This is a short note of welcome to family, friends and all who are interested in following us as we embark on the Lewis & Clark College overseas program in Morocco.
Our group arrived safely last week, full of anticipation, trepidation, and an eagerness to begin this adventure that we had long been dreaming about and planning for. Challenges with airlines and long layovers could not diminish the excitement felt upon arriving at the walls of Marrakech’s Medina, walking through the narrow and bustling alleyways, and making our way to the Riad Sara (for photos: http://riad-sara-sara-srira.hotelsmarrakech.net/en/#photo), the group’s first night lodging. On the following day, it was off to stay with the families who have offered homestays for this first component of the program.
Welcomed with mint tea.
January 4 – February 9: The Red City, Marrakech
During this component of our program we’ll be front-loading our studies with intensive Darija in order to better communicate with our hosts and begin to immerse ourselves in the local culture. In addition to language courses, our partners at the Center for Language & Culture (CLC) are offering us a series of lectures that will assist us gaining background into the modern Morocco (history, education, arts, etc.) and will facilitate opportunities for true intercultural dialogue with native speakers.
Next weekend, for example, we’ll be leaving the city in order to spend time in Ourika, in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, with a group of Moroccan students. The following week, we’ll depart for the Sahara! Each day we encounter new learning opportunities and in the past week alone we’ve had interesting lectures on “The Moroccan Mosaic” as well as the system of education. In addition, we have gained insights into the role of a non-profit (called an association) by visiting and eating lunch at Amal Women’s Training Center and Moroccan Restaurant. We were joined by the founder of this association, Nora Belahcen Fitzgerald, who spoke with us about its history, the challenges of the work accomplished, and future goals. We also enjoyed one of the best meals you could find in Marrakech! (See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8FoYi0NPhU and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amal_Women’s_Training_Center_and_Moroccan_Restaurant )
February 9 – February 13: Tenerife, Canary Islands
On February 9, we’ll leave Marrakech and depart for the Canary Islands where our hosts from Dar Si Hmad have arranged for us to visit La Laguna University, Anaga Forest and/or Tiede National Park. We’ll spend time there learning about fog harvesting and will begin our course entitled Development & Sustainability in Morocco.
February 13 – March 4: Agadir & Sidi Ifni
From the Canary Islands we’ll move on to Agadir, our home base for this new component of our program that will focus on the course begun in Tenerife. Dr. Jamila Bargach has stated “This course will take students on a journey through the multiple and overlapping realities of contemporary life in Southwest Morocco. If one of the major challenges for a modern post-colonial national-state continues to be the prosperity of its population and the growth of its economies, in what ways are these faring today as the paradigms of modernity and bountiful natural resources are in crisis? This course will engage students in a study of energy concerns, livelihood quests, individual community hopes and aspirations, the larger frame of what is identified as ‘progress’ and the role of development within such endeavors.” We will also have instructor-directed language conversation sessions to continue to develop our Darija skills, and will have time devoted to exploring Agadir. Finally, we’ll visit the fog harvesting project that will serve as a case study in our course.
(See: http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/could-harvesting-fog-help-solve-the-worlds-water-crisis)
March 4 – April 12: Fès
From Agadir we will make our way to Fès, and begin the final segment of our program. We will again have homestays, and our studies will take place at the International Institute for Languages and Cultures, INLAC, located inside the Medina of Fès. While there, we will have the opportunity to enroll in courses that introduce us to Gender & Society in Morocco, and within our Moroccan Modernity course we’ll study and research social movements and migration in Morocco. Some students will also continue their studies in Modern Standard Arabic. We look forward to being immersed in a city that “…seems to linger in the Middle Ages… A cosmopolitan, historical city, Fez is home to numerous ancient monuments, bazaars, cafes, fountains, restaurants, and festivals, all of which inviting inter-cultural exchanges and international conviviality.” (See: http://www.inlac.net/TheCityOfFes.php)
We are deeply grateful to all who have made this opportunity to study and learn together in Morocco possible and we wish you could all be with us! Our group will be sharing insights, ideas, photos and perspectives during the coming months, so please join us here.
Besalaama, Joann