Morocco | Global Impressions

Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo | September 30, 2016
Where are you from? Ah, America. And who are you voting for? But why? Donald Trump is a very rich man! A billion dollars? In one year? Well, I don’t know about that, but he has many businesses around the world and makes a lot of money. I suppose, but she is a criminal? Who? Bernie Sanders? I’ve never heard of him.

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo | October 2, 2016
I don’t know about this man, this Trump fellow. He does not seem to be that smart, and he is not even a Christian! He has lost a lot of money, and he doesn’t treat his employees very well. Things are not seeming well here. The price of gas has doubled last week—doubled! Haven’t had a customer since you were here in August, no one is coming to invest. See there? That’s where the tires burned. An email from the US Embassy? They evacuated the families. The president has stopped paying his guards, they come to my neighborhood at night. I have to be home early! We will hope for the best!

Marrakesh, Morocco | November 9, 2016
Is this the end of the US’s transition away from fossil fuels? What does this mean for NASA’s work in the climate sector? What will we do if we lose our funding? How long do we have before the funding is cut? How long are their funding cycles? Here’s my card. Will I need to leave the US? Will my visa be revoked? Will I lose my job? What about conservation funding? I’ll email you. What about development funding? How much of your funding comes from the government? 50%? Oh man. Sorry. Did you see that woman crying in her coffee cup? Did you see me crying in my coffee cup?

Paris, France | November 25th, 2016
And look what has happened in the US, with Trump! He says nothing! Rien! Just look where we have found ourselves. Just look! Where are the leaders of the left? Where are the moderates? Where is rational thought?!

Brest, France | December 16th, 2016
And what has happened over there in the US, with Trump?! Wasn’t the electoral system designed specifically for situations like this? Why hasn’t he released his tax returns? He would go to jail in France. Shouldn’t he be in jail? Or at least be on trial? And he’s getting divorced! You didn’t hear? I saw it on the news this morning. Where? I’m not sure, let me check. Ah! Found it. Fake? Really? No I just read the headline! Well, they tricked me!

Marseille, France | December 31st, 2016
I’ve never left Britain before. You could say I’m “Brexiting”—in my own sense. Next I’m going to Mexico and then we’ll hop the wall to Burning Man. And then we’ll go on a road trip. Where? Well, I’d like to visit all of the states in which marijuana is legal. Have you ever been to Arches? To Zion? Colorado?

Aix-en-Provence, France | January 6th, 2017
You know, now that it has happened I’m not shocked. I have been expecting it all my life. And you know, my father, he was born a Polish Jew, and died a Communist. Forever a Communist! He always said, “Ça va recommencer un jour”. It will start again one day. And you know, when we were young—it was the 70’s! We didn’t want to hear that. We wanted to move forward—we believed in the progression of society. But now, it has started to return. He was right. Ça recommence !

Aix-en-Provence, France | January 20th, 2017
She won by three million votes? What? That doesn’t sound like a democracy. Re-districting? That’s crazy. Totally crazy. But it’s not the majority! Three million? That’s not a small number. How many people are in the United States? More than 300 million? And how many people voted? Half! But why don’t more people vote? America First! What does that mean? The world is too small for that now. We need each other!

Eva McNamara ’13 is a Cape Cod native. She has an MSc in Food Security and
Development from the University of Reading in addition to her BA from
Smith. In her spare time, she enjoys taking photos, going outside,
gardening, and cooking dinner with her husband.

For the days we were in Morocco, my three friends and I had signed up with a tour company that would take us to the main attracting tourist experience: camel trekking in the Sahara Desert. Ortman, our tour guide who had lived in Morocco all his life, drove us in his minivan for six hours to get to our destination. As he took us through the winding uphill roads, I watched as the desert canvas to my right flooded with sand and erosion landscapes which leisurely transformed into a blend of green-brown mountain trees and shrubbery. The air grew brisk as we became surrounded by the sun sparkled snow caps of the Atlas Mountains themselves climbing the clear blue skies, and we decided to break at a cafe off the main road for a warm drink.

Glad to bring some life back into our legs, we stretched out our limbs and strolled into the cafe. Immediately the man behind the counter welcomed Ortman in Arabic, and nodded and smiled at the rest of us in greeting. They seemed to know each other because they starting chatting and laughing with each other. Meanwhile, we let our eyes explore the intimate ambience, architecture, and interior patterns on the walls and floors of the Moroccan styled cafe. Sunlight beamed through two windows and an archway, calling us out to a stone deck which we discovered to have more tables and chairs for guests, perfect for enjoying the backyard mountain vistas in a glorious full screen view.

Ortman’s friend came out to see if we wanted any food or beverages. We had been excited to get a real taste of the country’s culture during our stay, so we requested Morocco’s famous mint tea. As we were waiting for our tea, a man sitting alone at one of the tables near us started talking to Ortman in Spanish. I remembered Ortman said many people in Morocco could speak French and Spanish in addition to Arabic and Berber, the official languages. The man turned his attention to us.

“Where are you from?” he asked, in a soft accent.
“We’re all from the States,” I replied, noticing his bowl of bread and his small glass cup sitting on a saucer with two white sugar cubes resting on it. There were a handful of green leaves swirling around in the drink, and so I assumed the cup contained the mint tea we were eagerly awaiting.
“Ah, yes… the people of Obama!” he exclaimed and chuckled as he lifted the dainty clear cup from its saucer to his lips. His face was welcoming, and we chuckled lightheartedly in return at his way of identification.
The cafe worker soon returned to us with our teas in the petite glass cups. After thanking him, we carefully brought our little cups to our lips for a hearty first sip. A grin swept over my face as my tasted buds kicked in with delight, and I nodded. My friends’ smiling eyes met mine and we all nodded in delicious satisfaction.
The drink was warm and sweet — sweeter than I had expected a mint flavored tea to be. I peered into the concoction before me, wondering how many sugar cubes had dissolved in it. Then I wondered how fragrant the mint leaves were. But within the next sips, we let the majesty of the Atlas, standing tall and still, subdue all other background thoughts. We sat in our chairs in a few moments of enchantment as we drank and watched the Moroccan splendors before parting ways towards the desert dunes.

Angela Tai is a senior at Smith, studying neuroscience with an interest in pursuing medicine and public health. During her time abroad last spring, she traveled to thirteen countries and seventeen cities, which she considers to be some of the most rewarding experiences of her life. She loves learning about different cultures, meeting new people, and eating lots of pizza.

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High Tea: Atlas Mountains Edition