Leading up to my trip to Morocco, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I was looking forward to going to another country to learn about their culture and visit companies. Little did I know, it would be even more incredible than I could have ever imagined. I am so grateful to have gotten an opportunity to travel to another country and be able to experience it through a normal trip as well as through a business perspective. The trip was so thorough and put together that it made it easy to just sit back and take everything in.
When I first arrived at the airport, I was nervous to meet the other students on my trip. However, I quickly realized we were all going to be very good friends. Even if we would spend every minute of the next two weeks together. With delays from the planes, we got to spend even more time before Morocco getting to know each other, it was all very pleasant. Our first night in Rabat still didn’t feel real, it felt as if I was living in a dream, that was until we started activities the next day.
On our first day in Rabat, we went to a host family’s house for lunch which is something I will never forget. The host prepared a large display of appetizers, followed by Tajin, a dish filled with vegetables and chicken special to Moroccan culture. After eating so much food, she then came out with fruit, mint tea, and pastries she had made. This was probably the biggest meal I had ever eaten; the food was endless. After lunch, we then went and toured the Medina, which means city or downtown in Morocco. All the architecture was beautiful, it seemed as if the streets were endless, connecting throughout making it easy to walk around. The next day, we went to visit Parliament. It was so educational and a gorgeous building, we got to see their Chamber where they meet and vote on specific topics. I thought it was fascinating that at each seat they had a device that could translate the speaker to whatever language you want to be able to fully understand the speaker.
Next, we traveled to Tangier where we did a similar two-day set up like Rabat, where on day one we toured the Medina and on day two we visited businesses. Tangier was again, a gorgeous city, filled with culture and ceramics. On the second day, we visited Martur Fompack International and the Women’s Business Association. The Women’s Business Association surprised me, as their purpose is to help women be able to work. They did this by teaching them languages, helping them be able to sew and stitch, and even teach them to cook. While it surprised me, I thought to myself, why don’t we have something like this in the United States, to help people get jobs?
After Tangier, we visited Chefchaouen, the blue city, and Fes. While these were a quick two days, they were filled with sightseeing, taking photographs, and shopping. Chefchaouen being mostly blue was an unreal sight, it was truly incredible to get to see the Medina and the local shops. Fes was our true shopping day, and we took full advantage of it. We got to visit a scarf shop, where we watched them making a scarf, followed by the Tannery, the local leather dying shops. After spending some time trying on leather jackets and purses, we headed to an oil and seasonings shop, where we got to try and buy several oils and salts. Lastly, we got to visit a local ceramic business where they handmake all of their pieces.
Following Fes, we went to Merzouga, where we got to ride camels and jeeps in the desert. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. I knew I was excited to ride a camel for the first time, however it was truly amazing. On the last full day of our trip, we went to Marrakech, where we got to see the Yves Saint Laurent Garden and Library as well as their Medina. For our farewell dinner, we got to sit outside on top of the restaurant and overlook the whole Medina, it was such a sweet and sentimental way to end the trip.
Morocco was a life-changing experience for me. I talked about going before my trip, but now I talk about it even more. It made me realize I want to learn more about other countries and travel the world while learning their language and culture. It was such an incredible opportunity to not only visit Morocco but also their businesses on top of it and develop my education further through hands-on interactions.