Breanna

I'll start with Marakesh. I find it very amusing how we were always hearing stories about how awful Marakesh was for touts and hassle. Yes, there was some hassle but not very much at all, in my opinion...but then again maybe I'm immune to it after Egypt, India and other places. One of the most annoying things is how people complain about the hassle when they are the exact cause of it all. The best way to encourage begging and hassle is to GIVE away money to people who have done nothing to deserve it. A lady trying to do henna came and grabed my arm and started drawing all over me lightning speed, saying "Gift, gift. Present for you." Meanwhile I was saying "No,no,no; I don't have any money. I don't want it." Once she was done she said "Ok, now present for me. You give ME present." When I told her again that I didn't have anything (which I really didn't) she smeared it all over, leaving me with a big, orange stain on my arm! Great now I'm stuck with an orange arm. I guess it's not so bad, but it's the fact that she did something against my will.
I really like the markets and all the chaos involved. Walking down the streets you can hear dozens of snakecharming horns, loud story tellers, with horse carriage drivers shouting and mopeds honking at you to get out of the way! I nearly got run over... more than once! It's funny seeing lots of pets for sale on the side of the road.
I always love finding the cheapest hole-in-the-wall restaurants because you can really feel the atmosphere best there! I like the chicken kebabs and yogurt the best. I can gaurantee that the snails were...far from the best, haha. It wasn't that bad, more funny than anything.
Ammon's right about the long bus rides being dreadful. That's where my earphones, book, and patience come in most handy! I felt bad for dad since his shoulder is trashed. At least I can give him a good backrub to help. It was really funny when Sky saw some Moroccan soldiers in uniform wearing sandals. He couldn't believe it and said "You've got to be kidding me!! You gotta love how these guys are wearing FLIP-FLOPS in uniform.....So HEINOUS!!!!" haha.
Everyone speaks French here and I'm not as good as the others with it....but I'm sort of getting the hang of things. Sign language and charades work well enough for me. Everyone just laughs because I look like a monkey.
Mauritania is cool. I almost forgot how annoying flies could be! That's where tolerance is helpful. It's back to sand and bare land....no green, hardly any colour in the buildings, cold showers, hand washing laundry (It's nice that they dry fast in the breeze and hot sun), lots of sand in your food, and little kids following you around. I really like the new style of clothing. The women wear lots of colour and the men wear blue or white cape-like gowns.
It's always great fun staying with locals in their homes. We set up our tents for the first time in the backyard which was fun. The stars are amazing.
We went walking just outside of Nouadhibou and found the ship graveyard! Ships are basically taken here to "die" and be left to rust and sink. As terrible as that is....it's a cool effect. I love taking my self-defense and fighting lessons from Sky and dad on the beach even though it draws quite the crowd. It was all women taking pictures and cheering ME on when I practiced throwing Sky from my hip or shoulder to the ground. I'm a machine! Muaahahaaa. Super fun!
I'm excited to keep moving on. I love having the family together to share all of the experiences!!
Breanna