Morocco- November 1-6th

We spent 5 days in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Day 1: The first day was definitely the most adventurous day for Jamie and me. After taking only a few minutes to settle in and change we grabbed a cab and headed into the mountains around Marrakesh. This was completely unbelievable. There is no way I could write how different the cultural expectations were and how immediately visible they were. We were lucky to have our friend Jamal from Marrakesh to show us around because I do not speak French or Arabic- the 2 main languages in Morocco. Anyway, while on the way into the mountains we stopped to have a camel ride. Camels are not comfortable or attractive but, alas, I rode a camel. After camels we continued driving and drove through tons of small villages on the way which, in no way, resembles the big metropolitan atmosphere of Marrakesh. All women were dressed in full scarves, donkeys were everywhere carrying carts, small boys stood on the road trying to sell local fruit, and open stores to keep them cool from the heat. Don’t get me wrong, there are clear areas of Marrakesh where poverty is obvious and where markets are fashioned in the same manner; however, these smaller villages were extreme.

After arriving in the mountains we started the climb up. Small stores and shops lined the mountains and trails to grab tea or souvenirs. The climb wasn’t too bad but the weather in Morocco was about 25 degrees Celsius every day. Finally we arrived a clearing where the stream met a waterfall. Looking down over the mountain was incredible. The sound of the waterfall behind you and the markets below is something I will never forget. It was also incredible to across the horizon and see the villages which are built into the side of mountains. Remind me to use donkeys when I build my house (just kidding). To rest we grabbed Moroccan tea, which is delicious, ate bread and talked to Jamal. He filled us in on some normal Moroccan traditions and holidays. Again, when he explained the method of courtship and how men greet each other in the street in local villages, I was speechless. To think that a majority of women in Morocco live at home until marriage is crazy to me. I was also interested in his descriptions of peace and violence. For example, Jamal explained that in the village where he’s from, when you pass another man in the street you say the Arabic word for “peace” to signify to the stranger that you mean no harm.

Anyway, after walking back down to the taxi we drove back into the city center of Marrakesh. Jamal brought us into the world famous Marrakesh markets. There were literally hundreds of small shops and places to grab food. It was immediately obvious we were going to be targeted because of our obvious Western appearance and shop owners continuously asked us to come into their stores. We were lucky to have a local with us to shew them away. We ate an authentic Moroccan meal (I can’t remember what and I’m not sure I want to) and headed to bed. It had been a really long day and we were both exhausted.

Barcelona: October 30-November 1

I wrote the next few entries in a notebook while on location.

Jamie and I, of course, had an extremely early flight out of Newcastle on Friday, October 30. First stop on our 2 week break: Barcelona. Jamie has been to the city and loved it so I was so excited and knew we’d have a great time, even for just 2 days. I’ve finally gotten used to figuring out public transportation on site when arriving somewhere new so it wasn’t too difficult finding our hostel after arriving in the Barcelona airport. We were lucky and flew in with EasyJet which flies right into Barcelona.

Our hostel was really nice and very secure. Although we’d been up almost all night and traveling part of the day, we immediately left the hostel to go explore. Our hostel was located right on La Rambla Street in Barcelona (a main street) and only a 5 minute walk from the ocean. Honestly, I can’t remember being so excited about traveling. Jamie and I walked around the markets and ocean for about an hour and enjoyed really good conversation. It was quite obvious to me at that point that I’ll be close with Jamie for an extremely long time.

After meeting up with a few other girls from the program we decided on a boat ride around the Barcelona port. It wasn’t a long ride but the breeze was nice and the sun was setting so looking into the city was beautiful. When the ride ended we grabbed some sangria on the beach and I entered the ocean for the FIRST TIME EVER (it wasn’t that exciting because the water was cold so I only put my feet in). Jamie and I parted from the group and decided to look for Halloween costumes. This turned into a 2 hour escapade of running around Barcelona asking people on the street if they could direct us to a costume store. We really tried to follow directions but neither of us speak Spanish and ended up giving up around 10 and heading back to the hostel.

For the record, hostels really need more plug-ins.

The next morning we headed to Barcelona’s famous park: …. It was massive and the sun was extremely hot but it also had something to overcome the head: an amazing view of the city. The heat was soon forgotten as we were able to walk around the enormous grounds of the park. Jamie was set on finding this famous lizard statue in the park which turned out to be an amazing display of architecture. After returning to the hostel to grab our bags, we headed to Girona for the night where Ryan Air would fly us to Morocco.

Girona that night was somewhat uneventful. We, again, completely failed at the directions from hostelworld.com and ended up roaming around for an extra hour looking for our hostel. Somehow, however, we found it. Anyway, that night was the “Girona Festival” which was a huge display of food and rides. It was identical to state fairs in the U.S.- stands full of hotdogs and popcorn, rides for kids and games to win prizes. The interesting thing was the theme of the rides. I never knew the Spanish had such an obsession with American Indians. There were numerous rides themed with “cowboys and Indians” and one particular ride even gave the children fake feathers to represent American Indians afterwards.
After walking around the incredible display, we headed to sleep because we were up at 4:00 to grab the bus to the airport.

Acklington Prison

The trip to the Acklington Prison last week was not what I expected. I have been to 2 prison systems in the United States, one in Iowa and one in Missouri; however, both were completely different than this UK prison. I was first and foremost overwhelmed with the friendly nature of the prison. I’m not sure if this was due to their nice living quarters in relation to other prisoners, their enjoyment of seeing some “outsiders” or something else. I believe I would be angry if a group of students were allowed to come into my living space and examine the way I lived or if I was paraded around for young American students to see. They, however, did not seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, they were very friendly and open to answer questions. Beyond the prisoners, the rehabilitation effort seems to be miles ahead of the United States. I am, admittedly, not an expert in the United States prison system, but have never even heard of programs being so successful. My father is a police officer in the states and he certainly does not talk about the rehabilitation programs as being very successful at all. It makes me wonder what the differences are and I would be so bold as to guess it’s the treatment of the prisoners. When I toured the prison in southern Missouri, the guards refused to even interact with the prisons whereas here, the guards were joking with them and being openly friendly. If you are constantly treated like an animal or a criminal, it’s no surprise when you are released you are tagged as a repeat offender and end up behind bars once again.

To be fair, the tour through the prison seemed completely staged (we were given coffee/tea and cookies). And I felt quite uncomfortable being forced to tour a facility where I believed us to be judging a group of people we knew nothing about.

So Far

I know I've been bad about weekly updates or what not but it's crazy busy here. My classes take up most of my time- the rest is spent making travel plans and penching pennies. I highly wish the exchange rate were in my favor- the best advice I could give about being abroad is bring more than you'd need for a semester in the US. The best the exchange rate has been since I've been here is 1.56.

Anyway, I spent a week in London. It was a fabulous time. However, I don't think I'm as in love with London was I originallyt hought after my weekend getaway there. I haven't quite figured out why. So, we did tons of things while there- BUT - my favorite by far was seeing Wicked. It was more amazing than I could have possibly imagined. The staging and music was absolutely breathtaking. Maybe everything just appears to have more meaning on a beautiful stage in London, who knows. I really wish Michael and my mom could have been there. They would have also loved it. I was also able to tour Shakespear's Globe Theater. While here, I'm constantly astonished how connected I feel with "history" or my ability to imagine being part of prior centuries. This may sound stupid and childish but I find it fascinating and it makes my time here 10 times more enjoyable.

Being in the Parliament building was also far more interesting than I anticipated. Compared to our government buildings, the UK blows us out of the water. The sculptures, architecture, and paintings inside were phenomenal. The House of Commons and House of Lords were both structured in such a different and intersting way (even though I've been learning about it in my Contemporary Britain Class, being there was different). Maybe it's my nerdy affection for politics talking, but any political atmosphere interests me.

We also took a tour of an old Royal Palace. It was huge and beautifully decorated with gardens and landscaping all around the premises. This was also the most blatant example of class divison within Britain I have yet seen. Of course there are obvious class disparaties (obviously, I live in the castle with the Duke of Northumberland), this was outrageous. Just thinking about the amount of money fueled into building and maintaining the palace then and now, it almost sickening. Class divisions are frustrating.

All in all, other than the 7 hour bus ride, it was a great time.

Berlin

The second half of my one week break was spent in Berlin. I really wish I'd been able to spend more time in not only Berlin, but Germany as a whole. Although some members of my party saw the language difference as a large barrier, I quite enjoyed being in a surrounding where English wasn't the first language. It's interesting to be in a country where being an American doesn't give you a free pass in society. We arrived at Schonefeld airport and began having immediate problems figuring out the transportation system. I did admittedly take German in high school which was only mildly helpful. After a small amount of struggling, we arrived at our hostel, "The Generator." This was a monster of a hostel, just huge. We threw out bags down and headed out to explore- this led us straight to food. I chose a traditional German hot dog- yum.

I opted for a short nap after we walked around. Almost immediately I noticed the massive amounts of graffiti that have overtaken parts of Berlin. Some may see it as trashy but it was quite impressive and gave a "face" to Berlin right away. We had a great dinner in the center of Berlin and called it a night somewhat early. The next day we woke up earlier to catch the "Fat Tire Bike Tour of Berlin." This was well worth it. The 4 hour bike tour covered the most famous sites in Berlin including: Check Point Charlie, The Berlin Wall, The Holocaust Museum, the site of Hitler's underground Bunker, and more. It was refreshing being outside and being shown the historically significant portions of the massive city. More dinner and exploring the night life ensued later on.

Our last full day in Berlin was spent at a concentration camp (Sachsenhausen) just out of the city. This was difficult and not exactly what I had expected. The site was originally used by SS officers for a camp and after the Soviets took over Berlin, it was converted into a Soviet "special camp." It was difficult seeing all the structures still in place and the audio guide provided testimonials from survivors of both camps. People were shot on site if they attempted to escape and outrageous medical experients were performed in the infirmary. 2 mass graves were also present on the site. The most difficult was going into the execution trenches where a large concrete block stood, filled with ashes. That's all I'd like to write about that.

Overall, I had an amazing time in Germany. I'd like to go back.

Ireland

This past week marked our first break from classes. Myself, along with a few other individuals on the program, decided to start the week off in Dublin, followed by a tour of southern Ireland. Instead of flying, we used a rail and sail system. It began in northern England by catching the train in Newcastle which took us (after an annoying amount of stops) to Holyhead on the coast of the Irish Sea. Although it took a bit longer than taking a plane would have, it was refreshing to see the countryside and I quite like the train. A ferry then took us across the sea into the Dublin port which, of course, means I'll be buying a boat in the (not-so-near) future.

We arrived in Dublin and made it to our hostel which was quite nice. It was then time to explore, even though we were all exhausted from getting up at 4 am. Dublin is a huge multicultural city and although I saw and met more tourists than Irish folk, it was still a great time. We had dinner at an interesting little restaurant. After dinner I called it quits and headed back to catch up on some sleep. Sunday morning we grabbed some pizza and went to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. Although Guinness is certainly not my choice for beer, their displays were awesome and we were able to relax in their gravity bar overlooking Dublin afterward. We decided to take a horse and carriage ride to the Temple Bar area for dinner from the storehouse which was awesome. Dinner and drinks then ensued.

Monday morning began our 3 day paddy wagon tour of Southern Ireland. We all got onto a huge coach with our hilarious tour guide, Tom and headed out of Dublin. Some memorable stops along the way: The location where Christian teachings began in Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher (where I was able to see the Atlantic Ocean for the FIRST time), the city of Galway, and another horse/carriage ride through an Ireland national park. We also went to a local pub in Galway where they played traditional Irish music- it was surprisingly enjoyable and the varying insruments were fascinating. Overall, Ireland was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful and relaxed. It also made me realize what a cruel and outrageously horrendous history the Irish have (mostly because of the British) and it's becomming clear why the US and the UK are such great allies.

Perceptions

So far, I've been meeting some spectacular people here, both within my program and while vising other parts of the UK. It's been motivational in many respects and I believe has been helping me map out really what to do after college. The first example, and possibly the most influential, is meeting Diego in Edinburgh, Scotland. Diego is originally from Columbia but getting a master's degree in England. Although he technically took English classes while in Columbia, the quality was lacking and ended up teaching himself how to speak the language by watching American movies with subtitles etc. He is now fluent. Not only was he able to team himself another language, he was constantly encouraged to attend university outside of Columbia as a tool to expand his opportunities (this is true of his whole family). He has a sister studying engineering in Holland and another sibling working in Mexico City. I wonder why most Americans are never encouraged to seek education through other means (usually). Beyond educational boundaries, he also experiences things I've never thought about due to being Colombian. Massive stereotypes exist in terms of being tyrants or terrorists. In fact, U.S. border patrol tried to deport Deigo to Mexico because he appeared to be Hispanic when in reality he's Colombian (he had a legal tourist visa to be in the U.S.). Never have I worried about being turned away from a location or business due to my origin. In fact, although some communities have anti-American feelings, I have yet to, as an individual, face the repercussions of those feelings abroad.

I'll finish this update later when I have more time.

M.

London- Random Update

My good friend Judith from Missouri State is also studying in England this semester. We decided, along with my 2 friends here, Jamie and Kristin, to head down to London for the weekend. It was amazing. Not only was it nice to get away for the weekend, but the city itself was awesomely intense. The people were much more friendly than I expected and really interested in learning about the "American Culture".

We arrived on Friday afternoon which meant figuring out the London transit system. The London underground can literally get you anywhere in London with just a few stops. We took a few wrong turns but soon after found our Hostel in Lambeth. After grabbing some food and meeting up with Judith we went back to the hostel in hopes to book a show for the night, we failed. Hopefully we'll be able to see both Wicked and Mama Mia while in London next month. Anyway, instead of a show we took the underground into Piccadilly circus and bought tickets for a comedy club that evening. This comedian was absolutely hilarious- I had such a good time. We met a few different groups of people at the show who offered to show us around the nightlife a little bit. After stopping at a few different pubs we ended up at a reggae club- different, but I'm glad we attended. The British men were so curious about americans- cost of living, "red cup parties", and laws etc.

The next day was spent wondering around and visiting big London sites; ex Big Ben, Parliment, Buckingham Palace. We went to the Saint James park and did the Princess Diana Memorial Walk. The park was beautiful and the view of Buckingham Palace was breathtaking. I hope to go back and relax for hours in the park- not all parts of London are fast paced. It was both difficult and surprisingly easy at times to take in the city. I'll put up some pictures soon when I extract them from my camera. That evening was the highlight of my trip so far- we took a petty cab which was a small carriage operated by a biker. I had a blast. He drove us around Leister Square and Soho- the location of the "world-renowned london nightlife". Then we danced.

It was also really good to see Judith. I have been pretty awful at keeping in touch with people from Missouri State/Springfield/debate folk. She updated me and reminded me about my first 2 years in college. Anyway, I've been doing some volunteering around Alnwick at The Playhouse in town and hope to get involved with hospice. Justine and I are volunteering this evening during a showing at The Playhouse which also means watching a free show :). This week is not nearly as busy as last week which will be refreshing.

Just a note to myself- I hope to remember my performance of Michael for a very long time.

Scotland

This past weekend was spent in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was tons of fun but I am exhausted.

Friday we left at 7 am and arrived in Edinburgh around 9. Our first stop was the new Scottish Parliment (established in 1999). The architecture of the building was overwhelmingly beautiful and intriguing; however, the tour guide drove me crazy. She spoke sooooo slowly and explained the entire Scottish Parlimentary system in an hour. Regardless, the building both inside and out was worth the visit. I recommend everyone google the building. Second stop was Holyrood House- the official residence of the Queen while visiting Scotland. It was almost like walking back in time and we only crossed the street. The palace was gorgeous and we were able to see many more rooms than I expected. It was interesting to visualize the spaces taken up by famous kings and queens of both Scotland and England. Next was the grand finale- the Edinburgh Castle. Not only was I able to see the royal jewels of the Scottish royalty, the Scottish military museum, dungeons, the rooms of the royal estate, but the castle houses a World War I and II memorial. The memorial is by far the most memorable experience I've had here yet. The quotations engraved on the walls, sculptures, and art work were heart wrenching.

After leaving the castle we checked into our hostel- we stayed in a 14 bed room (luckily we were in a group of 14- haha). It was then time to venture out onto the streets of Edinburgh. Although I literally walked for hours around the city from Friday-Sunday, I was unable to even begin seeing the amazing city. I LOVED the street entertainment- there were flame throwers, comedians, men laying on needles etc. If I saw nothing else of the city other than those entertainers I would have been satisfied. After grabbing some dinner we got ready for the pub crawl. The next day I ventured out with Duwayne. We went to the top of the Sir Walter Scott memorial which gives you the best view of the city. It was hundreds of stairs but was well worth the view. After some shopping the art museum was next- this is a difficult experience to write down in text form so I'm going to skip it for now.

That evening we went on a "ghost tour" where we were taken into the underground vaults of Edinburgh. These vaults were created and known as the "underground city" which housed hundreds of people. The vaults lacked sanitation, light, and were not policed by the city. Although the dark composure of the vaults was a tad eerie, hearing about what happened in the vaults was more horrifying. There was body snatching, baby farming etc. Women were not allowed to have babies out of wedlock in that era so, in return, they would run away to the vaults. 80% of the women died in the vaults because of sanitary reasons and no doctors to deliver the child. Knowing the conditions of the vaults was beyond saddening.

Sunday morning/early afternoon was spent wondering the streets before catching our train home. This week is my busiest yet- a large test and 2 performances as well as planning for our upcoming 3 day weekend. More later

M.

Travel Plans

We've officially booked planes, hostels etc for our first break. We're heading to Dublin for the first half where we'll be doing a 3 day tour then off to Berlin. I'm not exactly sure what attracts me to Germany other than having studied it for a few years. People keep telling me "Oh Meggie, German will just come back to you while you're there." HA. No way. Anyway, we'll be doing a Paddywagon tour in southern Ireland (http://www.paddywagontours.com/viewtour.php?id=14&&day=02&&month=09&&year=2009). Should be a good time- I love the people I'm going with.

Beyond that, we're heading to Scotland this weekend, leaving Friday morning and returning Sunday. I'm hoping to do a ghost tour and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Classes are getting in the way of travel, which is a tad annoying. I'm taking 2 performance studies classes which are completely out of my comfort zone. Next week, I have to perform 3 images from 3 different poems- a tad different. We'll see how it goes.

Also, the toilet paper here comes in disconnected square blocks. I'll never get used to it.

First Few Weeks

After being in Alnwick, England for a few short weeks, I realized I would most definitely regret not keeping an online record of what I have done and seen while here.

I left Minneapolis, MN on a 10:30 a.m. flight August 18th, 2009. After switching flights in both Cincinnati and JFK, we finally arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland at around 8:30 a.m. on August 19th, 2009. I have never been so exhausted in all my life. We then took a coach to Alnwick which took approximately 2 hours. I woke up on the bus to the site of the castle we would be staying in- Alnwick Castle, home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. It was immediately overwhelming. It's impossible to express the feeling other than waking up to a fairy tale.

The first day was spent with orientation where we were not able to sleep in hopes we'd recover faster from jet lag. I remember nothing from the first day. After getting settled and going over rules/procedures/regulations, Friday arrived. Although normal weekends for jobless college students are filled with laying around and beer, we have planned field trips. Saturday marked out first trip to Newcastle, UK. It's one of the larger cities in England and I had a fabulous time exploring. We were able to visit the Milennium bridge (everyone should google this, the architecture is amazing), a famous monument in Newcastle, China town etc.

The following Monday marked the first day of classes. The week was outrageously busy with classes, making travel plans, birthdays, homework etc. I'm enjoying my classes; two are taught my British professors- the culture differences in the classroom setting alone are extremely interesting. It is rude to even yawn during a lecture let alone wear sweat pants or drink coffee. I'm also taking some performance studies classes which are intriguing but definitely pull me out of my comfort zone. More on that later.

This previous weekend (August 28-29) we were able to visit the houses of both William Woodsworth (the famous poet) and Beatrix Potter (most famous work: Peter Rabbit) It's overwhemling to be surrounded by so many historically significant things. We were also able to visit Hadrian's Wall which was built during the Roman inhabitance of England in the 4th century. We also saw a celtic stonehendge which is dated back even earlier than the Roman wall. The scenery here is just breathtaking. We got the option of climbing a large mountain called the Lion and the Lamb. Although my legs felt like jello at the end, it was still worth it. I have never seen such beautiful hills and lakes. The picture above is of Hadrian's Wall.

Finally, this evening we received a private tour of the keep of the castle- (the centrally located portion where the Duke and Duchess still live with their 4 children). The Duke is worth over 300 million pounds- the keep of the castle holds millions and millions of pounds worth of artwork from van dyke to michaelanego. There are also "state" houses in the castle which are suitable for the Queen to stay when here. It is crazy. Anyway, time for homework.

M.