Hola,
Life got extremely busy these last couple of weeks. Since I last wrote, I visited Córdoba, had a bunch of examenes parciales (mid-term exams), and visited Africa! It's been a blast. Here's a short but hopefully sweet recap.
In Córdoba we visited Madinat al-Zahra, which are the ruins of the royal city and palace of the Umayyads outside of Córdoba. The ruins were previously completely covered in mud and the royal city was actually thought to be a myth until the 20th century when it was found and excavation began. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done but they have recovered a lot of beautiful art and architecture that by some grace of God wasn't ruined by the pillaging that occurred for several years after the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and the natural causes that covered that city in mud. A lot of columns and arches essentially fell straight to the ground and could be reassembled fairly easily. After Madinat al-Zahra, we went into the city of Córdoba and saw the Mosque of Cordoba there, which is amazing. The most beautiful arches and quibla wall you have ever seen. The most interesting thing, however, is that when the Spaniards conquered Spain and this Mosque they turned it into a cathedral. They did not tear the hole thing down but rather just added a cathedral in the middle. So you have a ton of Islamic art everywhere and then you just walk to the next room and you are standing in a Spanish cathedral. It's like stepping into a whole different world. It's really bizarre. Another interesting thing is that with the addition of the Spanish cathedral, which include very high, vaulted ceilings, came some structural problems, i.e. there is now a row of columns that are tilting causing the outer wall to bend. This isn't a huge problem now but very well may be in the future.
The next week I had midterms. Boy was that a busy week. All I have to say about that is I'm glad it is over.
Then this past Thursday we left for Morocco! The first night we actually spent in southern Spain right off the Straight of Gibraltar. We visited Gibraltar that day, which is a English colony in Spain. It is a very interesting place. They speak English English and run on the English system of government, schooling, currency, etc. However, Gibraltarians also learn Spanish in their schools so most of them can speak both Spanish and English. The city is a very interesting mix of British culture and Spanish culture, a fascinating city. We also got to hike up the Rock of Gibraltar. It was quite the hike but definitely worth it. The view was amazing and you can see Africa on the skyline (I believe Africa is about 14 miles away). Plus, they have monkeys on the rock of Gibraltar, which come really close and of which we took a bunch of pictures! It was great. That night we headed down the rock for some good 'ol English fish and chips.
The next morning we took a ferry to Africa! We got off in Tánger and went to a women's house there that provides education to illiterate women and job training to women who don't have any job skills. It was really interesting and we got to speak with some women about the gender inequality, what the government is doing to combat this, and about freedom of speech (or lack there of, at least pertaining to the government and the king). It was really interesting to hear their take on things and hear how passionate they are about increasing literacy rates among women and women's rights in general. It's a concept that is basically unknown to us, at least in that scope, and such a contrast from American women's rights but at the same time they are making great strides and the government is helping as well. One interesting fact is that starting I believe next year, the government has passed some initiative or law saying that their parliament will consist of 50% women. They are very progressive in that sense but very behind in others, i.e. literacy and education.
After the talk with the women and lunch at the center, we headed to Rabat. On the way we stopped for a camel ride! It was so much fun but kind of scary we the camel's stood up. After that we visited the city nearby. Took a little paseo (walk) through the city, there is a bunch of cool street art painted on the walls, had a snack and hit the road again. When we got to Rabat my friend and I met our house family and went to their house for dinner. My host family consisted of a women and her two children. Her husband, who I believe is an American, but am a bit unsure because our host mom only spoke a little bit of English and Spanish (mostly we spoke in hand movements), was away on business so it was just the three of them. We were obsessed with the little girl! She was 7 years old, absolutely adorable and spoke Arabic, French and some English. The was the smartest, cutest little thing ever! We told her we could stuff her in our bag and take her home with us to the states to see a Miley Cyrus concert, she loves Miley Cyrus!, and she said "bye bye Mama," cutest thing ever. The little boy, I think maybe 9, couldn't speak any English, his third language is German, plus he is very shy so we did not talk much to him. The mother was amazing! She treated us as her own and made the most amazing food! The first night at their house I wasn't feeling well so she made us a simple dinner of rice, chicken, and I believe squash soup with an apple, banana, and carrot smoothie juice and tea. It was delicious. After dinner, my friend and I passed out.
The next day we woke to a breakfast of breads, jam, cheese, and tea. Boy do they love their tea in Morocco! It's a very, very sweet green tea. I like it but I don't think I could handle drinking it as much as they do, too sweet. After breakfast we headed off to a education center, where they help youth struggling in school, kids who drop out of school and want to re-enter (something that is pretty unheard of in Morocco), and kids and young adults that need job training to enter the workforce. We talked a lot about stereotypes, of the West, the U.S., and Morocco, with the directors of this organizations. They first asked us what is means to be an American and then they told us what it meant to them to be Moroccans. It was really interesting to hear them say democracy, happiness, religion, tradition. It was really an eyeopener for me because I guess all I could think about of Morocco before were things like inequality, unhappiness, and lack of freedom (of speech). This, however, is not how many Moroccans think of their country, but rather are very happy with where and how they live. They value tradition and religion and care less about what Americans may value more greatly. Just because it is different, doesn't necessarily make it wrong. It was very interesting. After this talk we visited the ruins of Challah, right outside the city, the Mausoleum of Hassan the II and the ruins of the Mosque there. Then it was off to lunch with our family where we had a delicious crepe like mix with lentils and chicken. Delicioso! Then we met up with some Moroccan students who could speak English and walked through the Kasbah (fortress), to the beach and through the main market in Rabat. It was a really cool experience to talk to Moroccan students and the market was huge! It went on for what seemed like miles and was packed with people. After that we went to the Hammam, which are the Arab baths. What an experience. The Hammam consists of three rooms, each increasingly hotter, where you exfoliate (scrub) yourself like you never have before. We left that place cleaner than we ever have been and much closer than we were before. Then we got henna. It was so cool! The girls that did it for us did the henna in literally like 30 seconds, they were so fast and it was beautiful. Then we headed home for dinner with our families (tonight was a pasta dish with ground meat and cheese, absolutely fabulous) and then passed out again.
The next day we traveled to the Rif Mountains and visited a village. First we stopped in the village for tea and snacks and then headed up into the mountains to visit a family and their small farm. We toured their land, which consisted of about every vegetable and fruit plant you could think of, and then had lunch, tea, and chatted with the family. They could only speak Arabic so we had everything translated to us but it was very interesting to hear how Moroccans live in the villages and the countryside. This couple said they leave their farm for the village about once a year. They live on self-sustaining land and eat from what they grow. They said they love their life and enjoy the peaceful life of the country. We spoke about many things but interesting one thing that came up was their views of the United States. They said that the U.S. needs to be more just, referring to the U.S. waging wars on innocent Arabs and pretending to be friends with Morocco and other Arab countries. It was really interesting to hear their take and realize that U.S. foreign policy affects so many people, even those living in a remote village in the mountains of Africa. After this visit, we jumped back on the bus for Chefchaouen, a larger mountain town, and snuck in some shopping before dinner and bed.
The next morning we walked through the city to a beautiful look out point of the city. After that we had breakfast and a short time to shop before heading to the border. Everything in Morocco is extremely cheap and I purchased a few Christmas presents at great prices. After a 2 and half hour bus ride we made it to the border of Ceuta, a Spanish colony in Morocco. After that we caught a ferry and were in Spain again an hour later. What a relief it was to be able to understand and communicate with people again. Although we all still need to work on our Spanish, we realized just how much we do know when posed with a language of which we knew absolutely nothing. What a relief. After that we had another 4 hour or so bus ride back to Granada. It was a wonderful 5 days but it was certainly nice to be home and have a second to breath. Now it's back to real life, well kind of.
Hasta luego,
Ashley
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