Thursday, August 13, 2009

An Ideal Welcome to Morocco

Voyagers received a wonderful welcome at Semester at Sea’s final port during a small reception with Moroccan students and U.S. diplomatic officials at the U.S. Cultural Center in Casablanca.

Twenty-five students, faculty, staff and lifelong learners socialized, danced and got to know more than two dozen Moroccan students, who ranged in age from recent high school graduates to college students, and young professionals. The groups were joined by U.S. Consular General Elizabeth Millard and Jack Rusenko, president of Global Education and board president of George Washington Academy, a K-12 school with American accreditation that is based in Casablanca.

“It was a really great event. We had a lot of opportunities to speak with the Moroccan students one-on-one and to ask them questions about life in Morocco, especially for the women—like dating and marriage,” said Emily Conrique, a lifelong learner on the SAS Summer Voyage, who is a high school teacher in San Diego.

Emily and other members of the Semester at Sea group were treated to live Moroccan music and fed a number of delicious Moroccan pastries and traditional mint tea.

As a teacher, Emily said she was struck by the differences in the education system. For example, high school students in Morocco must choose a major while in high school from either economics, science or math. Once in college they can switch or adapt their interests within their major from high school. Many Moroccans, Emily learned, major in English.

Baron Yeh, a student at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, said the welcome reception was one of the best events he had attended with Semester at Sea specifically because it allowed him to have more personal and open conversations with Moroccans than he may have otherwise had.

“I really got to have good conversations about education and the ‘green’ movement and how they are happening and impacting people in Morocco,” said Baron. “It was a wonderful way to begin my time in Morocco and a nice way to learn about the country and its people.”

Click on the video below to catch a glimpse of the reception.


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