Taylor Moore is a student at Grand Valley State University and an ISA Featured Blogger. Taylor has been studying abroad in Meknès, Morocco on the ISA Summer 2 program.
In my previous blog posting I mentioned how I like to use video to document my experiences while being abroad in Morocco. After beginning my second summer program four weeks ago I had a mountain of unedited footage from different excursions I have taken around Morocco. So, after four days, copious amounts of coffee, and numerous late-night visits to Moroccan cafes I have successfully managed to piece together four videos from my favorite excursions around the country. My aim is to make up for my mediocre photography talents by doing videos. Besides this, I truthfully don’t know of a better way to express my time and my experiences in these magnificent places if not through video. There are many moments and memories that I have had that no amount of words or pictures would sufficiently be able to do them justice. You know those moments we all have had when attempting to retell second hand information. Sometimes the best response is “you just had to have been there.” However, through videos and music I feel like I get to take the people that watch them along for the amazing journey that I went on. With these short clips, my hope is that you get to laugh at the same ridiculous moments and see the same breathtaking sites that I have. The videos that I am posting are from the cities: Fes, Azrou, Asilah, and Volubilis. Before each video, I will do my best to give some background about each place.
The best conceivable way to describe the city of Fes is to compare it to the busy and chaotic vibe of a major metropolitan city during rush hour. Fes is the places where you feel like you are in the center of something vibrant and exciting. The “medina” is filled with artisans, restaurants, cafes, and tanneries. Moreover, I could also make the comparison between the medina (old part of the city) in Fes and a Russian nesting doll. Every high walled maze of streets holds new opportunities to stumble upon something interesting and unique. Also the winding streets that house a quaint cafe and shops full of leather goods and Moroccan clothes provides the perfect way to spend a long afternoon of shopping.
To the south of Fes is a small city called Azrou. The most memorable part about this city was the sprawling wide open spaces and the beautiful views from the hike that I went on. Moreover, the group that I went with made the experience extremely memorable, because nothings says group bonding like a 2 1/2 hour hike up steep mountainous terrain. Oh, and feeding monkeys was also a significant highlight of the trip.
After, weeks of three hours in accelerated classes one of the best excursions you could be presented with is a well deserved escape to the beach city of Asilah. This city by the sea is possibly one of the most scenic cities I have visited during my stay. Clear ocean water, seafood, and beautiful painted murals scattered along the walls throughout Asilah contribute to the easy and relaxed feel of this city.
Lastly, the Roman ruins of Volubilis is usually not the most popular excursion that I have been on, but the history behind the site still resonates with me. The one component that really makes the trip is the company that you are in when you visit the ruins. The past two times I have seen Volubilis, I have had the good fortune of having an amazing group to share the experience with.
So, I have told you some of my favorite sites and memories from my time in these four amazing places. I hope that you enjoy the videos as much as I enjoyed the fun and hilarious moments that went into making them…
Sincerely,
Taylor Renee
Great video! Way to take advantage of such a great location to do creative projects. What kind of camera do you use and what editing software? Thanks! – Andrew
Hey Andrew! Thanks I am glad you liked the video. The camera I used for the video was just a standard canon elph 300 hs and I pretty much just used iMovie. :)
LOVING all the videos!!! Takes me back to my semester in Morocco :D
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Thanks for the post. I will definitely return.