I was so nervous to interact with Moroccan high school students, worrying what they would think of me, would they treat me funny, would they turn away from me, would I be “cool” or interesting enough for them. I can imagine that is exactly what it’s like to be in a country, or any environment, that is new to you!
They instantly were kind, caring, smiling, and completely interested in talking with us!
A few things about the students in Morocco: they love to take selfies, they really like my tattoos, they love to talk about what they want to do after high school, many are interested in becoming doctors, lawyers, and engineers, they care a lot about their education, and they really like to laugh! Here are some pictures:
A few things about Moroccan schools in Rabat:
*The students have to work really hard to pass the tests, which is what they have to do to be successful in life and graduate.
*They aren’t allowed to have outsiders come in unless they go through an extensive process.
*Classrooms are quite plain with the walls often drawn upon, and the school itself is set up like an American college campus. Teachers write on a chalkboard!
*High school is grades 10 through 12 and is only for those motivated students (others drop out before).
*There is no room in the schedule, or money in the budget, for arts, music, or PE, and classrooms often have up to 45 students.
*A few schools have clubs that include music and theatre, and these students love it!
*Lots of students in Rabat, the capital, do sports outside of school.
The chocolate looks delisoush 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
Ives class was interested in your comment about the students going home for lunch. They asked if many of the moms have jobs? Or do the stay home? They want to know if Morocco have rainbows?
These are great questions. About going home for lunch, a lot of employees go home for lunch also. Meals are slow cooked and it takes a long time to get that amazing flavor. There are some moms who stay home yes, especially if they have young children. It is important in Moroccan culture to spend time with family. I haven’t seen any daycare centers as a result of the connectedness with family, which comes first over jobs. About rainbows? It doesn’t rain here often, so I don’t believe they see may rains. Maybe some of the Moroccan students who are now on this blog too can answer that question.
Do you see any buddy playing football🏈🏈😭😭😶😶😱😱
Do you see any puppy’s🐶🐶
Not American football, but yes football here (which is soccer). I haven’t seen puppies, although I have seen a few dogs. They look about the same. I do see a lot of cats often though.
Do yo see anybody playing basketball🏀😑😤🤔
Today I did see a large place where there were several basketball hoops and lots of games being played. It was all boys; I haven’t heard of any girls playing basketball. There are some students I met who absolutely love basketball. Lots of students have asked if we in Alaska have any professional sports teams and they were surprised we didn’t.
Do some of the people move out the country
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Yes, because it was colonized by the French and french is taught in school. It is not uncommon for people to love to France. Unfortunately, France right now is having some political challenges and is not very welcoming for Muslim people right now, which is really sad. They are amazingly calm and peaceful people.
I 😍The🐫And the 🐠🐟🐟🐠🐠
I am glad you enjoyed! I have so much more to share!
I 😍The🐫And the 🐠🐟🐟🐠🐠
I do too!
have you been to there army ?
I have seen some military men walking around making sure the city is safe. There is a lot of protection here from the military and the police. It is quite safe to go out walking around.
What is the art like
Lots of designs in so many places and colorful, while being peaceful. I will show some when I get back!
Do the people have apartments
Yes, many people live in apartments. Housing is a complicated situation to explain and much easier to share in person. Remind me and I will discuss it.
Hi miss Carton where in marocco do you live?🌍🌎
I started off in the capital city of Rabat, and then traveled about 8 hours down to a city called Agadir, which was on the Atlantic Ocean, for a week. Now I am back in the capital city and today I ventured off to Casablanca, which was the location for an old filmed, also called Casablanca. It has the largest Mosque in Africa (maybe even the world).
What are the dogs like and do the pigs fly?
Huh? I am not sure what your question means. There are no pigs here, it is against the religion. I haven’t been close enough to the dogs to know much about them
Do they use cars?
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Yep, and lots of them. You have to be 18 to get a license, but the training isn’t so great. People are somewhat crazy drivers compared to where we live, it takes some getting used to for sure. I am honestly not sure I would drive here. It is much easier to take a train, a bus, a driving service, a plane for longer travel, or a taxi, or even what they call a grand taxi (which is a taxi that goes longer distances). Many of the cars are smaller and they MUST be good on gas (so no SUV’s or big trucks) because gas is about $5.00 a gallon (twice what it is in Alaska). Gas is one of the only expensive things here in Morocco, actually. I took lots of pictures of different types of cars. I will create a blog post on transportation soon!
What did u learn so far at school?
I have learned so much. When teaching in English, which is a foreign language here, I need to speak slow, and use pictures and gestures with my hands. Also, I learned that English can be quite challenging to learn. I learned that Arabic is a lot like Calligraphy and is very pretty looking. I learned that students all over the world love to learn and react well to humor and are excited to try something new. I have learned some of the challenges with schools here and how they compare to challenges in schools in Alaska, too.
Is it fun in Morocco 🇲🇦? 🤘🤘
SO MUCH fun. The music, the people, the dancing, the culture. I cannot wait to share. There are music instruments used that I didn’t even know existed!
How is it in Morocco 🇲🇦? 🔥🔥🔥🤘🤘🤘😜😜😜
Oh and I like the camel slefie🐪🐪😉
Thanks! He slobbered on me though and it smelled terrible
Alleyxs👋🏻 It looks so amazing! You should of took me with you! Lol 💁🏼 What is the 🎸music🎷 like? How is the food their? 🌮🍔🍕🌯🍟 I heard you rode a camel, all I imagine is going up down up down for a long period of time. 🐪🐪🐪 So I heard that their are stray 🐱s there. Is the people their really friendly?🤔 So thanks and talk to me as soon as you can. BYE! 🤗 🙋🏼
Did you ever find out what the words on the mountain meant?
Yes I did. Arabic is read from right to left, instead of left to right like english. It says, “God, King, Country” which is the order of importance in Islamic faith.
Did you ever figure out what that symbol means???🤔
The star on the flag is the 5 pillars of Islam. The color of the star represents peace and nature, and the red symbolizes faith and devotion and the blood that would be spilled to protect the country. Meaning that people would risk their lives to save their country. It is quite powerful. Although I asked several people what the flag meant and got a few different answers
D’Aunna-Are there lots of monkeys there?🐵🙈🙉🙊🐒
Abril- Are the beaches awesome there???🚤⛵️⛴🛥🛳🏖🏝🌊
The beaches are amazing because the water is warm! I didn’t have enough time to actually go play in the ocean though, bummer. There are no monkeys here, that would be farther down in Africa. A ways back they used to have more wild animals, like crocodiles and lions, but those animals all left the areas as the forests were cut down, water became more scarce, and the people stated building cities. In the forests though there are gazelles and I am told sometimes dolphins can be seen out in the ocean. I think it’s sad that because of people, animals aren’t around anymore. That is happening all over the world.
Mallory’s class asked. Do the olives taste like our olives? Do you ride on camels?
The olives here are amazing! They taste way better than at home. I will see if I bring some olives back home. The olives do have pits in them though. My favorites so far has been the tuna (not from a can), eggplant (Zaalook) and chicken tagine. The food here is so amazing. For lunch I ate a salad that has potatoes on it, which is common. They also like eggs which are always fresh from the chickens.
I did ride a camel last night, just for you guys! It was 6 feet tall at the part where I rode. Wow, I felt like I was up high and on a carnival ride. The camel’s name was Mustafah and she loved giving kisses! I see lots of pack mules that pull carts for the riders. I have been trying to gets pictures of them, but I didn’t want to be rude and when we are in the car and see them, it is hard to get a picture!
Thanks for great questions!
Do people get the venom out of snakes when they do snake charming
Yes they do, also the teeth are removed. That seems kind of sad to me. I learned that snake charming is just for tourists and the snake charmers will come to you for money if you video tape or take pictures of. The charmers are doing it as a job and are entertainers.
Drewry’s class asked: Where do you sleep – in a bed or on the floor?
I have been sleeping in a bed, although in some rural places, some people do sleep on the floor on lots of blankets. The beds aren’t as soft as those in the U.S. though. I miss my bed at home.
Mims class asks are the cats there smaller than ours?
Many of the cats are a lot smaller because many of the cats are wild and they are skinny because they only eat scraps they can find. Maybe the cats in people’s homes are larger, I will have to ask. Great question! Keep asking awesome questions.
How our things in Moroco 😌😌
The people here are amazingly nice and friendly. They have strong values and beliefs and they work very hard. The views are amazing and I am learning so much. I am also learning not to judge other people by what is normal for me. That is very important.
What do you eat
Food….and lot of it. There will be a food post coming soon!
How many schools are there in Morocco
That’s a great question. I am actually not sure. There are about 40 million people in Morocco, so you can imagine there are a lot of schools!
We have dogs and cats 🐱 🐶 What pets do you have there
They have the same! and hamsters and small birds. One young guy had a camel, which was different!
Do you have dogs there 😍😍😍😍🤔😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🤔🤔🤔😍😍
Yes, but I haven’t seen many. Dogs don’t have to be on leashes, they can roam free.
Do you have canoes there😂😅😄😇🤗
There are kayaks to rent at the other end of the beach, but I haven’t seen them yet. It is not as common like in the United States to canoe and kayak.
Hi miss carton
How are you
Hi Jojo, thanks for writing. I hope you are enjoying the blog and seeing my adventures. I will share more when I get back!
Are the market outside
There are several markets that are outside and many that are like a garage style that is open on the wall facing the street. There are also stores that are like what we are familiar with.
Why do they always wear the scarfs
It is a part of their religion to wear the hijab. Some families are more conservative and some are less. In the school, you can see a mix of both. In the rural communities, and the farther away from big cities, the more conservative people dress. Today, I went to an amazing festival and there were thousands of people there, trekking up the rough terrain just to get to the mountain top, and all the women were dressed in coverings.
What do they have for pets?🐶🐍
Same as we do! Dogs, cats, hamsters, and birds
Do you guys have beds blanckets and cars
There are lots of cars here, but most of them are small. The cost of gas is about $5.00 a gallon (which is two times what we pay) so I haven’t seen a lot of big trucks or SUV’s. I took a lot of picture of cars to share with you. There are some super cute cars in my opinion. The native people of Morocco, called Tamazight (also known as Berber), I am told, sleep on a bed of blankets on the floor. They have lots of blankets and beautiful colors on all of them!
What do you guys where and eat
Today I went up in the hills to a very traditional, conservative village to attend a festival to celebrate women. I wore traditional clothing that covered me all up except my face. We eat a combination of french food and traditional Moroccan food (tagine). We also eat a lot of vegetables like avocado, eggplant, carrots, and more.
How much does the necklace and bracelets cost
,are a hey free or do they cost money/change???👻
What animals do they have?
Jewelry costs money everywhere because they people who make them need to paid also. Silver is a lot less expensive here though and I got a cool ring I will show you. The animals I have seen are camels, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, pigeons, and cranes in a nest on the light post! There is a crocodile park, but we didn’t get a chance to visit.
What do kids learn in Moroco?
The subjects they study are similar to ours. One exception is they study islamic religion. They don’t have art in school, and P.E. is called “sports” instead. They also don’t have library class or music class. Many of the students are still really into art and music and the culture is filled with great art, they just learn it from home instead of school, like we do.
What do kids learn in Moroco?
Angelisa asked the same question. Look at her post to see my response 🙂
Do they do art class??😊
They actually learn art from home, because they have a culture that has a lot of art and design. Many students do art on their now time and I have some great art to show you!
What temperature is it normaly in Morocco?
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An amazing temperature! This time of year it is about 65-75 degrees. At night it does get quite cold and the wind can get chilly.
Schewe class here
Is it hot there
That depends on what you call hot. It was a bit warmer yesterday, at about 75 degree and today about 68 degrees. Perfect weather if you ask me
What kinds of fruit do you guys eat?
Great question! Lots of oranges and bananas. Today I saw a cactus fruit, but I didn’t try it because I had a tummy ache and was told it is sour. We also eat a lot of mango, too! Dates are common here and they are eaten with almonds tucked inside
Schewe’s class here
What do the people eat in morroco?
😊🤔
Lots of amazing food! I am going to do a food post here very soon. See my post about the fish market!
How does is feel like being in Morraco?
Are the students in Morraco much like the students here in Anchorage?
What do the students do in Morraco?
About how many students are in Morraco?
Like in any new environment, it feels uncertain to not know how to be, what is familiar, and to experience so much newness all at once. But, the people are so welcoming and the students so excited to work with us. I have had many students special greeting, which I will show when I get back. The students in Morocco like a lot of similar things and define peace in very similar ways. Peace to many students here means no war, new friendships, and respect for each other. Sound familiar? Students here like basketball, hanging out with friends, spending time with family, eating, and going to the beach. In Morocco, I am not sure how many students there are, but in the school I have been teaching in this week, there are 1,000 students between grades 10th-12th. I can’t wait to share the adventures and what they made for us!
How many classes are in 1 grade?
I think each school is different. I have been teaching in high school so far, and presented at a university, and taught in a Language Center which is like extra classes on the weekends.
Do students learn other languages?
The students here are so smart because they learn and know so many languages. When they are at home (from when they are born), they learn Moroccan Arabic and many also speak a language called Tamazight (also known as Berber) which is the language of the native people to Morocco. It is a really hard language to read, but looks really awesome. I am bringing home a Tamazight graphic novel type book to show you all!
In 1st grade students learn Standard Arabic (which is a lot different) and then elementary school students in grade 3 on up, learn french, and in high school they can choose to learn English.
It’s amazing to hear all the beautiful language. When they learn English, they do so well.
How many students are in 1 class ?
I will find out how many are in elementary classrooms tomorrow!
How many kids are in the class
Tomorrow I get to find out how many students are in elementary classes!
How many kids are in the class
The classes we have been teaching have been around 30-40 students per class. They are so nice and so welcoming and often I hear them say, “Welcome to our country, we are happy to have you,” which makes me feel so welcome. They are excited to get to know Alaska students also.
Do you miss us
You all know I miss being away from you all, but look forward to all that I get to share with you when I get back! Just a few more days until I begin my loooong trek back to Alaska.