When I first told friends and family that I chose a study abroad program in a Muslim nation, in North Africa I got the characteristic ‘oh, that’s interesting’ reaction, though I knew that really they were experiencing one of two responses. The first being that they understood I was interested in more than the typical program, but still wondered why I didn’t choose a more ‘normal’ option; or they understood my reasoning and were supportive, but never would do it themselves.
Many didn’t even know where Morocco was- they only knew it was a Muslim nation and that meant certain things. I’d have to wear a hijab or other type of veil. I wouldn’t be able to interact with males, even on a peer level. I would be ostracized for my Christian beliefs. But the greatest concern I came across was for my safety- against Arab extremists, an idea that has recently occupied the American media and mindset. Truth be told, I wasn’t even sure what to expect. I had absorbed all of these perceptions simply by being around them. But what made me different was my awareness that these were stereotypes, and the only way I could combat them was to come and find out the truth on my own.
My studies at my home university deal a lot with stereotypes and discrimination and I hope to work with immigrants after graduation, so I chose a program that would give me a better understanding and hopefully break apart some stereotypes. So perhaps when I meet those from a culture other than my own my mind would not immediately go to the most accessible stereotype.
My studies and experiences in Meknés have given me this opportunity and more. I was able to encounter students from across the world who strive for an understanding similar to my own. I met head on my own stereotypes and encountered stereotypes against me.
Our group was invited to participate in a cultural night arranged by the Moroccan students. This night intended to exhibit the different cultures represented at our university, African and American alike. During the performances a few fundamentalist students attempted to break apart the program because their beliefs did not agree with what we were doing. Another time, towards the end of the semester, posters appeared that depicted offensive material to both the American students and the Jewish students on campus. Although both these events alarmed and distressed us we understood that these voiced positions were the opinions of few, and were precisely what needed to be addressed and changed for true cultural interaction.
The response of the Moroccan students offset the anxiety caused by the extreme actions of others. While things were being settled by the faculty the Moroccan students surrounding us repeatedly assured us how upset they were by these actions and how this wasn’t the view of typical Muslims and Moroccans. They wanted to make sure that we knew that we were welcome and that they valued the opportunity to share their culture with us, and for us to do the same.
These attitudes were further explored in a forum between the American and Moroccan students on the subject of stereotypes. The forum provided a safe and controlled space in which both sides could discuss existing stereotypes and what to do with them. It also allowed for keener insight into each culture, although on the course there were times when it was hard to let go of the rationales of one culture to see the side of the other. At one point a Moroccan student spoke about how one culture cannot heap judgments on another without first looking at itself with the same scrutiny. I was greatly encouraged by this, by the whole response of the Moroccans, and renewed my faith in cross cultural interaction.
Through this experience I was able to see just how important it was to develop a cultural competency. With a greater understanding and tolerance of different cultures, customs, and religions we can fight against the ignorance – both at home and abroad- that cripple relations. This is not something that can be learned from books or lectures, but something that needs to be experienced and action that needs to be taken. Now, I’m not saying that everyone needs to hop on the next plane to somewhere obscure and get knee-deep in peacemaking efforts, but do try and experience something new. Whether it is volunteering with immigrants, working in a soup kitchen, service projects, or even discussions with those from different political or religious affiliations, all I suggest is something to begin a process of understanding. Such efforts prove to be fatal to what stands between ignorance and cultural sensitivity.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
back home!
Hey all-
After a long and very exhausting travel experience I am home and glad of it. My traveling went smoothly for the most part, I caught a 2am train out of Meknes on Saturday morning and was able to get a few hours of sleep on the 5 hour trip up to Tangiers. From there I caught the 9a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain and got there at one in the afternoon with the 2 hour time difference. There I took a bus to Al-Gheciras and my travel buddy- a roommate from the ISA group- went our seperate ways. I took the bus to Malaga which took about 2.5 hours and got to the airport at about 5. My flight was not until 11a the following day but I was too cheap to pay for a room for the night so I stayed in the airport. For 18 hours! It was alright- the time went quickly- but when I tried fall asleep I began to regret my decision. I just couldn't get comfortable, but I made it through.
9a Sunday morning I went through security to catch my 11a flight to London, from there to Chicago, and then finally to Minneapolis. I got in around 11:30 at night - a full 52 hours, with time changes, after I set out from Meknes. I had a surprise waiting for me at the airport- 7 of my close friends and roommates came to welcome me, and I had one more waiting for me at home! It was so good to see so many people excited to have me back!
Well this will be my final post now that I'm back. Although the semester has had its down moments I am glad I had the experience. I don't know that I'd do it again, but I did learn alot while I was there. I learned alot about myself and became more sure of the person that I am. I'm glad that I chose a program that was a risk, not going somewhere "safe" and normal like England or Australia. Programs like that, excepting a few cases, seem too similar to home- like its a vacation rather than a learning expereince.
A community, to me, makes or breaks an experience, and I was spoiled by my roommates and environment at Bethel. My experience was less than it could have been because of the other students, excepting a few. I did become close with one of my roommates, and I'm glad that she was there to keep me sane!
I did enjoy most of my experience though. The last few weeks I met some Moroccan students that were really cool, and I wish that I had met them earlier in the semester! My professors made the experience memorable, if somewhat frusterating at times. I will miss many things about Morocco and its culture; I keep catching myself about to utter "Insha'llah" everytime someone talks about the future, ( Insha'llah is the Moroccan custom of saying "If God wills", and sometimes a handy exit strategy!) or the Arabic for thankyou, good morning or hello. It will take a bit to get readjusted to my life here, but I'm so glad to be home!
I'm working on getting pictures organized. Hopefully I will have some available when I run into you- at family gatherings or other visits. I want to thank you for your continued prayers this semester, and your following along through my blog and updates. Hopefully I will see you soon!
Im also putting in the next thread my paper that I wrote for one of my courses, as a reflection on a certain aspect of my experience.
After a long and very exhausting travel experience I am home and glad of it. My traveling went smoothly for the most part, I caught a 2am train out of Meknes on Saturday morning and was able to get a few hours of sleep on the 5 hour trip up to Tangiers. From there I caught the 9a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain and got there at one in the afternoon with the 2 hour time difference. There I took a bus to Al-Gheciras and my travel buddy- a roommate from the ISA group- went our seperate ways. I took the bus to Malaga which took about 2.5 hours and got to the airport at about 5. My flight was not until 11a the following day but I was too cheap to pay for a room for the night so I stayed in the airport. For 18 hours! It was alright- the time went quickly- but when I tried fall asleep I began to regret my decision. I just couldn't get comfortable, but I made it through.
9a Sunday morning I went through security to catch my 11a flight to London, from there to Chicago, and then finally to Minneapolis. I got in around 11:30 at night - a full 52 hours, with time changes, after I set out from Meknes. I had a surprise waiting for me at the airport- 7 of my close friends and roommates came to welcome me, and I had one more waiting for me at home! It was so good to see so many people excited to have me back!
Well this will be my final post now that I'm back. Although the semester has had its down moments I am glad I had the experience. I don't know that I'd do it again, but I did learn alot while I was there. I learned alot about myself and became more sure of the person that I am. I'm glad that I chose a program that was a risk, not going somewhere "safe" and normal like England or Australia. Programs like that, excepting a few cases, seem too similar to home- like its a vacation rather than a learning expereince.
A community, to me, makes or breaks an experience, and I was spoiled by my roommates and environment at Bethel. My experience was less than it could have been because of the other students, excepting a few. I did become close with one of my roommates, and I'm glad that she was there to keep me sane!
I did enjoy most of my experience though. The last few weeks I met some Moroccan students that were really cool, and I wish that I had met them earlier in the semester! My professors made the experience memorable, if somewhat frusterating at times. I will miss many things about Morocco and its culture; I keep catching myself about to utter "Insha'llah" everytime someone talks about the future, ( Insha'llah is the Moroccan custom of saying "If God wills", and sometimes a handy exit strategy!) or the Arabic for thankyou, good morning or hello. It will take a bit to get readjusted to my life here, but I'm so glad to be home!
I'm working on getting pictures organized. Hopefully I will have some available when I run into you- at family gatherings or other visits. I want to thank you for your continued prayers this semester, and your following along through my blog and updates. Hopefully I will see you soon!
Im also putting in the next thread my paper that I wrote for one of my courses, as a reflection on a certain aspect of my experience.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
end of the semester
Hey everyone. Sorry for taking such a long time. The connection has not been too great and there has just not been that much to write about, until this past week.
We'll this will be my last post from Morocco. I leave on Saturday on an epic train and ferry ride to catch my flight out of Spain Sunday morning. I'm not a fan of long train and ferry rides, but as this is the last I will be taking in what I can only imagine will be a very very long time, I think I can muster through.
This next week is full of exams and final meetings, very busy. I have got my two part Arabic exam on Monday and Tuesday so please keep me in your prayers as I attempt to remember all that I have (briefly) covered in my classes. The other exams for my Gender Studies and Art courses will just be short answer reactions, which I can handle.
Well the events of the past week have been pretty intense. On Wednesday we arrived on campus and there was a large banner, perhaps 4x5 ft, professionally done and hung on a wall. It had some images that depicted America in a pretty harsh way, the Statue with skull face, soldiers, and a footprint stamped on the globe. In red, gory font was "America: terrorism throughout the world" written in both English and Arabic. Those of us who saw this were shaken up, but remembering the sorts of people that we have interacted with throughout our stay on campus and in Morocco at large we understood that this mindset was the extremist one, and that it was not the view of most. One of our students, who is involved in the military back home, lost his self-control and got really angered by this picture, and went around campus ranting in a way that I'm sure whoever put the poster up wanted. We had to get him back to our classroom so he could regain his temper and his control. It was a very emotionally and mentally exhausting few days that the poster remained up. But we did get many students coming up and apologizing to us, and I have to say that I am proud of the way that most of us handled this.
While this was up there were posters in other places against the Jewish population in Morocco, which is significant and many Jewish students also attend the university. Based on the event at the cultural fair - my march 20th post- we knew that there were a few fundamentalist students on campus who believe in the separation of the Islamic community, they do not like the interaction with other cultures that Moulay Ismail University encourages. But because of these events I was encouraged that what path I am pursuing, in my studies and in my faith, is the right one. Without interaction and communication there is no way to break down the stereotypes and barriers that create such beliefs as the fundamentalists and that seperate our cultures.
Before this event happened we were planning a forum between Moroccan and American students, and had already decided on a topic of Stereotypes. But I was extremely encouraged by this forum, which happened just this Friday in the wake of these protests. Though there were some students- on both sides- who did not want to let go of there stereotypes, and who saw the forum as a place to make their opinion known, the majority of the discussion dealt with how we need to confront these stereotypes and break them down to move past and to really understand another. It was just a comfort to me, that even though the semester was not what I expected or what I hoped there was a reason I came, if only to renew my conviction and my purpose.
I will admit that this semester has been a tough one. I had been looking forward to my semester abroad for so long and I experienced so much trouble getting here that I thought my trip must have God's hand on it, but it was hard. I constantly felt off, and I wondered why it couldn't have just been amazing through and through. I missed home and my friends constantly, and my experience here perhaps has not been one of the best times. But I do feel now at the end I have taken something, even if it is just a renewed purpose and a new appreciation for what I do have at home. I can't wait to get back and see everyone again!
* also for my gender Studies class I have to write a paper and I am writing it about cultural competency in light of the past events. when that is done I will post it for you!
We'll this will be my last post from Morocco. I leave on Saturday on an epic train and ferry ride to catch my flight out of Spain Sunday morning. I'm not a fan of long train and ferry rides, but as this is the last I will be taking in what I can only imagine will be a very very long time, I think I can muster through.
This next week is full of exams and final meetings, very busy. I have got my two part Arabic exam on Monday and Tuesday so please keep me in your prayers as I attempt to remember all that I have (briefly) covered in my classes. The other exams for my Gender Studies and Art courses will just be short answer reactions, which I can handle.
Well the events of the past week have been pretty intense. On Wednesday we arrived on campus and there was a large banner, perhaps 4x5 ft, professionally done and hung on a wall. It had some images that depicted America in a pretty harsh way, the Statue with skull face, soldiers, and a footprint stamped on the globe. In red, gory font was "America: terrorism throughout the world" written in both English and Arabic. Those of us who saw this were shaken up, but remembering the sorts of people that we have interacted with throughout our stay on campus and in Morocco at large we understood that this mindset was the extremist one, and that it was not the view of most. One of our students, who is involved in the military back home, lost his self-control and got really angered by this picture, and went around campus ranting in a way that I'm sure whoever put the poster up wanted. We had to get him back to our classroom so he could regain his temper and his control. It was a very emotionally and mentally exhausting few days that the poster remained up. But we did get many students coming up and apologizing to us, and I have to say that I am proud of the way that most of us handled this.
While this was up there were posters in other places against the Jewish population in Morocco, which is significant and many Jewish students also attend the university. Based on the event at the cultural fair - my march 20th post- we knew that there were a few fundamentalist students on campus who believe in the separation of the Islamic community, they do not like the interaction with other cultures that Moulay Ismail University encourages. But because of these events I was encouraged that what path I am pursuing, in my studies and in my faith, is the right one. Without interaction and communication there is no way to break down the stereotypes and barriers that create such beliefs as the fundamentalists and that seperate our cultures.
Before this event happened we were planning a forum between Moroccan and American students, and had already decided on a topic of Stereotypes. But I was extremely encouraged by this forum, which happened just this Friday in the wake of these protests. Though there were some students- on both sides- who did not want to let go of there stereotypes, and who saw the forum as a place to make their opinion known, the majority of the discussion dealt with how we need to confront these stereotypes and break them down to move past and to really understand another. It was just a comfort to me, that even though the semester was not what I expected or what I hoped there was a reason I came, if only to renew my conviction and my purpose.
I will admit that this semester has been a tough one. I had been looking forward to my semester abroad for so long and I experienced so much trouble getting here that I thought my trip must have God's hand on it, but it was hard. I constantly felt off, and I wondered why it couldn't have just been amazing through and through. I missed home and my friends constantly, and my experience here perhaps has not been one of the best times. But I do feel now at the end I have taken something, even if it is just a renewed purpose and a new appreciation for what I do have at home. I can't wait to get back and see everyone again!
* also for my gender Studies class I have to write a paper and I am writing it about cultural competency in light of the past events. when that is done I will post it for you!
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