The Mike Snyder Blog

I need to talk about it sometime, seeing as how it’s probably the most pressing and controversial topic in the eyes of Americans. The very word “Islam” terrifies many and has been entangled with a mess of stereotypes and negative connotations, in the same way local perceptions of America have been grossly distorted here.

There’s no denying that Moroccan society is on the surface very religious. About 98% of the country is Muslim. I’ve met not a single man or woman of adult age who isn’t fasting for Ramadan or who doesn’t attend Mosque regularly. Five times a day, promptly, the call to prayer sounds off from Muaddins all over the city, a trance-inducing five-minute chorus of “Allahu akbar, allahu akbar, ashhadu alla ilaha illa Allah…” God is great! God is great! I testify there is no god but God! Come to prayer! Come to prayer!

Click for photo: The sunset at the first night of Ramadan, marking the end of the fast. At this moment 30 million Moroccans would all be preparing to eat dates, a bean soup known as harira, and other delicious foods.

Click for photo: Me infront of the biggest mosque in Africa--the Hassan II mosque, constructed in the late 1980s and named after the King/dictator who built it.

Click for photo: Religious calligraphy at the tomb of one of Morocco's greatest leaders, Moulay Ismail, in the city of Meknes.

Back at Tufts, the concept of studying abroad doesn’t seem all that complicated. All study abroad students are lumped together under a single label, regardless of what country they go to and how they manage their time there. It’s an easy dichotomy: about half of the students at Tufts go abroad, and half don’t.

After getting to know some 40 other study abroad students—all of whom decided to go to the same country, Morocco, and apply to the same study abroad program via the School for International Training (SIT)—it’s clear how completely wrong that division is. Thus I have made, in true Dean Sternberg fashion, my own psychological categorizations for the six different types of study abroad students. I’m sure there’s some official research out there already, but here’s my best attempt at putting all of you into boxes.

Tourists and study abroad students are almost always in a position of power with respect to the places they’re visiting. Of course they’re highly privileged politically and can afford to travel, but most importantly, they possess the intellectual knowledge of both their home culture and the host culture. This dual knowledge is great for researching purposes, but it also comes in handy in the most unlikely and amusing ways. Like:

Music – Some of the most popular songs in Morocco are highly sexualized American pop, but without English speakers, the meaning of the lyrics go unnoticed. Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” and Nelly Furtado's “Promiscuous Girl” can be heard at restaurants, in the streets, and from cell phones. My friend’s 8-year-old host sister enjoys singing and dancing to “Smack That.” If only her parents had a clue.