Name: Ana Mitchell
Type of Project: Education Abroad
The BFAM students at the Paris Mosque
- Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.
My STEP funds went towards an education abroad May session called Between France and Morocco: Diversity in the Francophone World. The first two weeks were spent in France—one in Paris, and the other in a southern town called Aix-en-Provence, where we were placed in homestays. The third week we spent traveling to various cities in Morocco, starting with Marrakech, then to Rabat, Fes, and ending with Casablanca. Our month between these two countries we spent time visiting museums, historical sites, and visiting diverse, immigrant neighborhoods to analyze how these two countries have approached issues of identity, inclusivity, religion, and diversity in both the past and today.
- What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, your view of the world change/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?
Throughout my time abroad— in two countries that I had never traveled to— I learned not only a lot about France and Morocco, but in reflection, learned a lot about America too. As this course was a history course, I unsurprisingly learned hands on how much a country’s past histories plays in shaping what it is today. Perhaps one of the best words of advice was given to us by Professor Aboubakar Jamai of IAU—he told us not to always take things as they are—always dig deeper to discover the layers of complexity. And because of this, we shouldn’t always be so quick to judge a country, its people, religion, or laws because there is always more to our initial perceptions. This comment really helped me throughout the rest of the trip when analyzing different aspects among the two countries. In terms of what I discovered in my personal understanding, I found that I am always willing to try new things—especially when it comes to food! I was hesitant, however, to try out my French, but I soon realized that it is the effort that counts and that most people are willing to work with you to have a conversation. I was quick to dive into creating new friendships and making the best use of my free time as possible. I love my sleep, but during this trip, I saved most of that for the bus, as I wanted no time to go to waste. I was, however, shock when I realized how home sick I had become so quickly. I had been itching all semester to be abroad for a month experiencing new things, seeing new places, and interacting with different people. I had the expectation of falling head over heels with France, specifically Paris, but I was surprised that I had a difficult time finding the enchantment of the city that I expected there to be. I realized that you can never really know a place until you’re on the ground experiencing it in its entirety, all forms of the place interacting with each other. I had learned a lot about Paris from my French and history classes, and of course, had seen endless photos. But for me, it didn’t have the same sparkle as it did in the photos, and that’s okay, because not every place will.
- What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?
As a student of anthropology, one of the first and foremost things that is ingrained into our studies is notion of cultural relativism, and that cultural functions and norms that apply in America, won’t necessarily work in another country, even if the countries appear to be similar. Within my first few hours in Paris I experienced this anthropological downfall. I, and another student on the trip, were meeting up with other friends, who happened to be studying abroad in Paris, at a café for coffee. When we got there, the table was short one seat. I let my friend sit down, and I pulled a seat from an empty table nearby. Before I even had the chance to sit down, one of the waiters was there to pull the seat away from me and put it back. Sleep deprived, and already strung out on endless espressos from breakfast, I was taken aback. My friends exclaimed that it was very rude of the man to have done that. In the moment I agreed, but with later reflection, realized that it was my fault for assuming that was appropriate to do, as it usually is in most places in the U.S. The man returned with not a chair, but a stool for me. I took what was offered. He then asked my friend and I who had just joined our friends, who had already ordered, what we wanted. I hadn’t gotten money out of the ATM yet so I was just going to be there for the company, but when I told the waiter I didn’t want anything he told me that if I was going to sit at his table, I had to order something or leave. Throughout the rest of my stay in France I began to understand some of the conventions of French culture. If you are out to eat or for drinks, each individual is expected to get something of their own, splitting dishes is not as much of a thing (as experienced by some other students on the trip), but if you order something as simple as an espresso, that gives you the right to stay at your table as long as you want, even if it is busy (something we don’t tend to do as much in America. I often find that we feel much more rushed to get out of restaurants once we have finished our meal and paid). These experiences reminded me not to apply my own cultural customs and norms to another culture and that I shouldn’t judge others based on my own, despite my initial feelings thinking some of these unspoken rules were rather silly.
Our second week in France we took a day trip to Marseille. We received a walking tour from Professor Yunma Marsarwa, who had previously lived four years in the neighborhood she was going to show us. As soon as we exited the bus station in Marseille, we were welcomed with a beautiful view of the city. Dr. Marsarwa allowed us to take photos and told us that those are the kinds of views of Marseille that are presented to outsiders. However, there is much more than what meets the eye and that there is a lot of poverty and minority narratives that get covered up. Walking through the immigrant neighborhoods it didn’t even look like the France that is depicted in mass media. A lot of the area preserved immigrant culture in dress, food, language, and religion. Dr. Marsarwa said that many people come to Marseille and think that they are not even in France because it is so drastically different. This was a great experience in seeing how identities, communities, and histories within these areas can be airbrushed and how nearly every place has a story like Marseille, but dominant narratives prevail. Seeing parts of Marseille that aren’t typically considered places to visit was a reminder to always ask what is not being told and to seek lesser-known areas.
A large portion of our trip was dedicated to discussing Islam in both France and Morocco. Today, as many know, there is a widespread assumption across the Western world that Islam equates to terrorism and terrorism equates to Islam. In France we had the opportunity to tour the Frejus Mosque and speak with a group of men and women who practice Islam. In this time, the individuals were so willing to open up to discuss and answer questions about Islam that may seem rather taboo to Americans. They were extremely kind and tickled by our curiosity. One woman was almost brought to tears because she wanted to stress that Islam is a religion of love—not what we see portrayed in the media—and that she wanted to make clear that terrorists who claim Islam are not practicing Islam the same way that the majority are—peacefully. Although this is a stereotype I did not hold, I still understood the importance of having basic conversation about topics such as these in times like today. Information is easily manipulated, conflated, or one-sided. Even though this interaction was planned through the program it did not fail to enforce the notion that talking to others or just simply having a conversation, specifically those who we may hold prejudices about, is critical in reminding ourselves that we are all human beings.
Preparing a traditional Moroccan meal in the Atlas Mountains with an Amazigh family.
- Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable in your life?.
My attention was first drawn to this program because France and Morocco were countries I had previous interest in traveling to, which I could accomplish traveling to in one program. Soon after reading the course description and going to an information session, I found that the structure of the program fit perfectly in with my studies as an anthropology and comparative cultural studies major with a French minor. I have studied French since 7th grade, with the exception of taking my sophomore year off from the language at Ohio State. This was my first time I got to apply my French skills (and sometimes, lack thereof) outside of the classroom and in a real native-speaking setting. It was absolutely intimidating, but I was able to make do and learn from the interactions that I had. If anything, this has confirmed my interest in the language and makes me want to pursue it more. I know that if I want to become fluent I need to spend more time in French-speaking countries for longer periods of time. I also learned that a lot of French we learn in the classroom is not necessarily always applicable to the real-world settings. We are taught a lot of formality in language, but as we know in America, there are a lot of short cuts and slang. Picking up on some of these terms and forms helped me pass a little longer as a local, or at least a tourist who had an understanding of the language a bit better.
Through lectures from professors, journalists, museum curators and just speaking with locals, I learned that you have to inspect more than what meets the eye. For anywhere really, it’s important to note what narratives are told—and be especially vigilant to the stories that aren’t told—and who is telling them. As this was a history course, we can’t always take stories for what they are, we need to dig deeper, ask more questions, and always seek a non-dominant narrative. I think one of the strongest suites of this program was going outside of the tourist attractions and visiting immigrant neighborhoods in Paris and Marseille that are not typically considered attractions or important sites to visit. As each country has its own history, it is necessary to take into account past histories to understand current day issues. Perhaps the most important thing I have learned is simply just talk to the locals—ask them what their experiences are and their takes on certain issues. As students we can easily get worn out of typical classroom instruction, however, this trip was a refreshing reminder that I want to continue my studies into graduate school. I am sincerely driven by curiosity of others and there is plenty more for me to explore. I may not know what direction or focus I want to take with anthropology, but I know that my understanding of others, and myself, starts with traveling and asking questions.