DAY ONE:
Aja and I woke up early to meet the IES group at 8:45am. We drove almost three hours southwest to la Línea, which is directly outside of the British territory, Gibraltar. Paige and I dropped our bags off at the hotel and joined our friends on the rocky shore to eat our packed lunches. Delia must have been concerned about me being fed on this trip because she packed me almost double what she usually packs! After eating, we went for a walk along the shore, towards the beach. All along the way, we had a perfect view of the large rock in the distance (Gibraltar). The port city reminded me a lot of Pirates of the Caribbean. It was warm in the sun, but the wind was a bit chilly.We returned to the hotel to regroup and walk about 45 minutes to the border of Gibraltar. It was an odd feeling to walk across the border. Of course, passports were crucial, but we were disappointed that we didn't get a stamp. Gibraltar is a bizarre place, where everyone speaks Spanglish and pays in pounds. There are also many British clichés, like the red telephone booths.
We split into two groups to take bus tours of the city. My bus driver was so funny, and gave us some background history as we ascended the mountain. We stopped at a beautiful overlook where we could see Africa across the Mediterranean Sea/Atlantic Ocean! Then we stopped at St. Michael's Cave, which is a network of limestone caves located in the Upper Rock Nature Reserve. It was incredible to imagine how nature formed this landmark. Our next stop was at a site inhabited by monkeys! They were so funny and photogenic. We weren't supposed to touch them, but if we got too close, they would steal our sunglasses or jump on us!
After the tour, a few friends and I sat at a cafe before regrouping to walk up the mountain. It was quite a hike, but the views were spectacular, especially with the sunset as a perfect backdrop. We made it back down the mountain before it got too dark, just in time to eat at a fun British pub, The Clipper. Then we walked back across the border to our hotel and called it a night.
DAY TWO:
I woke up and enjoyed a long, hot shower, knowing that they may not be a possibility over the next few days. Paige and I got ready, packed our bags, and ate a delicious breakfast at the hotel. After grabbing a few things for the road, we boarded the bus.
We drove about an hour southwest to Tarifa, which is located at the very southern tip of Spain. Thus, we could see the African mountains from the port. The IES students were split into small groups of about 14 students. My group, Team Guay, met our Moroccan guide, Jess (in addition to our IES leader, Eva). Originally from the UK, Jess has lived in Morocco for the past four years. Besides English, she can speak pretty good Arabic and Spanish. She has a cool accent, works as an artist, and is both laid-back and a lot of fun.
After getting our passports stamped, we boarded the boat, which was a lot bigger than the ferry I was picturing. Our passports were stamped again on board. At 10am, we left Tarifa, Spain and crossed the Mediterranean Sea. However, we turned our clocks back one hour, so it was actually 9am. 14 miles later, we arrived in Tangier, Morocco.
At the port, we went through a brief security checkpoint, and then converted our money to Moroccan dirham. 1 dirham is roughly 11 euro; I converted 40 euro to 436 dirham.
My group met the driver of our mini bus and we drove inland towards the city center. We were dropped off in the middle of a plaza. Despite our attempts to dress modestly and low-key, we stuck out like a sore thumb--all eyes were on us. It was uncomfortable to feel so out of place, but Jess reassured us and led us through a large open market, lined with stands on either side. The smells were overwhelming; fish, meat, fruit, spices, flowers. We were told that most Moroccans (exluding children) do not like to have their picture taken, so we removed our sunglasses and gestured before taking a picture of anyone. Jess bought oranges for our "snack bag", which she always kept stocked, and water bottles for each of us. The water was safe to drink there, but it wasn't worth adjusting to it during our short trip, so we continually refilled our water bottles. One of the first things that I noticed was the skewed ratio of men and women. Men dominated the streets, park benches, everywhere. The older men were mostly dressed in traditional long robes and hat, while some younger [skinny] men were dressed like modern Europeans; an interesting clash. Morocco is a Muslim country, so most of the women wore hijbas (head scarf) and long dresses. I also noticed that there were a lot of stray cats in contrast to the dogs that I see everyday in Spain.
Then we walked to the women's center, Darna, which helps Moroccan women learn a skill and subsequently find a job (about a six-month process). The women that we met were extremely nice and spoke pretty good English. Three of them gave us a tour of the building, which is filled with classrooms, a traditional and modern sewing room, kitchen, and terrace with a great view of the city. There is also a small restaurant and gift shop used to help fund the center. We sat down with the women and chatted over a cup of tea and sweets. Cultural diversity, education and women's rights in Morocco were the main topics that were covered. I found it interesting to learn that wearing a hijab is a person choice within the Islamic faith, and that Moroccan weddings can last for three days! They also asked us questions, and we tried to clear up stereotypes in both cultures. I got the chance to talk one-on-one with Maryann, and we exchanged contact information. We ate lunch with the Moroccan students around noon: a rice salad, followed by chicken tagine. Spending the morning at Darna was a breath of fresh air towards my first impression of Morocco.
We left around 2pm and made a surprise stop at a beach along the coast, where we rode camels! We each took a turn going in groups of three. What a fun experience! The only problem was that it was slightly tricky to stay on when the camel stood up and laid down; not something that I'm used to after riding horses!Then we continued driving about an hour south to a rather modern costal town, Assilah. A Moroccan man guided us around the city, explaining the history in a mix of Spanish and English. There we saw our first octagonal alminar (mosque tower). Throughout our walk, the buildings and shoreline were very photogenic. However, I was surprised at how many cat-calls we attracted as American students.
Afterwards, we drove three more hours south to Morocco's capital, Rabat. As we were getting off the bus, I was surprised to see none other than Javier strolling down the street towards us. I did not think that we would see him since he is leading a group that is a day ahead of us, but he wanted to make sure we all got there alright.
My group walked to a house where we were introduced to our host families. Paige, Kokaale, and I met our host sister, Sarah, and she walked us to her house. Sarah is a beautiful, chatty, 16-year-old girl who speaks Arabic, French, and English--although some things we said to her got lost in translation. She explained that she lives in the old medina (city) and that there is a difference between classic and Moroccan Arabic--Moroccan Arabic is only spoken; not written down. Her house is very large and covered in beautiful tile. She showed us our "bedroom", which looks more or less like every other room; low couch cushions lined against each wall. Then we met the rest of the family, who were sitting in a room upstairs that looked similar to our bedroom, except with a table and television. We also took our shoes off before entering. Paige, Kokaale, and I shook hands with Sarah's mother, sister, brother, two aunts, grandfather, and cousins (her dad passed away). Other than Sarah and her brother, no one else spoke a word of English. Still, they were extremely fun and energetic, and super excited to meet us. They immediately fed us sugary tea with bread, cookies, and brownies.
Around 8pm, Sarah took us for a walk through the Medina. I used to think that the streets of Spain were crowded, but between the market stands, blankets on the ground with goods for sale, carts of food plowing through, and people coming from every direction, the streets of Rabat were, in a word, chaotic. Sarah told us that the markets stands (a random mix of food, clothing, and other items) were open until around 11:30 at night. She also took us to the newer part of the city, where there were many stores and cafes. I noticed that it was very common for men to be lined up at tables outside of cafes, watching the street life. Many men would say hello to us as we passed them. There was also a fair amount of women in the streets, some with and some without hijabs. The women in Sarah's family only wore them outside of the house. I also took notice of the wide range of skin color among the Moroccans; a variety of light and dark.
We returned home for dinner: a Moroccan salad (tomato and onion) and a communal dish of meat. A major cultural difference was the lack of individual plates and silverware use. Instead, everyone took large pieces of bread and scooped the food that they wanted from the communal dish in the middle of the table. I liked the sense of community that this presented. The family was very chatty during the meal, and I wondered what they were talking about. I found it difficult to communicate with gestures sometimes, especially when Sarah wasn't around to translate. Still, anytime Paige, Kokaale, or I would pause from eating, one of the women in the family would point and shout "kooli kooli kooli!" (eat eat eat!). After the dinner plate was cleared away, we ate oranges for dessert. I learned in orientation that it's very impolite to eat or greet someone with your left hand, which is traditionally used in place of toilet paper. Turkish toilets (a hole in the ground) are common in Morocco, but the girls and I were relieved to find a western toilet in the house. Nevertheless, Jess made sure to keep a roll of toilet paper with us wherever we went.
During dinner, I picked up on the important role that television (especially soccer) plays in Moroccan culture. After the meal, the family gathered around the television to watch Arab Idol. At one point, one of the aunts got up and danced with us--one of my favorite memories! Even the older aunt was shimmying and laughing with us.
A bit later, Paige, Kokaale, and I excused ourselves from the room, exchanged thoughts, and went to sleep--we each picked a spot on the couch!
DAY THREE:
We woke up, got ready, and ate breakfast at 8am. Sarah's mom prepared Moroccan crepes and bread with butter, marmalade, and a chocolate spread that reminded me of Nutella. And I used to think that I ate a lot of bread in Spain! She also gave us cookies, tea, and coffee. It was only the three of us with Sarah's mom, so there was a fair amount of awkward silence between the language barrier, but we got by with smiles, gestures, and our tiny Arabic vocabulary:
- salam uaalikum--hello
- waalikum salam--hello in return
- shukuran--thank you
- zween--good, nice, pretty
- bnin--delicious
- shbaat, lhmdullah--I am full, thank God
After breakfast, Sarah walked us to the group meeting place. Shortly after we starting driving, we picked up a Moroccan man who gave us some background information about Rabat. Once we got past the thick accent, his English was pretty good. His name was too difficult to pronounce, so we called him "Abs". He showed us a different side of Morocco by pointing out the shanty towns as we drove past them. Shanty towns are communities of people that live together with a communal water tap, stolen electricity, and hundreds of satellite television channels. It was then that I noticed how common it was to see satellite dishes on the roof tops of all of the Moroccan buildings. The shanty town was partially disguised behind a wall. Abs explained that the King can't help one shanty town without helping them all. We stopped at a non-profit center called Hope for Sale, which was created to educate women living in shanty towns. Abs joined a few other Moroccan students and young professionals in giving us a tour of the building. Then we sat down to discuss what's happening in Morocco over a cup of tea. The peaceful discussion quickly turned into a heated debate when we began talking about the King of Morocco, Islam, homosexuality, and alcohol and drugs. Abs was very opinionated about these topics. Some interesting points that came up included:- whether or not a truly Muslim country exists in reality
- whether or not the King is corrupted--one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith is to give alms to the poor, yet he holds all of the money and power in Morocco
We returned to our host families to eat lunch. Paige, Kokaale, and I felt bad that Sarah had to keep walking us to and from the meeting place, so we tried to memorize the route and try it on our own next time. It was not easy though--the streets of Rabat reminded me of a labyrinth; narrow and identical in appearance! The family prepared potato salads with rice and vegetables, and a communal plate of chicken and rice. After we ate, we joined Sarah's older sister, Ajar, on the terrace. She reminded me of a character in one of my favorite movies, Love Actually. Kokaale tried to talk to her in French, but we mostly just sat together and listened to music playing from Ajar's cell phone.
Afterwards, we met up with the group and were matched with young Moroccans to explore the city--one of my favorite activities! Me and three other IES girls were paired with Abs and his friend. They showed us Rabat's Kasbah (old fort), street life, the medina market, and the beach. We walked along the pier, taking in the beautiful views of Rabat and the surrounding areas. Then they showed us one of the few churches in the city before sitting down at a cafe, which was when the question-and-answer session turned into a relaxed, fluid conversation. They were both so funny, and talked to us like we were all good friends.
A few hours later, we regrouped and Paige, Kokaale, and I tried walking home by ourselves. It was a bit tricky, but we found our way eventually. We quickly grabbed our things and made it back just in time to catch the group before they left for the hammam. A hammam is a public bath, which is quite common in Morocco, especially for those without private baths in their homes. In the front of the building is a dressing room, followed by three bathing rooms: cold, temperate, and hot. The hot room felt like a sauna. We were given a scrubber and a packet of wonderful soap that was made with olive oil. It was interesting to see how natural it was for the women (of all ages) to bathe together and scrub each other. I chose to be scrubbed by a Moroccan woman and it was a great choice--I had never felt so clean afterwards! In addition to personal hygiene, the hammam plays a social role as well; some women spend hours there, conversing with other women. Men have their own hammams as well. Kokaale and I agreed that having public baths in the U.S. would promote good body image among teenage girls. The trip to the hammam was a very enjoyable cultural experience!
When we left the hammam, we went straight to the house where we met our host families the night before. There we received henna tattoos on our hands. Henna is an aesthetic tradition that women do on each other to bring good luck (i.e., at weddings). I could not believe how quickly the woman did them because they were so pretty! Initially, they looked like paint and glitter designs, but we were supposed to wash them off after a couple of hours, which would allow the tattoo to remain for a few days.
Sarah met us at the house and walked us home around 10pm (lesson learned). The family prepared a spicy soup for dinner, along with hard-boiled eggs, bread, and fruit for dessert. We also met two other students living in the house who are studying in Morocco and had just returned from a weekend trip. One of the girls went to high school with Kokaale--small world! As usual, we were exhausted and went to sleep shortly after dinner.
DAY FOUR:
DAY FOUR:
Another early morning. The girls and I got ready, packed our bags, and ate breakfast with Sarah's mom at 7:30am. She had prepared another bread-filled sugary meal for us. We said goodbye and took a picture with Sarah before she left for school. Then her mom walked us to our meeting place, where we said goodbye to her as well.
Around 8am, we were off to the Rif Mountains! It was a four-hour drive, but we made two stops along the way. Before we left Rabat, we visited the Mausoleum of King Mohammad V. It was very beautiful with an interesting history as well. The area was surrounded by the remnants of an unfinished mosque that was intended to have the highest alminar. However, it was never finished because of an earthquake and because the man who was funding it died.
We also stopped in a small town along the way for a tea break and to purchase food for our upcoming lunch date. We finally arrived in the Rif Mountains around noon. The quiet countryside was such a contrast to the bustling, urban city of Rabat. The bus dropped us off and we walked the rest of the way to the mountain village home. We greeted the dynamic family; old grandparents to a three-month-old infant. I walked around the house while some of the students helped prepare lunch with the food that we had brought with us. Then we shared a delicious picnic in the front yard. The meal consisted of raw vegetables, cheese, bread, strawberries, and couscous (finally!). After eating, we chatted with the family over a cup of tea, with the help of a Moroccan friend that translated for us. It was a very enjoyable, two-sided conversation, where we talked about education, simplicity of life, and economic challenges of rural areas in Morocco. The farmer was just as curious about us as we were about him. He asked us questions like our dreams in life and the number of kids we want to have someday. Then the family took us on a walk around their property. The scenery and landscapes were beautiful. When we were on top of a hill, the farmer told us that one of his favorite things is listening to people sing. Next thing I knew, the group of IES students was cranking out every classic song that we knew the words to. I was moved to witness the family's genuine reaction. On the walk back, the young son climbed a tree and modeled for us--priceless! Only two students took pictures of the afternoon to avoid overwhelming the family. Back at their house, we tossed around a soccer ball with the boy for a few minutes. I also had my first experience with a Turkish toilet; certainly something that would take some getting used to! Everyone was reluctant to say goodbye to the hospitable and sincere family. Despite the fact that they host groups like us every weekend, they showed no sign of boredom or discontent. Needless to say, this was one of the most memorable experiences of the trip.
Around 8:30pm, we shared a special celebration dinner in the Chefchaouen medina. The restaurant was vey pretty and the three-course meal was quite filling. The dessert was absolutely wonderful--some sort of milkshake with cinnamon. And I used to think that I tried new foods when I went to college!
"Don't ask the world what it needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
-Howard Thurman
It was a very special moment to reflect on our journey together.
DAY FIVE:
Somewhat reluctantly, we walked back down to the Chefchaouen plaza for breakfast. I scarfed down my crepes and tea because we only had an hour of free time and I had money to spend! I ditched my original idea of buying things for specific people, and resorted to quickly buying the things that I liked, knowing that I would figure out gifts later. I made some good purchases, spent the last of my dirham, and got my bags from the hostel just in time to meet the group in the plaza.By 10am, we had begun the two hour drive north though the mountains, fields, and cities to the Spanish city, Ceuta. Our Moroccan bus driver couldn't cross the Moroccan-Spanish border with us, so we said goodbye to him. That was where we parted ways with Jess as well, as she returned to Morocco. Eva led the rest of the group across the border on foot. It was slightly unsettling, as we were told that the border is similar to the U.S.-Mexican border; many try to smuggled drugs and people across. However, we made it safely across the border with another stamp in our passports. Then we caught a taxi to the port and had a drink on Jess's company. We also turned our clocks forward one hour to be back on Spanish time. It was a relief to be back in Spanish-speaking territory--I had terribly missed speaking Spanish!
I anxiously listened to Aja's experience as we walked home. When we finally made it back, Laura greeted us and made a delicious Spanish tortilla dinner with a tomato salad. Afterwards, Aja and I showered, unpacked, and went to sleep. What a whirlwind adventure!
AFTER THOUGHTS:
This journey has been quite an experience. So much happened in such a short time period that it has been difficult to make sense of it all. During our last night in Morocco, Jess told us that it would be normal for us to feel down for a few days when we return to Granada, and that it's important to "process" what has happened. The impact may hit us when we return to Granada or even when we return to the U.S. During the first few days back in Granda, it was hard for me to put into words or give a concrete answer about my trip to Morocco. I knew that I enjoyed it and learned a lot, but it all happened so fast that I was left feeling a bit dazed. Thus, it was important for me to blog about the trip and, thus, organize my thoughts. Now I feel like I can begin processing what happened, and come to find how it has impacted my life.
