Bienvenido a Espana

I just have to say that Paris is one of the most amazing places in the world and I was able to go this past weekend! The city is truly beautiful and it had a lot of similarities to the U.S. Fall time in Paris seems more like home because of the way the highways are made and the orange color of the leaves on the trees. The weather was colder than Spain, around 55 degrees, and it rained all day Saturday but I still loved being there. It literally felt like I was in a dream because it was so surreal.

We were only there for about 3 days but I would have to say that we saw many of the famous monuments, churches, buildings, etc. in such a short amount of time. The Eiffel Tower is gorgeous. I did not know how I felt about it at first. It did not seem like what I had saw in pictures or movies in the beginning, but once I got to the main side it was wonderful. The tower was especially pretty at night because it lights up and sparkles. Among other things we experienced were the Seine River, Le Lourve, Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame.

The fashion is out of this world. It has all of the major designers of course, but the way the stores are displayed and the lay-out of the stores is a dream. Furthermore, THE FOOD=delicious. We ate a lot of pastries such as crepes, croissants, and tarts. I had pasta, duck, and Thai (i know random, but I had a taste for it). The Asian food to me is better in the U.S. Everywhere you look you see a cafe or a restaurant. Everything just made me feel happy and peaceful. Next time I want to go to Disneyland-Paris too. The people were nice, despite what they say, at least in our experience. Paris was the best trip here in Europe so far. I will definitely be back, probably right after I graduate.

the metro

our hotel

you can place your order here and get in the express line to pick it up

Eiffel Tower

Hello

Notre Dame

This past weekend we went to Morocco! We took a bus from Sevilla for almost three hours and then we had to take a ferry across the Mediterranean Sea for an hour to get to Morocco. We visited Tangier, Tetouan, and Chechuan. All the students in the program went for three days and it was amazing I must say. Talk about culture shock! The spanish culture is way more similar to american culture than Moroccan culture. It was my first time in Africa, but Morocco is not you're typical African country. When most people think of Africa they think of huts, tribal songs, and darker skinned people, which is narrow minded in itself. Morocco is a very beautiful country with a Muslim culture. The clothing is very different. The people wear more clothes than we do in the United States. Women tend to wear "hijab" that covers most of their face. Now a days clothing is a lot more modern, younger women do not have to wear a hijab and they wear jeans as well, but you still will not find women exposing a lot of their body at all.

The food in Morocco is amazing. It definitely has more flavor than the food in Spain, in my opinion. It is the type of food where you either love it or hate it. My favorite food is pastilla, which is a sweet pastry that is filled with seasoned chicken. Our guide in Morocco was very nice and quite funny. He knows for languages: English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. This is not uncommon for some people in Morocco, especially students my age. We visited a business school and it is required of them to know three out of the four languages. The students we spoke with were very nice to us and their English was just about perfect. They absolutely love American movies and television shows. A lot of movies have been filmed there which I never knew.

There are a lot of things you can buy in Morocco and they have some of the best quality of leather products. They are known for their tea with mint leaves which is very sweet but tasty.

I got to ride a camel! I was so excited, but it was kind of scary at first because of the way they get up from the ground. All in all Morocco has been the best place I have gone in Europe so far. I couldn't live there or study there, but I will definitely be back!

P.S : Be sure to check out my photos on facebook too because there are so many I couldn't put them all in one blog post.