Sooo I apologize for neglecting my blog... I guess I didn't realize how long it's been, but I've been a little overwhelmed ever since we left for the southern excursion. It was so awesome! I don't think I can go into too many details because I'll write a novel about how unbelievable it was, but I'll make a list of all the cool things we did, then go into more detail

Day 1
visited English-speaking university in Ifrane (a European-like town in the mountains where it's cold!) that I want to come back to and study at. Had lunch and talked with a Moroccan from the Sahara who gave us the scoop on university life

visited the cedar forests in Azrou where there are barbary apes (so cute!) and really really old trees and the town with this amazing view. Chandra and I went on an adventure up a pile of rocks.

Stopped at a kasbah-like hotel in Midelt, where there were huge huge suite-like rooms and dinner was fish. I had to cover the eyes because they were looking at me. =(

Day 2
After an awesome breakfast of every bread imaginable, we headed out at 8:30... on to the desert!
We drove on these windy, twisty, narrow roads through the mountains.. The bottom of the bus started to open, but luckily nothing fell out. When we got to Merzouga it was lunch time and we had this awesome stuffed pizza like thing.

We took landrovers into the desert. A woman from the program left papers on the bus, so our car was like 10 minutes behind everyone else. Does that mean we got to the oasis late? La (no). That just means that our driver had a lead foot, passed like 10 cars, including the other landrovers with our friends in them, to come into the front of the line. Throughout the whole thing my friend and I were having a dance party in the back.
We stopped at an oasis and heard a lecture on the issues the locals are having, then stopped at a woman's organization before driving through the desert to our hotel. in the middle of the dunes. NBD.

WE RODE CAMELS INTO THE SUNSET!!! It was honestly one of the coolest experiences of my life. My camel's name was Asou. Chandra Megan and I rolled down the sand dunes and jumped and landed knee deep in sand. It was incredible. We had dinner at the hotel and had this crazy dance party to live traditional Berber music. Crazy. Then some of my friends and I walked through the sand dunes at night and just rolled and talked and stared at more stars than I've ever seen.

Day 3
Before dawn, we went on a hike through the dunes (no easy feat) and watched the sun rise from the top of a really tall one. We had breakfast at the hotel, then headed off for a really really long bus ride

We finally got to Ourzzazate, where we stayed in the dorm-like place. It actually reminded me a little of the Round Hearth just because of the bunk beds and the way it was set up. I was so tired when we got there, so I didn't go exploring. Instead I finished my book and hung out with some friends before dinner. We had dinner with the other women (it was a women's dorm) who are university students. When I first sat down I was like, absolutely not. I couldn't think of anything to say to them and I had no energy to speak Arabic, french, or even English. Luckily my friend Hannah has enough energy for all of us and I would just explain to them what she was saying because she doesn't speak any French and her Arabic is worse than mine (not awesome). My friend made a good connection that she is a little like Dory from Finding Nemo. We had a long introduction and welcome speech before dinner that no one was in the mood for, but dinner itself was good. Afterwards people were dancing and singing, but I was so wiped out, that was not going to happen

Day 4
MARRAKECH!
We got to Marrakech early afternoon, and we had lunch and explored the city. There's one square that is insane! It's full of snake charmers and women who want to put henna on you (costing waayyy too much) and juice stands that are worse than the seagulls from Finding Nemo. We got back and I napped, then went out to a club with some friends to celebrate mine and my friend's 21st birthday. We had an awesome time, but crashed pretty late.

Day 5
Still in Marrakech
I went for a run with Chandra early in the morning, then went for a swim in the freezing, tiny hotel pool. It felt so nice! We sunbathed and chatted for a while, then showered, lunched and napped. Chandra, Denise and I went to the Majorelle Gardens where there is the Yves St Laurent memorial. It was beautiful. We got a little lost, then went kind of the wrong way through. Luckily we did though because we actually ran into Dillon Kelly and his girlfriend who were just leaving. Dillon and I went to school together for 9 years and haven't really talked since. It was so weird to see him! We talked for about half an hour, then continued our walk through the gardens. After our adventure we went back to the hotel, where I rested, ate and hung out with some friends.

Day 5
Essaouira
We had a long drive to Essaouira and on the way we stopped at an argan oil cooperative
When we got to Essaouira we were all super tired and dropped all of our stuff at the hotel before lunch. Lunch scared me. It was a full on fish and I had to peel off the skin and peel the meat off the bones. It was awful. My friend told me I was eating Nemo and that was it for me. Unfortunately the hotel didn't have enough rooms, so we went to another hotel, then Chandra Jena and I went to the beach. The water was cold, but no worse than the Cape and there were camels on the beach. We walked the beach and climbed the dunes where we watched the sunset.

After dinner, Nawal, our program director, pulled me aside. I couldn't believe what she was telling me. While I had been traveling, my host dad died. He wasn't sick when they went to bed Saturday night, but didn't wake up Sunday morning.

I walked the well lit beach with Chandra, then called it an early night.

Day 6
Back to Rabat
Before leaving, Chandra and I got up really early and walked the beach in the morning. We had a really long (8 hour) bus ride. We stopped for lunch in Al Jadida, then got to Rabat at around 5. I got back to the house and all of the lights were on on the stairs. On the way I had been hoping that it wasn't true, but by the time I got up the stairs and saw my host mom in white, surrounded by the women in the family, I knew it was true. My cousin, sister and mom came in to my room when I went in to drop off my stuff and asked how I was doing. All I could do was hug my mom as tightly as I could as she cried and cried. I had no idea what to say, but it didn't matter. I think she knew.

Now
ever since i got back things have been a little crazy. My host mom sits in the living room every evening to say greet the people who stop by to pay their condolences. Meanwhile I somehow managed to scratch my cornea..? so i've been dealing with that this week. Chandra and I are planning our independent study living situation and might have an apartment, which is really exciting.