"Monia" - My trip to Morocco.

"Hello my name is Mone." "Hello. It is very nice to meet you Mone. We are extremely happy that you have come to visit us here in Meknes. Would you like some tea?"

This warm welcome is the first impression that I experienced in Meknes from the Morroccan students that were hosting the third intercultural and diversity forum.

So let me give the story of my travels that have changed my views and in some cases mal ideas about another culture and my own country. We left Sevilla Spain at 4:30 am and arrived at the port in Spain. We rode over to Morrocco on a ferry that sailed down the straight of Gibraltar and docked in Tanger. From there we rode a bus for four more hours to Meknes Morrocco, arriving at the Hotel Rif in the downtown area. We had two hours to settle in our rooms and rest before we boarded our bus to the Universite Moulay Ismail.

Next came the opening ceremonies. We were serenaded by music from a moroccan band and a spanish band. I was a little sleepy but I tried to socialize as much as I could. What I could gather from the first night is that this was going to be an exciting time in Morocco.

The next day we were up bright and early to arrive at the university for the days events. We listened to panel discussions the necessity for intercultural dialouge, brain drain and how it can prevented, what we (the students) need to do in order to promote travel among different countries so that the western countries are not the only people experiencing the benefits of study abroad.

For lunch, which was around 2:00 pm, we went to "Aladdin's restaurant." It seemed to be a themed restaurant around the aladdin movie that came out years ago. The food was absolutely superb! The first dish was cooked raisins in a sweet sauce poured over lamb. The lamb was extremely tender and flavorful. The lamb was surrounded by cooked veggies. All of this was laid on top of a bed of couscous. It was so good! The next dish was four roasted chickens topped with olives. Lastly, we had a desert of a variety of fruits.

Ater lunch, we went to the ancient medina with a tour guide that walked us through the medina at night. I saw the mosque in Meknes, and different vendors selling all kinds of pastries, scarfs, shoes, etc. I am convinced that moroccans are thebest at making pastries. They look so apetizing and taste so good! We returned to the school for the last discussion and then returned to the hotel.

The next days panel discussions I found to be most interesting to me. Some of the subjects were is globalization just another term used for westernization, what is the importance of communication among the different cultures of the world, is it important for students to learn more than two languages? These are just a few that stuck out in my mind, but there were many other topics. Of course, there were the topics of my group which varied between us. I talked about immigration and how it should not be viewed negatively because it can be more beneficial that not. I gave the example of the US and how we are a proven example that immigrnat coming to a nation does not have to be an invasion of one peoples against another (which is how soem people view immigration.) My colleagues discussed religion and politics and the issue between Israel and Palestine.

I had the priviledge of watching a skit that answered the question is mearning more than two languages important for the communication lines between the different cultures in a more global society. The skit consisted of three girls one who spoke english, one who spoke spanish and french, and one who spoke spanish only. The first time, the english girl was crying. The frnech girl comes in and ignores her because she doesnt know how to ask her whats wrong. The spanish girl comes in ignoring the english girl as well simply because they cant communicate with her. As a result the english girls storms out thinking no one understnad her.

In the replay of the cenario the french speaker is also able to speak english and spanish. Therefore she able to ask the english what is wrong and console her. She is also able to communicate the problem to the spanish speaker so that everyone understands. I think this skit also proved how so much can be lost when communication is not available or present.

I enjoyed giving my presentation but there was a young lady name Fati that asked a question and made a statement that sord of threw me back. She said that she hopes to study abroad and is thinking of going to either the United States or Europe. She said that she would prefer to study in the US because "they will accept me for who I am," whereas in Europe they will require her to remove her hijab. I was thrown back because in America, we tend to be very critical of our country and not realize how good we have it. And to hear someone say that they would prefer to come to my country because they can not be themselves somewhere else baffled me.

All of the civil rights movements, protests from the different minority groups, and the laws that were passed to prevent discrimination have made the United States a preferred choice. I know that our race relations are not perfect, but there is definately a big difference. For example, in Spain this past week, a muslim woman lawyer was thrown out of court because she refused to remove her hijab. Not because she was rude, or because she was a bad lawyer, simply because " her clothing did not repsect the court." I had a talk with Fati after the last panel discussion and she said that it would be her dream to study in the states. But getting a visa in morocco is very complicated and almost impossible. I don't know why, but this young woman just continues to be in my mind.

The next day we returned to Spain. I learned a lot from this experience. One lesson being that I am really proud of my contry and the people who have fought and died for it to be the equal opportunity for all of mankind center that it is today. I also learned that some women are very proud to represent their religion with the clothing that they wear. My friend Fati was extremely proud of her hijab, as she should be. I also found that the men here respected their women. Is this partly because they are not dressed half naked the way women are in the states. I'm sure it's not the only reason but that it does factor in. As I thought about this question I realized that the idea of covering yourself is used in many other religions such as christianity as wellI. Maybe we don't wear the hijab but christians tend to encourage wearing clothes that cover yourself. And I dont think its a bad idea. It forces you to use your personality and words to express yourself.

Some other things that I learned is that my name in Arabic is "Monia" ( pernounced Monya with an emphasis on the y.) I also learned how to say thank you in a few languages. Thank you, gracias, merci, shokran. Also, I know how to say hello in a bunch of languages! Hello, Hola, Bon jour, Bon dia, asilam a leykum ( I know that is probably not spelled write, so if someone could help me with that...I'd be much obliged.) The last thing that I learned is that Ana, one of my directors, can sing her butt off!!

So where do I go from here. Well, the university will be hosting these forums every year. The next one is in November 2010. I have made it my mission to get with the study abroad office at my school in order to put a groud together to go to this conference. I think it is extremely important that we attend. So Lena, look out cause here I come. And you know how annoying I can be when I really want to get something accomplished. LOL!!! Also, I have learned that even as open minded as I try to be that I too still have my prejudices. So I will have to learn to determine what those are and confront them. Its a lifelong battle for everyone I guess. Lastly, I want to do something so that moroccan students can travel to the US the way we traveled there. This is something that I think the US and Morocco can benefit greatly from.

And I have a few more pics for everyone....You can find all of the pics on my facebook page. Cao!

-Monia