"Oh Europe..." was probably the most common phrase I have used while being abroad. I would use this statement when seeing or doing things I would ONLY do in Europe, such as pay a Euro to use the bathroom, going for days on end without showers and using facial pads to cleanse myself, city/country hopping is a regular event, and spending ridiculous amounts of money on the journey of a lifetime. I realize I am not home yet, but seeing as I am now under the 24hr mark, I feel that it is a fitting time to write this.
All of the things I will do in my first week I get home:
-Drink a gallon of milk...per day. Anyone who has talked to me knows this has slowly been killing me over here
-Snuggle with my puppy dog every night
-Take a shower and feel CLEAN on average of 3 times a day...not a week!
-Sprawl on a bed bigger than me/ enjoy my own room
-Eat a million veggies...well just a healthy diet for that matter as I feel my body detiorating
-PEDICURE! my feet...well let's just say I will not post a picture...so you know they are bad considering my tooth photo :)
-Call friends via iphone..and not google voice
- The dollar exchange rate is 100%..that will be good for the head (and bank account!)
- (Dare I say) bring on a normal lifestyle... and start my summer internship!
Things I will miss/cherish:
- Hopping a plane to a different country every weekend
- My friends I have made both in Sevilla and while exploring
- My roommate Lauren who I could not have survived this journey without
- My wonderful host family!!!
- ALL European food...namely gelato
- Adventure upon adventure
- Never knowing what comes next
This past semester has been an adventure of a lifetime. Although I have said it many times, my parents are my rock and I would not have been here if it weren't for them. Their continuing support for me to take on my dreams and letting me live a limitless life has allowed me to experience some things most kids will never get to do, and for that I will always be grateful. ACtually, I would like to thank ALL of my family who has been so great and been keeping up with my life (basically, you who are reading this right now :) ) It means the world to me that you have takes time from your day to see what crazy things I have been encountering over here. All my friends who have supported me and talked to me and been updating me on Janesville/WI/Purdue stories, I am so grateful. I have learned many things over here, and one of the most important things is that I have truly wonderful friends to come back to at home.
Another really important thing that I have learned is to take what life throws at you, and just roll with it. When telling my mom some of my horror stories from over here she just says "When life gives you lemons..." to which I replied half the time "Screw the lemons!" But honestly, without a sense of adventure and openness, a life abroad would be quite miserable. I learned to take on this attitude my first trip (solo!) and relearned it again each trip with different friends.
I just got to end this excursion with some best friends from home, Abby Geiger and Ashlea SAvona. We took on Barcelona (AND Molins de Rei... only they will appreciate that), Italy, and Greece. We had the time of our lives, took wayyy too many pictures and ate WAYY too much food, and loved every second of it! It was the perfect end to a truly incredible semester.
This is just a jist of all the things that have popped into my head and I know I am leaving out a lot, but these are my feelings going into my last day in Sevilla. I am about to finish packing and take a long walk through this city one last time. Am I ready to go home? AFter two weeks of nonstop traveling and very little sleep which has left me sick, yes, I am ready. I already had my last night with all of my Sevillana friends who are now home, and I can hear my bed calling my name all the way from Janesville. It has been the ride of a lifetime, and there is no better word to describe the emotion I am feeling right now as bittersweet. Goodbye to a journey which has changed me for the better, see you later to all of my best friends from Sevilla, and hello Summer, 2011.
For the last time,
Peace, Amor, Espana
Ana
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
London was Bloody Brilliant!
One of the thousand perks of studying abroad in Sevilla in the spring semester is the fact that we get two week-long spring breaks! The first one was spent with the fam (will blog about lateR) and this past week I was in London, baby!!!! I was there about 10 years ago and for some reason held it on the highest pedestal, and after spending the last week there it is confirmed, London is my most favorite city in the entire world (after ski towns that is!) The longest I have spent in one city until this past week was 2 days, and a week was not enough time for this city if that says anything at all. Like all of my travels there were mishaps but nothing keeps me from loving that crazy British town!!!
In order to catch a 6am flight on Friday morning, we had to leave on a 6pm bus from Sevilla and sleep in the airport... or scratch the sleeping part and play soccer in the airport using a ball of socks as a ball and trolleys for our goal posts. We played in our socks and we ALL charlie-browned it a few times but we definitely had an audience at 4am and a workout as well. Come 8am with a time change and no sleep the soccer game kind of bit us in the you know where, but after our bus ride into London we were completely revived with energy. Despite the fact it was only 9am or so, it was April 29, 2011, the ROYAL WEDDING! I would just like to state for the record that this trip was the FIRST trip I booked solely for the wedding -- I have always loved everything about it from Princess Di (did a research paper on her), the Camilla scandal, the makeups and breakups of Kate and Will, and OF COURSE Prince Harry. AGAIN ask my second family, the Geigers, just how obsessed I Was with him our first go-round in London, and my feelings have not dissipated in the slightest. So for me to be in the city where history was being made, well let's just say I had a sheepish grin on my face all day. I also felt like a tour guide leading our group and informing them of the wedding details ( I had done some research!)
We were debating whether or not to go to the hostel to drop our bags off or just go watch the wedding, and we decided to choose the later. So we trekked through the immensely crowded streets with our bags and we went to Trafalgar Square, advised by a nice couple on the street. Although it was already WAYYY crowded when we got there, we made it in time to hear cheers and shouts of joy as the rings/vows were exchanged!! I had goosebumps watching it and listening to everyone cheer -- a true sign of national pride and genuine happiness for the royal couple; finally some joyful news to celebrate about.
The flags we saw everywhere!
The crew celebrating the wedding
Trafalgar Square
Everyone went nuts for this!
So many random people/signs!
We met some people at the square and they wanted to try and get closer to the action, so we followed them. We were able to stand on a fence overlooking Green Park in front of Buckingham, but couldn't really see anything, so we went to Hyde Park ( kind of like NY Central Park) where we watched the wedding with 300,000 people. Like I said, everyone was celebrating the momentous occasion and was in a great mood -- it was like the world's largest picnic!! We met some great people next to us and even met the most adorable 8year old ever and everyone sang to her!! They gave us free pizza and cookies and after the wedding everyone sang the song "I don't want to miss a thing" by Armageddon and it was an absolute blast. We stayed there for the entire afternoon just taking it all in. The coolest part of the day was seeing "THE KISS" (COME ON WILL! act like you love her .. am I right?? You did just marry the most gorgeous girl to walk the planet!)
Before their first kiss
Only a small portion of people that were at the park
Abbey and I at the entrance to Hyde Park !
After that the airplanes flew over Buckingham to..you guessed it..Hyde Park! Everyone was silent and then erupted into applause and it was another spectacular event I'll never forget. The after party for their reception was so fun in the park and everyone was talking like they knew the happy couple, me included! But after pizza and a few drinks the fatigue began to set in so we had to go find our hostels and take a nap.
Once we were rejuvinated, we decided to walk down to Buckingham at night since we knew the Reception was taking place. It was so cool to stand literally feet away from the wedding of a century. We even saw them open the gates and let a car out -- I like to think it was the Beckhams leaving; hey, a girl can only dream!
Us outside of Buckingham during the reception
Due to the wedding the streets were closed off ... so naturally we had to do what only few people can say they've done!
Everyone was doing it...
We went to see Westminster Abbey while they were clearing out the church from the big day. After walking around downtown and taking it all in one last time, we went home for some much needed sleep.
We woke up, ate breakfast, just your ordinary day. Well, you blog readers tend to know how my vacations go -- always amazing, always a mishap. This trip took its turn for the worse rather early in the week when I was brushing my teeth. I looked up in the mirror (VIEWER DISCREITON ADVISED .. I realize I am posting the world's worst blackmail for myself BUT here .. enjoy yourself)..this is what I saw...
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? At least I was in an English speaking country, and to be entirely honest everyone, including the dentist, were so great. Although I did miss out on a few things later that day, at least I regained my smile. The worst part? I had to live with that embarrassing thing for 6 hours and YOU try to not smile in a ton of pictures .. not so easy. Anyways on with the more interesting things. First stop: Harrods! The largest most insanely awesome store I have ever been in! You name it, they have it, and everything is ridicusously expensive. I picked out a few things for my new house:
Harrods!
Glass pigs, only 75,000 pounds, but aren't they adorable? (my favorite animal=pig)
Every little girl in Harrods was in heaven!
Harrods bear (haha also the start of my nonsmiling pictures!)
They had a million cakes for the royal wedding..this was just one of them
After Harrods our whole group when on a walking tour around the city. We got fun facts about the royal family, the buildings, and tidbits about the city as well. Below are my favorite sites of the day (besides looking at all of the cute English men .. which I purposely did not take pictures of .. shoot, guess I will have to go back!) The thing I hope you can take from these pictures is the modern beauty of a city that was built so long ago. There is SO much to see and do in London, and I think the reason I thoroughly enjoyed seeing (almost) all of it was that the history in each building in park had sentimental value; it really makes me wish that the US had more day to day beauty in its cities like London (and jeesh, every city in Europe!)
Arch of Wellington : built for the duke of Wellington who apparently was known for his large nose and pretty much despised for everything he did
outside Prince Harry's house :)
crew at Trafalgar Square (where we watched first part of wedding)
Lauren (roomie) and I at beginning of promenade leading to Buckingham
After the tour it was only mandatory to get fish and chips. After that we parted ways: the gang to hit up the London Eye (big ferris wheel) and me to get 5 shots in my mouth and a new tooth .. which sounds better? Fortunately I have already ridden the London Eye but still, I could have imagined 1000 things cooler to do than the dentist..but hey, a cultural experience, right? Sure, an expensive one!
view from St. James park looking at the palace
Big Ben and Parliment
Harry Potter anyone?
AFter an eventful day and some Pimms (sangria), well we were forced to call it a night since the pub closed at 11:30pm and we were given plastic cups " to go" and dump the remainder of our drink in. OKAY London -- whatever!! We took it on the metro and we were off!
Next day: (lucky you, I was there so many days and have SO many great memories to share). We had a VERY busy day. First up, mass at Westminster! Very cool experience -- knowing Kate Middleton had walked down the very aisle that I was seated in front of two days prior (I know -- very reminiscant of me but like I have said I was in my own fantasy world in London) was just surreal. Took a few pictures (although AGAIN was yelled at .. come on, I couldn't resist!) Not only did we get to attend a mass but to listen to the choir (IN ENGLISH!) was also incredible.
Inside Westminster Abbey
Kate Middleton's wedding bouquet on top of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier inside the Abbey
St. James Garden
Next we went to visit the TRUE London Bridge, just your every day to day bridge!! It was FREEZING but we crossed it!! After that we saw Tower Bridge (what you picture the London Bridge to be) and after that the Tower of London where they keep the crown jewels.
Outside Tower of London
Later we visited the Palace again for changing of the guard -- boring but a must see I suppose! A band marches in with all those guys in the sweet hats and it is a huge process just to change the guard outside of the palace. Then we went walking around the parks again and they are just so spacious and gorgeous you really can't get enough (okay, that is a lie because literally the pollen was floating into my eyes, but that's managable).
Changing of the Guard
Me in front of Tower Bridge
That night we went to see The Lion King on Broadway and it was fabulous!!!
The next day we went to Cambridge University which has about 7 separate colleges, each of which are on the water, River Cam. How to see them all effectively? Do as the English do -- Punting! It is like a gondola but a guy has a big stick (called a Pole, I asked, how unoriginal huh?) and we got to go up and down the river to see the college which was beautiful! Prince Charles went there and had also donated several millions. It was a beautiful little town and we had a lot of fun exploring for the day!
Me overlooking the river Cam before punting
Punting!
Outside church at CAmbridge U
summersaults outside on the lawn that we definitely were not supposed to be on ... clearly we are unqualified candidates of this school, but we have sweatshirts to make people think otherwise!
Camden Market -- serious shopping and eating took place here. What an experience! This took flea markets to a whole new level. And the chinese/indian restuarants were practically shoveling free samples into your mouth. We would take some chicken and still be chewing while we were getting another -- and who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?! Clearly they had never visited Camden Markets before
Abbey Road -- The Beatles ring a bell? Almost got killed two times trying to cross this, we figured the locals most loathe this tourist trap!
Finally, our last night we saw All is Well that Ends Well -- a Shakespeare play in Globe Theater itself. Did we understand it all? No -- but itwas an experience and we had great seats to boot! The next day we had a big picnic in the park and it ended on a perfect note, well, almost.
I swear I have spent the most time blogging about travel mishaps but with me there is ALWAYS one. We get to the airport to find our plane is delayed 20min. No biggy except that we had a 6hr bus ride to catch. Super long story short, me and some friends had to sprint through Madrid airport at 11pm to catch metros to run to bus station to watch our bus drive away in front of us... to them this and the 20 extra euros and extra hour waited was devastating. Me? I WAS REJOICING! That was it? Come on ... I was half expecting the bus to roll over on the way home because that was just too simple! That was the worst of the 9 I traveled with that they endured...and you better believe I received all the blame... I have learned to take it with pride. All in all London still remains my #1 and I had a fabulous time. I can see myself living there and I hope to someday in the future. Dad -- you do not have to worry about me marrying a Spanish boy, not my type; but an English one, well, no promises :)
It is not goodbye London, it is Cheers for Now, as I have not had enough of you yet! This was my last trip during the regular school session. Now I have finals this week (to which I have deemed my work ethic less than pitiful) and then I am off on an epic 2 week adventure with two best friends from home -- they've been warned!!
Until my last blog entry once I am back in the states, and to which I thank you ALL for reading so intently, but please look for one or two more posts. So for the last time I must say (while I am still in Spain anyway)
Peace, Amor, Espana
Ana
PS- Happy Mother's Day to the best mother a girl could ask for. (Told you I would finish it :) )
In order to catch a 6am flight on Friday morning, we had to leave on a 6pm bus from Sevilla and sleep in the airport... or scratch the sleeping part and play soccer in the airport using a ball of socks as a ball and trolleys for our goal posts. We played in our socks and we ALL charlie-browned it a few times but we definitely had an audience at 4am and a workout as well. Come 8am with a time change and no sleep the soccer game kind of bit us in the you know where, but after our bus ride into London we were completely revived with energy. Despite the fact it was only 9am or so, it was April 29, 2011, the ROYAL WEDDING! I would just like to state for the record that this trip was the FIRST trip I booked solely for the wedding -- I have always loved everything about it from Princess Di (did a research paper on her), the Camilla scandal, the makeups and breakups of Kate and Will, and OF COURSE Prince Harry. AGAIN ask my second family, the Geigers, just how obsessed I Was with him our first go-round in London, and my feelings have not dissipated in the slightest. So for me to be in the city where history was being made, well let's just say I had a sheepish grin on my face all day. I also felt like a tour guide leading our group and informing them of the wedding details ( I had done some research!)
We were debating whether or not to go to the hostel to drop our bags off or just go watch the wedding, and we decided to choose the later. So we trekked through the immensely crowded streets with our bags and we went to Trafalgar Square, advised by a nice couple on the street. Although it was already WAYYY crowded when we got there, we made it in time to hear cheers and shouts of joy as the rings/vows were exchanged!! I had goosebumps watching it and listening to everyone cheer -- a true sign of national pride and genuine happiness for the royal couple; finally some joyful news to celebrate about.
The flags we saw everywhere!
The crew celebrating the wedding
Trafalgar Square
Everyone went nuts for this!
So many random people/signs!
We met some people at the square and they wanted to try and get closer to the action, so we followed them. We were able to stand on a fence overlooking Green Park in front of Buckingham, but couldn't really see anything, so we went to Hyde Park ( kind of like NY Central Park) where we watched the wedding with 300,000 people. Like I said, everyone was celebrating the momentous occasion and was in a great mood -- it was like the world's largest picnic!! We met some great people next to us and even met the most adorable 8year old ever and everyone sang to her!! They gave us free pizza and cookies and after the wedding everyone sang the song "I don't want to miss a thing" by Armageddon and it was an absolute blast. We stayed there for the entire afternoon just taking it all in. The coolest part of the day was seeing "THE KISS" (COME ON WILL! act like you love her .. am I right?? You did just marry the most gorgeous girl to walk the planet!)
Before their first kiss
Only a small portion of people that were at the park
Abbey and I at the entrance to Hyde Park !
After that the airplanes flew over Buckingham to..you guessed it..Hyde Park! Everyone was silent and then erupted into applause and it was another spectacular event I'll never forget. The after party for their reception was so fun in the park and everyone was talking like they knew the happy couple, me included! But after pizza and a few drinks the fatigue began to set in so we had to go find our hostels and take a nap.
Once we were rejuvinated, we decided to walk down to Buckingham at night since we knew the Reception was taking place. It was so cool to stand literally feet away from the wedding of a century. We even saw them open the gates and let a car out -- I like to think it was the Beckhams leaving; hey, a girl can only dream!
Us outside of Buckingham during the reception
Due to the wedding the streets were closed off ... so naturally we had to do what only few people can say they've done!
Everyone was doing it...
We went to see Westminster Abbey while they were clearing out the church from the big day. After walking around downtown and taking it all in one last time, we went home for some much needed sleep.
We woke up, ate breakfast, just your ordinary day. Well, you blog readers tend to know how my vacations go -- always amazing, always a mishap. This trip took its turn for the worse rather early in the week when I was brushing my teeth. I looked up in the mirror (VIEWER DISCREITON ADVISED .. I realize I am posting the world's worst blackmail for myself BUT here .. enjoy yourself)..this is what I saw...
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? At least I was in an English speaking country, and to be entirely honest everyone, including the dentist, were so great. Although I did miss out on a few things later that day, at least I regained my smile. The worst part? I had to live with that embarrassing thing for 6 hours and YOU try to not smile in a ton of pictures .. not so easy. Anyways on with the more interesting things. First stop: Harrods! The largest most insanely awesome store I have ever been in! You name it, they have it, and everything is ridicusously expensive. I picked out a few things for my new house:
Harrods!
Glass pigs, only 75,000 pounds, but aren't they adorable? (my favorite animal=pig)
Every little girl in Harrods was in heaven!
Harrods bear (haha also the start of my nonsmiling pictures!)
They had a million cakes for the royal wedding..this was just one of them
After Harrods our whole group when on a walking tour around the city. We got fun facts about the royal family, the buildings, and tidbits about the city as well. Below are my favorite sites of the day (besides looking at all of the cute English men .. which I purposely did not take pictures of .. shoot, guess I will have to go back!) The thing I hope you can take from these pictures is the modern beauty of a city that was built so long ago. There is SO much to see and do in London, and I think the reason I thoroughly enjoyed seeing (almost) all of it was that the history in each building in park had sentimental value; it really makes me wish that the US had more day to day beauty in its cities like London (and jeesh, every city in Europe!)
Arch of Wellington : built for the duke of Wellington who apparently was known for his large nose and pretty much despised for everything he did
outside Prince Harry's house :)
crew at Trafalgar Square (where we watched first part of wedding)
Lauren (roomie) and I at beginning of promenade leading to Buckingham
After the tour it was only mandatory to get fish and chips. After that we parted ways: the gang to hit up the London Eye (big ferris wheel) and me to get 5 shots in my mouth and a new tooth .. which sounds better? Fortunately I have already ridden the London Eye but still, I could have imagined 1000 things cooler to do than the dentist..but hey, a cultural experience, right? Sure, an expensive one!
view from St. James park looking at the palace
Big Ben and Parliment
Harry Potter anyone?
AFter an eventful day and some Pimms (sangria), well we were forced to call it a night since the pub closed at 11:30pm and we were given plastic cups " to go" and dump the remainder of our drink in. OKAY London -- whatever!! We took it on the metro and we were off!
Next day: (lucky you, I was there so many days and have SO many great memories to share). We had a VERY busy day. First up, mass at Westminster! Very cool experience -- knowing Kate Middleton had walked down the very aisle that I was seated in front of two days prior (I know -- very reminiscant of me but like I have said I was in my own fantasy world in London) was just surreal. Took a few pictures (although AGAIN was yelled at .. come on, I couldn't resist!) Not only did we get to attend a mass but to listen to the choir (IN ENGLISH!) was also incredible.
Inside Westminster Abbey
Kate Middleton's wedding bouquet on top of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier inside the Abbey
St. James Garden
Next we went to visit the TRUE London Bridge, just your every day to day bridge!! It was FREEZING but we crossed it!! After that we saw Tower Bridge (what you picture the London Bridge to be) and after that the Tower of London where they keep the crown jewels.
Outside Tower of London
Later we visited the Palace again for changing of the guard -- boring but a must see I suppose! A band marches in with all those guys in the sweet hats and it is a huge process just to change the guard outside of the palace. Then we went walking around the parks again and they are just so spacious and gorgeous you really can't get enough (okay, that is a lie because literally the pollen was floating into my eyes, but that's managable).
Changing of the Guard
Me in front of Tower Bridge
That night we went to see The Lion King on Broadway and it was fabulous!!!
The next day we went to Cambridge University which has about 7 separate colleges, each of which are on the water, River Cam. How to see them all effectively? Do as the English do -- Punting! It is like a gondola but a guy has a big stick (called a Pole, I asked, how unoriginal huh?) and we got to go up and down the river to see the college which was beautiful! Prince Charles went there and had also donated several millions. It was a beautiful little town and we had a lot of fun exploring for the day!
Me overlooking the river Cam before punting
Punting!
Outside church at CAmbridge U
summersaults outside on the lawn that we definitely were not supposed to be on ... clearly we are unqualified candidates of this school, but we have sweatshirts to make people think otherwise!
Camden Market -- serious shopping and eating took place here. What an experience! This took flea markets to a whole new level. And the chinese/indian restuarants were practically shoveling free samples into your mouth. We would take some chicken and still be chewing while we were getting another -- and who says there is no such thing as a free lunch?! Clearly they had never visited Camden Markets before
Abbey Road -- The Beatles ring a bell? Almost got killed two times trying to cross this, we figured the locals most loathe this tourist trap!
Finally, our last night we saw All is Well that Ends Well -- a Shakespeare play in Globe Theater itself. Did we understand it all? No -- but itwas an experience and we had great seats to boot! The next day we had a big picnic in the park and it ended on a perfect note, well, almost.
I swear I have spent the most time blogging about travel mishaps but with me there is ALWAYS one. We get to the airport to find our plane is delayed 20min. No biggy except that we had a 6hr bus ride to catch. Super long story short, me and some friends had to sprint through Madrid airport at 11pm to catch metros to run to bus station to watch our bus drive away in front of us... to them this and the 20 extra euros and extra hour waited was devastating. Me? I WAS REJOICING! That was it? Come on ... I was half expecting the bus to roll over on the way home because that was just too simple! That was the worst of the 9 I traveled with that they endured...and you better believe I received all the blame... I have learned to take it with pride. All in all London still remains my #1 and I had a fabulous time. I can see myself living there and I hope to someday in the future. Dad -- you do not have to worry about me marrying a Spanish boy, not my type; but an English one, well, no promises :)
It is not goodbye London, it is Cheers for Now, as I have not had enough of you yet! This was my last trip during the regular school session. Now I have finals this week (to which I have deemed my work ethic less than pitiful) and then I am off on an epic 2 week adventure with two best friends from home -- they've been warned!!
Until my last blog entry once I am back in the states, and to which I thank you ALL for reading so intently, but please look for one or two more posts. So for the last time I must say (while I am still in Spain anyway)
Peace, Amor, Espana
Ana
PS- Happy Mother's Day to the best mother a girl could ask for. (Told you I would finish it :) )
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
African Experience: On Land and from Afar
First and foremost, you must be thinking what on earth is this crazy girl talking about now and what does the title mean. This past weekend I went to Morocco, Africa, and had one of the most memorable cultural experiences of my life. However, before I start with that story, I went to Gibraltar a few weeks ago and have yet to blog about it (much to my mother's chagrin!)
Gibraltar is a tiny little British Colony at the southern most tip of Spain expanding only 6.5 Km. It is basically a small town based around a big rock, and from the top of the "rock" you can see Africa, well only 30% of the time. I am SO pleased to say that luck had finally found its way to me and I happened to be there on a perfect day. Normally it takes about 4 hours to get there from Sevilla, but not if you sneak onto a bus provided by our program, so that is exactly what I did with one of my friends here (and one of my best friends from home -- Abby Cain's best friend from UW)...hope you followed all of that!
This is the colony from afar. I tried taking a picture of it when I was on a ferry from Spain to Africa, but I was too busy concentrating on not losing my breakfast...ANYWAYS it is beautiful! (had to steal this one from internet)
So after a short nap we got to Gibralter and had to WALK through customs. Here is a picture of Gibraltar before entering. How strict are they? Turns out not very. I was literally in the process of pulling out my passport out of my bag when they just waved me through at the first sight of seeing the navy US passport -- reassuring right? Whatever!
Walked through and across the one and only public airport runway. It is closed 7 times a day -- 4 flights in and 3 out. Otherwise, it is a public road that can be both driven and walked on. We had a quick info session about the colony and its source of income: ALL tourism since it is so small they can't produce anything for themselves. Their language? Spanish, English, and a weird combo of the two that you can only understand if you are a native.
Once we were on our own we started walking around the town a little bit. We decided to take a tour that took us to several locations up and around the rock and we were even promised that we would see monkeys -- apparently they are in abundance on the rock! First stop: gorgeous scenic view of Africa! (see below) With the haze of the ocean, that is the best view you will ever get. To witness it firsthand, pretty darn incredible I must say!
Above and below are pictures of the harbor!
Tori and I with Africa in the background.
Next up we saw some caves. These were REALLY cool. They used to be hideouts from WWII and then they were used as shelter and most recently they do weddings and performances there now.
MONKEY BUSINESS!
I went to take a pic of this little guy and he spread his legs and just looked away like..."HERE WE GO AGAIN!" Very inappropriate. Now these monkeys are EVERYWHERE. They tried getting into our van. Take raccoons times 100...they would just jump on people if they were eating anything but we were all warned. But SO cute.
Lovers.
Baby monkey -- so adorable!
Tori and I on top of the rock ... kind of felt like paradise up there!!!
Another set of war caves ... had to give my try at a cannon!
Guard tower to a castle that is now destroyed
One last shot on top of the rock. All these pics were courtesy of my iphone since I did not have a camera at the time, pretty great quality ehh? This should be a marketing campaign for both Gibraltar and iphone4. Needless to say had a great time with Tori, but onto the real thing now, experiencing Morocco AFRICA!
(If you need a short break, now would be the time to do it. As my Grandma mentioned, I tend to write novels, but this next part will be mostly scenic as Morocco was one of the most colorful places I have ever seen!)
Morocco was a cultural experience that I will NEVER forget and that I never would have gotten without going through my program -- CIEE. We left Sevilla for a 2hr bus ride that took us to the infamous ferry. Normally I do not experience sea sickness, but the 45min ferry ride from Spain to Africa I was concentrating on not losing my insides. We passed Gibralter which was neat to see afar, but only saw it for the 10sec my eyes were open. Made it out alive somehow and desperately needed fresh air before loading onto the next bus. BAD IDEA. Was swarmed by like 10 ladies all trying to sell me the same necklace at the same price -- poor selling strategy in my opinion! Anyways, Morocco was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, albeit one of the most smelly as well. I will let the pictures demonstrate just how culturally enriching the country was, but unfortunately they will not do the smells justice ( lucky for you!) After getting home the first night we could not shower fast enough to get the smell of dead fish off of us.
The last thing I want to point out was safety. Although going there may have been slightly dangerous given the situation at hand in Egypt, I went through my program with about 45 kids. We also had security guards with us, equipped with hand guns and all. The men there are extremely verbal and harass, especially to women, especially to American women who are wearing far less clothes than the Moroccan women. It is so sad to see how the women are still being treated in this day and age -- it is something we learn about in school, but to witness it first hand is a whole new experience in itself. We had guides with guns attached to their belts behind and beside us for the first night, and just behind us for the following two days. Necessary? Completely. They had to usher a few people away. The group before us even had a guy offer a camel for two girls. Funny -- somewhat, but the fact that it is serious and that is how women are treated, that is just plain awful. Also, while our group commenced to hear about some history, we had a series of 4 funeral processes go by us. They were singing a song and carrying the casket above their heads as they walked. They are very plain, wooden caskets, and a green sheath covers it if there is a female inside. ONLY males participate in the marching and the women are expected to stay at home and grieve, and go to the burial site weeks after the fact. I can't help to think how terrible it would be to not be able to witness the burial of my husband, but that is just one of many cultural differences I can't wrap my finger around. Enough morbidity, onto the good stuff!
First shot after we went through customs
Nina and I posing in an art school in Morocco
They were doing Arabic tattoos (my mom asked if it was real...are you kidding me?) The lady said she would do our names "Annie and Greg" seems simple enough right? Well "Andy and Gray" is what we got according to our friend who reads Arabic (which you read left to right) but hey, this is why I didn't get a permanent one!
Money exchange! 1Euro=11 Dirhams. Therefore I was RICH! Sort of.. And everything you buy there you haggle for ... But I have always had a problem with this. Yes I understand they set a high price to be bartered down, but I only have it in me to barter so much because these people have so little compared to me. Friends would counter that and say but this is what they do for a living, but at the end of the day I go home to a bed with a full stomach and I can't say I know they do the same...
View from our balcony at the hotel!! After checking in, we were off to Tetuan for our first "market experience."
These markets were never ending, and I am going to start with the good pictures and ease you into the not so nice looking things!
A lot of the markets looked like this. These are nuts and beans and candies! Very cool looking, but swarms of flies were all over. They would also leave out dead animals, biscuits, desserts, and everything was fly infested.
Fabric to make the authentic dresses for females. Most women were covered head to foot, many wore head scarves, and some even had their mouths covered. Temperate was about 80 degrees, and they were the same thing year round!
How the dresses look after the fact!
Chicken coop... when alive... Caution for next few pictures ahead!
This guy basically got his insides chopped out in front of my eyes! Nina and I were bringing up the rear and a guy took a knife and chopped a chicken in half... naturally we screamed! The natives thoroughly enjoyed our naiveness to the situation I am just sure, but after our heart rate dropped it was pretty funny. We walked a little further down and they just had rows of these guys hanging...Bon apetit! AND we ate chicken that night!!!! Well, I had a bite or two, then remembered the smells from earlier, and that was enough for me
Christine and I with our scented flowers. We were given these before going into a natural tannery...where we saw the insides of cows and the before math of leather. It was one of the most rancid smells I have EVER smelled, and every store with leather after that I was haunted. Cow guts were in those pools and we had to walk between them (I stll have nightmares from the waste water treatment plant from third grade and those pools...these pools put them to shame!) This is one of the only natural tanneries left, and although completely disgusting, it was an experience I would never want to take back!
The infamous tannery..
Onto something more pleasant...countryside! After the market which seemed never ending, we went back to the hotel for a meal, showers, and early bedtime since we were up at 6am for a full day!
The next day we were super busy and started with a tour of the Coca Cola Factory in Tetuahan. We had to put on these crazy space suit things but we could not take pictures in the factory as everything is confidential. We saw the production lines of plastic bottles, glass bottles, and cans, and it honestly was really cool just to see how much went into the production line. We saw a coke bottle get filled with orange juice that coke produces too and a huge scene happened to make sure that the bottle did not go into packaging -- good to know they are so careful about their products!
rocking the space suits!
NExt up -- quick stop at the beach. This is me and my "bro" Paul Miller
my current computer background ... we ate lunch over looking this view!
After lunch we went to the Caves of Hercules. This here is looking out from inside the cave...look familiar? Maybe like the outline of Africa? Very cool to see
Next few pics are fairly self explanatory ... WE RODE CAMELS IN AFRICA! Now of course Nina chooses the ONE camel that needs to have two riders and guess who lucky #2 got to be? Yup -- I was chosen by her to listen to her scream like we were on Tower of Terror -- it was honestly hiloarius. I actually thought I was peeing my pants a little I was laughing so hard; turns out it was the camel behind us ( Relax I knew it wasn't really me!) We thought we were funny..until two boys had to do it at the end ... priceless
Only took a few pictures of the last day seeing as we were pretty wiped out but we went to Chefchaun which is the city of blue. Literally every door and building was painted blue and repainted 4X a year. This city was the most beautiful in my eyes. At the end of the tour (see last pic) we went into a natural soaps shop where I bought great natural perfumes and soaps! A little on the pricey side I learned the hard way (had to scalp some money from friends.. actually from Paul who I had literally just got out of debt with .. good thing he loves me ) but all was good! Ending this seriously long blog on a few beautiful pics and a note of thanks for sticking with me :)
Peace, Amor, Espana
Ana
Gibraltar is a tiny little British Colony at the southern most tip of Spain expanding only 6.5 Km. It is basically a small town based around a big rock, and from the top of the "rock" you can see Africa, well only 30% of the time. I am SO pleased to say that luck had finally found its way to me and I happened to be there on a perfect day. Normally it takes about 4 hours to get there from Sevilla, but not if you sneak onto a bus provided by our program, so that is exactly what I did with one of my friends here (and one of my best friends from home -- Abby Cain's best friend from UW)...hope you followed all of that!
This is the colony from afar. I tried taking a picture of it when I was on a ferry from Spain to Africa, but I was too busy concentrating on not losing my breakfast...ANYWAYS it is beautiful! (had to steal this one from internet)
So after a short nap we got to Gibralter and had to WALK through customs. Here is a picture of Gibraltar before entering. How strict are they? Turns out not very. I was literally in the process of pulling out my passport out of my bag when they just waved me through at the first sight of seeing the navy US passport -- reassuring right? Whatever!
Walked through and across the one and only public airport runway. It is closed 7 times a day -- 4 flights in and 3 out. Otherwise, it is a public road that can be both driven and walked on. We had a quick info session about the colony and its source of income: ALL tourism since it is so small they can't produce anything for themselves. Their language? Spanish, English, and a weird combo of the two that you can only understand if you are a native.
Once we were on our own we started walking around the town a little bit. We decided to take a tour that took us to several locations up and around the rock and we were even promised that we would see monkeys -- apparently they are in abundance on the rock! First stop: gorgeous scenic view of Africa! (see below) With the haze of the ocean, that is the best view you will ever get. To witness it firsthand, pretty darn incredible I must say!
Above and below are pictures of the harbor!
Tori and I with Africa in the background.
Next up we saw some caves. These were REALLY cool. They used to be hideouts from WWII and then they were used as shelter and most recently they do weddings and performances there now.
MONKEY BUSINESS!
I went to take a pic of this little guy and he spread his legs and just looked away like..."HERE WE GO AGAIN!" Very inappropriate. Now these monkeys are EVERYWHERE. They tried getting into our van. Take raccoons times 100...they would just jump on people if they were eating anything but we were all warned. But SO cute.
Lovers.
Baby monkey -- so adorable!
Tori and I on top of the rock ... kind of felt like paradise up there!!!
Another set of war caves ... had to give my try at a cannon!
Guard tower to a castle that is now destroyed
One last shot on top of the rock. All these pics were courtesy of my iphone since I did not have a camera at the time, pretty great quality ehh? This should be a marketing campaign for both Gibraltar and iphone4. Needless to say had a great time with Tori, but onto the real thing now, experiencing Morocco AFRICA!
(If you need a short break, now would be the time to do it. As my Grandma mentioned, I tend to write novels, but this next part will be mostly scenic as Morocco was one of the most colorful places I have ever seen!)
Morocco was a cultural experience that I will NEVER forget and that I never would have gotten without going through my program -- CIEE. We left Sevilla for a 2hr bus ride that took us to the infamous ferry. Normally I do not experience sea sickness, but the 45min ferry ride from Spain to Africa I was concentrating on not losing my insides. We passed Gibralter which was neat to see afar, but only saw it for the 10sec my eyes were open. Made it out alive somehow and desperately needed fresh air before loading onto the next bus. BAD IDEA. Was swarmed by like 10 ladies all trying to sell me the same necklace at the same price -- poor selling strategy in my opinion! Anyways, Morocco was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, albeit one of the most smelly as well. I will let the pictures demonstrate just how culturally enriching the country was, but unfortunately they will not do the smells justice ( lucky for you!) After getting home the first night we could not shower fast enough to get the smell of dead fish off of us.
The last thing I want to point out was safety. Although going there may have been slightly dangerous given the situation at hand in Egypt, I went through my program with about 45 kids. We also had security guards with us, equipped with hand guns and all. The men there are extremely verbal and harass, especially to women, especially to American women who are wearing far less clothes than the Moroccan women. It is so sad to see how the women are still being treated in this day and age -- it is something we learn about in school, but to witness it first hand is a whole new experience in itself. We had guides with guns attached to their belts behind and beside us for the first night, and just behind us for the following two days. Necessary? Completely. They had to usher a few people away. The group before us even had a guy offer a camel for two girls. Funny -- somewhat, but the fact that it is serious and that is how women are treated, that is just plain awful. Also, while our group commenced to hear about some history, we had a series of 4 funeral processes go by us. They were singing a song and carrying the casket above their heads as they walked. They are very plain, wooden caskets, and a green sheath covers it if there is a female inside. ONLY males participate in the marching and the women are expected to stay at home and grieve, and go to the burial site weeks after the fact. I can't help to think how terrible it would be to not be able to witness the burial of my husband, but that is just one of many cultural differences I can't wrap my finger around. Enough morbidity, onto the good stuff!
First shot after we went through customs
Nina and I posing in an art school in Morocco
They were doing Arabic tattoos (my mom asked if it was real...are you kidding me?) The lady said she would do our names "Annie and Greg" seems simple enough right? Well "Andy and Gray" is what we got according to our friend who reads Arabic (which you read left to right) but hey, this is why I didn't get a permanent one!
Money exchange! 1Euro=11 Dirhams. Therefore I was RICH! Sort of.. And everything you buy there you haggle for ... But I have always had a problem with this. Yes I understand they set a high price to be bartered down, but I only have it in me to barter so much because these people have so little compared to me. Friends would counter that and say but this is what they do for a living, but at the end of the day I go home to a bed with a full stomach and I can't say I know they do the same...
View from our balcony at the hotel!! After checking in, we were off to Tetuan for our first "market experience."
These markets were never ending, and I am going to start with the good pictures and ease you into the not so nice looking things!
A lot of the markets looked like this. These are nuts and beans and candies! Very cool looking, but swarms of flies were all over. They would also leave out dead animals, biscuits, desserts, and everything was fly infested.
Fabric to make the authentic dresses for females. Most women were covered head to foot, many wore head scarves, and some even had their mouths covered. Temperate was about 80 degrees, and they were the same thing year round!
How the dresses look after the fact!
Chicken coop... when alive... Caution for next few pictures ahead!
This guy basically got his insides chopped out in front of my eyes! Nina and I were bringing up the rear and a guy took a knife and chopped a chicken in half... naturally we screamed! The natives thoroughly enjoyed our naiveness to the situation I am just sure, but after our heart rate dropped it was pretty funny. We walked a little further down and they just had rows of these guys hanging...Bon apetit! AND we ate chicken that night!!!! Well, I had a bite or two, then remembered the smells from earlier, and that was enough for me
Christine and I with our scented flowers. We were given these before going into a natural tannery...where we saw the insides of cows and the before math of leather. It was one of the most rancid smells I have EVER smelled, and every store with leather after that I was haunted. Cow guts were in those pools and we had to walk between them (I stll have nightmares from the waste water treatment plant from third grade and those pools...these pools put them to shame!) This is one of the only natural tanneries left, and although completely disgusting, it was an experience I would never want to take back!
The infamous tannery..
Onto something more pleasant...countryside! After the market which seemed never ending, we went back to the hotel for a meal, showers, and early bedtime since we were up at 6am for a full day!
The next day we were super busy and started with a tour of the Coca Cola Factory in Tetuahan. We had to put on these crazy space suit things but we could not take pictures in the factory as everything is confidential. We saw the production lines of plastic bottles, glass bottles, and cans, and it honestly was really cool just to see how much went into the production line. We saw a coke bottle get filled with orange juice that coke produces too and a huge scene happened to make sure that the bottle did not go into packaging -- good to know they are so careful about their products!
rocking the space suits!
NExt up -- quick stop at the beach. This is me and my "bro" Paul Miller
my current computer background ... we ate lunch over looking this view!
After lunch we went to the Caves of Hercules. This here is looking out from inside the cave...look familiar? Maybe like the outline of Africa? Very cool to see
Next few pics are fairly self explanatory ... WE RODE CAMELS IN AFRICA! Now of course Nina chooses the ONE camel that needs to have two riders and guess who lucky #2 got to be? Yup -- I was chosen by her to listen to her scream like we were on Tower of Terror -- it was honestly hiloarius. I actually thought I was peeing my pants a little I was laughing so hard; turns out it was the camel behind us ( Relax I knew it wasn't really me!) We thought we were funny..until two boys had to do it at the end ... priceless
Only took a few pictures of the last day seeing as we were pretty wiped out but we went to Chefchaun which is the city of blue. Literally every door and building was painted blue and repainted 4X a year. This city was the most beautiful in my eyes. At the end of the tour (see last pic) we went into a natural soaps shop where I bought great natural perfumes and soaps! A little on the pricey side I learned the hard way (had to scalp some money from friends.. actually from Paul who I had literally just got out of debt with .. good thing he loves me ) but all was good! Ending this seriously long blog on a few beautiful pics and a note of thanks for sticking with me :)
Peace, Amor, Espana
Ana
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