Camel Ride on the Beach!!!

I enjoyed my camel ride in the Sahara so much that I wanted to do it again...on the beach!

The Atlantic Ocean and the beaches of Essaouira were the perfect backdrop. (Shout out to Brahim for being the photographer!)

The guide even made the camel run for part of my trip. I'm sure we weren't going very fast, but I bounced up and down and shrieked quite a bit.

This is me giving my camel some love after the ride. The man who took my money said the camel's name was Cappuccino.

All of my attention wasn't enough to keep Cappuccino from yawning.

So, we had a contest to see who could open their mouth the widest. I'm not sure who won...

More camel love.

Camel close up.

Camel profile. (I hope this was his good side.)

Camel postcard shot.

Lazy camel. I'm glad this one wasn't mine...

The Fish Market

One of the best things about Essaouria is its proximity to the ocean. Close to the ocean = lots of FRESH fish.

We went to the fish market both days we were in Essaouria.

The fish goes directly from the ocean to the tables of the fish market.

And, it's all just laying out on the counters. (In case you're noticing a drastic difference in the lighting of the fishy pictures, one visit happened at night, and one visit happened during the day.)

These are kind of like eels. Ahmed and Brahim weren't sure of the English name. They might gross and slimy, but Khadija made a tajine from this kind of creature once, and it was really yummy!

More of the eel/snakes/slimy fish.

Shrimps!!!!

I had to take a picture of this fish. Look at his (?) mouth!!! Hahahahaha!

These fish are naked. Their scales have been removed. I tried some of these in Marrakesh once. They were breaded and deep-fried. They were also very yummy.

Essaouira is famous for sardines.

There were lots of them.

We also saw rays. I've never eaten rays, but they must be good to eat because they were selling them.

This is a crummy picture. It's the result of my phobia of annoying people with my camera. I was too embarrassed to do more than take one quick shot. In case you can't tell, it's sharks.

Here's the best part of the fish market. We bought those whitish fish near the edge of the table.

Then this nice gentleman cleaned them for us. (We tipped him.)

We took our cleaned fish to a place where they could be cooked. While we waited, we ate bread...

and Moroccan salad...

and olives.

But, the crowning point of the meal was definitely the fish.

Sprinkled with a little fresh lemon juice. Mmmmmmm. It was to die for.

Essaouira

Brahim, Ahmed, and I took advantage of a weekend to travel to Essaouira.

We arrived just as the sun was setting. This was the first time I've ever seen the sun set over the Atlantic. It was kind of weird.

This is what Essouira looks like while the sun sets. Not a great picture, but you get the idea.

Brahim and Ahmed were savvy enough to score us a very nice place to stay. We stopped outside the bus station, and Ahmed spoke to a woman sitting on the sidewalk. She led us to an apartment for rent.

The apartment had a large sitting room with couches and tiled walls...

A bedroom with a double bed.

another sitting room...

and a kitchen. Quite the deal for 150 dirham (about twenty bucks). Much nicer than $20 hotel rooms in the U.S. (Actually, I don't really know that for a fact. I've never been brave enough to stay anywhere that cheap.)

Essaouira is a beautiful coastal city.

The daylight provided for many beautiful views.

I loved it.

How to Be a Good Student in Morocco

Always bring a notebook to class. Your teacher will refer to this as your copy book. Your copy book can be of whatever design you want it to be. Bonus points if it has princesses on the cover.

Take copious notes in your copy book.

(These are some of the notes taken from my lesson on American Weddings.)

(I thought it was funny to notice what the students had written down.)

Use different colored pens.

Colorful pen are not girly in Morocco. Even the toughest young men have multi-colored writing utensils.

The atmosphere is far different from American teachers mandating that assignments be completed in blue and black ink.

In fact, teachers often encourage you to use different colored inks when writing in order to differentiate between parts of speech, definitions, etc.

Especially gifted students will master the art of holding two pens at a time, in order to better facilitate switching colors.

Additionally, students should write in their textbooks. It is especially advisable that students write the Arabic equivalents to English words.

Following these simple tips should ensure a successful experience in the Morocco Education System. Or, at least, at the Lycee in Tahnaoute.