My lack of presence in the blogosphere can be attributed to three little things:
- Maroc telecom is satan incarnate. Seriously though, this internet/ phone provider is the worst thing since unsliced bread. We’ve had consistently inconsistent internet access since January, and at the rate we’re payin’, we should have internet encased in gold. So, alas, even if I could have logged on long enough to update all of you about the Moroccan goings-ons, it probably would have shat out halfway through and left me having to retype everything 4 or 5 more times before giving up. This is an oddly specific number because it’s happened to me a lot lately.
- Our project HAPPENED! SUCCESSFULLY! We worked our tails off getting everything ready for our interfaith dialogue. Lots of tales of hilarity/ hair-pulling frustration that probably will never see the light of day on the internet, as they’re mostly anecdotes of complete incompetence and obese egos that some might find to be offensive. Last thing I need right now is a lawsuit for libel. But, all of that aside, everything went off without a single hitch, we’re so fucking excited that we pulled this off. Detailed blog post coming soon (and in the meantime, check out our Facebook page for pictures)!
- The Quinns came back to Morocco! A second round of the Quinns in Morocco is coming to a close tomorrow. Always entertaining and full of great pictures– this time, with many monkeys. Again, detailed blog post to come!
In the midst of all of this pre-project frenzy and post-project visitor extravaganza, Mustapha and I connected with a group of students studying at Al Akhawaiyn University in Ifrane, Morocco. These students have formed an interfaith group (I bet you see their relation to our project) and we were very interested in meeting up with them.
Al Akhawaiyn is a fairly new private university that gives all of its courses in English. It’s nestled right in the mountains in an area affectionately (and accurately) referred to as “Little Switzerland.” Mustapha had a weekend workshop to attend there, so we packed up our bags and set off to have some meetings with the students, go to the workshop, and inchallah enjoy some nature before our extremely busy project week.
Holy wow. I’ve gotten so used to the red scenery of Marrakech that I forgot nature comes in other colors– specifically, GREEN! The 8 hour bus ride to Ifrane was a vacation in itself. The view from the bus window was astounding– rolling green hills, deep blue lakes, lots of trees, remnants of snow….the works. It was also nice to feel cold again. A warm spring has pretty much settled down in Tameslouht, but this trip was an opportunity to dress like a Moroccan and bear the cold. What I mean is, they have mastered the art of layering. If there is anything resembling a breeze or a cold front, I can walk up to anyone in my town and they will proudly show me their 5+ shirts underneath their 2-3 sweaters and large coat. This is all occurring in 60 degree weather. Anywho, I jumped on the bandwagon and wore 2 sweaters, 4 shirts, one big coat, and tied it up with a nice little scarf. And I was still cold! Glorious.
We arrived in Ifrane in the early afternoon and spent awhile gaping open-mouthed at the scenery. I felt like I was in America– tree-lined streets, manicured lawns, houses with sloping, tiled roofs, no sheep in sight. We learned from Karen, the chaplin of Al Akhawaiyn, that the town was founded by the late King Hassan II in the 1920s. He made building zone laws to preserve the architectural aesthetic of the city, and also made business laws concerning what types of stores could actually be in the city. This meant no dry cleaners until recently– people had to drive to Azrou to do all of that “commoner” stuff. It definitely left us with an impression, though, summarized best by Mustapha’s comment about all of our pictures. “What fun times in Great Britain!”
Days 2&3, Mustapha was in his workshop, so I explored the nearby city of Azrou. It’s a beautiful little city nestled in the mountains. I took lots of pictures.
