Judges Abroad is a series of blog posts written by Brandeis student-athletes who are spending part of their junior year studying abroad. To read more entries in the blog, click here!
¡Hola!
Somehow we have already reached April, meaning just about five weeks left in Granada. March has been filled with travels and trips, both academic and touristic, with midterms and assignments nicely squeezed in between. This gives March Madness a completely different meaning over in Granada.
In terms of academic trips, my Islamic Art and Architecture course has proven to be an imperative learning experience, especially being in Granada and having so many historic cities just hours away. Earlier in February, we visited Córdoba and saw the absolutely massive and magnificent Great Mosque. The initial construction was in the eleventh century and when the Christians took Córdoba in the 13th century, instead of tearing down the massive 460 by 280 square foot mosque, they placed an entire cathedral directly in the middle. After visiting numerous sites in and around Granada, we finally visited the Alhambra, the centerpiece of Granada and Andalusia. The Nasrid dynasty is responsible for the incredibly elaborate tilework and “muqarnas” (honeycomb patterns found in domes or arches) and beautiful gardens and fountains that the Alhambra is known for today.
While taking trips to Athens and Dublin as a tourist, the most moving travel for me thus far has certainly been venturing to Morocco with the IES program. I truly appreciated the care the IES center used to create an itinerary that allowed us to actually step foot into the culture of Morocco, as opposed to just seeing the tourist side of Morocco. Of course we did the typical tourists stops, riding camels and visiting the blue city of Chefchaeoun, but we also had the opportunity to speak to a number of Moroccans of all ages.
We visited the cities of Tangier, Asilah, Rabat, Chefchauen, and a small village in the Rif Mountains. While in Tangier, we talked with a group of students our age in a women’s organization called Darna, which helps to support and educate women in Tangier to provide them with skills and opportunities. In Rabat, we stayed with host families. One of my friends and I stayed with a family of at least seven members. I say at least, because there were always different relatives coming and going through the little apartment. Although only a couple of them could speak a little English (and one of them a little Spanish!), the hospitality that I found within the family, and my classmates would agree, was something I admire about the Moroccan families. We were welcomed immediately with mango juice and cookies and were taken up to the roof by our host son to see a 360º view of the city and play a little soccer (In my case, attempt to play. It is still frustrating to not use my arms at all!). We also had the opportunity to spend lunch with a family of four out on their family farm in the Rif Mountains and shared stories and typical day-to-day routines while eating the most delicious couscous with of course, more Moroccan tea. Having never really taken courses about Morocco, it has certainly inspired me to learn more about that part of the world.
I am looking forward to enjoying the beautiful spring weather and trying to take advantage of these next five weeks, trying to test out all the best tapas that Granada has to offer and finish off the semester ready to be the best tour guide I can be for my family.
Until next time!
-Emma Bartlett '20, volleyball