Cultural Exchange in Sefrou
This morning we ventured to Sefrou, a small city half an hour away from Fes, to assist in a English language program hosted by the U.S. Government and the Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE). In addition to providing these students with access to native speakers, the Global LAB students gave these Moroccan English language learners a taste of U.S. culture. From Thanksgiving and birthday cake to hip-hop and indie rock, Charlie and Zoe discussed U.S. holidays, food, and music.
Chris and Audrey discussed the U.S. system of education and leisure activities.
We also learned about the Moroccan system of education, talked about couscous and tajine, and heard about the Sefrou cherry festival. It was a wonderful exchange!
This afternoon, everyone will engage in their ISP activities – Zoe and Audrey will “bust a medina move” at bellydancing, Charlie will continue to enrich his Modern Standard Arabic language skills, and Chris will create another zellij (Moroccan tilework) masterpiece.
With only a little over a week left in Fes, the students will spend the next week finishing up their Moroccan Arabic (darija) classes, bring their ISPs to a close, and find their last treasures wandering the ancient Fes medina (at least for now). In addition, we will have a lecture and round table discussion on unemployment at the local university and learn more about Fes medina restoration. Next Sunday, we will attend a Moroccan flamenco concert to prepare us for our Andalusian excursion in a couple of weeks.