We're in Africa! Woohoo! It's been crazy because I never really expected to be coming here! And yet it just seems like NBD. We got up pretty early like 6:40 and thankfully I somehow woke up. Our phones were not working there and with the time change, Ashley's iphone didn't go off when it should've. Somehow the girl who can't wake up to an alarm just happens to wake up on my own, exactly when we needed to. Then we had wonderful breakfast with so many different breads and pastries. Then we headed out for like a 2 hour drive to this sweet city: Chefchaouen. We first had a tour throughout and got to see so many houses, shops and people. And we got so many loaves of bread that were just handed to us and were still warm. We even saw them making it, basically in the hole in the wall, with a stove.
It was so so good!!! It was pretty unbelievable to see how those people live and how they work in stores that are basically 8 x 8 cut outs in the rock. The walls were pretty much all white and blue on the outside, which we learned was the white made it look fresh and the blue made the bugs dizzy. Then we headed to lunch at Restaurant Casa Aladin. The restaurant was amazing, like we really felt like we were in Aladin, but I was not a fan of the food. We had the same salad and then fries and chicken, but mine legit had a claw in it. I am not having tons of luck in that food department, but I did still even force myself to try one bite! Then we got like two hours of free time to shop at the stands/market. It was a lot like New York in the respect that there were so many stands so you bartered everything. It was a little overwhelming at first especially because English is not their first language and I usually always end up just feeling bad, but I actually did pretty good and got most of the prices I wanted for some cool things. They were funny though because they kept saying, "I give you good price. Student price. I make you very happy." One of the guys grabbed my hand and tried to tell me how good of deal he was making JUST FOR ME. Yea...right...We also saw some beautiful views and learned a lot about their culture, as well as being serenaded by two old men as we were leaving. One of the hardest things for me though was seeing all the little children trying so hard to sell things, and it broke my heart to have to say no to them, but you just do not know why they are doing it and if they are being forced/even need the money, but it still does not seem right.
Then we headed back to the hotel and headed to the beach, AKA Mediterranean Sea! Of course it was gorgeous! They made sangria and we hung out and talked, played some volleyball, Steal the Bacon-and I won a t shirt!, took pictures, saw a camel on the beach and swam even though it was cold! After all that we had dinner, which was a great soup, spaghetti, and more ice cream! Then they surprised us with an African performance. Some men came and dance, sang, played clapping cymbols and drums. Then a man came and swung fire around and balanced it on his head. It was fantastic, and then we joined them! I loved it; one even put his hat on my head! :)Then we just had a relaxing night, where we talked, danced, and saw some sweet card tricks. Finally I went down to the beach with a girl I'd just met (not in our normal CIEE group but from TCU). And it was such a blessing and absolutely wonderful because we got to talk about the Lord and just admire His beauty! So thankful for that! Then the group set off a few "fireworks" and then I headed back to the room because it was a longg but wonderful day!
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