I knew something was missing...
Right off the plane on my first day in Morocco
“Morocco? What’s in Morocco?” was the reaction I received
from numerous people when I confessed the location in which I would study
abroad. I knew from the very beginning that I wanted to go on an exchange
program, which is one of the main reasons why I chose to go to Bentley
University, but my initial plan was to study abroad in Italy because of my
experience traveling there during my freshman year of high school. But as
decision time came closer and closer, there were endless options and choices of
the potential places that I could go! It was just pure excitement in the fact
that I could choose anywhere in the world to spend four months of my life,
engulfing myself in the culture.
So about a week before final decision had to be made, I woke
up with the desire to get out of my comfort zone and to go somewhere radical,
where not many people would choose to go. So out of all the places on the list
of programs, I figured Morocco would be the place to be since: one, the last
person that did an exchange from Bentley to Morocco was close to a decade ago
and two, there wasn’t much information on what Morocco was currently like, even
on the web or through people. So that is how I made my choice.
Although it may be cliché, this adventure to this beautiful
country has been a life changing one. During my time here, I have learned what
it is like to be part of Morocco’s elite class- which is unavoidable since I
have spent the four months studying at the prestigious Al Akhawayn University
of which Morocco’s small minority of middle and upper class families send their
kids to college, but at the same time, I have also been able to experience the
heartache and the hopelessness of the majority lower class of Morocco. I have
learned that illiteracy is a reality in which over half of the Moroccan
population cannot read or write, and in addition, education is so corrupt that
even those who seek for higher education cannot get it because they are unable
to afford the demands of the educators that are not paid up to par.
Through such an experience, I have changed my major from
Finance to Marketing in hopes that with the knowledge and the skills I acquire,
I could help this country, as well as similar countries, to take small steps
and small measures in hopes of furthering development and self sustainability.
I have come to grow a love for the country of Morocco because although people
do not have much, I have never met so many generous people that are willing to
give and give with nothing in return. I have traveled to many places in
Morocco, and everywhere I go, there are people that are willing to help you
even beyond what you ask of them, and they are just so ready to open their homes
to complete strangers just to get the knowledge of diversity and differences.
Especially coming from a place like America where it puts more emphasis on the
individual and his American dream, it has definitely been an eye opening
experience to know people that are more about the family and the well being of
others rather than just the individual alone. In a country such as this, I have
learned that Morocco’s true beautify comes from the people that live within it.
My next 5 year plan is to really get all the knowledge and
the resources I need in order to help places like Morocco to really be able to
show their true beauty and to help its people to make further advancements in
their livelihood to become self sustainable citizens of the world.
2 weeks left, and enjoying every last minute of it.
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