Submitted by Taylor Lawrence on the 2016 winter session program in Morocco sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
When most people hear the word “Morocco,” they don’t automatically jump to thinking of Africa, let alone Arabic; yet Morocco, as I have seen it in the past week, is a beautiful blend of European, Arab and African cultures that manifests itself in ancient winding streets and markets, an amazingly unique dialect of Arabic, delicious cuisine and some of the most hospitable people I have ever met.
My group began our journey in New York and flew to Casablanca to meet our professor at the airport which was nerve wracking in and of itself considering the airline primarily spoke Arabic and French (and some people on this trip don’t speak a lick of either language). Afterwards, we had to wind our way through customs and such by ourselves so this program has been challenging from the beginning.
Once we found our professor, we visited one of the largest mosques in Africa, Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca which was quite a site to see and immersed us in the religion from the beginning.
From then on, we would hear the beautiful call to prayer in Arabic, which woke most of us up as the mosque was directly next to our hotel in Rabat, the capital of Morocco where we spent roughly two days. I felt it was one of the most beautiful ways to wake up and it has been so amazing to hear such flawless recitation of the Quran from several different mosques around the city at one time in every city we’ve visited, something you definitely don’t hear around UD everyday. And though the thought of being surrounded by mosques, frightens many Americans (due to grossly negative stereotypes of Muslims), they are as common as churches are in the United States, so it is nothing to be phased by.
In Rabat, we visited many different historic and religious sites and ventured through the old parts of the city, admiring the architecture of the old fortress walls and ruins in Chellah. The views were amazing, but nothing so far has compared to our experiences in Tangier, our base for the next month.
I now have an amazing new family in Morocco: a host mom, dad, and three sisters in addition to my wonderful roommate, Zaina. With a homestay, the language barrier was obviously a concern of mine and it has been a bit challenging so far, but we are learning so much every day, both formal Arabic in class and the unique dialect of Moroccan Arabic that is Darija (almost a mishmash of Arabic, French, Spanish and Berber if you had to put a description on it). At times, it is tempting to use my French background to help me navigate conversations, but I am trying so hard to use Arabic when communicating with my host family even if they understand French and English for the most part. Our host dad is an Arabic/French professor at the American School in Tangier, where our program is based, so I am getting private Arabic and Darija lessons at home as well!
Our host sisters are also so willing to help with Arabic in turn for us helping them with English. But it’s not all academic—just tonight we sat around watching Tom & Jerry in Arabic and other nights we sit in our pajamas coloring in our coloring books and talking about what was on Entertainment Tonight that night in Arabic.
My most memorable experience so far was exploring the old city in Tangier with the group, but then returning to the same place later that day with my host mom. With the group, we hardly stopped to look in shops for fear of being flooded by vendors, but with our host mom we weren’t even looked at twice; and we got a whole new view of the market, getting to see all the butcher shops, bakeries and cafes where all the food we eat at home is coming from instead of being relegated to the touristy areas around the main plaza. I know we are making our friends on the trip jealous with how close we live to an amazing bakery where we get fresh croissants and jam every morning before school. During our tour of the old city, we also got to meet many new people because our host mom knows everyone around here (the community is so tightknit we couldn’t walk a block without seeing someone she knew!)
Though in theory, Moroccan culture compared to American culture is so strikingly different, I haven’t felt strange in Morocco. Albeit, some things are hard to get used to (i.e. eating dinner at almost ten at night, not being able to lay back on the couch while watching TV, taking my slippers on and off every time I want to go in my room or the sitting room, etc.) I have yet to encounter very much that won’t be eased by time.
Concerning our host family, it’s just like being at home. We all watch TV and complain about having homework and our sisters make fun of their parents like teenagers would in the States.
However, there was one thing I found so extremely different in Morocco. This past weekend in the mountain village of Akchour near Chefchaouen, “the blue city” where we stayed for the weekend, we decided to go hiking. We hiked to the Bridge of God, a natural rock bridge in the Rif Mountains, and our guide (taking pity on us) took us an easier route back down through the valley. It all sounds very normal, right? The shocking part was walking back through fields of hashish, a Moroccan hallucinogenic plant related to marijuana. Hashish is illegal in the United States, and while it is taboo here in Morocco, it’s not illegal to grow, sell and/or smoke. Strangely enough, it is a big part of the agricultural economy that brings revenue to many rural villages. It was just simply shocking being surrounded by the plants so casually when it is so frowned upon in the United States.
While it seems silly that is the most culturally shocking thing I have experienced so far, it’s true. People don’t realize that though a place like Morocco seems so foreign and removed, it is very similar to the United States in behavior, dress and culture. One other thing I will say is I have never eaten this much bread and meat in all my life! I feel very at home here and cannot wait to see what the rest of the month has in store! Tomorrow is Moroccan Independence Day, so I am excited to see what that entails. Wifi is limited, but I’ll try to update my blog as often as possible.