Morocco Adventures Come to an Unexpected End

I haven’t published an article in a long time because I have been so caught up with school, friends, and more. The following of what you will read is what I meant to publish 2 years ago. Apologies for the wait.

In my final article about our family sabbatical, I’m sharing a little bit about our last stops in Morocco, along with a few concluding thoughts.

Our last stop in Morocco was Chefchaouen. If you search “Morocco pictures” online, a good number of those photos will be of the blue streets of Chefchaouen. All the walls and many streets are painted sky blue. This gives the town a summery feeling. Whether clear skies or rainy days, in Chefchaouen, it always feels like the sun is shining down on you. But the nice paint is not just for looks – if a street is painted blue that means it is a dead end.

The Unexpected End to Our Family Sabbatical

Our travel plans began getting more complicated and more stressful as our time in Morocco wrapped up. The coronavirus was closing in, touching all parts of the world. We were considering going back to the U.S. or waiting for things to get better while staying in Europe.

We thought wherever we would go, we would be in isolation or quarantined for two weeks. If we went back to the U.S., we could not move back into our house until July (renters are living there). Or, we thought, we could go to Spain, which might be a little ahead of the U.S. in “flattening the curve.” There, we were fairly sure we could be in a nice place for two weeks.

We took a 15-minute flight to Gibraltar, walked across the border to Spain, and then drove to our apartment. We stayed in our apartment in Spain for about 1.5 weeks. Then we made a tough decision to come home to the U.S. because, in Spain, we were not even allowed to go outside. We also started getting emails from the U.S. Embassy saying to come home, and we began hearing news that Spain would extend its lockdown. I was happy I would be in the U.S. again because I could feel half-way home and see some familiar things. I was sad because I had anticipated going to Paris, Sicily, and other places in Europe.

We took several flights and finally arrived at our family’s beach house on the central Oregon coast. It was really weird because I could not believe I was back in the U.S., when only 48 hours ago I was speaking Spanish in Spain. It only took me a couple days to adjust. Now, I am excited to see familiar things like forest trails, hear frogs at night, eat at my favorite restaurants, and eventually return to school and see friends at home.

Final Thoughts

After traveling the world, I think it is important to have a balanced perspective on cultural differences and similarities. It is very important to not be so quick to point out every little difference about other cultures. We should also realize our similarities, because then we can be equals. I think it is fine to recognize the differences of other cultures because those differences make our world diverse and interesting.

6 thoughts on “Morocco Adventures Come to an Unexpected End

  1. Maia-this article is your best. I really enjoy your concluding notes. It is time for us to plan a trip together to Europe so you can complete your trip and we can share in your joy. Papi’.

    Sent from my iPhone

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  2. Bonsoir Maia,
    This message is coming from France.
    I am Xavier, a long long time ago I had the chance to spend a summer at your Grandparents’ house in Corvallis.
    I loved it !!!!!
    Thanks to the connection with your Mum, I have been following all your adventures and read your articles with a true pleasure.
    I was supprised and…happy to read this new one as well. It’s really an excellent work !
    I do love travelling a lot at it is great seeing places I had visited in the past through your eyes.

    So, if the whole family is coming to Europe, I’ll be more than happy to meet you guys in France, help you find cool spots and show you some places off the beaten tracks.

    Once again…Bravo et à bientôt !

    Xavier

    1. Thank you so much! My family was so excited to visit you and I’m sure when we get a chance to go to France we will definitely try to meet up!

  3. Hi maia…Thank you so much for including me on your list. I loved your stories…you are such a poetic talented writer Maia and I hope you will continue to write in the future. I’m sure you will remember these incredible adventures forever! Thanks again…Helen, Your grandma and grandpa’s friend

    Sent from my iPhone

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