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By: Emily W and Hannah P
We found ourselves ready to hit the road early this morning. With Rabat overcast and raining, our customary room checks revealed several culprits guilty of slovenliness. Alexis devised the perfect punishment - they were forced to amuse the rest of us by doing jumping jacks in the rain before being allowed on the bus. After a singing circle featuring "That's Just the Way we Roll" by the Jonas Brothers, we returned to the Circus School to bid farewell. This proved to be a tear-filled goodbye. With the school's faculty translating, we had a trilingual session of thank yous and goodbyes. We gave them clothes, toys and some cameras. There were very few dry eyes in the house by the end.
We left the school at about 10 and drove for 3 hours towards the Ruins of Volubilus. We worked on finding better songs to sing for our other hosts. These included "Build me up Buttercup", "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves", and some spice girls (now prohibited). Were still working on it.
Volubilus, meaning "morning glory" was a fully guarded city with walls all around. It was the farthest city west of the Roman Empire stood in the foothills of the Middle Atlas Mountains. We were lucky to be allowed to walk around the ruins unlike anything we would be allowed in Rome. There were 15 fully restored mosaics in the ruins, so many because they were underground for many years after the earthquake that destroyed the city. Our favorite was one of an acrobat riding a horse backwards (in keeping with our circus theme).
We proceeded to a restaurant that actually had ENGLISH on the menu! After our meal of soggy, overpriced spaghetti and some omelet, which they were convinced we were trying to rip them off for, we went to the city of Mekness. Our plan was to venture into the biggest granary in Morocco, but the roof was leaking due to the rain. On our way, we happened upon a Carnival. After much begging by both teachers and students, Ghali, our guide, agreed to let us look around if we stayed close to a teacher. In groups of five, we explored more authentic Moroccan culture - breaking away from the typical tourist sites. We got some awesome candid photos. We were sure to ask permission to take people's photos. Some politely denied, but many were happy to let us.
Our final Circus encounter of the night was when we saw a McDonald's (McArabia) in Fez on the way to our hotel, Hotel Batha. We were definitely spoiled by our previous hotel. While hotel Batha has a very traditional/authentic feel to it, the rooms aren't as spacious and... there's no internet access!!! Feels like the end of the world. We are currently writing from an internet cafe down the road from Hotel Batha.
Here are a few more vocabulary words from our trip:
n. Happy Snappy - a picture that shows what our group was doing, but is not particularly artsy. Fitting for process book and sometimes blog. NOT fitting for Livebooks. EVER.
"I am taking all happy snappys today... there's nothing worthwhile"
n. Bloggy Smoggy - like "Happy Snappy" but specifically for blog.
"Hold still, I'm on blog duty, I need a Bloggy Smoggy."
We left the school at about 10 and drove for 3 hours towards the Ruins of Volubilus. We worked on finding better songs to sing for our other hosts. These included "Build me up Buttercup", "I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves", and some spice girls (now prohibited). Were still working on it.
Volubilus, meaning "morning glory" was a fully guarded city with walls all around. It was the farthest city west of the Roman Empire stood in the foothills of the Middle Atlas Mountains. We were lucky to be allowed to walk around the ruins unlike anything we would be allowed in Rome. There were 15 fully restored mosaics in the ruins, so many because they were underground for many years after the earthquake that destroyed the city. Our favorite was one of an acrobat riding a horse backwards (in keeping with our circus theme).
We proceeded to a restaurant that actually had ENGLISH on the menu! After our meal of soggy, overpriced spaghetti and some omelet, which they were convinced we were trying to rip them off for, we went to the city of Mekness. Our plan was to venture into the biggest granary in Morocco, but the roof was leaking due to the rain. On our way, we happened upon a Carnival. After much begging by both teachers and students, Ghali, our guide, agreed to let us look around if we stayed close to a teacher. In groups of five, we explored more authentic Moroccan culture - breaking away from the typical tourist sites. We got some awesome candid photos. We were sure to ask permission to take people's photos. Some politely denied, but many were happy to let us.
Our final Circus encounter of the night was when we saw a McDonald's (McArabia) in Fez on the way to our hotel, Hotel Batha. We were definitely spoiled by our previous hotel. While hotel Batha has a very traditional/authentic feel to it, the rooms aren't as spacious and... there's no internet access!!! Feels like the end of the world. We are currently writing from an internet cafe down the road from Hotel Batha.
Here are a few more vocabulary words from our trip:
n. Happy Snappy - a picture that shows what our group was doing, but is not particularly artsy. Fitting for process book and sometimes blog. NOT fitting for Livebooks. EVER.
"I am taking all happy snappys today... there's nothing worthwhile"
n. Bloggy Smoggy - like "Happy Snappy" but specifically for blog.
"Hold still, I'm on blog duty, I need a Bloggy Smoggy."
Thanks Emily and Hannah for sharing your exciting day! It's great fun ending the day here with updates of your adventures! How perfect that you came upon the circus. Enjoy each day...the best is yet to come!
ReplyDeleteAnita and Ken Grille