Adventures in Spain: April 2012

So Victoria, Amy, Marissa and I traveled to Morocco for the weekend...unbelievable right??? Yeah, I think so too. But before I describe exactly what we did, I want to talk about what I realized, that is how I was affected by the trip because it was much more than just a sight seeing trip.

Our tour guide Nor made the entire trip incredible. He was from Morocco and grew up in a very small mountain town. Specifically, he is a Berber and very proud of it. He speaks about 7 languages including Arabic, Berber, 3 dialects of Arabic, English, Spanish, French and is currently learning Dutch. He was truly and amazing person to meet, and his outlook on life was positive, refreshing,and moving. He loves his country and made me love it too.

So if you didn't know, Morocco is a monarchy. They have had bad kings, good kings and everything in between. Right now, Nor is pleased with the current king because many changes are occurring. For example, the king had an open air wedding and everyone knows his wife which is a drastic change from past times. In the past the people never even saw the king's wife...this is the first time in Moroccan history that this has happened. Each day women are gaining more rights and have the ability to seek a better place in their country, but they still do face the adversity and find it difficult to obtain all of their goals. Recently they have gained the right to divorce so that they do not have to stay with abusive husbands. Not only that, but they are not required to wear burqas anymore...that is simply a personal choice which many women still elect because if they are wearing a burqa they are not bothered by men whereas if they choose not to sometimes men take liberties with the women in the streets. Although circumstances are improving, there is still a long way to go.

Another thing that Nor talked a lot about was the fact that the king is one of the richest men in the world while his country for the vast majority is poor. This is because whatever business there is must pay a certain percent of their profits to the king. He gains in everything from supermarkets to the illegal drug trades. Nor didn't try to deny the fact that he believe it was likely that the king was directly profiting from the drug trade in the north, which is one of the largest in the world.

Although the country is progressing slightly, Nor was adamant that the king didn't truly support the development of his country because he was keeping one thing from his people: EDUCATION. Over 40% of the Moroccan population is illiterate and most of the time children don't even go to school. We witnessed it for ourselves as we travelled through the smaller towns. The children opt to sell trinkets or herbs on the side of the road. The parents also do not encourage their children to further their education because the schools are very far away and they do not want to send them to live in other cities. This is one of the worst problems according to Nor.

Finally, Nor talked a lot about the differences between Arabs and Berbers. In the history of Morocco the Berbers faced discrimination and extreme poverty and things have only slightly improved today. We drove by a long standing protest about working conditions and job opportunities and covering the landscape in the south are political messages stating "the Sahara is ours" or simply the Berber symbol. It was very interesting to learn about the history and current politics. Nor beat the odds growing up as a Berber in a small village. He was able to receive an education, avoid an arranged marriage, and no longer practices any religion. He even taught the Berber language to members of the peace corps when they visited his village when he was a boy.

Nor is an incredible person, and on the night that we spent in the Sahara he put into words what I had been thinking all along. He told us that in reality life is short and that is why he does what he does. He meets new people from around the world, learns new languages, and travels as much as possible. He sees the joy in the little things in life and can stop to appreciate every opportunity he is given. I completely agree. I am incredibly lucky. There are not many people in the world that have the opportunity to do everything I have been doing. Never in my life did I think I would be on a trip in Morocco with people from Australia, Argentina, Arizona, Nebraska, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Texas, Spain, and Morocco. Never did I think that we would all be able to communicate through a mix of Spanish, English, Arabic, and Berber. I have been lucky that on each trip I take I meet some incredible people, have incredible experiences, and take away more than just photos.

After being in Morocco it is definitely a place that I would want to go back to someday. I would like to help with the education situation that is a major concern there...but maybe I should learn one of their languages first. I always have wanted to learn Arabic!

Anyway, on to the things that we actually did which will probably interest you much more. Since I have already written so much how about a picture timeline? That way you can all look at the beauty of Morocco while I babble about my experience. Here we go:

We saw many small towns and houses built into the sides of mountains and sometimes tents pitched in the desert where the nomads stayed from time to time. I never thought that I would actually see nomads, but we did: both with camels and sheep.

This was the first small town we stayed at. It was about 2 or 3 hours more to the Sahara. In this town they filmed a few scenes from the Gladiator, so now the government is trying to preserve it. In fact, only 10 families live there now and just last year was a bridge built so they could cross the river when it rained because the government finally realized that the families were not moving no matter how hard they tried to make them.

This is the view from the top of the town...we hiked up it the day after we saw it.

Our next stop was the gorges for lunch...very cool! There were people everywhere relaxing in the sun and having family picnics.

We camped in the Sahara in traditional Berber tents. Enough said :)

Moroccan drumming! Our guide Nor and our bus driver were both excellent singers, dancers, and drummers as well.

We took a camel trek into the Sahara Desert for sunrise...those are members of our group on top of that dune! It was really incredible

The sun coming up over the dunes

Marissa with her camel! They had one for each of us!

After our camel trek and Sahara experience we went back to the busy city of Marrakesh and got to try our hand at bargaining for everything that we bought! Overall a very fun and enlightening experience! If you have the chance to go...do it!

I can't even begin to describe what an amazing week I had. We had the week off due to Semana Santa leading up to Easter, so my friends and I decided to take a quick trip to Italia! (Specifically Roma and Venicia). After about 7 meals a day and around a total of 12 gelatos later, I have returned to España about 30 pounds heavier, but it was SO worth it! I didn't do it here, but I could have made an entire photo album of all the food I ate. Just think of it as gifts for all of you...souvenirs if you will. Mom, I had chocolate gelato for you, Dad, I got a HUGE piece of pizza for you, and Scott the spaghetti was definitely what you would have wanted. Unfortunately I couldn't take those gifts back to the U.S. so I just had to eat them...oh well!

Anyway, let me just go ahead and tell you about my trip aside from the food. The first night that we arrived in Rome it was pretty late, but decided to explore anyway. We went out for dinner and just walked around. It was a pretty amazing first impression of Rome because as you walk down the urban, modern streets there are literally just ancient ruins every so often. Very cool to be in the center of a spot like that!

The next two days were completely full of activities...we barely took the time to eat! We started by going to the Vatican. It was such an amazing place! There was so much history all stored in one place. There were sections of ancient Greek art, Roman art, and even Egyptian art. Every room was filled with original statues collected over the years. While we were there I acted as the tour guide because I purchases an audio guide so that we all knew what everything meant! (It would have been much too overwhelming to try and just explore without any knowledge). So as I went from room to room spewing out facts I learned a lot about the past Popes and how all of the art collections and rooms came to be. One of my favorite stories was about two of the statues. They were of an Amazon woman, and there had been a contest in which four artists participated. They had both the winning stature and the losing statue in the same room. It was really cool to see them both and think about how they were products of an ancient Greek art competition! Overall however, I was most blown away by the Sistine Chapel! Yup...that's right...I was actually in the Sistine Chapel! I could look up and see the creation scene and picture Michelangelo hanging from the ceiling painting it! Not only that, but his scene of the final judgement was INCREDIBLE! Full of symbolism and even pagan references (he was a risk taker when it came to religious works). I couldn't believe that I was standing in the middle of history, but the day only got better...

From there we went to the Colosseum. We had a two day pass to that, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Once again, I was completely overwhelmed by the fact that I was walking in the same place that gladiators had fought and emperors ruled before me. It was truly and amazing sight and we all loved learning about the history (Sarah was the tour guide with and audio guide this time). We saw where the Emperor used to sit, where the Senators viewed everything from, and in the center where the actual arena used to be you can now see all of the chambers where they used to keep the animals that they fought.

Next we got on a bus back to Vatican City to see if we could get tickets for Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square. We got lucky and were able to get them! While we were there we went into St. Peter's Basilica. This way my favorite moment of the trip. I really can't describe it to all of you, but the experience was incredible. The Basilica was beautiful and we happened to stumble upon an Adoration that was going on. I was completely overwhelmed by absolutely everything in Rome while in St. Peter's. It was literally a once in a life time experience that I recommend all of you have at some point. If I could put into words what it was like I would, but that is simply impossible.

After St. Peter's we went back to our hostel (which was amazing...it was an apartment with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a kitchen!) and had a family dinner! Right after relaxing for maybe half an hour we went on a free walking night tour of Roam offered by our hostel. We saw a lot of the famous architecture and listened to all of the hilarious stories behind it (mostly consisting of feuding artists and Popes, but if you are really interested you should ask me about it because I will never forget the antics of the artist Bernini). During this tour we also went to the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. I threw a coin into the Trevi so I guess that means I will have to come back to Rome some day! YAY! I learned so much about everything that I saw...there are so many cool stories behind all these places, but I really don't have time to write them all down so here are just a few:

Trevi Fountain: There was a contest for the best design, but they didn't use the winning artists work because he was not a Roman. They settled for second place. (I would be really interested to see what first place was like!) Also, one of the windows in the building behind the fountain is completely bricked up because of a murder that was claimed to be a suicide of one of the Pope's nephews. His ghost was said to have been spotted many times so the room is entirely shut off and the window removed: They only enter it once a year for cleaning!

Spanish Steps: They were constructed by the French as a peace offering to the Spanish after the Pope told them they had to settle their differences. The Spanish Embassy was at the bottom of the hill and the French at the top, so the French would always walk down the hill and leave trash etc. near the Spanish Embassy. The mutual hate got to be so much that the Pope intervened and now the Spanish Steps exist!

Last note for that day: My friend Kristen who plays rugby with me at UNH met up with us in Rome (where she is studying abroad) and went on this night tour with us. It was great to see someone from home and it sounds like she is having a blast abroad. She has already been so many places! I got to go to one of her favorite spots with her after the tour for some wine and to take in Rome at night. So much fun!

Okay, so sorry for the length of this, but I'm just going to keep talking about everything I did because I still can't believe it was real life! If you want to stop reading and skip to the pictures that's fine, but you will miss out on hearing about mass at the VATICAN! Yes, that's right, I went to mass on Palm Sunday at the Vatican and it was given by the Pope! It was a very cool experience. People of all ages from all nations were there. Some guys from Germany were sitting in front of us and a group from Spain was behind us. So many countries were represented and they all brought banners and flags. We had great seats, because when the Pope drove around in the Popemobile we were about 15 feet away from him. Never EVER EVER in my life did I ever think that I would get to see the Pope or go to mass in St. Peter's square. Although the mass was in Italian, he did take a moment to address many nations in their native languages, so I understood what he said in Spanish and English! It was definitely an experience worth having.

After mass we ate our bagged lunches (yes we are pretty good at planning ahead) and headed to Palatine Hill the Roman Forum. Pretty much these are the most ancient places in Rome. The origins of the empire...it is even said that the first Emperor Augustus had his home on Palatine Hill (or at least his wife lived there) and the Roman Forum was the center of public life, government buildings included, at the height of the Roman Empire. It was in the 70s as we walked around and absolutely beautiful. I could have spent all day there (and we pretty much did) we left only to go eat dinner. After dinner we headed to the Pantheon at night. It was a great place to just relax and eat gelato!

So those two and a half days in Roma passed extremely quickly and it was by far one of my favorite spots! I would go back in a heartbeat because there is still so much to see and do! Anyone want to plan a trip? Here are a few photos of Rome then we can move on to Venice!

John, Sarah, Brenna, Melanie, and Phoebe at the Colosseum!

St. Peter's Basilica...I liked the way the light looked in this photo :)

All of us Spanish students on the Spanish Steps...Thanks for taking the picture Kristen!

Brenna, me, Sarah, and Phoebe sitting at the Trevi Fountain!

My palm for mass at the Vatican! (We also met a bunch of young nuns and priests. They all kept blessing us...so maybe that is why everything on our trip worked out so well!)

ALRIGHT, now for Venice! Venice was also amazing! It was much more relaxing because it is a tiny city and doesn't have as many tourist attractions. It was a great way to recuperate after Rome. We did do a lot here as well however. The first night we got there we walked to St. Mark's Square and got a little lost along the way, but one of the best things to do is to get lost in Venice. We also went to the main bridge called the Rialto. Very fun just to walk around and explore. It is completely different from any other city I have ever seen. There are no cars allowed in Venice at all...in fact, streets don't really exist. It is more like walkways alongside and across the canals. There are over 50 canals in Venice and something like 300 bridges (so said our gondelier). It is pretty cool to see everything happen by boat...they have water taxis, water buses, and people privately own boats instead of cars.

So many of you may have heard of Murano Glass, or at least Venician Glass. Well, on my 21st birthday we went island hopping in Venice! We went to the islands of Murano (the glass island), Burano (the lace and colorful houses island), and Torcello (kind of like a nature reserve). We got to take a water bus!! On each of these stops we were able to witness actual glass making demonstrations and ladies at work making lace. It was a great day and some of you may have Murano Glass gifts when I come home :) The rest of the trip we pretty much just walked around, took a gondola ride, went into St. Mark's Basilica (which was amazing), and enjoyed the atmosphere of Venice. (We also ate tons of Italian food woohoo!) Here are a few pictures from Venicia:

Houses right along the canals!

Victoria and I on Murano...note the giant glass sculpture behind us. They were placed all about the island.

Burano...The buildings were incredible! It was like being in a fairytale world!

Our gondola ride! All 6 of us in one gondola...very fun!

Italy was amazing and I am so glad that I had to opportunity to go! It really made me think about how lucky I am that I can travel around the world. Not many people get that chance. Not many people can travel to Italy then return home to Spain! This trip really made me appreciate how lucky I am, especially because once I got back to Granada Semana Santa was in full swing! So if you all can bear it, I'm going to write a bit about that because seeing the processions and spending Easter in Granada was another mind blowing experience! I will try to be brief, but at least skip to the picture...everyone likes pictures!

So we got back to Granada for Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. (After sleeping in the airport...don't really want to do that again.) Anyway, I saw a total of 7 procession (4 on Friday, 1 on Saturday, and 2 on Sunday). It is truly an experience. The music, the masked participants with huge pointed hats, the candles, the mourning women, and of course the religious scenes carried by the people make for an amazing, moving, and slightly terrifying experience. Some of the processions start in the early evening and last until sunrise as they slowly make their way through the entire city. Granada has the second most well known processions (after Sevilla). We also got to see the one procession that comes down from the Alhambra! On Sunday we saw one procession leave the Cathedral, then we went to mass in the Cathedral, then we witnessed the children's procession enter the Cathedral. It was amazing. Victoria, Phoebe, Sarah, Danny, and I then treated ourselves to an Easter brunch of sorts: pastries and café con leche! Here are a few photos to try and describe Semana Santa to all of you:

The processions at night. The people who wear these robes are called Nazarenos and they wear all different color robes...these ones happen to be white. They are a symbol of mourning for Christ and penance for sin. This was a Good Friday procession.