Auburn Goes Global!
  • Home
  • Travel/PD Opportunities for Teachers
  • Travel Blogs
    • Croatia Blog
    • Cameroon, Africa
    • Istanbul, Turkey
    • Morocco Travel Blog
    • Philippines Travel Blog
  • Teach
    • Global Assessment
    • Local Partners
    • International Learning Opportunities
    • Global Standards
    • Technology Tools
  • Global Unit Plans
  • Study
    • Global Resources
  • Contact

Blog Post #4 - Our Day in Casablanca

7/16/2017

2 Comments

 
With only one full day in Casablanca, we were limited in terms of what we could see or do, but we were told the one site we shouldn't miss was the Hassan II Mosque. This is one of the largest mosques in the world (it has the highest minaret) in the world, and is one of the only mosques open to non-Muslims. It can hold 25,000 people (almost the entire city of Auburn!) with an additional 80,000 in the courtyards and squares.

It was built over a six year period and completed in 1993, and truly is majestic. Tours are given at specific times to avoid the five call to prayer times throughout the day.  Tours were given in English, Italian, German, French and other languages.  Our group consisted of visitors from Canada, India, Brazil and Switzerland. 



Picture
Picture
After our tour, we ate lunch at a Moroccan restaurant (see Blog post #3), took a taxi ride around the new Medina (which is the heart of the city), drove past the palace where the king lives and stopped for a photo with Mohammed, our taxi driver/guide. Unfortunately, no time to visit the souks (marketplaces) in Casablanca but will look forward to them in Marrakesh.
Here are some of the flowers and plants we saw when we were out exploring:
Looking forward to our ride on the Marrakesh Express tomorrow! Good night!
2 Comments

Blog Post #3 - Answers to Your Questions

7/15/2017

1 Comment

 
Aiden asked several questions; I'll answer the one about food here and save the rest for Marrakesh. I have been looking forward to eating Tagine, one of the dishes Morocco is best known for. It's a meat and vegetable stew made with a variety of spices in a clay or ceramic pot (the pot is also called a tangine).  It has a conical lid and the steam rises up and trickles back down. Today I had tangine with chicken, olives and lemon and it was delicious! The video shows you how hot it was when it was served.  There are also olives at every meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner! Morocco is one of the top olive producing countries (they grow on trees) and they are delicious too! As we walked along the road by the beach, we saw people selling roasted corn, oysters, cotton candy and potato chips.
Picture
Mrs. Gilmore asked about temperatures and geography. It is warm in Casablanca (in the 80's) but there is a beautiful breeze because of its proximity to the ocean.  When we travel to Marrakesh tomorrow it is going to be HOT - 112 degrees! Fortunately we will be inside during the daytime for the conference and hopefully it will be cooler at night when we go out. There is also snow in Morocco in the Atlas Mountains that doesn't melt until June!

​ We walked the beach in Casablanca today and there were thousands of people there, many kicking around a soccer ball; below are some photos.
Picture
Picture
I will answer the questions about schools and markets when I'm in Marrakesh!
Picture

Picture
1 Comment

Blog Post #2 - Our first night in Morocco

7/14/2017

6 Comments

 
I am so fortunate that my son, Adam, is able to take this trip with me! Yesterday, I met him in Schenectady, where he lives, and we took the Amtrak train to New York City and stayed overnight with my daughter in Brooklyn. We were up bright and early at 3:45 a.m. to get to the JFK Airport to catch our 6:55 a.m. flight to Casablanca, Morocco.  The flight was six and a half hours long, and we were served breakfast and dinner (can anyone figure out why we didn't get lunch?).  

We were surprised by how little English was spoken by our cab driver and by the waitstaff at the restaurant.  Adam and I both speak some French -- "un petite peu" -- so we were able to communicate what we wanted.  Arabic is the other language spoken, and signs are in both French and Arabic.

We are staying at a hotel on the beach and look forward to exploring Casablanca tomorrow, before taking the train on Sunday to Marrakesh, where the conference is being held.  What would you like to know about Morocco or Casablanca? Please click on the word "comment" by the blog post title to respond!
6 Comments

Blog Post #1 - Why Morocco?

7/10/2017

0 Comments

 
 Last summer I had an amazing experience traveling to the Philippines as part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellowship program. I experienced life in another country, learned about the culture, saw the world from a new perspective and made life-long friends.  When I returned to school in September, I was determined to give my students the opportunity to investigate the world and communicate with students from other places.  I joined iEARN, a non-profit organization that links schools and students from around the world in meaningful projects.  This past spring, our 6th grade students participated in an iEARN project called "A Day in the Life" in which they photographed their homes, neighborhoods, food and school and shared these photos with students from Morocco, Egypt, Yemen and Algeria, as well as other classes in the United States. The 6th graders had the opportunity to view the other students photos and captions, and comment and ask questions within the closed forum provided by iEARN.  A videoconference with a group of students from Egypt was one of the highlights of the project.  iEARN's Annual Global Education Conference and Youth Summit is in Marrakesh, Morocco in July 2017, and thanks to a grant from the Qatar Foundation, as well as support from my school district, I am able to attend the conference and will be heading to Morocco on July 14th!
Picture
0 Comments
Forward>>
    Welcome to my travel blog!  The most recent posts will be at the top.  If you want to see earlier posts, scroll down or click on one of the links under "Archives." To leave a question or a comment, click on the word "comments" at the top of each post.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    July 2017

    Categories

    All

Home
About
Contact
Date Created: February 15, 2016 Date Last Updated: October 25, 2019
  • Home
  • Travel/PD Opportunities for Teachers
  • Travel Blogs
    • Croatia Blog
    • Cameroon, Africa
    • Istanbul, Turkey
    • Morocco Travel Blog
    • Philippines Travel Blog
  • Teach
    • Global Assessment
    • Local Partners
    • International Learning Opportunities
    • Global Standards
    • Technology Tools
  • Global Unit Plans
  • Study
    • Global Resources
  • Contact