The group hopes to keep in touch and share another enriching experience in the future.

Charlotte Safos with Zeina Seikaly, wearing a caftan purchased in Tangier

Jalees and her husband view the trip slideshow with Harriet, in a caftan given to her by her home-stay family

With much irony, Linda poses by her Salade Nicoise pot-luck offering--her staple dish in Morocco

Lena's rendition of "Summertime"; George awaits his cue

Lena with Dallas on electric guitar

Monday, July 28, 2008
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
COMMENTARY:

When, against a background of growing conservatism, notably religious Mohammed VI succeeded his father Hassan II as king of Morocco on July 23, 1999, he set his sights on democracy and modernity. Nine years later, it is worthy noting that this dichotomy between the old and the new still exists as the king breaks with the past.

It is a tangible fact that the scope of liberties is broader. There is practically no taboo and the level of public debate surprises all who knew Morocco 10 years ago, let alone the Morocco of the 1970s.

Moroccans, long deprived of free expression, now discuss everything. The king's powers, his decisions, his court are no longer off-limits. While such burgeoning is not without shortcomings, excesses and other negative reactions, it is fundamentally undeniable that Moroccan society has secured liberties that seldom prevail elsewhere in the Arab and Muslim world.

More attacks followed, and Islamist groups in Algeria and Libya changed their names to reflect a new allegiance to al-Qaida.

RABAT, Morocco — The muezzins' calls echo well before daybreak, summoning the Muslim faithful to daily prayers and reminding foreign tourists in the Moroccan capital how far they are from home.

But the rising decibel level is deepening fault lines between a government drive to modernize and a wave of rigorous political Islam.

Morocco, a country of 33 million people, gets more than seven million tourists a year, and there are worries that some may be put off by the five heavily amplified calls a day, each lasting five minutes, to "hasten to the prayer, hasten to the prayer."

Also see Sam's "Morocco Pages" on his teaching website: http://www.wcboe.org/teachers/srichard/Morocco.htm

Dallas Jams with a Gnawa Musician--then Purchases his "Gimbri"

Easy Rider

Hi, This is Barbara in den Bosch.

I have been teaching World History and International Relations at St. Anne's Belfield in Charlottesville, Virginia for 12 years. Before that I taught World History and International Relations at Colorado Springs School, the International School of Kuala Lumpur, the International School of Tanzania, and Harar Meda Model School in Ethiopia. I started as a Peace Corps ESL/English teacher in Opol and Marawi in the Southern Philippines. I was married to a Dutchman for a while (hence the name) and have two children Bernard (a lawyer) 40 and Nicole (an illustrator)
39.

I travel and attend workshops as often as I can in order to figure out what is happening in the world around me. I have a BA in Asia history from Stanford University, an MA in African history from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and have spent most of my life teaching about Europe and the Middle East. I used to play tennis tournaments but am at present an avid (if not very talented) bicyclist. I have been trying hard, especially for the last 12 years, to understand Islam and the Middle East. This will be my first trip to the Maghreb, and I am very excited.

Barbara in den Bosch

Alex and Zeina,

I would like to thank you for all your hard work in arranging this dream trip. And to all of you, it was a great pleasure meeting you at the orientation, I was so impressed to meet such enthusiastic people interested in the Arab history and culture.

I am a Palestinian born and raised in Ramallah. I had my undergraduate education in Beirut, Lebanon ( we should go on our next trip) and my graduate in the USA in the 70's, and 90's. I taught English as a Second Language at the university level in Lebanon, USA and Kuwait. We came back to the USA in 1990 after the first Gulf War and I have beeen teaching at a high school in Falls Church, VA eversince. Currently, I teach ESOL and Arabic at our high school.

While living in the Middle East I had the chance to visit most of the Arab countries, and Europe but I have never traveled to Africa other than Egypt, so this is my dream trip to start exploring the North African Arab countries. I have three children, Yusef 32, Badria 30, and Hessa 28; they all live in the USA but we regularly go back and visit family and friends in the Middle East.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's introductions thus far. I would also like to add that I am very excited about this trip. I am very much interested in the spiritual side of Islam; therefore, I found the prospect of attending an authentic Sufi dhikir to be very intriguing. Though I generally tell people this is my first trip to Morocco, it really is not. When I was very young, my father was in the Navy and our family lived in Sicily for three years. On the way back to the States, we stopped in "French Morocco" ( as it was called then) for about a week. Though I was no more than three and 1/2 years old, I remember the experience quite vividly. I distinctly remember looking out of our ground level hotel window and watching a Muslim lady dressed in traditional clothes (her face was also covered) walking down the street. I was completely mesmorized! I wanted to say something, but the only thing my young mind could come up with was, "Hi, Boogeyman lady!" Then I waved to her. To my surprise, she waved back. This is one of the stories my father tells over and over at family gatherings.

I am originally from the Jersey Shore. I was born on the famous Lakehurst Naval Air Base. When I graduated from high school in the late 70's, I left to attend Georgetown. It seems that I got a bit restless and put my formal education on hold. I began to work with grassroots organizations and somehow ended up teaching at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax for 13 years. Another one of our Moroccan group members was my co-worker (Tammy Chincheck). It was while working there that I began to travel extensively. Students' parents, as well as teachers, would invite me to go home with them during vacations...and since I was single I did not say no! I was able to travel to Yemen, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Those were wonderful times.

Currently, I am the ESL dept. chair at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA. I teach beginning and advanced Language Arts. The majority of our students are Spanish-speaking. However, lately we have been getting more and more Arabic speaking students...mainly Iraqi and Moroccan. Working with Spanish speaking students has prompted me to travel and study extensively throughout Mexico and Central America. I just got back on Wednesday from El Salvador and Honduras. I do speak fluent Spanish and decent Portuguese. I can get by with Gulf Arabic, but unfortunately, I hear it will not help me in Morocco.

Oh, I finally "found myself" and got an undergraduate degree in Spanish. I also have a Masters in ESL from George Mason. My husband is an administrator of a middle school for emotionally disturbed children in Fairfax County, VA.

Hi Everyone,
I am sorry to have missed the orientations, but I have been trying to rent all the rooms in my houses near the University of Utah before the trip. I can hardly wait for this trip. I visited Morocco back in the 80's and loved it. The main purpose of this trip for me is to gain a much deeper understanding of Islam. I hope to make enduring friendships with you and some Moroccan people. I retire from teaching next year. My dream after retirement is to serve in some useful capacity in an Arab society (volunteer) and try to help in a small way to break down the barriers that the post 9-11 era has created. All of us can be a powerful force for change on this trip. Understanding and accepting each other (different cultures) can indeed lead to more peace in this world. I do speak some Arabic (not good!). I hope to have lots of fun in the markets and streets of Morocco talking to the people.

I am not a big shopper (my wife is), but I am a great barginer and volunteer to help you get a fair price for the stuff you want to buy. I look forward to meeting you and getting to know you soon.

I come to this trip with long-standing interest -- though little travel -- in the Middle East and with lifelong interest in international and security affairs. I taught European, and occasionally other, history at St. Albans School for 23 years before I retired in 2000. It turned out, I'm glad to say, I didn't really retire, as I carry on with a few projects and, most especially, teach the economic electives at the school. Once upon a time I graduated from Amherst College (1958) and took an M.A. at Princeton. My general sense of things is that Americans need desperately and respectfully to learn of the worlds beyond our borders, and I admire the strong efforts of CCAS and Global LAB to encourage that.