Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Hope for Sale

One of the most inspiring things we have done so far down here was volunteer for an organization called Hope for Sale. Sale is the 2nd biggest cities in Morocco and is one of the most poverty- stricken and drug- ridden cities in Africa. We joined up with this association to help out for the day. We painted a mural on a hospital wall. We cleaned up trash off the streets. And we also cut grass at a local park. All of the local community members and children were working right along side us. It was amazing to see how our presence really inspired these kids to care about their own community and want to make a difference. It really made our trip worth it.

touring Rabat

We spent 3 nights with our home- stay families. We toured around and also had many conversations with university students just like ourselves. Our conversations were very humorous, but also deeply meaningful and insightful. It was a very unique experience to learn about other cultures and their opinions on marriage, politics, and fun. Our home-stay families fed us amazing Moroccan dishes and helped us dress up in Moroccan attire (just for pictures- not to wear out ha). We went to a hammam and we shopped and got to see the city lit up at night. There is a 9 day long music festival that we came into. The night we arrived: Shakira was in town... go figure. We weren't allowed to go but still, gave us something to talk with all of the locals about.
Oh I also wanted to mention for everybody's entertainment that the first event that happened when we entered Morocco was that my suitcase broke. And when I say broke, I mean the bottom completely ripped and I had to carry my 47.5 lbs bag on my shoulder down into the Medina where our homes were... (not winning)

---

(Mom- dont worry, I haggled with the locals for a sweet new suitcase for only 250 dh which is $29.41 U.S. dollars. You would be proud. It is sweet. It has 3 wheels. And about 17 compartments. Peaks is jealous)

camel...

After we left Tangier, we were driving to our next destination and Katy (our Moroccan exchange leader) woke us all up as we were parking near a beach. Suddenly we looked around and all realized that there were camels waiting for us. What a great surprise! We all got to ride camels on the African coast. How many people can say that they have had this experience before? I certainly will tell my grandchildren about this. And anybody else that I talk to for that matter. ha

My camel's name was Suzana. I loved her. She was clearly the most graceful of the group.


morocco

So today we traveled on a ferry across the Strait of Gibralter to Africa... wait what? Sounds surreal to say. We entered Morocco this morning and here we are walking around in Africa. After a hectic landing and finding our bus, we found our way up to DARNA which is a center for women. It is a government association that provides classes and education for women in language, computer skills, resume writing, and sewing. It allows them the opportunity to gain skills that will help them get their own job. We sat down and had lunch with 3 Moroccan girls (2 students and 1 teacher) who told us all about what it was like to live and learn and be a woman in a masculine- dominated, 3rd world country. The coversation was enlightening and opened our eyes. We ate our first Moroccan dish, cous cous, and everybody really loved it. This first encounter of ours really broke down some stereotypes about government and women's rights in this country. As we move forward, a lot of conversations like these will take place to help us learn what life really is like over here for students just like us.



flamenco

Tonight we did the most typical spanish thing you can do... we climbed up into the mountains and went to a flamenco dancing show in the caves of Granada. The dancers were so good and so authentic. We had such a great time. The dancing is so fast- paced and the men were just as good as the women!







Friday, May 27, 2011

grenada

today we went to the Alhambra with our guide Carmen. The Alhambra was originally a Muslim structure but was taken over by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabela. It is huge and has many rooms and gardens. It has 4 main towers and it took us quite a long time to see everything. My favorite part was when we left the towers to go into the Gardens and could look back across and see the Alhambra as a whole. Over 2 million people visit the Alhambra every year.

(As I am sitting here in the internet cafe, my camera died. So- you will get to see pictures soon. Lo siento)

Hasta luego amigos

nightlife



while in Grenada, we had a night on our own to ḧit the town."We met up with Casey, a 2009 graduate of Merrimack working in Grenada and she showed us all of the good places to eat and drink and enjoy ourselves. We went to the bar and went to a Spanish discoteca. Needless to say we had a great time. Tomorrow we have a looong day ahead of us: seeing the Alhambra, the old town, dinner at bar Kiki and a Flamenco show!



---


The Alhambra was beautiful! It was so gorgeous in all of its rooms and its 4 different palaces and the garden was just so pretty.
The views from the gardens were the best ones because we could look back on the Alhambra after touring around it. You don't really get to appreciate how big and dominating a structure is until you can look at it from afar. Later on that night we got an opportunity to see the Alhambra from a mountain across the way. The view is incredible. You can even see the snow- capped mountains in the background.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

la Mesquita


Today we visited the city of Cordoba. We met our new tour guide Luis and saw the enormous structure from across the river. Cordoba was a fortified city for 2000 years meaning it was surrounded by walls. It is has the famous structure with the red and white arches. La Mesquita was enormous. It is a famous entity in the country of Spain because of the contradicting religious places of worship. It was originally a mosque and then a Catholic king built a giant chapel in the middle of it. As you are standing in one spot you can see the Christian and Muslim places of worship all in one picture.










Tuesday, May 24, 2011

loss for words


Tonight, Professor McGovern introduced us to an old co-worker who took us to a private home inside of el Alcazar. So she shows us the tower up and we are all trudging along because we are a little tired, sortof complaining about the hike up the stairs. She opens the door at the top and we all stop dead in our tracks. We walked out on to the top of the wall of the fort and were at eye- level with la Giralda and la Catedral all lit up at night. I can easily say this was one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. When I talked before about the views at the top of the buildings being amazing and about the lack of proper words I have to describe the things we see: this is a perfect example. I have never seen something so gorgeous. This enormous building that is better described as a piece of art looked amazing at this level. She told us how no Spainard and no tourist can see this view. It was one of the most peaceful and humbling things I have ever seen. I could go on and on but again.. words cannot explain.






Again the pictures don´t do it justice. But the story behind the apartment/house itself that the family lived in: Her husband´s family workd on the reconstruction of la Catedral y la Giralda y el Alcazar. So the government of Spain allowed them to live in one of these houses in the fort for 3 generations. So once the husband´s sister doesn´t live there anymore, the apartment (and the view) goes back to the government. Which is a shame because of how beautiful it is.


adios


us versus the city

Today we woke up refreshed (sort of) and ready to attack the city again. After breakfast, we met up with our tour guide Juan for a second day of cramming in as much information and as many pictures as we could snap. First we went to Alcazar which was a Moorish fort but now is a palace. We saw much beautiful arcitecture here. And the designs and paintings on/in the walls were so amazing.


We climbed to the top of the Giralda wish is one of the most famous and well- known sites in Sevilla. We climbed up the Minarete which was 76meters tall (more of our work out for the day) and got to see more of the entire city... Again the tops of the buildings are the best vantage point because you can see for miles and miles. We then went on a horse- drawn buggie ride around the city and got to see the things that were out of walking distance for us. We saw Plaza de Espana with an enormous gorgeous symmetrical building. It was a great and relaxing way to see the city and the parts we didnt get to yet.


Much to my disappointment, we aren´t going to get to see a bullfight. However, at the top of the Giralda, we could see the ring from the top. The view was breathtaking. Jessica and I walked around to each side at least twice. We are all starting to get to know each other better now, whether it be our shared love of our tour guide or how tired/crazy we get. But it is only day two and we are like 12 peas in a pod.



estamos aqui

Well here we are.. finally. 12 silly americanas touring the streets of Seville with our new amigo Juan. In our first day here, we spent 5 hours meandering about the streets. We saw all kinds of cites (as our bodies thought it was about 4AM) and we got to see an old apartment of our Professor´s and went to the top of Hotel de la Musica. The view from the top was gorgeous.






I am beginning to think that the views from the tops of buildings are going to be so much better here than from the ground. This is all for now, I am exhausted. But had to mention (my mom would be proud) I have tried every dish we have been served thus far and I plan on sticking to that. I cannot promise I will like it. But you can bet I´ll try it..


Hasta luego

Friday, May 20, 2011

words cant explain

a word about the title of this blog:

Our Convivencia class is a semester- long course where we studied a period of time when Jews, Muslims, and Christians all lived together in a religious harmony. We learned how these three religions lived, worked, and co-existed in parts of Spain in the region of Al-Andaluz. The reason why I collaborated on calling this blog "words can't explain" is because this was also an upper- level Spanish course at Merrimack. I stopped taking Spanish language classes when I was an 18- year old high school senior. The majority of the rest of the class are Spanish minors or majors. So I am writing from the perspective that many Spanish words will be used to describe the sites and events we will experience. This being said, the experiences we will partake in will have English and Spanish meaning behind them, as well as different linguistic descriptions. I will attempt for the next two weeks to try and describe things in any language I can, whether it is Spanish or English. With that in mind, I will try to remember that the barriers of language and religion have long come between nations and their people.
Hola. greetings from Cromwell, CT. I've spent the past 12 hours packing and preparing for my Convivencia trip. Needless to say, I left mostly everything until the last minute, allowing myself to run around town and my house getting ready. I am writing my blog from a unique place in my life: that being that I am graduating from Merrimack this Sunday. Most students who go on this trip are sophomores and juniors. Not me, I like to do things a little differently. I have been blessed with a very unique opportunity to take this travel study course as an "elective" to complete my undergrad degree. My family and I will be traveling up to North Andover tomorrow for all of the graduation services and ceremonies. Our flight on Sunday leaves Logan at 6:30PM on the day of my college graduation (it also happens to be my Mum and her twin brother's birthday), so it is sure to be a hectic day all around.

A little about me: Everybody calls me Liz. I played soccer at Merrimack for 4 years. I am always laughing and making jokes. I am a firm believer in the phrase "everything happens for a reason." I have an amazing network of family and close friends. And I love to eat.


My email address is hopleye@merrimack.edu and I would love to hear from you while we are over there... Next up: 2 weeks of an experience of a lifetime.

Adios amigos.