Saturday, July 3, 2010

There and Back Again

Well, after a nice long week, a getaway to Spain was just what I needed (the timing, it was a divine thing).

Myrna and I packed into multiple crowded taxis to get back to the border (it's completely normal to have two men in the passenger seat and up to four or five people squished into the back seat - no joke - luckily we managed to get away with only three in the back seat the whole way - excellent).

After managing two hours of taxis, we get to the border and cross on foot - this was daunting, but quite awesome, as I've never crossed a border on foot before - the Moroccan side was covered in long lines, and after waiting probably thirty minutes, we're told that we actually have to go to another window, as we're foreigners, where there was no one, so after that we buzzed on through. Anita was waiting to pick us up on the other side with Christina, our 'new' recruit (she worked here last year as well, so new for the year, but an old hand at this). We headed on over to Silvia's house and had an excellent lunch (I love the food here), followed by a long walk through town.

Now, as a disclaimer, before going through town, we went to pick stuff up at the store and I ran by the ATM to grab some money - let me tell you, ulcers couldn't even respond appropriately when every single ATM told me to go do nasty things, as they weren't going to help me. Which means, no money. None, nada, zippo. My credit card was cancelled by Bank of America after I left (I hate them), so my ATM card was the only thing connecting me to my money. BoA and I have talked minorly on their LiveChat and they've given me some advice that I'll try to test, but if that fails, I'm down to having money wired to me. *ulcer* Although the fact that I didn't panic, or really show too much outward sign of distress means I'm either losing my mind, or it's my acting getting to my brain and deceiving myself. Who knows.
Regardless, Myrna was an angel and helped me pick up some things to survive until we figure the money thing out.

After shopping, we stopped in at a Cafe to watch the rest of the Brazil/Netherlands game - let me tell you - the entire place was shouting and screaming and having a high old time - I love Europe. Also, we kicked Brazil out! I'm not much of a fan of the Netherlands, but Brazil is Goliath, and guess who got toppled? It was exciting.

After a couple of hours of walking around with Christina and Myrna, we settled down for dinner and had a nice evening. Sleep wasn't so forthcoming, as I woke up every 45 minutes or less, but there you go. A lot on my mind means I won't be sleeping well for a while, I'm pretty sure. But again, nothing I can do, so might as well just live with it.

This morning was a nice early wake-up for Christina and myself, so we decided to head down to the cafe below the foundation for breakfast nice and early - unfortunately, they weren't ready, so we took another good 25 minute walk (these things are fabulous - after essentially being in house arrest for a couple of weeks, I'm glad to have an extra person to go walking with). Breakfast was lovely, packing was quick, and finally Anita brought the car around for us - we filled it with Suitcases and Groceries, and hopped in the car for the border... or so I thought. We stopped at Silvia's house... for the supplies for the orphanage. Holey Moley. That car (an old old fashioned Range Rover Discover - TONS of room) was absolutely stuffed solid with all sorts of things. But we made it. We cross the border, I got my official stamp of exiting the country so that Denmark won't worry about me having been in the EU too long, and start on back to Chefchaouen.

Again, so I thought. We stopped at a giant walmart-esque store for groceries, which was awesome, then had lunch... at Pizza Hut (which, unlike the crap that you get in the USA, was actually not half bad). I, at this point, am back in Morocco, and have a small supply of money left, so none of this was an issue. Woo. Although I'm completely out of Euros, so going back to Europe is going to be a tricky proposition.

After a two hour drive (which usually takes 55 mins tops - damn Dutch and their lack of driving ability), we got all of the supplies into the clinic and rushed home to watch yet another excellent match - Germany freaking CREAMED Argentina, proving once again that I'm being watched over from on high, giving me something to distract me from these past couple of days.

Woo.

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