The Heights Festival and Morocco

Okay I apologize for my lateness posting this but I've tried to go with the flow and not adhere to a schedule. This summer is the last summer I have to relax, meditate, do nothing, do everything whatever until I graduate next May (pray be to God). So I figure I have to stick to my plan to not make plans and to take it one day at a time. However, with that I have definitetly caught up on the past summers I spent working my bum off during high school and college where I come to realize I needed this chill time.

So now I'm back from Morocco (which I'll talk about in brief later) and I'm ready to embark on new adventures in NJ or elsewhere this summer. Starting with a recent event in my neighborhood in Jersey City: The Heights Festival. Its an annual street festival which hosts a diverse selection of talent on three stages along Central Avenue and vendors of both local and near-local businesses come to celebrate living, working and having fun in our home, The Heights. We saw some good-ole original music, ate some kick-ass bbq and got sunburned. Here are a few photos to highlight some of the festivities:

I'm going to keep my description about Morocco to a minimum for reasons I don't care to share over this blog, however, if you are interested in my whole hearted opinion about my experience please feel free to email me: catcell11290@gmail.com

I left from JFK on May 22 and arrived the next morning into Casablanca! It was a long first day: traveling through Marrakech (2 hrs away from Casa) onward to the Berber Cultural Center/village (another 2hrs) not to mention a 3hr walk in the afternoon and an even later discussion and dinner. Four days to experience the life in a traditional Berber village I was satisfied knowing I had a great traditional experience: making traditional mint Moroccan tea, making tangeen/baking bread, getting water from the well, visiting the town 10 miles down the road, climbing up a mountain to a cave, hanging out with children in a local school, singing, dancing, and discussing tough issues. 

 BEFORE I climbed....

 AFTER...

 Winner of the Berber Center's tea making contest!

 The people with the least amount of points had to clean dishes.

The rest of the trip was on the road back to Marakesh, Rabat, Meknes, Fez and Casablanca. We visited a bunch of royal and historical monuments and places in Marakesh, Rabat and of course the Roman ruins in Volubilis.  We also experiences the sea in Rabat, artisan work and culture in historic Fez and ate great food with good people. Even though we were limited on our time in Casablanca we still stagged a visit to Hassan II mosque in the morning we left. It was unfortunate I couldn't see Rick's Cafe as shown in the classic film "Casablanca" but its all the more reason to revisit.