Marruecos

Marruecos.
Marruecos significa Morocco en español...y es donde fui este fin de semana pasado!
(Marruecos means Morocco in Spanish, and it's where I went this past weekend!)

There are a bunch of programs outside of my study abroad program that run trips for students to different places that are close to Sevilla, so I decided on a whim to sign up for the Morocco weekend trip with some of my friends. Realistically I have no idea if I'll ever have the chance to travel to Morocco again in my life, so I'm very glad I went through this program since they provided everything in the trip price and it was suchhhh a good deal.

We stopped in Gibraltar first, which I had no idea existed and I feel like a total idiot who knows nothing about the world.......
But it was so cool because we got to walk over the border from Spain! Checked that off the bucket list. It was weird to all of a sudden be thrown into an English speaking place since I'm so used to hearing Spanish, but I'm glad we saw it because it was like a mini England and made me look forward to going to  London in March (KRISTEN AND ALYSSA I AM WAY TOO EXCITED).
Morocco itself was like entering a whole new world. For the first time I really didn't see American influence in a foreign culture, and it was awesome. It was beautiful in a completely different way than Spain, and it was really interesting to see how big of an influence the Muslim religion has on the culture there. However, I can't talk about it all so I'll hit some of the highlights of the trip:

1.) I rode a camel next to the beach, if you haven't seen my profile picture. I realized this year that I'm actually scared of animals....sorry all of you who think that's a crime but dogs are the only animals that don't freak me out to be around. So, this was a bigger deal for me than most, and it was actually wicked fun and hilarious.

2.) There are no set prices for the stores there, except for the "farmacias" which have things like spices and oils. So, if you want to buy something, you bargain with the store owner. I was nervous for this because of the language barrier and because I felt like I'd get nervous and end up agreeing to whatever price they gave me. But, it was really great to experience that system and I ended up buying a ton of stuff because the exchange rate there is insanely good for euros. I got one store owner to lower a tapestry from 50 euros (um, why would I ever spend that on a tapestry) to 20, simply by telling him I wouldn't spend more than that. He kept saying it had to be higher but the second I started walking out of the store he was like "OK VEINTE!" meaning he gave into my offer hehe. They are absolutely relentless in trying to sell tourists their stuff though, and I got really annoyed by the end of the weekend because they wouldn't leave us alone. I don't know how many times I told some guy that I did NOT NEED BONGOS but it's alright because it's just how their culture is.

3.) I got a henna tattoo at dinner Saturday night and it came out kinda weird. But yeah I slept on my hand (ugh whyyyyy) and woke up with it tattooed on my cheek so that was nice. Good thing it was cheap and only lasted a day before fading since I scrubbed it off like my life depended on it. The actual tattoo on my hand looks so weird right now and it's kind of embarrassing but it will not come off...you win some you lose some.

4.) The language use there was my favorite part. I'm weird and think that languages are fascinating, and love being challenged and testing my comfort zone with that kind of stuff, which is what this trip did. Morocco's first language is Arabic and second is French. I know some French, but most of the signs there were in Arabic, which was beautiful but meant absolutely nothing to me. At the street markets most of them know a little English and Spanish too, which blows my mind because they can communicate with so many people based of those 4 languages. So, whenever I bartered, I always asked if they spoke Spanish because I felt  more comfortable getting by with that than with English, which is so great because I'm getting to use my Spanish in real life situations and I love that.

Being in Morocco made me miss Spain, and Sevilla especially, a lot. I never realized how comfortable I felt here until I threw myself into a country were I truly felt like an outsider. It made me appreciate how well I can speak Spanish, even though I still have trouble sometimes. But, it gave me the confidence to realize that I'm learning way more than I thought I was up til this point. I'm super happy being here and hope everyone back home isn't drowning in all the snow...it's a good thing I'm not there or I'd be complaining every single second of the day and everyone would hate me...

This post's shout out is dedicated to my superhero partner Robin. Miss you so much! I was going through pictures on my phone on the bus back from Morocco and found like 3 pictures of you laying on the floor of the lounge in a blanket...hahaha classic. Can't wait until summer, qué divertido será!!

Como siempre, gracias por leer!
Moll :)