After 1 day of recovery, Ilanit and I jumped in the car with Rober, Patry, and Sandro, my friends from Madrid. We drove out to Burgos, which is 200km north of Madrid to check out the salsa congress there. We had rented an apartment which had 8 beds. Marcos and Silvi were meeting us later that day.
We got unpacked, and then went to the market to buy food and drink necessary for the weekend, ate lunch/dinner, and then went out to the congress.
The location could be compared to a circus tent, with a mud all the way to the entrance, and gooey chunky stuff all over the dance floor. Let me tell you, it did wonders for my new (and last) pair of dance shoes.
We watched the shows, and then danced the night away. Around 5am or maybe even a little later, we headed back home. The only thing that was clear at that point was that the first person to fall asleep was in trouble. Poor Ilanit, she lost the battle. She passed out and sure enough, her face got painted and she was covered in a roll of toilet paper, shoes put in her bed, and all sorts of other pranks. Then came Silvi and Marcos, who had managed to lock the door to their room. But that didn't stop us! We called and called their cell phones until they couldn't sleep anymore.
Needless to say, we were all exhausted the next day! We went into the old part of Burgos, took pictures of the square, the cathedral, the river, and then ate a one of the restaurants that came recommended to us. I took a stab at eating the morcilla, but never really swallowed a piece. Morcilla is dried up ox blood, evidently a delicacy in Spain, and especially in Burgos. I had ordered the sopa castellana, which has pieces of morcilla in it, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat a piece.
After our afternoon of sightseeing, we went home and had a battle with ice cubes and the hail that had fallen on the window sills. Then we got ready for the second night of the congress, ate a little dinner, and then went out to the shows. Ilanit and I got a 2-for-1 price (hehehehehe), and we danced with some great dancers from Latin Black, el Rumberito, and many others.
At about 530am we went home, and since everyone was so exhausted, there were no pranks this night. We all just fell asleep.
We got back to Madrid on Sunday afternoon, and I just crashed in my bed. I woke up the next morning early because Cesar was coming!!!!
Check out my pics from the Burgos Salsa Congress
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Marrakech, Morocco, April 13-16
Wow!
What a culture shock!
I arrived in Marrakech in late Sunday afternoon, and was automatically faced with the opportunity to practice my Arabic. After dusting off some cobwebs, I passed through the arduous security line and met up with Ilanit and her friend Pat from USC.
We bargained with the cab driver for a cheaper price to take us to our Riad. After walking through a maze of dark alleyways, almost hitting our heads on the low overpasses, we got to a dead end and they rang the doorbell to our hostal. From the outside, all you see is an iron door. Inside, the beauty of the hostal, and the warmth of the people is incredible. We were greeted by Kamaal, one of the workers that spoke Spanish pretty well. We put my bags in the room and then gathered up the rest of Ilanit's friends (Matt, Ryan, and Olen) and headed to the Jemaa El Fnaa (the open-air market in the middle of the medina) for dinner. Evidently the boys were having a craving for sheep head....naturally!
Walking into the market was incredible. The smell of food, the smoke, the shouts of the vendors, the snake charmers, the belly dancers (yeah so what if the belly dancers are males, right?), the mint tea, the couscous, the skewers of meat, it was all so overwhelming. I was hearing Moroccan Arabic, French, Spanish, and English all at once. Even the little kids trying to sell u kleenex could speak all four! So we walked around and the boys picked the spot where they had seen the sheep head the night before. We sat down at the table, and they waiter asked if they wanted a whole head or just half. Heck, why not eat the whole head!!!!
So he proceeded to chop up the head into various little bowls, teeth, tongue, cheek included! The only thing they remove is the brain. Evidently that is a delicacy, which I was not even close to trying. But I was so hungry, and the smell of the food was killing me. They boys dug in, ooooing and aaaaahhhing about how delicious it was. All I could see were things jiggling in the bowl, not looking very appetizing. But the hunger took over. I asked the boys to find me a piece that looked more like meat, preferably a facial muscle, cheek, etc, and i grabbed a huge piece of bread to distract myself from what I was about to do, and then I took a bite! Honestly, it tasted like any other kind of meat you would eat. That bite was plenty for me. After we saw the teeth and tongue in the bowl, everyone lost their appetite!
After that adventure we headed to a different stall so Ilanit and I could eat couscous and vegetables. Delicious food! We ended with some mint tea and a stroll through the market, avoiding all eye contact with the snake charmers and belly dancers for fear that they would make us pay for just looking at them.
That night we took the rum that I bought in Spain and "smuggled" into the medina and some cokes upstairs to the terrace to sit under the stars. We asked Kamaal if he could prepare us a hookah. He brought us apple flavor and we passed the hookah around, told funny stories, and then fell asleep on the terrace looking up at the stars......until......."ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAKKKKKKBBBBAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" Oh my goodness it's 3am! What on earth are they doing praying this early? It was so loud it sounded like a megaphone was blasting in our ears! This went on for about 5 minutes straight, to the point that we all woke up. Ilanit had the great idea of buying a megaphone the next day, and shouting back, "GO TO SLEEEEEPPPPPPP!!!!!"
After it ended, we were able to fall back alseep, but not for long because around sunrise it happened again. "ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAAKKKKKBBBBBBAAAARRRRRRR!" oh well, we might as well just wake up now. It's pointless trying to sleep at this point.
We awoke and headed to meet our tour guide at 730am for our 4x4 tour of the Atlas Mountains. A 5-hour drive into the heart of the mountains was absolutely breathtaking, meaning both beautiful, and so scary that you couldn't breath because you were anticipating falling down the cliff because the rocky road was barely big enough to fit the car, and of course, there was no guard rail. During the 5-hour trip, we saw the most beautiful scenery....brown mountains, with bright green valleys, little villages where the kids ran out to greet us (to our surprise, if u try to take a picture of these cute kids, they start screaming "NONONONONONONONOOOOOOO!" because evidently taking their picture is like taking their soul), sheep, donkeys, gorgeous lookout points, and points where I was sure we were going to die. How could a car our size fit on these little roads? One miscalculation and were would tumble to our deaths. But our driver Yousef was a natural. He took the curves like we were on paved roads. After arriving to our lunch destination, we were all relieved and starving. A meal of kafta and eggs hit the spot!
And what better to help digest your food than a camel ride?! What a treat!
We got back into the car and headed to the spot where the movies "Gladiator" and "Passion of the Christ" were filmed. Beautiful city!
After a 4-hour ride back home, we had a good dinner and then went to sleep.
The next day we slept in a little bit, enjoyed the complementary breakfast in the Riad, and then headed out to do some sight-seeing. We went to the museum, an old dormitory/school, an old mosque, and then some colorful gardens. Tons of beautiful things to see!
Later we headed out to the souks to do a little bit of shopping and bartering. Talk about overwhelming! But honestly, if you stick to your price and as long as it's not completely unreasonable, you can get what you want.
We arrived back to the Riad for our henna tattoo appointment that we had made. One of the girls that worked at the Riad did them for free, and we just gave her a tip.
That night we had some wine and beer celebrating one of the girl's birthdays that was staying in the Riad, and then the belly dancing and salsa lessons began! We got everyone up to dance and it was like one huge happy family. The owner of the Riad (Hassan) was passing around the hookah and kept the wine and beer flowing. There were so many travellers there, all from different countries and backgrounds, all enjoying a fun evening together family-style in the Riad.
The 6 of us headed out to the market again for dinner and had the best night ever! We made friends with the waiters, sang with them, took pictures together, and laughed so hard! The pictures don't even do this night justice.
After dinner, we slept up on the terrace again, only to be awoken by the chanting once more. This time we were more used to it, but it still made us laugh.
On Wednesday it was time to pack up, do some last minute shopping, catch some sun on the terrace, and then head to the airport back to Madrid. Ilanit and I arrived home in Madrid at about 1:30am, exhausted, but satisfied.
Check out my pics!
What a culture shock!
I arrived in Marrakech in late Sunday afternoon, and was automatically faced with the opportunity to practice my Arabic. After dusting off some cobwebs, I passed through the arduous security line and met up with Ilanit and her friend Pat from USC.
We bargained with the cab driver for a cheaper price to take us to our Riad. After walking through a maze of dark alleyways, almost hitting our heads on the low overpasses, we got to a dead end and they rang the doorbell to our hostal. From the outside, all you see is an iron door. Inside, the beauty of the hostal, and the warmth of the people is incredible. We were greeted by Kamaal, one of the workers that spoke Spanish pretty well. We put my bags in the room and then gathered up the rest of Ilanit's friends (Matt, Ryan, and Olen) and headed to the Jemaa El Fnaa (the open-air market in the middle of the medina) for dinner. Evidently the boys were having a craving for sheep head....naturally!
Walking into the market was incredible. The smell of food, the smoke, the shouts of the vendors, the snake charmers, the belly dancers (yeah so what if the belly dancers are males, right?), the mint tea, the couscous, the skewers of meat, it was all so overwhelming. I was hearing Moroccan Arabic, French, Spanish, and English all at once. Even the little kids trying to sell u kleenex could speak all four! So we walked around and the boys picked the spot where they had seen the sheep head the night before. We sat down at the table, and they waiter asked if they wanted a whole head or just half. Heck, why not eat the whole head!!!!
So he proceeded to chop up the head into various little bowls, teeth, tongue, cheek included! The only thing they remove is the brain. Evidently that is a delicacy, which I was not even close to trying. But I was so hungry, and the smell of the food was killing me. They boys dug in, ooooing and aaaaahhhing about how delicious it was. All I could see were things jiggling in the bowl, not looking very appetizing. But the hunger took over. I asked the boys to find me a piece that looked more like meat, preferably a facial muscle, cheek, etc, and i grabbed a huge piece of bread to distract myself from what I was about to do, and then I took a bite! Honestly, it tasted like any other kind of meat you would eat. That bite was plenty for me. After we saw the teeth and tongue in the bowl, everyone lost their appetite!
After that adventure we headed to a different stall so Ilanit and I could eat couscous and vegetables. Delicious food! We ended with some mint tea and a stroll through the market, avoiding all eye contact with the snake charmers and belly dancers for fear that they would make us pay for just looking at them.
That night we took the rum that I bought in Spain and "smuggled" into the medina and some cokes upstairs to the terrace to sit under the stars. We asked Kamaal if he could prepare us a hookah. He brought us apple flavor and we passed the hookah around, told funny stories, and then fell asleep on the terrace looking up at the stars......until......."ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAKKKKKKBBBBAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" Oh my goodness it's 3am! What on earth are they doing praying this early? It was so loud it sounded like a megaphone was blasting in our ears! This went on for about 5 minutes straight, to the point that we all woke up. Ilanit had the great idea of buying a megaphone the next day, and shouting back, "GO TO SLEEEEEPPPPPPP!!!!!"
After it ended, we were able to fall back alseep, but not for long because around sunrise it happened again. "ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAAKKKKKBBBBBBAAAARRRRRRR!" oh well, we might as well just wake up now. It's pointless trying to sleep at this point.
We awoke and headed to meet our tour guide at 730am for our 4x4 tour of the Atlas Mountains. A 5-hour drive into the heart of the mountains was absolutely breathtaking, meaning both beautiful, and so scary that you couldn't breath because you were anticipating falling down the cliff because the rocky road was barely big enough to fit the car, and of course, there was no guard rail. During the 5-hour trip, we saw the most beautiful scenery....brown mountains, with bright green valleys, little villages where the kids ran out to greet us (to our surprise, if u try to take a picture of these cute kids, they start screaming "NONONONONONONONOOOOOOO!" because evidently taking their picture is like taking their soul), sheep, donkeys, gorgeous lookout points, and points where I was sure we were going to die. How could a car our size fit on these little roads? One miscalculation and were would tumble to our deaths. But our driver Yousef was a natural. He took the curves like we were on paved roads. After arriving to our lunch destination, we were all relieved and starving. A meal of kafta and eggs hit the spot!
And what better to help digest your food than a camel ride?! What a treat!
We got back into the car and headed to the spot where the movies "Gladiator" and "Passion of the Christ" were filmed. Beautiful city!
After a 4-hour ride back home, we had a good dinner and then went to sleep.
The next day we slept in a little bit, enjoyed the complementary breakfast in the Riad, and then headed out to do some sight-seeing. We went to the museum, an old dormitory/school, an old mosque, and then some colorful gardens. Tons of beautiful things to see!
Later we headed out to the souks to do a little bit of shopping and bartering. Talk about overwhelming! But honestly, if you stick to your price and as long as it's not completely unreasonable, you can get what you want.
We arrived back to the Riad for our henna tattoo appointment that we had made. One of the girls that worked at the Riad did them for free, and we just gave her a tip.
That night we had some wine and beer celebrating one of the girl's birthdays that was staying in the Riad, and then the belly dancing and salsa lessons began! We got everyone up to dance and it was like one huge happy family. The owner of the Riad (Hassan) was passing around the hookah and kept the wine and beer flowing. There were so many travellers there, all from different countries and backgrounds, all enjoying a fun evening together family-style in the Riad.
The 6 of us headed out to the market again for dinner and had the best night ever! We made friends with the waiters, sang with them, took pictures together, and laughed so hard! The pictures don't even do this night justice.
After dinner, we slept up on the terrace again, only to be awoken by the chanting once more. This time we were more used to it, but it still made us laugh.
On Wednesday it was time to pack up, do some last minute shopping, catch some sun on the terrace, and then head to the airport back to Madrid. Ilanit and I arrived home in Madrid at about 1:30am, exhausted, but satisfied.
Check out my pics!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Göteborg, Sweden, March 28-31
Sweden (Sverige) is Scandinavia's largest country, and home to many large companies likeH&M (Hennes & Mauritz), Ikea, Volvo, Saab, and many others. Gothenburg (Göteborg, pronounced YO-teh-bor-ee) is Sweden's second largest city, with a population of 600,000.
Central Göteborg is located in the southern bank of the Göta River, and the city is intersected by the Kungsportsavenyn (aka Avenyn, which means "the avenue").
I embarked on my journey on Friday March 28, flying for the first time with Ryanair. Having had relatively pleasant experiences on Easyjet so far, I made the mistake to assume that Ryanair, a competitor of Easyjet, would be just as smooth. It started off well because I had checked in online, which gives you priority boarding status (who DOESN'T check in online anymore?). That was nice because I got to cut in front of a lot of people. I did not bother to check in my backpack, because I have never had to and it fits in every overhead compartment that I have taken it on. That's where the headache started. They pulled out the tall metal hand-baggage official measurement device, and it didn't fit. So the lady told me I would have to go back out through security, go to the counter, pay a fee, check in my bags, and then come back. No way! I would never make the flight if I did that. So I put my bag on the floor and laid out my coat, and began stuffing clothes into my coat, made a knapsack, and then closed up my bag and made sure it fit into the baggage rack. The lady gave me an ugly look, and I just walked onto the plane.
On the plane I re-organized my clothes into my backpack, which fit just fine into the overhead compartment! I began talking to a Swedish girl (whose name I never got by the way) on the plane that ended up letting me follow her to the bus station, then took me to the tram, which led me, after a brief walk, to the hotel.
Frank had left me a key at the front desk. I was so excited when I ran into Jose in the lobby and looked upstairs and saw everyone milling arond getting ready for the first night of the Scandinavian Salsa Congress.
I went up to the room to change and saw that the room was evidently a single, but we managed with some extra blankets to make me a bed on the floor.
I hurried downstairs and watch the shows and find Frank at the DJ booth. I was lucky enough to have a great seat all 3 nights of the congress right at the DJ booth so I didn't have to stand up during the shows. After the shows were completed, the social dancing began. That's where things got interesting. One after another, sweaty old men approached me for dances. Why did I attract them I kept asking myself. So song after song, I got yanked around, sweated on, stepped on, got my hair caught in the button of my partner's sleeve, all the while trying to maintain my fake smile, which by the end of the night wasn't so great. I was actually glad the night was over! This is the first time I have ever experienced that feeling at a salsa congress. Every night after that was the same. My favorite part of the evening was when the dancing finished (I know, I can't believe I am even saying this!), and we all headed to Café Tintin, the 24-hour joint that had good breakfast food and hot chocolate.
The next day I woke up and went to explore the city, and since the guide books call it the second largest city in Sweden, it had to be promising. Wrong again! I walked down the "glitzy Avenyn" and found boring shop after shop after shop after shop with the worst fashion I have ever seen. I mean, you all know how much I love to shop, and let me tell you, I found NOTHING TO BUY!! Actually, maybe I should move to Sweden rather than join Shopaholics Anonymous!
Even the H&M had nothing but "frumpy" clothes. I was so disheartened. I hadn't planned on going all the way downtown to the Nordstan (the largest indoor shopping mall in Scandinavia) until Monday, but before I knew it, I found myself right smack in front of it. What the heck, I'll go in and see if I have more luck in the mall. Wrong again! Hahahahaha! I think the best image I can give you of Swedish fashion is this one...take a large brown potato sack, turn it upside down, cut out holes for your head and for your arms, and put it on. To dress it up, you can add a belt and some accessories, and flat shoes, because those are evidently sexy here. Hey what the heck, you could even buy one in every color!
Maybe Swedish food will be better than the fashion, but unfortunately I can't seem to find any! The local fare here is McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, 7-Eleven, and mom and pop restaurants that sell either kebabs, tacos, or pizza. There is no Swedish food in sight. I actually don't even know what Swedish food is exactly. The girl on the plane told me they eat a lot of fish (herring) and cheeses, but come to think of it maybe she meant the fish in the fish tacos or the Filet of Fish Sandwiches from McDonald's, and the mozzarella cheese on the pizzas!
I think after being in Spain and even the little time I spent in Italy has spoiled me and given me false expectations for Europe in general. I am very lucky to be living in Spain because it is so rich in culture and tradition. They have preserved everything and are very proud of it. They seem to be so proud of who they are. I am not saying Swedes aren't, but I don't even know what it means to be Swedish (aside from being born in the country where Ikea is from).
I can honestly say that I probably won't visit Sweden again, but am very grateful for having had the opportunity to experience it. If not, I may not have appreciated the country I am living in now and the countries I will be visiting in the future as much. I mean, my next stop is Marrakech, Morocco, where culture and tradition is oozing out of every crevice of the city! I am so excited for that trip.
Until then, enjoy the few pics I took of Göteborg, Sweden. Some funny ones too. Hey, we had to make the most of it! :)
Central Göteborg is located in the southern bank of the Göta River, and the city is intersected by the Kungsportsavenyn (aka Avenyn, which means "the avenue").
I embarked on my journey on Friday March 28, flying for the first time with Ryanair. Having had relatively pleasant experiences on Easyjet so far, I made the mistake to assume that Ryanair, a competitor of Easyjet, would be just as smooth. It started off well because I had checked in online, which gives you priority boarding status (who DOESN'T check in online anymore?). That was nice because I got to cut in front of a lot of people. I did not bother to check in my backpack, because I have never had to and it fits in every overhead compartment that I have taken it on. That's where the headache started. They pulled out the tall metal hand-baggage official measurement device, and it didn't fit. So the lady told me I would have to go back out through security, go to the counter, pay a fee, check in my bags, and then come back. No way! I would never make the flight if I did that. So I put my bag on the floor and laid out my coat, and began stuffing clothes into my coat, made a knapsack, and then closed up my bag and made sure it fit into the baggage rack. The lady gave me an ugly look, and I just walked onto the plane.
On the plane I re-organized my clothes into my backpack, which fit just fine into the overhead compartment! I began talking to a Swedish girl (whose name I never got by the way) on the plane that ended up letting me follow her to the bus station, then took me to the tram, which led me, after a brief walk, to the hotel.
Frank had left me a key at the front desk. I was so excited when I ran into Jose in the lobby and looked upstairs and saw everyone milling arond getting ready for the first night of the Scandinavian Salsa Congress.
I went up to the room to change and saw that the room was evidently a single, but we managed with some extra blankets to make me a bed on the floor.
I hurried downstairs and watch the shows and find Frank at the DJ booth. I was lucky enough to have a great seat all 3 nights of the congress right at the DJ booth so I didn't have to stand up during the shows. After the shows were completed, the social dancing began. That's where things got interesting. One after another, sweaty old men approached me for dances. Why did I attract them I kept asking myself. So song after song, I got yanked around, sweated on, stepped on, got my hair caught in the button of my partner's sleeve, all the while trying to maintain my fake smile, which by the end of the night wasn't so great. I was actually glad the night was over! This is the first time I have ever experienced that feeling at a salsa congress. Every night after that was the same. My favorite part of the evening was when the dancing finished (I know, I can't believe I am even saying this!), and we all headed to Café Tintin, the 24-hour joint that had good breakfast food and hot chocolate.
The next day I woke up and went to explore the city, and since the guide books call it the second largest city in Sweden, it had to be promising. Wrong again! I walked down the "glitzy Avenyn" and found boring shop after shop after shop after shop with the worst fashion I have ever seen. I mean, you all know how much I love to shop, and let me tell you, I found NOTHING TO BUY!! Actually, maybe I should move to Sweden rather than join Shopaholics Anonymous!
Even the H&M had nothing but "frumpy" clothes. I was so disheartened. I hadn't planned on going all the way downtown to the Nordstan (the largest indoor shopping mall in Scandinavia) until Monday, but before I knew it, I found myself right smack in front of it. What the heck, I'll go in and see if I have more luck in the mall. Wrong again! Hahahahaha! I think the best image I can give you of Swedish fashion is this one...take a large brown potato sack, turn it upside down, cut out holes for your head and for your arms, and put it on. To dress it up, you can add a belt and some accessories, and flat shoes, because those are evidently sexy here. Hey what the heck, you could even buy one in every color!
Maybe Swedish food will be better than the fashion, but unfortunately I can't seem to find any! The local fare here is McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, 7-Eleven, and mom and pop restaurants that sell either kebabs, tacos, or pizza. There is no Swedish food in sight. I actually don't even know what Swedish food is exactly. The girl on the plane told me they eat a lot of fish (herring) and cheeses, but come to think of it maybe she meant the fish in the fish tacos or the Filet of Fish Sandwiches from McDonald's, and the mozzarella cheese on the pizzas!
I think after being in Spain and even the little time I spent in Italy has spoiled me and given me false expectations for Europe in general. I am very lucky to be living in Spain because it is so rich in culture and tradition. They have preserved everything and are very proud of it. They seem to be so proud of who they are. I am not saying Swedes aren't, but I don't even know what it means to be Swedish (aside from being born in the country where Ikea is from).
I can honestly say that I probably won't visit Sweden again, but am very grateful for having had the opportunity to experience it. If not, I may not have appreciated the country I am living in now and the countries I will be visiting in the future as much. I mean, my next stop is Marrakech, Morocco, where culture and tradition is oozing out of every crevice of the city! I am so excited for that trip.
Until then, enjoy the few pics I took of Göteborg, Sweden. Some funny ones too. Hey, we had to make the most of it! :)
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