ESPAÑA

This weekend I went to Cordoba and Granada SPAIN! It was the trip of a lifetime. We left early Friday morning at 7 a.m. When the bus picked us up, however, Mohammed (our director) informed us that late Thursday night he found out that his visa had expired..and that he couldn’t come with us. Fouad, our other semi-director, also did not have a visa (and was never planning on coming), so we were on our own. It ended up working out for the best, however, because we met the IES Granda director when we arrived from the Ferry in Tarifa. His name was Javier, and he was amazing. It was a 4 hour bus ride from Rabat to Tangier, then a 45 minute ferry to Tarifa, Spain, and then another 4 hours or so to Cordoba. We arrived in Cordoba around 7 p.m. and relaxed before a large Spanish dinner at the hotel. The first thing we noticed when we got off the boat was how drastically different Spain was from Morocco. Everything was clean, modern, SPANISH; it had a completely different feel. We kept joking that it was weird not seeing trash all over the streets, not having men cat-call us every time we walk ANYWHERE, not having random stray cats on the streets, etc. It was also very difficult to switch over from Arabic to Spanish. I have taken Spanish for many years, but I constantly found myself saying “shukran” instead of “gracias” and “Salamu Alaykum” instead of a simple “Hola”. Arabic just seemed to come right out, and it was a true example of how much we have learned.

That night we went out for tapas and some drinks with Javier, but we were all pretty tired so went home at a reasonable hour. The next day we met up with a tour guide (even from across the Straight of Gibraltar Mohammed took excellent care of us) who took us around Cordoba. We went to Alcazar (the castle for Christian monarchs), an old synagogue (which has now been turned into a church) and the Mezquita (a mosque that has been turned into a church). Everything we saw was unbelievably beautiful. Each stop was more beautiful than the next. The architecture in some of these places was truly incredible. A lot of what we saw actually had a very Moroccan feel, which I was not expecting. Because it is so close to Morocco, many arabs used to occupy areas of Cordoba. We also took a tour through the old Jewish quarter and learned all about the Sfardic Jewish population that no longer exists in Cordoba. That afternoon we went to a Tapas place for lunch, got some delicious sangria, and headed off to Granada.

That night we met up with some IES Granada kids who took us out and gave us a real taste of Spanish nightlife. Needless to say, it was a blast. The next morning, bright and early at 8 a.m. we met up with an IES Granada professor who took us to the Alhambra. The Alhambra was quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We saw everything from the fortress that overlooks the city to the beautiful gardens. We were often blown away by the amount of tourists and their extremely modern clothes, forgetting that we were no longer in Morocco. After spending a good 4 hours in the Alhambra, it was time for a siesta (Spanish nap). My friends and I grabbed a quick bite to eat (a real DELI sandwich, very exciting!) and went back for a nice, long nap. At 4:30 we met another tour guide who took us on a walking tour of Granada. We went to a cathedral where Isabella and Ferdinand were buried, along with other Spanish kings. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures in there, but everything was lavishly decorated. We saw their large, carved and detailed tombs, and an art museum inside, as well. There were paintings on the walls of Jesus, John the Baptist and other important Christian figures and everything was in real gold and so intricate and detailed. Words cannot describe how beautiful it all was. Then we walked all around Granada and ended up at this place with an incredible view overlooking the Alhambra. By this time it 3 or 4 hours later and it was freezing (us Moroccans are not used to the cold weather). We were all ready to get back to our nice warm hotel. That night some people went out a tetaria, while others (like my friends and I) got into our warm beds and had pillow talk (girl gossip session).

View of the Alhambra

I feel like this trip was so amazing for multiple reasons. First of all, it was our first time out of Morocco and it really gave us a chance to appreciate where we are and what we have. On our walk home from the Alhambra, a bunch of us were talking about how incredible of a semester it has been so far and how lucky we are to be able to experience everything that we have experienced. We were all saying how happy we were that we chose Morocco and what an incredible and unique cultural experience we were having. Spain was beautiful and a lot of fun, but it was no Morocco. Being there allowed us to take a step back just reflect on what we have been through thus far on our journey. As soon as the boat landed in Morocco, the air just had a different feel about it. However, it wasn’t until I went to the bathroom in the ferry station where there was no toilet paper and the door didn’t lock that it truly felt like home.

Furthermore, the trip was a really incredible bonding experience. I feel like I got 10 times closer with my friends over the course of these four days. I don’t know if it was the trip itself or just the amount of time we spent together, but I now know I have made friends that will last a lifetime. I cannot believe I only have a little over a month left; it feels like yesterday I was living with my host family in Fes and just getting the feel of Morocco. When I walked into my house tonight my sister came up and kissed me three times of the cheek (Moroccan hospitality); they made me drink some tea and tell them about my travels. She couldn’t stop telling me how much she missed me and I was happy to be home.
Spain Pics - part 1
Spain Pics - part 2