It’s Time for AFREEKA…Again

I consider myself to be so blessed to say that in the last 365 days, I was able to make, not one, but TWO trips to (what has now become my favorite continent) Africa! As mentioned in last week’s blog post, this time last year (2010) I was in Ghana, Africa over spring break (for an Emerging Economies Course). It’s safe to say that both trips have easily floated to the top of my “Favorite International Trips” list.

I spent this past weekend in Morocco, specifically three cities: Tetuan, Tangier and Chefchaouen. Our business and society program was lucky to have CIEE organize this 3-city tour (or else I would’ve had to find another way to visit the continent) by using a portion of our semester’s tuition to pay for hotels, meals and transportation. Major shout out to Jaime, Virginia and all the CIEE folk for putting together an excellent (and well managed) trip!

So, we started off this 3-city tour at 7:30AM, Thursday morning, on a shuttle bus to Algeciras where we caught a one hour Ferry to the Port of Ceuta (Spanish-Morocco), were checked by security guards at the Frontera (area between Spanish Morocco and African Morocco) and finally enjoyed (sarcasm) another two hour bus ride to Tetuan, arriving at our hotel (3 Stars) where we would spend two nights (so much effort to get from one continent to another).

In Tetuan, we had the opportunity to visit an Artisan School where students of all ages built, etched, chiseled and painted some of the most beautiful artwork that I’ve ever seen.  After this visit, we walked through the city’s narrow (and confusing) alley ways to a well-decorated restaurant to enjoy some authentic Moroccan food.

After having stuffed our faces until we could no longer move, we walked through Tetuan’s Medina (market place) to see what goods it had in store for our tourist money. As I browsed through my wish list, comparing what was in the market place to what I wanted, I picked up a few words here and there as I watched the Moroccans (and other tourists) bargain in pure (or broken) Arabic. This was going to be tougher than I had imagined…but luckily I had a day to practice everything I had learned. Retail therapy would take place the next day.

Friday our program got to visit a COCA-COLA factory in Tangier. SO COOL!  We were able to see the production process for the Coke and Fanta lines, from start to finish.  KK and I were also wrapped in plastic wraps (like Coke Bottles) at the end of our tour (nauseating). The awesome workers of Coca-Cola offered us free beverages before we left, and though I don’t drink pop (soda, depending on what u call it) I gave the Moroccan version a try. Discovery: Carbonated beverages taste the same regardless of their location in the world. LOL. But I did find myself drawn to “Hawai,” Coca-Cola’s fruity beverage found exclusively in Morocco. SO TASTY!

We then visited the caves where Hercules supposedly rested after completing his 12 tasks (as a punishment). But the best part of the caves…the CAMELS standing outside that we got to ride. I may not have been as excited as some of my peers (as I had already ridden a camel in Dubai, one year ago), but as soon as I grabbed a hold of my camel’s hump and was jerked some 10 feet in the air, all the adrenaline in my body kicked in. Definitely a great experience to relive!

More eating was followed by a visit to Tangier’s business school where we met students and talked about Moroccan culture and ate some MORE food. Our new intercambios (Moroccan students) accompanied us to Tangier’s Medina where they helped us bargain for bags, shoes, jerseys and little trinkets.

Most of Saturday followed the tune of Thursday and Friday, as we spent a few hours in Chefchaouen, the little blue town situated within the Rif Mountains (seriously, the entire town was blue!).

 I returned back to my humble home stay around 11PM Saturday night to a clean room, new bed sheets and freshly folded laundry…thank you Lola! This week I’m getting ahead on some projects due at the end of the semester just before I trot off to VENICE, ITALY on Friday! J

A Tourist in My Own City

I was held back in Sevilla this weekend for yet another class field trip. As fate would have it, the field trip to McDonalds (of all places) was cancelled, due to scheduling conflicts (of course). Our professor promised us a make-up visit in the near future, in place of a class period. Let’s hope McDonald’s pulls through.

So I was left celebrating the end of midterms in good ol’ Sevilla. Like the tourist I am, I made sure I made the most of my weekend at home…packed from Thursday afternoon (post Finance) until Sunday afternoon.

As you are well aware, this past Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day (and the last day of midterms). As the (metaphorical) bell rang at 4:30PM, my classmates and I rushed out of our Finance classroom and quickly made our way to O’Neils, one of the few Irish Pubs in Sevilla.  When we arrived, we found fellow classmates already comfortable in their outdoor seats, with face paint and St. Patty’s Day hats to get the celebrations started with a bang (see pictures). We spent the whole night chatting about how glad we were to have ended the LONG week, but how sad we were to hit the HALFWAY mark in our study abroad program.  Turkish food and a U2 cover band were also included in the night’s mix.

(Side note: At some point during the night, I realized that it was on this day, one year ago, that I was celebrating St. Patty’s Day with a group of wonderful Kelley’s in GHANA, AFRICA! Here’s a shout out to some of my favorites…and the great memories created that spring break…see below!)

The next morning (Friday), while the rest of my peers were recovering from the previous night’s festivities, I was woken up by BW (at 9:30AM mind you) to finalize plans for that morning. I scurried out of bed, ate some cereal and was out the door for a day of exploring. BW, CR and I were off to Triana to visit its famous market, el Castelo de San George and the Feria Grounds (Feria is a HUGE festival held in Sevilla during April). Friday night, we had coffee with some intercambios (Spanish friends) and practiced our Spanish (while they practiced their English). I also caught up on trip planning, skyping and some cleaning.

Saturday CR and I headed to Plaza de Espana to soak in Spain’s history…and of course a LOT of sun.  That day temperatures hit a high of 88F (yes, I’ve got a healthy glow) and was perfect for touristy fountain and garden pictures. BW joined us for a stroll through the beautiful Parque de Maria Luisa.  We continued the day walking around el Centro and then ended the night with a Tapas Crawl (trademarking that name…it’s the most creative idea I’ve come up with). The three of us and KS went from Tapas Bar to Tapas Bar trying new dishes. BW was the bravest of us all having Octopus, Bull’s Tail and Dogfish (Squid) all in one night. 

My biggest accomplishment of the weekend took place on Sunday. I went on yet another Senderismo (hike), except this one was NINE miles long, in the Northern Sierras of Huelva.  Little did I know that when the program ups the number of miles, it also ups the difficulty level of the route. Oh my, did I struggle at some points of the hike, but I was lucky enough to have three wonderful hiking buddies (MF, AS and EH) to motivate me for five hours. Thank you girls! My words wouldn’t do justice to the beauty I witnessed that afternoon…so check out these pictures!



I’m grateful for having the opportunity to learn more about my city over the past two weekends, but I’m itching to start traveling again. This Globe-Trotter has a packed itinerary for the next 5 weeks (I’ll announce my locations as the weeks progress…there needs to be air of mystery, and a reason for you all to continue reading my blog!). However, I will say that I’m headed to Morocco this weekend and am really excited for this trip. One of my best friends has been studying there for the semester and has absolutely loved his experience. He’s also been kind enough to teach me a few bargaining phrases for when I shop at the Medina (local market).

To end, Navroz Mubarak to my fellow Muslims; I hope this new year brings happiness, prosperity and many exciting experiences for you all.