#i am closer to 5-6 minutes on the customers that come up with over $200 worth of small merch that i have to take longer to scan

[sesshy380]

Wordcount of the day: 518

I can feel this prompt is nearing completion! One more to go after this, and I've already started on the rewrite (which makes it draft 3, since the other 2 were when I trying to force myself through my writer's block).

[oprashaant]

The tea-seller's little boy

On a cold Friday evening, in the month of December, Sudhakar had just opened his small tea-shop. He was running his shop in a small corner on the ever busy East street area from 3 in the afternoon till late evenings. In the morning he would go door to door to deliver milk and cottage cheese.

He was late that day, late by atleast 3 hours. The reason for this was his 6 years old son Raghu. He had been crying inconsolably since last night. The stray puppy that he had brought home just a week ago, had come under the wheels of a car and died. That had shattered him and broke his little heart.

They lived in a one room shanty in a crowded slum but Raghu hardly had any friends. A birth defect had caused him to limp while walking and his friends would tease him everytime they saw him walk because of his funny stance. That would hurt him a lot.

With only a half broken bat and a plastic ball to call a toy Raghu would often play alone. When he was not playing he would stay indoors lost in his thoughts. His mother Savitri would often wonder what a kid so small would deeply think about?

So when that stray puppy followed him home Raghu thought he had found his best friend. The pup too had taken a great liking in him. They called him Sonu. He was all white with scattered black spots all over.

Sonu and Raghu were a bundle of joy together. A true treat for the eyes of his parents. It was like they were made for each other. The little pup wouldn't move from the door when Raghu was out at school. And once back home Sonu would be all over him, licking him all over his face. Sonu's low gruntling noises and Raghu's laughter had filled their home with pure happiness. They had never seen Raghu so happy and that is why Sudhakar and his pregnant wife Savitri too had become very fond of him.

"Raghu we will bring you a new one," Savitri had already told him this a hundred times since morning but he just wouldn't listen.

"Aai, is God angry with me?" he asked between sobs. He was lying on a torn carpet on the uneven floor with his head resting on his mother's lap.

"Why would God ever be angry with such a sweet boy"?

"First he made me limp and now he's taken away Sonu from me".

Sudhakar was choking inside. Savitri too was fighting her tears. Losing Sonu was a huge loss.

"Raghu if you come with me to our shop today, I'll get you 2 new puppies before Sunday".

"2 puppies? Really Baba"? Raghu asked wiping his tears.

"That's a promise".

Raghu jumped with joy.

"I don't think it's a good idea Sudhakar," Savitri said, " you are running late today. Raghu hasn't slept at all. He also has not eaten anything. He will bother you".

"Savitri I just want to give him some change".

"Aai please let me go with baba. I won't trouble him. Give me a glass of milk and 2 biscuits and I will be ready in 5 minutes".

"That's like my boy," Sudhakar said and picked him up in his arms.

Raghu was immediately filled with energy even before he had his milk. Savitri was happily smiling to herself. She knew the reason behind this sudden burst of energy.

"I will also give you your favourite cream roll and an ice-cream when we return", Sudhakar said as he prepared him for a bath.

Sudhakar used to sell tea, coffee, cream rolls, biscuits and cigarettes at his shop. Cold weather always meant good business. That is why he knew the 3 hours that he had lost today would have cost him 500 rupees atleast. It was too much for someone who was always running on a tight budget. His monthly income was almost equaling his expenses which included the room rent, school fees, daily expenses and Savitri's medical bills. He also had to send some money to his old parents back in the village every month. Now that his family was growing he was also thinking about renting a bigger space to stay.

Savitri, even though pregnant, was still slogging as a house maid to help him make ends meet. But he had decided now .He won't allow her to work anymore, no matter what. The lady she worked for made her toil hard even after knowing her condition. She almost slipped once while mopping wet floor.

"I would take up some odd labor jobs after dropping Raghu to school for some extra income," he said to himself as he quickly put the milk vessel, the paper cups and other items in the rented rickshaw. He picked up Raghu in his arms and left for work.

"Take care Savitri, we'll be back by 10," he told her before leaving.

By the time he reached his shop it was already 6.30. He briskly unlocked the door, removed a stool and asked Raghu to sit on it, just outside his shop. Raghu was wearing a half sleeves shirt, an old ill-fitting sweater which Savitri had purchased for Rs 200 from the lady she worked for, shorts and a pair of slippers.

"Late today"? A cobbler, Gopi, who worked on the pavement just next to his shop asked.

Sudhakar had a quick glance at Raghu who was carefully removing the tea cups from the box. He went a little closer to Gopi and told him about the pup. He also requested him to not bring it up in front of Raghu as that would hurt him again.

"Poor boy, no wonder he's looking so sad".

Raghu's eyes were still red from all the crying.

"Hello Raghu," Gopi greeted him animatedly.

"Hello Uncle".

"His face is too stressed for a 6 year old boy, " Gopi said in a concerning tone. "Children his age should laugh all the time and roam worry free. You should do something about this Sudhakar".

"I have promised him 2 puppies before Sunday. That will change things for him".

"I hope he gets all the happiness in the world," Gopi said as he looked at him affectionately. Raghu had by now removed all the cups and placed it on the table.

"You are a very good boy Raghu, you are helping your father".

Raghu could only manage a half smile in reply. He was deeply thinking about something.

Sudhakar had by now set up his shop and was waiting for his first customer impatiently.

"1 coffee," one of his regular customer came at the stall and asked.

"Sure Sir", he replied as he closed his eyes and looked towards the Gods in appreciation for his first customer.

"Why are you late today, I came down twice looking for you".

Sudhakar's tea shop was near a big business complex. Almost everyone from that building came to his shop for their tea and snacks.

"Here's your coffee Sir".

"Thanks".

"Cigarette"?

"Sorry, no cigarette today. My son is here with me," he said pointing towards Raghu.

"Oh.. ok. No problem. You are a great father".

"Thank you Sir".

"I hope you are sending him to a good school".

"Yes Sir, he goes to an English medium school. He is going to study and become a big man one day and not sell tea like me," he replied cheerfully. There was immense hope in his eyes for Raghu and he was proudly smiling all to himself as if he was actually seeing him becoming a big man in the future.

Soon a lot of customers started pouring in and Sudhakar got busy. Raghu was dozing on and off. One moment he would fall asleep and the next he would wake up with a jolt. Sudhakar was wondering if he did the right thing by bringing him to the shop.

Around 9 p.m all the milk was over. So were the other items. Sudhakar was happy that he had made good money. But Raghu was looking sad again.

"What happened Raghu, are you sleepy"?

It seemed he was lost somewhere and he didn't hear it.

"Raghu I am asking you. What happened?" he bent down and asked while playing with his hair.

"Baba, I am missing Sonu". Tears welled up in his little eyes and came running down his cheeks.

Sudhakar was shattered. He himself was close to tears. How can a small innocent boy like him carry such a heavy heart? He couldn't take it anymore. He picked him up in his arms and held him tightly.

But the next moment he quickly gathered himself and put him back on the stool.

"I think you have forgotten about the two puppies that I am going to gift you tomorrow," he said trying to cheer him up.

"But I only want Sonu", he replied with a breaking voice.

"They will be just like Sonu and you can play with them as much as you want. In fact we all will play together."

Sudhakar was sure once he brings those pups home Raghu will be happy again.

"Now sit here and have this cream roll I saved for you. I'll be back in a minute. Don't go anywhere. I am going to the next building to get some water. We clean it up and we'll be on our way back home. Of course with that ice-cream I promised".

"Okay Baba," he replied.

His eyes followed Sudhakar while he crossed the road in the heavy evening traffic and went to the other side. Sudhakar waved at him before disappearing in the basement of the building.

Suddenly there was a sparkle in Raghu's eyes.

"Sonu," he jumped in excitement.

He spotted Sonu right in the middle of the road wagging its tail excitedly at him.

"Sonu," he screamed again.

"What's the matter boy?" Gopi asked.

"Look Uncle, my Sonu has come back".

Raghu was ecstatic and getting impatient.

"Who's Sonu"?

"My pup, my best friend".

"Where is he, I can't see him"?

"There he is in the middle of the road".

Gopi got up to get a better view.

"But I still can't see him".

Raghu saw a speeding SUV at some distance. He panicked. He didn't want to lose him again. He limped as fast as he could to get Sonu to safety.

Gopi watched in horror as the driver of the SUV tried hard to avoid hitting Raghu. But it was too late.

"Baba," he screamed.

A young woman who had come for her evening stroll screamed and fainted at the spot.

Gopi too collapsed on the road.

Even as the horrified crowd tried lifting the wheels of the SUV, Raghu quickly got up , picked up Sonu in his arms and walked off in the direction of a bright ray of light.

Sonu was happily licking his face, while Raghu laughed and kissed him back.

"Look Sonu, I am not limping anymore," he said animatedly.

[verbballetstaipei-blog]

Day 1555555- Time Travel☸️ *Warning, this is a long post, as it was a very long day. But it is my last post, so enjoy!

Wowwww. I know time travel technically doesn’t exist but boy do I feel like Verb Ballets has accomplished it today. 28 hours ago, on Monday morning, we left our hotel in Taipei, and now we’re all finally home on a Monday evening! My body is so confused right now but hey, we made it! Most of us tried to stay up really late on our last night in Taipei to help us sleep on the plane the next day and flip our 12 hour time difference. I only slept for 2 hours so I think I was pretty successful–I’ve been tired all day! I got up at 5:45am, threw on my comfy flying clothes and set out for one last morning walk around the hotel. I grabbed coffee from 7/11 and sipped it while walking around Peace Park. I’m going to miss that enchanting place. The group met at 6:45am to say goodbye to Ming and Ping (they woke up so early to bid us farewell–so thoughtful!) and taxi to the airport. On our way out, we enjoyed the beautifully gloomy vistas of the industrially advanced city and surrounding picturesque mountains. Taipei sure does know how to look pretty. At the luggage checkpoint, I confirmed that the reason I had so much difficulty cramming everything into my suitcases was because I literally had too much stuff. My bag was several kilograms over the maximum, which meant that Michael and Kelly were each the lucky foster parents of a bag of Kate souvenirs. AKA their suitcases got even heavier thanks to me😬 Have I mentioned that I love both Michael and Kelly?  Thanks guys for saving me and all of my stuff! We made it through security mostly successfully (Kelly had to get her play sand she bought as a gift tested for illegal substances😧) and then we all went our separate ways to wait out the few hours before the flight took off. Unlike US airports, which are essentially expensive shopping malls, the strong sense of cultural pride is evident in Taiwanese airports, which I found out have mini history and art exhibitions in addition to shops and restaurants. I actually learned quite a bit about the various aboriginal groups in Taiwan while waiting for the plane. What a great use of airport waiting time! Another great use of waiting in an airpot time? Food! I went out in search of something savory and vegetarian for under $200 NTD (because that’s all I had left!) and had some trouble. Adorable pastries were everywhere, but I needed something of substance. The only option I could find was lasagna, so I decided to have my first ever breakfast lasagna. Unlike in the states, there was no to-go option (even though it was from a kiosk style cafe) so I had to wait 10 minutes. I had time to kill, so Lieneke and I sat down and chatted about growing up and learning more about yourself traveling and other philosophical things. It was quite the fulfilling pre-lasagna discussion🙃 The food came in a very hot casserole dish, so I let it cool down a bit. I was joking with Lieneke that it was my first meal in Taiwan served with a fork, and that it would have been difficult to eat lasagna with chopsticks. I had only finished about 2 bites when Lieneke said “Oh my gosh! They texted us to hurry back. They must have started boarding early!!” I didn’t want to leave my beautiful breakfast lasagna that I had spent my last NTDs on and waited a whole 10 minutes for, but I didn’t want to miss my flight back to America! I told Lieneke to run ahead and that I would be right there. I ran over to the lady at the kiosk and if she had a paper plate. She said she didn’t because they didn’t have a to-go option (us Americans and our obsession with eating food on the go). Losing hope, I started looking around but didn’t see any other cafes that had to-go options either. Then I saw paper cups behind the counter. “Could I use a cup?” I asked. The lady looked at me like I was seriously crazy as I scraped the lasagna from the casserole dish into the paper cup, repeatedly burning myself in the process. Then I took off running. Right as I was about to get to the gate, I saw Lieneke running towards me. For a split second I thought she was going to say that the plane left, but then I saw her smile. “Everyone is still there, they just told us to hurry back so that the group could move to a sitting area closer to the gate,” she said. We both broke down laughing with the ridiculousness of the situation–having lasagna for breakfast in Taiwan then Olympic sprinting through the airport with it sloppily shoved in a cup. The best part? I ended up having to eat the cup lasagna with chopsticks because I couldn’t find a plastic fork. That had to be one of the funniest breakfasts of my life! Also one of the most accomplished…I finished the whole veggie lasagna with chopsticks! Then came the longggg flight. Ugh. Verb Ballets had survived Taiwan successfully, but as soon as the plan crossed to international waters fecal matter started hitting the fan quickly (if ya know what I’m sayin’). Poor Stephaen spent the majority of the flight throwing up into shoddily designed puke bags that often did not do their job holding puke. So we all donated our blankets to the cause of containing said puke. That poor guy felt terrible the whole trip. Christina also had to deal with a minor cross-contamination flair-up with her egg allergy. Though it was a “minor” reaction (someone must have touched an egg then touched her food, so she didn’t actually eat egg) she was still doubled over in discomfort for the majority of our travels. The flight didn’t have working outlets or internet again, customs didn’t open for a half hour until after we landed, and the aircraft only had one working door to deplane, so we got to sit in our seats for a longgg time after landing from our delightful flight feeling especially wonderful😖 When we finally got off, we had to cross back through a passport checkpoint, customs, baggage claim, and security again before getting to our next gate en route to Denver. Needless to say, our suffering company members really had to dig deep to stand in the endless lines with all of their luggage. Lieneke was trying to be helpful and carry some of Stephaen’s things, but then she also felt dizzy and had to lie down. For those of you who know Lieneke, this lady has amazon strength so if she’s lying down you know she’s really not doing well. However, we all eventually got to the gate and had several hours to recuperate before our next flight. Unfortunately, Nathanael then realized that someone had gotten ahold of his credit card information while we were overseas, so he had to deal with all of that fun stuff during the layover. Wooo man! Verb Ballets was on a serious struggle bus! I felt slightly guilty that I wasn’t dealing with severe physical discomfort or financial distress, so I did my best to help those who were suffering however I could. Once everyone was relatively stable in a recovery position balled up or lying down, I decided to take an airport walk to relieve my swollen tight muscles. During my stroll, I discovered that the San Francisco airport has a yoga room free for all to use! I felt much better after stretching and rolling out in the yoga room. Every airport should jump on that yoga room bandwagon. Our next 2 flights went more smoothly. We had a fairly quick turnaround from Denver to Cleveland, and luckily no new problems arose. I slept through most of those flights, which will probably complicate my jet lag recovery later, but I was happy to sleep. I was exhausted! By a minor miracle, we all made it back to Cleveland conscious and upright (in a precarious mental state, but that’s beside the point😜) with all of our luggage. If it weren’t for some serious teamwork and a lot of nice flight attendants, we might have never made it back to the beloved “Mistake on the Lake” that we call home. Delirious but happy, we bused back to Verb so we could drive back to our respective apartments. I blasted out of the parking lot in hopes of making it to Whole Foods before they closed at 10. I had been craving a big crunchy salad with cottage cheese for weeks! And my apartment was foodless! Some very kind employees took pity on me and let me scurry to the salad bar at 10:01. Thank you so much Whole Foods on Cedar! You made a happy ending to a very very very long day (a 29+ hour day to be precise!). My big suitcase filled with dirty laundry was so heavy I could’t even get it up the stairs, so I decided to throw a bunch of laundry in the washer before even making it up to my apartment (my machines are in the basement). I can’t explain how excited I am to have clean laundry! I currently have a washed face, an empty bladder, and I am enjoying a crunchy Whole Foods salad. Life is great🤗. You really notice the little things after traveling for hours on end. It was a challenging day, but I’ll take that in exchange for a truly amazing tour. Thanks to everyone who followed me along on Verb’s travels! We all feel deeply humbled to have had this experience, and want to thank everyone who made it possible. Cleveland Foundation–You rock (even more than the Rock Hall…shhh!). None of this would have been possible without you. All donors who contributed–thank you thank you thank you! BodyEDT–well you know we are obsessed with you and absolutely can’t wait to have you come to our neck of the globe starting next week. Your company’s futuristic vision and generous heart inspired us the whole trip. I am so looking forward to performing with you again in a few short weeks at Cleveland Public Theater! On that note, the travel blog ends here. Time for me to return to real life of dancing all day and teaching all night! If you have enjoyed learning more about Verb and Body EDT, I recommend that you follow our Facebook pages to keep tabs on our future adventures. -Verb’s FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/verbballets/?ref=br_rs -And BodyEDT’s FB page is: https://www.facebook.com/BodyEDT/ If you ever have to the chance to go to Taipei, definitely do it! It is a marvelous place with some even more fabulous people. I will leave you with a list of things I will miss from Taiwan, and also a list of things I look forward to having again back home. Xièxiè, zàijiàn! 💖Kate Things I’ll miss about Taiwan:

-Chopsticks -Cute dogs and their even cuter haircuts -The happy, clean, efficient MRT and its calming music -Cartoons for everything -Guavas guavas everywhere -All dem oolong teas! -The young people–they’re so enthusiastic yet well behaved (I feel like an old lady saying that but it’s true guys!) -The hardworking and respectful culture. No room for “too cool for school” here -The emphasis on collectivism and benefitting the community over the individual -Bowing my head (I do get how that physically manifests respect) -Peace signin’ it up in pictures -Street dancing   -The wide variety and accessibility of fake meats -Having time to explore and stumble across new adventures -All of their exciting new flavors (taro mung bean pastry anyone?) -Affordable yet nutritious food -The endlessly generous, hardworking, and affectionate Taiwanese people Things I’m looking forward to in America:

-Consistent toilet paper and sitting toilets (squatty potties can get increasingly complicated if anything is going on beyond your basic pee) -Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt -Fresh veggies that I can clean and eat raw and crunchayyy! Nommm (their veggies were deliciously prepared but often with lotso oil) -Being in the same time zone as my friends and family -Literacy -Having the ability to express myself articulately and not feeling guilty for my horrifically pronounced Mandarin -A diverse looking poppulation -Peanut butter -My back massage chair -My bed -Seeing everyone I’ve missed! Kate Over and Out👋 

[safasaf2018]

Day 15 - 6/16/18

10:39 AM of the next day (writing this in the bus)

Yesterday was my favorite day of this trip so far.  Except maybe for the night we spent in the desert. Hard to tell. But either way amazing. I woke up leisurely around 9 and went to go downstairs for breakfast, but when I got to the top of the stairs I realized that the sound was coming from above me. That’s right, the breakfast was on the friggin roof. So being on the top floor payed off! I went up the stairs and the beAUTIFUL owner said good morning to me. I turned the corner and saw everyone sitting at THE most beautiful table in the sun I’d ever seen that was covered with homemade crepes, eggs, bread, different cheeses and jams, coffee, tea, and pear juice. There was a woman coming back and forth between us and the small bar / kitchen on the roof, replenishing whatever we needed as we ate it. The view from the rooftop was the tops of a hundred cramped flat-roofed colorful houses, with the mountains behind them on one side and the ocean on the other. We had the cutest breakfast ever, and then agreed to leave at noon for downtown, which gave us just over an hour. We all got dressed, some of us talked to Vicky again, and we left. The sun was out, it was 82 degrees, and Essaouira was drawling with people. We started out together but only stayed together long enough to decide who wanted to go where. I stayed in a group with Shâdy, Kimberly, Islander, Linette, and Brandon, and we walked towards where we thought the boardwalk would be. We were wrong, but as Bob Ross would say, it was definitely a happy mistake. We did walk along the sea, but it was not at all the touristy spot. We walked first past fish stands selling fish directly from the boat, throwing salt over fish sitting on beds of ice, and throwing scraps to stray cats. After them were groups of men detangling giant fishing nets and more cats looking for scraps of food. Past these men were all of the boats cramped together, some with men on them painting or repairing them, some unloading fish, some preparing to leave. Past this bit was the very edge of the land, where there were rocks followed by the ocean. All along this walk was the smell of fish that was at first shocking and unpleasant but honestly is now a smell I don’t mind having in my hair and in my sweatshirt. Everything I just explained was on our left, and on our right was a tall wall that had people walking along it - all locals. Teenage boys walking along yelling at their friends below, mothers walking with their children to get to their fathers, just along a thin wall that was about 8 feet high maybe. When we got to the end of the walk we took some pictures on the rocks, and then turned around to go to where we had originally intended. As we got closer to the touristier side of the water, we slowly came into more and more people, more restaurants calling for us to come in, more people selling things, but it was all still very open. I fell completely in love with Essaouira there. We stopped at a convenience store to buy data for our SIM cards, and when we came back, Kimberly and Iskandar were sitting with a man who we didn’t know. When we got there we saw that it was someone selling temporary tattoos, and Kimberly wanted one. I agreed to get one with her, which the others were judgmental of, but it was fun! The others went ahead of us to find everyone else, and we stayed there to get our tattoos. Despite the beautiful photos he used as advertisement, these tattoos were just questionably hand drawn henna, but it’s okay. The man was a migrant from Senegal, and he did real tattoos as well, and eyelash extensions which seemed random. So I got a small rose on my wrist and Kimberly got a snake on her forearm. He only spoke a little English, so he and I spoke in French about Trump and immigration policy and Morocco and the Eid festival, we were there for a while. When that was done we said goodbye to him and left to find the rest of the group. On the way we saw a stand with a man making homemade ice cream for 20 cents per cone, so we each got a strawberry ice cream, and then we saw another stand making homemade potato chips for a dollar so we got that too. We finally found the others sitting on cushioned lounge chairs in their bathing suits sun bathing. We sat down with them, but they told us that to sit there we had to pay, so we moved to a table in the shade that was free, and ate bread and a salad. After Kimberly got her salad she, Iskandar, and I left. We didn’t really want to sit somewhere you had to pay for, especially with so much else to see. We went back to where we’d been earlier with all the fish stands, and went to one we had seen earlier because we told the man working there that we would come back. We payed $8 each to have freshly caught and cooked squid, calamari, sea bass, prawns, and some other fish I didn’t catch the name of. As well as bread and salad. Incredible. The fish was whole, eyeball and everything, and had bones in it. We initially picked up our forks but then remembered that in Morocco they eat with their hands, which made a lot more sense in this situation. Iskandar is from Singapore where they eat fish like this too, so he led the way in terms of removing all the bones and scraping the meat from the skin. It was the most delicious fish I’ve ever eaten, it was so good! While we were eating the afternoon prayer call was sounding from the mosque nearby, and we saw some people praying in the street, and others walking towards the mosque to pray. Also during our meal I could see workers at the fish stand sneaking small prawns or fish parts to begging cats, some even playing with the cats, and when we were done with our food, they came to gather our plates and then suddenly hurled the leftover bones and meat into the street in front of us. We were confused at first but suddenly 2,000 seagulls swooped down and completely cleared the remains within seconds, which was pretty cool. We washed our hands in their kitchen and then walked across the way where there was a man selling his artwork. He had small paintings painted onto stretched zebra skin, and traditional African wooden statues and masks. The masks reminded me a lot of these masks that we used to have in our house when we were much younger but don’t have anymore, so I bought a small one. The man was named Mohamed and he was also from Senegal. We talked about the Moroccan World Cup game yesterday (which was absolutely tragic btw - we all watched it on professor’s laptop on the bus) and the amount of Senegalese in Morocco. Kimberly and Iskandar wanted a painting, and they were bargaining with him - they’re both absolute Gods when it comes to bargaining. They got him to bring the price of a painting from 150 dirham (about $15) to 70, and then went to another man selling the same paintings who was selling for 100, but Kim told him she got the one she was holding for 50 and he sold her one for 50. I don’t understand how they do that. I’m so bad at bargaining, my strategy is just passively being indecisive until they get impatient and hopefully lower the price. I feel like I’m insulting their work when I try to lower the price, and I feel bad because this is their livelihood! And I know that when they tell me "I’m broke today, so normally I sell it for 300 but today I’ll take 200" they’re probably lying, but I just can’t do it. And I also know that they’re used to bargaining, and they intentionally set higher prices knowing people will lower them, and whenever I would see Kimberly bargain it was like a game with the sellers, they were naturals, but I think that they sense that I can’t do it, because as soon as I suggest a slightly lower price they get this sad look in their eyes and I just can’t do it. They definitely know I can’t do it. The man who sold Kimberly the second painting for 50 had seen us at Taros the night before. He also spoke only French, and he asked for my number, but we left for the hotel. At the hotel we changed into warmer clothes since it was getting late, and drank tea in the lobby while Iskandar went upstairs to pray. We were joined by other students as they came in, and we talked to Vicky again who told us she took her half brother out of her will because he voted for Trump. Most of our group went upstairs but Danielle, Kim, Iskandar, and I wanted to go shopping more before dinner. We went to what was clearly the heart of Essaouira, away from the openness of the seaside merchants and into the crammed alleyways with side to side shops selling everything imaginable. This is where I fell in love with Essaouira a second time. Our first stop was a store selling handmade argan oil products (they were literally crushing argan nuts in an old fashioned hand cranked thing right in front of us. This time I sat aside and let Kim do the bargaining since we were both getting the same thing, and that became my strategy for the rest of the night. That was the very first store on the street, so we went deeper into the heart and kept shopping. At times they would be buying something in a store that I wasn’t interested in, so I would walk ahead to other shops, and I actually loved walking alone. I would never had done this in the beginning of the trip, but the past 2 weeks had prepared me well. I could say "No", "No thank you", "I don’t have any money", "I’m not interested", etc in Arabic, which helped, and I was also just more confident and comfortable navigating a busy place alone. I know that it’s exactly what the travel blogs I read told me not to do in Morocco, but it was always only for maybe 5 minutes at a time before I would go back and check on the others and it was extremely liberating. I was looking for a very specific necklace that no one seemed to have - even a man who brought me to his store where he makes custom necklaces for you right in front of you - so I bought some other things I wanted, a small camel, a belt, and gifts for people back home. Every time I went back to find Kimberly she was expertly bargaining with a merchant because there was some sign of wear on what she wanted to buy, or because she and Iskandar were both buying something, or because she was student, it was so entertaining to watch. We spent about two hours there all together, it was the best. At some point the world cup game between Nigeria and Croatia started, and in every store you could see the owners and their family sitting on stools in the front watching it on their tv above the door. I went into a jersey shop with Iskandar and talked to the kid working there, he was probably younger than me, about the games and what his favorite team was, he was adorably shy. Finally we decided at 8:00 to head back and get ready for dinner, but Danielle and I broke away and went down another smaller street with some shops on it, still looking for the necklace I wanted. We were pulled into one shop where I bought a souvenir for a friend, and Danielle was whisked into the back by the funniest man either of us have ever met in our entire lives. He was shorter than us and skinny with a turban bigger than him, and crazy eyes. He made us sit down and pulled out fabric bags of jewelry, handing us each one saying, "Ooooh sooo nice!! So beautiful. You love it." We didn’t want to buy anything so we tried leaving, but he insisted, "No! Just because I want to show you beautiful things, doesn’t mean you need to buy! Sit." so we kept looking. At one point he put a bracelet on Danielle and felt how cold she was, and exclaimed, "Ooh! So cold. Give me. Give me your hand. Your other one too! I warm you. With energy. Yes." and held both of her wrists in his hands and leaned back with the biggest grin, warming her up with energy. He asked us what kind of jewelry we like and produced everything we asked for, in every color. He actually ended up bringing out a bracelet I liked, and Danielle wanted the same one, but he couldn’t find one. He told us "You are nice. If you both buy something, loooook!" and leaned in super close, taking both of our hands, "I lower the price a liiiiittle bit. Just for you. Very very nice, yes." He couldn’t find another bracelet like the one I had, so I gave it to Danielle, but he wouldn’t lower the price since I wasn’t getting anything, and she didn’t want to pay full price. "You don’t need to match really! Look. Really, beautiful bracelets. It’s like matching in your hearts, yes?" I ended up buying the bracelet myself because Danielle didn’t want to pay full price, and when we got up to leave he shouted for us to come back. We went back in, he made us hug him, and, still sitting down, grabbed each of our hands and got very very serious. Looking at us smiling, he said very deliberately and slowly, "See you later…. alligator. In a while…. crocodile!!!!!!!" and she and I finally left, cracking up. We found our way back to the hotel with the help of some locals, dropped our stuff off, met up with everyone else, and left for dinner. We went to a restaurant that brought us up to the top floor to a room all for us. They pulled all the tables together and we got dinner. While eating, a discussion broke out about education in America, and I mostly stayed out of it, but I was enjoying how wherever Yale students are there’s always amazing conversation. Okay my laptop is about to die so I need to speed this up. After eating we tried finding another club to go to but Taros was the only one open so we went back there, got drinks, and asked each other interesting questions, going around the table and having everyone answer - What do you love about yourself? What would you change about yourself? Who are you eternally grateful for? What’s something you with people knew about you when they met you? and then switched to "say something nice about the person to your left" and then to the right, which was the most wholesome and rewarding game ever. At that point we were ready to start dancing so we went to the stage and cared even less about what people thought than last night. Unfortunately the man who sold Kimberly the painting who asked for my number got creepy with me and we had to leave, which I felt bad about, but I swear there was not even a nanosecond of annoyance or hesitation for any of them when Carson came to rescue me in the bathroom and I asked them, "can we leave? this guy is creeping me out." We immediately left, and in that moment I had never felt more supported it was so nice. Jack went back to the hotel, but Carson and Shâdy and I wanted to walk around more to sober up, so we walked to these big rocks that go into the water, walked to the edge somehow without tripping, and sat right on the water. We talked about religion and how it’s represented in different countries, and how it affects moral code, we talked about Islam’s reputation, it was a really good conversation that I was happy to be a part of because it was so relevant to what we were experiencing. After that we went back to the hotel and crashed. Essaouira is definitely joining my very elite list of my favorite cities. Although it’s no doubt a huge tourist town, there are enough locals there to make it feel more small towny. And even though it’s so extremely busy, the size of it (at least where we were) is small enough that you recognize people when you’re there longer than one day, merchants and restaurant workers remember you, everyone is friendly. We talked about how everyone seemed to be on the same team in terms of shopkeepers. Like when we couldn’t find something in one store, instead of offering us alternatives that they sell, they would point us in the direction of another store where we could find it. And when a merchant had to leave to get something for us, the shopkeepers around him were automatically trusted to watch his store for him. It was the greatest atmosphere day and night, with open spaces but also smaller alleys and streets, I most definitely want to return there.