So what have I been up to lately? It feels like everything has been a big jumble of booking flights, making plans, securing a job homework, studying, traveling, eating, and not sleeping enough. It’s funny. I imagined that being in a country that stresses taking tea as much as Morocco, that my life would be much less hectic than it is in the United States. Sure, there are certain things that require less stress (namely, not working at all) and that I rarely write papers, but I find my time to be loaded up. I always enjoy myself, but I was hoping to relax a bit more. Well, I have traveled to many different places. Whether it was going with Cody and Rachel to Chellah, or traveling to coastal cities (Mohammedia and Al Jadeeda) or even visiting the Atlas Mountains and seeing some monkeys, there is never a dull moment. I guess it’s a positive thing that my blog has dropped off the face of the Earth.
Well, Mohammedia was beautiful. My Maghrebian-Francophone Literature professor asked our class to visit his house in Mohammedia and to take lunch with him and his family. They were extraordinarily interesting people and the food was great. After cooking on a hot plate for every meal and attempting to keep the apartment clean and then going to school with your other time, you appreciate free food a lot more. I miss being able to throw food in the oven for 25 minutes and then having a meal ready. Eating and cleaning is much easier in the United States. I don’t believe I mentioned it yet… to clean dishes here, we need to throw dish soap into a big plastic tub that we use and fill it with hot water and then bring the tub to the kitchen and soak our dishes. We don’t have hot water in our kitchenL. I digress… After Mohammedia, Will, Jordyn, and I took a train to Al Jadeeda. This city is a destination for Moroccans looking to get away from their cities elsewhere. The city catered well to tourists and we spent our time in the medina or on the beach. Which reminds me, I made friends with basically every child between the age of 4-8 in Al Jadeeda. We were at the beach and a group of scantily clad boys started making their way towards our group (there were about 12 of us). As I was lying on the outside of the group, a boy slowly inched his way to within 4 feet of my head. Our group became nervous that these boys might try to take some of our possessions so I quickly said to the boy. Sahibi, labess? My friend, are you ok?. He of course responded in an excited manner and began trying to talk to me. Obviously, we were not Moroccans so he tried speaking French to me. This turned into a full blown conversation with this boy in a combination of Arabic, French, and English (he knew some English). I was actually amazed at his intelligence. This boy (Muhammed) was around 8 years old and was having logical conversations with me. His friends came over to me and tried talking to me, but Muhammed was the only one I was really able to communicate with. However, that didn’t stop his friends from talking to me and then later dragging me into the ocean to bodysurf on the waves. They even taught me Moroccan children’s games. However, as is the case, as it was getting close to lunchtime, the kids decided to start asking for money. It was at this point that our group had to leave the beach to get rid of the begging children. Reflecting on it, I don’t regret spending time talking with these children. Meeting a group of children that can’t even afford bathing suits (some were wearing underwear) is a sobering experience. All of us on this trip are so lucky to be in Morocco in the first place. Sure, Morocco is much better off than almost all of the other countries in the African continent, but you can notice such a disparity between the poor in the United States and those in a developing nation.
A side note, anyone that has the opportunity to travel to a country should make it a habit to visit with underprivileged individuals. It is not that you become a better person because of this (believe me, it’s not a rite of passage and you do not suddenly gain sainthood) but it really makes you doubt people that say “man, I’m starving”.
Oh, before I forget, we met some interesting French expats at our hotel in Al Jadeeda. They were interesting and had done work in the Congo in NGO’s. We shared a couple bottles of wine and I came to the conclusion that (while they were outstanding individuals) being in an NGO does not make one a good person. People choose to leave the comfort of their own home for multiple reasons, to learn (like me), to help others, for personal gain, for wealth, or a combination of reasons. One of these expats set up a fish farm within the Congo. I guess, there are people that can find wealth anywhere.
Last week, I completed my first trip to the Atlas Mountains. We went to Azrou, where Fouad (an assistant director at IES’s hometown). The place was absolutely gorgeous and reminded me of a mix between what Switzerland should look like, the North East, and Morocco all in one. A group of 13 of us (11 students, Fouad, and his friend Kareem) completed the hike up the mountain and set up camp. 3 students decided to come back down the mountain, but the rest of us decided to try our own on top. Luckily for us, Fouad and Kareem did not want to leave us adventuresome Americans on the mountain and they spent the night with us. For the benefit of all of us, Fouad went back down the mountain to show the three students sleeping in the hotel the way and brought back up a bunch of food for a massive feast of sardines, chicken, vegetables, tagine, and water. The food and Fouad were delivered to the camp about 3 kms away. Kareem and I needed to make the trek across the plains to obtain the food and Fouad.
I will get some pictures of the Atlas Mountains for all of my excellent readers to view. The views are like something out of Lord of the Rings. The vast mountains, the beautiful forest, rivers, waterfalls, and a expansive plain. It is difficult to imagine, but Morocco has a variety of landscapes that the United States posseses, but in a fraction of the space.
I will post info about my more recent adventures before spring break! Sorry for the delay blog
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