Salam! I cannot believe that my feet have touched ground in the glorious continent of Africa! I am currently in Morocco- Casablanca to be exact. Our ship docked in port yesterday; the port is the biggest port in Casablanca (which is home to about 3 million people), and the third largest port in all of Africa. We have a shuttle bus to take us from our ship to the main gate- other wise it's about a 25 minute walk (IF you don't get lost). Our port is VERY industrial- filled with cranes and trucks.

Where should I start? Oh yes! Remember that movie Casablanca? Yeah- forget it! It was filmed in Hollywood and I know why. Here are my super-biased opinions of Casablanca: It is smelly, filthy, and overall gross. Picture New York's Time Square after New Years, and multiply that by 392757... there are things all over the street! Not to mention an endless amount of malnourished cats and kittens. (So sad- and I HATE cats). However; after packing my biases in a hidden compartment of my brain- and enjoying a city tour of Casablanca- I realized you just have to go a little further in to see the beauty that Casablanca holds. The Medina (or old city) is full of open-air markets, or Souks. These are where you can haggle deals like you would in Battery Park, NY. It's intensely surreal that I am living in [pictures I once viewed in National Geographic.  The people are very friendly, and won't bother you if you don't make yourself too noticeable. I would highly recommend wearing closed-toes shoes here- unless you want muck/garbage filtered onto your feet- plus you walk a lot.

It is illegal, and considered a felony if you take pictures of any type of person "in uniform" aka- Guards, Police, Traffic Directors (yes they have those here!), etc... They will either A. Yell at you and take your film. or B. Yell at you and take away your camera. (And they will stop vehicles your in to get those pictures).

For any religious savvy person reading my blog- you will know that it is Ramadan- where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. They cannot drink anything (including water), eat anything, or have sexual relations until after sunset. This goes on for 1 month.

Interesting fact kids: Morocco was the first country to recognize the United States as a country in 1776.

And the Hassan II Mosque has a green laser beacon that shoots into the sky every night- announcing that the daily fast is over, and people can now eat. (It can be seen all over Morocco) That's intense.

Street performers, and some common people will expect tips if you take their photograph, and if you ask someone if you can take one- they usually will not deny you.

Moroccans are fascinated with blonds (there really aren't any here).

All people (even if they're poor) have satellite dishes, because their included in the cost of cable.

There are NO Starbucks in Morocco-at all.

KFC delivers by van, and by bicycle.

All the schools I have seen are gated- and look really sketchy on the outside- but amazing on the inside. (They also have separate schools for Jewish kids, and a separate school for Spanish kids)- this is more of a religious segregation.

The King of Morocco has 8/9 palaces throughout Morocco, and typically only comes to the one in Casablanca to drink coffee or tea. (Not joking). Although highly debatable- People say Morocco does not have an "official language". Most speak Arabic, and a good amount speak another type of Arabic. But many know French and English as well. (Actually- they speak more English here than they did in Spain- which is surprising to me). They have two types of taxis... Petit taxis (which are red in Casablanca- but very depending on what city you go to), and fit 4 people- uncomfortably. There are also Grande Taxis- which are ALL Mercedes, and you need AT LEAST 5/6 people to get one.

The best part of Morocco thus far has been the villas- which are incredibly nice, and often lined with gorgeous and colorful flowers. Plus the streets are super clean over there :]

Tomorrow I am headed on a train for 4 hours to visit Marrakech...or Marrakesh. They have some great souks (markets) there, and our dollar is really great here (well- on our end at least).

We get 7.81 Dirham per every US dollar. Even if you pay a tourist price- you're still making out like a bandit.

I also invested in a money belt- which is comfortable and well hidden- but does require me to reach down my pants to pay for something. Hahaha. Gnomie has been on a few outings, and I have started a new trend (Thank you Jenna!) because everyone wants to be in a picture with Gnomie- my traveling lawn gnome.

Today I took a day off from exploring to catch up on some homework- especially since I probably won't be back until Monday. Marrakech tomorrow-Sunday...then Rabat and Fes Sunday to Monday.

My snack drawer is running very low, and the food probably only gets worse from here- aka I am going to stare.

Anyways, all is well. I will update more after we leave Morocco.

Until then-

<3