Think Bigg

Hello, everyone! After almost three weeks of traveling through Morocco, we’re finally home, and I’m trying hard to unbury myself from the mountain of to-dos that have collected in our absence.

Morocco was a fantastic experience. Mountain Travel Sobek, and specifically our trip leader, Kristy Larsen, did an outstanding job of showing us the beauty and the complexity of the country and its people. We could not have done it better if we’d planned it ourselves.

The people of Morocco are divided into two main ethnic groups — Arabs and the native Berbers. While the Arabs tend to be clustered in country’s northern cities, like Fes, the Berber people live in the remote mountains and deserts in much the same fashion as their ancestors for generations before. The Berbers themselves are divided into three distinct ethnic groups and speak a variety of dialects, none of which is a written language.

On one of our hiking days through these remote mountain villages, we were privileged to visit in the home of a Berber family. The woman of the house generously invited us in for sweet mint tea and Berber bread, freshly baked in the village communal oven.

Though many of the village children never complete primary school, this particular family proudly showed off one of their sons who was attending school in a nearby town. He was one of the few to make it that far.

We also visited a local village school where, on that particular day, the children were attempting to study French. The teacher explained to us, however, that beyond the school building itself the government didn’t supply any of the schoolbooks or papers or pencils required for learning. The twelve students were sharing three French books among them. Any school supplies had to come from their own homes, and it was quite obvious that the children’s families didn’t have money to spare. And yet they continued to attend class, even if only for a few years of education.

It’s difficult to describe all that we saw without falling into a cliche of some kind — either a Sally Struthers-like plea for money or some patronizing discourse on the dignity of the poor. Perhaps it suffices to say that every time I leave the abundance and luxury of the United States to spend time in a place where people manage to survive on less — a lot less — I am humbled. As one of my fellow travelers so aptly put it, sometimes the most generous people you meet are the people with the least to give.

We’re glad to be home! Happy Halloween!

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