Katie Batchelder's Summer Excursion (Journal 1)

Batchelder is currently in Morocco, participating in the Academy's Language Immersion Program.

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June 4, 2008

Katie Batchelder, who recently completed her sophomore season with the Air Force volleyball program, is spending part of the summer in Morocco, participating in the Academy's Language Immersion Program. During the course of the summer, Batchelder will provide a journal for GoAirForceFalcons.com recapping her time along the northern coast of Africa.

JOURNAL 1 (MAY 28)
I am currently participating in a French summer language immersion program in Morocco. I didn't know what to expect of northern Africa, especially the coastal area. I am in a group of nine cadets and one AF Captain, and we are staying in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. We flew from Denver to New York and from New York to Casablanca. We took a small bus from the airport in Casablanca (after receiving our luggage - what a relief!) and we arrived at a small local hotel. We met with our new French instructors and did a small tour of the city, while still suffering from jet lag and extreme exhaustion. I write in my journal every day to record interesting events and thoughts that come to mind while I'm here. I write one in English and then one in French.

While on the plane from New York to Casablanca, I sat next to a gentleman by the name of Adam Kadmir, who taught me a lot about Moroccan life, morals, and their political history with France in particular. We talked about the events of September 11th in the U.S., and also about the events of May 16, 2003, in Casablanca. That was the year Morocco had its own terrorist attacks. We discussed American media and how it differs from other countries' media. We talked about the structure of government in the United States, and about the King Muhammad VI of Morocco. I truly internalized the importance of keeping an open mind about American culture and attitude towards other countries and how those countries perceive Americans to be.

The bus drive to Rabat was an eye-opening experience. All I saw were run-down buildings, donkey carts, kids playing soccer in fields of dust, cows, goats and sheep roaming freely everywhere, and lots of poverty in general. I feel very privileged to be immersed in such a different world, and to be able to have the opportunity to talk to these people and learn their culture and speak with them about their own lives.

 

 

The area where our hotel is located is quite different from what we saw on the journey here. There is more modern transportation; lots of beat up trucks and small blue taxis and old European cars. I expected the weather to be scorching hot, but to my surprise, it has rained almost every day for the past three days. It rains mostly in the morning, and then it warms up in the afternoon to around 80 degrees or so. We hear the Call to Prayer five times a day and it can be heard throughout the city streets. It is a very different culture and a different daily lifestyle that we must respect and adapt to while we are here. The girls on the trip dress respectfully and we wear pants or long shorts/skirts with shirts that cover the shoulders and as much of the neck as possible. We have to be very careful of what we say, what we do, and how we portray ourselves here.

The hotel is very small. It is about half the size of a dorm room at the Academy, and has one tiny bathroom. There are two twin beds that are pushed together, a television, a phone, a single piece of artwork, and a window that overlooks a busy street. We eat a European style breakfast every morning at the hotel. There is a buffet style breakfast that includes pastries, hot and cold drinks, jam, toast or bread, and fruit. The food here is amazing. The seafood is fresh, the crepes are delicious, and the couscous is supposed to be a very good traditional Moroccan dish, but we have not yet tried it. Most restaurants only serve couscous on Fridays, because it is a special dish and takes more effort to make than most foods.

We walk to class every morning. The university is called the ILCS, Institut Superieur des Etudes en Communication. Numerous languages are taught here and we are one of two groups from the U.S. currently studying here. There are small classrooms, about the size of one dorm room, and we have two instructors per day, who teach two-hour classes back-to-back. After four hours of class in a foreign language, my head is usually spinning and I'm ready for a nap. I love the classes, especially because we are able to dive into more interesting subjects besides grammar. We do a lot of interacting in class, and the professors are quick to correct our bad habits and are especially strict compared to instructors at the Academy. We have mint tea breaks between each class where we go to the third floor of the school and sit around on benches covered with pillows, and drink mint tea and talk about class or what is on the agenda for the day's adventure. We are attending class at the beach tomorrow. Unbelievable, right? Well believe it. :) We discuss all sorts of subjects in class, from tattoos and piercings to religion, art, history, etc.

I have many great memories and interesting stories to tell after just three days, but stay tuned and you'll hear more about my exciting adventures in Morocco!

Until next time ... bonne journée!

 

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