Morocco Day

Today is affectionately called “Morocco Day” here on board.

This title stems from the fact that we only have a day, one day, between Spain and Morocco. What that basically means is that we have way too short a time to be properly debriefed and then rebriefed, and therefore are required to squish our cultural pre-port and our logistical pre-port (which we attend before arrival in every port of call) into one 24 hour period called “Morocco Day”.

This morning we heard a fantastic lecture about gender relations in the Muslim world given by an Iranian professor who teaches on board. Her lecture was by far my favorite of any academic seminar I’ve attended while at sea. This woman is so, so brilliant, and lacks nothing in terms of eloquence either. She talked with grace and dignity and intellect about the profound and cross-cultural significance of the freedom of movement for women, and that the specific lack of this freedom for Muslim women in certain regions has given rise to our modern (mis)conceptions of gender relations within the Islamic world. A wonderful and provocative lecture with which to roam the streets of Morocco.

The rest of today is full of meetings and briefings, and then tomorrow at 8am we arrive in Casablanca. I must admit that it was a little disconcerting when we arrived in Spain, after 520 college students had been cooped up on a ship for 8 days, and were then unleashed with their large lenses into the city. There were moments where I felt it was all rather invasive. Spain, however, (in all its graciousness) received us well. And I’m hoping the same will be true for Morocco. More than anything, I hope that we as Semester at Sea students will be adaptive and (of highest importance) respectful to the diverse array of cultures we come into contact with.

Oh, but Morocco holds some very exciting things, my friends!

I’m doing a four-day excursion to Marrakech and Zagora (where we’ll be taking a camel trek into the Sahara). If, following that adventure, I have not died of heat stroke or hypothermia, then I’ll be returning to Casablanca on our day of departure to explore the city with Allie.

To the best of my knowledge the Sahara desert isn’t set up with wifi, which means I’ll be out of touch again for just a few days. But after Morocco, we have a solid 8 days at sea before hitting Ghana, so that will give me a more generous amount of time to sleep, debrief, and of course, blog.

Miss you all tremendously much!

Love. Anna