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We started at a hotel in Casablanca and rested up from our flights. The next morning, we met for a security briefing and with a professor who gave us a fascinating introduction to the history of Morocco. We were taken to the train station where Stephanie, my partner for the next week in Marrakesh, and I missed the train by minutes. We took a 3 hour train to Maraeksh, The scenery changed as we headed southeast. The soil turned from brown to red, the terrain from flat to hilly, and everything became generally more arid. and more rural. I saw groves of olives and farmers working in the fields with donkey carts..
For the past 2 weeks, Stephanie and I met with our host teacher, Meriem, online. She was at the train station to meet us, and it was wonderful to finally arrive!
After hauling our luggage--how do I have so much?!- to the hotel, Meriem met us to take a horse-drawn carriage along the main street. Palm trees lined the boulevard, and it was genearlly calmer than Casablanca. As we passed the medina (the old market lined with 14th century walls) we flashed our first photos where we really felt like we were in Morocco. It was a little surreal!
Meriem, our host teacher, met us at the train station with a Fulbright placquard and a huge smile. We were all ready for our adventure to begin!
The first thing we did was take a horse-drawn carriage around town. It was sunset, the weather was beautiful, and we couldn't believe we were actually in Morocco!
The ride gave us a pretty good idea of the area around our hotel and took us to the medina--the area within an ancient fortress-like, red wall from the 12 th century.
At the Jemaa-el-Fnaa, the main square in the medina in Marrakesh
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