Morocco – Shastified, Continued

Pickling My Way Around the World

I made several plans before I started this adventure, to give myself ways to stay grounded and feel at home regardless of place. One of those plans involves pickles, and the strangest item in my luggage: a glass pickle weight (thanks, mom!). I decided that every time I stayed in one place for long enough,Continue reading “Pickling My Way Around the World”

Public Transit

You can learn a lot about a place from the public transit. You can tell what the city/state prioritizes, what areas have better funding, and how important tourism is vs how many locals rely on public transit. Areas with a lot of tourism and an emphasis on that will have signs in multiple languages, orContinue reading “Public Transit”

Morocco was about making friends

I had an amazing time in Morocco, and I would love to go back someday. I learned a lot, I went surfing and swimming, I got to experience an entirely different culture, and I confirmed for myself that I can live and work pretty much anywhere. The best thing about Morocco, though, was spending fiveContinue reading “Morocco was about making friends”

The Cool Ranch saga continues

I first wrote about this over here, but to recap: I’ve realized that ranch dressing is not a thing that exists outside the US. Sure, fine (tragic for pizza-eating in other countries, but ok). But then you have Cool Ranch Doritos, which *do* exist in other countries… except they have to give them different namesContinue reading “The Cool Ranch saga continues”

What my coffee budget buys me now

I had a working hypothesis that I could travel the world (with living standards comparable to what I’m used to) and save money. So far, so good! We’ll see how that plan holds up when a) I move on to countries with higher living costs and b) I’m not in a dry town with limitedContinue reading “What my coffee budget buys me now”

“Excuse me, where is the recycling?” and other excellent jokes

I’ve traveled a lot, but I’m still a Seattle girl. My inner bleeding-heart-liberal, Cascadia eco-warrior comes out when I least expect it. I’m still shocked when I encounter styrofoam in restaurants and plastic bags in grocery stores, even though I can find all that just a few short miles from Seattle. Morocco, though, is onContinue reading ““Excuse me, where is the recycling?” and other excellent jokes”

How I learned to rinse off very quickly in the shower

First, to re-establish the main premise here: Morocco is amazing. The people are nice, the food is good, it’s beautiful, there are tons of stars over the ocean at night, and I love it. There are a few little things that come up, though, as part of living in a less-developed area of a less-developedContinue reading “How I learned to rinse off very quickly in the shower”

My newest favorite invention

I often think about the various inventions that make modern life so great. Washing machines: huge fan. Refrigerators: yep, fantastic. Indoor plumbing: thank the lord. Others I’m less enthused about. Like that saying about X being the greatest thing since sliced bread? Why is that a bar we’ve set? I actually prefer bread that’s *not*Continue reading “My newest favorite invention”