Meknes - the greatest of adventures to date!

Katie and I packed up and left Fes. We had discovered that it is a nice city, easier to navigate than Casablanca, but those darn medinas still get us all turned around! The pressure of guides to follow them, and then men making comments gets a bit tiring and when you are trying to ignore them in the medinas (which are the old, walled in parts of the city with very narrow winding streets full of shops, stalls, and homes) you tend to get lost quickly. So we were a bit happy to leave Fes and head to the seemingly quiter Meknes. Rachel had headed back to Casablanca at this point to meet up with her sister. So it is back to the two of us!

Before we left Fes, I had to make a little purchase... custom made purchase *wink*

We are relying on a lot of bread for our breakfast meals as it is easy, cheap, and available everywhere. We eat a lot of sweet roll type things which usually do the trick until we get hungry and ready to eat some lunch. Although, sometimes, Katie and I are just a bit strange and decide to play tug-of-war with the baguette...

We arrived in Meknes, after a very brief 45 min train ride from Fes. We met a delightful couple from Buffalo, NY on the train and chatted with them. Very nice start to the trip. We searched around for a hotel as the first one we looked at (LP recommended) ended up being more expensive than the guide said it would be. No problem though, we found a place for Dh 100 which is like $14 - pretty sweet I think!

We then decided to explore the city, the Lonely Planet has a nice walking tour of the medina which looked like a good idea and it started close to some nice looking lunch stalls.

These were the nice lunch stalls out in the middle of a central square. There were tons of stalls to choose from, all with these little seating areas separated by colored table cloth. We selected the stall with a few patrons and women so we felt comfortable.

This was my DELICIOUS meal! Mint tea with vegetable tangine and bread. The tangine is a very traditional Moroccian dish.

After a very nice lunch, Katie and I set off to do the walking tour of the medina - lets hope that we don't get lost this time!!

On the walking tour, I had to take my artistic photo - so here is the landscape, through the archway of the medina. Oh, and we are hopelessly lost at this point...

There was this incredible stand of olives and lemons all stacked very carefully in these pyramids, it was quite impressive.

These are snails... The Moroccians eat es-car-go (sp?) out of stalls on the street. It is a fairly common sight to see them cooked in big pots, but not live in giant bins such as this.

After we had found ourselves again after being hopelessly lost Katie and I were in need of some down time, not to mention a shower. So when in Rome... we went to the Hammams. The hammam is a communal bath house with very hot water available. Most homes do not have hot water for showers and the hammam is a time for socializing and chatting, especially among women. So Katie and I took our shampoo and soap and headed to the hammam for a thorough scrubbing. We bought traditional olive soap which helps soften the skin (apparently) and a scrubbing mit which we learned is used to rub off/exfoliate the outer skin. It was a fun experience and it felt really good to get clean, that is for sure!! Though standing in a hot open room, like an under-steamed steam rooom, with a bunch of naked women staring at your white skin is a bit odd. Everyone was super nice though, and underwear is left on, so nothing was too embarassing.

After returning from the hammam, we decided to wander the medina again, only this time to just watch and wander, not to try to stick to a path. We had a nice place for dinner all picked out at well so we were excited about our evening. Little did we know that that was not at all what we would do!

Once at the same center in the medina where we had lunch we found large groups of people gathered around street performers. Katie and I curiously went to see what it was about. Unfortunatly, it was all in Arabic (naturally) so we didn't understand what was going on at all. So we wandered to the next group to see if something less language dependent was going on. It was here a man approached Katie and mimed some type of greeting and what we thought to be "I think you are pretty." Katie said thank you, blushed, and we walked away and began our wandering.

We stopped to buy dates and look at small things in the shops and just wander, the people watching was great. The medina was much fuller with local people than earlier so we were left alone by most shops and felt fine just wandering. After a few turns around in the medina, we were approached again by the same man, or rather Katie was approached. This time he held a note of sorts which someone had attempted to write in English. The gist was, he thinks Katie is pretty and wants us to meet his family. I'll leave out the details, but the rest is best explained in pictures - what a fun night!

Nabil and his mother Fatima in their small room home.

Katie and I, along with Nabil's sisters and friends. They let us try on traditional Moroccan dresses, and Katie actually got to keep hers!

The family was so welcoming and offered to do henna with us! It was so fun because Nabil's grandmother was there too and she was quite the baller. She was passing out high-fives like crazy! Katie got quite the henna tattoo - both feet and part of the shins!

I opted for something smaller and not on my feet, yet it is nevertheless detailed. The henna was very fresh and our skin was recently pummeled by the exfoliating mit at the hammams, so the henna stung pretty bad after sitting on the skin for a while. Although today it looks quite nice, a pretty brownish-red color.

After such and adventure, and many attempts at communicating (they spoke Arabic and French, Katie and I speak... English) we made it back to the hotel in the evening and laughed about the failed attempts at chatting and the endless offers of food. My goodness, every few minutes Fatima, the mother, was offering us drinks, cakes, couscous etc. Very kind but so hard to say no all the time too.

We are now in Rabat, the capital of the country for at least a day, maybe two. We might meet up with a couchsurfer and tour the city, but we will have to see.

Thanks to everyone who leaves me comments, it's great to know people read the blog! I love hearing about home and knowing how you all are doing!

*Katie says hi to her family and friends too - thanks for those comments as well

Fés and all its greatness...

Katie and I are now exploring Fés with Rachel who we met at the youth hostel in Casablanca. Here are some pics from our outing, enjoy!

A beautiful promanade in Ville Nouville

The tanneries in the old city, it smelled terrible, the white stuff has pigion shit, really, not joking. It apparently softens the leather and "cleans" it.

Lost in the medina, again... but pretty fountain

Apprentice pottery painter, one of Moroccos handicrafts

Hand laying the mosaic tiles for a fountain similar to the one above, such detailed work!

Casablanca!! We are in Morocco

So Katie and I made it to Morocco! We met up at the airport and made our way to Casablanca by train (35 min). We stayed at the youth hostel there and wandered the medina (old part of the city) We got ourselves lost and found again, basically just exploring away the hours until we just couldn't walk anymore. It was at this point we walked some more to find food where we ate for only 5 Dh which is approx. 85cents!!.

Fruits and vegetable in the medina

This morning, Katie along with a fellow traveler we picked up named Rachel made our way to the Hassan II Mosque. It is the third largest mosque in the world holding up to 25,000 worshipers at one time. It was stunning, and of course huge! The coolest part is the roof opens to allow the heat to escape, because as you can imagine, 25,000 people get quite hot in there. All the building materials used were from Morocco - all except some white marble and glass which came from Italy, but really that was a super tiny part of the mosque. Another impressive point is that it was constructed in just 6 years. Of course it faces toward Mecca, so we at least knew which way east was!

The huge doors to the mosque - see how small I am!!

Katie and I standing outside the mosque, it has the highest religious minaret in the world standing 200 meters high! It was beautiful!

My artistic shot through a multitude of arches, very Islamic in nature, and so pretty.

All set to head out of Casablanca! Katie, along with Rachel, and myself are off to Fes by train! There is a lot to explore and see there as well. We are pumped!

Time in Karlsruhe, Germany!

So I'm in Karlsruhe Germany right now with Jessica, a good friend of mine from Purdue. She is here studying abroad with the GEARE program! I met up with her yesterday and hung out with a few of her friends, both German and other Purdue students also on study abroad. It was a fun night, though I speak zero German (danka doesn't really count) so sometimes I got to just sit and listen to crazy German chatter. They drink a lot of beer it turns out, and they walk around the city carrying open bottles! I was surprised to see that for sure. Jessica took me around the campus so I could see where they study and spend their time. Here are some pictures of the campus!This is the castle that they live in front of... yup she walks outside to this everyday! I'm so envious!

Me in the park behind the castle with a fun little pond

There was a big party at one of the dorms which we went to check out. There were a lot of people despite it being a holiday the next day (Assention of Jesus Christ? perhaps). Boy do these Germans know how to drink!! I did not partake in the festivities as I had just finished flying for about 10 hours and didn't think that drinking would help with the jet lag.

Today Jessica and I roamed around a near by town of Heidelberg which has a pretty impressive castle and fun downtown area. It was a holiday so it seemed a bit crowded, but then I think about India, and realize that it isn't crowded at all! Haha!

Jessica and I along the Neckar River which cuts through Heidelberg

The crowd in the downtown area of Heidelberg

Me by this very weird looking tree... so goofy looking! This was in a main plaza/square (platz in German)





The castle! It was so pretty sitting up on the hill overlooking over the town below.

This was the sign that guided our way to the castle. Note the wonderful artistic rendition of the castle and the small child and mother who will take twelve minutes to reach there, or you can be lazy and take the tram. We chose to walk it - but oh my was the walk steep!

My attempts at artistic photography - a church's spire through the window of the castle

The destroyed portion of the castle. Jessica noted how thick the walls were. I think their rook was taken out though...

Germany!!

I made it to Germany and finally met up with Jessica! It was a long day for sure, filled with micro-naps and dozing on and off so I'll be really tired tonight I'm sure. Everything worked out fine for the most part (aside from the not meeting up with Jessica because I'm an idiot and missed my train connection and had to stummble my own way through Karlsruhe to fine her... beside the point)

So now I'm here and I'm really excited about getting to see her and spend time roaming around for a bit. I'm going to try to put up some pictures too - she lives near a pretty awesome castle!!

So step one of the journey - complete!

Fully Booked

Well all my travels are completely booked now. I've got a departure date from the US and a return date into the US. Hopefully everything will go as smoothly as possible. Here is my final itinerary:
Denver - Germany May 20th
Germany - Morocco May 24th
Morocco - UAE May 31st
UAE - India June 8th
India - Singapore June 26th
Bangkok - LA July 15th
LA - DEN (well... TBA but probably July 17th or so)

I'm getting nervous, excited, flustered, and everything in between... I just hope all goes well and I don't get lost or something crazy.

Feel free to start checking this more often as I'll try to post with some frequency and I always love comments! Yay!

Graduation !!

Well it's official, Purdue made a huge mistake and granted myself and my fellow 2008 engineering graduates true real life diplomas. I'm done with my undergraduate degree, I'm an official Purdue Alumni, I have a job to go to in August, and it seems like there is nothing left between me and the real world. I'm excited, mostly thrilled, and a little nervous. I suppose I can quote Winston Churchill at this point "This isn't the end, it isn't even the beginning of the end, it is however the end of the beginning." Seems fitting.

Katie and I rockin' our diplomas after the ceremony! We are amazing, it's true!

Megan and I are nothing but smiles on this grand occasion. Not to mention the reception food was quite nice and these gowns are just so flattering!

After a successful four years we were more than ready to celebrate! Hitting Harry's for a final visit (or at least until we come back to visit as alumni).

PurDONE!

Well it's my last finals week at Purdue... it's the last big push for the end of the year and in my case the end of college. However, this year it's different because I don't have any finals! Sure sure sure, sounds GREAT right?! Well, it is pretty awesome and I don't for a second want people to think that I want finals, however, I do want people to think about what I've been doing considering I don't have any. Well if you thought, watching paint dry, witnessing grass grow, or otherwise mindless tasks, you would be startlingly close to correct. Succinctly, I am bored.

I've spent a great deal of time trying to plan the rest of my summer trip which while fun can just be overwhelming. There are so many options which all need to be priced out for cost and determined for ease and feasibility. It's quite tedious, overall fun, but tedious. I really just need to decide when I want to get home by, buy that ticket from someplace and just be sure I'm at that someplace at that time. Sounds easier than it is I fear. Well, at least is something to do!

A Breakfast Club Experience

I participated in a Purdue tradition on Grand Prix race day known as breakfast club. It is a serious event targeted only to those with stamina, those with endurance, and those with a crazy idea of creativity. Basically it is for any college student who needs an excuse to drink and is willing to do it at 7am (or 5am to get in line) in costume - which is pretty much most of them. It is a time for our livers to prove to the world they can filter just about anything including cranberry and vodka from a giant trashcan. It grants us the freedom to express ourselves as any character, idea, object we choose be it individually or as a group. Most opt for a group theme as it guarantees you friends for the day because without you, the group theme is ruined. So here are some pictures from my outing as the crucial pink power ranger with my fellow blue, green,black, red, and yellow rangers.

*mom- don't worry - I only had one cup of cranberry juice!*

It's becoming a reality

I've slowly started to purchase my summer travel tickets. Pretty scary really to know that it is actually going to happen!! Here's my itenerary to date - subject to changes as tickets are purchased and plans are finalized:

May 20- depart for Frankfort, Germany (ticket purchased)
- See Jessica on study abroad?
- Visit with some couchsurfers in Frankfort?
May 24 - depart for Casablanca, Morocco (ticket purchased)
- Meet up with Katie and catch an overnight train to Merekesh
- Hang in Merekesh
- Find camels to ride into the desert
- sleep in the desert
- Head to Fez?
May 31st - depart to Abu Dhabi (ticket purchased)
- Hang out with Ajlan's mother
- Hang out with Ajlan?
- Visit Dubai
June 7th - depart for Bombay (ticket purchased)
- spend a few days reliving my IIT lifestyle
- head to Delhi/Ladakh to tour the north
- visit Varanasi to watch the spiritual rituals
June 26th - depart for Bangkok
- Join tour group working our way through Thailand into Singapore
July 13th - arrive in Singapore and see Mei!!
July 20th - depart Singapore to Denver

July 28th - drive to Chicago to start my life in the real world...

Whoa - I got tired just writing all of this!!! Crazy!!

Be Careful What You Wish For...

What do you do when what you've been dreaming about and wanting for such a long time, actually has a serious chance of coming to pass? How do you protect yourself from further hurt? How do you keep yourself open for a change of heart? There are a lot of questions that I was able to avoid when this was just in the realm of desire, but not in the realm of actuality, reality sets in and questions everything. I won't say no, I can't say no. I just hope this time around I sidestep the painful goodbyes.

India's never felt so close, or far as it does right now. Time pushes onward, bringing me second by second closer to closure or perhaps an open door. I want to question, but I don't want to assume. I want to know, but I don't want to share. I don't want to be vulnerable, but I do want to understand. How can getting what you're hearts been wanting for so long feel so foreign and scary?

Sometimes, we just need a little perspective...

As a few of my friends have mentioned to me and I'm sure any reader of this has noticed, I don't really blog anymore. It's not because I don't want to, it's more that I feel nothing I do nowadays compares to my adventures in India. But I've decided that there are somethings I would like to say, and whomever reads this can choose to hear what I have to say or not. Nothing I have to write here is of any great importance on a global scale, but merely a meandering of my own thoughts in a parade of self-explorations. So this post is more about me sharing some of myself in an effort to understand where I'm coming from and what I'm feeling. I'm writing it as a stream of conscience, so the smattering of tangents is to be expected. I could use a little perspective...

After returning from Honduras and another great international adventure, I realized something. I realized that I made a big mistake trying to get over Sidd. I've not been in a relationship since we broke up in the typical sense. There was one individual with whom I did more the friend-like things with. I did that more to test the waters and see if I was ready to move on, partly because I was attracted, and partly in an effort to heal. I learned that doing so was a very big mistake, and hopefully one which I can learn from and now really heal.

The interesting thing about my trip to Honduras and how it precipitated a lot of these realizations is that I missed Sidd more in those 7 days than I had missed him since we left each other in July 2007 (July 21st to be exact was the day that I kissed him goodbye and spent the next two hours crying while on the bus to La Guardia airport in NYC). What he and I did together for the majority of our time together was travel around India. We spent almost every weekend going somewhere, doing something, seeing exciting places, eating new foods, and meeting new people. I loved every minute of that time with him. I got to do many of the same things while in Honduras and I shared them with Katie, not Sidd. Now, Katie was her own wonderful set of things and she made the trip fantastic. With only two mild mis-communications/tension filled moments, we did a great job traveling together. But all the while, I was thinking about Sidd and all the great trips we did together. Katie and I were walking along a beach where there were large rocks near the shore creating very sheltered pools of water. In these small pools were schools of fish and we waded into them and tried to catch them. I almost started crying thinking about how Sidd and I did the same thing while on Long Island with my cousins and grandparents. That's just one example of many such moments.

As I reflected back on all my flashback memories of times with Sidd, and I felt my heart get tight and heavy with a mixture of sadness and elation, I knew that I was not over him and that I'm not healed. I also knew, that whatever it was that I was doing with this other person, was not helping me move on past Sidd, it was making me hurt more for not being true to how I still feel. I learned a similar lesson when trying to get over Duncan, but I guess somehow that lesson was lost. As a result I've decided to remain faithful to my feelings that I have now and to treat my heart as it feels it is, which is attached. Sidd and I are not together anymore and thinking that truth still brings tears to my eyes and causes my throat to tighten. But just thinking about Sidd causes my heart to sing.

I ask myself what it was about me that wasn't worth fighting for. What didn't I have, or what wasn't I offering, or what didn't I understand that prevented us from being what I knew we were going to be. I did know, there was not a doubt in my mind that I was going to be his wife, it was so strange when I had that realization, that I was going to marry him. He didn't know that my mind and heart simultaneously told me, but it happened. And now that he can't be mine, it makes me question the sages who spin the proverbs. Those elders and wise men and women to claim, when you find the one you are supposed to be with, you will just know. I knew, I knew through and through, but I was wrong, or at least that is what I've been told. Having him walk out of my life has been an emotional challenge that I have yet to face and overcome. I still cry at night sometimes when my heartstrings get tugged by memories. I still plan out far-flug reuniting stories of how I'm going to meet him again in life and he will know then, like I knew then and we really will be happy like I had expected it to be. Perhaps that is childish and silly to hold onto such fanciful dreams, but I need to be true to my heart, and that is what my heart is feeling.

So to the people who I perhaps used in an effort to heal myself, and leapfrog through some of the grieving, I'm sorry it was wrong to use your emotions and your support in such a manner. To those spectators to my life in any capacity, I suppose it time I bared a little of this internal struggle and I appreciate you reading it. Sometimes we all need people to bare witness to our lives, and having people read my thoughts grants me that necessity. And to Sidd, in the event that he reads this, I'm still a bachchoo (your bachchoo) and I'm holding onto such kiddish dreams.

Love is hard to come by, and almost impossible to let go of once you've found it. I'm trying not to be selfish, I'm trying to heal, I'm not trying to live in the past rather, I'm trying to open myself to more opportunities, and I'm not ignoring the many conversations and nights of tears, I'm just trying to gain some perspective...

Roatan, Honduras - Spring Break 2008

Katie and Allison's Honduran Vacation...

• One week
• Two girls
• Two backpacks
• $300
• No plans...

We walked, a lot. We slept in some 'sketch' places. We ate food that cost $1 and more popsicles than we can count. We swam with and 'fed' the fishes. We drank local beer and soft drink (yay Link). We slept and read ridiculous amounts. We got sunburned and bug bitten. We thought cannibalism was a reasonable option to curb hunger. We fed iguanas. Most importantly... we didn't kill each other!!

Details in photographs and video below...

Traveling there:

Where is there exactly? Here's a map! *note Roatan is circled...

• Mishaps in the airport... we got to see Houston for a night!! (not on the agenda)
  

But we were all smiles when we are finally about to leave for the sun and warmth of the 16th parallel!!

Yes, we are finally about to depart!! *note Roatan on the jet way sign!!

Too excited for words!

Day one:

Valeries - we only stayed one night.. don't worry mom!

• We found accommodation at Valeries - see video
• We drank local beer (Salve Vida) and rum and coke
• We at tostadas for $1
  
• We met Brad and Mike and Willy... Pastor Dave was no where to be found
• We attempted to sleep in the smallness of our private room.
  

I don't exactly fit on the bed... but hey it was an adventure!

Days Two and Three:

• Find new accommodation

The Dolphin Inn - much nicer with an attached bathroom!
Note how safe our luggage is!

• Lounging on the beach and reading a bit

Enjoying the beauty of the West End

• Took a walk along the beach to West Bay
  
• Snorkeled along the way... lots of sea grass
• Hung in hammocks
  
• Took a water taxi ($2) back to West End
• Decided against renting a Moped scooter to see the island (smart move)
  
• Snorkeled at the reef with Divemaster Richard
• Ate dinner with him and his rapper brother one evening
  
• Enjoyed some delicious Margaritas!
  

We are pretty much in heaven

Day Four:

• Moved to French Harbor
• Walked and walked and walked
• Couldn't find the Iguana Farm...
  
• Serendipitously stayed at the delightful Caye Harbor Lodge
• Met Ella

So cute and secluded!!

• Swam to the Cay and back

It is a lot further out there than it looks!!

• Ate some amazing chicken, rice, and veggies
• Hung in hammocks
  

Nothing beats this kind of island lifestyle...

• Separate beds!!!! No more Katie spooning!!

Day Five:

• Moved to Uncle Tim's lodging

• Sun bathed and read
• Walked to French Harbor
• Ate Cheetos and Link for lunch (aren't you proud mom?)
• Visited Ella's for dinner
• Waited ~3 hours for dinner while in the moonlight (read: no electricity)

We 'dressed' up a bit for our last dinner with Ella and Uncle Time

Day six

• Finally found the Iguana Farm!
• Fed many Iguanas

Just be glad we weren't wearing yellow Croc sandals...

• Returned to the West End
• Found new lodging with a king sized bed no less!

Our accommodations seemed to steadily improve each night..

• Visited with Richard

Richard, Katie and I chillin' on the beach on our last night in Roatan

Day Seven

• Said our goodbyes and headed back home...

Yay! All packed up and ready to hit the road... albeit we didn't want to leave

• Congratulated ourselves on an amazing adventure which lead to no (serious) bodily harm...
  

And friends through seven straight days, 24 hours a day, of together time!

Hey Katie... Ready for the summer trip??? Watch out world, we're planning our next adventure!!

Last few days of freedom!

Well these are my last few days without class. My last few moments before submitting once again to the grips of the library, engineering textbooks, hours of homework, and seemingly endless amounts of lab reports, group projects, not to mention job searching! I've finished RA training, I've got my textbooks, I've been to the Neon Cactus bar and I'm ready to go I think!

The RAs had a banquet to attend the other night which was a nice awkward event. We all dressed up in dresses and suits and mingled with the apparent 'high rollers' of Purdue, the 'who's who' of the residence halls and the newest member of the Purdue staff our new president!! Isn't she a wonderful addition to the staff!!! She had her degree in astrophysics and worked as lead scientist for NASA as well as president for University of California Santa Barbra!! And she does all this in a five foot nothing frame! Such a mighty woman in such a small person, it's a bit hard to believe.

Here is a picture of my friend Katie and I before heading to this marvelous event where the only thing more impressive than our newest presidents credentials was the tiramisu dessert = DIVINE!!

Back to Purdue!

So I've started training at Purdue for my new position as RA! It's been a blast so far seeing as my fellow RA's are all a lot of fun. There are 16 of us, plus two lead RA's known as Staff Residents. Everyone is pretty outgoing and willing to chat and laugh at just about anything. Training is mostly about policy and expectations of the residence hall so it isn't always interesting, but the leaders do the best they can with it. Right now I'm a bit overwhelmed because it sounds like so much to do! I hope I can manage to balance this with ChemE and the sorority, but we shall see...

Oh and to a few who have noticed that I'm not on facebook it is a temporary hiatus. Because of sorority recruitment all sorority members are not allowed on facebook. It is supposed to level the playing field for recruitment and not allow communication amongst members and those who are going through recruitment. I think it is silly, but rules are rules. So give me a month and I'll be back, and we will still be friends!!

On a side note, it has been a blast to share my India experience with so many people. I get to relive my favorite parts of my experience every time I talk about it. That is so cool!!!