Marruecos

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Hello!!

Just got back from Morocco...it was truly unbelievable. I have so much to say, I'm not sure if I will be able to put it all down into words in one sitting, but I will do my best.

Our group started off last Thursday night by heading to a town in southern Spain called La Linea. We spent the day in nearby Gibraltar, which is a British territory in southern Spain. You need a passport to enter Gibraltar, even though essentially it is only a small town, and they speak British English as well as Spanish there. Lots of fish and chips places, etc. The town surrounds a giant rock, which originally housed cannons and military bases. We got to go into one of these caves, carved out in the rock by natural and unnatural means, and saw a theater built inside of the cave, which was quite a sight. The rock of Gibraltar is also known for its apes, which are very feisty and love stealing anything from tourists. I got a couple good pictures with the apes; I found them very interesting to watch.

The next day, after sleeping in La Linea, we took a boat across the Mediterranean to AFRICA! Suddenly we were two hours behind Spanish time, because Spain pushes her clock two hours ahead of her time-zone (Spain is on the same time-zone as Poland!). The first thing we did when we arrived in Tangier, Morocco, was to walk through a market, full of smells and sounds that us Americans are definitely not used to. There is clearly no FDA here...the meat section of the market was a very different experience, for me. But, I like to try and keep an open mind. I took pictures, please look at them! Immediately after, we went to a women's center, called DARNA, which is a vocational school for women who have been abused or have had drug problems. They teach weaving, secretary skills, and hairdressing skills. We talked to a woman there, who is not affiliated with the school in any way, and learned about life in Tangier. This first discussion really opened my eyes to Moroccan culture. Morocco is a place where many different cultures mix--European, different African cultures, and Middle Eastern. They are rather liberal, in my opinion; this woman has a facebook! She wears a head-scarf (hajib), but only recently made that choice, three Ramadans ago, when she was personally compelled to begin. She is a university graduate, and recently married, and explained to the group that Islam is very much a choice in Morocco--this cannot be said for Iran or Saudi Arabia. In Morocco, the Muslim people believe that if you are not choosing to worship Allah freely, than it is not true. She also said that there is a little bit of animosity toward Bush (and recently, McCain) in Morocco, because of various anti-Islam statements that they have both made, but that it is generally understood that Americans are good people. How mature! I was very moved by our conversation with her (which we had over traditional Moroccan tea). Afterwards, we were fed a delicious meal of couscous, chicken, and veggies.

After, we drove to the beach, and rode on camels! Check out the pictures! Then we toured an old Jewish community on the Mediterranean, and finally drove to Rabat, where we met our home-stay families. I stayed with two other girls, Becca and Kristin, and we were assigned a really great home-stay. It was difficult to communicate at first, because the family spoke French and Arabic, and we speak neither, but I had a cheat sheet with some Arabic phrases on it, and when I tried to say them our host mom laughed. The family was pretty big; consisting of some brothers, cousins, sisters, neighbors...I wasn't sure of anyone's relation to anyone. I have photos of the house. It is three stories, and unlike any home I've ever been in. The bedrooms double as living rooms. Our family, luckily, had a western toilet (this is a modern phenomenon in Morocco), but unfortunately it didn't really flush. The alternative is the Turkish toilet...it is essentially a hole in the group with two squares for you to stand on. The shower was incredibly different from anything we have in the US...the shower-head was in one room (literally, in the middle of the room, not in a "shower," and then the water ran into another room and drained in the Turkish toilet. It was quite an experience! Our host mother fed us the most delicious dinner that night--check out the pictures of it, I can't describe the food very well. Then her servant, or who we believe to be her servant, did henna on our hands. We watched Miss Congeniality on TV (ha-ha!) with one broken-English speaking member of the family, another criticizer of Bush. And that was the end of day one in Morocco!

Day Two...The first thing we did was wake up at 4 AM to the (very, very loud) call of prayer. Every morning, the family wakes up at 4, eats, and goes to the mosque, and then goes back to sleep. The man who calls out the prayer from the minaret has soooome lungs! Anyways, we re-woke at 8 for breakfast, which was lots of sticky-sweet pastries and cakes, and well as Moroccan tea and coffee. Then, the whole group went to the university, to have another discussion with a professor. This too was very eye-opening for me. I felt moved by learning about the foundations of Islam, and ashamed that I don't know more about the religion. In general, it was embarrassing for me to experience such compassion and understanding in Morocco, when I don't believe that Americans would necessarily do the same. Moroccans do feel terrible about what is happening in Iraq. However, as one man pointed out, Moroccans can see that the Bush administration is culpable, not the entire US of A. Now, if only Americans could see that extremist groups don't represent the whole...I'll move on. These are just some thoughts that I had when I was in Morocco, especially related to that conversation with the professor. I got a copy of his book, signed.

After that, we visited Roman ruins in Rabat, and the Mausoleum of King Mohammed V. I started to feel sick around this time, so my memory is lacking as to details, but just check out the pictures. The ruins were very tropical, and beautiful. There was an eel pond, supposedly if you throw an egg in and an eel eats it you will get pregnant (sperm, egg, get it?...). Then, we went to have another delicious lunch with our family. What stands out in my memory was the most fantastic potato salad... After lunch, we went to spend the afternoon walking around Rabat with two Moroccan college students (per every 4 Americans). Our boys were very friendly, and showed us the most bustling market I have ever seen. It was exciting and sad at the same time. It was full of people haggling, and different foods and wares, but there were also lots of disabled and homeless people lying on the ground--it was a much more pathetic sight than one usually encounters in the US. I remember, in particular, a man with CP lying on a blanket on the ground, which made me feel very sad. We also saw the ocean with our guides, and had tea. It is exceedingly difficult for Moroccans to leave the country, so they were very interested in hearing about life outside of Morocco. Other than that, they were just normal kids! After that activity, we went home, and broke the fast with the family around 6:30, by eating traditional Moroccan soup and bread. By the evening, I was running a fever, so I had to skip the last activity, the hammam. This is a public bath house where men and women (separately) go to shower and steam. It is a nude activity, and all the girls in our group were required to at the very least be topless...yikes! But they all had a great time! I wish I could have gone. I also had to skip dinner that night, darn.

The next day our family made us breakfast, for the last time, and we said goodbye. We went to the Rif Mountains, were we visited a farming family in a small, poor town. Through the use of a translator, we were able to talk to the farmer about his life, and his family. This experience stands out for me, given that our trip was held in a predominately urban environment. This man built his own house out of homemade clay bricks...there were chickens, dogs, and donkeys running around the town. One of the only cash crops in Morocco is marijuana, so many of the farmers in the mountains grow and sell hash. Our guide said that in the summer, all the fields that we drove through are filled with marijuana plants. The man we talked to was born in the small town that he still lives in, where the school only goes up to grade 12, and he told us that he wants his children to go to the university. Look at my pictures from that experience as well.

After that, we drove to Chefchaouen, and did some shopping, and checked into a very nice hostel. We had dinner as a group, and then had a final reflective conversation on the roof of the hostel, where our guide gave us all little gifts! The next day was essentially all travel; we took a short hike to the top of the city at 7 AM, but after that we headed to catch our ferry. Right as we were crossing the border (from Morocco into a Spanish territory of Africa) it started pouring buckets! The dirt roads turned to mud; it was craziness! We made it to the coast and in the storm the boat ride was more of a rollercoaster ride, but we made it home safe and sound.

I had that evening to pack up my stuff, and the next morning (yesterday) I moved into the Spanish residence hall! The name of the hall is Residencia Carlos V, and this hyperlink (http://www.ugr.es/~webugr/carlosv.htm) will take you to a page with a virtual tour. It is very far away from my school, but I am so glad I chose to move here! The view of Granada is unbeatable, and hopefully I will be able to make new Spanish friends. I have one American friend with me, so I'm not completely alone. I have a single room, with a bathroom (shower/tub included!) and a fridge and microwave. It is much nicer than an American dorm. There is a gym, and a cafeteria, which I just ate at for the first time today. Breakfast was the usual Spanish food--toasted bread with tomato or jam, pastries, cereal... Lunch was chaos! Eventually, we got served fruit, bread, salad, chicken, pasta, and beer! How funny is that; there is no option except to drink beer! I can tell I am going to have to try very hard to meet people here, but I plan on doing so.

And now, I am going to do homework...I miss you all very very much!

Love,
Amy

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Photos

"The American Embassy"
As our guide said...and it's ironically located right next to the hospital.