Submitted by Daniel Bailey on the 2019 fall semester study abroad program in Granada, Spain…
This past weekend, I went with a large group to Morocco. It was my first time in Africa and I did not know what to expect. The first day we were in Tetouan. It was a very large city, and a little bit more dirty and run-down than I was used to. I saw so many children, many of whom were very excited to see foreigners walking their streets. It was crazy for me to think about how different life is in a city like this, not only compared to my life in the United States, but also compared to my new life in Spain just a short ferry ride away.
On another note, Morocco was way more beautiful than I thought. I did not know much about Morocco before going, and expected to see a sparsely populated country with a lot of desert. In the north part of the country, this could not have been more wrong. The land was way greener than I thought, maybe even more so than Granada and southern Spain. There were incredible hills and mountains surrounding us at all times. My favorite place we went to was Chefchaouen, the blue city. I had seen pictures of this city online, but they do not do this place justice. Nearly every building in the city was painted blue, with the doors usually beautifully decorated, and seeing it in person was beyond belief.
I am happy that I was able to cross another continent off of my bucket list, but nothing beat the feeling of returning to my home in Granada at 1:30am, to my host mom still awake preparing me something to eat! I am grateful to be having such an amazing experience this semester, with my host mom, the amazing people in my program, and the always beautiful city of Granada.
