELY off line. You can never fully understand a person, or a culture, until you can put a face to it… and have a conversation with them. Its such a powerful thing, and I feel that trips and conversations like these should be mandatory for all cultures of our educational program. It would definitely benefit the direction of our future! After our discussion with the men, we went to visit the Roman ruins of Chellah and the Mausoleum (tomb) of King Mohammed V. The intricate detail here is SO amazing. There was a Mosque right next to it as well. The entire area used to be a huge Mosque that was in the process of being built in the 1100’s. It was supposed to be the second largest Mosque in the world at that time. Unfortunately, the designer/architect died before finishing it… and it was never finished. To this day there are the beams that would have held the ceiling up, as well as portions of the walls, but no ceiling. After that, we went back home for a quick lunch where we ate a full chicken with this Orange Sauce all over it. After lunch we were taken on a tour by two, 24 year old Moroccan guys. Their names were “Budr” and “Mohammed.” They were so kind to us, and were patient as we walked through the medina market in Rabat. They helped us bargain and taught us the ways of the street. I got a woven bracelet, two scarves, and a little bowl. The only bad thing was that there were beggers EVERYHWERE. Towards the end of our afternoon there were actually two little girls sitting behind boxes. They were albino and couldn’t have been more than 9 years old. The sight of these little girls being used as beggars broke my heart as well. They guys took us to a pool bar, and we chilled on a cushion bench, watched a soccer game, drank Moroccan tea, and listened to some techno music. I had a long talk with Mohammed, about dating, culture, his perception of American girls, and the hopes and dreams he has for his future. That was a really interesting 45 minutes! He also taught me how to pour my tea without burning myself or drinking crushed up mint leaves. He’s “dating” a girl, but he has to do it secretly because he could get in big trouble… not only from his family, but even the law. He said that if the police find out that you are having a ‘love’ relationship with a girl before marriage, they have the right to force you to either marry, or put you in jail for up to 5 years. CRAZY. These guys were really neat, and they ended up feeling like older brothers to me. We exchanged contact information, and I’m excited to keep in touch. After our goodbyes, we had a conversation with a peace core volunteer and a girl studying through a program called ful bright. They were really inspirational and passionate about what they are doing. It made me re-evaluate what I am giving back to the world, and the little steps I can do to make myself more effective. After that chat, it was time for a public bath. I was SO excited to experience this, even though I had no clue what to expect. When we got there, we walked up a couple flights of stairs. The higher we got, the more steamy the air became. We all stripped down, crossed our fingers, and took a deep breath. Once IN the bath, I absolutely loved it. It was like a steam room, and you would fill up your bucket of hot water and start scrubbing away. We were given gloves that were like scrub cloths and soap. It was so cute seeing little two year old Moroccan toddlers sitting in the buckets while their mama’s scrubben em down.  Once I was finished with my “bath” I left the room and attempted to find my clothes. They weren’t where I left them… so I figured someone either moved them or was just playing a joke on me. I started walking around looking, and 20 minutes later I discovered my buckle jeans and Northface in ANOTHER changing room. To humor the situation even more, an OLD, NAKED, Moroccan woman was sitting on my clothes. Yes, NAKED…. Completely and utterly naked. (Needless to say… my wide eyed gestures towards her rear end weren’t quite taken the right way at first). I got my clothes back, at dinner and went to bed ASAP. We’re really tired…. Until next time!
February 1, 2010
Today we woke up pretty early, and drove up the Riff Mountains to visit a family deep in the middle of nowhere. On the way there we drove past the typical roads with sheep crossing at various points… donkeys EVERYWHERE, and people selling fruits and vegetables as well. We had to hike up through the woods to reach the family’s little shack, and the entire way I was in awe with how magically green everything was. The land was so much different than what I had ever seen before… and there was something so clean and refreshing about the air. We had a translator sitting with us on our picnic blanket as all 17 of us tried communicating with this family. They asked us some pretty “off the wall” questions… like: How do you heat your homes? How do you get loans for college? These questions took me off guard because I guess I always thought those were just pretty obvious and self-explanatory. WRONG. These people are so sheltered, and just enjoy the little life they have for themselves in the beautiful Riff Mountains. It was really interesting to get to share a meal with them. After lunch we hiked deeper into the mountains with the family. They wanted to take us to a look out point where we sat for a while, took pictures, and just reflected. They asked us to sing them a song… so we appropriately chose “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” They enjoyed it  The time with the family has basically taken the entire day, so now we were heading back to our hostel, and will take the ferry back to Spain tomorrow. What an amazing, life changing experience is has been here in Morocco…… Until next time, Inshallah. :)