Fez part 2

Fez, Morocco

Fez Pictures:
The tanneries where they cure and dye the leather. The medina and the many dried fruits piled high for sale. The doors to the place where the King resides when he is in town. He was actually in town when we were there.








Fez was our first real stop in Morocco. We traveled through Tangier but only to take the train. Fez has an amazing Medina. Its a walled in area that has shops, apartments and very old mosques and schools. Each city in Morocco has a Medina and the one in Fez is known for being the origin of most of the handicrafts. As we traveled through the Medina we saw where they made leather goods, metal works, silk from cactus plants, pharmacies where they had spices, oils and natural medicines, ceramics, rugs everything! It was sensory overload and all through windy tiny streets.
We had a tour guide which we met the day before when we were trapsing around the city looking for a hotel. He was very helpful and took us to many of the places where things were being made.
Fez also had a very modern part of the city where we were staying and resturants, stores and places where you could get fresh fruit and vegetable juices.
Because of the french colonial experience Morocoo also has lots of fresh breads everywhere. There were lots of patery shops along the streets and you could get a fresh crossaint just about anywhere!

more seville pics

Seville

I just returned from an amazing trip to Spain and Morocco. It was a whirlwind and I travelled by train, plane and boat.

My trip started in Madrid. From there I took a train to Seville and stayed the night and the next morning there. Seville is a wonderful city. It smells like Jasmine and oragnes. There are flowering trees everywhere and orange trees as well. When I arrived in the evening it took a little while to find a hostel. The one we wanted to stay in was full but people were very friendly and with my limited Spanish we made our way through the city.

We (myself and 3 other teachers from my school) spent the evening walking around town. It was a Friday night and it was lively. Kids were out with familes. Folks were eating late and kids were playing soccer in a town square area. There was cheap wine and tapas everywhere. It was 10pm at night and it felt like 6pm. We walked through an area that had shops and there were loads of flamanco dresses everywhere.

We went to see a free Flamanco performance at the end of the evening. It was a place filled with tourists and honestly the tourist were more of a sight than the flamanco dancer. But it was free and there was good Sangria so we didn't complain.

We got up the next morning and walked to a garden that wasn't far. It was so refreshing to be in a place with so much green and flowers and sweet smelling things. A big change from the sand and desert of Khartoum. We even saw some wild Parrots high in the trees.
We walked on and found a stand of rental bikes. The streets in Seville are tiny and windy and many people ride bikes or motorbikes.You can rent bikes at many locations around the city. We wanted to rent some but couldn't figure out how to do so and didn't have enough time.

Next we walked to a cafe that had opened to have some breakfast. Cafe con leche, bread and cheese. Then we walked by the huge cathedral in the city. It was amazingly intricate and a beautiful old building.

We had to leave Seville by 12 so we could get to the boarder of Spain and Morocco before nightfall. So after a little souviner shopping we headed back to the train station and embarked on the most amazing train ride through the south of Spain and the Andelucian Mountaions.

More dancing!

Southern Sudanese Dancing at Khartoum American School for Sudan Days

Sudan Days

Last week at school we Celebrated Sudan. We had activities during the week for the kids like Henna, a mini Souk (market), Traditonal Sudanese Food, tie dye making and donkey rides. At the end of the week we had a Sudanese Dance and Music group perform.

They were great! It was so refreshing to see dancing and hear live music! They performed dances from different parts of the country (South, East, North)

There was also a mini (faux) wedding that two first graders bravely particpated in. As you can see not all parties involved were excited about it!! The Traditional Sudanese Wedding is an important part of the culture so having a mock wedding was a way to celebrate Sudan.