My Takeaways and Memories from our Trip to Morocco

Our program’s trip to Morocco was probably the most memorable trip I have ever taken to a different country. It was my first time in Africa, and also my first time being able to take a boat across to a different continent, which was incredible. After just a couple hours of watching the sea, we made it to the port of Tangier and set our bags down in our hotel and lied down on the fresh hotel sheets for 15 minutes before the city exploring began. It was then that we met Omar, our tour guide for the trip and, though we didn’t know it yet, one of the sweetest, silliest, and wise people I would meet while abroad. He introduced himself to us and we introduced ourselves to him, solidifying ourselves as a group for the first time very awkwardly. But it didn’t take long after a day of walking and a few cups of Moroccan mint tea with him to feel at ease with him and his Dad jokes.

Something I learned while in Morocco under the guidance of Omar was that, while having a language barrier can make communication between people difficult and a lot more effort for very little requests, body language and intention can go a long way. You can sense the kindness and goodness of people’s actions, the same way you can sense the unkindness of them as well. While in Morocco, I was overwhelmed with the amount of love and kindness shown to me and the rest of my classmates, especially as I know how hard it can be to deal with loud, and maybe even ignorant, Americans in a new country. Not only were the tour guides forgiving and willing to answer any question, the host families were so generous and caring with everything they did. Every meal was full of warmth and love and so much laughter was shared between us students and with our Moroccan friends and host families regardless of cultural and linguistic differences.

Without going through every little detail of what we did while in Morocco, which I totally could do and would do if not for how much my heart would ache missing it as soon as I’d finished writing, here are some pictures of my favorite parts of the trip. Looking back at these pictures always brings a smile to my face and I wish I could go back and experience it all for the first time again. But I can’t, so what better way to remember it than to document it in a blog for years to come! I hope you enjoy looking through my very brief gallery and are inspired to take your own trip to Morocco to experience the love from the people there for yourself.