Touring the Red City- by Tucker Jones

On Friday morning students enter the center with their backpacks full of clothes ready to depart for their first overnight trip to Marrakech. After morning classes and lunch, the bus was packed up and ready to leave. After a scenic four hour ride, we arrived at our hotel to then go straight onto the group dinner in Jemaa el-Fna where students got to have traditional Moroccan dishes and meals native to Marrakech such as Tangia. Jemaa el-Fna is the main square in Marrakech and is the largest in Africa. Students got a tour of a tiny fraction of the Medina to use for their free time. Jemaa el-Fna has endless juice stands and street performers such as snake charmers and monkey owners. After the group meal, students went back to the hotel to rest up for the next morning's departure to the Amazigh Cultural Center two hours from Marrakech.

Once back in Marrakech Sunday afternoon, students swam and ate lunch poolside back at the hotel with time to relax and clean up after the Amazigh center. Later on, another group dinner was in store at a local Thai restaurant in the Gueliz district of Marrakech which is a modern neighborhood full of nice stores and great places to eat. On their last morning, students got free time in the morning to explore Jemaa el-Fna and pick up some last minute souvenirs while getting to use a lot of their bargaining phrases before we headed back to Rabat.