“People don’t take trips . . . trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

Amsterdam. As I start writing this, I am still in awe that I was able to go to Amsterdam for a weekend. It feels so surreal that I was there. Derek, Nate, Dakota, and I left Friday morning to board a 3-hour flight to Eindhoven. We flew with Ryanair, a discount airline, and overall the experience was good. We arrived in Eindhoven at night and then took a bus to Amsterdam. We were dropped off in the city center and then proceeded to walk to the apartment we rented through Air B&B. We walked for about an hour-and-a-half with no luck, so we hailed down a taxi to take us literally around the block to our apartment. We rented a two-bedroom and it was so nice. We had a lot of space, a great kitchen, and an awesome view. We went to sleep after the long day of travel, and the next morning we woke up early to go explore the city! Before the trip, we all discussed what we wanted to see in Amsterdam. The only major sight we wanted to experience was the Anne Frank House, and since it was Yom Kippur on Saturday, we were going to go on Sunday.

As we walked to town, I was just so infatuated with the architecture of the city, and the feeling I got while being there. It also did not hurt to see so many happy, active people there. Everyone was riding bikes, and there were barely any cars on the streets, even though it is a city. I also felt very safe and comfortable there. We walked to the city center and visited the Apple store, since half our group needed to have our laptops checked out (there's no Apple store in Morocco). While waiting for our laptops to be checked out, we walked around the shops and the Tulip Market. The city center was pretty crowded, but surprisingly enough, I did not care. Since Nate and I were fasting, we tried to explore as much non-food related sights as possible but there were cheese shops on every corner that teased us! Since we got to the apartment pretty late the night before, we all took an early evening nap before we got all dressed up to go out to a fancy dinner. Dakota and I bought dresses at the mall a couple weeks earlier that we put on, and the boys brought their suits. There are not many opportunities to get dressed up in college, so we all wanted to just have fun and do something that we usually do not get the chance to do. We started walking downtown, which is about a 3-mile walk and it started to drizzle. At first, we were fine in the rain, but then it started pouring. Derek and Nate freaked out about their suits and we were all drenched so we started running back to the apartment. By the time we got back, it looked like we all just got out of the shower. The grocery store around the corner closed at ten and it was 9:30 so we ran around the corner and grabbed a bunch of groceries to make dinner inside. I volunteered to make omelets and quinoa so we grabbed ingredients and ran back. We turned on some music once we got in the apartment and started singing, dancing, and cooking together. It was so much fun. We also Skyped our friends from AUI who traveled to Barcelona and Geneva. Finally, dinner was ready at 10:30 and we were able to eat. We ended up eating in our pajamas, so "fancy night" was technically not a success, but I would not of had it any other way. We stayed up playing cards and laughing and then went to sleep so we could wake up early to go to the Anne Frank House!

The next morning we got up, had coffee, and then went on our way to downtown. We got to the Anne Frank House and realized that there was a line that spanned more that two blocks of people waiting to see the museum! After waiting in line for more two-and-a-half hours, we finally got in. The museum was beautiful and it meant a lot to see it the day after a very important Jewish Holiday. I started thinking that I did not think it was fair for one girl to be the face of the Holocaust. There were six million Jews and other minorities that were murdered in the Holocaust and I do not like that one girl's name is the one we remember. I wish that everyone had a museum, or something to be remembered by, because we all have a story. That evening we roamed around the city and ate dinner at a delicious burger place, where I got the best portobello mushroom burger I have ever had. We then walked for two hours in search of the Red Light District, and even after asking six different people and taking a taxi, we could not find it! The taxi actually broke down and Nate and Derek had to push the taxi to the nearest corner, but the driver said the Red Light District was just a straight two minute walk, but we still couldn't find it! We ended up heading back to apartment and watched "The Conjuring" and then went to bed. The next day was our departure day and we left to go to the train station at 9, but ended up getting there closer to 11, because once again, we got lost. We missed our first train but ended up getting on another one 15 minutes later. We got to the airport 7 minutes before our flight took off and then got back to Fes.

The weekend was amazing and I definitely want to go back to Amsterdam in the future. I am so tired, but it was all worth it. Next week I have midterms, so I am glad I got to have an incredible weekend before I have to study nonstop for the next week!

This was the back of a shop at the Tulip Market!

After we got caught in the rain! (Left to right: Derek, Me, Nate)

Tulips and Sunflowers!

The best Gouda in the whole world was here.

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” ~ Miriam Beard

From stargazing to riding camels, this past weekend was one for the books. The weekend started at 7 am on Saturday where I and eleven other people boarded a bus to Merzouga, Morocco. The bus ride was about six hours and on the way we stopped in Erfoud and had delicious tajine and Moroccan salad. The group I went with was really fun and since we were all exchange students, aside from the student who put the group together, we all knew each other really well. We arrived at the desert in the afternoon and were transported from one hotel to another so we could get closer to the Sahara. At the second hotel, we were served mint tea and nuts and saw the camels that we were about to ride into the Sahara to our campsite! I did not know that we were actually staying in the desert, so that was an awesome surprise. We all got on the camels and started our trip into the desert! The camel ride was about 1.5 hours. For the first fifteen minutes, riding the camels was cool, but then it got kind of boring and uncomfortable. I named my camel Wednesday, and he was the biggest and tallest camel in our group (and probably the ugliest too). Our tour guide was absolutely hilarious, he learned all his English from the tourists and kept repeating, "Oh my G-d, I love it!" and "Fabulous" with a stereotypical female American accent throughout the tour.

When we arrived at the camp, we immediately hiked up a nearby sand dune to watch the sunset. I was not expecting our hike to be as difficult as it was. Halfway up the dune, everyone was gasping for breath. We finally made it up the hill, but unfortunately, the sunset was blocked by clouds. The view, however, was still phenomenal. For dinner we had more tajine and ate pomegranates and orange slices for dessert. Afterwards, we all sat around a fire and told jokes, stories, and had a blast. Then, we hiked up another dune and stargazed. I cannot even begin to explain how beautiful the stars were. You know those photos of what New York City, or Hong Kong, would look like at night without light pollution? That's how the stars looked. I saw five or six shooting stars and we could see the Milky Way. Just that view alone was worth a million dollars. Looking up at the stars at night makes me feel so small. There's this whole world around us but yet we are this tiny dot in the universe. It is mind-boggling to think about. The next morning we woke up early so we could see the sunrise on the camels. The sunrise was breathtaking and we actually saw the border to Algeria too! We arrived back at the second hotel to a warm breakfast to end our stay. We then drove back in 4-wheel drive vehicles to the first hotel. We ended up hanging outside the windows as the truck was going a good 80 km/hr and even though that is an obviously dangerous thing to do, it was so much fun (sorry mom and dad!). We got to the hotel and hung out by the pool for a couple of hours before getting back into the bus to go home.

On the way back we saw a fossil factory where they excavate and prepare fossils to be sold. The process was pretty cool and so were the polished tables and sinks they make out of the fossils. After a couple hours of driving, we stopped at a gas station to use the restroom. As we were leaving, there was a flash flood! We were stuck on the side of the road for about an hour while officials tried to figure out how to deal with the water. AUI actually has a curfew on school nights, and we will get reprimanded if we return past midnight, so we were nervous that we would not make it to campus on time. Luckily enough we arrived fifteen minutes before midnight and we ran into our dorms to clean off all the sand that managed to find its way all over our bodies and in our bags.

All in all, our trip was amazing. I can now cross off "visit the Sahara Desert" off my bucket list and I definitely want to return to see the stars again. Life here is one adventure after another, and each day is a day to be thankful for.

Wednesday and the Sahara!

I still cannot get over that view.

Hiking up the sand dune! (this is already about halfway up)

Obligatory camel shadow photo

The group!