Horizons & Purdue Promise Study Ablog! : Gabriel Almonte

May 24, 2016

Our journey started early from the Rembrandt Hotel in Tangier to Meknes. The bus took southbound direction for a five hour journey. We made multiple stops for sightseeing, one of which was called the Hercules cave. Most of the portions of it are man made – it also has a beautiful window to the ocean as depicted below.

After arriving and having lunch at our new hotel, we hit the street of Meknes for a Moroccan experience. These streets are fainted by the hot weather and have eroded over time. The streets do not appear to have bright colors or modern amenities, it is the people who seem to fuel the city with their gestures, smiles, and facial expressions. The religious views are more liberal and Muslim women have the choice of wearing clothes of preference. Some of them like to embed themselves in the Djellaba, the traditional clothing with beautiful coloration of drawings in hands and feet.

On the other hand, men like to play a manly sport sitting outside bars to look after women. There is no hiding or shyness about it as it is part of their culture. Just recently, sexual harassment has been stipulated by law that is still not fully followed. In one corner we stopped to try snails for the first time which, are boiled in hot water and put with seasoning salt. Later, for more involvement of the Moroccan food we tried two different versions of their pancakes. These are really good, specially the honey one. Getting thirsty after all the eating and the heat of the sun we stopped at a smoothie place. The popular one is the avocado with milk shake, but there are also much more combinations of the most popular fruits.

Moroccans take pride in providing security to their tourists. There are extensive punishments for those who attempt crimes against them and police continually monitor the streets for their safety. To end the day, in a fourth floor there is the ISA office where we got together to depict the hit times for the next days of hour adventure.

The city of Meknes has inflated me with an itching of exploration, a ride in a truck to explore the dessert, and a watch of wild animals with the humble company of Moroccans. I have also been intrigued by how the american fashion is going to be suited in this new place. My fear is that girls could feel uncomfortable but my optimism is with the flexibility of young minds.