Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Camping in the Sahara Desert









This is probably one of the coolest things I have ever done! While in Morocco my friend Krista and I went on a camel trek in the Sahara Desert and slept out in a Berber nomad camp. I would never have done this if it was just the two of us, but we met up with about 20 other people for the experience.

We drove to Efroud, took a jeep 1 1/2 hours into the desert to where the camel trek began, treked on the camel for about 1 1/2 hours and then ate dinner at our Berber camp. We slept in tents that were merely blankets on the sand for the floor and blankets thrown over wooden poles for the sides and roof. I slept like a baby, I can sleep almost anywhere very, very easily. We had heard it could get really cold, but it wasn't too bad with a few Berber blankets on.

For dinner we had traditional food, tagine, which is kind of like a crock pot dinner and then were entertained with music and dancing. After dinner the boys tried to teach us how to play the drums, and I was told I was really pretty bad! We stayed up and talked and told jokes and played games with the boys until pretty late and then went to bed. They spoke very broken English and some Spanish, so thank you high school spanish for being a common broken language between me and some cute boys! Haha. We got up early the next morning and watched the sunrise and climbed the dunes then treked back to where the jeep dropped us off.

The Sahara Desert is really beautiful and had the charming lonesomeness that deserts do. The sand was unbleivably orange and desert grass was a pretty pale sage green, the contrast was lovely.

I got to be the lead camel on the way in so it made me feel like I was in some movie, or the Bible or something: Rebekka (?) leaving on a camel to go and meet her future husband Issac across the desert!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Disease!


Getting henna done in Fes, Morocco.

My arm is the one with brown and green on it, so pretty!



I just have to say that I DID NOT bring home a weird skin disease from Morocco, although it looks like it! While I was on vacation I had henna done on my hands like the Muslim women do when they get married. It is really pretty when it is just done, but a few days later it fades funny colors and starts to look like skin disease! :D

I had to go back to work with a funny looking hand and had to just own it! I told my students, yes, I had henna done over spring break, yes it will fade in a week or so, no I don't have tattoos or a weird skin disease! Some kids thought I was the coolest teacher ever for getting henna done, but a few kids said "Your body is a temple Ms. E!" I replied that is washes off in a few days, but one student said back, "So, would you use washable chalk on the temple Ms. E, I think not!" Okay, I said, "You win!" Haha. The good thing is long sleeves cover most of it, and it will be gone in just a few more days....





Although I didn't contract a weird skin disease I did however get mild food-poisining, and I haven't eaten hardly anything in days, but that is another story for another day! Another day when I am not wanting to sleep all the time....I will have some cools stories and pics for you all to see!