'Cause this is Africa!

After the weekend of Granada, I went to Morocco. Three other people from my study abroad group and I went with a big group of exchange students. Our first stop was Gibraltar, on the very southern tip of Spain. (But it’s actually part of the UK.) There, we saw a lot of monkeys and a cool cave. Then we took a ferry across the strait of Gibraltar to Ceuta, a Spanish colony on the African continent. It took our bus almost two hours to cross the Spain-Morocco border because there was a drug bust. No joke. Everyone was looking out the window at a group of policemen gathered around a man and his car. The man was in handcuffs, sitting on the bumper of his sedan, looking down and trembling. Another policeman was hoisting up the back of the car, probably looking for stuff underneath the car. Soo sketchy!

Morocco itself was really cool. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before. All the streets were tiny and very rugged, I guess you could describe it as primitive. Chefchaouen was my favorite of the towns we visited. All the walls were painted this beautiful shade of indigo, which looked gorgeous as the backdrop of colorful textiles hanging from the clotheslines. Tetuan was pretty cool too. We spent a lot of time in the outdoor markets, and I practiced my bargaining skills. One merchant tried to sell me a tiny wallet for forty euro. Um, as if. I insisted that he give it to me for one euro. When I turned away, he yelled, “Three euro! I’ll sell it to you for three!” I didn’t buy it…hehe. Oh well. 

We ate a ton of couscous and mint tea. And we rode camels! We also met this 23-day old baby camel and took like 130498305 pictures with it. I’d say that was one of the highlights of the trip.

The week after that was spent studying for my differential equations midterm. It had been a while since I seriously studied for anything, and the fact that I had to do it in two languages sucked quite a bit of energy from me. The midterm turned out all right though, and I find out my grade tomorrow. I keep on telling myself that I only need a passing grade, which is a 6 out of 10 on the Spanish grading scale. Still a little nervous, but I think everything will be okay. Fingers crossed!