larger view

After so many hours on an airplane, (I lost track of exactly how many over six time zones) I arrived in Casablanca. A puddle jumper plane took me to Fez where a driver named Mustafa took gave me a ride to Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. He spoke about as much English as I speak Arabic, so conversation was slim. He understood me well enough, but I got the feeling that he was getting annoyed at my officious questioning, so I stopped.

I arrived at the university around one in the afternoon, checked out my new dorm room (empty as my Moroccan counterpart has not yet arrived) and immediately set out on the town to buy a calling card and inform my folks that I had indeed survived the 4,000 journey. The town is very rich looking and I can not help drawing comparisons with the only other Arab country I have ever been to: Iraq. Certainly it is a lot cooler and safer and more mountainous. Otherwise, if things ever do turn around there it might look something like Morocco.

At the center of the town, just a ten minute walk from the Al Akhawayn campus, is a stone lion carved by a prisoner of war, either Italian or German depending on which travel guide you read. It is usually surrounded by picture snappers, most of whom look like locals. Arabic and French are spoken just about interchangeably and most people know at least a smattering of English.

The university itself is worth describing. The buildings have all have orange, very steeply pitched roofs. Little tokens of Arabic architecture are visible from the arched doorways to the towering minaret at the center of campus. The bulk of the students have not yet arrived, so it is very quiet.

From what I have learned so far, the university is very modern and liberal--in the best sense of the word. One of its goals is promoting unity and understanding among the monotheistic religions; hence, the campus has not only a mosque but a synagogue and a Christian church as well. True, they are not as elaborate as the mosque, but you can't call Al Akhawayn close minded. The very politically correct school has rich patrons from many countries, probably including Hillary Rodham Clinton, after whom the Women's Empowerment Center was named in 1999. Just when I thought I had left the monotony of the 2008 presidential campaign behind!

If it were possible to die of jet lag, I would be a dead man. I fell asleep at about four in the afternoon and woke up around midnight, supposing it to be six o’ clock the following morning. Feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day, I got dressed to go to the gym when I realized what time it actually was. I was starving, having not had a real meal in over 24 hours and so I decided to wander the campus in search of food. Perhaps I would run into another exchange student with the sleep cycle of a bat. I saw no one else awake, nor did I acquire food until the following morning.

Someone did leave the restaurant open, however, and I was desperate to the point of pillaging it for food, except I couldn’t find any. When I finally did sign for one of my pre-paid meals the following morning, all they gave me was a cup of Lipton Tea and a roll. I wanted to throw the roll at them, but instead of turning my paltry meal into a projectile, I smiled and said “shokran.”  

I had my first substantial meal this afternoon when I went to town with another American traveler, Kelsey from San Antonio, Texas, who is studying political science. It was certainly the best tea I have ever had!