More Adventures and the Lofty Expectations of GPA Fellows

July 15, 2014


I fell in love with a small town called Azrou (15 minutes away from Ifrane) a few nights ago. Erik, Ross, Donna, Dana, Kasey, myself, and our friend Hassan from ASI went to have dinner and tour the market. This is Hassan's hometown so his friendship with the restaurant owner helped get us a table even if it was prayer time and most of the staff wasn't there.  We had a delicious dinner of trout from the local trout farm along with some melon for desert.  We did a little shopping and Dana especially had fun with getting to haggle with the shopkeepers for a bargain.  We also met a gentleman named Mohammed who welcomed us graciously. Mohammed is one of those people who emanates wisdom and I can't wait to share a cup of tea and a long talk with him when I get the chance 

My favorite memory of Azrou was a short conversation I had with a young girl in the marketplace.  I was waiting for some of my group mates to decide on their purchases when this young girl also waiting smiled at me and continued to watch us and smile, catching my gaze a few times.  I asked her if she spoke English and she shook her head no, Francais we asked, and she shook her head no again.  So eventually I said Ahlan (hello) to which she grinned even bigger.  Ana Janelle (I'm Janelle), we then started talking in my very limited Arabic I answered her questions telling her where I was from, when I got to Morocco, that I am a teacher etc.  Her one question that really stumped me though was "Did you come here on an airplane?" I had to have Hassan's help with translating that one, because my Arabic isn't that great...yet.

The last few days have been filled with increasingly high expectations.  We have had Daily Arabic lessons for about 2.5 hours a day in Moroccan Arabic initially and now in Standard Arabic.  In addition, we've had lectures from experts in the field on the history of Moroccan schools, geography of the MENA region and the modern day interpretation of Islamic law.  On top of learning Arabic, and I mean A LOT of Arabic ( I made 160 flashcards and ran out after Day 3) we are expected to write a culturally responsive curriculum unit (including 2 fully detailed lesson plans), create an ethnography, and prepare outreach presentations to deliver to our schools and communities when we arrive back home. 


In Sha'h Allah (God willing) we will get it done!

Volubilis Photo Tour

July 13, 2014

Today we visited Volubilis which is a Roman city, whose ruins are a popular tourist attraction.  It was a very hot day however, and the walking tour took more than three hours, so in hopes of managing the heat Emily and I decided to try and dress in our Moroccan best by donning the headscarf, which combined with an breathable cotton long sleeved shirt and pants helped me to beat the heat and survive without water until I returned to the bus.

Here are my photos from the site.

This silly Moroccan builder didn't quite understand the Roman style and installed this ionic pillar upside down

Sadly, many of the attempts at repair and restoration were done by people who do not have proper knowledge of preservation methods, so this site may not exist in a century despite having lasted millenia.  For example, many of these pillars were put back together using regular concrete, so when the concrete eventually cracks and the pillars fall apart the remnants of the concrete cannot be removed and hence they will not be able to be repaired again. 

Above a beautiful mosaic which has been damaged over time. Below a model an olive press (used to make olive oil) that would have been used in this city

The Insanity of Meknes

July 14, 2014

The past two days were spent taking trips to other towns.  The first trip was to Meknes, a town about an hour and a half from Ifrane, which we traveled to by taxis.  However, the Moroccan taxis cabs being about the same size are sedans in America, they are expected to fit 6 people, 2 in the front passenger seat and 4 in the back seat. As can be seen from the selfie in Tim's collage on the left our ride was a a tight squeeze and wasn't the most comfortable situation. 

Meknes is one of the Imperial cities and as such its gorgeous architecture and markets are more like the images most people think of when they think about Morocco. There were many other tour groups in Meknes which was a big change from the relative quite of Ifrane.  The first stop was the royal granary which was to store the grain to feed the king's soldiers and multitude of horses, because who cares if the people starve... Other stops of the day include where the royal family was buried and a school for young boys in the area.

The last stop was the souk/marche/market, or whatever you want to call it.  This was a bit of a struggle.  Imagine a group of 15 foreigners trying to follow each other and stay together, in crowded market with extremely narrow passageways, yielding to donkeys, carts, and motor bikes every few seconds.  It was a struggle.  I think it was an interesting experience, but not one that I have a great desire to do again, especially after having someone in that crowded marketplace squeeze my ass while I was stopped to look back for the rest of the group. I was dressed very conservatively, but sometimes these things happen, thankfully I was the only one in our group who had this issue, so after a momentary flip out moment I moved on.

Most helpful Moroccan word of the day Balak! (look out/get out of the way) know what it means or someone will run you over. 

          

   

Ramadan in Ifrane

July 12, 2014

The last two days have consisted of time mostly spent at Al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI).  An beautiful university up in the mountains, whose name means two brothers, after the previous king of Morocco King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia who founded the university, and because of this despite being the campus is despite being a public university AUI experiences the benefits of funding by the royal family.  

Here is a shot of the main quad and as you can see we are sharing the grounds with many other groups including these kids who are attending a soccer camp.  These guys and gals are running towards the cafeteria for lunch so they must be very hungry.  However, the majority of the population here in Morocco is actually fasting, because according to the Islamic Calendar we are in the middle of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, where most Muslims refrain from eating, drinking from sunrise to sunset.

Society here revolves around the religion.  Because most people are fasting stores and restaurants are closed during the day and most people are at home resting. Some of the group went to the Marche, or market a little bit before Iftar (Ftour in Moroccan Arabic) which is the traditional breaking of the fast and it looked like a ghost town.  I imagine the country loses a lot of money during Ramadan, but no one seems to care.
 

I had some of the traditional Iftar foods for dinner in the Marche including Harira, a traditional Moroccan soup made with tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, noodles, and spices.  Which I am now obsessed with.  My group mates tried the tangine at the restaurant which was also quite delicious.

Another awesome experience that I've had over the last few days was a visit to Al-Akhawayn School in Ifrane (ASI) the K-12 school that is associated with the university.  Here we meet two teachers Hassan, a science teacher who has helped us tremendously in the last few weeks, and a social studies teacher who gave a us a mini lesson on the geography of this region.  I learned that the region we call Western Sahara is actually part of Morocco but its currently the center of a nearly forty year dispute.  Moroccan maps actually depict this region as part of Morocco, and its not allowed to for Moroccan maps to say otherwise.  

This is a picture of the work center in the back of Hassan's science class.  He only has about 8 students per class! Don't all us teachers wish we could have a class like that!

Moroccan Adventures Begin

A Salam Alaikum! (May Peace Be Upon You)

Sorry I haven't quite figured out the Arabic keyboard as of yet!  

The pre-departure meetings are over and now its time to depart for Morocco! And so my adventures begin! I am traveling through Morocco as one of 12 pre-service and practicing teachers, and two professors, as a part of a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad called Morocco's Bountiful Perspectives: Global Classrooms and Cultural Connections for the 21st Century Learners.  Although this is a fun adventure for me this also means work and I am in the process of developing a culturally responsive curriculum for use when I teach, but more on that later.

Morocco will be my 23rd country visited, and I will be there to celebrate my 23rd birthday! I am very excited to learn more about the history and culture of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa, basically most of what we consider to be the Arab world) region.  This will be my first time on the African continent and also my first time in an Islamic country, right in the heart of Ramadan!

Day one: After more than 24 hours of travel we arrived at destination Al-Akhawayan University in Ifrane.   

2 hours-drive from CT to JFK
4.5 hours-Lunch, check in, and wait for flight (and watch the painful destruction of Brazil by Germany in the World Cup Semi-Finals at the bar across from my gate)
7.5 Hours-Flight from John F. Kennedy Airport in Jamaica, NY to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris France
4 hours-Layover in Paris
3.5 hours-Flight to Casablanca, Collect Luggage, etc.
5.5 hours-Bus Ride from Casablanca to Ifrane (Which could have been cut in half had we flown into the airport in Rabat, but we made it anyways!)

The grand total is...about 27 hours of travel, I would say that's a new record but I think my trip to India may have been more).  Yah I'm a math teacher sue me.  As much as I love traveling that first day was a struggle and to think at the end of this trip I'm making the same commute back to New York then continuing on all the way back to Hawaii! Insha'Allah (God willing) I will still be functional when I get there!

Wish me Luck!