Submitted by Angela Yu on the 2017 winter session program in Morocco sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
We just returned from a nonstop traveling week of adventure all throughout the country of Morocco, starting from Tangier in the north down to Essaouira in the south. We saw multiple cities, including Marzouga in the Sahara desert and the touristy town of Marrakesh. Our time in Marrakesh was really noteworthy for a cultural reason, and I found our time in the market especially enlightening. There were locals in the center of the square using animals as props: some had trained monkeys and had them on leashes wearing diapers. They charged a big fee for tourists to take pictures with them. Others learned how to use a musical instrument to charm snakes and get them to act a certain way. Others clipped the wings of birds so they couldn’t fly away, also using them as picture props. When we saw this, many of my classmates commented on how unfairly people treat animals here. There are also many stray cats and dogs everywhere; domesticated animals are rarely seen here and those on the streets do not get fed by the locals. However, after hearing these statements, my professor said that the cultural dichotomy here is that Moroccans take advantages of the resources they have in order to provide for themselves and make a dignified living. I completely agree with this and am inspired by the way people here use their creativity at their disposal to entertain foreigners who come. Some other neat and considerably “odd” professions (according to American standards) would be using tea as a painting mixture to create beautiful drawings and animal skin/leather as a canvas for paintings. We have also seen unique and simple instruments made from scraps of wood and used by locals on the side of the road to play music for both tourists and other locals. I love seeing new ideas be put into action here, and people being rewarded for what they come up with.