Tajine, tea and good times
It has been a busy and fun-filled past 10 days in Morocco and I am loving every minute of it. We have traveled to about four cities, one town, one village and one riverside hotel. The first city we arrived in was Casablanca because that is where most of us flew into to get to the lovely country on Morocco. After some frustrating loss of luggage and phone issues, our problems were sorted out by the end of the afternoon and we headed off to the capital city of Rabat. In Rabat we stayed in the Balima Hotel which was right across the street from the parliament building located in the heart of the city. There were quite a lot of activities prepared in Rabat including a bus tour, light-rail tour and various meetings with Moroccan NGOs and organizations. One of the meetings we encountered included a workshop with the Moroccan NGO Mena Policy Hub which works on promoting high-quality education for Moroccans as well as creating policies to influence the government. Rabat was a nice city to transition into Moroccan culture.
The next city we went to was Marrakesh. Marrakesh is my favorite city so far. It was beautiful, interesting, full of culture and had great night life. In Marrakesh we had the privilege of meeting the owner and some of the partners of a large organic walnut producer that produced only the highest quality walnuts and walnut oil. They were called the High Atlas Foundation and let all of us students buy bottles of walnut oil for a discounted price of 50 dirhams each. As you can guess I bought one, specifically for my father and cooking purposes. After the meeting with the High Atlas Foundation we spent the rest of the day and night in the incredible and stunning Jamaal Al Fna. The Jamaal Al Fna was an unforgettable experience. It was a large town square filled with hundreds of food tents, juice stands, monkey trainers, and snake charmers. Surrounding all of this was hundreds upon hundreds of shops to buy souvenirs, clothing, rugs, spices and various crafts through slim alleyways. I bought two soccer jerseys from one of the shops.
After Marrakesh, it was off to Ouarzazate where dozens of movie and television scenes were filmed including Gladiator, Indiana Jones and Game of Thrones. The road to Ouarzazate winded through the High Atlas Mountains which were more majestic and beautiful than one could imagine. The mountains evolved from foggy forests to rocky highlands and most everything in between. About halfway through the drive, we stopped at a women cooperative that produced pure and organic argan oil. Most everyone took advantage of the rare products and stocked up. I bought a bottle of oil and soap for my mother.
Once we got to Ouarzazate we checked out the NOOR solar plant and then stayed at an all-women boarding school called the Dar Taliba, which I was told means ‘our house.’ Everyone there treated us with utmost generosity and kindness. The day after we arrived in Ouarzazate we went to a small, poor village with a school of 135 children. We played soccer, did face painting, arts/crafts and recycling workshops. In short it was an amazing experience and I feel like we brightened their day.
Now this is what we have been doing so far, but how have I been coping with it all? Well every day is filled with activities so I sleep every chance I get. Also the food is delicious but after 10-15 tajines in a row I am beginning to miss the variety of food options we have in the United States. Other than these two challenges I could not be more ecstatic to be in Morocco and did I say I love the tea? Because the tea in Morocco is splendid and served with most every meal and welcoming. My immune system is keeping me healthy, knock on wood, and my spirits are as high as ever. As for the people, everyone I meet communicates with sincerity, generosity and respect. I never thought Morocco could be this gorgeous, it is just surreal. Tomorrow we head to the town of Merzouga to ride camels into the Sahara Desert which I have been looking forward to for a long time.
