Day 6

Nothing could have prepared me for the Moroccan heat at the Roman ruins in Volubilis.  If you are wise you will bring a hat...Dr. John Shoup led our three hour tour of the ruins.  The Roman Empire had substantial influence in the Mediterranean region and the Moroccan Roman ruins at Walili are the most remote.  The site is protected as a world heritage site.  The ruins are impressive though they are not well maintained.  John mentioned that the Moroccan government does not see them as a tourist investment, but as a reminder of the European colonization of Northern Africa. The site has mainly been preserved by a drought that lasted 20 years.                                                                                         Today with little preservation work the site is endanger of being lost altogether.  According to John the ruins at Volubilis could potentially lose their world heritage site status if they are not properly cared for.  The site has many beautiful titled frescos with vibrant color patterns. Unfortunately the frescos have been exposed to the environment, specifically rain damage and will disappear soon.

Salam!   The Traveling Educator

Day 5

Today we visited the city of Meknes.  We had a guided tour of the city by John Shoup, Ph.D.  John studied cultural anthropology and is a professor of anthropology at AUI .  He  has been in Morocco since 1996.  John introduced us to the city's early settlements.  Meknes was an important military settlement in the 11th century for the Almoravid dynasty.  Later Meknes became the capital of Moulay Ismail, the founder of the Alawite dynasty late 17th century.   We toured the granary ruins from the 17th century.

We had the opportunity to see a mausoleum.  The building was decorated in the Moorish style with colorful geometric mosaics.  We were instructed to take off our shoes.  Today was the first time we could hear the call to prayer.  Muslims pray five times a day.  The call to prayer is a loud recording to invite the faithful to the mosque.

We were instructed to dress modestly in the city to be respectful of the culture; elbows and knees covered.   As you can see in my photo I wore a long dress.   Though not all tourists were given the same instruction and I was shocked to see many European tourists wearing low cut shirts and short shorts.

After the tour of the mausoleum John brought us to the old medina and to the marche.  The roads through the old medina were very narrow.  The streets were filled with shoppers and merchants and all sorts of unique sights and smells. I could smell mint and chamomile as the most fragrant, though at the same time it smelled sour, like garbage.  The marche in Meknes is like nothing I had ever seen before.  There were clothing and fruit vendors, kitchen wares, a dentist and even iron works.

My impressions:  shopping in the west is done in malls and big box chain stores, shopping in Morocco is more localized and bartering is common.  It's really hot in Morocco, staying covered means you feel even more warm.  I will need to remember to drink more water when I am out in the medina. Massalama!

The Traveling Educator

Day 3

Today was our first day of Arabic class with Dr. Ali Azeriah.  Our group did not waste any time getting settled in...though I will be the first to admit I am not on Moroccan time yet. We will spend the next three weeks studying Arabic on the campus at Al Alkawayn University. The Campus is set in the Moroccan resort town of Ifrane, located in the middle Atlas Mountain region.  First impressions this area reminds me of a town in the Swiss Alps. This not what I pictured Morocco to look like, it has a mountain climate and does not seem to fit the Hollywood version of Morocco that I have seen on TV.  Yesterday as we made the five hour bus trek across the country from Casablanca. We passed through a variety of landscapes, like flat coastal plains with olive groves and rolling hills with herds of sheep.

Without wasting any time we dove right into learning Moroccan Arabic.  This is merely to help us adapt to the country and to be able to communicate locally.  The majority of our learning will be in Modern Standard Arabic.  Our prior learning in CT included speaking and writing the Arabic alphabet; we have come to Morocco with some foundation for the language.  First impressions: Arabic is a very guttural language.  When spoken Arabic requires a lot of throat clearing sounds (it sort of sounds like barfing). I worry I will have trouble with this language, as it is different than the Romance languages I took in grade school. Dr. Ali is a great teacher, he is very passionate about his content and he made class time fly by!

Massalama!

The Traveling Educator

Day 2

Upon landing in Casablanca, I immediately could feel the warm air signaling our arrival in Africa. Our customs process was interesting. First impressions: the advertisements on the walls are in French and in Arabic and this terminal has no air conditioning...guess I'll be reading in French a lot more and I will be hot all the time....yikes! What have I gotten myself into.

We cued up with the other travel weary passengers from our Air France flight. The Moroccan custom officers in blue uniforms were waiting to process us. Each officer peered out at us from behind a clear glass window--they looked ready. I could not help but notice a sticker on the glass that read, "smile you are in Casablanca." AWESOME!

The whole customs process was odd and the officials kept asking us to switch lines.  I tried my best to remain patient.  I was the last person from our group to go through customs, which made me think what if I get stopped and everyone else gets into Morocco?! I grew even more nervous when everyone disappeared downstairs, leaving me behind.

At the airport baggage area our group assembled for the first time- 12 educators and our

guide Donna. Second impression:  Moroccans are loud! At the baggage claim area two men appeared to be loudly arguing. It appeared to be heated exchange over a suitcase. In actuality it was just an over exaggerated greeting. I am always somewhat nervous my luggage will not arrive (its happened before). This time I located my bag with ease and joined the group in no time.

In the lobby outside of the airport, Halima, our other group guide and her husband were ready to greet us. She hugged each of us and introduced us to her family. Halima and her family live in America, but they return each summer to Morocco to visit family.  I began to realize how tired I was; I didn't sleep on the plane (good movies?!).  I also blame the expresso I bought at the airport in Paris.  The smell drifted in my direction, it was hard to resist...

Before leaving the airport, Halima took our group to get Dirhams, the Moroccan currency.  Third impression: the exchange rate is $1.00 to 8.25 Dirhams; I am going to have lavish monetary cushion to buy souvenirs!!  Then we ventured into the sunny cloudless sky and gathered at the Moroccan telecom booth.  Several of us purchased SIM cards. Which leads to my fourth impression: Moroccans talk fast!! I have no clue what was said by Halima's husband, though I now have 3G internet access. Gotta have internet!   I will write more in a few days...Massalama!

The Traveling Educator

Day 1

Well here it is my first attempt at a blog. I am currently riding on a bumpy train bound for NYC. Tonight I will board an Air France flight bound for Paris and then after a brief layover I will fly to Casablanca. I am beyond excited to meet the group of Fulbrighters at the airport. I hope they are as excited as I am. My curiousity for the road that lies ahead is pushing me forward but I am also a little nervous too! I have traveled internationally many times both solo and with groups. My soundtrack for this trip is tune in radio sounds of the 70s. This is my super jammy happy traveling music. I keep thinking of the scene in the film Almost Famous- Where the lead character buys a one way ticket to Morocco. This trip feels exotic and fabulous!

The purpose of this trip is to learn modern standard Arabic. We will also learn about Moroccan culture and history. The program will aid the development of curriculum to support educating culturally diverse students. We will also work to raise awareness for the Moroccan education system. We will have opportunities to visit with educators and schools to discuss critical issues in education. It is my hope to be able to establish a lasting connection with educators to continue a global education experience. A part of this project is to share my work educators upon returning to the US and promote the creation of curriculum that is culturally responsive. It will examine the culture of middle eastern countries to compare and contrast their daily life and viewpoints to break down stereotypes. I have gifts to give to each of the educators I meet; a high gloss book about the city of Meriden and a bumper sticker that says Washington Middle School. I will also stay with a family and I bought the family a small gift as well. I went to a local shop called Daybreak Coffee Roast Co. I had the barista chose his favorite blend. To accompany the coffee I purchased a mug with a red lobster that reads Connecticut. I have heard that most Moroccans drink mint tea so I hope they will enjoy American coffee. I hope you will enjoy following me and I will write more soon!

The Traveling Educator