B’salama Morocco

This intricate type of mosaic tile-work features Islamic geometric patterns and is specific to Morocco.

I’ve seen murals in almost every city I’ve visited. The art scene here is so rich and beautiful.

Sometimes I drink it up to three times a day. You can add vervain, citron, and other herbs to the tea, always served hot and poured to create bubbles.

You can find hand-crafted tagines, bowls, cups, plates, all glazed and painted in beautiful shades anywhere. One time, I stopped on the side of the road and found this little ceramic shops and got mini tagines for 10 dirhams, about $1 each.

This is the real, OG couscous. It’s small grained, fluffy, and only eaten on Fridays. Hands down my favorite Moroccan meal.

A lot of people think Morocco is all desert, but it’s actually home to beautiful falls, lush forests, and natural caves.

As any dominantly Muslim country, the call to prayer is beautifully recited five times a day. You can hear it across the city, as people stop what they’re doing and go to the mosque to pray. It shows how people make time for God everyday.

I’ll never forget these extremely comfortable, ornate couches, which can double as beds. They are the center of a Moroccan house and determine the theme of the living room.

I have been living with them for the past four months and have never felt more loved. The are the epitome of Moroccan hospitality and helped me with my Arabic and Darija immensely. I will miss them dearly.

The conversion rate from dollars to dirhams is really low, so you get more dirhams for your dollar. My average lunch (salad and an entree) would cost about 15-30 dirhams, which is about $1.50 to $3. Living in Europe way more expensive than in Morocco, that’s why I stuck to traveling to Europe instead.

A term coined that combines “family” with “Amideast,” the name of our program. These are the people I’ve had intellectual conversations with, traveled with, they’ve seen me in my best and worst states, and I’ve created friendships that I’ll hold on to for the rest of my life. Traveling really does test friendships and you find yourself crossing boundaries that you’d never imagine yourself crossing.

All of my daily interactions in my home and on the streets are in Arabic or Darija (the Moroccan colloquial tongue), I watch TV in Arabic, listen to Arabic music, etc. Living in a country that speaks your target language is the best way to truly learn and improve and it makes the learning process much easier.

You can find anything from fake Yeezy’s to organic argan oil here. I have never had a dull moment in the souq; the immersion of various sights, smells, people are all part of the shopping experience. What’s fascinating is every Medina is unique to each city. In Essaouira, a small beach town, the Medina has wide streets and many seafood stalls. Fes has the largest Medina and extremely narrow alleyways, used as a protection mechanism to confuse invaders.