June 30

Hello everyone!

So sorry it has taken so long for an update. I’ve been pretty busy!

Before I start... RIP Michael Jackson :( What a tragedy. I tried to explain to my Moroccan family that my American family dances to Michael Jackson at dinner time and that we love him dearly in Arabic, but it didn't work too well. I don't think they thought i really said "Dancing during dinner."...but, either way. Very sad day. It was awesome to see the mass moonwalk on the news though....He will live on.

Now where did I leave off..

Spain was amazing. We took a really shady bus up to Tangier and then rode on the ferry over to Tarifa, one of the little coastal towns of Spain. It was refreshing to be able to have full conversations with people, and there was definitely a nightlife that I’d been missing out on for the past few weeks. We went to the beach on Saturday and then head back Sunday morning. I was sad to have "gone" to Spain without actually seeing much at all, but that is a place I will definitely be going to in the future...

I am halfway through my study abroad program! I finished a midterm and paper already, and am on the homestretch. I am loving it here, but it will be nice to get home and get some rest.

This past weekend we went to a famous festival in a town called Essouaria full of Gnawa music. Now, this stuff is right up my alley. Gnawa music is a mix of Afro-Arab jams basically, but it sounds mostly tribal Sub-Saharan to me. During this festival, the tiny beach town turns into a host of over 1.5 million people. There were tons of Rastafarians and hippies there, just jamming out all night long. Some of the concerts didn’t even start until 2 or 3 am. I really loved the atmosphere there, and it definitely had an “African” vibe to it. Jimi Hendrix visited this town and Led Zeppelin samples some Gnawa music on a few of their tracks. Everyone who figured out we speak English was acting like knew Jimi Hendrix personally. It was pretty funny.

On the way back from the Gnawa festival, we stopped to spend the day in Marrakesh. Marrakesh is a beautiful city, and it also happens to be where my Arabic teacher at home is from. We took a tour of an old Islamic “mudrasa” which was a school for young children. It was full of amazing mosaics and carvings and had a beautiful center square where the children learned the Quran and prayed. I have a video of the square with the Adhan, or call to prayer, going in the background. I will try to post it asap. Also in Marrakesh is a huge middle square in the town where most of the business takes place. It was here that we found the fortune tellers, henna artists, monkey handlers, and snake charmers. I got to hold a monkey and a snake, which you all know made me pretty excited. Also, we saw some more Camels! I love the way they look and have some pictures to put up of those as well. We are going to try to make a trip to the desert soon so hopefully I’ll have some good ones of me actually riding one…but all in all it was a great weekend trip.

While in Morocco so far I have witnessed 4 car accidents and 4 legitimate fights. The car accidents are self explanatory (rules are more like polite suggestions here,) but the fights have been pretty interesting. On the way back from Spain, we had to all crowd into the customs line, where there were a mess of international people and nowhere to go. We were just minding our own business, when we heard a loud smack. A Spanish girl punched a Moroccan girl in the face, and all of their friends started going at it. It was crazy because there was a ton of shouting in all these different languages, and it was just an interesting event to watch in general, seeing how different kinds of people react in different situations. Anyway, lots of security, lots more waiting ensued.

The second fight was the best. Pete, Staci, and I were sitting in a sidewalk restaurant/café just enjoying some chawarmas, when a waitress from another restaurant came in and started screaming at the cook in Darijat. We couldn’t understand but were very intrigued because the lady looked pretty agitated, pointing and screaming. The best part was that the cook didn’t say a word. He just looked at her, his eyes getting all crazy and BAM! Took a knife and tried to chop this lady’s hand off! Seriously within an inch. I would say that he was definitely aiming at her hand that was on the counter with serious intent. She ran out screaming and yelling, unharmed but it was a close call. We all looked amazed, but nobody else in the restaurant seemed phased at all. That’s Morocco for you. The other two fights were at the Gnawa festival , which was to be expected.
I have 17 days left in Morocco and am hopefully going to make the most of it, so I’ll be back to update as soon as I can !