some time away

As opposed to trying to write the past few months of my time here, i thought i could do a little picture diary. I left my site on June 24th and traveled around the north for a few weeks before spending a week in the capital for a little relaxation. I'm now starting my third week at summer camp!

Hope you enjoy the pics.


I did a tour of the northern part of the country, and this was my first stop. We'll call it beatiful coastal town number 1!



This is the main square of the same town. The entire north has tons of spanish architecture and i fell in love!



Coastal town number two has the cleanest walled city i have seen in this country. Spotless! Here are some villas with views of the ocean.



The same city, from where i sat and waited for the sunset.



One of the most incredible sunsets i've seen. no obstructions to my view, amazing!



Coastal city number 3 is a real city and a place i could actually live. It had a really relaxing vibe and made me feel like i was in a whole different country!


In the old city, a great people watching location.


Most cities turn old palaces into museums, and this was one of the best i've seen.


This is the garden in the American Legation museum. There are letters here from George Washington from the Sultan. Did you know that this country was the first in the world to recognize America as a country when the Declaration of Independence was signed?


People sell stuff all over the place, but only in the north did i see these crazy hats. They were everywhere and many extremely festive!


A kid in the old city near a cool stoop. I tried waiting for him to leave, but i guess he was pretty happy with his spot.



A short ride from city number 3 took us to the Northern most point in africa on the atlanic ocean. here it is!



In the same area, we find the "cave of hercules." Mythology claims that this is where hercules was when he separated Africa and Europe into two continents!



This is me, with my feet in the mediteranian sea! It was the first time i'd ever seen it, how exciting!

Spices for sale. doesn't it seem like it would just all topple down if someone bought some?

Looking out a window of an old palace, the view of the mountain side town in gorgeous!

This is the hotel i stayed in, beautiful and perfect location. only 6 dollars!

An alley stairway in the blue city

Now we move to Summer English Language camp. I will spend a month here working 2 sessions. this is AbdelAli, one of my favorites who returned for a second year! He is one of the most talented people i have ever met.

Me and Mohamed, the cutest little thing ever. He won my library reading race.

We had an "american games" night and they loved the dizzy bat game!
Some girls show off the traditional clothing of their region
Hmza, such a sweetie!

Habiba, such a beautie!

And little Ayoub, the cutest of all.

it's so cold!

My store keeper says "welcome to teresa's update!!"

He is my main food man, i just walk across the street!

(yep, that is the toilet paper i was about to buy)

it's officially winter. i mean, it's been chilly for a while now, but now i'm just freezing my booty off. this morning i woke up, and for the first time, wasn't toasty warm under my four blankets. "this is odd" i thought as i felt a little chill. then i looked at my handy dandy clock thermometer. 47 degrees in my apartment.

the snow is beautiful!

in fact, as i sit here typing this to you all, my hands are so cold that they can only move very sluggishly. tried typing with my fleece gloves, but that just makes it too bulky. The mountains around town are covered in snow. while this makes for extremely picturesque scenery, it makes me just about willing to give my left arm for a furnace.

hmmm or maybe i could roll myself into one of these rugs?

so whats the big news these days. well, yesterday i got a new bike. it's a trek bike, and apparently cost over 500 dollars, so basically PC will kill me if anything happens to it. But wow, it's really zwine (beautiful). i went on my first ride this morning, but despite the daily running that i've been doing for the past 2 1/2 months i felt like i was going to die. my heart was racing, my legs were hurting. Really makes me realize how out of shape i still am.

i participated in making couscous for the first time at the home

of some new friends. mmm mmm good!

in other news, my theater club actually held a little performance on friday night. the actors were excited, and we had a crowd full of siblings and friends. despite not having much time for rehearsals, they pulled it off, and i consider this a large accomplishment. It proves that we actually can get something done, and i think we can only go up from here.

our performers and the teachers who lead the whole thing

spectators!

On thursday i'm leaving town for a little work and a little play. i have to go up to the capital for my mid-term physical, and have added a few vacation days before and after to make a nice little vacation. i'm going to visit some friends in the mountains who live close to an incredible waterfall, and then to an old roman city all in ruins.

these "snack carts" sell candy, nuts, seeds and lots of goodies

and are located all over town! this is by far the best one

i've seen in this country.

despite how great work has been the last few months, i am ready to get out for a bit. my location certainly makes me feel secluded and i'm getting a little stir crazy. The last night away will be christmas eve at a friends house, and then i will arrive back home on christmas day. maybe i'll make myself a little christmas feast.

maybe my feast will include peas. do you see how

many peas i shelled to get this tiny little bowl!!!! ridiculous!!!

but they are just so much better fresh. i tell you, canned peas

should not even be called peas. they dont taste the same at all!!!

I hope you all had a great thanksgiving and are fully in the holiday spirit. i love and miss you all!

this is my santa. i bought it for about 1 dollar

from that cart you saw earlier. sweet!

I am one spoiled little girl. thanks family!

this is my christmas tree. courtesy of my lovely sister. apparently it will grow when i add the magic water. i'll let you all know how it goes! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

-I would like to say a big thanks to my dad, sue and little david for sending me a new camera for christmas. all of the pictures on this page were taken with it, and dont they just look fabulous!!-