After landing in Casablanca and finally making it out of the airport, the reality that I was on a completely different continent hit me for the first time. The landscape surrounding the airport wasn’t too different from something you’d see in the southern U.S. so that was a little surprising, but as we departed and approached the main area of Casablanca, the amount of construction underway was incredible. Piles of building materials, cranes, and other large equipment lined the highway and spanned throughout the city, but this surprised me as I wouldn’t have thought Morocco was working to expand so rapidly.
As we worked our way deeper into Casablanca, my excitement for our groups visit to the Hassan II Mosque continued to grow. The Mosque was one of the largest and most beautiful buildings I had ever seen, and even though I had saw pictures of it beforehand, my expectations were easily exceeded. The guided tour through the mosque was very informational, but out of all the facts we learned, I was most stunned when hearing it took only 6 years to complete the massive, detailed structure as workers labored 24 hours a day to make the feat possible. I can’t even imagine working 24 hours straight multiple times a week, and it’s hard to comprehend how dedicated and skilled they must have been to create the amazing mosque in such a short amount of time.
The last big shock I’ve had today was walking through the markets of Casablanca and experiencing the way Moroccan’s do business. Motorbikes are flying around in every direction, thousands of shops line the streets with anything from jewelry to fresh fish, and you never really know what to expect when you turn the next corner. It was definitely hard to get used to but after walking around for a couple hours exploring the city, it felt much more natural.
I’m excited to see what else I learn throughout our trip as well as how I adapt to new situations I face. I’ve already got to experience so many new things within the first day, and I’m eager to continue exploring Morocco and everything the country has to offer.
-Austin Gilliland
