Sunday, June 7, 2015
Call to prayer 6/8, 5:10 pm
I am back in my hotel room on Sunday after a 2 hour sojourn through the western Casbah then back through the Medina. I have a great little window on things from my 4th floor southwest facing room. First there are some buzzing businesses below---one being a bottled water distribution center---the other a wood shop. There is a little guard shack you have seen in previous photos I think. A dog sleeps in a little cardboard shed to it's left during nighttime hours. He is tied and gets very upset when a horsefly or something is buzzing around. He barks at night, especially when revelers(not drinkers mind you, but music festival attendees and such) get too close. He has a couple of minders---one is a security or parking guy who I think he spends the heat of the day with--the other is a severely disabled fellow who I think keeps the streets clean---also appears to be deaf. He and the dog love each other, they hug and appear very close. In the daytime one or the other guy is in the little shack at times. At night, the dog is there. Today, Sunday, there is little activity on the street but just now a taxi driver pulled over, grabbed a piece of cardboard out of the car and knelt for prayer. Shoes off. Stands up. Kneels again. Packs up the cardboard. Gets in and drives off. I hear the call to prayer often here. It is a lower octave than you hear on TV in America, less musical, but nevertheless, beautiful. Allah-Huakbar....for about 5 minutes several times a day. No agenda here but it never fails to move me for some reason. I shall post some pictures of all of this next.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
People of Morocco.
Miguel B. Corrigan
Assistant Dean for BUS/FIN/MKT, NVCC-Loudoun
Associate Professor of BUS/FIN/MKT, NVCC-Loudoun
Assistant Dean for BUS/FIN/MKT, NVCC-Loudoun
Associate Professor of BUS/FIN/MKT, NVCC-Loudoun
2014 Fulbright Teaching Scholar, SVRIA, Saratov, Russia
mcorrigan@nvcc.edu703-450-2615
All Day Meeting on Tuesday
Our delegation is picked up at the hotel on Wednesday morning at 9am by our drivers.There is by now an interesting dynamic as to who rides in what car. A lot of times those higher up on the organizational food chain(NOT ME!)choose the VW--fewer seats. Me and the other big fellas are usually in the van as there is more room. These guys do not normally run the air conditioning but quickly realize that in this 95 degree F heat, the Americans quickly begin to request some cooler air. They usually oblige without any problem. We are all very considerate of each other so far and I often end up at the back of the van. I grew up in NM w/o AC in a car.....dealt with a month of Kolkata India temps, so it is not a hardship.
We arrive before 9:30am and the marathon begins. I should mention that the DFP has a wonderful young lady, Hadiba(silent H) who at this point appears to be our liaison. She speaks flawless English, perfect French, and without a doubt Arabic and Berber dialects. I am always envious of these people who can do this. Their lives must be so much more rich and interesting. Anyway she accompanies us everywhere from this point on, translating, negotiating, keeping us to our Draconian schedule. There is a very positive mood in the room from the beginning. The older, higher ranking Moroccans appear to respect Hadiba very much. She is tireless, always smiling....has a young family at home---husband in another ministry and a baby boy.
The first part of the day is a power point presentation on the intricacies of the Moroccan Ministerial organizational chart. We are here because our community college effectively melds 2 year applied degrees, university transfers, and robust workforce development. They are here because their system does not have "bridges" between these diverse educational strategies and we do. Everyone here in our delegation has a different angle when reviewing such differences. The Moroccan Ministry of education is VERY interested in our model. I as a teacher am here to try to build cooperation at the classroom level, ferret out opportunities for our business communities, and most importantly to continue to polish my cultural literacy. Now I am in Africa. I can hardly believe it. I also begin to notice that these folks are more adept at incorporating the views and desires of the job creators in the country. They repeatedly emphasize that they realize that the private sector will provide most of the future jobs. That sector advises, partners, and invests from the beginning in this process---even gong so far as to help develop curriculum and provide teachers/trainers. This for me is their strength!
Around noon they provide a wonderful 3 course lunch. Moroccan food is different and delicious. The mint tea is awesome. More on all of that to come.
We arrive before 9:30am and the marathon begins. I should mention that the DFP has a wonderful young lady, Hadiba(silent H) who at this point appears to be our liaison. She speaks flawless English, perfect French, and without a doubt Arabic and Berber dialects. I am always envious of these people who can do this. Their lives must be so much more rich and interesting. Anyway she accompanies us everywhere from this point on, translating, negotiating, keeping us to our Draconian schedule. There is a very positive mood in the room from the beginning. The older, higher ranking Moroccans appear to respect Hadiba very much. She is tireless, always smiling....has a young family at home---husband in another ministry and a baby boy.
The first part of the day is a power point presentation on the intricacies of the Moroccan Ministerial organizational chart. We are here because our community college effectively melds 2 year applied degrees, university transfers, and robust workforce development. They are here because their system does not have "bridges" between these diverse educational strategies and we do. Everyone here in our delegation has a different angle when reviewing such differences. The Moroccan Ministry of education is VERY interested in our model. I as a teacher am here to try to build cooperation at the classroom level, ferret out opportunities for our business communities, and most importantly to continue to polish my cultural literacy. Now I am in Africa. I can hardly believe it. I also begin to notice that these folks are more adept at incorporating the views and desires of the job creators in the country. They repeatedly emphasize that they realize that the private sector will provide most of the future jobs. That sector advises, partners, and invests from the beginning in this process---even gong so far as to help develop curriculum and provide teachers/trainers. This for me is their strength!
Around noon they provide a wonderful 3 course lunch. Moroccan food is different and delicious. The mint tea is awesome. More on all of that to come.
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