My journey home started on Wednesday evening. I left AUI and headed to Casablanca around 5 PM with three other students. When we arrived, we exchanged our extra dirhams. The man who helped us was hilarious. He was quite happy to relieve Brooke of her extra Skippy peanut butter!
I'm still not entirely sure how Heather managed to carry her bag, which was about twice as big as she is...
The other three girls headed to their gate around 12 AM for their flight, which left at 2 AM. I got my boarding pass at 12, but couldn't do much more until about 6 AM. I chatted with a man from Spain for a while. He mentioned that Morocco is the most expensive tourist destination in the world. Then he noted that he preferred to stay at four and five star hotels and that most of his meals averaged about 300 dirhams (close to $40). Honestly, if you want to stay in ritzy hotels, I don't think you should vacation in Morocco. I think the cheap (sometimes slightly sketchy) hotels we stayed in were part of the experience. You should not come to Morocco and spend your days in a hotel room. Obviously you need a place to stay, but this country is for explorers. We always ate pretty inexpensive, but generally good, meals. He commented on how "unacceptably dirty" the food service is in Morocco. I must admit that when I first arrived, I was a little shocked with how the food was handled and prepared. However, our group ate at countless "dirty" (according to American and European standards) restaurants and for the most part, none of us got sick. I told him that if we could spend four months there (and Moroccans their whole lives), they must be doing something right.
I was told Royal Air Maroc only allowed one carry on, but I was hoping my giant, 40 pound backpack could count as my "personal item." Apparently, it did not. I went to check my other suitcase. As I signed the receipt, I was more than a little disgruntled when I saw the 1500 dirham (about $200) price tag. I was happy to finally get on the plane at 9:30. Also, it was nice to get one last Moroccan breakfast, even if it was plane food! The harsha and msemmin weren't bad at all!
I also picked up some African red tea, including Moroccan Pomegranate. At least I can still drink like I'm in Morocco haha :) I'm planning on making some mint tea in the near future as well!
I'm still not entirely sure how Heather managed to carry her bag, which was about twice as big as she is...
The other three girls headed to their gate around 12 AM for their flight, which left at 2 AM. I got my boarding pass at 12, but couldn't do much more until about 6 AM. I chatted with a man from Spain for a while. He mentioned that Morocco is the most expensive tourist destination in the world. Then he noted that he preferred to stay at four and five star hotels and that most of his meals averaged about 300 dirhams (close to $40). Honestly, if you want to stay in ritzy hotels, I don't think you should vacation in Morocco. I think the cheap (sometimes slightly sketchy) hotels we stayed in were part of the experience. You should not come to Morocco and spend your days in a hotel room. Obviously you need a place to stay, but this country is for explorers. We always ate pretty inexpensive, but generally good, meals. He commented on how "unacceptably dirty" the food service is in Morocco. I must admit that when I first arrived, I was a little shocked with how the food was handled and prepared. However, our group ate at countless "dirty" (according to American and European standards) restaurants and for the most part, none of us got sick. I told him that if we could spend four months there (and Moroccans their whole lives), they must be doing something right.
I was told Royal Air Maroc only allowed one carry on, but I was hoping my giant, 40 pound backpack could count as my "personal item." Apparently, it did not. I went to check my other suitcase. As I signed the receipt, I was more than a little disgruntled when I saw the 1500 dirham (about $200) price tag. I was happy to finally get on the plane at 9:30. Also, it was nice to get one last Moroccan breakfast, even if it was plane food! The harsha and msemmin weren't bad at all!
Bye, Morocco! I will be back, I promise :)
My first flight to Frankfurt, Germany was about four and a half hours long. When I arrived in Frankfurt, I had a two hour layover. I was surrounded by a group of older, retired women who had spent two weeks traveling around Europe. Since I was alone, I struck up a conversation with a few of them. Before I knew it, I had my laptop out and was showing them my photos from Morocco. As I flipped through pictures of camels, waterfalls and countless old medinas, I realized it was really over. However, I think sharing my experience with other people has made the transition a little easier. I'm pretty sure I may have convinced a few of them to visit, which was pretty exciting! :)
After a few hours, we boarded the plane bound for Chicago. I sat beside a man who had just traveled all over Italy. His son in law is an Italian Navy Seal and had led him through remote parts of the Italian countryside. He smiled as he recalled the hospitality and kindness of people who welcomed him into their homes and offered endless amounts of food. His stories were definitely reminiscent of my time in Morocco. I love meeting new people in my travels. I always run into characters. I remember when my sister and I were flying back from San Francisco in 2007 and we met a close friend of John Edwards, who I was a huge fan of at the time (before his love scandals were revealed).
The flight was around eight hours long, which was a little rough. Also, I have newfound sympathy for tall people. The person in front of me moved her seat back, which almost touched my knees. As most of you know, I'm not exactly tall (5'3"). When the person beside her moved his seat back, the seat basically smashed the knees of the man beside me. However, I must say I was impressed with the amount of food and drinks offered by the airline. Lufthansa definitely takes care of its passengers! We got two or three meals, tons of snacks and drinks, all for free!
I finally arrived in Chicago around 9:30 PM. Before heading to my connecting flight, I had to go through U.S. Customs. When I made it to the desk, the Customs agent asked, "What in the world were you doing in Morocco?" I told him I was a student, to which he responded, "And what did you learn?" At this point, I had been traveling for nearly 40 hours. I blurted out, "That American development policy is very flawed?" He was not impressed. He glared back and asked, "What ELSE?" "I learned a little French," I squeaked out. I quickly grabbed my passport and shuffled away...
I knew I was back on American soil when I paid $7 for a coffee and water in the Chicago airport. However, seeing a massive coffee cup was pretty exciting. Most of what I've been drinking for the last four months has been about a third of the size of this "regular" cup. Then, in my sleep-deprived stupor, I spilled about half the cup down the front of my shirt. My clumsiness has officially been restored. After about an hour, my flight left for Pittsburgh. Luckily, I didn't have any trouble finding my luggage. I grabbed dinner with my Mom and we headed to our hotel. When we arrived at our hotel, I flipped through the TV channels. No lie, the first show I stopped on was an episode of "Las Vegas," set in Marrakesh, Morocco. I just can't get away haha...
Morocco did leave me with a lovely little souvenir. I have noticed little bumps on different parts of my body in the last few days. We went to a Med Express in Pittsburgh, where the doctor told me that I have folliculitis (inflammation of hair follicles), which can be contracted in steam rooms, saunas, etc. Hammam, anyone? Apparently, having a layer of skin ripped off in a steamy room of naked women CAN have adverse effects on your body...
On Friday night, we went to a Pirates baseball game. Our seats were right on the third base line! I've always watched baseball with my family, since I was little. It was definitely a good way to celebrate my arrival home! PNC Park is also beautiful!
Thank you, Mom! Love you! :)
We headed back to Charleston on Saturday. We stopped at Ikea on the way back, which was pretty awesome. It's so huge! My people (the Swedes) definitely know how to do housewares! When I got home, I was greeted with my Dad's amazing cooking! Salmon + salad = happiness!
I also picked up some African red tea, including Moroccan Pomegranate. At least I can still drink like I'm in Morocco haha :) I'm planning on making some mint tea in the near future as well!
I was especially excited to be reunited with Mr. Jack! He's fluffy as ever! :)
It's definitely nice to be home. I thought it would be hard to readjust, but so far, it hasn't been bad. It's been nice to see my family again and I look forward to catching up with my friends! I start work tomorrow, so I don't have much down time, but that's the way I like it. To everyone in Morocco, I love and miss you all! Stay in touch!
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