Headed Down South

I’m on the bus home from our first excursion, and my head is spinning from all we’ve done.  In the past seven days, I have stopped in around a dozen villages, towns, and cities in the southern part of Morocco.  Considering the country’s small size, our trip has required a surprising amount of time in transit, probably around 30 hours total, but the long trips have provided time to absorb the surrounding scenery.  Morocco’s size doesn’t limit its topography; in fact, the range of landscapes likely surpasses that of the U.S.  We’ve journeyed from the ocean-side capitol city to the Saharan dunes in under 48 hours, and from there to deep river gorges, snow-capped mountain ranges, and verdant agricultural valleys. 

A snowy drive through the Middle Atlas Mountains

The cultural range has been equally as diverse.  Through stops at various NGOs along the road, we’ve had a chance to interact with some of the advocates for women’s rights and education and learn more about change in the region.  As our route has taken us through some of the country’s least populated areas, we’ve also seen some of the poorest villages and their people.  Then, only hours later, we would arrive in cities like Marrakech and Essaouira, where we blended with the other Western tourists being wooed by insistent shopkeepers.  As one of our academic directors aptly noted, Morocco is a country of contrasts, both geographically and economically, and our excursion served its purpose in reinforcing that idea.

Rainy marketplaces of Marrakech

With so much time on the go, it has been difficult to process all that I’ve seen.  Gazing upon the rural villages, I have to wonder what the lives of those who live there are like.  On the edge of the Sahara, we drove through one section of sandy homes where women and men perched on their doorsteps, seeming to wait for the day to pass.  There can’t be any agricultural profit here, so it begs to question what people do all day.  Apparently, the lucky ones own camels, which they can rent to tour companies like the one that led us on our sunset ride through the dunes.  Schools exist, but they are scarce, and parents are often reluctant to send children who might contribute to the household.  Apart from the obvious socioeconomic difference between these country people and city dwellers, there is also a distinctive cultural divide.  Often, rural people are of Berber, not Arab, background, which means that they speak a different language and share separate customs from people like my host family.  I wish that I had more time to interact with the people in places like this, but we seemed to move on as quickly as we had arrived.  In several weeks, we will have an opportunity to spend a week in a rural village in the north, which I hope will provide more insight into the lives of these Moroccans.

The harbor in the beach town of Essaouira

Apart from the subsistence lifestyles we saw in the rural areas, it also seemed that urban poverty had a more conspicuous presence.  Of course, you don’t have to travel far in any city to notice hardship, and our home base of Rabat is no exception.  More so than in the U.S., it seems that physical disabilities contribute to people’s destitution, and it’s difficult to say what the government is doing in response.  Maybe it was because I spent so much of this trip as a tourist that the people on the street weighed heavier on me.  It feels difficult to approach this issue from my position of privilege.  Morocco’s overall economic condition isn’t as dismal as that of many developing countries, but seeing the people who live in need has reminded me of my place as a global citizen, related to each person I encounter through our mutual humanity.

Sunrise over the Sahara

Like many other experiences in this region, this trip had its challenging aspects, and I’m sure that I will continue to reflect on them as we learn about Morocco.  It also carried moments of immense awe—7 AM sunrises over Saharan sand, strolls through the late Yves St. Laurent’s vibrant gardens, rain-filled journeys through Marrakech’s winding souk (and the resulting 30-minute bartering exchange for my new Berber carpet), and cups of mint tea shared over growing friendships.  Already, nearly a third of my time in Morocco is over, and I can only imagine how quickly the remainder will fly.  I’m just trying to absorb all that I can, and I have a lot to look forward to in the next few weeks, including a class segment on religion in Morocco and another excursion.

Here's Looking at You, Kid!

Last weekend, a group of 25 students from my program ventured outside of Rabat for the first time.  Although our directors have organized several trips for later in the semester, this one was entirely student-planned.  Luckily, we were going to Casablanca, which is only about a one-hour, $4 train ride from Rabat, so the trip was easy to put together. 

Hassan II Mosque's minaret

Since the most common response to my plans to study here was to ask when I would visit Casablanca, this blog entry was essential, but be advised that the city might not be what you’re imagining from the classic film.  Although Casa (as Moroccans call it) has its charming parts, it mostly serves as the country’s economic hub and consequently is filled with busy streets and tall buildings.

An exterior hallway at the mosque

The tallest building of all (in fact, in all of the country) is the Hassan II Mosque.  Occupying several acres of space along the Atlantic coastline, this mosque is the 3^rd largest in the world, smaller only than others in the heart of Mecca.  Its minaret reaches 210 meters and is equipped with a laser beam pointing towards Islam’s holiest city.  The mosque must host millions of worshippers each year, and there is plenty of space for them all.  At its most crowded, the mosque can contain 25,000 people (20,000 of whom are men) indoors and 80,000 in its outdoor courtyards.  To give you an idea of the scale, it would be possible to fit Paris’ Notre Dame or Rome’s St. Peters inside.  During busy times like Ramadan, people arrive up to four hours early to claim a space in the prayer hall, and to keep the place cool, the roof retracts in under 3 minutes.  Part holy space, part sports stadium—but then again, I know some SEC fans might argue that they aren’t very different at all!

The split in the roof is where is opens on sunny days

What inspired such grandeur?  The mosque was completed in 1993, just in time to commemorate the 60^th birthday of its namesake king.  It took 6,000 workers six years of nonstop work in order to complete it, and the fruits of their handiwork are evident in every corner.  With the exception of some Italian marble and glass and Russian titanium, all of the materials are from Morocco.  Cedar from the forested countryside resists saltwater erosion and termite damage, while granite from the Atlas Mountains forms solid walls.  The overall impression is impossible to capture in words or photographs.  Of all the places I’ve seen, this was one of the most remarkable ones yet.

Windows that look out on the Atlantic

For those of you who are fans of the film, know that I tried my best to eat at Rick’s Café.  Unfortunately, we arrived between lunch and dinner, which meant that it was closed, but I did get to peek through the windows.  In the long run, it probably benefitted me to walk away.  I’m sure the place would have been way overpriced!

Daily life keeps passing at a non-stop pace.  We’re in our second week of formal class, and we’ll leave this Saturday for our first big trip.  As a group, we will go to the south for a week, which means I’ll finally get to ride a camel!  Every day is filled with so many new experiences, and I wish that I could fit more of them in these posts.  More updates later!

Outside Rick's Cafe

My Address(es)

If you would like to write to me from afar, I would love to hear from you, and I promise to respond with a postcard from this neck of the woods!

Here's my address while in Rabat:

Julia Watkins
Center for Cross-Cultural Learning
PO Box 6291
Rabat Instituts
Rabat 10101
Morocco

And, if you are so inclined as to send a package, there's a separate address for that:

Julia Watkins
CCCL c/o Abdelkarim Taek
Avenue Laalou, Derb Jirari
Zankat Elhassani, #11
Rabat Medina
Morocco 10000

However, I think that packages are quite expensive and take around a month to arrive, although we have heard that FedEx and UPS are slightly more efficient.

Love from al-Maghreb...

I've Been Adopted!

It’s really difficult for me to believe that I’ve only been here for a week.  Thanks largely to my host family, who I met and moved in with on Thursday, I’m beginning to feel settled.  I hardly know how to begin describing all of the sounds, smells, and sights that have inundated my surroundings since moving my bags from our sheltered haven of a hotel.   Our academic directors at the CCCL have emphasized that while the homestay experience is not always the easiest element of this semester in Morocco, students often cite it as the most enriching, important parts.  Living with a family enables students to partake in the Moroccan culture not as a guest, but as a member.  So far, this journey has been one action-packed, eye-opening minute after another, and my first days as a host student have been no exception.

In many ways, the move from American student in orientation to Moroccan family member was a plunge.  One minute, we were taking a bus tour of Rabat (talk about feeling like a tourist!), and the next we were weaving our way through throngs of local families, who were anticipating our arrival.  I was lucky to hear my name from one corner of the crowded room, and I turned to find my host mother, Fouzia, and my two brothers, Yassine and Chemsaddine.  Not knowing what language they would speak, I greeted them with a combination of salaam, salut, and hello.  As it turns out, most everyone speaks primarily Moroccan Arabic, with the exception of Yassine, who is learning French, and his aunt Jamila, who knows fus’Ha (the same Arabic I speak in class), French, and some English.

Fouzia, my mother, is in fact only 9 years older than I am, and her husband, Abdellatif, is roughly the same age.  Abdellatif works nearly all day, 6 days a week, so I have only met him a few times.  They have two sons, Yassine (age 9) and Chemsaddine (age 6), who are beyond adorable.  Two of Fazia’s sisters, Jamila (age 23) and Rashida (age 21) also live with us.  Because the father is so often at work, the dynamic centers around a house of women in their 20’s taking care of two little boys.  It’s nice to have some people near my age.

The layout of all of the homes in Rabat’s old medina, where I am staying, is basically the same.  All the homes are attached along narrow alleyways.  If you were to look at one from the outside, it would be very difficult to guess what the inside was like, as there are no visible windows.  Instead, all of the windows face an interior courtyard, which may be partially or fully covered on top.  Our home’s courtyard is about 25% uncovered, which means that the occasional bird flies into the living room, and the tile floor becomes damp when it rains.  Around the courtyard are a number of rooms, including the kitchen, bathroom (complete with one Turkish toilet… Google it.), Fouzia’s room, the boys’ room, and one long space that serves as living room, dining room, and bedroom for the aunts and me.  How is this possible?  Well, the room is lined with low couches.  There is a table and television on one side, and at night, we shift the pillows and cover the couches in blankets to make them beds.  At the risk of sounding stereotypical, I think my room looks like a place where Aladdin’s Princess Jasmine could sleep.  My home is even more different than I could have predicted, but I think that I will feel truly comfortable here.

As a family, we’ve already done activities bzef (this is a Moroccan Arabic word used nonstop to mean a whole, whole lot or really).  My first night here, we took the bus (an experience in itself) to the nearby city of Sale to visit with other family members.  I spent much of the time feeling pretty confused as I was shuffled from one space to another, but everyone was very welcoming.  I think I might have even received an offer to go see the grandfather’s camels in Essaouira!  I’ve also been down to the beach along the Atlantic Ocean with Jamila and Rashida.  Due to a misunderstanding in language, I didn’t bring my camera, but I can tell you that it was one of the most awe-inspiring sights I’ve ever seen.  The waves were enormous, and we arrived just in time for sunset.  Simply beautiful.  Yesterday, Fouzia took me on another adventure through the souq to buy groceries and then home to make tagine.  As I am eager to develop a set of strong Moroccan cooking skills, I was thrilled by the chance to receive some personal instruction.  She says she will teach me more as the semester progresses.

I know that a homestay family can make or break an experience like this, and I feel very fortunate to have been paired with mine.  I feel warmly accepted and comfortable, and I look forward to seeing what the remainder of my time as a Moroccan daughter and sister brings.  Apparently, as I was told after watching three hours (literally) of Moroccan wedding home videos, there may even be a chance for me to attend the wedding of one of my family’s friends.  Hooray!

More photos to come soon, but for now here's one of some of the fam...

(From L to R): Chemsaddine, Fouzia, me, Jamila, and Yassine.  One big, happy family!

Finding My Way

It's been three days since I left, and I've hit the ground running.  It's hard to believe that only a short while ago, I was en route to the Atlanta's new international terminal.  The afternoon leading up to my departure was naturally emotional, as this is the longest time I have ever been away from home, but it was also an exciting beginning to the next 15 weeks.  Having checked in without problems several hours early, my parents and I decided to share a celebratory Varsity frosted orange (Atlanta natives know what I'm talking about) before saying goodbye.

Last American food for a few months.

From Atlanta, an easy flight to Paris sitting next to a soldier returning to his year-long deployment in Bahrain after spending the weekend at home for his father's funeral.  We talked college football for a while, and I was reminded of how fortunate I am to immerse myself in a culture by choice.  We landed after an uneventful 7 hours and 15 minutes, and I set out for my gate to Rabat, where nearly a dozen participants from my program were already waiting.  With several hours to kill before leaving, we had time to get to know one another a bit and relax.  I've never met so many people from the West Coast in my life (hey, hey, Gracie!), but the majority are still from the Northeast.  With at least three UNC students, I'm not alone as a Southerner.

Goodbye, Atlanta!

First impressions of Rabat: green, ocean, GREEN!!!  After spending the summer in a near-desert climate, I was both surprised and relieved to see all of Rabat's lush surroundings.  Driving through the city, we saw several parks, and the Atlantic oceanfront is only a few blocks from the neighborhood where I'll stay.  Our first night was a blur filled with a tour of our school, a walk through the marketplace, and a welcome dinner.

We'll be attending classes at the Center for Cross-Cultural Learning (CCCL), which was established in the early 1990's and has hosted a variety of students aged 3-97, all of whom wish to learn more about Moroccan culture.  The CCCL is housed in a mid-19th century building in the middle of Rabat's old city medina.  With ornate tile work, a towering center courtyard, and stunning rooftop views of the Atlantic Ocean, I only hope this space will allow me to focus!  As much as I love Davidson's campus, I must admit that this is hard to beat.

The central courtyard at the CCCL.

The CCCL is also equipped with a small cafeteria, where we are eating most of our meals during orientation week and will continue eating lunch throughout the semester.  So far, the food has been fantastic, with lots of tagines (which can, essentially,  consist of any food cooked in a tagine to seal in moisture... Google may be a helpful reference on this one) and plenty of vegetables and fresh-from-the tree fruits.  I'm sure I'll need to dedicate a post to Moroccan food at some point, but for now, know that I'm enjoying it.

The view from the roof of the CCCL, where I'm attending classes.  That's the Atlantic Ocean in the distance.  Look hard enough, and maybe I'll see North Carolina!

Since our first day, we've continued orientation with various talks on safety, health, and cultural differences in Morocco.  We also took our Arabic class placement tests, and I was both surprised and pleased to be placed in the highest level, along with three other students.  Since the Moroccan Arabic dialect differs so much from the standard classroom version, I've been relying on my French around the city.  It's amazing what a difference communication skills can make in an unfamiliar culture.  Several times, I've served as a translator for friends, and I feel much more confident than I did navigating the streets of Amman.  Although the Arab influence is evident in Rabat, it's clear that we aren't in the heart of the Middle East. French and other European influence lend the city a more metropolitan feel, and nearly everyone I've spoken to is bilingual.

Today's highlight was our city "dropoff."  All of the students on my program boarded a bus, rode into an unexplored part of the city, and debarked in groups of three in various areas.  The goal was to navigate our way back to the CCCL.  Knowing my terrible sense of direction, I was a bit anxious going into the experience, but my group was fortunate to be the first one off the bus.  As such, we weren't too far from our destination, and we even had a few extra hours to explore some of Rabat's major landmarks (below)!

King Hassan tower.  Stumbled upon this gem on our drop-off.

The rest of the week will be filled with more orientation sessions, including time to practice bargaining and begin learning "survival" darija.  Then, on Thursday, we'll be introduced to our host families and will move in with them this weekend.  A busy week, to be sure, but I'm loving every minute so far and look forward to seeing what the next several days hold.  For now, b'salaama!

 Sunset views from the balcony of my school.  Not a bad study spot, huh?

Adventure Time, Pt II

There are only about 18 hours remaining until I leave American soil for the next 3 and 1/2 months.  After 5 weeks of winter break and many more months of anticipation, my readiness is at its peak.  My suitcase, which I am proud to announce weighs well under the 50 lb. limit, has been packed for at least 2 weeks, and today I will check the final items off of my to-do list.  All of these figures lead me to one unbelievable realization: tomorrow, I leave for Morocco!

Over 5 months have passed since I returned from Jordan, and since then, I have been as busy as ever.  Between a hectic academic semester and a host of summer internship applications, it was a challenging semester, but it was also one filled with joy.  As one of 8 members of Davidson's Eco-House, I learned the arts of crock-pot cooking, late-night yoga, and laughing until I cry.  Being a part of that special community was one of my most valued college experiences so far, and I will surely miss it.  Last semester also allowed me time to reflect on my summer experience in the Middle East, which I remember now as a challenging, but invaluable journey.

Now, I am preparing for the months to come.  Although there were 5 Davidson students in Morocco last semester, I will be the only one in the spring.  With 33 students from all over the U.S. participating in my program, there will be many new faces!  The program is based in Morocco's capital, Rabat, but we will be travelling to a variety of other cities, including Marrakech, Essaouira, and Chefchaouen. 

I've had several people ask whether I'm taking classes during this grand trip of mine, so rest assured, it is a study abroad program.  With a Multiculturalism and Human Rights theme, I will be learning about a variety of topics (i.e. women's rights, ethnicity, religion, etc.) as they relate to Morocco.  I'll also be taking a field research class in anticipation of a final independent study project, which I will complete on my own over the course of a month.  

As for the language, I will continue taking Arabic courses, and I hope to learn some of the Moroccan dialect, called darija, as well.  Fortunately for me, many Moroccans also speak French, which will simplify communication to a degree.  As I did over the summer, I will be staying with a host family, and I don't yet know what language they will speak.  My hope is for as little English as possible!

As I begin my final countdown to this next great adventure, I feel excited, curious, anxious, and open.  I realize that this is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I look forward to savoring every moment of it.  I am so grateful for the ongoing support, prayers, and good vibes from family, friends, and mentors.  Best wishes to you all for a peaceful and content semester, and please keep in touch!

That's a Wrap!

In less than 48 hours, I’ll be flying across the Atlantic on my final flight home, and my first day of Davidson classes is in less than 2 weeks.  It’s hard to believe that this summer is nearly over.  In some ways, it feels like I was just packing my suitcase, boarding my flight, and forming my first impressions of the Middle East.  Still, when I think of all that I’ve seen and done, I’m in disbelief that it’s already over.

I came into this experience with as few expectations as possible, not wanting to feel too hopeful or anxious about my time here.  Although I have travelled abroad in the past, this trip has been different from those in the past.  For one thing, it has been the longest time I have ever spent away from my family.  I’m not typically one to feel homesick, but I know that I will appreciate my week at home before I return to Davidson.  As of now, I’ve prepared a list of no less than 14 things (among them: a haircut, a Braves game, and trip to the farmer’s market) that I plan to do while in Atlanta.  Beyond that, there are a countless number of smaller things that I’m looking forward to.  Thunderstorms, meals without rice, and air conditioning top the list.

Spending a prolonged period of time in Amman has allowed me to experience the language and the culture in a more personal way.  This was not a vacation.  I have been immersed through my time with my host family, my daily taxi rides to class, and my journeys through the city streets.  My 10 weeks here have forced me to remove my rose-colored glasses and absorb all of Jordan, both positive and negative.  Amman has served as a comfortable home base, but I think that my travels outside of the city will leave the most lasting impression.

Without doubt, this journey will continue to make an impact on me long after I have returned home.  From my time adjusting to the culture and navigating the city, I think that I’ve gained a new sense of confidence and independence.  My time here has prepared me for a range of future challenges, including my anticipated semester in Morocco next spring.

When I reflect on the past 10 weeks, my primary reaction is one of gratitude.  I am incredibly thankful for the support that I have received from my family, my friends (especially the Davidson crew here in Jordan with me), the Qasid administration and faculty, Dr. Joubin, the Chaplain’s and Civic Engagement Offices at Davidson, and many more.  Thank you all for the support you have given me both before and during my time here.  This has been the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am so appreciative of those who helped make it a reality.