Back on the Map

Morocco, a set on Flickr.

It sure does feel good to be sitting down at my computer to write for fun.

I don't even know where to start. It's been one month and one day since my last post, and it has been the most eventful six weeks of my life. I have so much to tell you, but I'm going to have to limit it to squeeze it all in--or else I'll be here for ages! I'm going to give you a brief recap of what I've been up to and I'll add a few of my favorite pictures and stories from each place over the course of a few separate blogs. Tonight I will start with Morocco.

On the other hand, England is incredibly backward (in more ways than one) and it is finals week here for the fall semester. That being said, yesterday I was very happy to turn in a 4000-word essay that discussed the ways in which Americans view their First Amendment rights post-9/11 (if that sounds hard to you, it was!). I have one more essay that I am about halfway through and will turn it in on Friday. And that, friends, will be the final essay of my undergraduate career.

Before I go on a tangent about my travels, I would like to give a shout out to my mom and dad. Tomorrow, January 11, is their 26th wedding anniversary. How amazing is that?! If you have their numbers or email addresses, shoot them a happy anniversary because they sure do deserve it. There is a good chance that if you are reading this you have, at some point in your life, been inspired by my parents. They are amazing examples of love, marriage, humility, frugality, friendship, honesty, and dozens of other adjectives that I can't think of right now. So, here's to you, Tami and Darrick. I love you. Thank you for being incredible parents. I hope that some day I can only be so blessed to have a love as beautiful as yours.

Without further adieu, I present to you--Chelsea's wild and crazy six weeks in a nutshell.

Marrakech, Morocco (Click to see the map)
I spent December 2-5 in Marrakech and it was unlike anything I've ever seen. It was so much like what you would expect to see in Africa/Aladdin/a third world country. Marrakech is the heart of Morocco with so much history behind it. I, naturally, wanted to visit Casablanca because of the movie, but I'm so glad I went to Marrakech. I got to brave the city bartering markets, ride a camel in the Sahara, and I travel high into the top of the Atlas Mountains and see the most primitive villages, and yet the most beautiful nature I've ever seen in my life. It was truly remarkable--a beauty so striking that it could only be created by the hands and vivid imagination of God.  Check out the photos and captions.