{"id":12623,"date":"2019-03-19T15:15:57","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T19:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/social.rollins.edu\/wpsites\/letters\/?p=12623"},"modified":"2019-07-08T17:07:27","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T17:07:27","slug":"morocco-the-halfway-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/2019\/03\/19\/morocco-the-halfway-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Morocco: the Halfway Point"},"content":{"rendered":"

Currently, I\u2019m three months into my studies at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. I recently spent ten days in Italy for my spring break with two friends I\u2019ve made at AUI, and we split our time between Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Turin. Up until this trip, all of my travels were domestic within Morocco, appreciating its richly diverse cultures and environments. However, it wasn\u2019t until I left the country to experience Europe that a lot of the \u201cculture shock\u201d even hit me. It was in Italy that I reflected upon the distinctions between Moroccan life and that of the Western and European world. I was quick to notice the open sexuality, consumption of pork and alcohol, lack of Islamic presence, and especially the absence of squat toilets. Upon arriving back in Ifrane, I\u2019ve had to readjust back to life on campus and in our small town in North Africa. I was surprised to find comfort in the temporary home that I made for myself here. Unfortunately, I\u2019ve also had midterms and assignments to welcome me back.<\/p>\n

On the note of domestic travel, right before spring break I took a grand taxi with five friends to Merzouga, a small town in the Sahara Desert near the Algerian border. It was there that I found the most hospitality that I\u2019ve ever encountered, and a new favorite destination within the country. We spent our first night in a hostel connected to the house that Hassan, our host and new friend, was born in. He was quick to welcome us into his home, engage in conversation, and help in any way he could during our stay in Merzouga. On our second day, we trekked by camel into the desert and spent the night in tents under the stars among the dunes. With our two camp guides, who were about our age, we shared in music, language, and culture over the campfire for hours. During nights like that one, I think that the world may be so big, but if we focus on those things that bring us together, we can make unlikely friendships that hold a lifelong impact, even if just in memory.<\/p>\n

We heard from our guides that the government would soon order the closure of such camps in the Sahara. Already we\u2019ve seen from Hassan\u2019s Instagram and articles online that they are acting on that ban; already more than 12 camps have been removed despite tourist bookings secured as late as the end of next year. It was this that hit to home that I probably won\u2019t ever have most of these same experiences I\u2019m having abroad ever again. When I was in Agadir, I met a tourist from Amsterdam who was staying at the same hostel as me and my friends, and she said that while she loved her experience in Agadir and will hold onto the memory forever, she doesn\u2019t see the world bringing her back. As I look towards the second half of my time abroad, I plan to treasure every moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From left to right:<\/span> 1)<\/strong> Cinque Terre, 2)<\/strong> Florence, 3)<\/strong> Turin, 4)<\/strong> Venice, 5)<\/strong> view from atop Hassan’s house, 6)<\/strong> sunset in the Sahara Desert, 7)<\/strong> the camels we rode resting after the trek back from the camp.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Currently, I\u2019m three months into my studies at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. I recently spent ten days in Italy for my spring break with two friends I\u2019ve made at AUI, and we split our time between Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Turin. Up until this trip, all of my travels were domestic within Morocco,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":369,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-morocco"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/369"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12623"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13407,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12623\/revisions\/13407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/letters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}