Spanish Reflections

Upon our arrival in Spain it was hard not to compare it to Marrakech, where we have been for 3 months now and where we are seriously missing some westernized standards.

For example at some point Garren and I both noted how quiet the streets of Sevilla are. That's not say that they are silent and devoid of traffic, but they are devoid of constant honking, beeping and a million scooters, bikes, donkeys, carts and god knows what else screaming by as you try to cross the street. Even their light rail is quiet. And with that observation we immediately noticed how CLEAN Sevilla was. No fumes from passing trucks, scooters or cars (The idea of "green" or even smog control has not reached Morocco yet). No trash or construction debris in the street. No cats and dogs wandering around. No people sitting on sidewalks looking for handouts. It is a stark contrast and it was a strange feeling to consider it a luxury for the weekend.

Alternate observations included the number of strollers out and about. Now I know there are a few people who may be thinking, "Her biological clock is going like this!" (insert an image of Marisa Tomei from My Cousin Vinny), but seriously I don't think I've seen so many strollers in all my life. The number of children, babies and pregnant women observed on a typical day was insane. Maybe it's the Catholic culture prevelant in Spain, maybe it's just a city where it is good to raise a family or maybe we're just not used to seeing strollers here in Marrakech, but there were children EVERYWHERE (dressed alike I may add - and I wondered where my mom got that from) and if I knew what was good for me I would invent the new "IT" stroller and sell it in Spain because I would make a fortune. Below was my attempt to show how many strollers there were, however everytime I attempted to take a picture with multiple strollers in it someone got in my way. So I've circled them. They're there I swear. I didn't make it up. And I've got several more pictures of other strollers taken within a 10 minute period to prove it.

Irish Girl Found Some New Potatoes

So I'm back in the land of the living. Or should I say the land of the computer with internet connectivity?

I flew back to Marrakech from Sevilla this morning, sans husband. He's still trekking around Spain enjoying the countryside and their fabulous beer. I unfortunately am back to reality tomorrow morning and am off to work. I have however enjoyed my return to Marrakech being lazy and watching as many TV shows as my computer will download while eating in bed. (Hubby will yell at me later for this which is why I did it while he is off traveling. Hah-Hah! Have to find the silver lining somewhere!)

Right so Sevilla. Awesome town. Totally my speed. Very young, very hip (I felt so unfashionable) and lots of great food. On our first day we discovered a tapas dish by the name of Patatas Bravas which on the English menu we were provided translated to Brave Potatoes. What girl of Irish descent wouldn't try potatoes by that name? I ask you! Basically it's home fries covered in aioli and hot sauce. There is of course room for interpretation on this and it's prepared differently in different bars (yes we tried it more than once) as well as different cities (I believe), but I give Sevilla's Patatas Bravas in particular two thumbs up. Garren and I will be attempting them on his return to Marrakech. Because well why not. Seriously yum.

We we also be attempting to make a passable sangria. We've tried before with not much luck. (It sat in the fridge for 2 weeks because it was that "good") But oh my, our first taste of Sangria in Sevilla in the picturesque area of Santa Cruz was lip smacking. Delicioso. (Hence the above picture, although as you can see, Garren was having beer and totally in his happy place.)

Basically what I'm saying here is that Sevilla and its laid back culture is on the retirement list. Seriously all anyone seems to do is eat, drink, take a siesta and then repeat. I'm sure there is work being done somewhere. Right? The retirement list also currently includes Santa Barbara and the Loire Valley. In case you were wondering.

We're not picky just a little place for us to lay our head and enjoy the rest of our lives. Where's the winning lottery number when you need it? Oh that's right in Spain. They sell lotto tickets everywhere. Little old men walking around asking everyone if they want one. And then actual lotto windows where you can buy more. Freaky gaming Catholics (Bingo anyone?) how I love your beautiful Spanish city.

Shhh!

So it's not a secret that filming is happening in various areas of Morocco for this movie. But what is not commonly know is that filming in Marrakech is going to be at my office this upcoming week. I probably shouldn't have mentioned, but I just had to share.

In alternate more perhaps important news the Secretary of State is also in Marrakech this week. Apparently Marrakech is very popular all of a sudden.

Mini Break

Garren and I are going to Spain next week. It’s a holiday here in Morocco on the 6th (Fête de la marche verte) and I’m taking advantage of the long weekend and even taking an extra day to boot! Garren the lucky duck is taking a whole week to explore Spain or wherever he decides his travels will take him.

While I’m excited to spend some time with my husband somewhere else besides our apartment is it weird that I’m not really that excited about going to Spain? Specifically Seville for any of you wondering.

I think I would be more excited if I wasn’t worried more about the hassle.

1. I don’t speak Spanish which makes me uncomfortable
2. I’m returning to Morocco on my own, which means
   a. I have to go through customs on my own
   b. I have to deal with the thieving taxi drivers on my own at the airport and probably get screwed on the cab fare home
3. I know nothing about Seville and have had no time to do any research

I know all of you back home are going Spain! For the weekend! Quit complaining. So on the brighter side:

1. The cost of the ticket was $43 round trip
2. I’m going to eat Tapas until I burst
3. Tapas + Beer is even better!
4. Flamenco show
5. Roman Ruins
6. Exploring a new city with my hubby

And if any of you are screaming at your computers at my lack of enthusiasm and have some ideas about what we should do, let me know. I’d love to hear it.

Yes I am American

Being an American abroad is a weird experience. Especially with such a multi-national group as the one I work with. Anytime a comment is made regarding Americans I tend to get sly looks from the people making the comments, I think to make sure I'm not taking offense. And being outside of the country it's interesting to see what types of things they make fun of America for or really just the types of things they tend to comment on.

I also get lots of "you're so American". When I was younger and it was my French family telling me this, I used to take offense as it was like they were trying to point out how different I was from the rest of them, but now, I dunno.... Growing up with European parents I always used to feel like I highlighted my European background around others, because my family did not do things the way every other American family did. For example one Thanksgiving we had Mac and Cheese because my parents forgot the store closed early on Thanksgiving Day. There’s nothing wrong with it but it’s definitely different from every other American family planning a big get together for the day. Well here I'm obviously not European enough for actual Europeans so I feel like I need to just embrace my Americanness or at least not be ashamed of it.

Last night was an interesting test of this cultural split. Garren and I had some American friends that we met last week over for dinner along with one of our friends from work, who obviously is European. Last week when we got together with these girls I revealed in being around Americans and laughing at the same things, missing the same things and having the same cultural reference points. Last night while I still enjoyed this I could see from a European prospective how loud American’s can be as well as how uninformed and unaware we can come across as. It’s not that we actually are this way, I mean anyone who moves to Marrakech sight unseen is culturally adventurous and wants to know more about other places in the world, but in general the American culture is very self centered. You don’t get a lot of information about other countries either in school or on the news. It’s something that you need to actively seek out as it is not presented much in our day to day lives.

I feel like I’m babbling here but what I’m trying to say here is that a different times during the night I was uncomfortable knowing when my American side might be seen in a negative light and when the European one might be looked down upon exemplified by other people. It was a strange phenomenon and I found myself providing small commentary to clarify certain statements made by others.

For the most part I’ve found that I like both sides that I’ve grown up with, but that I am more comfortable with the American one. For obvious reasons. Maybe with more time here in Marrakech and around my co-workers my European side will make a stronger appearance. Probably not. And I’ve realized that while I enjoy visiting other places and meeting different types of people, America really is home. Or maybe that’s just the homesickness talking. I mean it has only been less than 3 months since we left. Maybe with more time here in Marrakech the thought of moving to Europe will have more appeal than moving back to the States, but for now I’m enjoying Marrakech as much as I can and looking forward to a time when Garren and I will move back home. With a lot of saved money and some amazing trips as silly, uninformed and unaware Americans under our belt.

Stupid Oy-vey Procedures

I hate SOPs. For those who are scratching their heads : Standard Operating Procedure. They suck and there are no set SOPs for the hotel group. Nope each hotel has their own. So I’m starting from scratch. The last one I just did took me 2 hours. And it probably still isn’t detailed enough. Although maybe I’m just being anal. Most of the other SOPs I’ve seen from the other Reservations Departments are not this detailed. Maybe I’m worrying too much. I mean really who’s going to look at them? After the initial training they’ll probably never be referenced again. I have to force myself to do them. They always feel like a colossal waste of time. Although I suppose it is good that they get me to think about how I want things in the Department to work and to confirm procedures with other Departments. However, without the Reservations System in place I also have to guess on some things and remember to update the SOP when I have the system to make sure the procedure works. Sigh.

I’m going to try to do another one now. Slowly but surely my done list is getting closer to being completed. Stupid SOPs.

A London we will go

So I had a whole post ready to go waiting just for pictures and then…Garren stole the pictures and posted about the same thing.

Suffice to say fajitas with homemade tortillas, amazing. Next Garren’s going to find a way to make corn tortillas for chips. If you cared to know the same night he made curry I made carrot cupcakes. Cream Cheese frosting worked ok. I think I need more cheese to stiffen it up, or stiffer butter, but next I want to try to recreate my pumpkin cupcakes. I don’t think I’ll have luck finding canned pumpkin but I’ve got my eye out for an actual pumpkin.

The news today is that we have bought tickets to London over Christmas. My boss finally approved my vacation and while the rates have gone up since we first started talking about it, Garren and I have two months to save and we’ve been able to save quite a bit here in Morocco so far, so it’s not the end of the world. We’re going to be in the UK for about 10 days. We’re hoping to go up to Scotland for a few days to do some whisky tasting. It was a trip that came up even before we left for Morocco and Michele was at one time just trying to get Garren to go from California on a trip anywhere and thought Scotland would be the one to entice him the most.

Garren’s doing some research to find out the best way for us to get up to Scotland, how to get around and where to stay. After that we’ll return to London to stay with family friends over the holiday. Garren and I are really excited to have a “real” xmas. He hasn’t not worked over xmas in years and our xmas since we met have not been stellar so it will be nice to relax with good company and enjoy some cold holiday appropriate weather.

Speaking of appropriate weather, last year when we went to Chicago for our annual December trip we swore we would go somewhere tropical and warm the next December. The time before we were in New York. Now we’re planning on leaving warm Morocco for cold and rainy Scotland and England. We’re not very bright sometimes.

If anyone has any suggestions about what we should do or see in Scotland or England, let us know. We’re all ears.