Class of 2008
Major: Society, Technology and Policy / International Studies (Double Major)
Project Center: Ifrane, Morocco
Major Qualifying Project: Moroccan migration to Spain and its economic and political ramifications on both countries.
Virginia Ward
October 25, 2007
It has been a long and exciting term in Morocco, but I am glad to finally be home. The last few days in Morocco were much busier than I had expected. Between packing, studying for finals and finishing up my MQP, I didn't have a whole lot of time to think back on the term and everything I had experienced in Morocco. Looking back on it now, it's a little hard to believe that it all actually happened!
During the last few days it was a bit of a struggle to memorize all the Arabic I had learned during the term. Everything started to click toward the end of the term, thankfully. All those weeks of seeing and hearing Arabic everywhere really came in handy. I ended up doing fairly well on both the final and the class as a whole. I'm glad I can take away some basic Arabic skills from the whole experience. The trick now is to see if I can manage to remember and build on everything I learned at AUI outside of an Arabic-speaking environment.
It should be much easier for me to continue learning about Islamic Civilization than studying Arabic back in Worcester. Since I was only in the class for half of the term, I still have several hundred years of Islamic history and culture to read about on my own. Even with the basic background I gained at AUI, I have already discovered that I have a better understanding of the news articles I read everyday. I definitely gained quite a bit practical knowledge that I am looking forward to building upon.
My MQP is finally finished and I am very proud of my final product. I was able to cover a lot of ground in my paper including the history of interaction between Morocco and Spain, the background and relevance of Moroccan migration to Spain, and the growing problem of Sub-Saharan Africans using Morocco as a conduit to migrate to Spain. I discovered that this topic as a whole is of great importance to both Spain and Morocco and has many layers of complexity. Though I wrote about the major issues involved, it would take years to uncover everything there is to know about migration to Spain. It was a bit tricky balancing my class work and my MQP, but somehow everything wrapped up very well.
My trip back to the States began the day before my flight. I had a morning flight out of Casablanca, about 4 ½ hours from Ifrane, so most of the other WPI students and I left the day before and stayed overnight in Casablanca. It was hard to say goodbye to all the other international students I had met at AUI. Most are staying for a semester, some for a whole year, so we were the only group to leave before the end of the term. I was excited to go to Casablanca, not only because it meant that I was a little bit closer to home, but also I wanted to see if the city looked any different after spending 7 weeks exploring other parts of Morocco. After driving into the city and walking around the same area I had been during my first few days in Morocco, I found that Casablanca was a bit different than I had remembered. I was much more comfortable walking around the medina after visiting other cities and was able to navigate the streets much easier. It was still exciting to see the city, but it did not seem quite as foreign as it had only a few weeks ago.
For my flight back to the U.S., I was fortunate to be flying with 4 other WPI students. The 8 hour flight was made a little more comfortable by the fact that we were all able to sit together and the flight was only about a quarter full. Since we left the day before Ramadan ended, most Moroccans were traveling be with family, not going on business trips or vacation to the U.S and about half of the people on the flight were Americans traveling home. Though it was a little lengthy, the flight was one of the best I have ever been on. I was glad that the last of my travels ended well and I could take a lot of good memories with me.
Readjusting to life at home hasn't been too difficult. It took a little while to get used to seeing everything in English again and getting over the jet-lag, but otherwise it was pretty easy slipping back into life at home. I also had some time to look back on everything that I saw and experienced in Morocco and process what had just happened. Even after spending some time away from Morocco, I still have a hard time believing that I was actually at all the places I have pictures of and saw all of these things I had only read about. It will probably take me a while to realize what has actually happened. After coming home, it was especially nice to have a few days off before starting life at WPI again. After spending two terms in a row away, it will be nice to get back to a regular routine on campus and starting back with classes and activities.
My time in Morocco was truly an interesting journey and I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to write to all of you about my experiences.
-Virginia
October 11, 2007
It's hard to believe I'm leaving Morocco in only a few days. It has been a long and interesting few weeks, but I think I'm finally ready to get back to my life in the US. There is still quite a bit left for me to accomplish before flying out including 2 finals, finishing up my MQP, and figuring out how to pack everything into two not so large suitcases. Although I am glad to be going home, I will miss the people I've met here and some of the beautiful places I've been to. Even though this term has flown by, I feel like I've been in Morocco for a very long time.
October 4, 2007
This week, it started to feel like I'm really leaving Morocco soon. Every once and a while I have a look at my calendar to see how many days are left, and was startled when I saw how few are truly left. I've seen a lot of Morocco and have had some amazing experiences in my short time here. I'm starting to get excited about the prospect of going home, but I know I will miss Morocco once I'm home. This week things started to feel like they were winding down with the final drafts of my paper and talk of finals in class. Though I have had 3 years of experience with them, 7 week terms still seem to go by very quickly!
September 27, 2007
We just finished our fifth week in Morocco. It's hard to believe how fast time went by! With only two or so weeks left, everyone is working to complete their research. All of the other WPI students back at home are working on their Humanities and Arts practicum. These are done individually and provide a link between previous Humanities and Arts class work to form a cohesive unit. Student project topics range from Arabic calligraphy to women in Islam to Jews in Morocco. Being in Morocco, traveling around the country, and being immersed in the environment, has been a great asset for all the projects.
September 21, 2007
Not that much has changed in the past week. My classes and project work are continuing to go well and I'm trying to pick up more Arabic everyday. The biggest change this week has been the start of Ramadan. I knew about Ramadan before coming to Morocco, but I have learned far more about living here during it. Ramadan ends the day after we leave for the U.S., so things will be a little different on campus for the rest of our stay in Morocco.
September 13, 2007
Since my time in Morocco is about half over, I'm really getting into my project work and classes. I'm also discovering more about Morocco. Parliamentary elections were held last Friday in Morocco. We had the day out of class and drove to Marrakesh. Along the way, we saw people taking donkey-led carts and trucks to polling places in the many small towns we passed. It was interesting to see how voting takes place in another country. Ramadan also starts on the 12th. This is a holy month for Islam, consisting of fasting and introspection. I've heard about how life on campus changes during this month, so I'm interested in seeing what it entails.
September 7, 2007
The biggest part of this past week has been acclimating myself to both Morocco and the university. The newness of living here has worn off a bit and I'm starting to get into a routine with classes, homework and project work. Wednesday was the first day of classes at AUI. I started to feel much more at home here once the school year started. I still learn something new everyday on campus, but I'm pretty much adjusted to life on campus.
August 29, 2007
I'm Virginia Ward and for this A-term I will be blogging about my experience in Morocco. I will be completing my International Studies MQP at Al-Akhawayn University (AUI) in Ifrane, Morocco. First, I should tell you a little bit about myself. I am a senior, double majoring in Society, Technology and Policy and International Studies from East Haven, Connecticut. While at WPI, I completed my Humanities Project in London, England and my IQP in Windhoek, Namibia this past D term. Studying abroad has been an important part of my WPI experience and I am very excited to be able to complete my third and final project in Morocco.
