Reflecting & Gratitude

Written By Eliana

3 months, 30 cities, 300 inside jokes and 3,000 laughs later we finally have come to the end of our Carpe Semester. These three months have gone by so fast I feel like I didn’t have a chance to fully express my gratitude to all of the places we have been and to all of you. I thought I would use this blog to give my final thanks.

Thank you Fes for teaching us that even though we have to go hard and stay lit we should probably be careful around street meat and sacred fountains.

Thank you Rabat for not letting Challa ruin our visit, and for opening our eyes to the world of Babs and showing us the shining star (bab la bweba) we love you and your hammams.

Thank you Tetouan for introducing us to the heart burn filled world of Moroccan tacos and for teaching us not to unpack all of our clothes on to our beds because you never know what could happen.

Thank Marrakech for allowing us to stay at the 5 star resort, Backpackers Grapevine, and for letting us see some of the best street juice in all of Morocco.

Thank you Ait Ourir giving us some of the best food and best kickboxing class of our lives. You taught us that, yes, a youth soccer game is just as competitive as champions league.

Thank you Ansa Village for teaching us that the end of Home Alone 2 needs no common language to be enjoyed and that little kids do in fact have small bladders. We will always remember our noisy neighbors and grandnuts.

Thank you to Yagor Plat for teaching us that there are some villages that are abandoned half the year in Morocco.

Thank you to the Atlas Mountains for teaching us that we are mountain men/gals and that sheep do rule the mountains. But most importantly that Latifa is the queen we never knew we needed in our lives. Our gift to you is Geoff’s 4 of hearts card.

Thank you Essaouira for letting us eat like kings and queens. We will forever wonder, “is this a rally” because of you.

Thank you Agadir and Sidi Ifni for teaching us that sometimes you need to have a costume party and that its probably smart to pack a rain jacket when your going to a fog farm.

Thank you Merzouga for being one of the only things we would ever take a 14 hour bus ride too. Thank you for helping us perfect our chancla throwing and our road trip playlist. Shoutout to Cosmo and Wanda.

Thank you to Chefchaouen for letting us eat the best “ice ice ice cream” and for letting us meet meow man.

Thank you Algeciras for once again teaching us not to unpack all of our clothes on our beds.

Thank you Malaga for teaching us the difference between a procession and a parade. You were the perfect place to start and end our time in Spain. Vale

Thank you Granada once again teaching us to be careful around sacred fountains and that Ale Hop is the European version of Target. We watched amazing dancing here and had even more dance parties ourselves.

Thank you Camino de Santiago for reminding us that even though we all got sick we can still finish anything we put our minds to (even if its still 2 hours behind the Germans). We learned 3 important things: 1) that yo soy Peter, 2) that olive trees pollinate, and 3) you can always add more danglies to your pack.

Thank you Cordoba for teaching us that you can eat at a food court 6 times in 2 days and it still won’t be enough. You showed us truly how long we would walk for an internet cafe, and that the soccer refs are just as bad in Spain as they are in the USA.

Thank you Kayla for teaching me that all of our tractors are sexy and that one can truly never have enough ranch. You are a true mountain man/gal and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Never stop snort laughing, singing Bohemian Rhapsody as loud as you can and dancing like nobody’s watching.

Thank you Vanesia for truly teaching me what it means to be a bad b**** and that there are 4 syllables in basically. You are the definition of a strong woman, period. Thanks for teaching me bargain but most importantly how not to dance.

Thank you Tori for teaching me that North Palm is very different than West Palm and that there is truly no drink that compares to Coke Zero. I admire your drive and work ethic. You introduced me to the Den and all of its wonder. Me and Esla Arab were lucky to have you as a host sister.

Thank you Mente for teaching me that everything is “my boy.” You are a true Puerto Rican Princess. You taught me that I should always use some my per-dragon on a Milka Bar. But most importantly you reminded me that a little part of every day should be treated like “Men’s Relaxed Sundays.”

Thank you Geoff for teaching me that you only need to drink one liter of water the whole trip. I loved your Magic Mondays and baseball stories (most of the time). You always knew how to cheer all of us up, even if it was in the form of bad dancing or jokes. Thank you for being the best Shmuel that Estie could ask for. Sorry about your 4 of hearts card; David stole it.

Thank you Gina for teaching me to clearly state my needs especially when my poop is coming. Thank you for teaching me about the world of Beyonce and Puesto tacos and for always people watching with me. You are an amazing story teller and adventure buddy.

Because of you I know that well, “If I can’t scuba then what has this all been for.”

Thank you Brandis for teaching me that you truly only need one outfit for a 3 month backpacking trip. Bdawg, (insert voice crack) I will miss your timeliness, Russian and rushin’, but most of all I will miss all of the times that you made me laugh so hard at the most unexpected times. Don’t worry I will forever call dogs “собакаs” and make sure to never drop my knitting.

Thank you Kate and Sheldon for truly being the best leaders I could ever ask for. All jokes aside you both are truly amazing and we are so lucky to have been able to hang out with you for 3 months.

Thank you. You helped me in more ways than I can count. Thank you

This might be our groups final blog but i can promise that this definitely won’t be the last time we make great memories together. There is one thing that I wish I learned, how do you say I love you in arabic.

Miss you all so much,
Eliana