"How much are the Obama biscuits?"

Thursday, September 24, 2009 – Hike and Monkeys

 

            We didn’t get a chance to sleep in at all because breakfast was at 7:00 and the bus was leaving at 7:30. I woke up at 5:30 to hear roosters and goats making lots of awkward noises that sounded like they were right in our room. We all got up at 6:30 to gather our stuff and spend a little more time with our family. We took a family picture and reluctantly said goodbye after a lot of hugs. I don’t think any of us wanted to go. I felt right at home with them and could have stayed for another month. I promised our family I would be back to visit them and I will be sure to hold that promise! Beauty took us the back way to the church where we would have breakfast. We got to see some more houses of the village and goats along the way. People were on their porches and we waved and said goodbye! It was actually really sad to be leaving. The church was much different than what I expected. It was a big concrete building and the windows were just wide open with nothing covering them. There were no pews but tables set up for our breakfast. Each family had their own table and the village had prepared the breakfast for us! We had a loaf of homemade bread, the best pineapple I’ve ever had, weird smelly sausage that was probably goat, bananas, and tea. After sadly giving our Ghanaian mom one last hug, we headed for the bus. Many of the children were waving goodbye to us and watched the bus leave. I was so sad to be leaving Torgorme but I knew it would not be my last visit.

            Now we had a 3 ½ hour bus ride to get to the highest mountain in Ghana for our hike. We drove through many more villages and in each one the children would run from their homes to wave to us. The girls were picking on me for waving to literally everyone we passed! I loved seeing all their smiling faces! The ride to the mountain was one of the bumpiest rides I’ve ever experienced. The road would go from slightly paved to a dirt road in a matter of seconds. The paved roads had speed bumps every ten feet in the villages.The dirt roads weren’t just dirt roads either. There were bumps and ridges in the middle of the road nearly one foot deep, if not more. During the ride Lauren said to me: “Mackenzie, put your hands in the air!” It was literally like a rollercoaster ride but definitely an entertaining ride! At one point, our bus was so far over to the side of the road to avoid the big ditches in the middle that we almost tipped over. Our bus driver was amazing at getting us through this hell of a ride!

            We all had to pee like racehorses by the time we got to the mountain after that very bumpy ride. At least these bathrooms had toilet paper! By this point in the trip, I had never appreciated toilet paper more. We all gathered under a pavilion before our hike for a little history of Afdjato Mountain, the highest mountain in Ghana located in the Volta region. At first, the hike was pretty average and seemed like it would be tough all the way to the top but not like anything we couldn’t handle. Well as we got up to the first marker of 200 some feet we were basically rock climbing. The mountain was nearly straight up and the man made path out of rocks was about 1-2 feet apart from each other. The higher we got, the harder it was to breath because of the humidity. I thought I was going to heal over half the time. Our tour guide was zooming up the mountain so we barely had any time to catch our breath. A little ways past the half way point I stopped for a break (probably my 5^th break by now!). Julie and I were both dying trying to hike up this damn mountain and I thought if I went any further I would fall backwards and not get to see the monkeys on our next part of the trip. Lila stayed with us for a while to make sure we’d be okay because we had lost the group by now. We told her to go ahead and we would hang there. Julie and I decided to start back down the mountain because there was no way we would make it to the top without taking ALL day. I felt extremely wimpy but I didn’t want to risk falling to a very painful death down this mountain trail! The way back down we realized we made it pretty far so I was proud that I did that much! It wouldn’t have been so bad if we could actually breathe but the humidity and air pressure was so bad it was nearly impossible.

            We made it back down and saw the longest worm ever on the way to the clearing. We saw a side path right near the exit and decided to explore a little before the rest of the group came back down. We hadn’t made it more than 15 feet and a man with a machete hollered to us from where we came from and told us the path was the other way. He came out of nowhere and when we got back to the main path he was gone. It was a little creepy but at least we were at civilization! A few women and their small children had set up a snack and drink table for us. Julie and I grabbed a drink and looked at the snacks – they had Obama biscuits! The wrapper was an American flag and had a picture of Obama on it. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Eventually everyone came down and we visited and relaxed as we waited for the last group.

            Next stop was the monkey sanctuary. We had about an hour and a half to get there and we had more of an adventure on this road than the last. We finally arrived and were greeted by a man wearing a monkey sanctuary shirt and an Obama necklace! I got a picture of him J We walked through a path and were in an area full of trees. The guide started making weird noises to attract the monkeys and all of a sudden the trees were shaking all over. We got close to some branches and he handed us each a banana. The monkeys came so close!!! We didn’t even have to peel the bananas; they know how to do it on their own. When it was my turn I got really close to the branch and held out my banana. The monkey came down and grabbed right on to the banana and ripped it open. He took huge chunks at a time and his mouth was so small that I couldn’t believe he fit it all inside. It was the coolest experience to be feeding monkeys bananas right out of my hand. There were a bunch of kids from the village we were in following us around and I started videotaping them. I turned the screen to face them so they could see themselves and they got so excited! I had a whole group following me all the way back to the bus. It was so cute how excited they got because they rarely ever see themselves. Overall, the whole day was great! I was so happy we got to see the monkeys and it was definitely worth the extra hour and a half bumpy ride!

            We mostly napped on the way home because by now it was really dark. When we finally got back to the ship we all went to shower and met on the 7^th deck to have ice cream! It was becoming our ritual after a long tripJ I had such a great time on the Cultural Immersion and was so glad I got to experience real Ghanaian life. Although the hike wasn’t as successful as I had hoped, the monkeys made the day awesome!! Tomorrow is our last day in Ghana…until then!

Adzoa Elorm

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 – Cultural Immersion

 

            Today was a very early day! We had to be ready to go by 0630. Breakfast was only continental because it was so early so we were scrambling to bring food with us for the ride. We boarded the bus (only 1 this time!) and started off to the village of Torgorme. I sat with Lauren on the bus, of course. Our trip leaders were Tom, the ship’s security guy, and the three generation Orris family (LifeLong Learners): Milton, Jay and Christie, and Luke and Ryan. The ride to Torgorme was about 1 ½ hours and as we approached the village we crossed the man made dam which is the only way in and out of the village. We drove on a dirt road through a clearing to enter the village and as we approached the center, where the school, clinic, and center square are located, the entire village was waving to greet us. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences because they were SO happy to see us! The kids were jumping, running, and waving to us and it melted my heart!

            As we got off the bus and headed to the center square, I couldn’t take the smile off my face. Everyone was saying welcome and waving to us as we sat down. When I say the entire village was there, I mean the entire village. The school children were all in their uniforms (school had been cancelled for the day for our arrival), the children’s dance group (which was almost all the children) had their African fabric ensembles on. The women of the village were sitting to our left and there was a big space in the middle of the square which would be used for dancing. As we settled into our seats there was a lot of commotion because the chief and his company were coming!!! The ceremony was about to begin! The chief and his elders made our jaws drop. I had never seen anything like this before. We were actually in a real African village! Before the ceremony we all went through the line of elders and chief by shaking their hands and thanking them for having us. We sat down and the ceremony started with a welcome speech and dance by the children. There were so many of them and they all danced barefoot in their beautiful fabric dresses. Every moment was a great photo op so I couldn’t put my camera down. At one point during the dancing show, a little girl had made her way through all of our chairs and was right behind Lauren and I, just standing there. She was so cute and shy! The little girl just stood there close to us and watched – it was a really neat experience. After the dancing, the naming ceremony began. We had about 40 people to go through so the morning was very long. When my name was called, I went up to the table in front of the entire village and was told my African name: Adzoa Elorm. Adzoa stands for Monday, the day I was born, and Elorm means “my creator loves me”. I repeated my name and a couple from the village presented me with two gifts: a beaded bracelet and handmade pot with my name on it. The wife tied my bracelet on my left hand and the husband handed me my pot, then we got our picture taken! I was so excited and honored to be welcomed into the village this way. The entire village was taking the time to share this experience with us and went out of their way to give us these gifts as a sign of welcome. Throughout the naming ceremony we took short breaks with more dancing, and at one point, two students read poems to us. It was very powerful and they were amazing speakers who expressed heartfelt passion in their words.

After the ceremony we were introduced to our host families whom we would be staying with for the night. I had three other SAS girls in my family: Lizzie, Ally, and Julianne. We first met our host mom, sister, and brother. Before going to their house we all got a group picture with the chief and his elders! Our mom, Beauty, and sister, Elorm, led us to our new home! If you notice, my sister and I share the same local name!! The walk wasn’t far from the center of the village. We passed so many goats and children running around the dirt paths. We turned off the main path onto a smaller one and entered the house through a wooden gate tucked between trees. The home was amazing. There were two buildings of the house: living quarters and kitchen. The center of the home was an open yard with dirt instead of grass. To the left was a tent like structure with a straw ceiling where the goats, cats, and chickens were lounging under. There was a small patio between the corner of the kitchen and the living quarters where we sat down to visit. Beauty showed us our rooms; we had two girls in each room with a bed and a mattress on the floor. Julianne and I shared a room and Ally and Lizzie were in the other bedroom. In our room there was a picture of Beauty’s husband who had passed away so it was neat that he was looking over us. What surprised me was the tv in our room!! I’m not sure if it worked but it was still there! After our short tour we sat down with our new family and got to know each other a little bit. Our brother, Sedinam, was actually the videographer for the naming ceremony and he creates his own movie scripts. He has big dreams of going to Hollywood to create his own movies! We visited with the family some more but then had to meet back at the bus to head out for lunch. We walked back through the village and the kids were everywhere. It was hard for us to say goodbye for a while! The bus took us down the road to another village where we had lunch at a Mess Hall. We were all wondering why we were eating there because it wasn’t a restaurant or anything and we were the only ones there. By this point we just learned to go with the flow because our schedule had already been a bit different. Traveling is all about flexibility after all! For lunch we were served fish heads and fish tails! If you guess right, I didn’t try them. I’m not the kind of person who can eat something that is staring at me. I settled on French fries (totally unexpected) and lots of rice, and goat stew. We thought it was beef, but were happy to hear we had just tried goat for the first time!

After lunch we headed back to the village for some more time with our families. Each family would be doing an activity; either going to the river or watching the pottery process. We had almost four hours to spend before we had to meet in the middle of the village for our evening event. We brought our bags to our home; we were already experts on finding the way there! Our family was getting things ready for dinner so we sat down to learn the ways! Our family was made up of our mom, sister, her daughter, Priscilla (1 yr old), 2 brothers and a friend, aunt, and cousin! We weren’t sure who all lived in the house because they weren’t that many rooms but the more the merrier J I was in love with Priscilla and she was the cutest little girl! She sat on my lap and I took pictures of her to show them to her. She was so fascinated with the camera! She also liked my nose ring – haha! Elorm was cutting up a melon called Pawpaw which is orange and looks like cantaloupe but is a lot different. It was very sweet but had a harder texture. We probably shouldn’t have eaten it but “when in Ghana!” Elorm showed us a garden egg which is a garden vegetable that adds flavor to soups and other dishes. We also saw the banqou being made over the coal fire. It starts out as a corn flour texture and with water and heat turns into the “rice ball” that is eaten with soup (a traditional Ghanaian dish). Sedinam showed us his movie scripts and he told us he was the author of the two poems read during the ceremony: African Soldiers and The Man. We got to read them again and he is talented! Lauren, Kristin, and Kelsey visited our home on their way to the river. We showed them around a little bit and Kristin got an adorable picture of Priscilla with her sunglasses on! After they left, Sedinam offered to take us to the river.

We went with both brothers, Priscilla, and their friend, Bedi. We ran into a few other SASers drinking out of coconuts (Oh, and my friend Katie had a coconut tooJ)! The path to the river was down a steep bank and as soon as the area opened up, it was like a welcome to real Africa. The scene was breathtaking. We hopped in the boat, more like a canoe, and started paddling. I was surprised Priscilla came on the boat because it didn’t seem too safe for a one year old but she loved it. Ally and I noticed a leak in the side of the canoe and they had a plastic bucket to hold the water that was seeping in. Not too reassuring when we were already a good 200 feet away from the shore! I asked Sedinam if there were alligators in the river and luckily, there weren’t. The canoe was so low to the water that one wrong move and we would be swimming the rest of the way. Once we made it to the middle of the river, we pulled the boat up to a small island made of rocks. We didn’t tie the boat to anything and I was a little nervous it would just float away. They insisted it wasn’t going anywhere. We hung out on the island for a bit, taking pictures and talking about life in Ghana. In the distance we could see the mountains lining the horizon and the river was so peaceful. We made our way back into the boat and on our way to shore. We saw another fishing boat and a guy in the water with goggles on holding a spear!! He had caught a fish! I guess that’s what they call take outJ On our way back to the house we saw some goats; we actually saw goats everywhere but I got a good picture with one!

We came back to the house and hung out for a bit more. The family introduced us to the family goat, Becky. She’s the pet of the family but their other goats are the ones they eat for dinner! Good thing they weren’t cooking one for us! We helped sweep the floor with a straw broom and Lizzie got to help make the soup. I asked Sedinam if he would give us a tour of the village so we could see where everything else was. Sedinam and his friend took the four of us, now sisters, around the village. We passed the school, clinic, and mortuary. Everything is in pretty bad condition because the village doesn’t have the money for repairs or for redeveloping the buildings. We walked all the way to the outskirts of the village where the Village Piggery is located. We got to go inside and see the pigs up close and got to watch them eat – pretty gross! There was a watering fountain right outside so a bunch of children were filling their bowls and balancing them on their heads. We followed them down a path to another part of the village with more houses. There were a bunch of children running and playing in the center of the houses and two women were making pots. They invited us to sit and the kids were letting us take pictures of them. The women were making pots by hand, which is how all the pots in the village are made. Pottery making is the largest form of income for the village. It was an amazing process and it happened so quickly. I turned my head away for a second and the pot was already 1/3 of the way done. We thanked them for letting us watch and an older woman gave me a hug; she was the sweetest lady!! We headed back to the main area of the village because it was almost 6:00. I let Sedinam use my video camera because he’s so into film. He really liked it and I’m glad I got to share it with him.

When we got back to the center, there was already a bunch of people gathered. So many kids were everywhere playing with other SAS students. We were standing around talking and two kids came up to me so I knelt down to talk to them. They immediately held my hands and a few more kids came over. Before I knew it, I had at least eight kids surrounding me, holding my hands, arms, and leaning on my shoulders. It was quite the experience and I loved it! They were so fascinated with us and we were so fascinated with them. Lauren, Kristin, Katie, and I wanted to play a game with the kids so we started London Bridge is Falling Down. They loved it and caught on pretty fast! Pretty soon we had a huge group trying to go through at once because everyone wanted to play! The kids really loved it when the bridge fell down!!! It was so cute to see them so happy. As it got darker, we made a huge circle with more SAS students and more kids and played Ring Around the Rosie. We had a hard time getting everyone to fall down at the same time but it was so much fun. The kids absolutely loved playing the games. We each had about ten kids following us around at once too! One girl with a pink dress really took a liking to me and was with me for the majority of the night. Sometimes it was hard to communicate with them because of the language barrier even though they could speak English. They mainly speak the language of their village so their accents were pretty heavy but we made do! After we played with the kids a little longer our families came into the huge crowd because it was almost dinner time. Each family rounded up their SAS kids to a table to get ready. The sisters and I went back to the house to change into longsleeves and put bug spray on because it was night time now. Again, I used the 98% DEET so the bugs better steer clear! Our family had brought their own food for them to eat and a large buffet of traditional Ghanaian food was prepared for us because we couldn’t drink their water (most of the food is cooked with water). Our brothers must have eaten earlier so it was just our mom, sister, Lizzie, Julianne, Ally, and I at the table. The food was amazing! We had spicy rice, garden egg veggie mix, chicken, fried plantains (my favorite!!!), fufu (Ghanaian rice ball made of flour), and spicy soup.  The meal was so good and I absolutely loved the flavor of everything. It was the best meal I’d had in a long time. Beauty and Elorm had the traditional bankou and tilapia soup (another form of rice ball made of corn meal so it’s a different texture). The Ghanaians eat it with their hands by taking a finger full of bankou and scooping it up with soup. Elorm let us try it and the soup was extra spicy but it was all very good. I loved being able to try new things! Throughout dinner we had an amazing conversation about how much we all love Ghanaian culture. We talked about the views Ghanaians have of Americans and vice versa. It was really interesting to hear the point of view straight from a real Ghanaian. We couldn’t stop thanking them for their hospitality while we were there. Once dinner was finished the drumming and dancing began.

Everyone slowly started crowding around the drummers and before I knew it I was dancing with an old man! He was a trooper and really got into the dance moves. Everyone does this certain move that resembles the chicken dance with your back and arms but it looks so much cooler when they did it! The older man and I were really getting down and then everyone moved to the open area for more dancing. We probably danced for two hours in a huge circle. The environment was awesome because the whole village was dancing and clapping and just enjoying each other’s company. When the drumming stopped, Terrence got in the middle of a group of kids and started the “No Music” song and had all the kids clapping and singing – it was great and they loved it! After a while, Elorm and Beauty grabbed us to go home. It was getting late and they wanted us to get settled in at home.

The village was pitch black and we had a small flashlight to lead us home. Luckily, it wasn’t a far walk so we made it home without any mishaps. Elorm offered us a bath which consisted of a bucket of water and her pouring the water over us as we stood there naked. All of us opted out of that, and I think they thought we were dirty but none of us wanted to experience the real Ghanaian shower just yet! We all just washed our faces to freshen up a little bit. We sat around the patio for a good hour or two talking and wishing we didn’t have to leave in the morning. We all exchanged phone numbers, emails, and addresses so we could all stay in touch. Our sister, mom, and brother all had different mailing addresses which was a little confusing if they all lived together (I think maybe they didn’t). Beauty took us to our room and showed us a bowl in the corner of the room. She said if we had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night to go in the bowl and we would dump it in the morning!*** I didn’t know what to think at this point and just said I would be okay! Let’s just say I’m thankful I didn’t have to go in the middle of the night!! There was a ceiling fan in the room but it was SO hot and we had to sleep in long pants and shirts. We had a mosquito net over the bed but decided not to use it because I didn’t want to feel trapped! Beauty said goodnight to us and we settled in. The bed was actually really comfortable and I had a really good night’s sleep in my new Ghanaian homeJ

Akwaba to Ghana - Fried octopus & friendly people

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 – Arrival to Ghana

 

            What comes to mind when you think of Ghana? Is it a lot of negatives ideas? Well, whatever stereotypes you’ve heard of Ghana and even Africa – forget them! Get your shots and visas and visit Ghana NOW! This country is amazing, the people are amazing, and I’m ready to book my next visit! Ghana is a country everyone needs to visit – not because of the sightseeing, beaches, or history, but because of the experience you will have while interacting with the people of this country. You will be changed forever. Akwaba is a phrase I didn’t stop hearing my whole stay in Ghana; it means “welcome”. Everyone is shaking your hand and asking your name everywhere you look. The hospitality is phenomenal and I think we could learn a lot from the Ghanaians from the way they live their lives, despite the hardships they endure.

            To start the morning off, I saw two whales jumping in the ocean while eating breakfast on the deck. Life doesn’t get much better than that! It was definitely a great welcome as we pulled into the port. I had not seen a whale yet and it was the one sea animal I was aching to see. The two whales were jumping and splashing and it was the coolest thing to see!

To begin my adventure in Ghana I had an FDP (Field Directed Program) with my International Business professor, Dr. Aimee Wheaton, to Global Mamas: Micro-lending business. Global Mamas is one of the most amazing organizations I have ever encountered, but I will get to that in a little bit. First and foremost, the bus ride to Accra! We took 1 ½ buses to the city of Accra, Ghana as soon as we were cleared from the ship. We ported in Tema, Ghana which is a ½ hour drive to Accra but with traffic and the road conditions can lead into a 2 hour drive. The highway we rode on was the first highway ever built in Ghana in 1962. You’d be surprised how different Ghanaian highways are from American highways. Their highway looked like it could be one of our back roads. Our tour guide was Samuel and as we drove to Accra he told us all about Ghana and the way of life in the country. All along the way we saw people carrying boxes, bowls of food, water packets, linens, and many other things on their heads! It was so cool! Samuel talked to us about the school system and there are two types: formal and informal education. Within formal education is public and private schools. Public tuition is free but parents are required to pay for the uniform, textbooks, etc. which makes it really difficult for many of the kids to attend school. Private tuition is paid for by the parents and is generally for the wealthier Ghanaians. Each student completes six years of primary school (elementary), three years of junior high school, and three years of secondary/technical school. Not all students continue on to the universities but many do their best to obtain a college degree. The informal style of education is when children learn trades such as weaving, pottery making, and fishing instead of attending school. As we continued our drive we saw so many street vendors coming up to our bus trying to sell us things. They were selling cell phone holders, newspapers, magazines, candy, gum, toilet paper, maps of Ghana, wood carvings, shoes, and anything else you could think of. Many women had clear wooden framed boxes on their heads that contained food. We asked Samuel what one woman was carrying and he said it was fried octopus. He called her up to the bus as it stopped and bought some. He handed everyone a piece and I’m proud to say that I tried street fried octopus. It was actually pretty good and tasted like calamari!!

We finally arrived at Global Mamas to begin our FDP. We were greeted by Renee, the founder of the organization, and then entered the store for a briefing. Global Mamas is a non-profit organization which started from the ground up by Renee (originally from South Dakota). Renee worked for the Peace Corps and volunteered in Ghana. She fell in love with the country and returned to start this amazing business – Global Mamas. The whole idea of this NGO is to allow women of Ghana to sell their products in a global market. There are over 400 producers across Ghana and each item is individually made by the women. Global Mamas gives the women access to the global market through a website and a distribution office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Global Mamas doesn’t provide monetary loans but instead gives the women materials to produce their products; materials include: fabric, beads, dye, etc. 40% of all sales goes directly back to the producers. The women are paid upon completion of their order or within two weeks. The most astonishing part of the organization is that the start-up money came out of Renee’s own bank account and has been continuously growing for 6 ½ years.

After our briefing of the organization we were given time to look around the store and shop!! There were so many things to buy and it was very fairly priced. They had dresses, shirts, baby/toddler clothing, children’s clothing, purses, blankets, ornaments, jewelry, good luck charms, and so much more! Everything was so colorful and unique. I will be bringing some gifts home from Global Mamas everyone! After we shopped we split up into two groups: one group went to the drumming and dance workshop and the other went into the market. My group went to the market first with Selena, an employee of Global Mamas. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen. We almost got run over by a bus on the way because she led us right through the streets. As we walked through the market pathways we passed so many fried fish in huge bowls. I’d never seen so many fish in my life. The smell was horrible! We stopped at a fabric shop, spice and cleansing shop, and m In the market we saw eggshells, fabric makers, spices, shea butter, chalk pregnant women eat to help with sickness, straw like material they use to brush their teeth, and live crabs. We stopped at a music shop and I even bought some Ghanaian music! As we walked by all the little areas selling things, everyone smiled at us and said “Akwaba!” The Ghanaians were so welcoming and friendly. I loved the atmosphere and being able to see where they go to buy their everyday needs.

We spent a while in the market talking to various shop owners – if you can call them shops; it was more like small open areas filled with products. After leaving the market we went to the beach! Outside the entrance there was a small shop of wood carvings where I bought a wooden unity globe. One man that worked there taught us the Ghanaian handshake - I'll be showing everyone on my return home! There was a small restaurant at the bottom of the stairs leading to the beach where we bought drinks. The scenery was beautiful; huge rocks lined the backside of the beach and the waves just crashed against them like a scene from a movie! It was a nice relaxing afternoon before we headed back to Global Mamas for the second half of our day. We arrived at Global Mamas and, after exchanging addresses, said goodbye to Selena (amazing tour guide). Valerie, another Global Mamas employee, boarded the bus and took us to our Drumming and Dancing Workshop. The workshop took place right in the city but behind a few buildings with a patio and chairs set up along the edge. We were actually right behind the W.E.B Dubois School which was pretty cool! Our instructors were a husband and wife who are a professional drummer and dancer. There was also a little band of three drummers that helped with the workshop. Gifdy (dancer) showed us dancing styles from four different regions in Ghana. She was amazing and could really move! After she performed she brought our group up to learn the dance with her. It wasn’t too hard to learn and I have something to bring back to the U.S. now J Maybe I’ll even put it into our dance routines at Naz! Lauren and I really got into it and were doing our African dance the rest of the trip! After the dancing we sat back down and everyone had a drum in front of them. Knee (drummer) began teaching us different rhythms and it was a lot harder than we thought. Try putting a group of college students together and make them be in sync – doesn’t sound too good! We eventually got it and I absolutely loved the drumming!!!

When the workshop ended we boarded the bus to go to the gas station (meeting point for shuttles to and from the port). On the way, we passed the U.S. Embassy which has crazy security. We were warned not to take pictures (illegal) and an SAS student did. The bus was pulled over and the student got taken into the embassy. It’s a serious penalty and he had to sign so many forms to get out of it. He’s lucky his camera wasn’t confiscated; they did delete the picture though. Anyway, Lauren and I, along with quite a few others, were going to the Welcome Reception. We had to wait for the bus at the gas station, so we were mingling with the street vendors in the mean time. Whether we wanted to buy something or not, they were so friendly and wanted to make friends with us. It wasn’t the typical pushy street vendors we were dealing with either; the people just wanted to meet us and learn about our culture. I ended up talking to a guy selling bracelets, Divvy, and I told him I didn’t want one. We kept talking and I ended up exchanging e-mails with him so we could keep in touch. This short conversation opened my eyes to the meaning of making connections worldwide, which would normally seem trivial to us at home. The bus finally came and we arrived at Asheshi University.

The Welcome Reception was put on by the university administrators and students to welcome SAS to Ghana. There was a large courtyard set up with an open space under a tent. We arrived early so had a bit to mingle with each other and exchanged stories of our day’s adventures. After dousing myself in 98.2% DEET bug spray, the reception began. We set up lawn chairs under the tent and the event began. We were honored with a dance show by the Asheshi dance troupe which was awesome! There were three guys and three girls and they could dance! It was the ultimate form of Ghanaian dance. The girls’ dresses were beautiful! The Deputy Minister of Education spoke to our group to welcome us – it was a huge honor for him to be there. The Dean of the school and student government president, Romeo, also welcomed us with a speech. After the introductions, we were able to grab some finger food and mingle with the Ghanaian students. The food included delicious, spicy beef kebobs (great flavor), pepper hummus and pitas, plantain chips (my new favorite snack!). At first everyone was a little timid to talk to the students but Kristin and I went right up to two boys named, Edwin and Nassau. Turns out there’s only three majors at Asheshi: Computer Information Systems, Management Information Systems, and Economics/Finance. They were so friendly and we talked business for a bit (Kristin is International Business so we all had a lot in common). I made my over to some of the other girls and we met Rasheed. He was awesome and we learned about the fun things to do in Accra. He recommended the beaches but we wouldn’t be able to make it because our trip was packed full. We told him about SAS and how he should look into being an inter-port student for the next voyage! He seemed to love hearing about our voyage and all that we do! We gave him our names so he can look us up on Facebook! The last person we talked to was Diana who was so sweet and so funny. She does karate on her free time and the school’s dean teaches it! She taught us our partial African names (day we were born). I’m Monday so my name is Adzoa – pronounce A-jo. We exchanged e-mails to keep in touch in case we ever come to Ghana or she comes to the U.S. She was so great and it wasn’t much different than meeting someone from the U.S. The students are very much like us except the majors are more restricted than at our own universities. We all found things we had in common and it was very easy to talk with them and get to know them. Hopefully we will remain in contact after we leave Ghana!

We caught the second bus back to the ship and I sat with Katie. She’s from Portland, Oregon but goes to school at Colorado State University. We get along so well and she’s becoming one of my great friends. We talked the whole hour and a half trip back to the ship about SAS trips, people on the ship, and making lifelong friends! We got back to the ship and Lauren, Katie, Kristin, Rosario, Jennifer, and I all got ice cream on the 7^th deck before bed. It was a great way to end the night by reflecting on everything that happened. I turned my phone on and it FINALLY worked so I got to BBM mom!!! It was SO good to talk to her and I couldn’t type fast enough to tell her everything that had been going on. It definitely made my night and I only had more to look forward to; the Cultural Immersion trip starts tomorrow! Until tomorrow…

Tap Tap Tap "Can I have your attention please!"

Sept 12 - Camel Trek: Part Two

 

           This morning everyone woke up about 0600 and hiked to the top of this hill/dune thing to watch the sunrise at about 0630. We hiked back down and packed up our stuff, then dragged our mats back into our tents and found our next camel. Lauren found her camel from the day before, Elvis. She rode him the entire camel trek and had become pretty attached to him. I got on the camel behind Elvis and named him Abu. He was a little awkward but I liked him anyway! He had a strange growth on the side of his neck and was oddly lumpier than the other camels. Abu was very nice though so we got along just fine. The morning trek was pretty uneventful except that the camels were all pretty cranky. A few were foaming at the mouth and making weird noises. We were all a little freaked out but just figured they were sick of carrying a bunch of crazy Americans on their backs. Even still, I suggest everyone should ride a camel at some point in their life; it’s a pretty wild experience!

            After the morning trek for about an hour we made it back to the bus to begin our second 8-hour bus ride back to Marrakech. I am happy to report that we did not have any near death experiences on this ride. By now we were all pretty used to the thousand foot cliffs outside our windows and we didn’t seemed too phased by them. About a half hour into our drive we stopped at an overlook to see the Palm Groves. Everyone got out to take pictures for about five minutes. As we were getting back on the bus I was distracted by some kids and right as I turned around to enter the bus, I saw a short man holding something that looked like a corn cob. I looked at it a little longer and realized it was a yellowish-green lizard!!!! The man was shoving it at me and wanted me to take a picture of it for money. I looked at Eddie (assistant dean of student and our trip leader) and he said “Just get on the bus!” I was freaking out and couldn’t believe I just saw a lizard nearly seven inches away from me. Gotta love Morocco!

We stopped at a Kasbah (Rock the Kasbah!) for lunch. Lauren and I sat with a group of girls and an LLL (LifeLong Learner) named Vanessa. She used to be a police detective for domestic violence and child abuse. Vanessa has traveled all over the world and told us about a lot of her experiences. She told us about volunteering at National Parks in the U.S. and how they give you housing while you work in the park. Vanessa also told us about places in Spain and Italy where you go for a month and speak English to Spanish and Italian executives who want to learn/improve their English. It was pretty interesting to hear about the opportunities out there which I had never heard of. Lunch was definitely very interesting and fun! After lunch Lauren and I walked around the Kasbah. We walked into a little store and were looking at lots of pretty scarves. The next thing we know, the shopkeeper was wrapping a scarf around Lauren’s face and began tying it in the traditional way. Lauren was a little freaked out but I whipped out the video camera and got it on film. The best part of the whole thing was when the shopkeeper said “You worth 2,000 camels!” According to Jamal, anything over 1,000 is really good! HAHA! We both ended up buying scarves for 40 Dirham (roughly $5). Lauren was a good bargainer and got it down from 50 to 40. Granted it wasn’t much, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

It was almost time to go so everyone was getting on the bus. I looked out the window and saw our bus driver holding a bunny by the ears in between the two buses. He was talking to another man who was digging through under the bus. The man pulled out a knife and hands it to our bus driver. He went behind the bus and killed the bunny so obviously I was hysterical; I called him Rabbit Killer the rest of the trip! We then continued our venture through the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. What we drove through to get back to Marrakech was insane. The mountains were beautiful, but what really shocked me were the little clusters of people that live up there. Their houses literally come out of the mountain. Donkeys are grazing in the middle of the mountain side all over. There are kids running around everywhere and men sitting on the sides of stores. We didn’t see too many women because they are always doing all the hard work behind the scenes. I wish we could have stopped in all the little villages. They were so fascinating but also really sad. Morocco is a country with 55% illiteracy rate and after seeing the rural part of the country, I understand why. Education is not as highly valued as it is in the U.S. Children need to help their families by herding the sheep or doing other various jobs to help out. Although the poverty level was quite high in these areas, the children seemed so happy. It really opened my eyes to see that you don’t have to have everything to be happy. It was pretty amazing.

We got back to the hotel we stayed at the first night in Marrakech about 1730ish. We had the whole night free to ourselves so we could explore and grab dinner on our own. Many of us were still a little nervous to walk around at night and were glad when Jamal invited us all to the place he goes when his mom doesn’t cook for him. A big group agreed to meet him in the lobby at 2030. We showered and took naps – I caught a cold the first day in Morocco so I was trying to rest up – then got some free internet time on the lobby computers. When I logged in to Facebook, I didn’t know what to do. I haven’t been on it in so long so I pretty much forgot what to do. It was a pretty nice feeling because I realized at home I’m glued to Facebook and the internet. When we’re on the ship and even in ports, we don’t get access to that (unless we’re lucky and find an internet café). It’s a freeing feeling being disconnected to the technological world and it’s definitely going to play a part in my life when I get home. My hours on Facebook will be severely cut down when I have computer access again!

At 2030, Jamal took us into the Medina (old city) of Marrakech. We got off the bus near the Mosque and it was a sight I will never forget. Thousands and thousands of Moroccans were all kneeled down praying outside of the Mosque. With Islam, there are five pillars, and one is to pray five times a day. When the Mosque bell chimes people begin their prayers. To see that many people devoted to the same religion all in one place was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. I’ve never understood the Muslim people very much but after tonight I realized they have such a strong bond with each other. Everyone is united by Islam and they all connect through their prayer – it’s amazing. When we got into the Medina we walked through the back streets of the markets and passed many stores that we wouldn’t have seen from the regular market. All of us were wondering where in the world was Jamal taking us and why are we walking down these creepy streets. When we arrived at the restaurant I was a little surprised. The outside of this place looked pretty sketchy, especially because it was down a really dark, narrow ally. When we walked in, it was a totally different place. There was beautiful tile work and archways. It turned out that this restaurant used to be some high city official’s house. We were led out into this courtyard in the middle of the building – it had no ceiling!! We could see the stars as we ate dinner! There was a large fountain in the middle with circular dinner tables all around which had beautiful table settings. Jamal told us that this type of architecture is really common in Morocco and is called “Veil architecture”. This type is used to mask what the insides of places really look like to protect the feelings of the less fortunate. The Moroccans hide how elaborate the insides of buildings are and then decorate to the highest extent on the inside. It was pretty neat!

We all sat down at the tables and introduced ourselves to new friends! Lauren and I sat with Christie, Leigh-Ann, and Julie. Our waiter was named Abdul and he was hysterical! I have found that Moroccan people are SO nice. They just want to talk with you and make sure that your stay in Morocco is the best it can be. Abdul told us all about his family and what we needed to make sure we saw while we were in Marrakech. We ended up taking pictures with Abdul and he gave us a rose. The meal was really good – Lauren and I split cous cous with chicken and veggies. We had some of the best dinner conversation yet with the girls we sat with. I have never laughed so hard. (“You want to sleep with camel? It will support your weight.”)

After dinner we went back into the souks. When we walked through the souk before dinner, it was right after sundown. Now, it was about 2230 and the place was packed. Everyone had come out to break their fast since we were in Morocco during Ramadan (part of the Five Pillars – month of fasting). It was crazy so we all stuck close to Jamal and his fancy snakeskin shoes.  Jamal gave us advice on where to buy stuff and get good prices. He also gave us the history of the markets. One of the areas that he took us to used to be part of the slave trade. It was an open square of the market and the slaves were brought there to be sold – pretty chilling. Another area he told us to stay away from because they sell contraband.  We walked back to the main square and there were motorbikes zooming around, donkey carts, people hollering to us to come see their store, and in the background you could hear the snake charmer’s music. It was pretty intense. One man brought a snake into our little group and tried putting around one of the guy’s necks. I FREAKED out because I did not want that thing near me. I couldn’t believe they just came right up to us without asking. Apparently, they do this so they can force you to pay them dirham – we didn’t think it was funny. On our walk home, Jamal gave us the history of the Mosque and we learned how to cross the street the Moroccan way. You put your hand up like Moses and just walk right in front of the cars. It was pretty fun and a little scary but we all made it across the street! We finally made it back to our hotel and got some sleep before our morning shopping adventure.

We got up early so we could go to the souks and shop. Lauren and I walked with Alyssa, Ashley, and Mike. The souks were busy, but nothing compared to the night before. Lauren and I bought our dresses from a little shop – we are both buying a dress from each country! The guy that sold them to us then wanted to show us a “real” Berber house. We followed at first, but then decided against it because we thought he was going to trap us in a shop so we would buy a rug. We spent the rest of the morning in the souks. I bought a few things and had a great time bartering! It was my first real experience bartering in the markets and I think I did pretty good!

We had to run back to our hotel to grab our bags and get on the bus back to Casablanca. On the way back we stopped at the Moroccan equivalent to Wal-Mart to get lunch. It had a McDonald’s in it, and like the typical American tourists, we flocked to it. Their credit card machine was broken so everyone made a mad dash to get to the ATM. The food was pretty much the same but tasted a little different. I got a McFlurry with KitKat and they added caramel – if only they would do that at home!

Once we were about 45 minutes away from the port, we started having bus karaoke. Some girls went to the front to use the microphone (I didn’t need it because I’m already loud enough, you all know this!) and the songs included: I Want It That Way, Wannabe, Buttercup, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, and some more. We tried to get Jamal and Eddie to sing, but they wouldn’t do it. Jamal got on the microphone (tap tap tap) and said that this was going to be the last time he got on the mic. Alyssa then presented him with the money we collected from everyone on the bus and a postcard with a special note because he was such an amazing tour guide. Our tip ended up being about $40-$50 – it was well worth it! We all got pictures with Jamal and were all sad to part ways.

We got back to the ship about 1630, but I didn’t get to board the ship until about 1800 because the security line was so long. All the trips got back at the same time and security has to go through everyone’s bags. Security has so many rules on what we are allowed to bring on the ship and it gets pretty annoying when we have to dump our water bottles out every time. They think we’re smugglers! There were probably six buses worth of students, LLL, faculty, and staff waiting to get on the ship so it took forever but we eventually made it up the gang way. I grabbed some dinner with a group of friends and watched Emperor’s New Groove with Lauren, Rosario, and Jennifer. I went to bed early that night because I had the Coca Cola Plant visit the next morning!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Sept 13 – Coca Cola Plant Visit

 

            Today was my visit to the Coca Cola Plant in Casablanca. We met in Classroom 2 to discuss the company and the different business aspects of Morocco. It took about a half hour to drive to the plant so I got to see more of Casablanca than I did before. It’s a very modernized city and isn’t much different from our cities at home. I sat with Lila on the bus and she is only a few rooms down from my cabin. We were in the same group for the tour and it was nice getting to know her. We received hair nets and ear plugs upon arrival – I got a kick out of it and of course saved them as souvenirs! We walked through the room where they purify the water which then goes to the bottling plant. There is also another process involving filtration, carbonation, and carbon filtration. It is a continuous process that lasts 7 days a week/24 hours a day and never stops.

            We then moved into the room where the syrups are made. There are two kinds of syrups that contain different degrees of sugar. Simple syrup: sugar + water and Refined syrup: adds the Coca Cola mix. The machines are made in Germany, the formula comes from Atlanta, Georgia, and it is processed in Morocco – talk about international business. In Morocco there are only bottles of soda – you rarely see cans. They recycle the bottles so they can reuse them for more processing. The life span of a bottle is 5-7 years. The bottles get two washings and the machines take 200 photos of the bottles to check for safety and efficiency before packaging. The biggest bottling machine produces 24,000 bottles an hour. There are four bottling plants in Morocco and hundreds in the U.S. We could definitely see the difference between Moroccan and American business when given these statistics.

            After our tour of the plant – it didn’t last too long – we were seated in a conference room with a big round table and comfy office chairs. Omar, the president of Coca Cola Corporate, gave us a presentation on Coca Cola Corporate and Coca Cola in Morocco. He discussed the different brands of Coca Cola in Morocco (13 total) and the community initiatives the company is taking. We were given a lot of information about the company and its marketing campaigns. The marketing campaign usually changes every three years depending on what works. Omar told us how important it is to adapt to the market where you are located. The Moroccan Coca Cola company puts high standards on environmentally friendly approaches and by 2012 they plan to have their products become water neutral. This approach means that they will put back every drop of water they use into the environment. Coca Cola is the 4^th most admired brand in Morocco and many people desire to work there. The company gives the employees a lot of benefits and incentives for working there including insurance, health care, education for children, and higher wages. The company really works at doing as much as they can for its employees.

            After our discussion on the actual company we were able to have a round table discussion on business: Americans in Morocco. We had three panelists who spoke to us and answered our questions: Omar (Coca Cola Corporate), Mendi (Moroccan lawyer who studied in U.S.), and Tim (President of SD Meyers in Ohio). Mendi told us how Morocco is working to bring American style law to the country. We also discussed how business in Morocco is different from America. The most common difference was cultural because Americans are used to speedy responses and in Morocco, communication takes a lot longer. We learned how important it is to adapt to the culture we are in and try our best to understand the way the people and country work. Personal contact is extremely important in Morocco as opposed to technological communication in the U.S.

            The panelists gave us advice for a U.S. company coming to Morocco to do business. The biggest piece of advice was again to adapt to the culture. He way to be successful is if you immerse yourself in the Moroccan culture and build your plan around the way Moroccans handle business. Market research is also extremely important so you are prepared for the business transaction. The last topic we discussed was how things have changed in the last 10-15 years in Morocco. Omar commented that things are changing and many people are returning to the country after being abroad for a long time. Although things are evolving slowly, they are still evolving. It is obvious that Morocco is becoming more modern as time goes on. Lastly, we had a question and answer period in which the SAS students got to ask the panel questions regarding Coca Cola and Moroccan business. I asked a question regarding how women are perceived in Moroccan business. As soon as I asked the question, the entire panel remained silent for 10-15 seconds. It was pretty interesting to me because I think they were taken aback by my question. Omar took on the answer and explained that women are becoming more respected in Moroccan business. The head of marketing in one sector of Morocco Coca Cola is a woman which was great to hear. However, the way he described his answer beat around the bush and wasn’t as direct as I had hoped. Obviously, Moroccan women are not on the same drawing board as Moroccan men but I wanted to understand more about the progression of women in business including the struggles. It was difficult for me because I did not want to offend the panelists by being too direct or appear disrespectful so I did not further my question. It definitely left me something to think about.

            After the round table discussion, we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. We received complimentary Coke products and I tried the new Moroccan brand Hawai – which was delicious! It was a juice drink with a soda kick and tasted like pineapple and coconut. Too bad they won’t be bringing it to the U.S. Lunch concluded our visit to the plant and we departed for the ship. Many of us wanted to spend some more time in Casablanca to shop because we had about two hours before Byron time (an hour before on-ship time so you know you won’t be late!). I decided to go around the market with Lila and let me tell you, she is the best barterer I know. We went to one shop and saw a bunch of jewelry that we liked. The shopkeeper said 70 dirham for each piece; Lila got it down to 10 dirham a piece and we bought a lot! I found a purse I fell in love with and bartered that down by 200 dirham! I was getting good. (The ratio from dirham to USD is about 8.14 dirham to 1 USD). Lila and I continued around the market and found a little secret market area that had the most beautiful paintings and mirrors I had ever seen. I wanted to take them home but no way would I fit it all. I decided that when I buy a house I’m going on another adventure around the world to find furniture and decorations! We said hi to a few Moroccan shopkeepers but didn’t go in their shops. They were so friendly and one brought out his little girl who was six years old named, Muna. Lila got her picture with her and exchanged addresses. It was a really neat experience with the Moroccans because even though we didn’t buy anything they still wanted a conversation. We made it to the ship in perfect time. By now I was exhausted and didn’t watch the ship leave because it was dark out. I had dinner then shared stories with the roomies and went to bed early! One week until Ghana!!!!

Ride Sally Ride

September 11 - Camel Trek: Part one   

 

            Today we left the hotel at 0700 to head to the Sahara! We had a 7-8 hour bus ride which would be longer if you include the stops. We took a coach bus and were on our way to the outskirts of Marrakech. Jamal, our tour guide, told us we would be traveling through the High Atlas Mountains which are famous in Morocco. They were high alright!! Eddie, our other trip leader kept asking if anyone wanted motion sickness medicine because the roads would be very windy and we would be reaching an altitude of some 2,000 kilometers. Looking out the window at all the mountains ahead of us, I was getting nervous! As soon as we started up the mountain we saw a truck turned over on its side! That didn’t give me a good feeling about this trip through the mountains. Our bus driver was crazy! He would zoom around the corners and up the hills. The roads literally went back and forth as we climbed the mountain. We passed many small towns with the same types of shops selling odds and ends. It looked like people were not very busy because everyone was always sitting down outside near the road. As we got deeper into the mountains we started seeing houses made right out of the mountains. Clothes were strung all over the outside walls to dry and donkeys were all over the place. I couldn’t believe the poverty level. Jamal told us that the majority of these houses rarely had running water. It was sad that so many people live like that. When we passed children in the towns they were always eager to wave to us!! It was exciting to see how happy they were despite the way they lived.

            Small towns and houses came few and far between as the hours passed. For a while at a time all we could see were mountains. There were no guard rails and when I looked down over the cliff I couldn’t believe how steep it was. We were so high up and there wasn’t much holding us back from falling over those cliffs. That’s when I started to get nervous when I bus driver would speed constantly. Surprisingly, there were other trucks and cars on the road. Whenever we got behind one, our driver would pass them at mock 500 speed!!! I think I saw my life flash in front of me a few times. I was petrified we would be going over the cliff and never make it to the camels! We had an extremely close call about half way through the ride. I was sleeping and all of a sudden Lauren puts her arm across me and we jerked to a stop. I woke up and we were about 5 inches away from the rocks on the wall of the mountain. A truck had been coming straight at us around the corner because he was on the wrong side of the road. If we hit him, the truck would have been over the cliff – and I don’t know if we would have been following. I was SO scared!!! Needless to say, I didn’t sleep after that! We pulled over a little way down the road to regroup and everyone was shaken up. We had an amazing view over the cliff that we almost went over so I made sure to get some pictures of that! Once the bus driver settled down we got back on the bus and stopped for lunch.

            The other three buses were already in the restaurant. It was literally in the middle of nowhere because we were somewhere in the High Atlas Mountains. I was surprised a place located her could even stay in business because there was nothing around at all! The day was September 11^th, so before our meal one of our leaders said a few words and we had a moment of silence in memory of the day. It was hard to be away from home on this day because of how important it is in our country’s history but it was also amazing to be so far away from the U.S. and still have such a powerful moment of silence. I was really happy that we all took the time to acknowledge the day and remember. After lunch we headed back on the road to Zagaura (the city right outside the Sahara where we would meet our camels). The ride lasted forever because we were so anxious for the camel trek. When we finally arrived we scrambled to take what we didn’t need out of our backpacks. Lauren and I shared her hiking backpack so we wouldn’t have to worry about two bags. The camels were all sitting down in a huge group waiting for us! We had to go in riding groups because there were so many of us. I walked the first portion which wasn’t bad because I was so excited to be taking pictures of the camels! When it was my turn I chose my camel and named him Fivel! He was great. I was so scared for him to stand up. Fivel leaned down on his knees to get his on his back legs then stood straight up. It was extremely awkward and I thought I was going to fall off him! Once we started riding we formed a group with the other trains of camels so there was a bunch of us. I was having so much fun and everyone knew it because I was just a hootin’ and hollerin’. Throughout our ride some children from a village nearby were standing on the side of our train watching us. We would say “hi” and wave at them and they looked so happy! There were also random herds of sheep on the way which was kinda funny to see. We stopped again and I got on another camel named Sally. This was our final trek to the camp and as we rode I sang “Ride Sally Ride”. Everyone seemed to enjoy the entertainment! Getting off the camel was the most challenging part because it felt like you were on a rollercoaster. First, the camel kneels down and it looks like you’re going head first into the ground, then you lean back really far when the hind legs sit down; it’s quite the process. My butt hurt pretty badly after I got off but I had so much fun!

            We arrived at the camp and it looked like a little village made of tents. As we walked through the entrance way we were greeted by a singing/chanting Moroccan nomad group in all white – it definitely made the experience. Inside there was a big square with a fire pit in the center. To left were more tents filled with small tables and comfy bench seats where we would eat dinner. To the right were our sleeping tents made out of carpet and rug material. We got our tent assignments and dropped our bags; each tent held six cots with blankets. In the center of our tent village the nomads set up a drink bar for us with soda, water, beer, and wine to purchase. I bought a Moroccan beer and it was pretty good besides the fact that it was warmer than any beer I’ve ever had before! Dinner wasn’t for another two hours so we climbed to the top of the dune and watched the sun go down. It was pretty unbelievable sitting there with a group of new friends, watching the sunset in the middle of the Sahara (kinda).

**On the last summer voyage, Morocco was the last port of call. Three students were on the same camel trek trip that I just went on but were kicked off SAS. Apparently, the three boys got really drunk and started fighting. They ended up destroying the nomads’ tents and were ultimately sent home. To hear a story like that was really embarrassing because when you come into another country you need to be aware that you are in another country. Acting like animals and idiots is not a great way to make a good impression on the people of the country. I was actually surprised that they still served alcohol while we were at the camp. They even had a bottle of hard liquor for 1000 Dirham (about $125) – no one bought that!  Luckily, there were no fights – just one really drunk guy who wouldn’t shut up when everyone was trying to sleep.**

             We went back to camp and sat around waiting for dinner to start. The nomads started singing and dancing again and before I knew it everyone was up dancing and trying to sing with them. We really did more clapping and laughing than actually singing because we had no idea what they were saying. I got pulled up by the woman in the Moroccan group to dance and it was really cool to dance around with her. I had a great time even though we couldn’t even communicate with each other. We ate dinner at 2030 so that everyone could eat at the same time because of Ramadan (Islam religion’s month of fasting). The meal started off with bread and a salsa dish, of course; I’ve never eaten so many carbs in one trip! The main dish was a Moroccan twist of beef stew and it was really good. Dessert was some sort of melon that I’m going to call Nomad Melon. It was delicious and tasted like a mix between cantaloupe and honey dew with an extra flavor of goodness.

            We spent the rest of the night talking, which was occasionally interrupted by more singing, dancing, and clapping. Everyone loved it the first few times but after a while it felt like they were coming out to entertain us every ten minutes. We eventually got a game of Mafia going in one of the dinner tents. I’ve never played the game before and everyone on the ship seems to be playing it all the time. It turned out to be really fun and definitely a great game to play with a huge group of people in the middle of the desert. Each person gets a card which will tell you if you are a townsperson, mafia member, nurse, or sheriff. The narrator leads the game and everyone closes their eyes at certain times for others to find out information about the other players. The mafia chooses who to “kill” and then there is an argument/trial about who killed the person. It gets pretty intense and I got to be the mafia for one round which was awesome! We played a few rounds and then everyone was slowly going to bed. A huge group of us decided to pull our cots out from the tents and put them in the middle of the camp to sleep under the stars. It was quite a process but we eventually had all the beds laid out perfectly. Our sleepover consisted of Lauren, Kristin, Jeremy, Bryan, Kaitlyn, Kim, Rebecca, Laura, Rochelle, and me! For our beds, we were given a mat, two sheets, a pillow, and a thick wool blanket. There was sand all inside the blankets so therefore in all of our beds. No matter how much you brushed off, more appeared. We finally gave up and tucked our pant legs in our socks (to avoid from anything crawling up there like the scorpion that was found a few feet from the camp) and settled into our sandboxes. The sky was so clear and you could see so many stars in the sky. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. We all fell asleep looking at the stars in our little pow wow of beds. Until tomorrow...

Welcome to Morocco: One of the most insane experiences of my life!

Sept 10 – Marrakech, Morocco

We are finally in Morocco!!! We docked in Casablanca at 0800 and had to be in the Union for our Moroccan diplomatic briefing by 0830. There were two people from the U.S. Consulate in Morocco there to give us some details about the country statistics and different things to expect while in Morocco. The camel trekers had to be ready to go immediately after the briefing to get our passports, and bus/room assignments. Luckily, I was on the same bus and rooming with my friend Lauren! There were four buses full of SASers who went on the camel trek (nearly 200 students). There were so many of us!! We loaded the buses with our backpacks and were off to Marrakech. Jamal, our awesome tour guide, gave us a little briefing of Casablanca as we drove through the city to leave. I couldn’t keep my eyes from looking out the window – there was so much going on! Lauren saw someone give a thumbs down to our bus which made us a little apprehensive to arrive in Marrakech. We knew things like that could be expected but I think to actually see negative feelings towards us were hurtful. Anyway, most of us slept on the four hour bus ride to the city but were very excited once we arrived in Marrakech!
Our bus dropped us off at the Djemaa el-Fna Square which is where all the souks are located. We had lunch at a restaurant right inside the square for our first Moroccan meal. The place was so neat! We walked down some stairs, through a hallway, past a mosaic fountain, through a garden like pathway, and into the eating area. Everything is a process! The tables were beautiful; from the dishes, napkins, tablecloth, and seats. It was all so extravagant. Lauren and I sat with some new friends Kim, Alex, and Quanju (a student from China). Kim and Alex are both on our bus so it was nice to get to know them better. Lunch was really good. They give us bread to begin with then bring out the real food. Just for the starters there were five plates of different foods including: sweetened carrots, beets (which I actually tried Grandma!), potatoes, eggplant concoction, and salsa with tomatoes and onions. Then they brought out the main dish of chicken marinated to look yellow. For the first dessert a plate of orange slices covered in cinnamon – which wasn’t my favorite. The second dessert was a plate of pastries which Morocco is famous for. They were delicious! To end lunch they gave us a small cup of hot mint tea – which was soo good! I couldn’t believe that was only lunch! To top it off, during the meal a bird flew in the restaurant and was just hanging out with us. The whole experience was nuts! Everything was so different from the U.S. After lunch we left the restaurant to head out for some free time in the souks.
The Marrakech souks are the most famous in all of Morocco so it was pretty exciting to be shopping there. When we entered the square I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped. I had never seen anything like it – it was pure chaos all around us. There were mopeds and motor bikes honking like crazy while zooming in and out of the crowd. You could hear the music of the snake charmers engulfing the square. Monkey trainers were anxiously trying to get you to take your picture with the monkey for dirhams (Moroccan currency). Fresh squeezed orange juice carts lined the walkway into the markets one right next to the other. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Lauren and I were a little overwhelmed and clung onto our trip leaders, Charlie and Carol, just to be safe! Charlie is a psychology professor on SAS and Carol is his wife. When Jamal told us to meet at the bus at 5:00 a man came up to us trying to imitate Jamal and act like our tour guide. I was freaked out because he was trying to get us to follow him around and we didn’t need his assistance. After we ignored him long enough, he finally went away and Charlie, Carol, Lauren, and I began exploring the souks. I couldn’t stop looking at everything. We got away from the main square and walked deeper into the markets. There were shops with carpets, lamps, traditional Moroccan clothing, shoes, leather purses, jackets, belts, even animal hides. We even walked right past a snake charmer and I couldn’t believe a cobra and python were just hanging out in the middle of the market! It was insane!!! They warned us during the pre-port briefing that you might hear “Balek, Balek” which is what donkey cart drivers yell to have you get out of the way. Well, no sooner were we walking through the streets did I hear “Balek, Balek” and I turned around to see a donkey cart running straight for me. I got out of the way in time and then of course tried to take a picture of the donkey! The cart driver started yelling at me saying he wanted money for the picture! Apparently, you have to be sneaky when taking pictures because they try to charge you. I couldn’t believe it! I got away in time so I didn’t have to pay him though! So far all I could think about Marrakech was: this place is crazy!
The sky had looked like it was about to pour so we headed to a nearby building for some cover. As soon as we got under it down-poured! A bunch of people joined us and the shop owners were scattering to cover their belongings. After standing under the building for about 20 minutes it was time to head to the bus. We didn’t have far to go so we took a run for it. All of a sudden I was standing in the middle of a ten foot wide puddle up to my ankles and couldn’t find a way out! I took a run for it and ran deeper into the puddle, finally emerging with completely soaked sneakers! Everyone was waiting for the bus completely drenched and all we could do was laugh! What a way to start our adventure in Morocco! The bus came and took us to our hotel where we could dry off and relax before dinner. The hotel was better than I expected. I couldn’t believe how fancy the bedding and curtains were. Our room even had a balcony! The toilet was a little crazy because the flusher was a push lever – something I’d never seen before! We napped, showered, and headed out for our folklore show and horse fantasia about 8PM.
When we arrived at Chez Ali, two lines of men on horseback with guns were waiting for us! It was crazy. We got our pictures taken with them and entered the palace like arena. There was music coming from everywhere. Different Moroccan culture groups were stationed along the way singing and dancing their particular type of music. I got my picture taken with the group from the Sahara – you can recognize them because they wear the color indigo. We walked around the huge sandy pit (where the horseshow would take place) and arrived at our huge dinner tent. The place was decorated like a scene from Aladdin! Lauren and I sat with Carol, Charlie, Eddie, Christie, Lucas, and Louis. It was an entertaining dinner to say the least. The meal was fabulous and we had some amazing cous cous! About every five-ten minutes a different singing group came through the tent to entertain us. I was pulled up to dance with the belly dancer!! I definitely looked like an amateur! After dinner the horseshow was about to begin. We all ran for spots on the bleachers so we could see. Each rider would do a trick on their horse as the horse rode around the arena. It felt like we were at Medieval Time: Morocco style!!! It was nuts! The show proceeded to be pretty crazy with lots of music, some from Star Wars, and a belly dancing show. The fantasia show ended with fireworks and we headed out to the bus. I think we were all in awe that we just saw a show that could have been seen at Disney’s Epcot Morocco! It was a crazy and wild experience, but I loved it!! I couldn’t wait to camel trek the next day!