Reverse Culture Shock

 About six of us (international students) had the same first flight at 4:55am from Fes airport. Therefore, the best price for a grand taxi was found through the University. We paid for a University 15 seater van. This came in handy for three reasons: we had plenty of room for our luggage and to sit comfortably; there was heate in the car (as it was winter and freezing); we were able to leave from the University at around midnight.

Our trip began at around midnight as we piled into the van. I get extremely nervous before I have to travel through airports. So many things can go wrong. Therefore, I could not sleep on the hour and a half ride to the airport. Everyone else drifted to sleep as I stared out the foggy window. My mind drifted to thoughts of how amazing this opportunity was and what returning to home would be like. We finally made it to the airport, but no one else was there. You could tell our monochronic tendencies had already started to reappear strongly. Monochronic is a cultural behavior in which society is very timely (aka on-time is late) and people tend to form lines. This is found in the USA. However, Morocco is a polychronic society--there are more clusters than lines and things will get done when they get done. This was prominent as we showed up about three hours early to the airport. For most international flights, this is the recommended time frame. However, in the Fes airport, the workers didn't start to show up and let us start through security until about an hour before our flight was due to take off. 

Before I knew it, I was watching the sunrise as I left Morocco. My first layover was in Paris. Once you leave Morocco, it becomes very uncommon to say "Assalamu Alaykum" (Peace be with you", "Wa Alaykum Assalam" (and peace be with you), and "Shukran" (thank you). In fact, when I slipped and said those phrases, I got some strange looks in the airport. It has taken about a week to readjust to the lack of Arabic and Muslim culture back home. 

When I finally landed state-side, I discovered that my luggage would not be checked all the way to Arizona. In the Detroit airport, I had to run from the landing plane to the passport control only to discover that I might still miss my flight. It may be a rookie mistake, but I was told by my airline that my bags would be checked all the way through. Instead, I was caught searching for my bags on the luggage carousel. I found my backpacking backpack first, then my new pink suitcase. I quickly grabbed them and rushed toward customs.  One step into my rush and the wheels on the pink suitcase broke off. 

Now, I was dragging my pink suitcase, loaded down with all of my other bags, and carrying the wheels with my pinky. At this point, I was snatching looks at my watch realizing that I had a very short amount of time to get to my connection. Flustered, hot, annoyed, and worried, I hoisted my pink suitcase up to the men at the customs' station and ungracefully gave them my backpack. Both of which were much too heavy to handle with a lack of sleep. Finally, after running through the airport once again, I made it to my final plane. 

I hiked the Cochise Stronghold--my favorite spot--as one of the first home-activities.

There was a decent adjustment to driving again since my transportation consisted of other people driving in Morocco. After scaring my boyfriend a bit on the highway, we spend some time at my parents' house. The lifestyle of rural living tends to be closer to the polychronic style found in Morocco; therefore, the adjustment period to the monochronic style found in most of the USA was extended.
For instance, when the sunset begins, we drop what we are doing and take sunset walks. This is mostly a tradition started by my grandmother because she loves sunsets.

Christmas day came along, we spend time together, and of course, took a family photo. I loved Morocco with the numerous learning experiences and adventures, but I sure did miss my family and friends. However, now, I have an entire country to miss and many new friends that I hope to meet again in the future.

As I went back to university life at Northern Arizona University, I noticed a few more 'reverse culture shock' moments. For instance, I feel as if students are not wearing nearly enough clothing and I forgot how many amazingly bright and diverse hair colors people rock. I think that I will readjust pretty quickly and also enjoy noticing aspects of my society that I didn't realize existed before. One of my professors in Morocco explained that people don't see a lot of aspects of their own society until they have seen another and returned to their own. Now, I know that is very true because I see many things that would have passed right over my head before. 

Last Minute Planning

My last weekend in Morocco coincided with finals week. Therefore, I went to Azrou (a town that is 30 minutes away) twice over the weekend. On the first trip to this small but wonderful city, I had a mission. If you read my first blog, you are aware that I traveled to Morocco with three bags: a purse, a school backpack, and a backpacking backpack. I knew from the beginning that I would need to buy a suitcase. My Moroccan friend told me that we could get a cheap suitcase at two places: the Ifrane souq (market) or in the little medina of Azrou. We had tried the souq in Ifrane a few separate weekends; however, we did not find anything at a price I was willing to pay. So he and I traveled to Azrou.

In the 30-minute taxi ride to Azrou, my friend quizzed me for my Arabic final. Upon arriving we walked down many streets until we found a place that was selling multiple suitcases. We asked the price and bargained a little then left to search for another place. We did not find another place so we returned and bargained for a lower price.

 Upon returning to campus I began the packing process. To my luck, one of my friends had a hand-held luggage scale. If you have the extra money for this tool I would strongly recommend it. It is portable, small, and you will help everyone tremendously. 

One thing that I will most likely miss about Morocco is the number of clean cats wandering the streets. These cats, for the most part, are very well taken care of but are free to roam.

 As our last outing together ended with a beautiful sunset and the act of taking pictures during the "golden hour."

The Blue Pearl: Chefchaouen (شفشاون)

 I now see why many claim that Chefchaouen is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  Almost all of the buildings are painted a shade of light blue and rolling mountains are their backdrop. The pictures that I took do not show the pure beauty of this city. You will have to discover that for yourself. 

 When we were in the pre-planning stage of our trip to Chefchaouen, we learned a valuable lesson. Chefchaouen is a very popular location for Moroccans and tourist alike. Therefore, the few buses that go to Chechaouen fill up quickly. Three of us went to the bus station to buy four tickets. We were excited to see a time that would work for all of us. However, upon selecting that time we became aware that only one seat remained. Our other two options fell between arriving to Chefchaouen at an extremely late hour of the night or leaving early in the morning before our classes were over. After contemplating the pros and cons of each time outside of the bus station, we finally settled on the morning option because we knew this would be our last trip to a new city.

The majority of our meals took at restaurants with roof-top seating because we wanted to take full advantage of seeing the city from above. At the first rooftop meal, we could see a mosque with a mountain back-drop and majority of the city. It because astonishingly beautiful as the sun began to set.   

After the sunset, the city came alive. Live music and lighthearted conversation floated around the streets. In general, this city is very lively, but as soon as the sun sets music and food seem to fill the main city square. On the first night, we tried snail and chickpeas from a food cart. The first sight of this food cart was interesting. A little boy was running the stand as well as he could because his father had gone to prayer. This child was spilling chickpea-water everywhere and dropping things, but he was trying so hard. As we got to the front of the line (the word line is not the correct term because it is more of a cluster) an older fellow came and said we needed to wait until the owner came back. Giving the little boy, who could barely see over the cart, a break we waited. Escargot is interesting. I tried it; I didn't hate it but I don't think I will ask or pay for it again. 

On a side note, Chefchaouen felt like one of the safest places to walk at night. It was beautiful and everyone was friendly and willing to help.

 The next day the sky was overcast, but that somehow made the city even more pretty. 

We spent most of our time walking around taking as many pictures as possible. 

This city was amazing. However, I do not recommend going during winter unless you have many layers to sleep in at night. The place that we stayed did not have heating, which after talking to some locals, we discovered is not uncommon in Chefchaouen. When it was time for sleep, we all put every coat, jacket, scarf, and even hats on for warmth. We half-jokingly proposed the idea of pushing two beds together and sharing it for body warmth. None of us took showers, instead, we did quick cleans. Why you may wonder? There wasn't hot water. Long story short, be prepared for the cold if you travel during the winter. I would imagine that a cold shower would feel quite nice during the summer months.

 

We walked a short distance from our hostel and got to witness a large line of sheep being herded across a bridge.

 The Kasbah is one of the few buildings in the city that is not blue. It is still magnificent to walk through because it has beautiful gardens and gives you some amazing sights of the city and surrounding mountains. 

In fact, the next ten photos are all taken from inside the Kasbah.

 

Our next adventure in this city was a moderate hike up the mountainside to the Spanish mosque. This mosque is the only building on that ridge of the mountain. Its white color stands out against the mountainside.

This is a picture of the Spanish mosque. Unfortunately, this angle had trees blocking the pristine building.

Before we walked up to the Spanish Mosque, we decided to walk along the trails of the rolling hills. We met a man walking along the trail. He was very pleasant and invited us to his house. Normally we would have accepted the invitation because it is culturally rude to refuse hospitality. However, he invited us to drink tea and smoke marijuana. An important thing to know about this city is that there is an abundance of marijuana being smoked. As far as my knowledge runs, it is, in fact, illegal in Morocco. Due to the fact that I am a rule-abiding citizen, and the idea of being arrested in a foreign country is terrifying, we promptly (as politely as possible) refused his invitation. We hiked to the Spanish mosque and away from the friendly man.

The views from the Spanish mosque are arguably the best views of the city.

On the hike back down we ran into a few little girls who were trying to sell flower necklaces to us. They were impressively made; eventually, we got guilted into buying the necklaces. As you can see they only fit as crowns. I so badly wanted to put it on this goat that we found but I couldn't get close enough to the goat.

I used the flower crown as a photo prop because, in my opinion, the contrast was astounding. Then I gave mine to a little girl who was running by because I knew that she would get more use out of it than I would.

 Our trip ended with sharing breakfast with some new found friends and then lunch at the location with the orange umbrellas in the picture above. After we finished eating they walked us to the bus and we said our goodbyes.