“I love your shoes! Where’d you get them?”…AFRICA!

I’ve once again neglected my little blog. Sorry, mom! I’m going to backtrack with my trips and update the blog while I can still remember all the details!

Here’s a recap of my trip to Morocco:

Morocco really isn’t that far from Spain. But, it really is a different world. I’ve never really been to a place quite like it.

We went to 3 places- Tetuan, Assilah and Chauen. The first day was overwhelming, kind of scary but totally eye-opening.

Tetuan was….

Animal skinning "factory".

Stray dog sleeping on animal skins.

These chicks were not for petting...

…..sad. It smelled horrible. Our (phenomenal) tour guide gave us mint leaves to sniff as we walked through the town. At the end of the day, I was emotionally exhausted but felt as though I had learned a lot about how third world countries operate on a day-to-day basis. The best part of the day was this though…

Jenna playing dress up in the middle of the Moroccan streets.

The second day, in Assilah, we got to go inside a cave, ride CAMELLOS and go to the beach!

to the cave!

Inside the cave, an opening to the water in the shape of Africa!

Me...chillin on a camel.

A lot of the trip was spent going to markets and bargaining with the vendors. We ended up getting some REALLY cool stuff: jewelry, paintings, shoes, bags etc. I payed no more then 9 euro for any item…score!

Chauen is a beautiful little city that looks like what I think Greece would look like. Mountainous, and all in blue! Literally. Every house has to be painted blue, which makes for a really quaint and cool little village. We toured the city, and then we were on our way back to Spain!

Chauen, in one of the blue doorways. Sara-sized!

Overall, the trip was a blast. Luckily we didn’t get sick, and we had an amazing tour guide who showed us all the ins and outs of every city. It was a whirlwind of a trip, and I’m so thankful that I got to go there and experience something totally different from the rest of the trips that I’ve been taking. This trip wasn’t about seeing any famous sites, museums or trying delicious food. It was about diving into a whole new culture, and seeing how people different from us live their daily lives.

Un abrazo,

Sara

That time I went to the Anne Frank House

Studying abroad has been a whirlwind of an experience. Between school, traveling, learning another language, living in another city and doing as much exploring as possible while still maintaining my sanity, it’s easy to be in rush mode 24/7. However, while in Amsterdam, for 2 hours my life completely stopped. There was nothing to think about except where I was in that moment.

The four of us (Jenna, Molly, Molly’s awesome friend Jordana and I) walked through the Anne Frank house in awe.

The story of Anne Frank is one that I have a very personal connection with. When I was a senior in high school, I did a production of the play at the Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, Delaware for 3 months. I was lucky enough to have an unbelievable director and cast. The whole experience was something I’ll truly never forget and still think about today.

After that production, I did a different production of The Diary of Anne Frank at The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. It was a radio version of the play, but still very well written. It was another way to tell Anne’s story.

When I decided to study abroad, a visit to Amsterdam was not optional for me. I was going to go, and I was going to see the Anne Frank house.

The annex (where 8 people lived in hiding from the Nazi’s), was very different than I expected. The way I pictured it, the bookcase hiding the annex had a set of stairs behind it that led up to it. This wasn’t the way it was. The annex was located just behind the bookcase. This was a real shock for me. I specifically remember one scene in the play where there is a rattling at the bookcase. I truly cannot imagine the sheer terror that must have flooded their bodies at this moment.

Walking through the annex and seeing everything that I needed to picture during my time portraying Anne was surreal. I walked through the annex in awe of every corner.

Pictures that Anne hung up of comics and movie stars.

W.C.

Living room

The museum was extremely well done. They had all the information of each person in the annex, what was going on in the world during that time, and a whole exhibit on Margot Frank (Anne’s sister). They had her 3 actual diaries in the museum as well.

At the end, instead of ending the museum on a solemn note, there was a whole human rights exhibit and these words from Otto Frank.

For a long time, it was a big joke that the only role that I’d play was Anne Frank. After this experience at the Anne Frank house, I can say that if it’s the only role I ever got to play, I’d be lucky. Anne’s story is something that everyone needs to know, and the fact that I got to relay her message to hundreds of people every day (except Monday’s) is a small way that I can contribute.

I’ll do another post on Amsterdam, since that’s a WHOLE other can of beans.

Also, I’m going to AFRICA on Friday. NBD.

xoxo

Sara

Full Speed Ahead!

Starting last weekend, my travels really start taking off! I am away from Seville every weekend until the end of my time in Europe. My program really pushes us to stay in Seville as much as possible, but it’s hard when I want to see all of Europe!

On the agenda:

Amsterdam

Morocco

Italy (Rome, Florence & Amalfi Coast!)

Lagos

Tenerife in the Canary Islands

I love all the traveling I’m doing, but it’s also nice to come back to (WARM!) Seville every week and get back to my daily life! Last week my friend Stephanie visited me from London, and she was obsessed.

big tree!

Also, in case you haven’t heard:

I AM AN AUNT!

WELCOME TESSA!

Obviously we celebrated Tessa’s arrival.

With champagne...duh I'm 21 now!

I’ve already vidchatted with my niecy a few times, but I cannot wait to give her kisses and cuddles when I get home! Congrats to Stacy and Brian for having such a sweet little girl!

Gotta get packing for Amsterdam. I’m so excited-I can’t believe, after such unbelievable experiences with the story, I am going to step inside the Anne Frank annex. Expect a post very soon!

Love,

Sara