The answer was si, por qué no? We literally bought our tickets the day before leaving and solidified our romantic Valentine's Day weekend plans to ride camels, hang out with monkeys, walk through caves, and experience the most unique culture in the colorful cities of Morocco. We booked the trip through a student excursion program that brings together international students throughout Spain to travel together with everything included- hotels, meals, transportation, etc. We figured this was the safest route for Morocco, and it turned out to be very worth it. We started in Gibraltar, a peninsula at the southernmost tip of Spain that is actually a separate British territory. It was like a mini piece of England. And it wasn't until we were there for a while that it hit me how accustomed to Spain I've become. This was my first trip outside of Spain this semester, my first time ordering food in English and hearing it spoken commonly on the street in almost two months. It felt pretty weird. So there we went to the nature reserve where all the monkeys were. If you ever visit, I advise you to not poke/touch/make any sudden movements, because they will hit you back, harder. While I was laughing at some other monkey jumping after a girl, one of them behind me grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. Not everyone was too thrilled but I thought they were hilarious. Besides that, we walked through the gorgeous St. Michael's Cave, stood at the point where the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet, and got some good ole fish n' chips before hopping on the ferry to Morocco. If I thought I had a bit of culture shock in English-speaking Gibraltar, I had no idea what I was in for. Morocco was like nothing I'd ever seen in my life, and I loved it. I felt like I got a glimpse of what my brother Eric experienced during his study abroad semester in Egypt, with the Arabic language and Muslim influences everywhere. Of course, people wore long robes, women wore garments covering their heads, sometimes their faces...there was a loud "call to prayer" repeated over a loudspeaker to the whole city. There were belly dancers and Moroccan music at our dinner, there was a man in the back of the rug store that hand-makes fabrics all day with a wooden machine. There were markets along the dirty streets with every type of food laid outside, as fresh as chicken breast right next to the live chickens and fresh-caught fish that I actually saw a cat run up to and grab to-go. What blew me away most about Morocco was Chefchaouen, the blue city. Many of the cities in Morocco are themed a certain color. Out of the places we went, Tangier and Tetuan were white, and Chefchaouen was completely and beautifully blue. It didn't look real. I'll try and let the pictures below do the talking, but they really don't do justice. Walking through the streets of Chefchauoen felt like a different time and planet. Everything was incredibly simple but so lovely, and the people were so peaceful and friendly. They spoke to us in English, saying "welcome" even if we were just passing by on the street. When we denied a man trying to sell things to us, he said "Oh, that's ok. If you don't mind me asking, what's your name? Where are you from? Why are you here? Nice to meet you...etc. etc." I think the people from Chefchaueon are some of the warmest souls on Earth. Our tour guide (Abdul - he was awesome, and informed us with his happy accent that it was his birthday several times) took time to explain to us that to them, religion is not about following strict rules; it's about respecting the world and each other first and inviting everyone to pray in any situation or any place. I liked that. Our last stop was at the "pharmacy" where they make and sell oils in Tetuan. We got a full on description and demonstration of several oils...Moroccan oil for your hair, for headaches, hangovers, muscle pain, acne, anxiety, whatever. You could name any obscure problem and they've got an oil for that. I wound up getting a legit neck massage from the Moroccan dude and buying plenty of goodies for people back home, so I'd say that was a success. I loved venturing outside of Spain with all of these students from all over the world with the one common purpose: to travel and learn. That weekend made me want to see and experience as many different cultures as I can. Going to a place like Morocco opened my eyes to how much I don't know and how much I haven't seen, and how possible it is to connect the world thought traveling. At one point, I imagined myself as a dot on a map. I am in Africa, I thought. My whole life I've grown up with stereotypical assumptions and textbook pictures of other continents. I never thought that when I was twenty one years old, I'd be on this side of the world, communicating in another language and hopping country to country like it's nothing. I definitely did not think that on Valentine's Day I'd be on a camel in Morocco. But here I am, and this dot on the map has only covered a teeny tiny fraction of what's out there. It really puts things in perspective. So many young people I'm meeting over here have already lived and worked in several countries, know at least three languages, are currently learning one more...and I've never known much more than my flat drive from St. Louis to Columbia to the Lake. Really learning Spanish and forcing myself to adapt to these different places is exactly the kind of challenge I needed.
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