From June 11-17, a diverse group of students from the upper school traveled to Morocco. The group landed in Casablanca, Morocco’s biggest city, then traveled to Rabat, the nation’s capital. Later, they traveled to the rural areas of Morocco as well as other smaller cities to understand the country as a whole.
Many students appreciated the architecture present in Morocco.
“The compact and creative usage of the land they had in the cities stuck out to me the most,” Sixth Former Unnav Sharma said. “The buildings, rooms, and even staircases were in different shapes. It wasn’t boxy and super organized like in America.”
Some restaurants were situated on roofs. The different format allowed for interesting photography. Visual Arts Teacher Ms. Kristin Brown was fascinated by the tile work.
But the group explored much more than architecture. “It’s hard to go with a set goal of just one thing, especially when you’ve never been to the place before,” Ms. Brown said.
Many Muslim students participated in the trip to Morocco, where 99% of the population follows Islam. Sharma, who is Muslim, got to experience his religion more fully. Muslims pray five times a day following a prayer call, which is done from a minaret, a tall tower where the muezzin calls the Muslims to prayer. Since there are fewer practicing Muslims in America, there are no official prayer calls. “I have to play the prayer call on my phone,” Sharma said. However, in Morocco, Sharma was able to experience the full prayer-call experience.
Sixth Former Aaron Bonaparte, who has Muslim family in America, experienced the lamb sacrifice with his homestay family. “At first, I thought I was going to be grossed out by it, but it helped me understand the significance of the lamb sacrifice and further appreciate the culture and religion,” Bonaparte said.
It also helped him appreciate the ability to practice one’s religion more. “Many families in Morocco cannot do the lamb sacrifice because of the cost of lambs. I saw my homestay family was very thankful and appreciative to have the opportunity to fully pursue their religion, and I think it’s something that is very beautiful that we often take for granted.”
It also helped students become more appreciative of the items that they have. “Putting myself in the shoes of someone who didn’t have the same things as me helped me think about and appreciate what I do have a lot more,” Fifth Former Riyadh Rolls said.
Throughout the trip, the students were able to build many meaningful connections not only within themselves but also with the locals and their homestay families.
“I enjoyed talking with the kids in my homestay family. I found that we were actually a lot more similar than I expected,” Sharma said. “We enjoyed the same video games, movies, music, and shared many interests.”
The students on the Morocco trip had many different personalities and backgrounds.
“I was worried that this would interfere with the trip and make it less enjoyable,” Bonaparte said. “I was actually a bit shocked at how well we got to know each other during the trip, and this made the trip a lot more enjoyable.”
Sixth Former Cameron Ward had a similar opinion.
“We needed a sense of community in the group because of how intense the entire experience was from being in a foreign country.”
These connections extended past the group of students. “Being away from my family for an extended period in a whole new country made me appreciate my family even more,” Ward said.
This stuck even more with the members of the group who had just graduated and would be moving out for college at the end of the summer. “In all, the trip helped me realize how important it is to surround yourself with the right people, people that you feel comfortable around,” Ward said.
“My sexuality wasn’t on the forefront of my mind throughout the vast majority of the trip, and I was able to have a fun and worry-free experience,”
Cameron Ward ’25
In Morocco, being a member of the LGBTQ+ community is illegal, and some students who traveled, including Bonaparte and Ward, are gay. However, it wasn’t as much of a problem as they expected.
“While I had to tone down my actions, the LGBTQ+ legislation was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be,” Bonaparte said.
Ward agreed. “My sexuality wasn’t on the forefront of my mind throughout the vast majority of the trip, and I was able to have a fun and worry-free experience,” he added. “It made me appreciate being able to express myself freely in most places in America since Morocco does outlaw homosexuality.”
The trip also served as an opportunity for students to hear a more unbiased take on American politics from those living there. “They weren’t trying to push a Democratic or Republican agenda when they talked about politics,” Ward said. It was refreshing to hear for many students, especially with the 2024 presidential election coming up.
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