This past weekend I took a trip to Morocco with a program called “Morocco Exchange.” It was the big field trip for the interest group that I’m in—Human Rights. We left early Friday morning from Sevilla, and drove to the coast of Spain in a city known as Tarifa. We took a 40 minute ferry across the sea to what seemed like a whole new world. We landed in Tanger, Morocco.
We first visited a women’s shelter where women made different types of clothes and products on sewing machines, looms, etc. We ate lunch there (cous-cous!). We also had a discussion there with a Moroccan man, which was very interesting. He had a completely different perspective than women we talked to. One girl took a picture without asking and a woman got really mad… in general, there are a lot of people that don’t like to have their picture taken, and especially if you don’t ask.
The first language people learn is a dialect of Arabic, although children learn classical Arabic when they go to school. Almost everyone speaks French as well. And then, as a third language, most people choose English. It is so crazy to hear them just switch from one language to another in an instant! So impressive!
Next, we drove to a city called Asilah. It is a small city right on the coast, and we drove there to watch the sunset and walk through it’s tiny streets. On the way there, we stopped at a beach and went for a camel ride. :-D
Finally, we got to Rabat where we met our 2-day Moroccan host-families. Nanou and I were with a really sweet and kind-hearted woman named Zarika. Luckily for me, Nanou is a native French speaker, so we had no problem communicating. My French started coming back to me as we were speaking it in the house. It’s really easy to forget how to speak French after being in Spain for so long and speaking Spanish! It seems like the Spanish just overtook the area of my brain that was reserved for French. Our homestay was amazing—the food was SO good! We learned a few words in Arabic: “kool!” which means “eat!!” and “salam hallekum” “hello, may peace be upon you” among a few others. On the second night we even danced a little in the living room to Moroccan music. And of course, we drank lots of delicious sweet tea!
The next day, on Saturday, we visited ancient ruins. We also visited the mausoleum of Mohammed V. We met with a few professors and students to have a discussion. We talked about religion, the role of women, stereotypes of Islamic countries, stereotypes of the Western world, and much more. Later that day, we met with a few Moroccan students just to walk around the city and share culture with each other. I went to Mass at the cathedral that night, and it was so beautiful. There weren’t a lot of people, but it gave me so much peace to be there. That night we went to a Hamman, which was used in the past as the public shower when people didn’t have personal ones in their homes. We went just for fun to take advantage of the steamy room.
On Sunday we took a drive to through the Rif mountains. We saw a lot of Shanty towns. It was so sad to see houses made of pieces of aluminum and a few sticks thrown together. And on the other side of the street there were nice apartment buildings. It was interesting, though the people who lived in the Shanty towns barely could meet their basic needs, almost every little shack had a satellite dish so they could watch TV. We drove to a farming family’s house in the mountains, and ate lunch there. We had to pick up a translator on the way so we could communicate. The translator was one of the few lucky ones who was given help so he could go to school past 7th grade. Education is free in the area where we were until 7th grade, and then if you want to continue, you have to go about an hour or two away, which for most people, is way too expensive.
Sunday night we drove to Chefchouen where we spent our last night shopping through it’s fairy-tale-esc streets (everything is painted light blue). Nanou and I had many conversations with the merchants; conversations that often switched between Spanish, French, and English. I got my hand at bargaining, and actually quite enjoyed it. It’s such an art! We ate dinner in a restaurant, went up to the roof of our hostel to look at the stars and mountains, and then went to bed.
Monday morning we took our trek back home, spending many hours on buses and a boat ride. We walked across the border of Morocco into Spain (the part of Spain that is in Africa), which was quite an experience within itself. Tons of Moroccans were trying to get past, but the security guards wouldn’t let them. And then, here we come, Americans, and easily just walk right past. It really makes me realize how fortunate I am to be able to travel and see the world. It’s not so easy for many people.
The trip, overall, was such an amazing experience. I have such a newfound appreciation for the Moroccan people and for Islamic countries in general. I would recommend this trip to anyone and everyone!
Random Fun Fact: It was rare that there was toilet paper in the bathrooms. Also, many toilets were “Turkish toilets” which consisted of a ceramic bowl on the floor that went to a hole in the ground. ☺
