Chellah or Sala Colonia, is a medieval fortified necropolis located south of Rabat, Morocco. Chellah existed since pre-Islamic times and houses complex of ancient Roman Mauretania Tingitana and medieval ruins.
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When visiting Marrakech I saw the Jemaa Ifna a popular entertainment and art square very close to the old city (Medina) where one can go shopping and buy handicraft products and gifts. With in walking distance I also visited the Koutoubia tower. In Fes, I visited the Bab Boujloud the most famous gate of the Medina's walls, the Mosque Al-Quarawiyyin Morocco's second largest mosque built in 857 and is one of the worlds oldest universities and the open air tanneries all located in the old Medina of Fes. Hassan ll Mosque third largest mosque in the world in Casablanca, Morocco. Interesting doors in the Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat, Morocco. Interesting Things:
March 8th is Morocco’s National Day of Women where they celebrate women’s rights. Women in the past were not be able to go to school, they did not get to choose their husbands they were chosen for them, they were not allowed to work, they could not travel on their own, and some never came out of their homes. Now, women can go to cities, work, get equal pay and have good jobs, sometimes even better jobs than men, now they can divorce, share property and have custody of their children. When there is a divorce between the man and woman the man must leave the home to his x-wife and their children. Women used to face violence and harassment when they were out in public places. Morocco is a much better place for women now. March 5th, the day we leave to go to out host teachers communities scattered all around Morocco. The school I visit is about 20 km from the hotel in Rabat, my partner and I are staying in Rabat. While the rest of the cohort moves on to their new cities and towns for their adventures. There will be one other group staying in Rabat visiting their host teachers’ school. The day started with a quick trip to an International Baccalaureate School in Rabat. Abi Dar Alghiffari Secondary School is one of 3 pilot schools in Morocco for the International Baccalaureate in English. The school teaches all subjects in English and students have to apply to get accepted into the program. We visited a classroom of an outgoing English teacher who teaches English with music to help his students learn English. The teacher teaches during the day and in the evenings he plays in a band. He was quite entertaining and his classes were very progressive and interactive. We also meet with teachers, principals and the parent association. Like most all of our visits we had mint tea and pastries. I’m going to have to run twice as much when I get back home from all the indulgence of pastries. I very much enjoyed my school visit today! The students and staff were so welcoming. It is quite fun walking around on campus. Students were smiling and wanting to take their picture with me. I felt like a monkey at the zoo getting a lot of attention. I was able to observe a math class and learned a trick with my fingers to learn the unit circle. I had a wonderful birthday dinner with Kelly one of my colleagues. We ventured off in the Medina to a restaurant called Le Ziryab. We walked through dark alleys to the restaurant it was a little spooky. We make it to the door down this really dark alley thank goodness there was another party walking to the restaurant. The big heavy wood door opened to this amazing space. There were three musicians playing Moroccan music as we were escorted to our table in this little open room. We ordered our meal it was absolutely amazing. The meal was served family style the first course had these little fried wrapped meats which resembled spring-rolls, and six colorful salads; pumpkin, bean, zucchini, spinach, eggplant and some type of tomato. The second course was the main course which consisted of two items couscous with stewed beef and vegetables and this chicken with some yummy sauce can’t remember the name of the dish. The last course was desert some pastry with this white not very sweet glaze it tasted a little like caramel corn, and of course pastries and mint tea. When our meal was finished, we went out the same big heavy wooden the host unlocks the giant lock and let us out. There was a very tall Moroccan man wearing a Djellaba, the traditional dress for men, he was carrying this large lantern and he escorted us out of the dark alleys of the Medina. As we were walking back to the hotel this giant black rat ran in front of us. Oh a rat! I said and I took off running the other way and Kelly was close behind me. I do not like rodents! Day 4 was a day filled with school visits. First we went to Alyaqada School a private school where they teach grades pre-kindergarten all the way through high school. The school was split into two schools housed in two different buildings a few blocks from each other. One school for the lower or primary students and one for the secondary and middle school students.The kids were very excited to have American teacher guests visit their classrooms. We visited the secondary school first and when the Principal enters the classroom all the students would stand until they are motioned to sit down. The students asked us questions and we asked them questions. The students went on break and when the middle grade students saw us taking pictures they wanted to pose and take pictures of us. They came over to shake our hands some ran over to say hello. They were full of energy and fun to talk to. They were very curious about America. We went for lunch on a big wooden ship that was docked on the river. Then we headed over to the Ecole Nortale Superieure (ENS) the teachers college to speak to a panel of Teacher Educators and Teachers in Training on the Moroccan and American education system. We met with the Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE) and the President of MATE Mr. Nourddine Bendouqi gave a short talk. My host teacher picked myself and my partner teacher up and took us to the English college he teaches at and we spoke to a group of business people taking English for Business that he was teaching. We spoke to the group of business professionals about the American Dream. This was a very cool experience. |
Disclaimer:
This blog is not an official U.S. Department of State blog. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, Phoenix Union High School District, Central High School, or the U.S. Department of State. Archives
March 2015
CategoriesAuthorDawn Maxwell teaches high school math at Central High School in Central Phoenix, Arizona. She has been teaching math for over 20 years and at Central HS the past eight years. She traveled to Morocco as a part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program through IREX. |