Spain: Solar and siestas!

By Ashley Zafaranlou

The ferry trip from Spain to Morocco was under two hours, but once I hit the Spanish cost I felt like I was on the other side of the world. Morocco was a total culture shock for me. I did not understand any French and knew very little Moroccan-Arabic. Spain almost felt familiar to me. All of my ASU Spanish classes were finally paying off, and I felt like I could function on my own in Spain. I never realized how much I valued my independence until I left my home. One of the hardest things about Morocco was having to depend on other people to help me communicate with the locals. In Spain, I can finally do more activities on my own because I understand the language.

As I wonder the streets of Spain, I cannot help but compare them to Morocco. The city streets of Seville and Granada are almost completely clear of liter. It was slightly annoyed about how difficult it was to find public trashcans in Morocco. No wonder some of the less touristy cities had so much trash! Also, the public transportation in Spain has been so manageable! It makes me with that Tempe had a more accessible public transportation system in order to encourage people to commute more sustainably.

While in Seville, we visited the Abengoa Solar Plant. We took an elevator to the top one of the solar towers in order to get a good view of the entire facility. I was blown away by the scale of the facility, which covers thousands of acres of land. Before making this trip to Spain and Morocco, I was never particularly interested in green technology, but now I want to learn the specifics of how different technologies work and the social and economic benefits associated with green technology.

In Morocco I was in love with the people. They were so wonderful and welcoming. I am even more appreciative of their kindness now that I am in Spain. The people here have been nice, but it is no comparison. In Spain I am in love the history, art, and architecture. Every city I have seen is so scenic all of my could be post cards. It is going to be so hard to leave this country, but at least I will have an insane amount of photos to look back at!