Location: Elizabethtown, PA to Newark Liberty International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, to Rabat, Morocco.
At 4:37 I was awake. Not because I needed to be; my train to the airport wasn’t until midmorning. I’d had a dream that I’d dropped my international credit card down some un-retrievable hole, so I was now wide-awake with worry. As if I needed more reasons to be nervous today.
My plan was to catch the train from the station in my hometown to Newark, then take a New Jersey transit train out to the airport with plenty of before my flight. I’d packed yesterday, fitting everything into my mother’s Australian backpacking backpack with plenty of room to spare, plus a few things into my normal backpack for the flight. The trouble was that I was not just going on the study abroad trip to Morocco. I’d also planned a backpacking trip in Spain, France, and England for afterwards, so anything I packed I had to be prepared to either leave behind or carry on my back. After careful consideration and a few strategic decisions, I figured out exactly what to take and how to pack it. All my outfits could be dressed up or down and wouldn’t wrinkle terribly, and I didn’t take anything that didn’t go with at least a few other things. Only three pairs of shoes and minimal toiletries; I can always buy stuff there. Even my mother, who has moved continents twice in her life, was impressed with me! I’m good. Score: Alice – 1 Trip – 0
10 weeks abroad, including backpacking in 5 different countries?
No problem
The morning passed quickly, with my dad insisting on making a huge omelette for me (though my stomach was feeling like it used to before cross country races) and my little brother relishing some video-game playing time with me, and we left for the train station with lots of time to spare. Pictures were required at the platform, and as well as many hugs from my brother. My parents had decided to spend the day in Philadelphia so would accompany me halfway. But that’s as far as the plan went, and this is where lesson one comes in. We hadn’t even gone two stops when I realised I’d left my medication to prevent Typhoid in the fridge at home. Crumbs. Score: Alice – 1 Trip – a mistake on such a magnitude counts for about 10
My first thought was to keep with the plan and I’d just get another prescription somewhere in Morocco, nervously confident that I’d actually be able to do this. But my parents were already figuring out when the next trains back towards Elizabethtown were, how long it would take to drive to Newark from here, and whether the price in gas was worth the price of medicines. Together we figured out that it was possible to get off at the next stop, take another train that would come minutes later back home, pick up my medicine, and drive to the airport. So that’s what we did. (Shout out to my parents for sacrificing their Sunday to drive me the 3 hours there and back, mercifully they were available to do this- it will not be so for the rest of my trip).
The rest of my journey to Morocco went very smoothly. Penn State once again demonstrated it’s massiveness when I found a girl who had been in my freshman French class on my flight to Paris, who was off to study in Aix-en-Provence for the summer. The Paris flight was like any ordinary trans-Atlantic flight; freezing cold, fitful sleeping, American in-flight food, although with some cool views out the window.
In Charles de Gaulle airport, I used some nervous French skills and found my gate, as well as another Penn State student and a few other students on my program (there are only so many flights to Rabat each day, it wasn’t a surprise to run into them). This plane was much smaller, with an absurdly French in-flight meal; a hunk of bread, some soft cheese, an orange tart, a warm cheesy-mushroom burrito thing, pasta salad (for some North African/Mediterranean flare) and some chocolate. (You’re going to get a lot of food photos, just a fair warning)
Our little group found our IES representative easily, and soon we were on our way to our hotel for the first night. It was hard to get a really good look at Rabat as we drove through, so I’ll save that for another post. What is worth describing through, was our group dinner that evening. We were driven to a restaurant and when we step out of the van a small group of Moroccan musicians in traditional dress and instruments start up this welcome song (I assume so at least, it was in Arabic). With their drums and tambourine and loud calls, soon the whole street was watching us as we stood outside the restaurant being welcomed. They were so happy and smiling and very welcoming. They’d invite us in to dance with them, shouting and beating the drums all the while. This lasted for a few minutes, and they started up again between the courses of our meal. WHICH WAS DELICIOUS BEYOND BELIEF.
The IES staff that dined with us didn’t tell us there was more than one course, so we were all stuffed full of the bread, lentils, pastry-wrapped meats, and various vegetable salads when we learned there was more coming; tanjine, peas, and a few other dishes I haven’t quite grasped the name of yet. All of the new flavours, combined with the wonderfully sweet mint/other herbs I didn’t understand the Arabic for hot tea. Dessert followed another round of singing and dancing in a circle, though at this point we were so knackered and stuffed that we lost our energy. All the same, they again escorted us out with another song. I was overwhelmed the whole time by their enthusiasm and joy at yelling/singing these minutes long songs multiple times through the evening. Everyone we’ve met so far has been friendly and inviting (even a random lady on the street who asked us if we were lost when we were exploring the area around the hotel earlier in the day). It’s very impressive.
It’s been so many long hours travelling, but I’m finally here and reflecting on the ups and downs of this marathon two-day journey, I can safely sum up this lesson.
When travelling, it’s okay to have a plan, especially when relying on transportation, but you always also need to flexible, creative, and open to every possibility should barriers, setbacks, unexpected circumstances, or even new opportunities arise. Yes you are away from the familiarity of home, but ways around whatever is in your way is not insurmountable, and often very easy to navigate. It just takes a little quick thinking, decisiveness, and courage.
Location: Rabat