January 17, 2011 and Morocco.

Well, today marks exactly a week until my arrival home, but I am not done traveling yet...

On Monday morning I will be hopping on a ferry here in Algeciras and be heading to Morocco for 3 days and two nights. I will be heading across the Straight of Gibraltar to Ceuta (the Spanish colony in Africa) where I will make my way across the border into Morocco and catch a taxi to the nearest Moroccan bus station. From there, I will hop on a bus to Chefchaouen, a town famous for its blue buildings.


I will spend a night there (Monday night) and then Tuesday morning head to Fez, where I will spend all day Tuesday and Tuesday night.


Wednesday I will head up to Tangers, where I will spend the afternoon and catch one of the later ferries back to Tarifa where my uncle will be picking me up.

Wednesday night will be my last night in Spain, because Thursday afternoon I fly to Dublin, and then Friday morning back to Chicago! I am not sure if I will get a chance to post another entry before I arrive back into the States, so this may be my last ever post from Spain. Crazy.

I will be honest, I am a little nervous about traveling through Morocco. I will be alone, but I was also alone in London. The biggest thing will be the language. But I really don't intend on interacting that much, and have installed a small French-English translator on my iTouch. That will hopefully be enough for me to do the basics. I am basically just going to experience the culture, and see why so many people I have talked to have told me Morocco is a must if you have the opportunity. I will be sure to include an entry and pictures of my trip once I get home.

Anyway, for all of you who have read my blog the last 10 months, thank you. I know there were times where I strayed away from routine posts, but overall I have enjoyed keeping it and giving all of you the opportunity to read what I have been up to here in Spain.


Thanks and I will hopefully see most of you upon my arrival home!

Quarter of a Century. Yikes.

Monday was my 25th birthday, and it was also the second year in a row that I have celebrated my birthday outside of the United States. Last year:


This year:


That is me sitting on the beach in Bolonia, Spain. It has become a frequently visited place for me while here in Spain, with Monday marking my fourth time there (once with my uncle, aunt and cousin back in August, once with them and Jay back in January, once with them and my parents in March, and again Monday). Emily accompanied me this time around; she came to Algeciras with me to celebrate my birthday with me and my family. It was an extremely relaxing day with the afternoon spent at the beach and an easy going night at my aunt and uncles home. Emily even made me a apple pie! A great birthday here in Spain and another one that I'll never forget.

Peace. Out.

This is officially the last blog post I'll write from my "piso" in Motril. It has been a great year in this awesome apartment, and I am going to miss opening up my blinds every morning to the Mediterranean Sea. But, it is time to go.

Emily and I are heading to Algeciras, where Emily will be celebrating my birthday (Monday) with me and my family before coming back to Motril.

I will be staying with my family there until I leave Spain. So, more to come, but from Algeciras.

Peace.

Last Day of School.

First, video:

Second, pictures of gifts:

One Motril Football (soccer) Club jersey, one photo printed t-shirt of Rachel and I dressed in flamenco apparel, a ruler with a personal message written from a student, a mug with a picture of Rachel and I with students from my first eso course (7th grade), a card signed by all of my students from first eso, a map of Spain where each province is a student's name in my second eso course (8th grade), a notebook with written messages from each of the students in my second eso class, a card made by a student and a container full of "dreams."

I was totally surprised and had a lot of fun. What a great year with these kids and I am going to miss them all!