The Best Airline Ever Award Goes To....

QATAR AIRWAYS! Seriously, everyone should fly Qatar Airways at least once, just to experience the luxury of the long layover. When Julie and I booked our flights to Bangkok, we were seriously dreading the 11 hour stopover in Doha, Qatar on the way there and the 13 hour stopover on the way back. We were wrong to think that it would be terrible - in fact, it was kind of nice.

The airline provided us with meals, visa fees, hotels and transport to and from the hotels and airport. It was so easy. Upon arrival in Doha, we went to the layover desk, where we received our vouchers, popped through immigration, immediately were met by our transport driver and were whisked off to the hotel for our meals and room. Our layover on the way back was from noon to 1am, but they still hooked us up in one of the "Leading Hotels of the World". Best accommodations we had for the trip, besides maybe the resort we stayed in at the wedding beach. We got to tour around Doha, where Julie and Scott will be living next year, during the day and took glorious naps before boarding our flight back to Casa.

Normally, I check out cheap fares on Expedia or Kayak when planning travel, but I'm now finding myself looking into Qatar Airways first- because it rocks and makes plane travel so much easier. You should check it out, too! They have flights all over the world.

Nuts and Beans

In case you're hungry on a ridiculously long sky train/train/bus/ferry travel excursion, my travel buddy Krista highly recommends getting some Nuts & Beans for a snack. For those of you who are wondering what comes in the Nuts & Beans snack bag, you'll be happy to know it's just cashew nuts. And maybe some of those crazy invisible beans.

The recommendation is that you "consume after opening the package". Krista went ahead and followed those directions, even though it went against her instincts. :)

WARNING!

Apparently, my judgement has never been impaired, since I've never made out with a fish.

Beach Wedding

I'm back everyone! Planning some good posts, so here's one of the first of many more!

One of the highlights of my trip back to the Thai homeland was the beautiful beach wedding of my dear friend Julie and her new husband Scott. They decided to get married on Laguna Beach in Phuket, before the job fair craziness all began. I had the distinguished honor of being the best man while Krista was maid of honor. Another family from Casablanca American School - Lara, Paul, Kira and Kesia came too. Kira even stepped up at the last minute to be the flower girl and she was a total pro, even though it was her first time.

We all got picked up in this classy rig from our kickass hotel. I know many brides would go for a limo or pickup truck, but this van is by far the best wedding transportation I've ever seen.

Although Julie and Scott spent some time looking through the 80 or so options for their decorations and picking just the right one, they didn't actually get the one they picked. However, the heart petals and seashell arch was just the right amounts of pretty and cheesy.

The bride walked herself down the aisle to where her groom was waiting for her. She was super happy and had a totally genuine smile on her face the entire time.

"God love a wedding" was the beginning line from the minister who didn't actually speak any English. He had to bring a translator when he met with Julie and Scott ahead of time. He had a script that he read for the ceremony, although he had a hard time pronouncing the names.. There's no way to write the hilarity of the accent. Julia and S-cott Tidy-man had an awesome sense of humor about all of it.

Even when she couldn't get the ring on his finger!

The R. Fatine girls had a blast - together once again to laugh and celebrate!

By far my favorite part of the wedding was the Love Tree Planting. No one is quite sure where the Thai wedding planners got the idea that planting a love tree in the sand needed to be a part of a Western weddin ceremony - but I'm sure glad they did. After using their love shovel and love watering can to plant their love tree, Julie and Scott moved on to their next activity, while the wedding planner's staff uprooted the tree from the sand and threw it back in the truck for the next wedding. Not sure what that symbolizes...

And then there were fire balloons - and Julie was a bit nervous about the giant ball of fire she was supposed to hold. Bride and groom let three balloons of fire float into the air and off towards the sunset.

Here's a wedding tradition I recognized - champagne! The adults each had a glass before taking more pictures and then heading off to dinner on the beach.

Julie and Scott's day was so special, so I highly recommend it to you adventurous folks out there who want something less traditional for a wedding. There were plenty of laughs and tons of good times, as well as a perfectly legal union of these two wonderful people. Congrats, Mr. and Mrs. Tidy-man!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHANIE!

Let me tell you about my awesome friend, Stephanie, who has turned another year older today. In her Upper School Math class, she teaches her students to sing songs like "I'll Simplify" to the tune of "I Will Survive". She also really gets excited about teaching things like Calculus. I think I'd like Calculus in Ms. Lacher's classroom. I am a huge fan of the poster that she put up her on her classroom wall this year - how clever.


Luckily, when Stephanie bought her pretty new Suzuki Swift last week, I was able to score myself a spot in her carpool to school. That's right, folks, no more Blue Bird bus for me! Instead, I get the great company of Stephanie, Amy and Rohan each morning on the way to school. Oh, and I get to be a passenger in this hot ride. It's time to start planning road trips in Morocco!

Nanoose Bay

What better way to spend a weekend in North America than to take a trip up to Vancouver Island in Canada to kick it with some dear old friends from back in the day when I went to ISE. It's been 10 years so we definitely had to celebrate seeing each other again.

We were so fortunate to get to stay at Bob and Jill's pad on Nanoose Bay, where we couldn't have possibly run out of fun things to do. Check out the beautiful view from the upstairs deck. We spent a great deal of time hanging out in the hot tub staring out over the ocean and reminiscing about the olden days.



Some people were actually crazy enough to jump into the frigid water and swim around. I held back from jumping in but did eventually take an air matress for a spin around the bay.

Kevin and Janet brought supplies for the best nighttime outdoor activity ever - making s'mores.

We wanted to have some yummy jello shots, but couldn't find any little cups with them. So, we made this bowl of jello and took jello spoonfuls instead. Delicious morning treats!

We also managed to leave the beautiful house to explore various spots on the island. Our trip to the old cedar forest was short, but we managed to take some awesome pictures and climb around like monkeys.

The Vancouver Island trip had all the elements of a kickass high school reunion: good friends, awesome setting, fun activities and lots of laughs & memories. I think an 11 year reunion might just be in order for next summer. :)

Things I Love About Morocco

I know I haven't posted in ages, which is mostly due to a lack of internet access as I had the best summer ever! I finally made it home safely to Casablanca after a massive flight delay in London and it feels good to be home.

Here are a few things I love about coming home to Casa:

• Zakia! - My amazing maid had my apartment in tip top shape upon my return. The furniture was reorganized and I love the way it turned out. She also put Diet Coke and water in my fridge so I wouldn't be thirsty once I got home. To top it all off, I had these beautiful roses on my table to welcome me home.


• Proposals - There's nothing better for the self-esteem than random marriage proposals from local taxi drivers. My taxi driver on the way home from the airport managed to communicate with his limited English and my limited French & Arabic that he would like to marry me. I ended up rejecting the offer, but man do I feel special!
• Friends - It has been great catching up with people and getting exciting news (Julie's engaged - yay!). Off to a school barbecue tonight which should be a blast.
• Produce - took some new hires on a tour around the market today. I love how fresh and cheap all the fruits and vegetables are here. Markets are soooo much better than Safeway's produce section!
• Time Change - Ramadan started today which means that yesterday we set our clocks back an hour. Even though I left London at 8:45 p.m., I still made it back to Casa by midnight!

I'm trying to get back into blogging mode, so keep checking back!

Molecular Explosions

Favorite Trip Quote

Dad: "You may not know this, but when you get to high altitudes, pressure increases which causes explosions of toiletry and other packaged items."

Katie: "Dad, I may not have climbed a mountain before, but I have been in a few airplanes. I get it."

Example:
Gary figured this out when he went to open a new can of powdered milk when we were pretty far up the mountain. He was quite surprised when the powder decorated his sweatshirt.

Things I Love About America...

I'm taking a quick break from the Kili posts to share my excitement about being back in the US. Here are some of the things that I didn't realize that I missed so much.

• Ice: they serve these frozen bits of water in drinks here. On my flights over, I was given full glasses of ice with my soda, rather than empty plastic cups. I particularly like when I can get the ice myself out of the soda machine.

• Family: Nothing's better than showing up at the Bert Mooney Airport to Aunty Jane, Gramps, and Uncle Kev. Well, except maybe waking up to this delightful breakfast at Grandpa's house.

• Pox: I love my car. He was washed and ready to go when Gramps and I picked him up this morning. I have been having fun cruising around Butte with the sunroof open, listening to CDs I made forever ago. I may retract the love for driving once I have my first 10 hour road trip tomorrow, but for now I'm loving it.

• Pork: it's on all the menus here - bacon, ham, etc. Luckily, Butte happens to be the home of the best pork place in America - Porkchop John's. Gramps and I had deep fried porkchop sandwiches for lunch. Yum!
• Efficiency: I ran all of my errands today in a single morning! Well, I've got some more to do this afternoon, but all the big stuff got out of the way in a mere couple of hours. Same errands would have probably taken me a week to do in Casa.

I am so stoked about the rest of this vacation. Can't wait to see everyone!

Standing on the Roof of Africa

Well, folks..we did it! My dear father, sister and I climbed up to 5895 meters (19340 feet) and stood up on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. After 6 grueling hours of slowly walking in zigzags uphill, we came upon this gorgeous sight.

The sunrise wasn't the only beautiful sight from the top of the mountain - check out this glacier and the sea of clouds below it.
Katie summitted the mountain by running the last few meters at about 6:45 a.m. Dad and I came "pole pole" (slowly slowly) afterwards. I think I was about 5-10 minutes behind my dear sister and Dad was already up by then. Even though it was absolutely freezing cold, we still took a break to get some photos before heading back down.

Out of 14 people in our group, 14 of us summitted the mountain. Our fabulous guides and sheer willpower and determination were a huge part of our success. Here's a pic of all of us at the top of Uhuru Peak, the tallest point in Africa.

Summitting Kili was a huge accomplishment and a great time. I was so lucky to get to do this with my dad and sister, as well as the many new friends we met on our journey - wouldn't have been the same without you all!

Stay tuned for more Kili pics and stories!

Heading to Kili

It's time. My bags are pretty much packed and I'm almost ready to go. This evening, I'm leaving on a jet plane (an Ethiopian Airlines jet plane) and headed to Kilimanjaro. Please pass on positive thoughts starting on Sunday, when my dad, sister Katie and I will be starting our ascent up the tallest mountain in Africa. I'm sure that I will have plenty to blog about when I get back, so stay tuned! I've got a couple of posts coming up while I'm away, but the best will be once I'm back on July 5th. Then it's home to the US on July 8th. Here's to a kickass summer!!

Goon Bag Lesson

I have recently figured out that Australians, particularly those from Tasmania, are resourceful people. I learned this from my friend Travis, who shared another use for a "Goon Bag". A Goon Bag is the bag full of wine that comes in a box of wine. This box is a 3 liter box of wine, though most Goon Bag experiences from Travis' past come from 5 liter boxes.

Here's the Aussie process and thoughts for the resourceful and alternate use for a Goon Bag:

Step 1: Make sure to get every last drop out of the box of wine.

2. By the time you're done with the wine, you should be feeling pretty darn good. Make sure to take the Goon Bag (silver bag that once held the wine) out of the box and place in your pocket for later use.

3. Continue having a great time until you start to yawn and get really tired.

4. This is where the Aussie genius comes into play. Despite being inebriated, start thinking about your Goon Bag and how that can help you with your exahuastion.

5. "AHA! I know!"

6. Time to blow up the Goon Bag!

7. Stay focused on the task at hand.

8. SUCCESS! Enjoy your Goon Bag pillow as you pass out from your night of drinking!

Thanks Travis for the awesome Goon Bag lesson! That's definitely something I can use throughout the rest of my life!

Village Dining

Hiking in the Rif Mountains is a beautiful experience. In Chefchaouen, we hired a guide to take us to God's Bridge and then to lunch in a local village. This is the village where we ate our lunch.

The village was pretty small, so we set up for cooking our lunch outside the village mosque.

While our guide chopped up veggies for our vegetable tagine, we got to relax and take in the village sights. This adorable kiddo was walking around the village carrying a bag of laundry soap. We also listened as the village boys recited the Quran. They practice 6 days a week for the whole school day, with the goal of memorizing the whole book. That is the only education they receive in the village.

Our tagine was cooked in this part of the mosque, where the water is boiled for cleaning before prayer. Non-Muslims are not allowed in mosques (besides the Hassan II Mosque in Casa, which is open to tourists), but we were able to check on our lunch and pose for pics by the boiling water in this part of the mosque. Note our lunch on the propane tank on the right side of the photo.

This was the final product - it was delicious! We ate in Moroccan style, by using bread to dig in (with our right hands, of course) to the communal dish.

The Imam came out with mint tea for us and Ahmed poured the tea for us. We were happy and full when we left!

Borthday Weekend Part 1

Here's how to have a kickass birthday:

1. Get friends together for a yummy barbecue. (Make sure to have cool dude at the grill.)

2. Have amazing raspberry cake from Le Notre bakery.

3. Pose for cute pictures with the other two R Fatine gals.

4. Don't mess up the beauty of the cake with birthday candles. Instead, blow out a giant decorative candle and make a wish. (Also, make sure cute kid is in attendance)

5. Appreciate living in a foreign country with a different language. Even though Jen wrote down "Happy Birthday Annie" for them to write on the chocolate, they still ended up spelling it "Happy Borthday Annie". Love it!

What a wonderful way to celebrate my 28th year. The fun continued with our big night out the next night...I can't just celebrate my birthday on one day.

Moroccan Time

I went out for fondue last night with some lovely ladies I know. Since restaurants don't open here until 8p.m., we made our reservations for 8:30 and although it was pretty empty when we got there, we weren't the first ones! There was another couple already there, which does not normally happen. Just because someone else was already in the restaurant didn't necessarily mean that we were eating dinner at an acceptable Moroccan time - in fact, the owner was still in shorts and a T-shirt when we were there. Later in the evening, he changed into his formal attire. By the time we left at half past midnight, the restaurant was still popping.

It's been kind of crazy adjusting to Moroccan time - nothing runs on schedule and everything's closed between 12 and 4 for nap time. The French schools even have a break for a couple of hours at lunch and go until 5:30 or 6p.m. Unfortunately for adjustment, CAS operates on American time. Our standard hours of 8-4 do not allow for nap time, although most of the Moroccan staff sleep during their lunch breaks to make up for the fact that they don't got to bed at an early hour. Fatima Zahra, who works at school with me, recently went to a wedding around 10:30p.m. and when she left at 3a.m. they hadn't even served dinner yet. Makes for a really tiresome day at work!

ROBBED!

I had a blast in Barcelona with my 3 favorite people to get robbed with - Julie, Krista, and Scott. We were really careful about not getting pickpocketed, but the apartment we rented ended up getting robbed. After a delightful shopping expedition, Julie and Krista came back to an apartment that was kind of a mess and missing valuable items. Scott and I were sipping sangria on the beach when we got the call. After finishing off the pitcher, we headed back to survey the damage. There were no signs of forced entry and the door wouldn't open without a key, so we're pretty sure it was just a giant scam.

We called the police and I was able to use my Spanish skills to get them to the apartment to investigate and then finish filing the report the next morning at the police station. They pretty much told us there's no way we'll get anything back, but it didn't feel right to not report it. Because of our morning flight time, we ended up at the police station by 7:30 a.m. Can't think of a better way to spend our last morning in Barcelona! Julie was ecstatic about it.

Lessons Learned About Barcelona Robbers

1. Timing is everything. - We were scheduled to check out of our apartment pretty early Monday morning, so of course we got robbed Sunday afternoon. When we called the guy we rented the apartment from (Francisco), he informed us that the police station is closed on Sundays and that he'd help us get in contact with them when he came to check us out in the morning. He showed up to check us out 20 minutes late - I don't think he was planning on actually helping us report a robbery. Also, the cops who came to survey the place on Sunday night informed us that the police station is open 24 hours a day, every day. Luckily, we didn't believe Francisco and were able to call the cops without his help.

2. Thieves like new clothes! - Krista bought a blouse that was a great fit for a decent price at H&M the day before we were robbed. Apparently, it was a perfect fit for our thief - the bag with blouse and receipt was taken. On second thought, maybe they just returned it and made some extra Euros.

3. Thieves search for valuables everywhere. - Through clothes, in wallets, makeup bags or tampon bags, even in Bibles - just in case you use your Bible as a wallet. Everything in the apartment that belonged to us was rifled through.

4. Thieves don't have time to distinguish between valuable and worthless. - This is why Krista and I ended up missing Moroccan dirhams. If the thief isn't planning a trip to Morocco any time soon, there is absolutely no reason for her/him to have taken my awesome change purse full of dirham coins and the dirham notes in Krista's wallet. The Moroccan dirham is not an exportable currency and is not easily exchanged. Maybe I'll see our thief walking around the medina trying to figure out what to spend that money on.
All in all, no one got hurt and none of us are going to starve. We just all learned that we need to be more careful and less trusting when we travel. It was pretty easy to get careless about certain things, due to the sheer amount of travelling that we've been doing lately. This was a good wake up call - now I know to always ask for a safe, no matter how secure the lodging seems. It also reminded me how nice it is to travel with people who are flexible and will still genuinely smile for a picture taken at a police station early in the morning. Can't beat that!