Global Bridges Egypt

Walk into the Medina in Rabat, and you will see vendors selling everything from art, ceramics, fabrics, metal lanterns...all within the winding white and blue lanes.  It feels like a maze with sights and sounds to satisfy even the fussiest of customers. Tucked away towards the back of the warren of lanes is the spice store.  Little colorful hills of spice powders are piled high!  The yellow hill at the back is turmeric, the red paprika.  Then there's coriander, cinnamon and ginger powders! A happy salesman cheerfully answered all our curious questions.  Little wonder how aromatic and flavorful Moroccan cuisine is! Tagine, Pastilla, Couscous, Rfissa, Harira soup....this yummy list can go on and on! Another famous product of Morocco is saffron.  Saffron is the stigma from the purple crocus flower. It is harvested in the fall from the foot of the Atlas mountains.  It's sweet, unique flavor can transform an ordinary dish into one fit for a king! In the medina, one gr

What does private education look like in Agadir?  Our host teacher Youssef organized a visit to primary school.  As always, we were welcomed with hot mint tea and an innumerable variety of cookies.  After refreshments, it was time to visit the classrooms.  Children here are adorable, and multilingual! They can speak three languages and recite the Koran fluently as well! Children learn Arabic and French beginning in kindergarten.  Moroccan Arabic is called Darija.  It differs quite a bit from standard Arabic. Here's kindergarten class Arabic class. And now for French class Reciting the Koran in Arabic A performance in English And accepting gifts from Robbins School

Yesterday we went to Chellah and walked right into history.  Outside the reconstructed walls, there was a warm welcome with energetic drumming and dancing.  But inside, all was calm and quiet.  Look at me - the past seemed to say.  Bricks, stones, sculptures, columns, inscriptions beckoned. It all started here.  We gasped, gaped and groped with our imagination to recreate the glory of the Roman Empire with it's majestic forums, temples, gods, and courts.  Standing there, was a tablet with roman letters dating from the first century!  How amazing that I'm still teaching the very same letters to my students in 2018! One civilization after another has fought for control of this strategic part of the globe.  Beginning with the Phoenicians, and the Romans, and many Islamic dynasties have ruled Morocco.  It's Arabic name is Al Maghreb which means the west part of the Arab Empire. From the Roman ruins, we crossed dynasties and walked into an ancient mosque.  The m

    What is an ideal learning environment? What makes a lesson successful?  What language is best to teach content? How does one feel when learning a new language?  What tools can be used to retain new vocabulary?  How does one learn new content and a language together?  Should grammar be taught? Should religion be part of school? All these questions buzz in my brain as I negotiate my days at Essafa High School in Agadir.      As a visiting American teacher, I was to observe a lesson at school today first.  A very gentle, soft spoken science teacher welcomed us to his classroom.  The lesson was completely in Arabic with a powerpoint that had captions in French.  The title was "Genetique Humaine", the students were eagerly asking and answering questions, taking turns to go up to the whiteboard, and writing answers in Arabic.  Arabic is written from left to right.  Does the brain have to do some strange gymnastics to process two languages at the same time?     The topi

Moroccans live in such a special part of the globe.  They have plentiful sunshine, the beaches, the mountains, the mild temperatures and orange trees everywhere.  The Arab word for Morocco is Al Maghreb which means the western end of the Arab Empire. Morocco got it's independence from France only in 1957, as a result, modern Moroccans speak Arabic and French fluently.  Children learn both languages in school.  In public schools, content is taught in Arabic while French is taught as a language.  English is added to the curriculum in high school.  High school is only three years and many students hope to study further in European Universities. In addition to the two languages, many children can speak the native languages called Amazigh and Tamazight.  They have recently adopted a script called Tifinagh.  And... most Moroccans love Hindi movies and can sing Hindi songs! What a multicultural, multilingual world! Once they get over the shock of seeing me and my bicultural identity,  I

There is something fishy in the air today.  That’s because we are in the quaint fishing village of Taghazout, near the port city of Agadir.  The brilliant blue-greens of the ocean, and the tall white waves make it a surfer’s paradise! I find my way to the water, after carefully stepping from one smooth rock to the next.  Fine sand, small pebbles, big rocks all co-exist on this beach along with daring surfers and hijab- covered moms. Between hot sips of rich Moroccan coffee, our host Youssef explains to me how the fishing village is transforming into a tourist village.  It’s easy to see the potential of Taghazout as a tourist attraction.  But how do local lives change as the visitors visit their beaches and ride the waves all year long?  Does it give them much needed revenue?  Or does it change a traditional lifestyle into a show? Do fish recipes change to accommodate foreign palates?  Or can there be a fine balance between the traditional and the modern?

      After having sipped innumerable cups of hot, sweet, minty refreshing Moroccan tea, I couldn't help comparing all tea traditions from Britain, India, China and Japan.  Tea provides a moment of pause, a time to socialize, to sweeten and refresh.  In Morocco, any time is tea time- before a meal, after a meal, a beverage of welcome, a drink to say goodbye! The preparation is elaborate too - from the silver teapots to the selection of the right mint leaves, and the just the correct number of sugar cubes to sweeten the palate.  But the real trick in Moroccan tea is the method of pouring it into the glasses.  It can even be a competition...who can pour higher and longer? The higher the stream of tea, the thicker the froth - and that, my friends, is what really matters! The tea is hot but the air in the bubbles ensures just the right balance of temperature in your mouth! The small glasses, often with bright colors and gold designs are filled with the exact amount of frothy liquid to

Yesterday we visited two schools.  The first of these was Moulay Youssef High School in Rabat.  The principal welcomed us with hot mint tea, and showed us around the grand courtyards and classrooms in the pouring rain! This school was established in 1916 and is one of the most elite public schools in the city.  Prince Moulay Hassan also attends classes there once a week. The school boasts of teaching preparatory classes in science, math and engineering.  One such class we visited was learning about the movement of satellites with elaborate geometric diagrams! The students speak fluent French, Arabic, and English. We were invited to taste the lunch in the school cafeteria and this is what it looked like... Moroccan food is most delicious, and they serve a lot of it! Next we visited Ecole Normale Superieure which has a very green and clean campus. Several undergrad students gave us presentations about learning to become teachers of English. They are enthusiastic abo

This is Africa! That was the thought in my head as we landed at Rabat Sale airport. But the view from the large glass windows of the airport almost surprised me.  The light, the trees, the people...I almost felt like I had landed in Delhi.  Driving through the city and seeing homes with flat roofs and rectangular windows, grass covered traffic circles with flowers, some washing hanging out, people milling around...gave me that Delhi feeling again! Morocco is a Muslim country.  The desk in my room has an arrow indicating the direction to Mecca.  A faint cry of Allah-ho-Akbar rises above the city traffic outside my hotel window.  Women choose to wear the hijab in a variety of layers from all covered with just the eyes peeping out, to no head covering at all.  A walk by the riverfront gave us a small glimpse of the Moroccan way of life - street vendors, families together, young men singing, flute music on a boat. In the evening, we were treated to hot sugared mint tea served in s

Getting ready to cross the Atlantic and change perspectives! Is the grass really greener on the other side?  Is the ocean really bluer?

76 fabulous teachers ready to create global bridges around the world! We are in the Palm Court Ball room at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC.  It was right in this room that Allied Government and Military officials met during World War II.  At this point, many teachers are plotting to conquer the world by building global bridges through education.