Class of 2008
Major: Society, Technology and Policy / International Studies (Double Major)
Project Center: Ifrane, Morocco
Major Qualifying Project: Moroccan migration to Spain and its economic and political ramifications on both countries.
Virginia Ward
September 7, 2007
The biggest part of this past week has been acclimating myself to both Morocco and the university. The newness of living here has worn off a bit and I'm starting to get into a routine with classes, homework and project work. Wednesday was the first day of classes at AUI. I started to feel much more at home here once the school year started. I still learn something new everyday on campus, but I'm pretty much adjusted to life on campus.
My two classes, Beginning Arabic and Islamic Civilization are both very interesting and I'm greatly looking forward to future classes. In Arabic, we are learning the alphabet and some basic conversational phrases. It's definitely a challenge and has required quite a bit of time and effort, but I'm already noticing some of the benefits of studying Arabic in an Arabic speaking country. Although my knowledge is still very limited, I have been able to pick out letters and symbols from signs I've seen in the past few days. Even though Arabic is still a foreign language to me, it's starting to seem a little less foreign every day.
Before coming to Morocco, I didn't have extensive course work in Middle East Studies or Islamic culture, so learning about Islamic civilization is something new for me. So far we're studying what pre-Islamic Arabia was like, politically, culturally, and religiously. This background will be beneficial once we start looking at the beginnings of Islam and its spread throughout the region. I'm always up for learning something new, so this class looks like it will be really enjoyable.
All in all, my classes at AUI are not all that different than those I've taken at WPI. The only part that is slightly disappointing is there are very few Moroccans in my classes. But, it's been great to get to know the other international students from all over the U.S. Having so many other students who are going through the same experience makes it a little easier to be so far away from home.
My project is also progressing nicely. I'm pulling together all the research I've done so far and working on acquiring additional information. More or less, I'm organizing all the facts and figures involved in Moroccan migration to Spain, so when I write my paper, I'll have everything I need to conduct an appropriate and informed analysis. Being in Morocco, experiencing the culture, and meeting people have also given me a better understanding of my topic and the Moroccan people. I hope that my final product reflects what I have learned here.
This weekend we visited the town of Erfoud and the Tafilalt Oasis. The trip was a long, but scenic 5 hours. Previously, we had traveled by train and to major cities, so it was a refreshing change to see the countryside and smaller villages. Erfoud is not a major tourist destination, like Fez, Casablanca or Marrakesh, so I never got the overwhelming sense that the town or what we saw was engineered for tourists.
One of the professors from AUI accompanied us this weekend and acted as our guide. Everything we saw was a bit off the beaten path and we were basically the only people there visiting the sites. We visited several locations, including a former palace, and ruins from a seventeenth century mosque. Interestingly, Erfoud is the fossil capital of Morocco and mainly what the area is known for, so we also visited a fossil museum and saw shells and plant life that has over time turned into marble. We all noticed that some of the sinks and tiles we saw over the weekend were made of this interesting marble. The whole weekend was very different than our time in Casablanca, where all the streets are busy and there is always something going on. Erfoud was very quiet and calm compared to the cities I've visited in Morocco so far.
The most exciting experience of the weekend was our sunrise camel ride in sand dunes. Even though wake-up was at 3am, we were all very excited about this incredible opportunity. We rode into the Sahara when it was still dark and climbed a dune to watch the sunrise. Even though it was a hazy morning, it was still incredible watching the colors of the landscape change from pitch black to a vibrant red. Riding back through the dunes was surreal, like something out of a movie. Looking back on that morning, it is still hard to believe it actually happened.
This week I'll be continuing with my classes and working on my research. Next week, I'll write about my progress and our weekend trip to Marrakesh.
-Virginia
