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 13, 2007
Since my time in Morocco is about half over, I'm really getting into my project work and classes. I'm also discovering more about Morocco. Parliamentary elections were held last Friday in Morocco. We had the day out of class and drove to Marrakesh. Along the way, we saw people taking donkey-led carts and trucks to polling places in the many small towns we passed. It was interesting to see how voting takes place in another country. Ramadan also starts on the 12th. This is a holy month for Islam, consisting of fasting and introspection. I've heard about how life on campus changes during this month, so I'm interested in seeing what it entails.
There is nothing much new going on at AUI. My classes are going along very well, and I'm learning quite a bit. We have gotten into a fairly normal routine of homework, classes and quizzes, much like the classes I've taken at WPI. My project is also progressing. I'm well into writing my MQP and starting to make a bit of progress everyday. An MQP is a process, not just an end result, so it will take time to complete research and writing. We've only been here about three weeks, but our time here is half over, so I have a lot of work to do in the next month. My class schedule allows me to have a lot of time for independent work and study, so I don't think I'll have any problem making progress on my paper. I'm really interested in my topic, which makes working on it enjoyable. Migration is an important issue historically and also in the present. There are news articles about it weekly, so finding current, accurate information is fairly easy.
This past weekend we went to Marrakesh, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Morocco. We visited several historic sites in the city, including gardens, monuments, and museums as well as the famous Djemaa el-Fna. It is a huge square filled with food stands, vendors, street performers, and lots of people, both Moroccans and tourists from all over the world. Surrounding it are narrow, winding streets full of merchants selling everything you can imagine. It was very exciting but a bit overwhelming. What struck me about Marrakesh was the energy of the city. People are out and about from early in the morning to the wee hours. After wandering through the markets, it's easy to get swept up in the excitement. There are so many things to do and places to see, its no wonder why tourism is Marrakesh's biggest industry. I was a bit surprised that there weren't more people at the historic sites we visited. We saw a former palace, the tomb of a previous Moroccan dynasty and some of the gardens at a current palace. There is more to Marrakesh than shopping , but I don't think everybody visiting knew how much history was around them.
Marrakesh was our last full weekend trip, since we all have our projects and school work to concentrate on now. But in the coming weeks we have day trips to Azrou, Fez and the Roman ruins at Volubilis. This Saturday however, we have class. Since there were no classes on election day, everyone has to make up the day, hence class on Saturday. I'm not too excited about the prospect, but hopefully I can turn it into a productive day.
-Virginia
