Saying goodbye to Morocco

Tomorrow we are heading for Spain and I cannot believe I have to say goodbye to Morocco already. I have truly had the adventure of a lifetime. I played with monkeys in Marrakech, Held a cobra and rode a camel through the Sahara desert. I am so happy I decided to take the extra classes to complete my sustainability minor my last semester instead of taking the easy route. It was all worth it. Every essay and every test seem trivial compared to the things I have seen, touched, smelled, tasted and heard. Before the trip I purchased a GoPro and it is by far the best purchase I have ever made. I already have hundreds of pictures if not thousands that I will be able to see and reminisce about my wonderful experiences.

As a business student, the negotiating experience I got from haggling in Marrakech is worth the price of the trip. In Marrakech they do not have prices on anything, instead they tell you a price or they ask you how much you want to pay! I have to say I got taken advantage of in the beginning but by the time we left, I had become an expert negotiator. I purchased two woodcarvings for 100 dirhams. The shopkeeper originally asked for 500 dirhams each! This is the way business is run down in Marrakesh and many other cities and shops throughout Morocco. Unfortunately some of my friends on the trip were not as wise and spent way too much money. We split up into groups throughout the days and at the end of the day we usually bought similar gifts and souvenirs and it was comical comparing how much we spent. One example that sticks out the most is the monkeys. I paid 10 dirhams (about $1) to take a picture with the monkeys while my friend paid 200 dirhams (about $20) to take the same picture.