Africa

I am in Africa! I just love saying that :) Julie and I arrived on Monday night an hour late because our flight was delayed. We made it to our hotel with no problem and were given a suite if sorts, we questioned this because we had reserved a simple double room. But when we went to double check and make sure, their response was, "It's the only one left" very African. 

We went to the third largest mosque in the world yesterday, Mecca and Medina having the first and second largest. It was huge and very beautiful, but it seemed built to honor men and not God. We then tried to find the main craftsmen area but few of the streets are labeled and in the end gave up and got lunch. I deboned a fish for the first time! I usually don't like fish but when it's freshly caught that morning it's so much better. 

Probably the most interesting part of the day was somehow getting pursuaded into going to this carpet making place and looking at dozens of carpets. We had no intention to buy any despite their beauty and the salesmens persistance. We did get free mint tea out of the deal and ended up having to walk out on the guy in mid sentence just to prove to him that we were not going to buy. Overall I think it was a very good experience. 

Today we will try and hopefully succeed in finding the crafts area and do some more exploring of the city. Julie leaves tonight and I meet up with my program peeps early tomorrow.