So today is my last day in Morocco and my last day in this house. I have mixed feelings about this- I am very excited to go home and am feeling homesick. On the other hand I love it here and will miss everything about it... apart from the driving skills they possess...
Some of us got henna done at the house on Wednesday night! I was a lot of fun, the only tough part was sitting with it to dry on your palms for an hour.. See, i don't even paint my nails because after five minutes i forget that i have painted them and smudge them. Luckily, I lasted without ruining the beautiful work. She did such an amazing job- she completed both hands in under ten minutes and they were so intricately done! I have pictures, but i will post them after i return home, i have packed everything already.Packing everything was difficult... I wished my mom was there to help me! I don't know why i bought so many souvenirs! The bags are pretty heavy, but if i could make it coming here, im sure i can do it again tomorrow, i mean hey, carrying babies all day for four weeks has gained me some muscle!
This week at the orphanage I cherished every day with the babies and kept reminding them I was leaving, not that they understood, but I still told them. Although I am a firm believer Zizu understands everything I tell him. I will miss him the most. Our looks from across the room that made him start smiling, which made it feel like he was older than he is, or when someone was annoying we would just look at each other with the same facial reaction. It felt like an old friend.
It was pretty much the same thing every day this week, we did not really go outside instead stayed with the babies and assisted the new volunteers. They picked up rather quickly, and it only makes me curious as to who will get my job of making the beds..
Saying goodbye to the nurses was very difficult. Since the babies will not grow up to remember the brief joy we have given them, the nurses surely will. They need so much help at that orphanage, always showing how grateful they are to us. Each day is full of "Merci" and "shokran" 's. When we said our goodbyes and they realized it was our last day, we were smothered in kisses and tight hugs. My favorite, the cleaning lady, started to cry as she hugged us which made it harder to leave. The sad part about the whole thing was when we arrived there this morning, i suddenly got very sick and had to stay in the bathroom the entire morning, so I spent no time with the babies! When i came in to say goodbye to Zizu he was gone, I found out he was taken outside for his first time ever. I was envious of the girl who took him out for the first time, and cursing being sick because it could have been me to take him out. So I found him right before I left and he was half alseep so it wasn't as gushy a goodbye as I could have made it. I will miss him terribly.
The new volunteers seemed a little overwhelmed at first, but quickly caught the pace. It helps to be very open-minded when you arrive and just go with the flow.
As hard as it was to leave, I did not cry, only because I feel like I am still going back on Monday... Maybe it will hit once I arrive home.
I will truly miss Mohammed and all of our witty banter. He became a good friend of ours and I hope we stay in touch, even though he threatens to kill me every day... hehehe.
So this is the point where I thank everyone. Thank you for all of your help to get to Morocco in the first place, and all of the good advice. Without you, I would not have made it! This trip has made me so happy and was extremely rewarding. Volunteering was hard work during the week, each day was tiresome, but also very fun. I loved every minute of the orphanage, even getting spit up on and all other sorts of baby things that happen to you. Our weekend trips were very adventurous and we got to see great places in Morocco. The pictures I have contain so many different views and places you would think I've been out of Morocco and traveling around the world! All of the friends I made here each had an impact on me and helped complete my memories with perpetual laughter. They felt like I had known them forever and we bonded so fast. Each place we visited had something unique about it and the most facinating people in it. Everyone was extra nice and beared with the language barrier better than I thought they would, some even tried to teach us!
Seeing the babies faces was the most rewarding. Each day all they wanted was to be held and the minute you did, their focus did not leave your face. Once one got love, the crying stopped and smiles were plastered on their faces. The nurses got to take breaks, after being there all day every day, and you get to play with some of the most funny little people. The toddlers i will also miss, just playing with them and running around... in short- i will miss the kids at the orphanage so very much, and being there has changed my persective as well as my life. If anyone has the chance to volunteer somewhere I highly recommend it!
Thank you again to every one, and I will see you when I get home!!
...provided we don't get stranded in France. ;)
-Lacey
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Down to one week...
It's been a little while since my last entry..
So after the desert that week was strategically planned so that we would have something to do each day. Tuesday was the Medina to do some shopping for our families. The difference between the one here and in Fez is that the one here is much more relaxed. No one really hounds you to buy anything and it is not nearly as crowded, so you can take your time and shop. Of course the store owners follow you around, but it's not that bad. Chelsea, Margie, and I went and we had a very nice time. I went with the intentions of just buying a few things, but because everything is so cheap in American money i ended up buying presents for pretty much my whole family. I probably have enough for my second cousins! Well... maybe that is a slight exaggeration.. but i bought a lot. It will be I who suffers at the airport lugging everything around, but I love getting people presents. We spent the afternoon there and then came home for dinner and bed.
Wednesday we went to the Pottery place in Sale (sal-ay) which was very nice. A bunch of us ended up wanting to go, so instead of taking taxis, our driver took the van to make it easier for us. He won't be driving us to the orphanage anymore because he is taking off to get married! So we'll have a new driver... Anyway, the pottery place is basically a little strip mall of hand made pottery and carved boxes. Each store pretty much has the same things, so we did not need to go in all of them but it was very successful. I probably have mentioned this, but it is so much easier to buy for women here than for men. My dad in particular.. Dad i think I will just get you one of the male moroccan dress type things and pointy slippers! ;) Margie and I were cracking up picturing you wearing it! hahaaahah. <3
So we spent a few hours there and once again, home for dinner and bed. Thursday we spent more money and had a day to ourselves at a store called Mango. It's a pretty expensive clothing store but the clothes are really nice. I only bought one outfit, because i would rather buy clothes in the states. But it was still a nice girls day. Chelsea Margie and I always have fun together. Friday Chelsea convinced us to get pedicures at four, before that though just she and I went for massages. I had never gotten one before and rarely treat myself to things like that... actually i can say i have only gotten my nails done for prom, so i did not mind so much spending money on myself. Well... considering i had nothing to compare the massage to.... she could have just done my feet and I would have been satisfied. It was wonderful, i almost fell asleep about twenty times! I highly recommend getting one if you never have. Especially after holding and carrying around babies for three weeks, our backs were unwound and our arms relaxed. Afterward Margie met us and we got our nails done which was also very nice. It was Chelsea's last night, so like we did the previous Fridays, our group went for Gelatos. They once again made me repeat the flavors laughing at the way i say them and shook my hand when i walked in, so we made some friends there. When we came home we all gathered around the t.v to watch Ferris Beulers Day Off, which i know is sad, I have never seen. It was really funny, we were all cracking up. Of course we were laughing until we started crying because it froze halfway through the dvd! so i didnt get to finish it....
Saturday was a day to sleep in, the first in 3 weeks, but my body was still used to getting up at six thirty so i did not sleep very late. Chelsea left that day which made me very sad. We clicked very well and I am so glad we met. Margie and I sat around today just saying that we miss her haha. At least we all have each other's information to stay in contact when we get back, she flew to france and she and her family will stay there for a week together.
So that about sums up this week, we basically just spent a lot of money.. we were all pretty bushed after all of our traveling the previous weeks so it was nice to stay around Rabat which has plenty to do. We got to travel around in the taxis that could make New York City drivers look good. I swear my eyes are closed the whole time, and if i happen to open them breifly, to make sure im still alive, i just cringe the entire time. They use horns like we use brake pedals, just honk and keep driving at 90....This week all we know of is our henna is getting done wednesday which im really excited about! We found out we only have an hour in the airport in france, so we will have to run. Im trying to pack everything important in my carry-ons because were checking our luggage all the way through... the only apprehension to this is that five girls lost their luggage through airfrance, and Chelsea did on her way in... The only good thing is that I will be going home so ill have everything i need there...
This past week at the orphanage, Zizu was still sick. The majority of my time was spent holding him every day. As soon as i was done making all of the beds and changing, feeding the babies, i would hold him. Remember i said he never cried? He was wailing last week- thats how i knew something was terribly wrong. He just kept falling asleep in my arms but wouldn't stay asleep in his bed so i stayed with him. Around Wednesday or Thursday when we went in, there were 6 other babies with Zizu outside their room! All quarantined for being sick! Each had a fever and other various symptoms that resulted in me being covered in baby things.... if you know what i mean. Zizu has good aim, all over my smock and right in the space where there is a button missing onto my clothes. I couldnt be mad at all at the poor little guy, although i swear he got his smug look back after that. Friday he looked a lot better when I went in and smiled the whole time. He still wanted to be held and felt a little warm, so I can't wait to get back there tomorrow to check on him.
Some of the toddlers we sit with were also sick, one had an ear infection so i held him because i know how awful that is. So hopefully the sickness stops spreading. Gladly it hasn't reached the older kids, theyre still as playful as ever. There have been some hectic afternoons there, but always fun.
My mom told me I have gotten my nursing uniform!! Which just makes me excited so i thought i would share.
23 new volunteers came yesterday, so there are 30 people in the house right now. It is prettyyy crowded, but everyone seems so nice. They see us as the experts and keep asking what we've done, so it's nice to give advice on trips and such... Now we have to have two different times to go to the orphanage since there are so many of us, Margie Liz and I will be going earlier, seven forty-five to twelve.
So... that's about it for that update. I miss everyone terribly, and will update again this week!
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
-Lace
So after the desert that week was strategically planned so that we would have something to do each day. Tuesday was the Medina to do some shopping for our families. The difference between the one here and in Fez is that the one here is much more relaxed. No one really hounds you to buy anything and it is not nearly as crowded, so you can take your time and shop. Of course the store owners follow you around, but it's not that bad. Chelsea, Margie, and I went and we had a very nice time. I went with the intentions of just buying a few things, but because everything is so cheap in American money i ended up buying presents for pretty much my whole family. I probably have enough for my second cousins! Well... maybe that is a slight exaggeration.. but i bought a lot. It will be I who suffers at the airport lugging everything around, but I love getting people presents. We spent the afternoon there and then came home for dinner and bed.
Wednesday we went to the Pottery place in Sale (sal-ay) which was very nice. A bunch of us ended up wanting to go, so instead of taking taxis, our driver took the van to make it easier for us. He won't be driving us to the orphanage anymore because he is taking off to get married! So we'll have a new driver... Anyway, the pottery place is basically a little strip mall of hand made pottery and carved boxes. Each store pretty much has the same things, so we did not need to go in all of them but it was very successful. I probably have mentioned this, but it is so much easier to buy for women here than for men. My dad in particular.. Dad i think I will just get you one of the male moroccan dress type things and pointy slippers! ;) Margie and I were cracking up picturing you wearing it! hahaaahah. <3
So we spent a few hours there and once again, home for dinner and bed. Thursday we spent more money and had a day to ourselves at a store called Mango. It's a pretty expensive clothing store but the clothes are really nice. I only bought one outfit, because i would rather buy clothes in the states. But it was still a nice girls day. Chelsea Margie and I always have fun together. Friday Chelsea convinced us to get pedicures at four, before that though just she and I went for massages. I had never gotten one before and rarely treat myself to things like that... actually i can say i have only gotten my nails done for prom, so i did not mind so much spending money on myself. Well... considering i had nothing to compare the massage to.... she could have just done my feet and I would have been satisfied. It was wonderful, i almost fell asleep about twenty times! I highly recommend getting one if you never have. Especially after holding and carrying around babies for three weeks, our backs were unwound and our arms relaxed. Afterward Margie met us and we got our nails done which was also very nice. It was Chelsea's last night, so like we did the previous Fridays, our group went for Gelatos. They once again made me repeat the flavors laughing at the way i say them and shook my hand when i walked in, so we made some friends there. When we came home we all gathered around the t.v to watch Ferris Beulers Day Off, which i know is sad, I have never seen. It was really funny, we were all cracking up. Of course we were laughing until we started crying because it froze halfway through the dvd! so i didnt get to finish it....
Saturday was a day to sleep in, the first in 3 weeks, but my body was still used to getting up at six thirty so i did not sleep very late. Chelsea left that day which made me very sad. We clicked very well and I am so glad we met. Margie and I sat around today just saying that we miss her haha. At least we all have each other's information to stay in contact when we get back, she flew to france and she and her family will stay there for a week together.
So that about sums up this week, we basically just spent a lot of money.. we were all pretty bushed after all of our traveling the previous weeks so it was nice to stay around Rabat which has plenty to do. We got to travel around in the taxis that could make New York City drivers look good. I swear my eyes are closed the whole time, and if i happen to open them breifly, to make sure im still alive, i just cringe the entire time. They use horns like we use brake pedals, just honk and keep driving at 90....This week all we know of is our henna is getting done wednesday which im really excited about! We found out we only have an hour in the airport in france, so we will have to run. Im trying to pack everything important in my carry-ons because were checking our luggage all the way through... the only apprehension to this is that five girls lost their luggage through airfrance, and Chelsea did on her way in... The only good thing is that I will be going home so ill have everything i need there...
This past week at the orphanage, Zizu was still sick. The majority of my time was spent holding him every day. As soon as i was done making all of the beds and changing, feeding the babies, i would hold him. Remember i said he never cried? He was wailing last week- thats how i knew something was terribly wrong. He just kept falling asleep in my arms but wouldn't stay asleep in his bed so i stayed with him. Around Wednesday or Thursday when we went in, there were 6 other babies with Zizu outside their room! All quarantined for being sick! Each had a fever and other various symptoms that resulted in me being covered in baby things.... if you know what i mean. Zizu has good aim, all over my smock and right in the space where there is a button missing onto my clothes. I couldnt be mad at all at the poor little guy, although i swear he got his smug look back after that. Friday he looked a lot better when I went in and smiled the whole time. He still wanted to be held and felt a little warm, so I can't wait to get back there tomorrow to check on him.
Some of the toddlers we sit with were also sick, one had an ear infection so i held him because i know how awful that is. So hopefully the sickness stops spreading. Gladly it hasn't reached the older kids, theyre still as playful as ever. There have been some hectic afternoons there, but always fun.
My mom told me I have gotten my nursing uniform!! Which just makes me excited so i thought i would share.
23 new volunteers came yesterday, so there are 30 people in the house right now. It is prettyyy crowded, but everyone seems so nice. They see us as the experts and keep asking what we've done, so it's nice to give advice on trips and such... Now we have to have two different times to go to the orphanage since there are so many of us, Margie Liz and I will be going earlier, seven forty-five to twelve.
So... that's about it for that update. I miss everyone terribly, and will update again this week!
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
-Lace
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sahara!
Atlas Mountains
Ifran!
Car Ride
I met Herman! see... he hated me, look at those teeth.
Chelsea!
People on top of the dunes
Were all goofy
Marines climbing the dune straight up
(Much higher than it looks)
Our tent
Girls Climbing the dune
Wondering why we decided to climb too as our thighs caught fire
Camp from the top of the dune
Sunrise
Our shadows
The Monkey! he kept posing & i was really that close.
Baby monkey
Going to the orphanage
How many humps does a camel have??
Hello to all!
12 more days of this trip and it is so strange how it feels as if it's flying by, at the same time i feel like I've been here forever.
Thursday is where I left off so that is where i will begin.. After a day at the Orphanage, all of us as a good got all dolled up and went out to dinner. The restaurant was near the Orphanage so it took a little while to get there, but it was very very nice. I got a pasta dish (surprise) which was really good, but i could barely finish the massive amount of food. After dinner, we went to a place right down the street from the homebase called, "The Puzzle." It's a little lounge that just plays some music and when we walked in it happened to be Bob Marley, I knew right then i would like the place. After relaxing there for a little we came home, Liz Michelle and myself sat on their terrace for awhile and talked, because it was Michelle's last night. We had a lot of fun. I found that night that there is no way to stop someone from reacting when you tell them, "don't move," or "stay calm!" It just triggers a reaction. We were inside and Michelle had a towel wrapped around her shoulders when Liz and I followed her in we noticed the big black spot on her shoulder. Now, I'm not a spider expert but I believe it was a taranchala. Liz and I froze where we were and said, Michelle dont move!! Well of course that doesn't work. She came sprinting towards us saying What what what?? That in turn made us react because she was running at us with a huge spider on her shoulder. Everyone at this point was asleep in the house so we were all trying to be quiet, at the same time half yelling, "Stay there! No no!" Then Liz and I ran. Finally michelle dropped the towel but the spider was attached to her somehow so it followed her. It was choas in the hall as we tried to lose the spider. As soon as it fell the the floor i grabbed the closest object and smushed it. I don't think anyone has picked up that water bottle since. But, it was a pretty hysterical night.
Friday was a sad day because Michelle was leaving so we clung to each other the whole day. Around 3 the rest of us headed to the desert! We began our drive for that night and Mohammed came along for the ride which was very fun, he is such an amazing person. Once we got out of Rabat the view was utterly breath taking. And I don't want to sound like a tour guide, but I could not stop looking out my windows. Once we reached the Atlas mountains it was nothing but beautiful feilds of colors and hills that rolled until they met the sky. Off in the distance you could see snow covered mountains while it was 90 degrees down on our level. The colors changed each time you looked. Everything was green and covered with Christmas trees, they were the biggest cedars i have ever seen. Mohammed said you could wrap 6 people around the trunk at arms length, and still not fit around the base. Slowly the land wsa strewn with rocks and boulders as the green faded to brown. Gaping canyons began to form and we were inside of the mountains. Nomads wandered around and trees were scattered here in there, in the feilds it looked like something out of the Lion King. It became a hilly view again with red dust inextricably mixed in with green powder covering the land. My camera did not capture the colors or the beauty properly. We stopped at a town called Ifran in the Mountains which was so beautiful. It reminded me of the villages in Florida actually. All of the homes had re roofs and everything was so clean. It is actually called the Land of the Lions because that is the main place where they used to roam, so they had big statues of Lions around, as well as a beautiful lake. Chelsea is going to school there in the spring and is very lucky. After about three hours in the car we arrived at our hotel in the mountains called, Lion De'l Atlas. This hotel was so magificant. We had a whole floor to ourselves with three big bedrooms and a common room with three big couches on the walls. Chelsea Margie and I took a room that night, a storm was brewing so the wind put me right to sleep. The only trouble were the stairs, ha, i suppose they must have been further apart than normal stairs because I fell down them three times...
The next morning everyone was ready to go around 8:30 and we had a six hour ride to the desert. We stopped along the way for lunch and that was were Mohammed left us to visit his mother, we would pick him up on our way home. The ride, again, was not bad at all. The view was just as captivating as the day before. What i did notice were all of the huge, i mean the largest birds I've ever seen, all had nests on the rooves of the homes. Each house had a nest with three large birds hanging around. It was pretty amusing. We reached the desert around four o'clock and on the way saw some awesome sand storms in the distance. They looked like tornados...
We all took a little nap at the hotel becase it would be too hot to travel into the desert, so we waited until six. Each of us were given scarves to put on our heads and I was first. The man wrapped it around me and all i heard was margie's bursting laughter behind me. For the next twenty minutes as everyone got theirs, i kept seeing her peek around our friends to laugh and gawk at me. You can judge from my pictures if I was that goofy looking. Finally, we met our camels. Mine was Herman, Margie had Hank, and there were various other names. Getting on was an adventure in itself. I had to hoist myself onto him as my backpack weighed me down. When they get up they lean forward first then back, i almost flipped over him! He probably did it on purpose now that i think about it. I was the caboose of the camels as we headed on our hour and a half treck to the camp. The sand dunes and perpetual flowing orange was so beautiful. To me it's a very cliche word, but it was just so beautiful to look at. Once i got semi-used to the camel and all of its bumps and near falls, i could actually look around and take in the view. It was never ending hills and mountains of sand with the stray plants and lizards. The only difficult part was staying on the camel when he went down hill. I almost summer-salted off a few times.
My camel, Herman, did not cooperate very well... He liked Margie a lot and kept going up to her leg and trying to, Im not sure bite her or lick her. Personally i think he just wanted to be pet but she refused and shunned him. But it's ok, he was smelly.
We arrived at our camp, and it was actually a few camps next to each other. They were right beneathe a giant dune that covered veiw of anything and made it feel very private. Once we got there, we saw the camp full of Marines next to us start going straight up the dune which posed to be very difficult. it took them a long time and they took a few breaks. We went up on a slant which was much more difficult than I assumed it would be, I took some breaks myself. Chelsea and I stopped at the first peak while Margie and Nicole made it all the way to the second one even higher up. I had lost my motivation by then. But the view was very beautiful. After we ate a very good chicken dinner and it was completely black, we had planned on sleeping outside but the omnipresent clouds covered the stars and the wind picked up furiously. We sat for awhile and played drums with the berbers with little success. As soon as i started carrying a rythm and they began to sing, my fingers would get all jumbled and we'd lose it. So we just let them sing their song which was actually very good- vamos a la playa!!
After that we headed into the tent for a good nights rest and shelter from the wind, but that was far too hot. So a few of us grabbed our matresses and headed out again to feel the wind. I live in a house that is 68 degrees every day so its hard to sleep in the heat... well once we got outside the wind snatched my matress and blew it across the sand. Let me tell you... chasing a matress with no contacts in the pitch black desert is not easy. The whole way i heard margies laugh from the tent. Once the wind stopped, it appeared it was just taunting with me because as i nearly grabbed it, the winded got it again and off i was! Eventually i grabbed it... And trying to sleep outside only left me literally buried in sand, so i ended up in the hot tent after all. I kept waking up half asleep not knowing where i was, which was disorienting, and Margie was sleep talking and poking me.
The next morning we got up at five and headed back out to see the sunrise. Its very hard to find a bathroom in the middle of the desert, but Margie and I had a lot of fun trying. My camel was very irrate that morning, and i was apprehensive to get on him. The only one hissing and kicking. He hated me to being with! So i got on and the soreness from the day before was almost unbearable. Again he annoyed Margie the whole ride, only giving me a lot to laugh about. He looked so sullen when she shooed him away. We reached the hotel again, had a yummy breakfast and left the desert for a ten hour ride home. I slept most of the way and we stopped at a monkey forest. None of us were that interested because we had seen zoos before, but once we got there we had a lot of fun. The monkeys were just sitting there! They didn't even move when you went near them, so we got some good pictures. Margie tentatively moved near one to sit down, this particular monkey only had one eye, and couldn't see her. As she got close he must have sensed her because his head spun around so that he could use his good eye to look at her, she fell over! It was the highlight of my day, aside from the donkey we saw.. but i wont go into details about that.
We got back to Rabat around 730 and ordered Dominos which hit the spot perfectly. The trip was so much fun, and I am very glad i went. The veiws, the music, everything was just very fun.
Today we were back at the Orphanage, and when I arrived I found Zubir outside the room laying down. His face was so pale and his eyes sunken in. For the first time since i met him he did not smile at me. I picked him up immediatly and his body was beyond feverish. I have never had a feeling of fear for something the way i did when i found him that way. I spent most of the day trying to hold him, and each time i did he fell right asleep, i got him to smile once. We put a cold wash cloth on his head, and by the time we left his fever had gone down and his color back. I have been thinking of him and his little defenseless body all day, I can't wait to get back there tomorrow.. We took some pictures with the nurses today to remember them, and I had Margie and Chelsea help me and the nurse who taught me, make the beds. I think it made her day that she had extra help. She's warmed up to me a lot, today she kissed me twice! She's a sweety once you crack her shell.
After that, Margie Chelsea and I went to the Medina to do some shopping for our families, and we found a man who makes all of his own jewelry right in front of you who helped us a lot. We got some really cool things... All i have to say is, girls are so much easier to buy for than boys, that sums up my afternoon.
So this week is the orphanage and some day trips around Rabat, with a calm non-traveling weekend. A new group of volunteers come so that should be interesting.
All in all, my weekend was great and before you know it, this trip will be over. I'll post again soon.
-Lace
12 more days of this trip and it is so strange how it feels as if it's flying by, at the same time i feel like I've been here forever.
Thursday is where I left off so that is where i will begin.. After a day at the Orphanage, all of us as a good got all dolled up and went out to dinner. The restaurant was near the Orphanage so it took a little while to get there, but it was very very nice. I got a pasta dish (surprise) which was really good, but i could barely finish the massive amount of food. After dinner, we went to a place right down the street from the homebase called, "The Puzzle." It's a little lounge that just plays some music and when we walked in it happened to be Bob Marley, I knew right then i would like the place. After relaxing there for a little we came home, Liz Michelle and myself sat on their terrace for awhile and talked, because it was Michelle's last night. We had a lot of fun. I found that night that there is no way to stop someone from reacting when you tell them, "don't move," or "stay calm!" It just triggers a reaction. We were inside and Michelle had a towel wrapped around her shoulders when Liz and I followed her in we noticed the big black spot on her shoulder. Now, I'm not a spider expert but I believe it was a taranchala. Liz and I froze where we were and said, Michelle dont move!! Well of course that doesn't work. She came sprinting towards us saying What what what?? That in turn made us react because she was running at us with a huge spider on her shoulder. Everyone at this point was asleep in the house so we were all trying to be quiet, at the same time half yelling, "Stay there! No no!" Then Liz and I ran. Finally michelle dropped the towel but the spider was attached to her somehow so it followed her. It was choas in the hall as we tried to lose the spider. As soon as it fell the the floor i grabbed the closest object and smushed it. I don't think anyone has picked up that water bottle since. But, it was a pretty hysterical night.
Friday was a sad day because Michelle was leaving so we clung to each other the whole day. Around 3 the rest of us headed to the desert! We began our drive for that night and Mohammed came along for the ride which was very fun, he is such an amazing person. Once we got out of Rabat the view was utterly breath taking. And I don't want to sound like a tour guide, but I could not stop looking out my windows. Once we reached the Atlas mountains it was nothing but beautiful feilds of colors and hills that rolled until they met the sky. Off in the distance you could see snow covered mountains while it was 90 degrees down on our level. The colors changed each time you looked. Everything was green and covered with Christmas trees, they were the biggest cedars i have ever seen. Mohammed said you could wrap 6 people around the trunk at arms length, and still not fit around the base. Slowly the land wsa strewn with rocks and boulders as the green faded to brown. Gaping canyons began to form and we were inside of the mountains. Nomads wandered around and trees were scattered here in there, in the feilds it looked like something out of the Lion King. It became a hilly view again with red dust inextricably mixed in with green powder covering the land. My camera did not capture the colors or the beauty properly. We stopped at a town called Ifran in the Mountains which was so beautiful. It reminded me of the villages in Florida actually. All of the homes had re roofs and everything was so clean. It is actually called the Land of the Lions because that is the main place where they used to roam, so they had big statues of Lions around, as well as a beautiful lake. Chelsea is going to school there in the spring and is very lucky. After about three hours in the car we arrived at our hotel in the mountains called, Lion De'l Atlas. This hotel was so magificant. We had a whole floor to ourselves with three big bedrooms and a common room with three big couches on the walls. Chelsea Margie and I took a room that night, a storm was brewing so the wind put me right to sleep. The only trouble were the stairs, ha, i suppose they must have been further apart than normal stairs because I fell down them three times...
The next morning everyone was ready to go around 8:30 and we had a six hour ride to the desert. We stopped along the way for lunch and that was were Mohammed left us to visit his mother, we would pick him up on our way home. The ride, again, was not bad at all. The view was just as captivating as the day before. What i did notice were all of the huge, i mean the largest birds I've ever seen, all had nests on the rooves of the homes. Each house had a nest with three large birds hanging around. It was pretty amusing. We reached the desert around four o'clock and on the way saw some awesome sand storms in the distance. They looked like tornados...
We all took a little nap at the hotel becase it would be too hot to travel into the desert, so we waited until six. Each of us were given scarves to put on our heads and I was first. The man wrapped it around me and all i heard was margie's bursting laughter behind me. For the next twenty minutes as everyone got theirs, i kept seeing her peek around our friends to laugh and gawk at me. You can judge from my pictures if I was that goofy looking. Finally, we met our camels. Mine was Herman, Margie had Hank, and there were various other names. Getting on was an adventure in itself. I had to hoist myself onto him as my backpack weighed me down. When they get up they lean forward first then back, i almost flipped over him! He probably did it on purpose now that i think about it. I was the caboose of the camels as we headed on our hour and a half treck to the camp. The sand dunes and perpetual flowing orange was so beautiful. To me it's a very cliche word, but it was just so beautiful to look at. Once i got semi-used to the camel and all of its bumps and near falls, i could actually look around and take in the view. It was never ending hills and mountains of sand with the stray plants and lizards. The only difficult part was staying on the camel when he went down hill. I almost summer-salted off a few times.
My camel, Herman, did not cooperate very well... He liked Margie a lot and kept going up to her leg and trying to, Im not sure bite her or lick her. Personally i think he just wanted to be pet but she refused and shunned him. But it's ok, he was smelly.
We arrived at our camp, and it was actually a few camps next to each other. They were right beneathe a giant dune that covered veiw of anything and made it feel very private. Once we got there, we saw the camp full of Marines next to us start going straight up the dune which posed to be very difficult. it took them a long time and they took a few breaks. We went up on a slant which was much more difficult than I assumed it would be, I took some breaks myself. Chelsea and I stopped at the first peak while Margie and Nicole made it all the way to the second one even higher up. I had lost my motivation by then. But the view was very beautiful. After we ate a very good chicken dinner and it was completely black, we had planned on sleeping outside but the omnipresent clouds covered the stars and the wind picked up furiously. We sat for awhile and played drums with the berbers with little success. As soon as i started carrying a rythm and they began to sing, my fingers would get all jumbled and we'd lose it. So we just let them sing their song which was actually very good- vamos a la playa!!
After that we headed into the tent for a good nights rest and shelter from the wind, but that was far too hot. So a few of us grabbed our matresses and headed out again to feel the wind. I live in a house that is 68 degrees every day so its hard to sleep in the heat... well once we got outside the wind snatched my matress and blew it across the sand. Let me tell you... chasing a matress with no contacts in the pitch black desert is not easy. The whole way i heard margies laugh from the tent. Once the wind stopped, it appeared it was just taunting with me because as i nearly grabbed it, the winded got it again and off i was! Eventually i grabbed it... And trying to sleep outside only left me literally buried in sand, so i ended up in the hot tent after all. I kept waking up half asleep not knowing where i was, which was disorienting, and Margie was sleep talking and poking me.
The next morning we got up at five and headed back out to see the sunrise. Its very hard to find a bathroom in the middle of the desert, but Margie and I had a lot of fun trying. My camel was very irrate that morning, and i was apprehensive to get on him. The only one hissing and kicking. He hated me to being with! So i got on and the soreness from the day before was almost unbearable. Again he annoyed Margie the whole ride, only giving me a lot to laugh about. He looked so sullen when she shooed him away. We reached the hotel again, had a yummy breakfast and left the desert for a ten hour ride home. I slept most of the way and we stopped at a monkey forest. None of us were that interested because we had seen zoos before, but once we got there we had a lot of fun. The monkeys were just sitting there! They didn't even move when you went near them, so we got some good pictures. Margie tentatively moved near one to sit down, this particular monkey only had one eye, and couldn't see her. As she got close he must have sensed her because his head spun around so that he could use his good eye to look at her, she fell over! It was the highlight of my day, aside from the donkey we saw.. but i wont go into details about that.
We got back to Rabat around 730 and ordered Dominos which hit the spot perfectly. The trip was so much fun, and I am very glad i went. The veiws, the music, everything was just very fun.
Today we were back at the Orphanage, and when I arrived I found Zubir outside the room laying down. His face was so pale and his eyes sunken in. For the first time since i met him he did not smile at me. I picked him up immediatly and his body was beyond feverish. I have never had a feeling of fear for something the way i did when i found him that way. I spent most of the day trying to hold him, and each time i did he fell right asleep, i got him to smile once. We put a cold wash cloth on his head, and by the time we left his fever had gone down and his color back. I have been thinking of him and his little defenseless body all day, I can't wait to get back there tomorrow.. We took some pictures with the nurses today to remember them, and I had Margie and Chelsea help me and the nurse who taught me, make the beds. I think it made her day that she had extra help. She's warmed up to me a lot, today she kissed me twice! She's a sweety once you crack her shell.
After that, Margie Chelsea and I went to the Medina to do some shopping for our families, and we found a man who makes all of his own jewelry right in front of you who helped us a lot. We got some really cool things... All i have to say is, girls are so much easier to buy for than boys, that sums up my afternoon.
So this week is the orphanage and some day trips around Rabat, with a calm non-traveling weekend. A new group of volunteers come so that should be interesting.
All in all, my weekend was great and before you know it, this trip will be over. I'll post again soon.
-Lace
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Pictures from Fes and Ice Cream Night out -start at bottom
(Can click to make bigger)
the Riad where we stayed-very nice
making blankets
women make rugs
fes
Where they dye wool & Leather
Tannerie
Fes Streets
Wool/Tannerie/Smelly
A little hard to see but Fes at night
At dinner we got some candids
Fes!
I decipher Michelle's looks. Classic
At the train station!
Michelle Marge & i
Gelato!
Oh Marge
the Riad where we stayed-very nice
making blankets
women make rugs
fes
Where they dye wool & Leather
Tannerie
Fes Streets
Wool/Tannerie/Smelly
A little hard to see but Fes at night
At dinner we got some candids
Fes!
I decipher Michelle's looks. Classic
At the train station!
Michelle Marge & i
Gelato!
Oh Marge
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
