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| Frans! |
As the semester draws to a close, I find myself looking back on all the memories I've made on my study abroad experience and everything I've learned about myself and about living in a foreign place with different languages and cultures.
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| From the beginning |
- I have made lifelong friends here in Morocco. I never would have imagined that I would find such amazing individuals with whom I would just click and experience everything during my five months here. I honestly could never have imagined a better group of people with whom to share my study abroad experiences. They've endured my weirdness, and we've helped each other get through our bouts of culture shock...of which there were many.
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| Más amigos |
- Languages are not my forte, but I can halfway manage...at times. I've picked up a bit of French and Arabic living here in Morocco. I can order a meal, say hello, introduce myself, and say a couple of random phrases in both languages. Usually though...I mix the two languages when I speak. It's all just a confusing mess of Arabic, French, English, and Spanish in some parts of the country. I NEVER KNOW WHICH TO USE!
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| BEACH! |
- Morocco is home to EVERY SINGLE DIFFERENT TPYE OF BIOME...except tropical rainforest and the tundra (although it could be argued that Ifrane feel likes a tundra in the winter), and it's ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! It's fun to go on trips because you can see the environment changing as you drive across the country. There are three mountain ranges, a giant desert, beaches, plains, woodland areas, etc. It's just as diverse as the United States but with less space. I'VE TRAVELED TO ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS IN MOROCCO!
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| The Frozen Tundra of Ifrane |
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| Mosque in Meknes |
- I actually really enjoy the call to prayer. It can sound really harsh sometimes, but I think it's such a beautiful call. Every single time it begins with: Allah Akbar, or God is great. It's something that I think everybody needs to hear. I had never heard it before coming to Morocco. I now get to hear it 5 times a day when I'm off campus, and I love it! It's definitely something I'm going to miss when I return home. I might just have to get the app that plays it for me! I also love the different mosques throughout Morocco; they are often characterized by the tall minarets. Each one is the same...yet completely different. It's a sight, I'm going to miss. How many mosques with minarets exist in Tennessee? I'd be surprised if there was one.
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| Surviving the Tundra with this doll! |
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| Mosque in Fez |
- Culture shock is absolutely HORRID, but "I get by with a little help from my friends". We've all experienced it here in Morocco whether it's because of the school, the people we encounter, the food, the culture, the lack of things from home (like Western toilettes and TOILETTE PAPER). I swear...toilette paper is like a gift from God when its available, even on campus! More often than not, I'm having to use my own ON CAMPUS. I figured it would at least be available on campus...LIES.
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| Darling Friends |
- I enjoy living abroad. It's a fun and exciting experience where you meet amazing people and see beautiful places. At first, I loved living abroad, and then I didn't like it so much because I began to really miss my family and friends, and then I really started to hate it because that's when culture shock hit, and then I started appreciating the culture shock and taking it as a learning experience, and now...I'm really going to miss Morocco. It's definitely grown on me over the past five months.
I'm going to miss the people, the food, the places, the amazing experiences, the food, my friends, the food...Did I mention food? GOOD! The food here is so amazing! ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: someone from AUI is COMING TO MARYVILLE COLLEGE NEXT SEMESTER! YAY!
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| Couscous for days... |
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| Friends don't let friends do stupid things alone |
- I'm a pretty resilient human. I've faced harassment, language barriers, culture shock, lack of Western toilettes, being followed around town, being ripped off by taxi drivers, frustration with the school system, a lack of general organization by just about everybody, queue jumping, pushy shop keepers, nasty language in the medinas, and food poisoning. Yet here I am! And I'm ready for more! I've learned that I can take a lot more and let things roll off my back a lot easier than I believed that I could.
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| Sahara! |
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| ATVs in the Sahara |
- I WENT TO THE SAHARA DESERT! This deserves a bullet point all on its own because of HOW AMAZING AND INCREDIBLE AND TRULY THOUGHT PROVOKING the whole trip was! I know I dedicated an entire post to it...but it's still worth mentioning again! I've never felt so small and insignificant as I did underneath the stars in the Sahara. I've never been so lost in thought as I was riding a camel into the Sahara and again as I was looking into the depths of the universe. No words.
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| Turban buddies |
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| Riif Mountains |
I'm really going to miss this place. It's an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. There are days when I say how much I wish I had studied in Europe because I could have traveled more and seen more things...but I know that I say those things when frustration is high with harassment and a general lack of human nicety. On those days, I remind myself that I'm in a different culture. I remind myself that yes, Europe would have been easier. But, I couldn't have experienced in Europe, what I've gotten in Morocco. I wouldn't have seen the developing world. I wouldn't be able to better understand the culture of Islam and why things are the way they are. I wouldn't be able to imagine the struggles the people face here.
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| Nothing beats a girls weekend...plus Scott |
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| Blue City of Chefchaouen |
Yes, Europe would have been easy and fun and exciting, but I've gained an appreciation for the human race that I don't think I would have gotten in Europe. I've seen the way a developing country copes with Western ideals and culture shoved in its face. I've come to understand how Islam is faced with a changing world and changing ideals and how Muslims can struggle with that. I'm leaving Morocco with a better understanding of who I am as an individual, as a woman, and as a scholar; I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
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| Mosque at AUI...I'm going to miss this sight! |