Watkins is in Tangier, Meknes, and Fez

This weekend, I checked another continent off my list! I'm by no means done with Africa, but getting that stamp in my passport sure feels good! Now I just need to get to South America (shouldn't be too hard, especially with my Spanish) and Antarctica (basically impossible unless you're a scientist).

We left Sevilla during the peak of Halloween party hours- around 5 am. As Kayla and I walked to the bus stop we were able to enjoy some awesome people watching and mediocre club music. The drunks were weirdly fascinated by our backpacks. By 9 am we were crossing from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, Morocco on a ferry (ferry boat in Spain!!) and by noon I was riding a camel in Africa.

It's a completely different world over there. For more about my experience with this realization, go read "Watkins is in Moroco":
 http://whereintheworldiswatkins.blogspot.com.es/2013/11/watkins-is-in-morocco.html

Meknes: Day 1

Mosques are a shoe-free environment, so we
walked on little mats around the garden

We started the day with a tour of a beautiful little Mosque called "Bab el Mansur". We weren't allowed in, but we were able to look at their gardens and equivalent of a fellowship hall. The tiling was beautiful! I didn't take many pictures because it felt like an invasion of a sacred place, even though it wasn't during prayer hours.

Across the street from the Mosque was a market place with a street fair happening. Almost entirely men. Tried to see a snake charmer in action, but they brought that thing wayy too close to my face and I was like, NOPE.

That guy in black is holding the snake that made its way
around the circle

I still managed to take a picture of our shower
curtain for my mom. (MOM! I think they stole
your shower curtains!!)

Beautiful Cinderella Carriage selling rides at the fair

After a bit of very closely monitored exploring, we were back on the bus on our way to Fez. We were all so exhausted from all the travel that there was barely energy for dinner before lights out.



Day 2: I'm in Fez now. Fez is cool!

No estamos en Kansas nada mas, Toto! Friday was barely a taste of the culture shock that is Morocco. The first thing we did was wander (with a guide, mom!) through the Medina of Fez. (A Medina is their "old town"). It was so, so drastically different from anything I'd ever seen before, even the market in Jerusalem. There were eggs, produce,  fish and meats all laying out in the hot sun uncovered or refrigerated, but what really got me was the camel head hanging from a hook next to a butcher that was literally butchering a camel. Apparently that's pretty common practice in Morocco because the venders like to "prove" they're actually selling camel.

one of the open air squares

The market was a network of over 9,400 tiny streets, packed with over 83,000 shops and people bartering and trading at the tops of their lungs, yelling conversations from stall to stall. There were donkeys hauling things up and down the streets, and every time one got close there was a relay from person to person, like kids playing kickball in the streets. Then we pressed against the walls or jumped into doorways as they passed.

one of the larger outdoor aisles. That's my guide
for the weekend talking about the foot washing
station

indoor aisle

This is what a political advert in Morocco looks like; each
candidate gets their own square to graffiti with their symbol,
name or slogan. 

Donkey loaded down with cement

The 7 golden doors of Fez. Number 7 got cut off. Sorry bout it.

look at them being all studious!

 We also got to see their oldest university, supposedly the oldest university in the world. It dates back to the 800's (using the Christian calendar), and still functions as a monastery. We couldn't go in, but I creeped on them studying.

We were allowed to go into a little house that had been converted into a guest house however. They told us it was just a modest little place, but it was so cute!

The ceiling of the guest house- inside was like
a jungle! I didn't take pictures since people live
there. Front camera wins ;)

Wedding carriage things- like Cinderella!

Next, we toured various artisan shops. Totally a ploy to get us to buy things, and frankly it took away from my experience. It was like we were being paraded around to all his friends like money machines. But I guess it was a cool way to see how things in Morocco are made. We went to a jewelers, wedding dress makers, a textile shop where they turn cacti into incredibly soft pashminas (Yeah, I bought one. But I bartered my booty off- it was fun, and I got a great deal!)

Wedding dresses- the modest ones

Our guide being adorable

These belts and necklaces are Moroccan
engagement rings. The women use them as life
insurance; Your man left? You'll be okay,
you get to keep the bling.

We also toured a leather factory, which smelled like death. And I mean that literally; they gave us sprigs of mint to hold under our noses and cover up the permeating stench of rotting skin curing in the hot Moroccan sun. Then they tried to sell us leather goods. Not the best marketing strategy I've ever seen.

The curing tanks

I think this dude is mixing up the solution

The process did result in really pretty shoes though...

The spice shop

The last stop of the morning was my personal favorite- An apothecary shop! We were taught about the different uses of various herbs and spices, and how Moroccans use natural remedies.

Then it was time for lunch back at the hotel. What a packed morning! Go read part two of my weekend (The rest of Saturday in Fez, and Sunday) here:

Watkins is in Morocco

This weekend, I traveled in space and time. The second I stepped out of my vehicle I became an alien, thrown back decades, even hundreds of years in the past, surrounded by languages I don't recognize letters from. It was the most surreal experience! The only explanation is that I went by TARDIS. Or that Morocco is an hour behind Sevilla, I'm not accustomed to living in cities without modern conveniences, and I've never studied a language that doesn't use the latin alphabet. Choose your own adventure.

The crowd gathered round to watch a snake
charmer at the street fair

I've never felt more aware that I am a woman than I did in Morocco. On Saturday, we were riding back to the hotel at dusk in the bus, and I was looking for a place to eat. Almost immediately I  realized that all the cafes and restaurants still open were all filled with men. As in, not a single woman in sight. But it wasn't just men; the little kids playing on the street midday? All boys. Any women that I saw on the streets were tending children, doing shopping, or selling things. Which I found fascinating, because the tour guide was really proud of the fact that they had "a woman freed; they may have licenses to drive cars, taxis and buses, and can even go bathing!!" He was so thrilled. He also informed us that they have 60 women in their parliament, which absolutely shocked me. Apparently they reserve the seats for female representatives. Yet even with all this "liberated woman" talk, I still feel like a minority there. On Friday, we went to a street fair, and I saw maybe 3 women. Another thing he was very excited about was that there's a nationwide movement to have potable water in every household by 2015. They're also working on getting electricity to every home, but don't have a projected date.

Kids playing in the street

Experiences like these really make me appreciate how good I have it, especially in the states. I would love to get to truly experience what it's like to live here as a local someday. We get so used to our privilege, that the little things go unnoticed until they're gone. For example, being able to run the faucet on my toothbrush before brushing my teeth felt like a luxury when I got home. And I don't normally look twice at the tomato salad we have during dinner but knowing that it was safe to eat felt like a weight had been lifted. 

The point of this blog isn't to make you feel badly about having those things, or say that Morocco is in any way lacking or primitive, only different. I just wanted to highlight the differences, and encourage you to enjoy what you've got. Stopping to smell the roses and all that. :) Also, if you have the opportunity to go abroad and experience something like this, do. I was blessed to go to Tijuana, Mexico and serve with a wonderful group of people last year, and even though it hasn't even been a year, I still needed the refresher. How conveniently in time for Thanksgiving! :)

Much Love, Katie

(PS. If any of you TJ kids are reading this, I miss you and hope you're having a great quarter! See you soonish <3)

Watkins is in Sevilla: and She Studies!

I didn't just up and leave my people and places in the name of adventure! While that was certainly a big part of my decision, becoming (more?)fluent in Spanish was is main goal for studying abroad.

Here in Spain, I study at UPO (OOH-POH), or Universidad de Pablo Olavide. It's one of the few public universities in Spain with a real campus. Typically, Spanish universities are scattered buildings throughout the city. It's got 10,000 students, but because classes go all day and my building is so far from the main walkway, it seems much smaller.

Pre-orientation picture!

First day of school picture! Got to school 3 hours
early to take this baby and explore a bit.

This is Pablo!

A super easy to read quote from our orientation.
Possibly the longest I've ever sat in a lecture
hall.

They have sculptures here too!

Our library

Cute covered walkway by the parking lots

Our main campus map- my building is about
where the "A" in "Ilustracion" is

 It's really cute, and I'm really enjoying it (even if it is almost an hour to commute!). My classes are all super, super interesting too! I'm taking 3 in Spanish, and 1 in English. And they all work together so well! It's awesome seeing the connections in material and getting to go in-depth on things that we would normally only do the basics of in a regular Spanish class.

Mis Clases:
I have each class 2X a week (with the exception of Culture Up-Close), for an hour twenty each. Sitting through that is totally worth the 3 day weekends we have here! I'm going to be so spoiled when I come home haha. My classes have anywhere from 8-14 people, so the instruction is awesome and personal.

Español Avanzado 1: Basic grammar, vocabulary, and conversational skills.
Cultura y Civilización Española: An in-depth look at the unique and varied aspects of Spanish culture, geography, and history. A great place to get travel ideas! We also do a lot of discussion on current events, which is fascinating. Lately our topic of choice has been the American government shutdown vs the economic crisis here in Spain.
Conversación Avanzado: Great information about the little parts of conversation. We do a LOT of vocabulary in this class, much of it colloquial, which is awesome! We also talk about things happening around Sevilla that are free or cheap, so I always know something cool to do on the weekends.
Culture Up-Close: My one English class! This class is structured a bit differently than the others. So far, we have done a short overview of the customs, geography, politics, history, population, communication, government, educational system, and Spanish environmental issues. We cover a huge range of topics these first few weeks, because starting this Thursday, we only meet once a week. We only meet once a week because the rest of our class time is spent volunteering in the community! We can work with minority populations in an immigration office (which is what I chose to do!), teach English at their primary schools, volunteer at an environmental center, or work at a nursing home. I'm excited to get out there! I'll for sure post a blog more about this experience later. :)

Until next time, Love Katie

The Most Uncomfortable Vegetarian in the Room

I love putting on a pair of boots and heading down to the rodeo. Occasionally they're a bit hard for me to watch, but in general, they're all in good fun. But the bullfight I went to last night was not fun.

I've been vegetarian for 14 years. That's a LOT of time, more than half of my life, in fact. Part of the reason I chose to become vegetarian was because I felt such empathy for animals; I don't think it's right for us as humans to be killing off other animals for sport or food. We have so many other options in our lives that, in my eyes, there's really no reason to kill to survive.

The band (sorry bout the pillar)

Getting the bull to go in a full circle

My experience

I went to the bullfight knowing full well that they would kill the bulls, I just wasn't expecting it to be as intense as it was. At first, the atmosphere was electric. Everyone was excited, vendors were walking up and down the aisles, and the band was playing an upbeat tune. But then, a pair of men on horseback rode out and the entire ring went silent. In fact the entire event was silent, except for select moments when applause was expected (i.e. killing the bull, stabbing the bull, getting the bull to stab itself by getting it to trip, or switching to the red cape). Whenever tourists broke the spell, they were immediately shushed.

The first thing I noticed was that the bull seemed to be trained. It followed commands, and became more and more reluctant to charge. This made it harder and harder to watch because the bull seemed like a person. As the "fight" continued, it kept stopping to see if it had to go on. Even from the top row of the stadium I could see the confusion in its eyes.

Humiliating the bull by causing him to flip over

In the beginning, they were just taunting it, trying to get it to flip over by charging too close to the ground. They also tried to get it to run in 3 full circles around the matador, shouting "Ole!" every time it completed a circle.

Then came the lances, not even ten minutes into the corrida.

A horseman rode out, and speared the bull through the shoulders, leaving the spear in for quite some time. At this point, the bull was foaming at the mouth, peeing, and bleeding because it was so traumatized. It was really, really, hard to watch. Many people in our group were crying, especially 2 other vegetarians.

Notice the 4 sets of nunchucks in its
back, as well as 2 stab wounds.

But it got worse. The bull was then stabbed by each of the matadores in the shoulder blades using "banderillas" which look like barbed sticks. They left these hanging from the shoulders of the bull to weaken it and lower its head for the next stage of the corrida.

The next section, the one with the red cape (called a muleta in spanish), was worse. The matadores held swords, and when they got the chance, they would plunge them into the back of the bull and let them hang there. This is when I had to stop watching.

Classic matador pose when they brought out the red cape

But I was listening, and a friend of mine filled me in afterwards. The next step was killing the bull, which was done by stabbing it through the top of its spinal cord.The matadores circled around it, wiping off their blades as the audience gave a
standing ovation.

(But if I remember correctly from neuroscience, this would only paralyze it from the neck down unless they actually hit brain. I was going to google it, but then I thought "Eh, better not".)

Then, the worst thing I had ever seen; they lashed the body to four horses (while it was still foaming at the mouth and bleeding, mind you) and made them parade it around the ring while people applauded and whistled.

Bull standing, not wanting to fight, looking for its trainer

It wasn't over, but I was definitely not sticking around; there were still 5 bulls to go. This weekend alone they will kill 18 bulls.

So why do they do it?

Part of the opening processional. those two horses in front
would later carry lances and the four horses in the back
would drag out the body

In Spain, it's tradition. Instead of viewing it as a competition, they view it as an art form based in style, skill, and bravery. I spoke with my host mother afterwards, and apparently we witnessed a "bad fight". The bull should always be running and charging the largest moving object, be much angrier, and the kill should be done much like a pole vault, with the matador getting the beast right between the shoulder blades and vaulting over him.

It's viewed here much like a ballet, with specific  and graceful movements. The matadores start studying this balance between grace and danger starting at a very young age. The closer a matador can get to the bull without getting
hit, the better he is. In the words of my host mother, "It is a fight of controlling danger". The matador could easily die at the horns of the angry, 1,000 lb animal. (Luckily, there are always ambulances waiting outside the ring.)

My host mother says that occasionally there is an "indulto" or pardon. This is when the bull fights so valiantly, and behaves beautifully, that they send it to a farm to breed the next generation of bulls. She says these are her favorite fights.

I'm glad I got to experience this important part of Spanish history, but it's just not a dance I can get behind. But if I had to go back and make the choice to go, I think I still would. It was very eye opening, and I know a lot more about the history and tradition now.

Watkins is in Puerto de Santa Maria y Cádiz

Ello! My gosh look at me being productive and such. 4 in 4 days! Maybe one more about my touring in Sevilla, and then we'll be caught up.

This weekend, my program took a day trip to Puerta de Santa María y Cádiz!

Puerta de Santa María

Puerta de Santa María is a small town know for its wine making. They specialize in a specific kind of sherry, and use an absolutely fascinating technique to bring their wines to market ready. They only have 3 types of grapes, but based on how they're mixed, what temperature it is and what barrels they're kept in, they can make 15 varieties. 

At this vineyard,  the wines have no year assigned to them. In most places, when you buy a wine, it's labeled "2004 Cabernet" or something like that. They don't use a year because they mix all their wine up! They do this to help the bacteria flourish. Sounds gross, but makes delicious drinks.

They barrels are kept in 3 rows, and every year they move the top-third from each barrel to the next barrel down. Then the top-third of the last barrel is what gets bottled.This means at minimum any given bottle is at least 3 years old. 

See the rows of three and high ceilings?

So what about the bottom 2 thirds of the bottom barrel? When does that get taken out?

Wine-making is a family tradition here, and each family that owns a stake in the vineyard gets to claim one variety of wine. They can claim those bottom barrels whenever they want, but the longer they wait, the better it gets. The families with the lowest stakes get 15yr old barrels, and the vineyard owners get barrels over fifty years old. The oldest barrel in the vineyard hasn't been tapped since the Spanish civil war (1936-1939)!

Our guide showing us the anatomy of a wine barrel!

Nothing like a 10am wine tasting... :P

Another interesting fact: the barrels are not airtight. In fact, the corks on the barrels are for keeping out critters more than anything. The air is used to flavor the wine and help the bacteria grow. Like flowers, this bacteria grows differently in different environments, hence the different varieties! They call this process "Crianza biológica". Depending on the "bloom" of the year, a barrel can have anywhere from 15-28 grades de alcohol! They've created this cool microclimate inside their building! It's built like a cathedral, high windows, high ceilings, lots of room for air movement on one end and less on the other so they can move them with the seasonal climate changes.

My favorite bottle of the day: the driest dry
sherry. It's their "Fino" line.

After the tour was a tasting! This wine is what we consider "Sherry" in the states. We started with dry sherries for 1,2, and 3, and ended with sweet sherries for 4 and 5. I liked the first the best, as we progressed into the darker and sweeter ones I felt like I was drinking maple syrup. This was their "most popular wine" with American tour groups... bleh.

We tasted:

1. Fino

2. Amontillado

3. Oloroso

4. Cream

5. Colosia 

Cádiz

Cádiz is an adorable little town! They're very proud of the fact that they were the only town un-invaded by France back in the day; ask anyone in town and they'll tell you all about it! What helped them out was their geography- they're thisclose to being an island. 

See that yellow building tucked in the corner? The inside
looks like this --->

This used to be some guy's house. HOUSE. Can somebody build me something with architecture like this??

They're real proud of cannons here. That whole
"we didn't get invaded" thing again.

Pretty Tree

Dear Cádiz, I support that you support nature.

Panoramic of the only beach in the historic district! Me gusta.

AMAZING Ice cream from this tiny hole in the
wall type place

Off to Narnia to explore the lighthouse!

There was a man making the coolest sandcastle... the details were incredible!! Definitely earned that euro I threw in so I could take pictures. Also, prettier and less terrifying than people that dress up as things and scare you for money on the streets.

Snow white's cottage

Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip's castle

The boardwalk

All the wind in my hair. Yay buns!

historical district of Cádiz

Cathedral

And then back on the bus to go home! Day trips are nice cause it means more time in Sevilla, but it's still a bummer to not be able to spend more time there. Although I did walk the circumference of the town twice, and the diameter a few times as well. (I miss my mathy bff).

More later! 

XOXO, Katie