Monday, November 17, 2008
ISST in the Hague
I was very fortunate to attend the ISST (International School Sports Tournament) for Division 1 Soccer in the Hague. My dear sister Katie plays for the American School of London, who came in 4th in the tournament. This is their traditional walk across the field after a game. Katie's on the far left - I was so happy to get to see her play. She's an amazing player and showed phenomenal sportsmanship. Love you, KateKate!
Wood Painting
The week of Explore Morocco exposed me and the students to all sorts of traditional crafts from around Morocco. These traditional wood paintings are common in the area of Fez. Artisans paint on cedar wood in intricate detail.
I got a carved piece of wood from the artisans (as did all the kids) and painted it. I was very focused on staying within the lines!
I got a carved piece of wood from the artisans (as did all the kids) and painted it. I was very focused on staying within the lines! Sunday, November 16, 2008
Business Trip
Life's been pretty crazy lately and I know I've been terrible about posting - so sorry! I'm headed to Nice, France early Tuesday morning and won't be back until Sunday. However, I do have some posts scheduled, so you'll have stuff to read this week! I'm sure after 6 days in France, I'll have plenty of fun stories and pics to share. :) I live such a difficult life...
Traditional Metalwork Demo
Another interesting workshop during Explore Morocco was the metalwork demonstration. This guy wore magnifying glasses and pounded intricate designs into metal. I bought a ring and a bracelet to support his traditional craft. The work is quite beautiful!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Good Luck
In Morocco, henna is applied to bring good luck. It comes from a plant that is crushed and mixed with a mildly acidic liquid such as lemon juice or strong tea. It is then put into a tube and put on the skin. Once it dries, the stain left on the skin is an orangish color that darkens and stays for days. During Explore Morocco, I was able to have henna put on both of my hands.
This is Krista, getting henna on her hands during Explore Morocco. Henna is traditionally worn for good luck at a wedding, during the 7th month of pregnancy, and for other special occasions. All of the kids and teachers were able to have henna done for good luck during our Moroccan celebration week.
Many of the women married to Moroccan men told me that the men hate the smell of it - one woman's husband won't eat food that she cooks while the henna stain remains on her hands. I didn't notice it being a terrible smell, but I'm not the most observant person in the world! :)
This is Krista, getting henna on her hands during Explore Morocco. Henna is traditionally worn for good luck at a wedding, during the 7th month of pregnancy, and for other special occasions. All of the kids and teachers were able to have henna done for good luck during our Moroccan celebration week. Many of the women married to Moroccan men told me that the men hate the smell of it - one woman's husband won't eat food that she cooks while the henna stain remains on her hands. I didn't notice it being a terrible smell, but I'm not the most observant person in the world! :)Monday, November 10, 2008
Carry On Luggage
One of the joys of travel is the rush onto the airplane to find spots for carry on luggage. Many airlines will nail you when you try to bring bags that are too large or more carry on bags than your allowance. EasyJet is one of the many airlines that will make you pay a large amount to check your bag if it's too big. Some even weigh your carryon baggage and make you pay for overweight carryons.
The overhead bins are meant to have some luggage efficiently placed in rows. (doesn't the pic above show a lovely, organized overhead bin?) Once random shopping bags, jackets, and other such nonsense start crowding up the overhead bins, it makes the hunt for space much more difficult. People on my Royal Air Maroc flight had all sorts of random shopping bags and I almost didn't have space for my backpack (filled with important items such as cheese, duty free liquor, and books).
Hungry, Hungry Hippos: the lady who brought this on took it out of her shopping bag and laid it by itself in a section of the overhead bin with her almost empty shopping bag NEXT to it! On a full flight, should Hungry, Hungry Hippos really be allowed to take up as much space as a suitcase???
The overhead bins are meant to have some luggage efficiently placed in rows. (doesn't the pic above show a lovely, organized overhead bin?) Once random shopping bags, jackets, and other such nonsense start crowding up the overhead bins, it makes the hunt for space much more difficult. People on my Royal Air Maroc flight had all sorts of random shopping bags and I almost didn't have space for my backpack (filled with important items such as cheese, duty free liquor, and books).
Among other things, I saw the following carried on to my flight to Casa:
A boom box: the people who brought on this delightful carryon had a small rolling suitcase checked in and this as the carryon. I didn't hear them playing any music, but it took up plenty of room in the overhead bin!
Hungry, Hungry Hippos: the lady who brought this on took it out of her shopping bag and laid it by itself in a section of the overhead bin with her almost empty shopping bag NEXT to it! On a full flight, should Hungry, Hungry Hippos really be allowed to take up as much space as a suitcase???Sorry for the rant - I was just surprised to see such things on the plane taking up space :)
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Travel Issues
I know I haven't posted in a long time - I've been pretty busy! I went to London and Amsterdam Wednesday - Sunday and had to be incredibly flexible. Within just a few days, I dealt with te following:
1. Missed Flight Connection:
My flight to London on Wednesday went through Barcelona on Royal Air Maroc and then continued on to London on British Airways. My bag was checked all the way through, but I had to leave through immigration and customs in Barcelona, get my boarding pass, go back through security and make it to my gate - all in my 45 minute layover. It was almost impossible to do in that time period and then my flight was late arriving to Barcelona. By the time I arrived, the flight I was supposed to check into was closed.
2. Rerouted ticket: My next ticket was to Amsterdam the following morning, on a separate ticket. So, I wasn't going to make that flight. Luckily, I was able to convince the airline to just reroute my ticket to Amsterdam (even though they had no obligation to me). To do this, I had to fly to Madrid, stay in a hotel (at the airline's expense) and then fly to Amsterdam Thursday morning. I arrived in Madrid around 11pm. My flight to Madrid had only 11 people on it!
3. Lost Luggage: As I was dealing with rerouting my ticket in Barcelona, I found out that my baggage wasn't anywhere to be found. Someone finally found it and I had to go to a dark back room where security looked through my bad. I then checked it to Madrid so I would have clothes for my night there. When I arrived in Madrid, I was the only person on my flight to wait at baggage claim. I checked with Baggage Services and they told me to wait a bit. By midnight, still no bag. I filled out a lost luggage report and went off to figure out how to get to my hotel.
4. Free Food and Lodging: I arrived at my hotel around 1am. I was given free dinner (which included wine and I took advantage of that) at 1:15am and then free breakfast before I returned to the airport at 6:30am for my return flight. The hotel was beautiful! They had a wonderful spread for meals and toiletries included a toothbrushh (for which I was very grateful!)
5. Bag Still Lost: I checked in with the airline and they hadn't gotten my bag (it had only been a few hours), so I flew on to Amsterdam with only my backpack. I made it safely to Katie's soccer tournament by taking the train and bus to the American School of the Hague. My mum had toiletries and clothes for me to borrow, but her feet are so small that I was stuck wearing my heeled boots. My feet were killing me!
6. London: On Saturday, we flew to London. When I checked about my baggage, the lady informed me that the flight number in the tracking system was a flight to Miami! My bags were halfway across the world! Our flight was on time and we made it to my parent's house with no further issues!
7. Flight Delay on the Plane: I flew back through Barcelona with a 2 hour layover. However, my British Air flight was delayed. Once we were on board, we sat at the gate for 35 minutes, which worried me a bit since I was supposed to go through immigration again and get my boarding pass.
8. Another Closed Flight?: When I finally got to the check in desk, I noted that the screen for my flight showed it as closed. However, there was a long line of others getting checked in and I was able to get my boarding pass.
9. Flight Delay at Gate: My flight to Casa was also delayed! I sat and had a drink at the gate while I waited. We finally boarded and I was grateful to be on my way home.
10. Lost and Found: My story doesn't end there. I went to baggage claim in Casa to get my checked bag (which I had packed in London full of stuff my parents brought over to the States). It didn't come out. While I was waiting to talk to the Royal Air Maroc staff to fill in another baggage lost form, I went to check in on my bag that I'd never received. It was there! I grabbed my bag with clothes and the tennis shoes I'd been craving for days and headed over to fill out info on my other bag. They don't know where my bag is now. I will get a call and have to get back to the airport to pick it up when they do find it. I'm glad that the cheese I had been bringing back was in my carryon!
All in all, everyone I talked to was really helpful, despite all the issues the system had. I made it home safely and am looking forward to finishing this trip when I get my other bag back! Flexibility is so important when travelling. Good times!
1. Missed Flight Connection:
My flight to London on Wednesday went through Barcelona on Royal Air Maroc and then continued on to London on British Airways. My bag was checked all the way through, but I had to leave through immigration and customs in Barcelona, get my boarding pass, go back through security and make it to my gate - all in my 45 minute layover. It was almost impossible to do in that time period and then my flight was late arriving to Barcelona. By the time I arrived, the flight I was supposed to check into was closed.
2. Rerouted ticket: My next ticket was to Amsterdam the following morning, on a separate ticket. So, I wasn't going to make that flight. Luckily, I was able to convince the airline to just reroute my ticket to Amsterdam (even though they had no obligation to me). To do this, I had to fly to Madrid, stay in a hotel (at the airline's expense) and then fly to Amsterdam Thursday morning. I arrived in Madrid around 11pm. My flight to Madrid had only 11 people on it!
3. Lost Luggage: As I was dealing with rerouting my ticket in Barcelona, I found out that my baggage wasn't anywhere to be found. Someone finally found it and I had to go to a dark back room where security looked through my bad. I then checked it to Madrid so I would have clothes for my night there. When I arrived in Madrid, I was the only person on my flight to wait at baggage claim. I checked with Baggage Services and they told me to wait a bit. By midnight, still no bag. I filled out a lost luggage report and went off to figure out how to get to my hotel.
4. Free Food and Lodging: I arrived at my hotel around 1am. I was given free dinner (which included wine and I took advantage of that) at 1:15am and then free breakfast before I returned to the airport at 6:30am for my return flight. The hotel was beautiful! They had a wonderful spread for meals and toiletries included a toothbrushh (for which I was very grateful!)
5. Bag Still Lost: I checked in with the airline and they hadn't gotten my bag (it had only been a few hours), so I flew on to Amsterdam with only my backpack. I made it safely to Katie's soccer tournament by taking the train and bus to the American School of the Hague. My mum had toiletries and clothes for me to borrow, but her feet are so small that I was stuck wearing my heeled boots. My feet were killing me!
6. London: On Saturday, we flew to London. When I checked about my baggage, the lady informed me that the flight number in the tracking system was a flight to Miami! My bags were halfway across the world! Our flight was on time and we made it to my parent's house with no further issues!
7. Flight Delay on the Plane: I flew back through Barcelona with a 2 hour layover. However, my British Air flight was delayed. Once we were on board, we sat at the gate for 35 minutes, which worried me a bit since I was supposed to go through immigration again and get my boarding pass.
8. Another Closed Flight?: When I finally got to the check in desk, I noted that the screen for my flight showed it as closed. However, there was a long line of others getting checked in and I was able to get my boarding pass.
9. Flight Delay at Gate: My flight to Casa was also delayed! I sat and had a drink at the gate while I waited. We finally boarded and I was grateful to be on my way home.
10. Lost and Found: My story doesn't end there. I went to baggage claim in Casa to get my checked bag (which I had packed in London full of stuff my parents brought over to the States). It didn't come out. While I was waiting to talk to the Royal Air Maroc staff to fill in another baggage lost form, I went to check in on my bag that I'd never received. It was there! I grabbed my bag with clothes and the tennis shoes I'd been craving for days and headed over to fill out info on my other bag. They don't know where my bag is now. I will get a call and have to get back to the airport to pick it up when they do find it. I'm glad that the cheese I had been bringing back was in my carryon!
All in all, everyone I talked to was really helpful, despite all the issues the system had. I made it home safely and am looking forward to finishing this trip when I get my other bag back! Flexibility is so important when travelling. Good times!
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