مرحبا اصدقاء
Hello Friends!!! If I’m being honest my mind is a complete mess right now. I cannot put what is in my head into words but here is my sad attempt to come to terms with my feelings and all the little thoughts running around in my skull driving me absolutely crazy. I really want to tell you about my experience in Spain and how it reminded me why I love travel but also made me extremely homesick. Homesick for Morocco. First of all traveling to Spain did not go as planned (but it isn’t supposed to right?). Every mean of Transportation we used (train, ferry, bus) were all late! Everything that could go wrong did and instead of making it to Granada and missing our hostel reservations on Tuesday night we had to stay in Algeciras. This my friends is a very realistic part of traveling. Unfortunately not everything goes as planned and things (or all things) are late and trains get missed and THIS IS ALL PART OF THE ADVENTURE. Half the fun of traveling is the journey not necessarily the destination. Eventually, Inshallah (god willing in Arabic), Jamie and I made it to Granada. Granada is a city surrounded by mountains so naturally it is a very beautiful place. Coming from Morocco it was very hard for me to appreciate this city the way that most people would. Although Spain is fairly cheap when comparing it to the rest of the European Union coming from the Moroccan Dirham (which I can literally buy a full meal and drink for 3 USDA) it is anything but cheap. Jamie and I were blown away by how much we missed Morocco. But more importantly how much we missed our host family. I missed Fouzias cooking and our daily political conversations; I missed Omar’s laughs and giving him crap about smoking cigarettes. (And Omar if you are reading this I only do it cause I care so you should stop (: ) I missed randomly running into Soufiane and him genuinely asking me how I am. It made me think about how hard it is going to be when we have to say goodbye in December, not knowing the next time I will see them. This brings me to the subject of people vs. places. What makes you fall in love with a place? Is it actually the place itself that draws you to it? In some way yes. There is no doubt that the mountains make me want to go to Colorado or the beach is really the only reason I go to Florida or maybe some people only go to Paris to take pictures in front of the Eifel Tower or see the Mona Lisa. And although these geographical and historical aspects may draw you into initially going to a place what makes you never want to leave? The people. The people you meet while traveling will be the sole reason you keep traveling. I met some people in Seville that did just this and one might even join me in January to travel together. I had intellectual conversations with these people about the Palestine and Israeli conflict, the role of an Islamic state, and about religion in general. I’ve found that these relationships are the sole reason I love traveling and now I can say I have friends all over the world. As much fun as Spain was when we got off the fairy in Tangier I have to admit I wanted to kiss the Moroccan soil and scream Alhamdulilah (Praise God) to finally be back where my heart belongs, home sweet home. When Jamie and I arrived to the train station on Saturday night in Meknes at around 11:30 pm after an exhausting day of traveling we were welcomed home by Omar and Tareq waiting for us with big hugs and smiling faces. It felt good to be back with our friends. If you do ever make your way to Spain I would recommend going to both Granada and Seville! In Granada all restaurants have free tapas when your order drinks so that helps your save money and experience some Spanish sangria and food for cheap. Jamie and I’s favorite was Los Manneles, we got five drinks and three tapas for 15 Euros. Seville is a very old city, which is the reason I fell in love with it. The history there is fascinating with a lot of Islamic cultural influence. I would also recommend the hostel Seville Inn Backpackers to anyone. The people were lovely and the vibe was more then good. SO sorry for being so out of touch but I have been super busy enjoying this place! Maybe I will write again sooner than later, Inshallah!!! (God willing) All my love, Jess
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Hi!!!! I know it has been forever since I have written but I have been very busy here In Morocco. So many amazing things have happened the past two weeks!! I started my classes and service learning, went to a Moroccan wedding, saw a lot of Meknes sunsets, went to the blue city, and hiked Akchour! So where to start….. everyday here I am learning something new about the world and about myself inside the class room and outside. I am very excited about my classes! I am taking intermediate Arabic, three people three religions one God, and peace and conflict resolution. I have Arabic everyday for 2 and a half hours and I love every minute of it. My professor said at the beginning of class he doesn’t want us to just memorize Arabic but understand how it works. Its great living here too because I can use my Arabic on a daily bases!! Today I actually only spoke Arabic to my cab driver to get me home (I was pretty proud of myself hehe) My next class called three people three Religions One God is about comparing and contrasting the three religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, which is fascinating to me. My professor is brilliant and I am eager to learn more from him about these religions. This class gives me a sense of hope for humanity in that we can all be different but still respect one another and live peacefully through a general understanding of eachothers beliefs. My next class is peace and conflict resolution, which is mainly about the Palestine and Israeli conflict. I am really excited to learn more about this subject and ways of resolving differences among different cultures. Last class we watched this incredible ted talk about resolving conflicts in the Middle East through retracing Abrahams walk and promoting hospitality over hostility and tourism over terrorism. I put the link below so you can all watch it! For those of you who don’t know I am also doing a service-learning program at a woman’s developmental program organization called Alamal. This experience is both challenging and rewarding because no one speaks English so I have to rely only on my Arabic skills to communicate. The organization is run by a woman named Salwa and her sister Jamila. Selwa is hands down the most inspirational human being I have ever met and it is truly an honor to get to work beside her this semester promoting women’s rights, education, and empowerment. She has the kindest heart and radiates goodness. I am learning what it truly looks like to dedicate your life to others from her. She has been given an Amnesty award for her work with promoting human rights and organizes demonstrations against girls being forced into getting married to young. All of this I was able to learn all of this just by her showing me pictures and using the Arabic I do know. It is such a rewarding feeling being able to communicate even though we speak different languages. I really enjoy spending time with Salwa and I am so excited to see how I can help this organization through the use of social media promotion and marketing. Jamila also has been giving me Arabic lessons and I can already tell how I’m advancing in this language. Yipeeeeee!!!!! Also the first weekend in Meknes I went to a Moroccan wedding….. WHATTTTTT. My awesome host brother Omar got a call about one of his friends getting married and invited Jamie and I to go with him. Going to a Moroccan wedding is on my bucket list and I GOT TO CROSS IT OFF DURING WEEK ONE!!!! So this experience was something I will never forget. When we first arrived we were at the grooms house and the women and men were separated so we were in the gorgeously decorated room with a bunch of strangers who couldn’t speak any English but that’s okay because I have realized you do not have to understand something to feel it. All the women got us to dance and there were little girls that instantly befriended us and we all had the absolute best time! It’s funny how dancing and music can open doors of communication and understanding among people. After eating we went to the brides house where the wedding took place and it was seriously like something out of the movies. Everyone was dressed in their traditional clothes and looked BEAUTIFUL. The bride changed dresses four different times and each one was mesmerizing. Moroccan weddings last all night so we stayed until 5 am! That night will be something I tell my grandkids about one day. This past weekend Me, Jamie, Carson, Omar, Tarek, and Zayed went to Chefchaouen! Zayed was nice and drove us there so we didn’t have to take the bus. We got to chefchaouen and it was like a fairytale. Literally EVERYTHING was blue. The town was also surrounded by magnificent mountains that were so close it felt like you could just reach up and touch them as Jamie said hehe. We went and had tea on the roof of this café to watch the sunset and just tried to soak it all in. The next day we headed thirty minutes north to a place called Akchour and it was literally something out of a book. The mountains were unreal and we hiked to a place called “Gods Bridge” which is a naturally forming bride between two mountains. Like I said, UNREAL. I had a moment while looking at the beauty of the scenery around me and thought to myself how much I loved travel and how happy I was in that moment. I was surrounded by beautiful souls that have all found special places in my heart. I promised myself in that moment I’d never stop traveling. I never want to loose that feeling or loose sight of what really matters in life. Morocco is hands down one of the most underrated places to travel. I am amazed daily by its beauty and the diversity of not only the culture but the geography as well. I encourage you all to jump into the unknown and go to a place completely foreign and terrifying to you, it might just change your life. To the ends of the earth, Jess PS. Jamie and I are headed to Spain tomorrow so stay tuned!!!!! Here is the Ted talk!! http://www.ted.com/talks/william_ury?language=en So last Sunday I arrived to my temporary home of Meknes and this past week has been nothing less of extraordinary. Jamie and I moved into our homestay where we were welcomed with open arms by Fouzia and her two sons Omar and Soufiane. My experience in this homestay has surpassed every expectation I could have ever imagined. Fouzia is by far one of the loveliest ladies I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Not only does she take care of Jamie and I like we are her own children, but she teaches us so much daily about the beautiful Moroccan culture. Every night after dinner Jamie and I spend about 45 minutes listening to Fouzia talk about her religion and views on the world. She says that what is happening in the Middle East with ISIS is not true Islam and that they are using this beautiful religion as a political agenda. I couldn’t agree with her more. It breaks my heart completely knowing that the way most Americans view the religion of Islam is in such a negative way because of how a group of greedy people have portrayed it. Living in Morocco for the past two weeks I have seen nothing but beauty from the Islamic religion. I think as humans we are always afraid of differences and things we cannot understand. But I challenge you to view it in a different way. See the beauty in our differences. It is not a fight of who is wrong or right but a fight of learning to respect one another’s beliefs. WE DO NOT HAVE TO BE THE SAME TO LIVE TOGETHER. This brings me back to my brilliant professor Dr. Nalleys words of “our differences are huge but our similarities are greater.” Do I have differences from my host family? Of course. But do we all laugh together and share so much MORE in common? You bet. I’ve only known them a week but it feels like forever. I know these friendships I’ve made will be life long. Now when people talk negatively about the Muslim culture it will affect me personally because it will be against people who I deeply care about. My goal is to educate people on the misconception of the Islamic faith and remind them that the most important thing we do in this life is passionately love others the way our God loves us. I challenge you all to open your mind to the beautiful differences of this world so that way you will be able to open your heart to love all kinds of people. I’ll be writing soon about my classes and more about my first week soon!!! From Morocco to you I send my love, Jess I’M OFFICAILLY IN MOROCCO. This place is a dream! The beauty of the culture and scenery is IMENSE. I want to catch you all up on the last few crazy days of my life. So I flew here by myself, which wasn’t as scary as it sounds because I met some cool people along the way! I got off the plane in Madrid and found a couple that was also going to Casablanca. Crazy enough their son studied Arabic when he was in College!! What a small world right? They were nice enough to let me tag along to find the gate. Once we got to the gate the mom went to get some drinks and brought me back a water bottle. How nice!!!! I actually ended up sitting next to this Moroccan man at the gate who started a conversation with me about my visit to Morocco. He was eating almonds and handed me a handful and said “here breakfast!” PEOPLE ARE SO GOOD. We talked for about 45 minutes and he gave me some advice and pointers about Morocco. He said I had to try Tajine a traditional Moroccan dish that is his favorite. He also helped me with my Arabic, which was so fun. I’ll never forget how kind these people were to me! It reminded me why I love travel so much. They all wished me good luck with my journey and I was finally off to Morocco!! While in the air we flew over the straight of Gibraltar and I could see both Spain and Morocco. Both Europe and Africa so close yet completely different worlds. A girl that is studying abroad with ISA as well named Kyla was also on my plane so I found a buddy to go through customs with. Stepping off the plane and seeing Arabic written EVERYWHERE made my heart race. I could finally use the language that I have been studying for over a year now! Kyla and I found Mousin (One of our ISA directors) and the rest of the early group to get picked up and headed for the hotel. Mousin is awesome. He has to be one of the most friendly/energetic/Happy people I have ever met. We got to the hotel checked in and got our baggage up stairs. Jamie (My friend from Arabic class who is living in the same homestay with me) got in about four hours later. We then had a meeting on safety, ate some dinner and went to bed. Casablanca The next day we woke up and got a tour of Casablanca. We went to a catholic church and a few palaces and then headed to The Hassan II Mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world and it was BEAUTIFUL. The way the light from the chandeliers reflected on the floor was mesmerizing. After we were on our own to eat lunch and do some exploring. We hung out of the beach for about an hour and then we left for Marrakech! Marrakech We got to Marrakech around dinner time and explored the city to find a place to eat. We ended up going to this place called “star food” and got tajine which is a traditional Moroccan meal that is delicious! All Tajines taste different because you can really make it any way it is just up to the person. It gets its name from being made in a stone pot called a tajine and you normally put in some kind of meet and a bunch of different vegetables. SO GOOD. That night two girls that Jamie and I met named Carson and Tabitha came to our room to hang out. They are both extraordinary and I am so happy to be meeting such insightful people who really love to learn about other cultures and are so open-minded. Tabitha also sings and can play guitar and Jamie brought her guitar so we had a jam sesh! The next morning we got a tour of Marrakech including the oldest building in the medina which has a whole ceiling made out of gold! The building itself used to be the home of a sultan and his wives. The outside was very plain but the inside had beautiful tile work and carvings. Our tour guide talked to us about how in Muslim culture they don’t like to show off to people the things they find beautiful because they believe the more eyes who see it the more it looses its beauty and how they don’t want to boast and brag about what they have or make people feel jealous of their things. Their beautiful things are for their eyes only. This really stuck with me because I could not agree more. I thought back to Mozambique and when we went to chacas and how very few people had ever been there and seen its beauty and how that made it even more beautiful. Being here I have been thinking a lot. A lot about how beautiful our world is and how there are so many beautiful people in it from all different backgrounds and religions and cultures. It’s refreshing to be surrounded by people who feel the same. After that we went to the souq, which is a big market in the medina where you can bargain to buy things. I got to practice my arabic and I was surprised with how much I remember and how much I actually know. Its such an awesome feeling being able to communicate with someone is their own language. We also so a guy with a cobra who was playing flute and the cobra would come out of the box just like in the movies haha. We had lunch there on a rooftop that over looked the medina and during our meal the call to prayer went off. It was the first time I heard it in person and got shivers from how beautiful it was. After that we headed back to the hotel and went for dinner at star food again because it was so good the night before and got tajine for the third time in a row haha. Then we went back to the hotel and packed for Ouzoud the next day!! Ouzoud Falls We left Marrakech and headed for the Atlas Mountains to a place called Ouzoud falls which is home to North Africa’s largest waterfall. Oh My Gosh it was BEAUTIFUL. There were also apes there and one jumped on my head for a peanut haha. They were so human like!!!! We hiked down to the bottom of the falls and went cliff jumping which was so much fun. Everyone would cheer for who ever was jumping. The cliff was about thirty feet high so for someone who is afraid of heights like myself, it was for sure and adrenaline rush. We hung out at the falls for a few hours and then had lunch on the side of a cliff that over looked the falls. Another great thing about Morocco is it is super cheap!! Ten dirham are equivalent to one US dollar. Our lunch cost six dollars and consisted of salad, a huge tajine, mint tea, and yummy yellow mellon for desert. After lunch we left the falls and headed to our hotel for the night! These last few days of my life have been an absolute dream. I am already completely in love with this beautiful culturally diverse country I get to call home for the next three months. More to come on my homestay city of Meknes soon!!!! SO much love to all of my friends and family on the other side of the world. I miss you all so much. Always Jess |
AuthorHi I'm Jess!!! I have a soul for traveling and loving people. All kinds of people from all conners of the world from all walks of life. I've left pieces of my heart all over the world. This is my safe space to write all the things on my heart. I hope you find some comfort and encouragement in the words on these pages. Thanks for reading friends (: Archives
July 2016
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