That Moment

Well, I finally had it.  I finally had that moment where I realized, "Oh my God, I'm on Semester at Sea."  Before now, I was a little worried something was wrong with me, since I hadn't really felt the same awe and astonishment at my current life like all other SAS students.   But, I finally had my moment in Morocco, a country so incredibly like India.  (Coincidence?  I think not.)   So what did I do in Morocco to have this moment?  Well...

I RODE A CAMEL THROUGH THE SAHARA DESERT.   In case you couldn't tell from my use of all caps, it was the coolest experience EVER.   My group drove for a straight 13 hours to reach the desert, getting us to the camels around 9:30pm.  This meant I had to get on my camel in the pitch black.  It was terrifying.  I couldn't see my feet, I couldn't see my camel, and I couldn't even see where I was!  It was so dark outside that I had no idea whether our guides had actually driven us to the desert or if they just dropped us off on the side of the road.  While I was pondering whether or not I was making the smartest decision getting on a camel I couldn't see and being guided to God knows where by Muslim men I didn't know, I was also being hustled onto my camel, cutting my moment of worrying short.  After sitting on my camel and hearing "Hold on, and lean back", I only had time to grab my camel handlebars before being thrown into the air by my camel's rump, almost falling headfirst off my camel in the process.  I thought I was going to die.  We then started moving, our camels being guided by a desert nomad in bare-feet.   Somewhere along our trek to the nomad camp, listening to the desert's peaceful silence and looking up at the stars, I had the realization that I was actually studying abroad and my life would never be the same.  This realization only strengthened after arriving at the nomad camp, eating a traditional Moroccan meal, participating in the nomad's drumming, dancing, and singing demonstration, and falling asleep on the Sahara sand under the stars. 


Waking up the next morning was amazing.  Since it was so dark the night

before, I wasn't able to see any of the desert on my camel trek to the camp.  So, I literally woke up in the middle of the Sahara Desert, essentially not knowing how I got there.  Once the nomads' drums woke everyone up, we all climbed up a huge sand dune to watch the sunrise.  It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, sitting on top of a sand dune with desert nomads in Morocco watching the sunrise.   It doesn't get much better than that.  

Once the sun rose, we were all given the chance to sand-board (snowboarding on sand) back down to the nomad camp.  After a couple people wiped out trying to stand and sand-board, I decided to sit on the board and sled back down the sand dune.   It was a pretty crazy experience, since I was literally able to taste the sand while flying down the dune.  Once everyone was down, we prepared for our trek back out of the desert.  Since I was actually able to see my camel this time, I had a much more enjoyable trek, relaxing and looking at the sights from Chester's back (yes, I did name my camel).   After the hour trek out of the desert and saying my goodbyes to Chester and the nomads, I headed back to the bus, ready for all the crazy and memorable experiences I will continue to have this semester.