by Jeffrey Stanley
During spring break 6 Upper School faculty and 35 students spent a week in the Kingdom of Morocco in North Africa, marking the first time BFS has made a class trip to the region.
Ninth grader
Abraham Axler was excited about the trip, noting the distinct French, Berber and Arabic architectural influences, the latter particularly notable in Casablanca. "I also really enjoyed Fez," he said, "especially the old part of the city where you can see the truest remnants of old Morocco." Abraham is active in the school's Model UN and keen on world affairs. He spent time whenever possible talking one-on-one with the tour guides, learning as much as he could about the country.
He summed up Morocco's constitutional monarchy as he sees it. "It's a gray area. They were controlled by the French until 1956, then the king ran the country. Today they have a parliament and a very advanced trade system with other countries, so I'm surprised that it's still run by one guy."
Senior Asha Boston was there mainly for the visual experience. She'll be attending Agnes Scott College in the fall and double-majoring in English and Photography, the latter a passion she discovered at BFS her junior year. "Everything in Morocco was amazing. It was like a textbook coming to life. We toured Fez, Casabalanca, Marrakech. It's stunning." Her favorite experience was their trip to see the Sahara and ride camels. She was surprised to learn that the sand there is actually red, not the light tan color of Hollywood epics.
She also took photos of the citizens, respectfully, she stressed, always showing them her camera first and getting a smile and nod of approval before snapping away. "Some of the older generations there believe that if you take their photo you can steal their soul, so I always asked first." She's poring over her photos now and planning to display some of them in the upcoming BFS photography show.
Sophomore Jessica Carlson was wowed by the mosque of Hassan II in Casablanca as well as Volubilis, the Roman ruins near Meknes between Fez and Rabat. "Everywhere we went we had an educated guide who spoke to us about the sites we were seeing." Like her classmate Asha she got a kick from the camel ride in the Sahara. "We had to take an hour drive in Jeeps to get to the camels. The drivers put on a show for us as well. They were racing each other and going over hills... The sand was such an incredibly stunning color, and all the camels in a line were brilliant to see."
Jessica was also candid about the assumptions she made before going, which were challenged during the trip. "I assumed everyone I met was either trying to steal from me or harass me to buy something from them," she said. However, "the people I spoke to were nothing like my assumptions. They asked me where I came from and made conversation with me. The best was when they would say, 'Morocco welcomes you.'"
Photographs by Asha Boston '10