Mishaps and impulse buys - Paris

My original flight to Paris was cancelled. I found out mere hours before I left to take the bus to Madrid. I would have had to take the 0030 bus to arrive in Madrid at 0530, then take about an hour on the metro and find my terminal, check in, go to my gate, and wait there until 0930, when the flight was to take off.

My flight was cancelled and the alternative they offered me left at 0720, which I knew I could never make. The gate would close at 0700, and I would only barely make it if everything went 100% smoothly, including a 5 hour bus ride. I had been an hour late to Madrid before. I simply wouldn't risk it.

I cried. I ate home-made crêpes. I pouted. I got over it. Since Monday and Wednesday were days off, I simply had to find something else to do with myself.

... But considering that I already had a flight back from Paris and I wouldn't be paying for a hostel in Paris (Danielle has a friend there we could stay with), buying a different flight for just over 100€ to Paris ended up being just about the same as any 'cheaper' alternative. So I booked it. My flight was Ryanair, leaving out of Málaga at 1350 on Friday.

Since I didn't know the Málaga airport or how to get there, I decided I'd take the earliest bus, which left at 0700, just to make sure I got there on time. Which would mean leaving my piso at about 0600. But, of course, I got out the door late, and the buses weren't running yet, so I was forced to take a cab. It's only about 4,60€ and it felt worth it. I was there in less than 10 minutes.

But, of course, being a holiday weekend, the 0700 bus was sold out. That left me with two options. Take the 0800 bus, or the 0830 bus. Good thing I left early. But the problem was that the 0800 bus would cost me about 3€ more, since it was 'Supra Economía'. I figured getting there early would be worth the 3€. So I did it.

The bus was nothing short of luxurious. I had my own little window seat, they gave us goodie bags of little pastries, peanuts, a bottle of water, and earbuds. I didn't bring any headphones to Spain, so that in and of itself was worth the 3€. Plus they gave us videos and music. I listened to classical music and only stopped when they were playing clips from Beauty and the Beast. I grinned like an idiot, since Beauty and the Beast made me that much more excited to go to Paris and see Danielle.

Eventually I made it to the airport and had about 2 hours to kill. Of course I wandered around the shops, ate a 'york toasty' from the BK Whopper Bar (basically American ham with cheese on toasted bread... not bad for 2€ in an airport), and used 2 minutes of ,10€/minute (ridiculous) internet. Then I walked into the book shop.

I wasn't planning on buying a book, I mostly went to look at candy. But The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo was staring right at me. I left without it. I went back for it completely on impulse. It was probably overpriced since I was in an airport, but it was in English, and I knew I had a bit of waiting left to do, plus the flight back and bus back (since I was flying into Madrid on the way home), so I figured it would be worth it. I got it on impulse.

So we got on the plane eventually and took the flight to Paris, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo making very nice company for me. We got over Paris when the flight attendant came on the intercom and told us we were going to hang out for about a half hour for visibility to improve. I paid him no mind. Then he said we'd be going to a different airport. I couldn't really hear what he said, but I thought he said Charles deGaulle, which would be right in the heart of Paris and even better for most of us.

He didn't. He said Charleroi airport. You can imagine my surprise when I got off the plane and saw this sign...
We had landed in Brussels because it was impossible to land in Paris. Not even the right country. Haha.

So we waited for about a half an hour for the buses to line up, another 45 minutes to get everyone on board, then started the 4 hour bus ride to the Beauvais airport, which is about 75 minutes outside of Paris.

If there's one thing Spain has taught me, it's how to be pushy. The airport had just shut down, so there was a MASSIVE line of people waiting to buy shuttle tickets into the city. Of course, the Spaniards hardly noticed the line as they shoved for the window. I shoved even in front of them, taking a side approach instead of a direct frontal attack.

There was one window, but three people could stand there at once, and we were helped one at a time. One Spaniard got helped, and another shoved right behind him and demanded her ticket. I stood at the window and waited, but the man looked at her and said, in English 'She was here first.' He looked at her over his glasses and pointed at me. I almost felt bad, so I said in my best French accent 'Un s'il vous plaît.' He handed me my ticket, I handed him exactly 15€. 'Merci!' I figured he'd feel good about helping a Frecherican rather than a Spamerican...

I had to remind myself not to feel bad. The Spaniards were doing the same and they would have done the same to me. I've definitely been waiting to order ice cream before and been cut off by a demanding Spaniard, especially the women. I took my ticket and joined the mob trying to board the buses.

By some luck or miracle or grace of God or whatever you want to call it, the second bus had filled up, but had room for one person. I happened to be travelling alone. I raised my hand and ran for it.

So, I finally got to Paris around 11 pm or so, when I should have been there around 6:30 pm. But hey, I got to see the Brussels airport.

Seeing Danielle was like no time had passed. We have that kind of friendship. I am so thankful I got to see her... any trip to France without her would seem so empty.

The next day we wandered Paris. We saw Notre Dame, SO much snow (considering it was barely December, anyway),

the river, the outside of the Louvre, and so on and so on. Danielle gave me her hat to borrow. I lost it. I felt awful. I hope whoever grabbed it was either a child or a person who really needed a hat. I dropped it inside the Notre Dame (hats are not permitted... grr...). I hope it enjoyed it.

But then we came to this street... I forget the name, something French that means nothing to me anyway, that was a GIANT Christmas fair. I'm talking HUGE.
It stretched from the backside of the Lourve garden area all the way to the Arc of Triumph. And there I saw my hat. It was the CUTEST wool hat, white, with a little wool bow on the back. All the Frenchies had hats with a similar cut and I had already fallen in love with it, but this was the first one I had seen with a bow. I loved it. 20€ later, it was mine.

Another impulse buy. But it is warm and cute and I love it.

The next day was AMAZING. We spent the entire day at Versailles and wandering the grounds. We saw most of it, I would say. A lot more than people generally see in that kind of weather anyway. We got lost. We found our way.

Hot chocolate was my impulse buy there. Out in the snow, we saw a little cart and bought panninis. It was lunchtime after all. But 2,70€ for a little plastic cup of cocoa seemed a bit much... but seeing the steam off of other people's drinks... I had to get one. I refrained from getting the Marie Antoinette-themed journal... but it was difficult, to say the least. I DEFINITELY would have done it if there were more than like 25 pages.

Then we went back and saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up. Let me tell you, that thing is a LOT bigger than you think it is. And there is SO much steel. I kept looking at it and could only think of my brother. Kevin, if you are reading this, you would LOVE the Eiffel Tower. It's an engineering marvel. Go to Paris.

Then I ate a real authentic Parisian sugar crêpe. In the Christmas market again.

Then we went to sleep. The next day, we saw the Basillica and I was off to the airport around 12:20 in the afternoon. Danielle and I said our goodbyes at the bus stop. They were quick because we know we will see each other again very soon. Both of our winter plans include London at the same time.

My flight was delayed about 6 hours. In the airport, I bought a giant bag of crispy M&Ms and a cup of tea, and a cheese and veggie sandwich (frommage is probably my favorite French word, by the way). During my wait, I became more and more thankful that I had bought The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in Málaga.
Finally, for a flight that was supposed to leave at 1325, we left at about 2035. I slept on the flight back.

But remember this only got me to Madrid. Which means I had to get on the metro to get to the bus station. I got on the second to last Metro 6 Circular (which I only know because the one going the other direction said it would stop at a certain stop RIGHT before I got on mine... so I figure the next one on my side would have said that as well) and got to the bus station at around midnight.

The next bus left for Granada at 0130. I bought my ticket and waited another hour and a half.

No one had purchased the seat next to me, so I laid out and slept the whole way back. I was in Granada at around 0630. Of course the buses weren't running yet, so I took a cab back.

I haven't been that happy to see my bed in a very long time.


Today, I had an essay due. Rent is also due. After that... Chris will be here, and all will be as it should be. YAY! =D

'We must not be afraid to meet the other' - Morocco

I have so much I want to say about this experience, this experience I had that was unlike any other, that I honestly don't even know where to start.

I suppose the best place to start would be a bit of history and information about Morocco.

Morocco is a coutry on the northwest corner (edge?) of Africa. Historically, this is an extremely important bit of land, as it is on the African side of the Straight of Gibraltar (the shortest distance from Europe to Africa, with Spain on the European side). Many countries have fought over this land, and Morocco only recently got its total independence in 1956 and is now a monarchy of sorts. There is a pseudo-deomcratic government under the monarchy, but the heads of this government are appointed by the king, and therefore the king has ultimate power. The king is seen as a religious figure and it is a crime against the state to say anything bad about him. Morocco is an Islamic country, considered to be a part of the Middle East. It is also a developing country (2nd world, I suppose). The official languages are Arabic and French, although their Arabic dialect is slightly different than classical Arabic, and apparently difficult to understand if you only know classical Arabic, but most Moroccans know both, at least to some extent. Many Moroccans also know either Spanish (especially in the North) or English. Public schools are free, but if you live in a rural area it's difficult to get to school, so most people are either educated up through elementary school or have gone on to college. Since Morocco is a part of the Middle East, it is extremely difficult and expensive for them to travel to the Western world (to travel outside the Arabic world, they need visas, and with an Arabic background, those are hard to come by and extremely expensive), even for educational purposes.

The flag of Morocco is red with a green 5-pointed star in the middle, meant to represent the 5 pillars of Islam. Green is also the color of Islam. Once upon a time, there was a Star of David on the Moroccan flag due to the large Jewish minority, but after the creation of Israel, the population of Jews has greatly decreased and the flag has been remodeled to suit the vast majority.

Way back in the day, Morocco was the first country to recognize the USA as an independant nation. It's not extremely relevant today, but it's something that's interesting to know, I think. In order to be a nation, you simply need international recognition. Morocco helped us out back then.

Now, a bit about Islam and how it's treated in Morocco.

The five pillars of Islam are:
1) There is only one God (Allah), and Mohammad is his prophet
2) Pray 5 times a day
3) Fasting during Ramadan (Fasting lasts from sunup to sundown and usually there is a large feast after sundown. Fasting also is to include all forms of drinking, including water.)
4) Giving alms to the needy
5) Pilgramage to Mecca (if you can afford it and are able bodied)

These pillars are not musts, but they are what a ''good Muslim'' will strive to do in his or her lifetime. I also must note that these are the Sunni pillars, not the Shi'a pillars, which are slightly different.

I put these here for a few reasons. Most importantly, I think it's something people, especially people in the US, should at least be familiar with, especially considering US relations with the Arabic world. Secondly, to simply state what they are, and mention that they aren't a requirement. No one is mad if you don't pray 5 times a day, and most Moroccans don't except those that are retired and have the time to dedicate themselves to it. The call to prayer isn't a Stop, Drop, and Pray drill, it's merely a suggestion. Thirdly, to show these people's dedication to their religion, which I suppose when you don't have very much to begin with, is a good thing for them.

Also, I wanted to pay particular attention to Pillar 4) Giving alms. Even though Morocco is a devloping country with most of it's people living in poverty, the rate of starvation is extremely low. That's because anyone who really needs food or anything like that can simply go and ask a store owner or someone walking by. While giving money is rare, people will almost always share food. Additionally, if you are pregnant and you smell something appetizing, you are obligated to go and ask for some, and they will gladly give some to you, even if it's in someone's house. Therefore, women are generally healthy enough to have the child and the child is usually healthy.

So, now that I've given a basic rundown, I could go over all the amazing things we saw and did, like ride camels, eat DELICIOUS cous cous and chicken and raisins and caramelized onions and carrots and pommegranates and... and... and... so much good food...,
the trip to the Hammam (an Arabic public bath. Cleanliness is also an extremely important part of Islam and Islamic communities. Actually, sometime upon first arriving in Spain, I learned that it wasn't uncommon for police to check hands and feet of people in the Islamic quarters during the Spanish Inquisition to see if they actually converted. Dirty hands and feet and you were OK. Clean hands and feet... you're probably a Muslim.), the cultural exchange that happened in the rural village where we sang Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and they sang us a traditional song about travelling, my first henna tatoo (almost gone now... my hand just looks dirty mostly...),
all of that... But instead I'm going to make this a little deeper.

The Morocco Exchange program is about diplomacy. They believe that improving inter-personal relations will help improve inter-national relations. They are strong supporters of the Peace Corps and the Fullbright Scholars program for this reason. Right now, the world, especially the Western and Arabic worlds, live in fear of each other. What people fail to realize is that we're all just... people.

In Morocco, I witnessed people with next to nothing giving things to people that have even less. Yes, I heard the call to prayer five times a day. I saw some women cover their hair and wear loose clothing because they felt they should be modest. But I also saw women in stilletto heeled boots and structured jackets. I also saw couples holding hands, flirting, sitting on the wall overlooking the ocean. I saw a father chasing after his kids and a string of children playing tag in the narrow streets of Chefchaouen.

And know what else? Most of them are more angry about terrorism than we are.

Think about it. How do you feel about how the KKK has butchered the Christian bible? An extremist minority has become the face of what people think about Muslims, and most Muslims are furious.

After the 2004 Casablanca bombings, a movement started, called ''Don't touch my country''. Their symbol was a traditional hand with an outurned pinky and thumb (you've probably seen it. It's also a Jewish symbol meaning about the same thing)that symbolizes protection, with the Arabic script of ''Don't touch my country,'' and people marched out against them. That is not what they want to be associated with and they, to this day, protest against terrorism.

These are the things we don't see in the news... but we should.

Inter-personal relationships could possibly improve inter-national relationships because it might help eliminate the fear. They fear us. We fear them. It's all foreign, and somewhere in the translation, we forget that we're all just people.

We must not be afraid to meet the other.

Salem. Shallom. Hello.

We're not so different, in the end.