Settling In
Morocco Week One
Hello Friends,
The first week back in Rabat has felt like homecoming; I really love this city. Upon return, I have been acting as a tour guide for the Fulbright cohort, showing them how to get around comfortably and giving recommendations. The Fulbright cohort is made up of awesome people, and although I have only just met them, I can tell I’ll be making some good friendships.
This post will not be as picture heavy — I’ve avoided being a screenager, which as led me to taking less pictures — I hope you can forgive me. More videography will be coming soon.
Roots Academy
I enrolled at the language school Roots Academy and had my first lesson today. I’m doing four hours of Arabic — two hours of Moroccan Darija and two hours of Modern Standard Arabic (Fusha/MSA) — daily Monday through Thursday.
Learning Darija from MSA has been an easier transition. After one day, I already have enacted the basics of saying hello, ordering coffee, and introducing myself. Moroccans have given me a thousand Marhabas and welcomes, and I’ve been giving them in return Alf Shukrans. My favorite sentence is “I don’t speak French.” I’ve learned that you don’t use French if you want to become friends with someone, so I guess I am lucky.
Working one on one with Ustaadh (Professor) Yasiin has been a real pleasure, even though today was only the first day. We’re working on reading together, going through a packet of Arabic travel literature. This intersection between my research and language learning is a real treat. More to report soon, and hopefully this good streak continues, god-willing.
The Apartment Search
After Orientation with the fellow Fulbrighters, I moved out of the hotel and stayed at a youth hostel for two nights. For $7 a night, I got a good deal, but the cleanliness of the bathrooms did match the price. For Auberge de Jeunesse (literally translating to Youth Hostel), there was an incredible amount of grown men there; I find humor in that irony. “The Snake Guy” — Calvin — and I became close after a weekend at the Grown Man Hostel. He’s researching snake venom: who knew herpetology was that deep?
The apartment search was decently quick. I found a studio in Hassan, a nice neighborhood, for a fair price. While others were able to negotiate, I was not, but that is okay. It’s a little bit more expensive than I hoped, but I’m getting what I’m paying for. For privacy reasons, I’m excluding images from this post, but if you want to see, just respond and let me know personally.
Research
I started reading secondary literature on my research topic: (post)colonial tourism in Morocco. Here’s what I’ve been reading:
Cleveland, Todd. A History of Tourism in Africa: Exoticization, Exploitation, and Enrichment (Africa in World History Series). Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2021.
Miller, Susan G. A History of Modern Morocco. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Hunter, F. Robert. “Manufacturing Exotica: Edith Wharton and Tourism in French Morocco, 1917-20. Middle Eastern Studies 46, no. 1 (January 2010): 59-77.
Hunter, F. Robert. “Promoting Empire: The Hachette Tourist in French Morocco, 1919-36.” Middle Eastern Studies 43, no. 4 (2007): 579–91.
Vincent, Peter, and Barney Warf. “Claret and Couscous: The Symbolic Townscape of a Moroccan Mountain Resort.” Geographical Review 95, no. 4 (2005): 594–606.
Wright, Gwendolyn. “Tradition in the Service of Modernity: Architecture and Urbanism in French Colonial Policy, 1900-1930.” The Journal of Modern History 59, no. 2 (1987): 291–316.
Wyrtzen, Jonathan. “COLONIAL STATE-BUILDING AND THE NEGOTIATION OF ARAB AND BERBER IDENTITY IN PROTECTORATE MOROCCO.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 43, no. 2 (2011): 227–49.
It’s been interesting, but I have realized that almost all of the literature on tourism in Morocco focuses on the colonial era. This realization has allowed me to refine my research question, namely: How did tourism change after Moroccan independence? Was there a continuity, wherein the industry continued to serve European tourists? Or, was there a change, where the industry began to serve Moroccans in the development of a stronger national identity? The answers, I do not know, but I know where to look.
More to come in the near future.
Your friend,
Reese