Everywhere we went this happened. This video does not even live up to how crazy it got sometimes.

Upon Desert Arrival

Brahim put in many cassettes on our drives, mostly Moroccan songs that he wildly sang along to. We learned some and became attached to them too. By the end of the trip, we were singing and dancing along to his Bereber music. But just this once, he put in a cassette that was vaguely familiar. It was not until Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies that I knew exactly what we were listening to, and realized how hilarious that moment was. Four American girls, all who had been brought to the Nutcracker by their parents dressed to the nines in furry hand muffs and white patent leather shoes, were barreling through the Sahara Desert in Africa in a 4x4 to the music from their wintery childhoods. Moments before this video was shot, a man in a turban on a moped was in front of us, and a white butterfly flew past our window. The four of us were dying of laughter, Brahim drove oblivious -- "yes, a christmas play, right??".

INSHALLAH

Some journeys can best be described through the images captured:

Sunrise in the Sahara Desert.

Our co-travelers from Aussie Land.

A merchant in Ouarzazate, he saw me take the photo and came up to the vehicle to "chat" (push me to come look at his things he had to sell).

From a studio that made fossilized goods.

Brahim causing a "speck-tackle", per usual.

The Bereber man finds home.

Daily life in Morocco looked mostly like this.

We found it after seeing its ads everywhere. The owner invited us to his garden to see how things are grown organically.

This boy was helping build a road in Marrakech. When we returned three days later, the road had been completely finished. I will never criticize old world methods again.

The colors, the sun, the old palaces.

View from the top of our Riad in Marrakech. Moroccans love TV too.

On the road, how we saw most of Morocco.

Moroccans work hard for their crafts.

The flag of Morocco: in high concentration when the king comes to town. His picture is also in every place of business.

He told us his name was Brian. He gave us a tour of a Kasbah from the 12th century with two women from Southern USA. He also mistakenly told us he had four wives and many children. Haha, he meant the king of the Kasbah did back when he reigned the region.

Such an amazing trip. I learned more than I ever thought I could throughout the entire semester in those two weeks. Shukran means 'thank you', Inshallah means 'if allah wills', muslims can be very liberal (Brahim was devoted to womens equality in Morocco), and Belguim women in their forties come to Morocco to hire teenage boys for the night (true story, Brahim lost his marbles in a giggle fit when we saw it happen). Everyone really does think America is the promise land, no matter how much animosity they pretend to have. A Bereber man can be much wiser even though he has never left the desert, Moroccans are feisty on ferries, four girls traveling in a pack somehow elicit the name "Spice Girls" througout the country, Spanish people are much like the Irish - very happy, always drunk. Shtool is german for stool.

Un Mese

So it has been a month since my last post, and while much has happened, all that is on my mind is that I will be leaving for two weeks in Morocco and Spain tomorrow morning!!  That is all I will want to share when I get back, so here is a little update on the past month:

Lizzie came and went.  I will be seeing her again in mid-may, when I will be taking off from Milano indefinitely and heading to Amsterdam (where she is studying) for a little while.  While she was here, we did a lot of city walking, had long chats in various historical places, and went on a dayhike to Lungano Switzerland. So pretty!  

The next week brought another exciting visit from Ben!  He stayed in Milan for eight days while on Spring Break.  Although it was mid-term week for me, we still managed to get out and walk around the city most days (and I still got some study time in).  We climbed to the top of the Duomo once we finally found it open (3 times the charm), went to a fair in Park Sempione where prizes in the ring toss included a carton of Marlboros and a bottle of gin, and wandered around the Navigli Canals doing what we do best - exploring alleys and window shopping.  It was so nice having him here to show off my newly acquired panini making skills.  Many days were also spent eating and sitting in the sun on the kitchen balcony.  He brought sunny weather with him!

Last weekend, a group of 84 students went to the smaller towns in Italy: Cemona, Parma, and Mantova for a Cuisine and Culture trip.  To prepare, I made a little dish of my own (see last photo).  I am getting so good--shocking I know!  

In Cremona, we went to a violin maker's shop where I literally sat with my mouth open in awe at how tediously handmade instruments are put together.  The craftsman demonstrated the sound quality of different woods and let us smell the various natural ingredients in his homemade varnish.  So fun.  

In Parma, the main event was dinner.  Five courses of delicious food and wine.  Highlight:  pumpkin ravioli and the best risotto I have ever tasted.  We stopped at a parmesan cheese factory on our way to Mantova.  despite the extreme stench, it was fascinating to see how cheese is made.  The amount of cheese in the little building was almost unbelievable!  

Mantova was a quaint small Italian town where I spent most of the day wandering away from the group to take photos.  So many little alleys.  The town overlooked a beautiful stretch of Italian countryside full of vineyards and farmlands.