From Russia, with Love

Санкт-Петербург

This year, I spent the first week of December in Saint Petersburg, Russia visiting one of the offshore teams I work with.  As a business trip, one week was simply too short to accomplish everything I'd hoped to accomplish.  Despite that, however, I got to poke about a bit in my off hours and I really found myself taken by the beauty of SPb.

My arrival provided a primer of Russian bureaucracy: my luggage got left behind somewhere in Germany and I had to fill out paperwork (by hand) in quadruplicate.  In the end, I got my ~1.5days later, so it wasn't terrible - just inconvenient.

I stayed in a lovely hotel in downtown SPb and  really went "off label" in terms of not eating as a vegetarian during my stay.  We went to an Uzbeki restaurant, where I ordered what amounted to a small chicken / whole cornish game hen; I had to pull it apart and eat it by hand, and was totally mortified, but I did it.  At a Ukranian restaurant, I discovered that I genuinely love borscht (particularly when paired with vodka shots).  Who knew?  At one of the Russian places we tried, I ordered a Georgian specialty which turned out to be "raw chicken, fried on the edges" and just couldn't bring myself to eat it.  At the office cafeteria, the offest thing I tried turned out to be something made of lard, bone marrow and mit bits.  Very "special" - wouldn't try it again.

In addition to vodkas and various beers, I also had some absinthe and discovered that they served it differently than I've ever seen/experienced...  Rather than having an absinthe spoon and sugar cube, they served it in a snifter glass lined with sugar on the inside of the glass; they then fired the snifter glass, poured it into a shot glass, and turned the snifter upside down on a paper "seal" with a straw to suck the rest out of.  Interesting and fun; I was definitely an instigator w/my coworkers!

Aside from brief general sightseeing on our first day there (Peter and Paul fortress where the Romanov's are buried, the Church on Spilled Blood, and St. Issac's Cathedral), I did some pre-trip research and found out that the famous Mariinsky Theater was having a ballet (Raymonda) one of the nights we were there; so, we all bought "prime" ballet tickets and had a seriously fantastic time -- gorgeous theater, great orchestra acoustics, phenomenal ballet.  (Um, hello, Russian ballet?  Yes, please!)  I kept remembering that theater as one of the venues Baryshnikov performed at, and it was sooo much fun (because I literally adored him as a little girl stuffed into ballet lessons...).

Other than that, the only thing I really got to do was ditch my coworkers on my last night and head off by myself to attend Friday night service at Kazan, before taking the subway back to the hotel.  Before attending that service, I'd never really understood Eastern Orthodox traditions, and I really think I walked away with a deeper, richer appreciation; it was lovely - but not easy on the feet!

In short, I recommend Russia if you have the opportunity.  SPb is a beautiful city.  I had no idea what to expect and, as a SoCal gal who hasn't seen snow in many years, I was nervous about going to Russia in December.  Was it cold, yes; was there snow, yes; were the rivers frozen, yes.  And, yet, I really believe that was the best way to really try to see Russia for the first time; it's cold and beautiful, and fires/heat rage indoors and you're never really cold for too long.  It all just "works" and that's intriguing and special.  I look forward to my next trip - whether for business or pleasure.

 

 

Christmas Day Roadtrip: Salvation Mountain!

I took a little roadtrip out to the desert for Christmas Day with a coworker. I drove and, man, I forgot how 8hrs+ behind the wheel can jack with my back. I'm totally knackered and sore!

His goal: Salton Sea - meh, not as cool as we'd hoped
My goal: Salvation Mountain - exceeded my expectations (he'd never heard of it)

I've traveled the world photographing religious sites, "lived religion" and "found altars"; this is seriously one of the coolest places I've been. You could truly "feel" the love Leonard, the creator of this site, had imbued in the structure and in the earth while creating it. Absolutely fantastic - and I'm not even Christian :) Unfortunately, Leonard was moved into a care facility in San Diego two weeks ago, so I did not get to meet him; he's 80yo, and was living in the desert with no running water, etc for years and years.



Full Photo Set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelfish/sets/72157628576816837/

Cappadocia is Calling

I'll write about my time in Istanbul later, but for now I'll just say that I adore Cappadocia. What was intended to be a 2nt stay has turned into 5nts - w/MUCH solo hiking through beautiful terrain using back country trails and, of course, visiting cave churches with old frescos. It's a really special place, here - and I can rather understand why the early Christians chose to make their cities and churches throughout the area.

At the moment it's peaceful, the weather is great (including some periodic electrical storms) and the people are friendly. After the barrage of people in Istanbul, it's a welcome respite - and a nice way to wrap up my holiday.

That said, I took one day tour yesterday...and reminded myself that I'm not a tour person AT ALL. ;)

Getting "back on the horse"...

After absolutely zero travel happening in 2010 (due to buying my first house and dealing with related expenses), I've finally got another trip planned. I'm heading to Turkey for two weeks next month - and I'm seriously excited.

The plan of the moment is to spend ~1wk in Istanbul, and also visit Cappadocia and somewhere on the Aegean/Med coast. We'll see what unfolds, though... All I really know is that I've got a bed booked in Istanbul for when I arrive... :)

Depart: April 23 (for Istanbul)
Return: May 8

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

It's been a year with no travel - and, frankly, I'm going a bit stir crazy. That said, it's also been a year full of change I never expected; my life is very different than it was just a year ago - and I'm phenomenally happier.

In late January, I changed jobs - turning down a management promotion at one of the most well-known companies in the world to follow my heart and return to a small medical device company that laid me off in 2008 when I came back from Morocco. (The layoff was due to the economic craziness of the era and ~25% of the company downsized at that time.) Then, in early February, I closed on my first house. While I certainly won't voluntarily enter escrow in the middle of changing jobs ever again (really - not recommended!), I've got to say that I adore my new home; it's more than I ever expected to be able to afford in a first house, and I'm extremely blessed. I hope to be here for a long time. To top it all off, I've now got ~5min commute to work - and, yes, I'm still in Southern California. It's ridiculously awesome!

Anyway, I'm brainstorming a 2wk trip for Feb 2011, but my ideas thus far haven't panned out. Who knows where the future will ultimately take me...

Belfast and N.I.

I slowly bussed my way from Galway to Belfast, by way of the Dublin airport. It was the cheapest and quickest route I could easily figure out. I honestly don't know what I expected to find in Belfast; what I found, though, was altogether different. The bus from the airport dropped me off in downtown Belfast and I had to walk a mile or two toward Queen's University and my hostel. Other than the fact of being conveniently located, having a decent attached cafe, and featuring some cool dorm-mates, the hostel wasn't great; it was "just a hostel" and had some semi-creepy African refugees that were leering at all the young women traveling alone.

It turns out that my mother's people are actually from Belfast... However, I didn't learn that until I got home. All I knew while on the trip was that Belfast "spoke" to me in a way no other part of Ireland did during the trip. Go figure...

Farewell, Sky Europe

Wow. I'm saddened to learn that European budget airline Sky Europe has filed for bankruptcy and ceased operation. Bummer, man. These guys weren't perfect, but they were pretty decent - and very useful for the budget traveler. If I'd spent more time in Europe recently, I would've certainly flown them again.

(...and, yeah, I know I haven't really done my Ireland trip justice. I've been busy w/work. Maybe I'll get to it one day...)

"Galway Girl"

My flights to Ireland were largely uneventful - particularly the Atlanta-to-Dublin leg during which the "in flight entertainment" monitor at my seat was mysteriously broken while everyone else's worked fine. (D'oh!) At least I was able to catch up on some sleep, though, given that I'd been working so hard before I left...

As I flew into Dublin, I fell in love with the Emerald Isle from the air; my first sight of her was almost magical - green and beautiful, rising peacefully from the choppy gray ocean. I knew right then that I was going to enjoy myself on this trip; it was just "a feeling". Once the plane landed, I had some time to kill in the airport before catching a CityLink bus to Galway; strangely, my flight landed an hour early - which, as any air traveler can attest, never happens. I ATM'd some Euros (and said a silent "hurrah!" when the ATM did not eat my card like the one in Marrakech did last year), found some decent food, and managed to doze quietly with my leg wrapped through my backpack straps as it leaned against my chair.

I spent the next 3-4hrs bussing it to Galway, wherein I sat next to an old woman who was shocked at the idea that I was traveling alone; she warned me to be careful..."because you think it's just Ireland, but it's not as safe as it seems". Given where I was raised and where I've traveled previously, I just smiled by best appreciative smile at her and commented wryly that I figured Ireland was probably about as safe as home - which means that pretty much anything could happen. My seatmate also inspired me, upon returning home, to inquire regarding the surname of my maternal Irish relations; she claimed that you could tell which counties families came from just from their names, so maybe there's hope of tracking down the part of Ireland we were originally from...

Galway served a nice "college town" entry point to Ireland. I explored so much that I wound up with crazy blisters on my feet, but it was worth it. One Irish guy I roomed with was an incoming university student looking for housing; to my amazement, he mentioned never having been to a city as big as Galway - and Galway's not all that big. Fortunately, though, Galway did have decent stores such that I could buy a waterproof windbreaker thing. (I mysteriously didn't pack anything waterproof - not sure what I was thinking!)

From Galway, I arranged day trips to visit Connemara (i.e. the picturesque Gaeltacht / Gaelic speaking region), and the Cliff of Moher. I'm glad I went on both trips, but they mostly just served to reinforce the fact that I'm not the kind of person who enjoys organized bus tours; they kind of rip the soul out of an experience. I hate suffering through obnoxious people with different motives for traveling - and especially other obnoxious Americans who don't know how to "not be in America", for lack of a better explanation. I also really don't enjoy being party to someone else's schedules. That said, with as exhausted as work had made me, I just plain didn't have the energy to figure it out on my own as I'd usually be wont to do. C'est la vie.

The land of Eire

Well, after tonight, I've only got 3nts left in Ireland - then it's back home to the daily grind in San Diego. Thus far it's been great though; I just haven't wanted to pay for internet because charges for it are outrageous. Frankly, updating a blog while on the road isn't that important. As of today, however, I'm in a hostel that includes free internet - so I'm making use of it.

I started off my trip in Galway, then headed up to Belfast. Much like other cities that have made others (who haven't been) personally comfortable at the thought...I found that I fell in love with Belfast. It's rough; it's still got issues to resolve; it's got amazing Victorian architecture mixed with a lot of new development given that the city is revitalizing. Anyway, something about it just "resonated" with me...so I wound up staying 5nts. Best decision I've made on this trip. Galway was nice, but I'll ultimately forget it; Belfast I will remember.

More when I'm stateside again...

Wheels up in the a.m.

Tomorrow, I leave for Ireland! Much like when I went to Morocco, I've been too exhausted and bombarded by work to get excited...until about an hour ago... :) I got off early from work due to the holiday weekend, then found the "print your boarding pass" email waiting for me at home, and I've been pretty much elated ever since. I can't explain what it is about travel that makes me feel so alive, but this is the stuff that really turns me on - the exploration, the unknown, the raw possibility. It's all good.

I've got boarding passes through to Dublin, just nabbed a 5€ bus ticket from Dublin airport to Galway (allowing enough time to eat once I land), and have a hostel booked in Galway. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess what the next couple week have in store...


Depart: Sept 5 (for Dublin)
Return: Sept 20

Independence Day in San Francisco

Work certainly hasn't given me much free time, so I decided a little mini-break was in order. I've always wanted to spend some time in San Francisco (beyond the I-got-stuck-there-for-a-night-once-due-to-weather-and-put-up-at-a-Radisson-hotel-by-the-airline experience), so it seemed like a good idea once I found a cheap ticket. I stayed at a hostel downtown and basically just enjoyed not living in my cubicle.

I froze my butt off with a few hundred thousand other crazy people waiting for the fireworks display at Fisherman's Wharf. Even though the display was likely a bit smaller due to the recession, it was still really enjoyable; I haven't seen a good display like that in years. The only thing missing was some sort of patriotic big-band music. (I'm surprised how much an impact childhood celebrations - from when my dad was in the military - have left on me.)

Overall, though, the best part of the weekend was getting in to the Asian Art Museum for free. There was an extensive display of Hindu and Buddhist iconography spanning centuries and geographic regions. I felt like a kid in a candy store - given that my academic interests, once upon a time, focused so heavily on the development and diffusion of Buddhism and on religious iconography.

I found it interesting that I'd always presumed San Francisco would resonate deeply with me...and it, somehow, didn't. Don't get me wrong, I liked it just fine; it just wasn't everything people have hyped it up to be over the years. I still prefer Eugene or Portland for West Coast liberal vibe, and I prefer a variety of cities I've been to in other countries. Life's funny like that, though; you never really know how you'll react to a place...until you just go...

Sometimes childish dreams do come true

Since starting my new job, life has continued to change...

In addition to scrambling to learn a variety of new technologies and software development processes on the work front, I started actively house hunting. Given the decrease in mortgage rates and home prices, it seemed a logical time to get serious about buying my first house. (Now, those of you who know me in person know that I've had a long-standing dream to move back to Oregon and settle for good in the place where I've been happiest. Unfortunately, these rough economic times seem to have put a damper on that idea. Oregon always gets hit harder and longer during economic downturns - and reports I get from friends on the ground include words like "desolate" and "desperate" - i.e. words one might more typically associate with a hard environment like Detroit. Even the most stable of employers are getting hit hard, and people think this is going to take several years to recover from. As much as I love Oregon, I can't put myself in a holding pattern forever - waiting, hoping, wanting it to be the right time to go back.)

So... I actually made an offer on a house I loved down here; however, I decided to withdraw the offer from a 3-way bidding war because, amongst other things, I wasn't comfortable with the 15min added commute each way. I also got scared. Pure and simple. (Even though prices have fallen in San Diego County, houses are still expensive and it's daunting to try to buy something as a single individual; it seriously means you're bound to working long hours at stressful jobs in order to get by.)

Since withdrawing my offer, I've decided to take some time "off" from house hunting in order to answer some personal questions that need answering before proceeding further. I've also got way too much happening at work to be able to devote adequate time to house hunting. In fact, given my workload, I decided I needed a "dangling carrot" - i.e. something to look forward to - in order to get through the next couple months. Me being me, I decided to book a trip...

September 2009: 2wks in Ireland

It's the Irish heritage odyssey I've been dreaming about since I was a little girl - even though I have no idea what part of Ireland my mother's mother's people hail from ;)

Faith

Until today, I honestly had no idea what my near term future held. I didn't know if I'd stay here in San Diego, if I'd follow my heart back to Oregon despite a precarious job market, or if I'd move to some comparatively unknown (to me) place like Austin or Durham or Nashville. Last night, I reached my frustration peak and actually did a runecast for the first time in years. I wasn't super enthused by the reading, but accepted it and went to sleep simply praying for things to work themselves out as they were meant to.

Today, however, I received a job offer. The offer may not be perfect (since things rarely are), but it's competitive - especially in this economy. So, it turns out I'll be staying in San Diego after all... I just had to have faith that, once I laid the groundwork, the Universe would sort itself out.

Goodbye: Job hunt
Hello: New Beginning, 2009!

Twists and turns

Life is full of twists and turns. I got back from my trip to Morocco late on Dec 7th and, despite being ridiculously jetlagged, went to work on time the next morning...only to discover that I no longer had a job. (~20% of my company was laid off while I was gone. Beautiful.) It's been difficult trying to digest this news because I genuinely liked the company I worked for; in fact, I'd actually talked about them with pride while I was gone. Go figure.

That said, being around comparative poverty in rural Morocco so recently definitely helped me to intellectually avoid the "woe-is-me" dynamic - because, let's get serious, I don't have it so bad. However, at this point, I have no idea what the future holds. I'm just trying to have faith that all will turn out well in the end...

I'm interviewing with a couple local companies and I've enrolled in a C++ refresher course to try to be productive during my unemployment. We shall see...

Rowdy bus drivers and hammams in Essaouira

After spending one more night in Marrakech, I left early the next morning, walked to the Supratours bus station (way out past the train station), and caught a bus to Essaouira - a coastal town highly recommended to me by a Moroccan friend/colleague I used to work with. On the bus ride, we got stopped at a checkpoint and our bus driver almost got arrested. There was a loud in-your-face argument, followed by several male passengers getting off the bus in order to try and restrain the bus driver. They pretty much started arresting the bus driver, but somehow, in the end things worked themselves out; the driver got back on the bus and we were on our way again.

It felt good to be back near the ocean and Essaouria was definitely a town with a relaxing, welcoming vibe; however, even there I was unable to go for walks without random guys latching on to me. I did meet one particularly nice young guy interested solely in practicing his English. We talked for a while by the sea wall, and I recall that he was very curious about how gays were perceived and treated in the U.S. Kinda strange subject for conversation with someone you've just met, but I guess you'll never know unless you ask questions, so it's all good.

In addition to wandering around town, walking on the beach, relaxing on the rooftop terrace of the hostel, and meeting some genuinely lovely people through the hostel, I went to a great hammam that was like half the price of places in Marrakech. I don't know if it was because I was there during low season or what, but I guarantee I would've gone almost daily during my time in Essaouira if I'd known how affordable it was. (It was also so warm/steamy that it really helped me start getting over my new cold. I'd gotten over the first cold from Marrakech; however, I picked up another one in Essaouira. I blame in on the fact that I live in San Diego; everywhere on my trip was much colder than anticipated.) Since I got there not terribly long before closing / transiting into the males-only hours, I got the basic hammam and the grommage (which, after you've bathed yourself, basically involves the hammam lady doing some super exfoliation to remove all the dead skin from your entire body and then rinsing you off and washing your hair). I've seriously never felt so clean; it was wonderful.

On my last morning, I caught a super-early bus back to Marrakech and then shared a cab to the airport with an English gal I'd met in Essaouira. Eventually, I boarded the plane bound to Madrid...and wound up in Madrid during some "Times Square on New Year's Eve" type holiday. Everyone was out and about on the streets of the old city at all hours - and it was definitely a shock to see young Spanish couples making out on the subway after spending the last couple weeks in a Muslim country with decidedly different cultural norms. It was basically a stolen night in Madrid, full of huge crowds and tapas and beer. I got up before sunrise the next morning to take an hour-long walk through the city. There wasn't enough light to take pictures, but I did get a chance to see how beautiful Madrid is (since I'd never really thought about it before); I think I'd definitely like to return someday and see the city for real.

I drastically miscalculated how long it'd take me to get back to the airport on the metro...and then check in for an international flight, get through security, go down three escalators to take the train to the other terminal, go up three escalators, go through customs, and then finally find the gate. I seriously almost missed my flight to Chicago; I think there were 5min from when I boarded (as the second-to-last passenger) until "wheels up". I must've looked like a bad movie running through the airport...but at least I made it...

Sahara, Part 2

After riding camels into the desert at sunset, we arrived at our auberge, had some mint tea and a Berber style dinner (which consisted of a communal plate of some kind of tagine that we all just used bread and our hands to eat), then listened to some rather sad attempt at music next to a camp fire and looked at the stars. Even though we had to get up early for our sunrise camel trek back to Merzouga, I opted to go with a couple of camel guides and other people to climb a big dune for the view. That sounded like a good idea at the time, but maybe not so much in reality...

About halfway up the dune, I remembered that my knee is bad. I told the guides that I wasn't going to be able to make it and that I'd just go back to the camp since I could still see the campfire. Instead, the guide wanted to take me to another tent where some Berber friends were living. So, I wound up wandering through the darkness in the desert with this camel guide to a Berber camp. We hung out for a bit while they talked in Berber (which I can't understand for the life of me), then walked back through the darkness to our auberge... During the walk back, the guy seriously started to get fresh with me - esp. considering this is a Muslim country. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot to be done about it given that I was out in the middle of the desert and could no longer see our campfire. Long story made short, all worked out well (I tried to keep him talking about Moroccan-Algerian border relations...in Spanish); however, there was definitely some creep-factor in my Sahara experience.

After our sunrise camel trek, we had breakfast back in Merzouga and then dropped off half of the group at the taxi depot in Rissani. (Some people opted to catch a grand taxi from Rissani to Fes instead of taking the tour roundtrip to Marrakech.) We then pretty much halled balls to get back to Marrakech before midnight... When we drove through the high desert approaching the mountains, we got into a pretty decent-sized sandstorm that had the minivan buffeting around a bit. Then, once we could really see the High Atlas mountains, I could tell we were in for trouble...

Considerable snow had fallen in the mountains since we'd passed through two nights before. I could see snow blowing off the ridgeline, and recalled that they'd had to shut down the pass for several days before we got through. As we started ascending into the mountain pass area, we got stopped at the last little town. The police were out and we were told that they had, indeed, shut down the pass due to snow and ice. We sat stuck in the van for a couple of hours while some brave/poor souls finally made their way down the mountain behind a snowplow. It was hit-and-miss as to whether the pass would reopen - and I honestly didn't expect it to. (People at my hostel in Marrakech who'd been on the last tour before they'd previously closed the pass got stuck in the mountains overnight; I figured we were in for the same.) As luck would have it, though, they reopened the pass to let us through for the last trip of the night. It was pretty treacherous - and was certainly more snow than my Californian ass has seen in many years. Not only were those of us on the tour snapping pictures in amazement, but so was our driver; he snapped away with his cell phone camera and couldn't believe it. Eventually, we did make it back to Marrakech - but it was one hell of an adventure.

Ironically, in addition to traditional Gnaoua music, the song that most ingrained itself into my memory of my Sahara trip (from sheer frequency of radio play) turned out to be Akon's "Right Now". ;-)

Sahara, Part 1

I left for a 2-day/3-nt tour to the desert at sunrise on Sunday morning. The group was about ~70% Spanish, so English wasn't the dominant language but it's all good. My travel buddy became a beautiful Spanish guy who was traveling with his friends as a "third wheel". There was some broken communication along the way (he spoke no real English, and my Spanish won't win any awards - esp. among Spaniards); however, I'm positive he offered to buy me for the price of a camel at some point along the way... ;-)

Back to the real story... We drove threw varied landscape that reminded me at times of New Mexico and, at times, Switzerland (not that I've been there). On our way out, we saw a lot of snow at high altitudes in the High Atlas Mtns; however, we made it through the switchback passes with no problem. After a little side trip to see Ait Benhaddou (the place where they filmed movies like Gladiator and The Mummy), we stopped for lunch in Ouarzazate and then continued on to the Dades Valley where we stayed the night at a little hotel at the base of a gorge, listened to some live Berber music and froze our butts off overnight. The next day, we drove to the Toudra Gorge, stopped off in a Touareg village (where I got hastled by a guy selling Berber carpets), and then continued on to the Sahara so that we arrived in time for a 2hr sunset camel ride to reach our auberge.

The Sahara is absolutely amazing. So peaceful, so beautiful. I saw more stars there than I've ever seen in my life - including a shooting star. I'm so glad I did this trip!

Did I mention I almost impaled myself on a rusty camel harness?? ...almost, but not quite. It ripped through the thigh of my heavy jeans but, thankfully, didn't get the skin.

A woman in Marrakech...

Marrakech is an "experience". In the Djemaa el-Fna, snake charmers, henna ladies, musicians, and basically everybody is out to make money off of tourists. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it actually becomes comical once you understand it - assuming you didn't get suckered. Likewise, wandering through the souks can be a minefield of aggressive touts, but it's good fun once you understand the way things work.

Even outside the souks, though, I find it tedious to be a woman here in Marrakech. I can't go anywhere without some random 20-to-30-something year old modern Moroccan man attaching himself to me like glue. In fact, I find it more tedious in Marrakech than in Italy - and that's saying something. Perhaps it'd be less tedious if my French was better, but it gets old trying to shake off some dude and not make things worse. I'm over it and ready to move on. C'est la vie. (The only thing I can think of is that, although some Moroccan women opt not to wear the hijab, my hair is really long and noticeable - on top of the fact that I'm obviously not Moroccan and, thus, attract attention. Who knows the real reason?)

Fortunately (I guess?), my time in Marrakech is coming to an end. I've booked a 2-nt/3-day tour to the Sahara (which almost didn't happen due to the weather in the High Atlas mountains that you have to cross on the way to the Sahara - i.e. snow/ice), then plan to crash one additional night in Marrakech before leaving for a few days in Essaouira to wrap up my holiday...hopefully in a bit warmer, more restful environment. It's been cold, here - and it'll be really cold in the desert!!

Sidebar: It also seems impossible to come to Morocco and not wind up getting high off second hand hash smoke. It's not "legal", but seems almost as pervasive as the fresh orange juice stands...

Bonjour au Marrakech!

Well, it's been an adventure thus far - but I don't think I really expected my first foray onto the African continent to be anything less. I flew San Diego to Chicago to Madrid to Marrakech - perhaps a 20hr+ journey during which I slept maybe 1.25 hours (and only then on the flight between Spain and Morocco).

After arriving in Marrakech, I found that the ATMs at the airport were completely out of money, so I had to change $USD to Dirhams in order to pay for a taxi to Djeema el-Fna so I could try to make my way to the hostel and have some general spending money until I could access an ATM. That was my first time actually having to make use of any "emergency money" while traveling, and I was glad to have it with me. After making it to Djeema el-Fna, I tried to use my ATM card at another ATM...which proceeded to not give me any money and, instead, kept my card. (That's a first! ...especially given that I alerted my bank about my travels prior to leaving.) Interestingly, the local guys who run the hostel weren't that concerned about it; they just told me to wait until the bank that owned the ATM opened in the morning, show my passport, and get my card back. I was skeptical, but it actually worked. (Don't think it would've in the U.S., that's for sure!) I was then able to change my PIN number online through the hostel internet - after trying to call my bank toll-free-international without success. There were a few more foobar moments as I tried to get cash after changing my PIN number (ATMs being down); however, I was ultimately able to get some cash and move on with life. Woo.

But, yeah, this is Africa - even if simply N. Africa - and I didn't expect it to be a trip without hiccups. Fortunately, 1) the Moroccans have been very friendly/helpful, and 2) a little bit a high school French is still lingering somewhere in the back of my mind to try to help in conversations where the other individual doesn't know English. For example:

Me: Bonjour. Parlez-vous un peu d'Anglais?
Them: No.
Me: Uh, OK. Le machine n'acceptez pas ma carte, mais je ne comprendre. Tout l'information est bonne...

(Hey, I never claimed to be able to spell in French... At this point, I'll take whatever works!)

"Wheels up!" in the a.m...

I leave for Morocco tomorrow morning and I'm, frankly, too exhausted to be excited. Hopefully that'll change somewhere over the Midwest...

I've worked 28hrs in the last two days, alone, and had to squeeze in an emergency trip to the dentist to deal with a toothache on a tooth that had a root canal back in 2002. (Somehow, an unseen root is apparently tangled in my sinuses - which have been finicky lately due to weather - and sinus congestion is triggering a major toothache.) At any rate, I've now got two 'scripts and a super-decongestant to take with me...and one of the 'scripts made me puke last night. Should be an "interesting" trip...

I'm really glad I decided on a longer-than-initially-intended stay in Marrakech. I think I'm going to need some time to just relax before moving about the country - even if it means I won't see as much of the country.

Depart: Nov 22nd (for Marrakech)
Return: Dec 7th

UPDATE (10:30PM): "Dude, I'm going to Spain - like outside of the airport!" This little gem popped out of my mouth earlier this evening as I looked at my flight itinerary. I've been so busy with work that I overlooked the fact that I have a 19hr layover in Madrid on my way home from Morocco. Who knew? ;-)