Just An Observation

There is a cologne here that lots of men are wearing these days that would be considered a woman's perfume in the U.S...just an observation. The pharmacies here are like our Starbucks..one on every corner. A lot of the Dr. Office's here are open for walk-ins at night and you can still get a doctor to make a house call like in the old American movies...just an observation. I don't think costumer service is valued or expected like in the U.S...they don't grind your pepper for you or grate your parmesan over your pasta in restaurants, and often people kind of throw your change back to you rather than making sure your hand is out and ready. Just an observation. The little children seem to be much sweeter than the kids in the U.S. I had a little 5 yr old boy in one of my classes, who wanted my attention over the rest of the kids at his table, put his hand under my chin and gently cradle my face while he told me all the names of his family members while looking at me with his big brown eyes. Too cute!!! And every day when I enter their classes, the kids all jump up to run and hug me while they all yell my name over and over again. And then there's this little girl, Julia, with huge glasses and a tiny little face who just looks up at me the whole time I'm teaching and says "que guapa eres" (how pretty you are) over and over again with a look of wonderment. Even some of the 5th graders tell me they love me in English when they hug me, but I've noticed that the 6th graders are a little too cool for that. I feel like as Americans we expect everyone to be "tough". We try to breed toughness and strength into our kids. Many dads seem to have the attitude that they don't want their boys to grow up to be "pussies". This is both good AND bad. My opinion is that the kids here are a little babied compared to kids back home, they get more attention and affection. If they get hurt even in the slightest, they make a much bigger deal than we would back home. We would say "shake it off" or "walk it off" or "suck it up" or "you're okay." I don't see that here at all. As a result, the kids just seem, I don't know, softer. Which is also both good AND bad. I sure haven't had any kids try to hit me, bite me, head butt me, scratch me, etc. here. This summer I was always having to implement the submission moves to keep from gettin abused by certain students of the same age group back in the U.S. Oh by the way, they've put up a little ice skating rink in the middle of town for Christmas. The temperature here right now is ranging from 40 to 60 degrees. It probably costs quite a bit to keep it cold here as there hasn't been a single speck of frost this winter which is probably why it is so expensive to go skating. It costs 6€ for a half hour which is like $8 or $9 and if you don't bring your own gloves they make you purchase gloves. I am tempted to go show off some of my moves but by the time the half hour is over I will just be gettin warmed up. So far the Christmas candy is not impressing me much...but of course I am eating it anyways. I just need more good chocolate in my life here instead of this waxy crap they call chocalate. The women here look GOOD..seriously, there are so many beautiful women here and we're talking makeup, hair, heels, the whole nine. I never see anyone run. I feel like I am the only one in the entire city that will take off running across the street to beat traffic or whatever..just an observation. I also never see anyone eating in public (besides inside a restaurant). In the U.S. it is common to see people walking while eating or driving while eating. I seriously don't think I've ever seen anyone doing that here....not even a lollipop or an ice cream cone. They don't take their coffees to go like everyone does back home. You never, EVER see people walking the streets with their coffee or frapaccino in hand. And drive thru? Whats a drive thru? And they aren't big tippers here. In the U.S. you are pretty much considered a douche bag if you tip under 15% but here that would probably only happen on a real special occasion or at a fancy restaurant which probably explains part of the reason good service is not strived for like in the U.S. Some servers would probably floss your teeth for you after your meal if you asked, all for that almighty dollar. Here, you could sit there all night without your check, a napkin, another drink...whatever, unless you flag down your waiter to let them know that you need something. Also, we say "excuse me", "please" and "thank you" A LOT more in the U.S. People here seem to be loud, abrupt and impatient with people they don't know out in public but REALLY sweet and loving with the people they do know...just an observation. I just discovered that there is a card that people under 30 get here that entitles them to a 20% discount on everything from bus tickets, train tickets, clothing....depending on the company, but you don't have to be a student or anything..just under 30. And if you're retired, you get to ride all the city busses for FREE....just an observation..okay, so observations mixed with a little opinion and perception. I can't help it, I studied Psychology for the love of God :)

To Tour or Not to Tour

On our trip to Morocco we went with a tour group for international students and such, called WeLoveSpain. We chose this avenue because neither of us had been to Morocco before and, of course, people were telling us silly things like we could be sold into white slavery...SO, we opted for the safe route.

For our first time in Morocco I am glad we did it this way. It was a stress free trip where we were basically hearded like sheep from place to place. We ate when they told us to eat, we shopped when they told us to shop, we got on and off the bus when we were told, and unfortunately we had to wait until they told us we could pee before we could pee. That ended up being my only real problem with the whole thing. I am a thirsty person and consequently have to pee A LOT. We would wait long bus rides and then get off the bus hours later to be told that we could use "los servicios" after we listen to a long sshpeel about carpet weaving or something like this. Its like they tried to avoid letting us use the bathroom too often.

Other downfalls to going with this tour were that we would have very little free time to explore or shop. 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there....just not nearly enough time especially in a country where prices are not fixed and you are expected to dicker over prices before you settle on something. With such little time, I spent more than I would have if I would have been on my own and had to time to negotiate. I felt like I had to get in and get out and really didn't have time to shop around. Also, at times we had some awful food. For breakfast they would serve us a variety of dry bread loafs, cold wannabe crepes with butter that tasted more like cheese, and olives. Or for lunch one time we got sandwhiches with only cheese or only chicken...no mayo, mustard, NOTHIN.. just DRY. Pretty sweet some of those meals were..especially when you're smelling and thinking of all those fragrant Moroccan spices. And lastly, we just spent A LOT of time riding the bus down whindy roads that made you carsick.

Just as there were downfalls, there were also great benefits to being with a tour group. Everything was arranged FOR US. We never had to figure out how to catch public transportation or worry about getting lost or navigating a map in Arabic. We DID have some cool restaurant experiences arranged for us for 2 of our meals that came with excellent service and live traditional Moroccan music. Also, the couscous and saffron chicken were THE BOMB. And lastly, we got to see a lot in a little bit of time. They kept us on a tight schedule and were able to see 5 cities, monkeys, camels, markets, caves, the Rock of Gibraltar and lots of little interesting cultural experiences in only 3 days.

Los Monos en Gibraltar

These are the infamous monkeys that live on the Rock of Gibraltar. There are over 200 of them living on that rock. We were warned that they are aggressive thieves and will bite so we shouldn't touch them. They didn't try to steal anything from us and only begged like a dog at the bus drivers that come up there regularly with tourists. They were more afraid of us than anything, especially the babies. The older monkeys were accustomed to all the tourists and weren't too bothered by us. Finally Juliana got brave and touched one of the baby monkeys and it jumped over on her head. So we got our shot that we wanted with her camera. Then it was my turn and the little baby jumped on to my head. Then the tour guide said "everybody back on the bus" and so I needed to get the lil guy off without getting bit. He didn't want to move so Juliana tried to help me get him off and got bit on the hand. Luckily it didn't break the skin otherwise who knows what kind of disease she could have contracted. It did leave a mark tho. Then the monkey decided to get down but by swinging from my hair like tarzan. It was great!! Too bad we didn't get THAT on video.

But what you will notice from the video is that these monkeys have some serious fleas. Its cute though how they all take care of each other and groom their friends and family..while also having a snack. The snacking part is kinda gross. Buen provecho!!!

Chefchaouen

Dead turtles for sale...not sure why the lettuce is in there

Our adorable tour guide who speaks 5 languages and says he is famous and we can find him on Lonely Planet TV...he's serious.

Have to get me one of these lights someday...

LOVE this door

The paint they use for the buildings here...they have to paint again every week at least. The blue is to keep the mosquitos away.

My first Morrocan toilet.....

Seemed pretty ancient til the tourguide answered his hightech cell phone

Pretty sure these are giant inscense

the tour group

30€ a night for 2 people, breakfast included

I think I'll paint my bathroom these colors someday

Morrocco is very green in the winter