Morocco on my mind
It’s my last day in Morocco, and I’m starting to feel a bit nostalgic. In the 15 days I’ve spent traveling through this beautiful country, I have encountered overwhelming hospitality and generosity, not to mention the best food I’ve ever tasted. Tomorrow, we will take a ferry from Morocco to Spain. I’m really looking forward to what Spain has in store for us, but I’m sad that my time in Morocco is coming to an end (for now). Here is a recap of the last week or so.
Leaving Marrakech, we journeyed through the Atlas Mountains to Ouarzazate, where we stayed at a girls’ boarding school. This part of the trip turned out to be one of my favorites (except the “toilets,” which were literally holes in the ground – I won’t miss those). We got to share meals and interact with the girls and truly immerse ourselves in Moroccan culture. One night, they made henna and gave us all beautiful henna tattoos. During our stay, we visited a solar power plant that is currently under construction. I was amazed at the size of the plant, and it was less than halfway complete. We also visited a small village located just down the hill from the solar plant. We brought several cases of bottled water with us so that they could make us tea without using up their supply of drinking water. (There was no way they weren’t going to make us tea. We have had tea at every single visit and meeting in Morocco, and this village was no different.) The people of this village have to walk to get drinking water from a source far away, so we didn’t want them to use up their current supply on us. The disparity between the giant solar plant and the village that didn’t have access to basic necessities like potable water raised many questions about sustainable development. It seems to me that the way Morocco is going about their strategy for sustainable development is marginalizing certain populations, like the village we visited.
From Ouarzazate, we traveled to Merzouga, where we rode camels in the Sahara desert! About halfway through, we stopped and climbed a huge sand dune to watch the sunset. Then we got back on the camels and rode to our campsite. By this time the sky was dark, and we watched the stars come out. We were so far removed from any city or lights and I could see the Milky Way. In the morning, we went on a Jeep tour of the desert. We saw wild camels and fossils and visited a nomad’s home. Somehow we were all able to fit in the tent, and of course we were served tea. Then we traveled back to Merzouga and spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool at our hotel. We were all pretty sore from the camel ride and tired from staying up so late stargazing.
Our next stop was Boumia, where we visited the family of an ASU student. They served us a 4-course meal, and it was amazing. I have a new-found love for couscous. After lunch, we toured an apple orchard where the farmers are trying to grow apples organically and market their products worldwide. Agriculture is a huge part of sustainability, and I think Morocco can find a niche growing its products sustainably. That night, we had a group dinner at the hotel, but hardly anyone ate because we were still so full from lunch.
After Boumia, we went to Meknes, where we visited a community development center and its partner university. The university requires all students to complete a certain number of hours of community service, and we met two students who are working at the community development center. We also got to travel to Fez for half a day. A local student took us through the winding narrow streets of the medina because we would probably have gotten lost otherwise. Then we traveled to Tangier, stopping at a small beach town on the way for a few hours. Tomorrow morning, we will take a ferry from Tangier to a port in Spain, and then take a bus to Sevilla.
I have learned a lot during my time in Morocco. I have decided to focus my research during this trip on Morocco and Spain’s definitions of sustainable development, and evaluating how well each country is addressing the social aspects of sustainability. The disparity between the solar plant and the village in terms of development is my main motivation. I want to examine issues of environmental and social justice in each country, and study the effects of development on marginalized groups.
I have also picked up a bit of Moroccan Arabic. So Morocco, until next time, ssalamū clekum (peace be upon you).
Jessica