{"id":16661,"date":"2014-08-14T15:12:31","date_gmt":"2014-08-14T19:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=16661"},"modified":"2014-08-14T15:12:31","modified_gmt":"2014-08-14T19:12:31","slug":"marvels-of-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/08\/14\/marvels-of-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"Marvels of Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alyssa Brown played up her limited funds to score a tunic in Rabat. Andrew Broedel shared an American cigarette to seal a deal on a turban in the Sahara.<\/p>\n

The Middle Eastern studies minors \u2013 among 15 UMW students on a summer trip to Morocco \u2013 learned to barter for treasures in the Islamic country. But Brown and Broedel, raised post-9\/11 with suspicion swirling around anything Muslim, gained something even more valuable from the travel-abroad experience \u2013 perspective.<\/p>\n

\"Alyssa<\/a>
Alyssa Brown ’15 was among 15 UMW students visiting Morocco this summer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI realized as soon as we got there that Moroccans are so friendly that it\u2019s kind of uncomfortable at first,\u201d said Broedel, who doesn\u2019t smoke but bought the cigarettes at the airport on a hunch about haggling. \u201cRight off the bat they are the sweetest people on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

About 300 UMW students study in foreign countries each year. Even more may get to, thanks to a university effort, in conjunction with the Institute of International Education, to double the number of Americans who study abroad by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n

For Brown, a senior who wants to work with non-governmental organizations, and Broedel, who graduated in May and hopes to land a museum position, the Morocco trip was a life- and, hopefully, career-building affair.<\/p>\n

\"UMW<\/a>
UMW students pose at Volipolis during their two-week trip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt provided students with an important opportunity to see and experience a very different set of cultures,\u201d said Associate Professor of Geography Farhang Rouhani, who led the late-June excursion.<\/p>\n

In tandem, he helped form Urban Field Studies in Morocco. The course paired students\u2019 journal entries from the trip with readings and research about the culture, economics and politics of the North African country.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d learned about the sweltering heat of the Sahara Desert and the diverse topography of the Atlas Mountains. They\u2019d read of the bustling Medina of Marrakesh, the region\u2019s largest market square, and heard of the monkey handlers and snake charmers who work its winding alleyways.<\/p>\n

But classes and textbooks could take them only so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely a learning experience,\u201d said Brown, who saw sheep heads piled high on butcher-shop counters and chickens beheaded in the street. \u201cIt was just so different.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a woman, she was warned to expect unfair treatment in the nation, which blends Arab, Berber, African and European influences. But that didn\u2019t happen, Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say I get more harassment here in the U.S. than I ever got in Morocco.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they traveled the country \u2013 visiting Casablanca, Meknes, Tangier, Fes and other sites \u2013 they found beauty. The tiered Ouzoud waterfalls in Azilal. The shifting hues of blue in Chefchaouen. The syrupy taste of Moroccan mint tea.<\/p>\n

\"Professor<\/a>
Professor Rouhani, left, poses with Andrew Broedel ’14 in Rabat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The food was \u201camazing,\u201d said Broedel, whose favorite was harira, a stew made of vegetables, lentils and chickpeas and associated with Ramadan. The group dined on the hearty dish on the first day of the Islamic holy month, which fell on their last day in Morocco.<\/p>\n

For Brown and Broedel, who both study Arabic, it was a fitting finale to the two-week adventure that taught them so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an understanding of the people, of the culture, of the language,\u201d Broedel said. \u201cI think it\u2019s the perfect way to tie together everything you\u2019ve learned in class.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A faculty-led trip to the Islamic Country gave Alyssa Brown \u201915 valuable perspective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":16671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,81],"tags":[59],"class_list":{"0":"post-16661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"category-umw-home","9":"tag-geography","10":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMarvels of Morocco - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/08\/14\/marvels-of-morocco\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/14\\\/marvels-of-morocco\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/14\\\/marvels-of-morocco\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"Marvels of Morocco\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-14T19:12:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/14\\\/marvels-of-morocco\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":583,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/14\\\/marvels-of-morocco\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/Morocco_HP.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Geography\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\",\"UMW Home Page\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/14\\\/marvels-of-morocco\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/14\\\/marvels-of-morocco\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/08\\\/14\\\/marvels-of-morocco\\\/\",\"name\":\"Marvels of Morocco - 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