I fail at keeping a blog. However, part of that is that I feel like I don't have much to say.
Spring break happened a few weeks back, and 3 friends and I traveled to Rome, Brussels, and Madrid. I'm very thankful that I got the opportunity to spend some time in Europe, because it's hard to say when I will be over on this side of the world again. I think Brussels was my favorite city, even though we only spent about 24 hours there. It just had a vibe that very much so reminded me of the Northwest. Unfortunately, it also made me miss home.
The novelty of Morocco has definitely worn off, and every day I get more and more sick of the school here. It becomes more apparent every time I travel how separate this campus is from the rest of the country.
Last weekend, a group of us went to Chefchaouen, a city known for hash and being blue. According to wikipedia, it's blue from the Jewish settlers that used to live there, and the tradition of painting the walls blue has been continued by its current residents. It was a very pretty city, although I didn't actually spend too much time exploring the city itself. On Saturday, we drove to Akchur and completed this amazing hike to a waterfall. It was absolutely gorgeous, and good weather for a hike. My poor converse... I am not sure they are going to make it back to the states. We had to cross the river 12 times there and back, and my shoes stayed on the entire time. There was also a fair amount of mud and dirt. No one warned me Morocco would ruin my shoes. I don't mind too much, given the utility received from participating in the events that have most deteriorated the state of them.
The best part of the weekend though would probably be the fact that we rented cars to the whole weekend. It felt amazing to sit in the front seat, hand out the window, listening to good music. It definitely made me ready to drive again, and excited to blast my music and rock out when traveling.
It was nice to see more of the rural Moroccan life, with women carrying large loads of flowers and sticks on their backs. Everywhere we drove bright, red poppies were in bloom, and the hillsides were green and lush. There were large fields of grass and crops, and it was beautiful to see. Donkeys, goats, cows and sheep were visible every couple hundred feet, although that seems to be true of most of the country. There are baby goats everywhere, and they are so adorable. There's just a sense of serenity that comes from being out in the country, and it was nice to just be able to be an observer. While I am a big fan of the big cities as well, sometimes it's nice to get away, and just feel like you could run away and live in a hut in the middle of no where. I know I would get fed up after a while, but the option is there. If I really wanted, I could chose a life path radically different from the one I'm on, and everything would still probably be okay. That's probably the biggest lesson I have learned since being at college, and just reinforced by my time here.
Do I plan on dropping out and moving to a far away country and becoming a farmer? No, but all that matters is that the option is there.
Spring break happened a few weeks back, and 3 friends and I traveled to Rome, Brussels, and Madrid. I'm very thankful that I got the opportunity to spend some time in Europe, because it's hard to say when I will be over on this side of the world again. I think Brussels was my favorite city, even though we only spent about 24 hours there. It just had a vibe that very much so reminded me of the Northwest. Unfortunately, it also made me miss home.
The novelty of Morocco has definitely worn off, and every day I get more and more sick of the school here. It becomes more apparent every time I travel how separate this campus is from the rest of the country.
Last weekend, a group of us went to Chefchaouen, a city known for hash and being blue. According to wikipedia, it's blue from the Jewish settlers that used to live there, and the tradition of painting the walls blue has been continued by its current residents. It was a very pretty city, although I didn't actually spend too much time exploring the city itself. On Saturday, we drove to Akchur and completed this amazing hike to a waterfall. It was absolutely gorgeous, and good weather for a hike. My poor converse... I am not sure they are going to make it back to the states. We had to cross the river 12 times there and back, and my shoes stayed on the entire time. There was also a fair amount of mud and dirt. No one warned me Morocco would ruin my shoes. I don't mind too much, given the utility received from participating in the events that have most deteriorated the state of them.
The best part of the weekend though would probably be the fact that we rented cars to the whole weekend. It felt amazing to sit in the front seat, hand out the window, listening to good music. It definitely made me ready to drive again, and excited to blast my music and rock out when traveling.
It was nice to see more of the rural Moroccan life, with women carrying large loads of flowers and sticks on their backs. Everywhere we drove bright, red poppies were in bloom, and the hillsides were green and lush. There were large fields of grass and crops, and it was beautiful to see. Donkeys, goats, cows and sheep were visible every couple hundred feet, although that seems to be true of most of the country. There are baby goats everywhere, and they are so adorable. There's just a sense of serenity that comes from being out in the country, and it was nice to just be able to be an observer. While I am a big fan of the big cities as well, sometimes it's nice to get away, and just feel like you could run away and live in a hut in the middle of no where. I know I would get fed up after a while, but the option is there. If I really wanted, I could chose a life path radically different from the one I'm on, and everything would still probably be okay. That's probably the biggest lesson I have learned since being at college, and just reinforced by my time here.
Do I plan on dropping out and moving to a far away country and becoming a farmer? No, but all that matters is that the option is there.
