¡Las adventuras han empezado!

The adventures have begun!

Once again, I was traveling this weekend so my blog post is late (as will be the next three--traveling all weekends this month!) But I've got some pretty cool stuff to share with y'all!

Tapas!

Patatas bravas

At the beginning of last week, my cooking class and I went to a local restaurant and learned how to make tapas. Tapas are traditional small Spanish plates of food (similar to appetizers) and are meant to be enjoyed in the company of others. Spanish culture and cuisine, for that matter, is very social. So going out for tapas and drinks is very common all over Spain. In some places, like Granada, if you order a drink you get a "free" tapa (basically so you don't get overly drunk every time you order a new drink--why haven't we thought of this?). Each tapa usually ranges in price between 1,50 and 4 euros. But we got to make and eat a bunch for free!

Making the Ensalada rusa

Kiersten and I were in charge of making ensalada rusa which is delicious (it's kind of like tuna salad, but better because I actually like it). But other tapas such as croquetes which are fried balls of potato and meat essentially, patatas bravas--hand made potato chips with a spicy tomato sauce spread on top, roasted vegetables, and fried calamari were made by my fellow classmates as well. And of course all was served with fresh bread. It was delicious. The cook offered Kiersten and I a "job" at his restaurant because we apparently make ensalada rusa better than some of his employees.

Calamari

Halloween

Obviously last week was Halloween, but not so much here in Spain. It was my job at the colegio to make a presentation about Halloween (where it came from/what we do) and present it to my students. I was also in charge of a Halloween party for my older students from bachiller (university bound students) and students from my American program. The party was hosted in a classroom at the colegio after school last Tuesday. People from my program and I dressed up, I presented my presentation, we carved a pumpkin, listened to Halloween songs, played games, and ate treats. It was a blast but unfortunately I spent all my energy on the party and ended up sick the following day on Halloween...

Estaba pachucha

On Halloween I woke up with a sore throat, no voice, chills, the ugliest cough and a fever. So I spent it napping and watching Parenthood on Netflix. My host mom always takes good care of me, though. She went out and bought me a pack of some sort of medication that was super intense (cold/cough/flu combined). It's also illegal in the U.S. which is probably why it worked so well. And she made me lots of tea and soup. She's da bomb.

La Panadería

A friend showed me the most adorable little Panadería (bread and pastry shop) in town. I mean there's tons of them all over but the lady who owns this one couldn't be sweeter. Her cookies and pastries are to die for and crazy cheap! I love going there just to say hi to her. She knows which ones I like now too. She told me my favorite cookies there have wine in them...no wonder I like them! I can get like 8 of them for a euro. When I come back fat...you know why.

Sevilla, España

Kiersten and I booked our trip to Morocco through an organized excursion group called Discover Sevilla. Naturally they are located in Sevilla (southern Spain in the region of Andalusia, a.k.a. super lispy--ville). So we had to get ourselves to Sevilla in order to go on the trip. The trip was scheduled from Friday to late Sunday night. So we struggled with good transportation prices and ultimately decided to take an overnight bus on Thursday night at midnight from Alicante to Sevilla and take one back on Monday night. This left us with 6 hours in Sevilla on Friday, and a night in a hostel Sunday night and the entire day in Sevilla Monday. Sevilla is a fantastic city. Another city full of history. We wandered our way around the big city and magically got ourselves to every place we intended to with minimal looks at maps. (Because of this, we have now decided to do the Amazing Race together). We saw the infamous Cathedral (largest gothic cathedral in the world, the 3rd largest church in the world, and the home to Christopher Columbus' tomb), Plaza de España (where part of the last Star Wars movie and The Dictator were filmed apparently--little brother are you reading this?), various gardens, and several other famous landmarks that we happened to stumble upon. Sevilla is a must-see city in Spain.

Christopher Columbus' tomb 

Plaza de España

Plaza de España

Marruecos

Atlantic Ocean

Alright, now for the big news. I've been to Africa! My trip to Morocco was incredible, far too short but so worth every moment.

Morocco is an Arabic country governed by a King and Prime minister and it's official languages are Arabic, French, and Spanish (mostly in the north). Obviously Morocco is a developing country, evident from occasionally having to pee in holes for toilets, seeing men taking craps along the side of the road, immense poverty, and watching children dangerously hold on to the back of our tour bus to catch a ride to the next town. But aside from that, Morocco is beautiful. I was only in the north, in the towns of Tanger, Assilah, Tetuan, and Chefchaouen and in the countryside between these cities. When you think Morocco, you might think desert. But in the north, it's very mountainous and green. I did get some glimpses of how I've pictured the continent of Africa as a whole (types of trees, landscape, various lakes), but the desert is further south in Morocco.

Caves of Hercules

To get to Morocco, the group (who mostly consisted of Americans and our tour guides) took a tour bus from Sevilla to the southern tip of Spain called Tarifa (about 3 hours). From there we took an hour long ferry across the Mediterranean Sea to Morocco and within 20 minutes we were in Tanger, the biggest northern city of Morocco and also the place we stayed both nights in Morocco. While in Tanger I rode a camel, saw the Caves of Hercules, and saw the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea.

 The trip included food so all the meals were amazing. I could eat couscous for days. The trip did not include water, however, so I had to buy my own which was imperative as you can get very sick from drinking the water. Even still, my stomach is a little uneasy now that I'm back (although weirdly was fine while I was there).

Chicken, vegetables, and couscous!

In Tetuan, we saw one of the King's palaces (he has one in every city in Morocco). Our tour guides told us that Morocco is one of the world's largest leaders in producing hash/marijuana but it's technically not allowed to be sold unless directed by the King. Hmm, I don't think that's working too well...as I'm pretty sure lots of it makes it's way around the world (and makes the King rich).

King's Palace

In Assilah and Chefchaouen we were let loose to explore the cities and practice bargaining. I can't say I'm the best bargainer but I'm pretty good at holding my ground. I bought a scarf, some bracelets, and pottery. I also treated myself to some henna by the sweetest and fastest henna-doer I've ever seen. I also bought mint tea, which is quite possibly the best tea I've had in my life. It's to die for.

Where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean

Delicious mint tea!

Henna

It was a very cool trip that I will never forget. I'm so happy that I went, I almost can't even believe it happened.

Home sweet home

I loved Morocco and Sevilla but it certainly is nice to be back "home." I actually really missed my host parents and Alicante. And my host mom bought me all sorts of treats that I came home to. I love her :)

But I'm off to Barcelona this upcoming weekend with my Grandma who arrives tomorrow to visit me! I'm pretty stoked!