Bright and early Thursday morning, my friend Taylor and I headed to the Barcelona airport. There we would meet up with 11 friends and begin a weekend of a lifetime; destination: Morocco! We took a two hour flight to Malaga, a city along the coast of Southern Spain. From there, we drove about 2hours to Tarifa, Spain and boarded a ferry across the Straight of Gibraltar to the African continent- to Tangier, Morocco!
After the quick walk through the market, we made our way towards the DARNA Center for Girls- “darna” meaning “home.” At the center, girls and women are given the opportunity to reintegrate into the mainstream of Morocccan society through stable learning environments, skills training programs, and career-building initiatives. In January 2004, the center opened a community restaurant and shop, where items produced by women in DARNA are sold. We ate at the restaurant for lunch and chatted with local Tangier university students.
After the lunch and discussion, we toured the center; the center houses classrooms for tutoring illiterate women of all ages and also has sewing stations (both old school and new machines) as means to help women generate a source of income. The shop offers all the textile products created by the women including handmade cloths, decor items, and accessories. I supported the cause and found some very cute things that made for awesome souvenirs!
It was a cool experience to chat with peers about their Islamic society. They openly shared their thoughts on their religion, the Moroccan education system, and answered our questions about what daily life encompassed for youth in a Muslim country. These students in particular were very devoted to their faith and seemed more conservative/traditional than other kids our age we would meet later in the trip. Very interesting trying to empathize with them and sincerely grasp their very different belief system.
While en route to Asilah, a town about 3o minutes south of Tangier, we made a quick pitstop to ride camels. Touristy? Yeah. Comfortable? Debateable. Fun? Totally.
Asilah, meaning “authentic” in Arabic, is a peaceful and beautiful town along the Atlantic Coast. It dates back to 1500 B.C., when the Phoenicians used it as a base for trade. We strolled through the medina (“old city”) section of the town. Asilah has Mediterranean-influenced buildings, including whitewashed houses with blue accents on walls and doors. The array of houses decorated with paintings highlights the island’s reputation as an artists’ hangout. It hosts annual music and arts festivals, including a mural-painting festival. The best paintings remain on the Medina walls for the following years.
From Asilah, we drove two hours south to the capital of Morocco, Rabat. My friends Kim, Taylor, and I would spend the next 2 nights of our trip with a wonderful host family here. The 25-year old son of the family, Fahd (pronounced “Fed”) spoke English fluently, which we would come to find out was thanks to his affinity/obsession for American movies and videogames. Pretty funny. The mm of the family spoke no English, unfortunately only Arabic and French, but was still so sweet. Our favorite was the dad. The dad of the family spoke English fairly well, as in his hay day, was a player on the Moroccan national rugby team and picked up bits & pieces of languages throughout his travels with the team. He was very welcoming and funny. There was also a year-long American exchange student from New York living with the family as well, Jake. Oh, and I can’t forget Lilou. Lilou was the cute and curious little house cat who made our home-stay feel even more like home!
We ate most of our (AMAZING) meals on the trip with the family and really felt like we were part of it. We ate in front of the tv and made jokes; even with cultural and linguistic differences, meal time really felt like home even though we were miles from the States. I had heard Moroccans were renowned for their hospitality, and I’m here to confirm that fact for you. It was an absolutely awesome experience I would recommend for anyone and I believe we gained so much more living with locals rather than staying in a hotel.
What an amazing trip for you and your friends. Was this a program related excursion or did you plan it yourselves? The women’s center sounds incredible and the photos you took of the things they make we’re stunning. The family with whom you stayed seem so open hearted, and you’ll remember your time with them always. Michele