Some Thoughts

4/6
Morocco really touched me. It opened my eyes to a lot of things and made me really think about some stuff. Here are some things that I still can’t stop thinking about-

-Obama Around the World

I feel so blessed to be traveling the world at a time like this. I thought it was going to stop after we were able to watch the Inauguration in the middle of the Atlantic, but I am still seeing it everywhere we go. Anytime we would say we were from America, we would get a response of a raised fist and a shout of “OBAMA!”. The people in Marrakech were so happy and so excited about it, a few even said congratulations to us. And they would talk so badly about Bush- one of our taxi drivers even said “Bush-shit”. He also asked us if we were happy about it and we said yes of course, are you happy? And he responded with we are more than happy, we are proud. It still brings me chills. I am very proud.

If a foreigner was to come to America – say from Morocco- would we respond with a congratulations for their king or whoever their ruler is? We don’t even know who their ruler is! And yet the entire world is excited for ours and for America. They respect us. That’s what I could feel from them when we said we were from America – respect. We were not regarded as dumb Americans as I had assumed we would be, instead we were respected. It was incredible to see the influence that it is having around the world. I am so excited to be able to experience this and to be traveling right after the election. It is truly a blessing.

-Soy Chai Latte?

We had a long talk about the prices on the train back to Casablanca and how it compares to the US. I spent 110 durham which is probably close to $120 or $130 the entire three days we were there. And we started thinking about how much we could get for $4.50, or the price of a soy chai latte from Coffee Bean (which we have been missing so much). It’s disgusting how much more that money could do in this country, or in other countries for that matter. And yet, how often do we go to Coffee Bean or Starbucks and throw that money down like it’s not a problem. Those places have become so social for us and we don’t even think about the money we are spending on a warm drink that lasts us 10 minutes. But then I see how far that money could go over here, how it fed me easily for one meal, and a great meal at that, and how I could feed people who don’t have food with that instead of feeding my own 10 minute satisfaction. These are the things that I will take back with me from this trip. I hope I never forget that.

-Who are you?

Perez and I had a long talk last night, asking the question who are you? Really, who are you? Not the stupid answers like I’m a Pepperdine student, so and so major, I’m in this sorority – why is it that we use those things to define who we are? When we meet new people, how do you introduce yourself? And what questions do you ask people? Where are you from, what school do you go to? What trip are you most excited about? Why is it we think that’s who we are? Have you ever just sat for a while and thought about who you are? How do you define yourself? It’s complicated and frustrating but I think it’s worth your time. Who are you?