Submitted by Rachel Dunscomb on the 2017 winter session program in Morocco sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
“Why Can’t We Be Friends” quietly plays from the speakers on the bus as we travel from Tangier to Fes in our small van. During long trips across the country like this, we get to see a lot of the Moroccan landscape and a lot of different lifestyles. There are cities, small villages, mountain estates and farm fields for miles with one or two small houses here and there. The variety and difference is enormous.
One thing ,I’ve noticed the whole time we’ve been here and everywhere we’ve been is the number of half built houses. So many buildings have been built up partially and are being lived in, but still show signs of being incomplete. Turns out that Moroccans don’t like to take out loans so they buy their property and build their houses, but only pay for the materials that they can afford at the time. So as time goes on, they get more money and buy more materials and build their houses slowly. Moroccan culture is just so different and I’m so lucky to be here to experience and learn about it.
