End of the Program

Well, two months have finally come to end. Today I've been dealing with all the last-minute administrative things that inevitably come up and tomorrow I'll leave AUI for good. This morning every student in my class gave a final oral presentation on the same topic as our research papers, which will be handed in tomorrow. Finishing the paper was extremely satisfying, and it finally hit me how far we've come in just 8 weeks -- I could never have imagined writing a 5-page paper entirely in Arabic. Tomorrow morning is our final exam (4 hours long), after which I'll depart for the next phase of the adventure.

I won't be taking my laptop with me, so this will probably be my last blog post until I'm back in the U.S. (unless I manage to stop by an internet cafe somewhere). In fact, I am experimenting with traveling with only 1 small, rather flimsy backpack (clothes will be worn many times, but for sure it will be an experience). Here's my general itinerary for the next 12 days:

Fri. 7/24
Travel to Sara's beach house in Martil, near Tetouan, by train. Arrive around midnight.

Sat. 7/25-Sun. 7/26
See Tetouan, the Mediterranean beach, and the Spanish city of Ceuta (on the Moroccan coast) with Sara and her friends.

Mon. 7/27
Travel in the morning to Tangier. Spend the day and night in Tangier.

Tues. 7/28
Take the morning ferry from Tangier to Algeciras in Andalusia. Spend the afternoon and evening in Gibraltar (very close to Algeciras). Hopefully we will get to go diving off the coast, where supposedly one can see numerous dramatic shipwrecks, and also see the famous cave apes.

Wed. 7/29
Morning in Gibraltar, then take 3pm train to Cordoba. We should get there in the evening and spend the night.

Thurs. 7/30
Day in Cordoba. Night in Cordoba.

Fri. 7/31
Take morning train to Seville, then spend the day and night in Seville.

Sat. 8/1
Day and night in Seville.

Sun. 8/2
Fly from Seville to Fez (5 euro flight!), then return to AUI to pick up our luggage. Afternoon and evening in Fez.

Mon. 8/3
Day in Fez.

Tues. 8/4
Depart on 7am flight for the USA.

***
Tonight, I think we will eat at a Syrian restaurant in the marche, and then back to the books. If possible, I will write a brief update or two during the course of the next week and half, but if not -- expect a full report to be posted when I get home.

مع سلامة