Hi Everyone!
I hope that all of you are doing well! It sure has been a whirlwind week for me. I am now settled into life at sea, as we won't arrive in Ghana until Tuesday. Class assignments take up most of my time and I have had a few midterms and quizzes this week. It is so weird to think about going to class on Saturday and Sunday! Tomorrow we have a study day and I plan to be productive. I am now registration ready at CSU and I signed up to look for classes tomorrow in the computer lab. We can use the Internet for two hours for free! Registration takes place on Halloween for me, which is good because that is also a study day! Tonight our shipboard community had a game night! It was truly fantastic and there were many, many laughs. We were divided into groups and we played human knot, twister and lip sync. It was a blast! I also have the opportunity to see the Captain's Bridge tomorrow! That will be really exciting! I can't wait! Yesterday, we bunkered in the Canary Islands for a while, and our photographer sent out a kite that took some photographs of the ship from above. I think they are on Facebook. I am not able to see them but look forward to doing so when I get home!
In other news, our ship is doing a special fundraiser for the children in Ghana. We have the opportunity to purchase Goodnight Moon for a few dollars. Our goal is 200 and we are already half way there! It is great to see the community coming together to affect change. I am super excited to see Ghana! I have a field program the first day and I will be visiting a market. The rest of the time will be spent in Nzulezu, Kakum and Cape Coast. To get to Nzulezu we will be paddling in a dug out canoe for 5K and this village has houses built on stilts! Kakum National Park has a special treetop canopy walk… if you look on Youtube you can see what I will be experiencing. Cape Coast houses a castle and the slave dungeons. That will be a good experience as well! The goal for Ghana is to stay healthy!!
Speaking of healthy, I have to say that last port I encountered some challenges, both good and bad. I had such an amazing experience and I want to return to Morocco in the near future. Unfortunately, the last day in port I was struck with a really bad bout of food poisoning that resulted in quarantine! I was able to go on the field program I had that day but it was hard to enjoy because of the stomach issues I was having. I went to the health center that evening to get some medicine but the nurse practitioner determined that it would be safer to quarantine me for 24 hours. This meant I had to pack up my stuff, move to another room with another sick individual, and remain in the room for 24 hours. If we were caught roaming the ship we would get three points- in this case, points are bad. I wasn't too thrilled because I missed the long awaited taco night. Ship food can get monotonous at times, so, when they offer something fun like tacos or BBQ, the whole ship gets excited. Several students had to miss out because of food issues. My cabin mate for the evening was pretty sick with a fever and she asked me why I was there if I didn't have a fever. I told her that they probably just want to be safe and protect the community. Luckily, I was released in the morning at 8AM, so I only had to stay there for a night. I didn't like that room because there wasn't a window and I had to eat bland foods like cheerios, applesauce, toast and banana. The meal definitely paled in comparison to tacos!
This is one of the biggest challenges I have faced so far. Being sick and away from home is never fun. I don't want it to happen again so I will be extra careful in the next few countries. I am doing much better now! :) As my professor who was also sick said, we are probably all building up immunity! She is a joker, and one of my favorite professors on the ship! I thought I would share that experience with you to show you that everything on Semester at Sea isn't always rainbows and butterflies. There are barriers and hurdles you have to deal with. I think they provide great learning experiences though! There have been a lot of successes on this ship as well as failures. Semester at Sea is amazing 99.9% of the time, but it is important to recognize that things do not always work out and that if you choose to travel abroad you have to be flexible and open minded. Anyway, enough of that. I am sure you would much rather hear about how amazing Morocco is, so here goes!
1) Evening with a Moroccan Family
I had the amazing opportunity to spend an evening with Muhrad's family! It was the best field program I have participated in thus far. I really loved it because it gave me great insight into Moroccan culture and I got to observe and participate in a traditional meal. I was paired up with three other students and we were assigned to a family. Before we left, the coordinators made sure to give us a short lesson on etiquette and about what to expect so we wouldn't be surprised. I couldn't wait to get there, even though I was nervous. We did not have a guide or coordinator with us, so I was worried about what may or may not happen. In the end, everything went perfectly and I met some amazing people! I realized after this experience how much it means to make a connection with another person. Even when you have completely different ideas, you can still find common ground. It reminded me that no matter what flag flies behind us, we essentially have the same hopes, fears and dreams.
When we got to the apartment building we were greeted by two of Muhrad's friends that would be sharing the meal with us. They were both students and their names were Said and Mustapha. We walked up the stairs to the apartment where we got to meet Muhrad, his father and his two unclea. They were all really friendly. One of the greatest challenges of the night was the language barrier between us and Muhrad's uncles and father. We weren't able to communicate with them. I really wish I knew Arabic! Said, Mustapha and Muhrad all spoke different languages including French, Arabic, German, Spanish, and English! Our abilities paled in comparison. Casablanca is such a cultural hub, and it is advantageous to know multiple languages. It also made our night a little easier. We had so many questions for them and they also had many questions for us. We talked about a wide range of topics throughout the night. Said was a great rapper!! He would rap in French and then switch to English! It was cool. We made some great friends! Mustapha talked to us a lot about Moroccan culture, as did Muhrad. We talked about things like food, music, politics, marriage, religion, movies, and daily life. We also told them a lot about Semester at Sea. There was never a dull moment.
The conversation was fantastic but so was the food!! It was all fresh and delicious! Mustapha's mother had prepared a giant bowl of couscous surrounded by steamed vegetables and chunks of beef. It had so many flavors and was one of the best couscous dishes I had! We each got our own spoons and shared from a communal bowl. I thought it was a really great experience. It allowed me to take a critical view of my own culture. I am so used to eating from an individual plate, even when a huge dish is served for our family. In Moroccan culture, sharing from a large bowl makes sense, and is a vessel for familial bonding. I realized that Moroccan families are very close and there is a sense of collectivism rather than individualism. I now know how silly it is to have your own plate in a family setting. I realized how much of a germ-a-phobe I am! Experiencing this communal eating allowed me to see dining in a different way, and I appreciated the closeness created by it.
After couscous, we enjoyed two platters of fresh fruit! They were piled high with bananas, red and green grapes, three colors of apples and pomegranates. Muhrad told us that all the produce was local and fresh and free from GMO's and chemicals. The fruit looked normal in size compared to the United States counterparts. The fruit was delicious and you could taste the difference! Following the fruit was a really delicious soup made of beef, noodles, lentils and vegetables. It was so good I had two bowls of it! They served the soup with dates, which you could place in the soup if desired. Dates are an important part of the Moroccan diet. The soup had a lot of spices! I liked the cinnamon. It was a pleasant surprise! The final course consisted of Moroccan tea, olives and bread. When Muhrad poured the tea, he did so from a distance. Mustapha said that the sign of a high quality tea is foam and bubbles. Sure enough, the tea had small bubbles. It was delicious! Truly an amazing meal!
Moroccan hospitality was showcased through this event. It showed me a special side of Morocco and its culture. Muhrad's family and friends were so kind and did everything they could to make sure that we were well fed and had a great experience. By the end of the meal, I was stuffed! My heart and my stomach were happy. I am so grateful to them for showing me something unique that could never be experienced in a tour group. Muhrad kept saying it was their pleasure to have us and that they were so happy to have us there. We all expressed how grateful we were and how much we enjoyed their company, as well as the food. They truly were great guys and we really related to them because they were around our age and were experiencing some of the same things we were. All I could think was, "Wow!"
2) Hassan II Mosque
The first day in Casablanca I went on a tour of the city that included a visit to the Hassan II Mosque. I was excited to see it, because I had never been inside a mosque. I also only had a vague understanding of the Islamic religion. The Hassan II Mosque is right next to the ocean and serves as a beacon for Muslims. It is so beautiful. The day we went it was sunny and the sky was bright blue without a cloud in the sky. It stood out against the blue backdrop and the beautiful turquoise tiles popped. I learned that this color symbolizes forgiveness. Prior to entering the mosque we took off our shoes and put them in plastic bags. The Hassan II Mosque is one of the only mosques that admit non-believers. The inside was really beautiful! It was also huge! There was an upper level for women and the lower level was reserved for men. The ceiling was made of cedar wood, which is humidity resistant. The detail was staggering.
Our guide said that 25,000 people could fit inside at any given time. I learned that prayer times vary city by city because of the sun but that in Casablanca the times are 6, 1, 4:30, 7, and 9. We also walked downstairs to see the ablution room and learned about the washing process. According to our guide, Moroccan people are not always religious and that the age for children to enter the mosque varies by family. He said the average age is 12. Surrounding the mosque was a library, school, and museum.
It was truly spectacular and probably even more beautiful than the cathedrals I have seen so far! I am really glad I got to visit the mosque and to see more of Moroccan culture.
3) Restaurant and Cooking Class
The second day in port I traveled to Marrakech via bus. I had the most amazing lunch at a Moroccan restaurant in the city. It was so good that I thought it was worth mentioning. We walked into this restaurant with different flags decorating the outside. Inside there were a ton of beautiful tiles arranged in all different kinds of unique patterns. Everything had some sort of decoration and it was breathtaking how much detail there was! We walked into the main dining area, which was huge and packed with people, both Moroccan and international. Two men drumming and clapping greeted us and welcomed us. I sat down on a giant, upholstered couch that wrapped around the building and had a ton of pillows.
We were brought four bottles of beverages including water, coke and juice as well as some bread. Then we were served a Moroccan salad, which I quickly found does not have any lettuce! Instead, we were given several small plates with various marinated vegetables and some rice. My favorite was the rice, which had celery and scallions and the eggplant, which was flavorful and spicy. Other items included carrots, beets, slaw, and zucchini. After the salad we were brought tajine. I wasn't sure what it was or if I would like it. A tajine is basically a terracotta pot with a dome that is detached from the shallow bowl at the bottom. People place the meat inside and then place it over hot coals to roast for several hours. The ingredients used are specialized and unique to Morocco. The chicken was bright yellow and surrounded by olives. I expected it to taste like curry but instead it was ten times better. It did not have one particular flavor, and the chicken was the star. It was juicy and flavorful. It is some of the best chicken I have ever had. Moroccan cuisine is known worldwide as the best because of the ingredients and spices used. Accompanying the chicken was a heaping mound of couscous surrounded by vegetables. It was also very good! For dessert they served us a melon that tasted like cantaloupe and honeydew mixed together. The flesh was white and the outer portion was bright yellow. Then we enjoyed mint tea, which was extremely sweet. Overall, an amazing meal!
I also took a cooking class the last day in port. I was sick so I didn't get as much out of it as I would have if I had been healthy. However, I did receive recipes and I am excited to try them out! I even bought a tajine! I got to try some cookies, and they were really tasty. I wanted to mention this experience because I learned about traditional cooking methods and learned about the food itself, which was valuable. Our chef said that couscous is actually used for sad occasions and is never served at weddings. Couscous is also a special dish consumed on Fridays.
4) Marrakech
As I mentioned in number 3, we got to travel to Marrakech! It was a really great city and I loved it! There was a ton of hustle and bustle and things to see. I saw donkeys, cats, horses, snake charmers, monkeys and more. The first stop on the trip was to Majorelle's gardens, which had plant life from all over the world. It was cool to see all the different kinds of cacti, succulents and palms. The water lily pond was beautiful as was the bright blue bridge with hanging vines.
After the gardens we went to lunch and then visited an old Koran school. It was extremely intricate and beautiful. I couldn't get over the intricacy of the tile and plaster designs. We had the chance to peek out the dorm windows, which was fun. After seeing the school and learning about it we walked to the Medina, or old city. It is a HUGE market with tons of shops and stalls. It is really exciting and you could spend hours, and many dollars, there! It was impossible to see everything. Our guide took us to two special shops. The first one was a one-stop shop kind of place. It had clothing, pottery, jewelry, and leather bags. I had a lot of fun in there and one of the shop owners helped me the whole time. Whenever I asked him for something he would refer to me as 'sister'. They were very hospitable, but this may be because of my purse. Who knows? Anyway, he was really nice and encouraged me to look around and to take my time.
When it came time to pay I was shocked by the price but the shop wasn't interested in bartering. I felt a little taken advantage of at first. After emailing my Mom confiding in her she told me that I shouldn't feel that way, but rather that I should see it as helping the family. The Moroccan economy is pretty bad right now, so anything helps. I tried to be less selfish in that regard. I shared my mother's advice with my friends and Laura shared it with the shipboard community during post-port reflection. It goes to show mother's advice is best! It is true though and it is important to have a positive attitude, no matter what happens. I let it go and decided the next day would be better.
The second shop we visited had wood items. The workshop was located next door and you could smell the sawdust and the wood stain. The items were so beautiful! They were in intricate designs and some had ivory embedded in them. I loved the secret boxes and the magic boxes. I kind of wish I had bought something but I was still dealing with my emotions from the previous experience. Shopping in Morocco is a bit stressful. The people are very forward and aggressive in that manner. They throw numbers at you fast and it can be overwhelming. When we were given free time in the main square our group opted to relax in a café away from the business and chaos of the market. I do wish I had looked around more, but I welcomed the break. We all talked and told stories. It was cool seeing the snake charmers from afar. Then we drove home. The bus ride was about 4 hours. I am so glad I got to see this exciting place!
5) Bartering and Driving
These two things go hand in hand with Morocco, at least in my opinion. Our guide in Marrakech said that there are three sports in Morocco: Soccer, running and bartering! Bartering is very much a part of Moroccan culture and it is like a game. You have to be good at it, and unfortunately, I am not. I am so used to paying the posted price that the idea of bartering was confusing. Like I said previously, it can get overwhelming. The second to last day I spent some time in the Medina and was able to barter a little more. You have to go in with an idea of how much you want to pay and fight for it. If they won't lower the price you can always go elsewhere. Because we were tourists, prices were automatically higher. You can't escape it in Morocco because you look different than they do, no matter how hard you try to blend in. I made sure to dress respectfully at all times, even though many people in Morocco dress more Western than traditional.
While in the Medina I heard several excuses when I tried to barter including "it's a family shop" and "it's high quality." I was a little unsure of the claims but figured in those situations it would be easier to find a different place. Laura and I got a great deal on some bracelets. We bartered and bartered. Originally they were fifty dirham, which is about seven dollars, and we got them down to twenty-five dirham by buying four. Probably my best deal on the trip. I also bartered well for a scarf. We talked with some of the shopkeepers and they were great people. Some had traveled to the US and loved it. One of the shopkeepers even assisted us in bartering with another seller! It was great.
My favorite purchase, besides my tajine, was my henna tattoo. I got it for a great price! It has my name in Arabic and several flowers. I have always loved henna tattoos and I think they are a ton of fun. A lot of people on the ship were sporting henna and parachute pants. Basically, parachute pants are the new yoga pants. I didn't get any though because I felt like I would never wear them after SAS. It was a very successful day compared to my first day of shopping. The only bummer was that I couldn't buy spices because they aren't allowed on the ship.
In regards to driving I must say I have never experienced anything like what I did in Morocco. I thought driving in LA was bad and harrowing. I was very wrong! Morocco is almost a death trap when it comes to driving. Sometimes the street lacks lane markers and people do whatever they feel like doing. Several times we were inches from hitting another car, a moped, or even a person! The other thing is that there is a whole dialogue with the car horns. A honk can mean danger, get out of the way, watch out, or go ahead. It is confusing. Some of the scariest moments were crossing the streets. You just had to go and hope that you wouldn't get hit. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. The other experience that was a little scary was the taxi ride to Muhrad's house. There weren't any seatbelts and the front seats were held up by a single strap across the back. The car looked like it would fall apart! Haha. It was definitely and experience! I decided that when I return to Morocco I will NOT be driving.
You also had to be aware of the mopeds in the market area. Sometimes, moped drivers will pass by and grab your purse or camera. Luckily, no one experienced that. They also drive down very narrow streets and you basically have to press yourself against buildings to avoid being hit. Another thing to watch out for were horse-drawn carriages. The experiences I had definitely kept me on my toes and added to the color of my experience!
I have one word for Morocco: WOW! I had such a great time and experienced so many new and exciting things. It was so different from anywhere I have been so far. The past month was spent in Europe and arriving in Africa was a welcomed change. The people of Morroco really are nice and kind. I had a lot of stereotypes and ethnocentric thoughts going in but am happy to report they were all disproven. I really had no idea what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. The thoughts that held me back before have allowed for personal development and growth. I am even interested in looking into job opportunities in Morocco, that's how much I liked it! It opened my eyes to another culture and I can see myself becoming more global and aware. It was also a milestone to step onto African soil! After SAS I will have been to five continents in my lifetime! Two more to go after this trip! I am so glad I signed up for this experience!
As I have always said, you can email me if you have any questions about anything I have talked about. My email is Jessica.zaksek.fa13@semesteratsea.org. Emails are like gold on the ship, and even if you just want to send me a personal update, I would love that! Sending hugs all the way from the Atlantic Ocean en route to Ghana!
-Jessica
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