Gibraltar, Morocco and Portugal!

I am pretty sure I warned everyone that I was a horrible blogger, so there should be no surprise that I haven’t been on the ball for the last few weeks. I keep meaning to blog but then more things happen then the mass amount of information a blog post would entail overwhelms me. It’s a vicious cycle. But it ends today. I have been to Gibraltar, Morocco and Portugal over the last few weeks, and have learned so much not only about myself but also about the world in general; I don’t even know where to begin.  

Gibraltar and Morocco:

The five days that I spent in Morocco was such an eye opening experience. Yes, I got to do all the touristy fun stuff; playing with monkeys and climbing up mountains in Gibraltar was amazing, and who doesn’t dream of riding down the beach on a camel, but my trip meant something so much more. Through open and honest conversations with people I encountered, I broke down the stereotypes and perceptions I had about the Arab world, and feel like I connected to the culture in deep and real way.

We have a lot of ideas about the Arab world; it is often seems so different from our own, but I was shown time and time again how similar humans are and how we are search for the same things. A lot of times, we choose to only see the differences between cultures. We put up labels and hate and tear each other down. We can see the world as black and white, as “us” against “them”. In my time in Morocco, I learned that at the end of the day, we are all only humans, living and working and trying to make sense of the world.

I met such a wide range of people in Morocco, from very liberal to very conservative, and I wish I had the time to tell you about every interaction that I had, because they were all so special. One particularly moving experience was going to have lunch with a family in rural Morocco. We sat on long cushioned benches and (tried) to eat cous-cous with our hands. Then over sugary mint tea, we were able to ask whatever questions we wanted to, in order to learn about the culture. We learned that they had never heard of an atheist, and knew very little about other religions. The women had stopped going to school very early, and they were to be submissive to the men. Their role was clearly to take care of the family, and they were not permitted to work. As easy as it is to point fingers and say how wrong it is that women do not have rights, this is the only way of life that they know. The women know no different nor do the men. Although they believe that women have fewer rights, when I asked a father what he wanted for his daughter, you could see the love on his face when he responded that she was a very smart girl, and he wanted her to get an education. These are truly good, kindhearted people who just live so differently that I am not sure that we can fault them for their beliefs.

Like I said, I did and learned so much in Morocco, I have just given you a little taste, when I get home, ask me all about it, I would love to give you every dirty detail (ask me about the bathrooms). 

After learning so much about the Islamic culture and seeing the generosity of humans, it was devastating to return to Spain and learn about the bom

bings in Boston. It was a crushing reminder that there are bad people in the world; I was naively under the assumption that the world was all sunshine and rainbows. It makes me sad to think of the impact that the actions of one Muslim are going to have on their community, a group of people who I now know as being loving and kind.

Portugal:

So, after such a deep meaningful life discovery, some friends and I decided that we really need a break and headed to Lago, a beach town in Portugal. All of my other travels have been about history and learning, but this one was not. I had a much-needed break from exploring cathedrals and mosques, and just was a very selfish little girl; I laid on the beach and did not do much of anything. We went on a boat tour and saw beautiful caves and then we ran on beautiful beaches. Lagos is heavenly and my trip was relaxing and perfect. I got to relax with the girls who mean so much to me from my program, and even though I felt a little selfish, sometimes you just have to take a break.

 

And everything in between:

Time has been flying by and I now have a little less than a month left in the program. There are so many thing I need to do and see that I am feeling so overwhelmed. After spending two hours cooking with my host mom, I began to think about how hard it is going to be to say goodbye to everything. When I got here (three months ago exactly) I told myself that I wanted to fall in love with this world and Granada, and wow. I fell hard. I fell head over heels in love, knowing that I would have to leave, and my heart is already breaking. Since I still have a few precious weeks left, I am going to enjoy every single second, and try to blog a little bit more!

Hope things are still going swimmingly in the good old US of A, see you all soon!

Just Another Day in Paradise

When my host mom told me the very first day that we met that I was the luckiest girl in the world, I nodded my head in agreement, and probably said si si si loudly and aggressively, just so she knew I understood her. I knew that I was lucky to be in Spain and to get the opportunity to study abroad. I could not even have imagined how much luckier I was going to get throughout the next months.

After two months of being in this beautiful country, saying that I am the luckiest girl in the world does not even begin to describe how I am feeling. It is completely an inadequate way to describe everything I have had the opportunity to do. I honestly don’t know why I have been so fortunate, and it seems so unfair that everything is going so right in my life when so many people have so little. I would not even want to ask for any more than what I have right now. Well obviously there are a few things I wouldn’t mind, but really that’s just me being human.

This weekend, it was finally supposed to be sunny, so a group of us decided to head to the beach! Although the wind made it too cold to tan, I actually got a lot of studying done, which came in handy on my test today. Although I am told that I didn’t go to the prettiest beach around Granada, the view from the top of the rocks was incredible; with the blue- blue water and the white painted houses on the hillside.

When I thought of going abroad, I always pictured myself wandering around in the sunshine, eating ice cream, lost but perfectly happy. This Sunday, Emily and I walked up to watch the sunset to the side of the Alhambra. We got a little lost, and there was ice cream. As the sunset, it reflected against the snow-covered mountains behind the Alhambra, and everything just kept getting prettier and prettier. The magic of the moment was only intensified by Emily’s excitement; I’m sure people around us thought we were crazy.

Not only am I lucky for seeing all these beautiful things, I have also met a lot of just really beautiful people. I have the best host mom and friends I could ask for. I have had a little bit of a cold this week, and one night I was coughing. My host mom knocked on my door holding a cup of tea. She proceeded to tuck me into bed, kiss me on the forehead, and tell me that she would be in the next room over if I ever needed anything. She is an angel sent straight from heaven. I am convinced. And my friends here are actually some of the best and nicest people in the world, I don’t know what I will do without them (so I’m just not going to think about it).

As if all of this wasn’t enough, I just got offered an internship with Amnesty International. I had a preliminary interview, but was not really hopeful, so when I got offered the internship in my second interview I was blown away (and giggled like a 15-year-old I’m ashamed to say). I hope that I can return the blessings that I have been giving by helping people who need it, just a small way I can say thanks for everything I have!

I really don’t even know how I got to be so lucky, but I thank everyone who has played any role in my life, you guys are amazing and I probably don’t thank you enough xoxo

Amo l'Italia

So for my spring break, as most of you know, I went to Italy with my mommy. I had the best week ever, thanks to the best mom ever, and can’t believe that it is already over.

In the taxi on the way to my hotel in Rome, the first thing my 40-year-old taxi driver asked me was “do you have a boyfriend because you look very good”. And from that moment on, I knew I was going to like Italy. Then, I had dinner (pasta with cheesey meaty goodness and a gelato) and knew I was going to love Italy. I was right. Although I am sure that I could tell you every single glorious detail of our trip, I will try my best to highlight the main points!

Our first morning, we went to explore ancient Roman ruins, which was a surreal experience. People I had read about in history classes and in the Bible had literally been standing in the same spots that I was—how cool is that?! After that, we went to the Colloseum and learned about all the weird (gross) Roman events that took place inside. After eating a delicious pizza, we went to a palace/museum (I can’t remember the name- shame on me, but it was cool!) then the Trevi Fountian, and, being the tourist that I am, I threw in a euro! I hope that means I’ll be back to Rome. The next day, we went to the Vatican. In case you are not aware, it is absolutely huge. We were in the museum for hours. The artwork was incredible; we went into a room full of Etruscan artifacts and learned all about the Etruscans, a civilization that I knew relatively nothing about. Another highlight was seeing the frescoes by Raphael. By the time we made it to the Sistine Chapel I was exhausted and hungry, which kind of took away some of the awesomeness. But guys, I was in the Sistine Chapel. How cool?! After that, we found the Spanish steps, and climbed them!

Tuesday bright and early, we headed off to Florence. Although I loved seeing the sights of Rome, I fell in love with Florence. It was beautiful and much more peaceful, with everything in walking distance. When we got there, it was raining, but that didn’t stop us from waiting outside for almost an hour to climb the 400+ steps to the top of the Duomo. And climb them we did. I think the view was worth the stairs and the rain, look how pretty! 

I think my favorite day, if I had to pick one, would have been Wednesday. We decided to take a day trip to San Gimignano, Siena, Monteriggioni and Chianti. San Gimignano is a walled in medieval town, with beautiful views of the countryside. The town was tiny with passages leading all over, and I felt like I was in a movie or a fairytale. The highlight of Siena was the Cathedral, one of the best examples of gothic architecture. The fortress of Monteriggioni was our next stop. The fortress is home to less than 50 people, and you could see from one end of the “town” to the other. I think I could happily live there and just spend the day looking at the view. Our day ended at a winery in Chianti, where we watched the sunset from the patio. There are very few times in my life where I have felt as happy as I did then. Looking out over Tuscany, it made me realize how beautiful and precious life is. We are often so preoccupied by getting to the next step, to see the next thing, that we forget to stop and appreciate how blessed we really are.

Thursday, it was back to the museums for us. We went to the Uffizi, also immense. I could probably spend three days there and still not see everything. It was around this time that my maturity level began to decrease, and after four days of seeing naked roman statues, I just had to take note of the impressive behind on this one. Mom found me ridiculous, but because she loves me so much, overlooked that I was acting like a 13 year-old-girl, and let me giggle for a minute. 

After the Uffizi, we went on an intense mission to find presents for people and boots for me. We got a little lost, but getting lost in Florence beats getting lost in most places!            

Friday before catching the train back to Rome, we went into the Accedemia de Belle Arti to see the beautiful David. He was beautiful. After one last trip by the Duomo, one last gelato (chocolate and peanut butter) and one last trip along the Arno, we said goodbye to Florence.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip without a little travel drama. After checking into the Holiday Inn in Rome (by far the worst of our otherwise quaint little hotels) mom went to check into her flights leaving Saturday. She could not check into one of her flights, and I am sorry to say that the drama that followed was not pretty. In the end, everything was fine, but poor mommy lost her luggage coming home. I have decided that although the travel gods don’t find favor with us, all the other gods have been treating us pretty well!

Saying goodbye to Italy was hard, and saying goodbye to mommy was even harder. The sights that I saw were beautiful but the time with my mom was priceless. Wow, that was cheesy even for me, but it’s true. Anyway, I could write for hours about Italy, but I think that give all you lovely readers an idea of Italy! I hope you all had a great Easter and had some chocolate bunny for me!