J-Term, part II and Aix

Greetings from Morocco! I have now been here for three days. We flew from Marseille (France) to Marrakech and spent several days there at a swanky hotel. Most of our stay in Marrakech involved the medina markets, mosques, and fresh squeezed orange juice from street vendors. The markets were absolute madness. Cars, taxis and mopeds were zooming around even though there weren't even roads and will hit you if you don't move out of the way. Little ankle biter kids will come up and beg from you and steal from you if you're not careful. There were snake charmers and monkeys everywhere and their owners will throw the snakes or monkeys on your head without you asking them to and then make you pay them for it. Then there are an infinite amount of vendors selling all sorts of Moroccan things and you have to bargain with them to get a decent price. Every few hours (beginning at 5am) there is a call to prayer that is blasted on speakers around the city and you hear the imam yelling and chanting and singing at the top of his lungs. It is such an experience. After Marrakech we spend the day in Casablanca before heading to Rabat. These cities are much more metropolitan than Marrakech and in my opinion, much safer.

After Rabat we took our bus to Tangiers at the very northern tip of Morocco and the most amazing and fresh seafood I've ever tasted. We then took a ferry and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar at sunset which was so cool. From the ferry you could see Africa behind you and Spain in front of you. The ferry landed in Algeciras, Spain, where we spent the night at a landmark hotel called the Reina Christina. The next day we spent in Gibraltar which has been one of the highlights of the trip so far. I had expected it to be a sort of industrial, port city but it was a tropical English-speaking haven with great restaurants and shopping and...monkeys! Next stop was Seville, another highlight of the trip. That city blew me away with how clean and beautiful it is, and how organized and safe the public transportation is. Orange trees line every street and the city is full of courtyards and gardens and parks. We had lots of authentic tapas every night and some sangria of course. We also went to see a flamenco show which was great.

Next stop was Granada. We stayed on the big hill overlooking the entire city, and our hotel was right next to the famous Alhambra (see facebook for pictures). We went to another flamenco show in Granada, but this one was extra special because it was in an actual gypsy cave. There is a part of the city in the mountains where gypsies still live and one of the families has this incredible business going were they've turned half of their house into a flamenco show and the acoustics in the cave are perfect for it. The group went out to a famous disco in Granada, and one of my friends is studying abroad there so she met up with us at the disco which was really neat.

After Granada we had a pretty long drive to Madrid, the last stop of the trip. Madrid is also an amazing city. We spent four days there and each day was very busy. Highlights include the Real Madrid soccer game (which they won, thankfully for our safety), and the Prado art museum. We also took a day trip to Toledo which is beautiful. We had a big quiz on our last night but we were able to go out and enjoy our last night together as a group afterwards. The people in my group were all so special and so much fun, I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Now that J-Term is over, I am back in Aix at my homestay and I am getting all settled now. I live with my friend from J-Term, Grace, and two other girls. We all have our own bedrooms which is so nice, and the host "parents" live upstairs in a separate part of the house. They have a precious little dog named Cisca too! The meals they serve us have all been delicious so far, and extremely healthy which is great--all of the vegetables and lettuce we eat comes from their garden. I feel very lucky! Orientation and classes begin next week, so in the meantime I am preparing for classes and making my new room feel more like home!

The Beginning of my January Term

Bonjour! I finally have a few minutes to sit down and write about my first week on J-Term. There are ten students and two (soon to be three) professors on the trip, and we have already formed a very close bond. We started the trip by staying in Paris for five days which was lovely even though the weather was not ideal. Each day was packed with lectures, discussions, meetings with government officials, politicians, etc. Besides having free time to explore the city and do "touristy" things, we also had some very unique opportunities such as going to the American Embassy and meeting with the ambassador, meeting with a representative from Green Peace France, etc. Next stop of the traveling seminar was Aix en Provence, which is also where I am spending the spring semester beginning at the end of January. We took the fast train, the TGV, from Paris to the south of France. It went so fast it makes your ears pop. We arrived in Aix on the most beautiful day, which was a welcome relief after nonstop wind/rain/overcast skies in Paris. Then, luckily for me, I was able to meet my host family for my home stay a few weeks early and even drop off some of my heavier clothes before continuing on to Morocco and Spain. We have spent two wonderful days in Aix, my new home. It is honestly one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. It is much, much bigger than I anticipated, but in a good way! It has absolutely everything you would find in London or New York or Chicago. And the great majority of Aixois (residents of Aix) do not speak any English, which is the perfect way to quickly become fluent. Today we visited Marseille, which is unbelievably pretty with its incredible view over the ocean. More on Aix and my new host family later, as I will be here for a long time. J-Term continues tomorrow, and we are moving on to Morocco. We are spending a few days in Marrakech, followed by Casablanca and Rabat. We are then going to cross the Strait of Gibraltar (...on a boat), and cross into southern Spain for the final week. I'm ready to do some serious negotiating with the sneaky Arab merchants in the Marrakech markets over the next few days...I'll try to bring back some fun souvenirs! Now I have to attempt to do some of the never ending reading for my lecture tomorrow, but I will start posting more regularly now that I've adapted to my new European surroundings. À bientôt!