La primavera ha llegado

Ha llegado la primavera!! (Spring has arrived!) For real this time...or at least I think! Today it was almost 90 degrees...so hot :) But actually, it felt nothing like the Wisconsin 90 degrees because it was all dry heat, and not humid and gross like we have in the summers. It has been a crrrrrazzy few weeks, I know I've been bad about keeping this up to date so let's see how much I can squeeze in this time...

Where I left off was Semana Santa. Semana Santa is arguably the thing that Sevilla is most famous for around the world. Many other places in Spain and Europe celebrate it, but none even come close to what Sevilla does to celebrate. I believe it started out because there was so much starving and poverty and misery, and the king wanted to give the people something beautiful to look at. And he definetely did.

The city was packed with people. Granted, I got back into Sevilla later in the week when the most people come, but the size of the city at least doubled. And it was pretty cool to have people (in Spanish), ask me directions, and be able to tell them where to go without hesitating. Basically everyday there are processions in various parts of the city which consist of these incredibly elaborate float type things (but made out of gold and jewels and silver, etc...), that are scenes from the passion of the Christ, and also all the Virgens. They are carried by I believe around 40 men who are underneath the pasos (the floats). I can't remember the weight in pounds but I think each man carries like 30 kilos or more which is at least 60 pounds on their backs/necks, to symbolize the carrying of the cross. Then there are the nazarenos (ie the purple, red, black, green, and white KKK look alikes), that march in front of the floats carrying candles. Some carry crosses to ask for forgiveness or have wishes granted. I thought it would be really terrifying to see a whole bunch of them together, and granted, it was a little scary but it was nothing compared to literally running into them randomly in the street during the middle of the day. (they wear there outfits all day and night). But seeing it all together is something I can't really describe with words. Experiencing it is something that is incredibly difficult to explain, if not impossible. Even after I'm done trying to get across what it was like, most people will probably think it still isn't really worth seeing if you aren't religious. But, as most of you know, I am not what you would necessarily call religious. In the traditional meaning anyways. But seeing the scenes of Christ and the different Virgens being carried tirelessly by men that walked to the beat of the melancoly music of the banda, all lit up with candles...brought a silence over the entire mass of people watching, myself included. It was a feeling of utter awe, and I couldn't help but be inspired by the overwhelming feeling of faith The Thursday of Semana Santa is the most famous because the pasos go all through the night into Friday morning. In fact, we waited to see La Esperanza de Triana at 2.30am, and first tons of nazarenos come marching, and then the scene of Christ, and then the band, and then more nazarenos, and THEN the virgen de Triana. By the time she came out it was almost 4.30 in the morning, but no one in the huge crowd of people even looked tired. There were even little kids up high on their parents' shoulders, so excited to watch the pasos pass by when I went home at 5am to go to sleep. Crazy spainards.

Going to bed at 5am wouldn't have been all that bad had we not had to get up at 7am to go to Portugal the next day. So that was a treat. And on my way out the door downstairs I literally ran into a giant black pointed hat wearing nazareno and nearly shat myself. But Lagos was beyonnnnddd beautiful. Out hotel was absolutely BOMB, it was actually more like a sweet ass apartment than anything else. Huge living room, huge bedroom, nice bathroom complete with shampoo, conditioner, and lotion, kitchen with table, silverware, pots, pans, cooking utensils, stove, microwave, and fridge. We nearly died when we saw it, especially since Discover Sevilla set us up with it. Not usually their style to keep it classy. The first day was a tad bit cold, but pretty sunny nonetheless and so we went to Praia Dona Ana, which is a beach that faces away from the wind and is surrounded by huge cliffs that protect you from a lot of the wind as well. I forced Amber to go swimming with me and we were absolutely the only poor souls that made the great decision to go swimming that day. It wasn't too bad though after your body got over the initial shock and just went numb. The first night our travel agency set up a private party with our whole group at a bar in Lagos and thaaat was an experience. By the time we got there everyone was already drunk and dancing on tables. There were a lot of skankies on our trip. It was hard to stomach at first but we got through the night by imitating them and being obnoxious. Made a lot of good quotes out of that night. Oh, that reminds me, we kept a notebook of all the good quotes from the weekend...there were some real winners haha.

The next day we had our sangria boat cruise and once again, it was quite nipply out. So we bitterly bundled up in sweatshirts (and bathing suits), and got a big glass of sangria. The day actually turned out to be beautiful, even though it was windy. The sailing was really fun, we jammed out to some reggae and oldies on the boat while we tried not to get blown overboard. At one point we stopped and some smaller boats came to get groups of us to go and look at the grottos in the cliffs which was really pretty. When we got back, me, amber, and gillie all took the big plunge into the water and we swam around for a good 25 minutes. We even got our guide to give us some sangria in the water, can't get any better than that! And he told us that he's done tons of sailing cruises and has never seen anyone get in the water and drink sangria. But that's just how cool we are I guess.

The next day some people paid to go surfing, I really wanted to but just didn't have the cash flow, and the rest of us went back to the beach we had been at the other days and finally it was HOT. We got a lot of sun that day and we were soooo sad to say goodbye. The beach was literally the most beautiful beach I've ever been to...turquoise blue water, white sand, waves washing up on shore, and the huge cliffs all around. Me and my friend Maggie even swam out to a big cliff and jumped off. Lagos was definetely different from all the other trips i've gone on because usually we always have to be go go going everywhere and we're always tired and run down. But we finally got a chance to just relaaax and breathe and enjoy each second without having to worry about what we're missing if we take a nap. I could talk more about it but it's really the pictures that tell the story best. But I was actually depressed when we came back from Portugal. (Can't imagine what it'll be like to come home...!) But it was nice to press pause, even if it was just a couple days.


Last weekend was my trip to Morrocco with my human rights interest group. I was looking forward to it but I didn't really have many expectations. I knew it was going to be “authentic” and that there may or may not be working showers in our home stays. (In my case, there were not). So mostly I looked forward to being dirty and ugly and seeing a third world country. But I had no idea what was actually in store for me.

The first day we got into Tanger which is a town on the coast, and walked around there with our small groups and had lunch at a women's center. At the women's center they have classes for women who didn't learn how to read or write and they also have computer classes to improve their technical skills for the work force. They also have a bunch of looms at the center and they make lots of different purses and clothes and stuff. It was neat to see, and the food was amazing but we didn't really get to talk to any of the women that go to the center, just some students that knew english that answered some of our questions. Women actually have a lot more freedom than I thought they did, which was a surprise to me. In 2004 the new king signed a new family code that gave women all the freedom that they could have without going against the Koran. But they work in the government, they can vote, they don't have to wear the jihab (the scarf/veil thing), they can get a divorce if they choose, they can have their own bank accounts, their own anything really...all things that I didn't know before I went. I guess I had kind of lumped Morrocco in with a lot of other Islamic countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia where women are still incredibly repressed.

That afternoon we made our way to Rabat, where we would spend two days. On the way we stopped in the coastal city of Asilah, which was absolutely gorgeous. It was a really small town but we walked through the narrow streets and the houses were just so cute, all white with blue doors and blue shutters. I guess all the blue paint was a Jewish influence that they have continued to use. A lot of Jews came to Morrocco when they were being persecuted in Spain, so there is a lot of Jewish influence elsewhere as well. We walked to a lookout point that gave great views of the ocean and all the little houses along the coast. We kept driving onto Rabat and it was a really pretty drive, and I witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets i've ever seen.

In Rabat we were set up with families that we would stay with for two nights, and one person in the family spoke english, usually the kids. Our house sister, Howlah (that's phonetically spelling...no idea how to actually spell it), was 14 and had really good english, and she's only been studying formally for one year! When we all (Amber, Bethann, and me), were so surprised to hear this she told us that when she was younger she would watch a lot of American movies and she loves American music, especially Avril Lavigne. “My teacher at school doesn't know anything, Avril is my real teacher”, is what she told us. We even got a concert our first night, and she was actually really good! It was kind of disappointing though, because that was the only time we saw her. I think her parents are seperated, (they live in different houses but I think they are technically still married...), and she said she likes to spend time with her dad a lot, so maybe that's where she was.

The food that our host mom served us was sooooo good. Really good salads, fruit, and this noodle dish that had sweet almonds on top of it. Morroccan spices are quite tasty. But, as you can imagine, since she knew nothing but Arabic, there was a lot of head nodding and smiling going on. Mostly we just laughed at each other but a common language would have been really helpful, especially in certain situations. For instance, when she locked us into our bedroom...yeah. It happened the second night too and Bethann actually peed in a bottle. It sounds like we were in a refugee camp, but other than that it was a really amazing experience to actually live with people from Morrocco and see what it is like.

In Rabat we saw some castle ruins, talked to Morroccan professors, students, and peace corps volunteers, among other things but my favorite part about Rabat was going to the Hammam (spelling?). Before I explain what it is, I should explain the situation around it. Our shower in our homestay consisted of bucket and a drain, neither of which I would have enjoyed touching. So I, along with my roomates and most of the other people on the trip, made the decision to put off showering for four days. On top of that, I had one pair of jeans and two t shirts for the whole trip. So on to the hammam..

The day that we were going to go to the Hammam, everyone was nervous and didn't know what to think. We kept hearing different things from different people, some said you had to go naked or topless, some said you could wear your underwear...we didn't know what to believe. But I didn't have to know much more than that I was going to actually BATHE, to be excited for whatever this Hammam thing was. The Hammam is the community bath that Moroccans, (men and women but not together), go to sometimes once a week, once a month, twice a week, whenever. Some women spend up to 7 hours in it just talking about god knows what. So Moroccan girl brought about 7 of us girls to the bathes and we were all giggling like middle schoolers about the nakedness we expected to see. It was pretty anticlimatic though because we were all together with no Moroccan women and we all pretty much wore bras and panties. We were each given a scrubber glove and olive oil extract (as soap), and had a big bucket of hot water in a room that was all tile. There was another Moroccan girl that must have worked there or something and she would come around to us all and scrub us and throw water on us. We all had so much fun just scrubbing each other and being soapy and CLEAN for once...now that I'm reading that it sounds like a trashy movie set but it totally wasn't lol. It was one of the coolest things we did because we were all so nervous but five minutes into it we were laughing and having such a good time doing something that Moroccans do all the time. Really, really cool.

I enjoyed Rabat, but by far my favorite part of the trip was our journey into the Rif Mountains and into Chefchaoen. We drove for four hours into the mountains to have lunch with a rural family that lives there. It was the most beautiful drive I have ever, ever been on. It wasn't just like you saw the mountains from a distance, you were in the mountains, on the one road that went through them. We parked the van at the bottom and walked up to the families' house where we would eat. The house was much nicer than I expected, it was nicer than our homestays. It was a big family, 5 kids, grandma, grandpa, and the parents. Mostly they live off of what they grow, (they have tons of fruit trees and vegetables growing), and they try to sell the surpluses they get in the local market. It was definetely one of my favorite things I've done since i've been here. We had a man who translated between us and the family so we could ask them questions about their daily lives and how they get by. It was a really interesting conversation. After lunch we took a beautiful walk even higher up on their mountain and oh my god....I thought the view from Granada was pretty but this left me speechless. For miles and miles all you could see was green mountains, spotted with maybe one or two houses that clung to their sides. I can't even imagine waking up every day to a view like that. Truly pristine beauty. The littles boys (4 and 6), came with us and were just making flower crowns and eating grass...reminded me of what I used to be like. Especially the chubby kid with crazy dimples. I also made friends with the super timid dog that wouldn't go up to anyone else, and the older son said “You made a new friend, are you going to take him with you?” To which of course I said yes! And when we said goodbye to the whole family and were walking down the hill he yelled to me “You forgot the dog!” and I started crying right there. Not just for the dog, but for the whole experience. Each time I leave a place or person so unique as the ones I've seen and met here, I feel this intense sadness to think that there is a good chance I will never see them again in my life.

We had another incredibly beautiful (I just don't have enough adjectives!) drive to our last stop, Chefchaoen, and as we got there the sun we just setting. We drove in and saw the whole little town situated on the side of a huge mountain. The pictures will explain better than I can but it was a glorious view. We trekked through the little streets to our hostel and here, the blue paint was even more prevalent than in Asilah and it was so cool! It actually looked like you were inside an igloo or something because so much was a shade of bright blue. There was a beautiful sunset that painted the sky all shades of pink and orange, until it finally fell behind the mountains.

That night we got time to walk around and then the whole group went out to dinner at a really nice Moroccan restaurant, (which was also included in our trip). We went back to the hostel and all talked about the parts that affected us or that we liked the most while we smoked out of my new hookah that I got for like ten us dollars. (Its legit!). After we got over the sentimental crap, we all went around and shared an “interesting” fact about ourselves and learned many things about each other like that our guide tried to light his school on fire when he was in first grade. Pretty sure he isn't still a pyro but can't know for sure...

The next morning we all got up extremely early to go on a hike up the mountain to an old mosque and eat breakfast. I have certainly never eaten breakfast with such a view. We basically saw the sun rise and could see the whole town and the mountains that never disappoint.

Tired, sweaty, and incredibly dirty, we started to make our journey back across the straight of Gibraltar to Spain and back to Sevilla. I can't think of another time in my life I was so happy to take a shower.

There! I've pretty much updated you on all the major happenings. Phewf! Of course I am skipping a lot of the daily life that has gone on in Sevilla, which is kind of a shame but I just can't fit it all into the time that I have to write these. I'm already putting off homework I need to do before Italy tomorrow!! But here's a little aside from the weekend travels. The other night I was eating dinner with Pepita and we were just talking and after a short silence she goes, “I'm gonna think about you a lot when you're gone, will you think about me?” To which I told her of course I would and that I couldn't believe I'm almost leaving. And she went on to say that even though its sad, I've had an amazing experience and done things that people only dream about and that I'll think about for the rest of my life, and that traveling really makes a person who they are. During all of this my eyes started to well up uncontrollably, and even as I write this they are doing the same thing. With each day that passes here, a roller coaster passes through me every five minutes bringing me through the most extreme of emotions. Sometimes I am so so excited to go home and see my family and friends and tell them everything I've learned and what I've seen, and then I get so horribly sad to be leaving this place that has truly become a part of me. It is much different from what I felt when I came here, because when I left, it was sad, but the time was finite. I knew I would see everyone again. Though I know someday I'll come back here, I don't know when and I don't know who will still be here when I do. When I walk to school each morning I look at every building, every person, every piece of the city and try to burn them into my memory, even though I know there will come a time when the details will blur and some things will be lost altogether. I know that I am more than blessed to have been here, but it is a very bittersweet feeling as each day winds down. Usually more bitter than sweet. Sorry for the downer ending here, but every entry is only going to get worse :) You all know I miss you and love you and I think about seeing you in person all the time, but leaving won't be easy.

On a good note, stay tuned for my adventures in Italy! Our travel plans are already messed up and there is a girl on our trip who should be named Debbie Downer so I know I'll have some great stories.

Loveeeeee and kisses.