Students Embark On Immersive Cultural Travels to Morocco
By Chelsea Gao ‘28
The History and Social Science department, along with the Community Engagement Programs and Partnerships Office, hosts several immersive traveling experiences each year; on Friday, March 14th, 2025, while everyone was headed for spring break, a small group of eleven students and two faculty members left the campus around 9:00pm to visit the North African nation of Morocco as a part of one such voyage.
“This is my second year running the Morocco trip,” says Joshua Emmott, the History and Social Science Department chair. “We welcome all students from Classes I to IV to sign up, but students who take the Middle East elective get first preference.” The trip offered an incredible cultural opportunity for students who did not know where to spend their spring break or had never been to Africa; “I was looking for a meaningful way to spend my break since I couldn’t return home to Myanmar,” says Ladia Khaing ‘25, a student who went on the trip last year.
Upon arrival, the Milton team met up with two instructors in Morocco—one native and the other from the States. This immersive educational experience aimed “to teach [students] the culture of the modern Middle East and [for them] to learn what it is like to live in a modern Muslim country,” explains Emmott. “I wanted to learn more about the religion, North African culture, and experience new things,” says Amy Khaing ‘27. For students to completely immerse themselves in the local culture and traditions, the itinerary included an arrangement for a homestay in Tetouan, where students would celebrate Ramadan with their Moroccan host families. “Students had the option to get up at about 4 in the morning and have a huge meal. Then they [would] fast all day,” recalls Emmott of his favourite memory from the homestay, “later on at 6:30pm they [would] fire cannons to break the fast and [from] 6:30pm. to midnight [there was] a huge feast.” The cuisine in Morocco [was] very different from what students would enjoy at Forbes Dining Hall. “The food was heavy in spices, tomato, and rich in flavour…cooked in a special pot called tagine,” says A. Khaing.
Celebrating the holy month of Ramadan allowed the students to appreciate the Islamic culture. “One of my favorite memories was having suhoor with my host family[;] [...] sharing that moment of breaking fast together felt intimate, and it gave me a deeper appreciation for the rhythms of daily life during Ramadan,” says L. Khaing.
Beyond fasting, students noted the close-knit bonds within Moroccan families. “When we were in the families, people were just constantly coming over, [there were] aunts, uncles, cousins, grandkids…” says Emmott. “It [was] really hard to figure out how people were related to each other, but you know they were all related, and it [was] really cool to have the whole community [...] present all the time,” he adds. Through an intimate experience of the Moroccan lifestyle, students were able to connect and interact with teenagers of a completely different cultural background. “I learnt that people share more similarities than we might expect [and that] [focusing] on [those] similarities instead of the differences can help us feel connected to each other,” reflects A. Khaing. The immersive experience exposed students to a different lifestyle that they would otherwise likely not experience. “What struck me most was the sense of routine and unity: tea was a welcoming constant, and there was a quiet peace in the uniformity of daily life that felt very different from the fast pace of Milton,” says L. Khaing. Such cultural surprises deepened students’ understanding of Morocco and daily life in North Africa.
Many saw the walks around the ancient cities of Morocco as a highlight of the trip. “Being able to be in a place like Fez, Morocco, which is a beautiful medieval city, and to spend a few days there learning and walking around [was] pretty special,” says Emmott. Students also enjoyed a series of activities, such as Arabic classes and cooking lessons. The trip could be separated into two components: art and language. Students learned about traditional African art by visiting pottery workshops and making their own tiles. By the end of the trip, [students also had] a scavenger hunt in the city of Fez where they [went] out into the medieval city on their own and use[d] their language skills to interview people to find and buy things,” explains Emmott.
In feedback on the Morocco trip, as well as feedback for last year’s similar trip, students expressed their gratitude for this fun and educational experience as well as the friends they had made throughout the trip that they would otherwise never meet. “Going on the Morocco trip, you get access to...exposure to a community and a world that is not easy to replicate on your own,” says Emmott. Despite missing spring break, the students were able to travel with peers and enter into the homes of the Moroccans, gaining the opportunity to see how [Morocans] live, making the experience vastly different from a basic family vacation. Ladia Khaing is clear-headed about her opinion on the trip: “I wouldn’t have wanted to spend [my spring break] any other way,” she says.