Madalyn Mann

Today we made the move from Spain to Morocco. We left early this morning and we had to make the sad goodbye to our homestay families. Me and my roommates became very close with our families so we were all sad when we had to leave them, but we knew a lot of fun laid ahead of us in Morocco. We left and took the bus to Algeciras, where we got on a ferry, to head to Tangier. This was my first time on a ferry so this was a new experience for me. I enjoyed it a lot because a big group of us went up on the deck and were watching for dolphins and talking for most of the trip. Whenever you stood up on the deck you could look to your left and right and see the edge of Spain and Morocco which was a beautiful sight.

Once we arrived in Tangier, we met our new ISA contact, Moe. We have had great tour guides and ISA contacts which has made this trip even more phenomenal because you can tell they love their job and working with us so much. We met Moe then went to lunch, and this was a whole new experience because I had never experienced Moroccan food. Whenever we go out to eat the group of us all like to get different dishes then try everyone’s food so we can get a different taste for everything. Today my friend Daniel decided to try beef brains and a couple of us went out on a limb and tried it. It wasn’t my favorite thing, but I am glad I tried it because I think it is part of the experience and I like to try new things. After dinner, we met up with our tour guide and began to walk around the city. I wasn’t really sure what to expect here in Morocco, but I ended up loving every part of the city. Our tour guide took us to all of these amazing places in the city. Everything was so colorful and I enjoyed seeing all of the Moroccan people walking around because we got to see them in their natural place. Their culture is so much different than ours and I like to be able to experience it. I have never been out of the country before now and it has been one of the best experiences I have ever had. 

Dinner was as much of an experience as lunch. Once again, we all got different meals and shared so I was able to try many different dishes and I loved them all. Moroccan food has been very good and I can’t wait to try more the rest of our time here. We all get along so well and have so much fun together which makes this trip even more enjoyable. I am very excited for the rest of our trip!