How The Other Half Lives

Although Africa frequently brings to mind the image of lions dancing and singing “Hakuna Matata,” it is actually much more than that. All kidding aside, it is difficult to picture Africa without the numerous animals it is known for, animals that we’ve all grown up seeing in picture books. However, the people of Africa are just as diverse and twice as interesting as any of its wildlife. I got the chance to experience Morocco through an EF (Education First) Tour that took us sightseeing around Spain. In case the ‘education’ didn’t drop a hint, the tour was run through our school, Bishop Grimes, as part of our annual European Tour program. Going to Morocco was an optional one day excursion which we, the ten high school students on the trip decided to do. It was an experience and a half and I would strongly recommend it to anyone with enough guts to give it a go.

Quarter Finalist 2009 FTF Teen Travel Writing Scholarship

To get to Morocco, one must first sail across the Strait of Gibraltar on a boat that rocks back and forth like a seesaw. At least, that’s what we did. Once there, we met Abdullah, our tour guide who was convinced he bore a strong resemblance to Michael Douglas. The drive through Customs was the scariest part of the trip only because we had to put our passports in a black plastic bag and stow them in the sketchiest building on earth. Meanwhile, we on the bus observed several (and by several I mean more than a hundred) people scrambling over the mountain terrain on the other side of the security fence. These were people who were apparently dodging customs.