Memories of Morocco

Programs for this blog post

Arabic Language & Moroccan Culture

Authored By:

McKenzie T.

The first image of my hand with a dog reflects the lasting impact that my study abroad had on me.  This picture was taken in Long Island, where I visited my New York family before heading home to San Francisco.  The henna was done at a birthday party that we had in our classroom building in Rabat, and it's lasted for almost a full two weeks.  For me, this pictures reminds me of the lasting community that I both found and built in Rabat.  As someone who has moved around a lot, feelings of sentimentality and longing for a particular place are rare.  This picture reminds me that my study abroad in Morocco helped me find a home away from home.  For the last two weeks, I've looked down at my left hand and smiled to myself, remembering the people and places I have just come from visiting.

The second image is a picture of me in my favorite cafe in Rabat- Odyssia.  My roommate and I started going there almost everyday afterschool, and eventually, the entire group had met up there more than once.  The cafe was right next to our apartment, and we'd grab a crepe or strawberry juice and talk.  We were probably Odyssia's best customers for the month we were in Rabat.  The night before my roommate and I left for home, we walked past the cafe, suitcases in hand, and waved goodbye to our favorite waiter (who only spoke French) and to the owner of the cafe.  This photo reminds me of the niche encounters we had in Morocco that can't be described through words, but memories.

The third image is a selfie of my new friend Shahinda and me.  An outsider wouldn't understand why we're making those expressions, but we were right on the coast, on a sea cliff, and there were massive waves coming a little too close for comfort.  We had spent that day in a large group, walking to different tourist attractions in Rabat and doing a final tour of the city.  I love this picture because I captured the exact moment we realized we would have to start sprinting if we wanted to stay dry.

Almost two weeks after coming home, I can truly say that I miss Morocco and the people that I met there.  I have many new friends from around the U.S., and even in Rabat as well.  If I could sum up the trip in one word, I would say it was authentic.  We didn't  experience the glitzy Moroccan tourist experience we might have expected, but rather an absorption of culture through the lens of locals.  During my stay, I became more and more curious about what the rest of Morocco has to offer.  I'm planning on visiting again, and seeing more of Tangier, Fez, and Casablanca.  The biggest payoff I got from this trip was not language skills or another country checked off the bucket list, but the intangible gift of awareness.  As an avid traveler, I'm very observant of cultural differences, and every place that I visit opens my eyes to the delicate intricacies of the human experience.  This trip marked my first visit to the African continent and to the Middle East, thus altering my worldview and making me a more well-rounded person.