Ajiad Casablanca

... too long there, and Tommy and I actually got to talking to a Moroccan guy while we were waiting outside for our group to re-meet. He asked if we were Americans and then told us how he was from Casablanca and had done things with Semester at Sea groups before. So that was pretty cool. Our next stop was at the souks, which are the little stores that you guys are probably picturing that countries like that are famous for. First we went as a group to a ...

... to have our last dinner in Morocco and the great things happened here, there is a cultural performence performed by all the etchnics in Morroco.. really impressing me..Besides to see the culture and the lifestyle, about shopping..ermm...to me,it is excellent, people can bargain to get the good price in bazaar...;) it's fun....

... i mean "foreign to me; and therefore i fear it"). a heads-up to those letters that slip through -- Q sometimes mean A, ? sometimes mean M, and : often means . . Those of you that frequent the Cryptoquip section of the newspaper should have a leg up. if you've read and signed off on all of the above, prepare to be blogged!!! p.s. those of you that may have received this email twice or even 3 times, credit it to me liking you more than the others.

... saw the ship, it was the most beautiful site I have seen :) Our last day in Morocco was really fun because I was with my roommate, Megan. We got a pretty early start and headed to the Hassan II Mosque since it is one of two mosques open to non-Muslims in Morocco. It was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful. Obviously, I have never been inside a mosque before and I was just blown away. Seeing it and hearing our guide tell us about it was just mind blowing. I wish I could ...

... NPP coming out in front). During the first round of elections my boyfriend Alex took me to a beautiful resort at a beach called Busua, about four hours drive West of Accra (on the way to Ivory Coast). We spent 3 days eating wonderful food, playing board and card games (we played the card games when I was sick of losing the board games) and body surfed on the waves which reached upwards to 10 feet. We headed back to Accra when the long weekend and elections were over, and I ...

... s what I had. It is simply mint leaves in a silver teapot (very hot!), with lots of sugar. They drink it about 5 times a day, and it is also an Important part of retail activity. It was good. Sometimes they add other flavors in there too-clove, salvia (sage), coriander. There are orange trees everywhere, though many are bitter orange and therefore not edible. I saw some agave, which the Mexicans use to make tequila. No tequila here, though. I was prepared for a ...

... God's throne is on the water) and a giant sliding roof, because on those sunny days you sure do wanna put the top down and feel the breeze in your hair.  The sliding roof is also handy for those major ceremonies where the mosque can fill up with 25,000 people, especially since someone forgot the air conditioning in the construction plans.  The mosque's minaret (tower) also has a laser that points to Mecca! The Hassan II mosque is one of the few mosques ...

... the last overnight sail up into the Straights of Gibraltar. Day 2 of the sail and the weather takes a turn again. Nothing as bad as before but not as pleasant as the first day out. It's Tom sweet 16th birthday and we celebrate in typical daggy Crossley tradition with balloons, party favours, a nice meal, cake and presents. We tried to tell Tom that this was the rockingest birthday ever. I don't think he appreciates our humour. Day 3 seems to be the most frustrating ...

... a blend of French Colonial design and traditional Moroccan style known as Mauresque architecture. Hassan II Mosque, one of the very few mosques in ...

... is seen to be stepping into the future, rather than living in the past), central markets for some more brekky goods and a walking tour from our guide book, which pointed out some of the other architectural feats of the city. All in all, weŽre glad we took this little side venture otherwise left off our itinerary. It certainly gave us a contrasting view of Morroco to the villages weŽd stayed in not two weeks prior ...