Week 1: Salam Morocco!

The first week in Morocco has been a whirl wind of adjustments and exploring. Sanders (the other IFYE in Morocco) and I have been staying in a hotel for this first week as an opportunity to ease into the experience and our time in Morocco. Starting on Monday we will be living in our first host family. While staying in the hotel we have made friends with some of the workers and every morning they come over to us at breakfast and help us practice our Arabic.

Throughout the week we have gone on day trips with the IFYE country coordinator, Mohammed, and other people he knows involved in agriculture. We visited a beef production feedlot on Wednesday that had over 2,000 head of cattle and watched them load some animals for market (not the best time for a vegetarian but I did get to pet some cows) and got to see some ostriches they had there.

My personal favorite of the week was when we got to see an agriculture research experimental station that focuses on tree crops. These included figs, pomegranates, peaches, plums, pistachios, almonds and 50-year-old olive trees (super cool). We wandered through the orchard with researchers working there and tasted fruit picked freshly off the tree. A large section of the research completed here is finding varieties that are resilient in the face of extreme heat or water shortage as the climate changes. At this station, they also had argan trees which are only grown in Morocco, specifically in a region in the South, therefore it is unique that we got to see them.

So far, I have been getting very European vibes from Morocco. From locals we have had the opportunity to speak with, they have described a way of life similar to Europeans with influences mostly from Spain and France (largely due to colonialism). Something that has surprised me is the prevalence of cars. Everyone here has a car and drives places. And driving is a little scary as it is common to drive down the center of the middle line. Everyone here speaks French and Arabic and often another language, either Spanish or English. It has been difficult to use my knowledge of French here because often Arabic and French are spoken at the same time and intertwined during the conversation. I am slowly but surely picking up Arabic words and learning their language.

While there is a lot of European influences, Morocco still has their own culture and traditions. A major one we have observed and participated in is tea. They drink mint tea two to three times a day, often with sugar. You pour out some tea, and then pour it back into the pot for the water to become bubblier and more alive. It is necessary when pouring tea to raise it as high as you can. Traditional food in Morocco includes couscous and tajine. Couscous is usually prepared on Fridays, and it has couscous at the bottom, sometimes meat if you want, vegetables, and a sweet component. Moroccans usually have both sweet and salty aspects to their dishes. Tajine is cooked in a pyramid like dish and is consumed with bread and your hands. It is slow cooked meat, vegetables, and olives.

This first week has been a great opportunity for learning and exploring but it has come with its own challenges. Traveling is often uncomfortable. You must navigate new foods, language barriers, and coming up with LOTS of new questions to ask people to help keep the conversation moving along and avoid awkward silences (this is something Sanders and I have been doing a lot of this week). It can easily become overwhelming and exhausting. I have been taking the opportunity to rest and go easy on myself this first week and journal everything I am feeling to help prepare myself for the next 11 weeks. However, I am looking forward to a great experience!