Arabian Nights

It’s somewhat difficult to summarize my journey to Morocco. To put it simply, it was a thrilling and an eye-opening weekend.

After a quick hop, skip, and a ferry ride from Tarifa Spain, through the Straight of Gibraltar to Tangiers Africa, I found myself in Northern Morocco, surrounded by the striking and expansive Rif Mountains on Friday night.

From the ferry we went straight to the hotel for a traditional Moroccan feast. Our table was piled high with round chewy rolls, a large salad with beets, eggs, corn, tomato, carrots and cucumber. In the center was the pièce de résistance, a mountain of couscous with a plethora of vegetables. Following dinner a Berber man gave a presentation on spices and apothecaries in Morocco, explaining various products that can heal any ailment. 

Saturday morning we hopped on the bus and drove through town after little town. The locals glared up at us through our tinted windows, while young kids ran behind our bus, even jumping on the back at times.

We went on a short camel ride on one of the beaches in Tangiers overlooking the point at which the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Then we explored the Caves of Hercules.We stopped in a town called Asilah for lunch at what appeared to be a rundown deserted building, but once inside we were transported back into time. We sat low to the ground on pillows, dining in an intricately tiled room with a domed ceiling. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and bargaining with the shop owners in the Medina (central part of the city enclosed by walls) of Asilah. The vendors were quite aggressive, but in the end I bought a scarf, and a little leather camel for half the dirham (Moroccan currency) of the original asking price. Before we left the city, we sipped on fresh, sweet mint tea as the call of prayer sung out over all of Asilah.

On Sunday we drove to see the cities of Tetouan and Chefchaouen. Although it was a long bus ride I was able to gaze out the window at the panoramic view of the Rif and Atlas Mountains, while swapping stories with friends I was reunited with from orientation. 

My favorite city was Chefchaouen also known as "the blue city,” situated in a valley between two mountains, with a waterfall running through. This clean, and potable water is quite miraculous, since we were advised not to drink the any tap water in Morocco, not even while brushing our teeth. According to our tour guide the houses in Chefchaouen are freshly painted every 6 months with contrasting variations of blue, and bright white in order to ward of flies. 

There was something very mysterious and enchanting about Chefchaouen, it seemed to really represented the heart of Moroccan culture. The blue houses were striking; around every corner was a picture perfect sight.

For some reason, I imagined Morocco to be desolate, arid, and barren, but this could not be further from the truth; I seriously underestimated the beauty of Morocco. The landscape is a bit surreal, one moment we were driving along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and the next moment we were in the lush mountains. Nevertheless after two very full days I have to say that I could not be happier to be safely back home in Sevilla.

Trick or Treat

October has come and quickly passed; officially marking two months I have been in Sevilla.

As October 31^st started to draw near, my mind was buzzing with ideas to teach my students about Halloween. As it turns out the festivities of Halloween transcend borders, and there was very little I had to explain. The spirit of Halloween is alive and strong in Spain. My classes learned Halloween songs, vocabulary, read ghost stories and then went trick or treating throughout the school.

 

Although pumpkins are scarce, and there is no scent of fall in the air, Halloween is celebrated with gusto. Refreshingly, costumes are not overly sexualized; emphasis here is a little heavier on fright as I learned from seeing terrifying costumes on Halloween night.

Some of the 5th grade girls who put on a play in English

Pin the nose on the pumpkin, one of the stations at the Halloween festival.

While I had no tricks up my sleeve to offer, that has never stopped me from indulging in a Halloween treat. Recently all I have been craving is a pumpkin spice latte and a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but unfortunately neither of these are available in Spain.  Therefore I decided my treat would be to finally taste a chirimoya, an exotic, pale green fruit that I have been eying at the supermarket.

After waiting 3 days for it to ripen, it was perfectly soft and squishy enough to slice into. Unsure how to go about eating it, I decided to hold it by the rind, as if it was a watermelon and eat it face first, spitting out the coffee bean sized pits along the way.

The inside is white in color and has a creamy yet slightly slimy texture, leaving juice all over my face. The succulent flavors were reminiscent of a very sweet pineapple, with a tinge of banana and coconut flavoring, making it the perfect Halloween treat not to mention the added benefit of it being on the healthier side.

Carmona

Yesterday I went on a short day trip to Carmona, a picturesque little Pueblo Blanco situated in the hilltops, only 30 minutes away from Sevilla.

As usual food was the most important part of the itinerary. We casually strolled through the winding streets, gazing up at the rows of freshly painted white houses, detailed with colorful Moorish tiles.

We followed the “Ruta de las tapas,” a series of small restaurants and bars that specialize in traditional tapas. We enjoyed a few glasses of white wine and basked in the calmness of this quant town, while gazing out at the vast countryside. Although we spent most of the day waiting on busses, it was a wonderfully relaxing day away from the hustle and bustle of Sevilla.

Entertaining ourselves while waiting on the bus to arrive

Tiles that mark the restaurants on the "ruta de las tapas"

Tasting wine made from oranges

View from "El Parador" a medieval fortress turned into a luxury hotel

Cordoba

Cordoba…more like Gordaba. Last weekend I went to visit my friends Brie and Taylor in Cordoba. I spent the entire weekend indulging in sweets and treats, thus I am deeming it my trip to Gordoba (Gordo means fat in Spanish.) I am already planning to return, since I didn’t have the chance to visit the Mezquita and Juderia in which Cordoba is known for.

My first tostada with tomate

Chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt with chocolate granola, and peanut butter!

could not possibly be any happier

4am trip to McDonalds, walked through the drive through (I had ice cream)

Had to try the local pastries

Banana Pancakes and eggs for breakfast

After arriving late Thursday night at the Cordoba bus station, I realized that it had never occurred to me to ask for directions, or even a simple address, to Brie and Taylors Apartment. I walked around the bus station for about an hour holding my phone in the air attempting to connect to wifi, as if my extra arm length was really going to make a difference. Finally I was able to get in contact with Taylor, who advised me to navigate my way to their apartment by finding city landmarks, the easiest of which was a “giant Spanish flag on a big building.”

On Friday night we went to the "festival internacional de juegos" (juegos=games.) Unsure of what the “games” entailed I laced up my sneaks and headed there to compete or at the very least watch some type of athletic game native to Spain.

To my surprise, the festival was actually a gathering of hundreds of Spaniards trading, renting and playing board games.

Hundreds of games to rent, most of which were mid-evil themed

The language barrier proved to be challenging when trying to understand the rules of the game

Upon arriving back in Sevilla late Saturday afternoon, I decided to go to the grocery store because they are closed on Sunday and my favorite supermarket is right next to the bus station. What seemed like a good idea at the time was actually a costly mistake.

Picture this, I have my large, bulky backpack on, biking the cobblestone streets, with all my newly purchased precious groceries spilling out of the top of my bike basket into the streets.

As many of you know, after working as a cashier at Wegmans for eight years, my bags are always properly packed with crushables on top. My training could not have prepared me for what would ensure.

My eggs, bread, and fruit fell victim to the cars in the busy intersections that I crossed. At every slight bump, my groceries spilled out everywhere. I was unable to control the bike since the heavy groceries weighed down the handlebars making it impossible to balance or steer.  I guess I will be making some banana bread this weekend since my bananas are entirely mush after having taken a beat down on the streets.

El primer día en Tomares

Without any instructions whatsoever, I arrived at school last Monday, excited to begin my year as an Auxiliar de Conversación, however my first week was definitely not what I had expected.

Maximum security doors

At first glance, the prison like gates in front of the school really threw me off. It took me well over 15 minutes to figure out how to get inside. I frantically buzzed the main office over and over again through the intercom without any answer. After realizing I had the schools phone number, I gave that a try. Again no answer, so I left a very brief message on the answering machine, “Me llamo Raquel, estoy a la puerta ahora” (My name is Rachel, I am at the door now.) After a few minutes of awkwardly pacing back and forth pondering my next move, a woman appeared and I sketchily followed her inside. 

View of my school from across the street

Lovely park I walk through every morning just outside school

I met my bilingual coordinator Carolina, and she sent me off to the auditorium. Carolina gave me a laptop to present the PowerPoint I had prepared about myself, but she failed to mention the password to unlock the computer, or how to connect the laptop to the projector. It took a lot of trial and error, but I eventually got it up and running! I guess I have to take this moment to reluctantly thank my brother Josh for forcing me to fix my technological problems on my own even when he knew how to solve them.

Unfortunately the teachers didn’t understand that they had to bring their kids to the auditorium to meet me. Apparently checking your e-mail over the weekend is a crazy notion and unheard of, so they never saw the instructions. For three days I sat in the auditorium for about four hours, and every hour or so a class would appear. While they didn’t understand much of what I was saying, I received cheers for showing them a picture of my favorite book Harry Potter, and all the pictures that I brought from home.

Fooling around taking pictures while I sat and waited

Auditorium eventually filled with students

This week is running much more smoothly. I am finally out of the auditorium and in the classroom. I teach science history, and PE in various classes from 1^st-6^th grade. 

Right before the mayhem at recess

I come into class and without any preparation I am told what I am supposed to lecture on. So far my topics have been teaching the names and the functions of bones and the history of the reign of the Visigoths in Toledo (I’m still not really sure what I told them on that one, since I’m not familiar with the history of the Middle Ages in Spain.)

The majority of my students talk over me and would rather play with their pencil cases than listen. They keep addressing me in Spanish and I am not allowed to respond to them in anything but English, which is adding to my frustration.

Starting to feel the love

I am not worried, as my roommates who are also teaching in Spain have reassured me that they are having the exact same experience.

As usual I am finding humor is every experience that I have and overall I am enjoying myself. Tomorrow I get to teach PE and nutrition, my two favorite subjects!