A Penny For Your Thoughts, A Dirham For Your Insight

If there was ever a time in my life where I was forced to step way outside of my comfort zone, our third field trip to Africa was definitely that time. Aside from not being able to communicate with the people whatsoever, I had no idea what kind of cultural boundaries I was going to cross visiting Morocco. The first realization that I was stepping into an entirely different cultural zone came when I stepped off the plane at the airport in Fes, and found myself standing in the middle of nowhere surrounded only by wide open plains and one other plane on the runway. I knew then that it was going to be a pretty exciting experience and definitely an eye-opener.

In Fes I had the chance to stay at the Riad Dar Al-Andalus, which in and of itself was more or less a palace, complete with interior mosaic ornamentation and flowing fountains accented by rose petals. It was one of the nicest hotels I had ever stayed in, and the people were some of the friendliest I had ever met before. Fortunately for me some spoke English, but for the other French-speaking people of Fes I was able to use some of the leftover French terms and phrases I had picked up while in Paris. The majority of my time in Fes was spent wandering the narrow passageways and streets lined by rows and rows of monochromatic plaster structures that make the city so unique, all with the help of our friendly guide Momo and his nephew. I had the opportunity to visit and sketch numerous religious structures and mosques, in addition to getting the insider’s view and knowledge on everything from our guide. Along the way we also had the chance to step into numerous small shops to see the workings of textile and leather production, to name a couple. We even had a private demonstration from a practicing “medicine man,” which was interesting to say the least. Some of my time in Morocco was also spent in the neighboring city of Meknes, visiting the grounds of fairly well preserved Roman ruins on the way. Although it was similar to Fes in many respects, there was a lot to be learned in Meknes culturally.

One of my favorite parts of our excursion to Morocco was the food. Without a doubt it was some of the best food I’ve ever tried. I took the opportunity to branch out a little with my taste in food while I was there, and tried an interesting dish made of pastry, cinnamon, and pigeon meat. Different, but really good nonetheless. Although Morocco was probably one of the most exotic places I’ve ever visited in my entire life, it remains as one of my favorite. There’s a lot to be said of the cultural bridge between the people of Morocco to the people of Spain and even to those of the United States. Spending time in places such as Fes and Meknes and having the opportunity to experience such different people and cultures is a pretty maturing experience, one that draws to mind how different we all are but how similar at the same time. As Momo’s nephew said on the street corner as we were sharing a chocolate bar I had just purchased, “We are the same people- you and I, we are brothers.”