A semester in Luxembourg gives you a chance to go almost anywhere in Europe that you want to. An opportunity often overlooked by students is the chance to go out of Europe and visit an entire other continent by visiting the nation of Morocco in Northern Africa. This country is completely unlike anything you would find in Europe or even anywhere in the world. Morocco is not only an African nation, but it is a Mediterranean nation trying to re-develop its identity in the world. To do so Morocco is investing heavily in tourism, which makes it a fascinating place to visit as a tourist because they are trying to learn how to impress you. Morocco has a unique and fascinating culture which makes it interesting to watch the people of Morocco try to convey it to you. They may show you the local gardens or take you around the poverty ridden and crowded streets of the Medina (the old town) then contrast them with the new 5 star hotels the country has been investing in. Regardless of what you see as a tourist you have an opportunity to watch a people try to find a niche to market itself upon.
The culture of Morocco itself is adjusting. A nation which has an indigenous Islamic African population Morocco has also undergone French occupation and a massive globalization movement. An interesting read about nationalism in Morocco is The Integrity of Moroccan Nationalism by Said Hajji, http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsaid.hajji.name%2Ffr%2Fbook-integnat.html&langpair=fr|en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools , although this passage is from the mid 20th century it is still relevant today. The confluence of these different cultures is where Morocco is today. As you walk through the main bartering squares of Morocco you will likely hear the French language spoken by people selling hand carved African tribal masks and responding to the publicly broadcast Islamic call to prayer. Traveling through the world it is very easy to experience well grounded cultures or successful assimilation of cultures, but in Morocco you are exposed to an active melting pot of cultures. As in any historical example this means that there is inherent conflict in Morocco, but to the student this is an opportunity to see history in the making.
For the music connoisseur, there is no better place to visit than Morocco. In a stroll through the Menara Gardens http://authentic-morocco.com/attractions/menara-gardens/ you may happen upon any number of group of Moroccan citizens singing, dancing and drumming in small circles situated in the olive trees.
Or if you stop by and have dinner at the tourist attraction Chez Ali, http://www.ilove-marrakesh.com/chezali/, you will be hard pressed to have a dinner conversation because one after another bands of African drummers will come serenade you. It seems anywhere you go in Morocco the sound of music pulsates and reverberates through the red stucco walls. This is yet another example of how Moroccan nationalism is at work re-inventing itself. Each group playing music is playing something it identifies with specifically, but different groups do not sing the same songs or about the same things. It is likely you will be exposed to pure Arabic music, pure African music, pure Westernized rock and any combination of the three you could imagine. So as you walk through the cities of Morocco it is enjoyable to get lost in listening to the different types of music and contemplate how each thing you hear presents a different image of Morocco and the nationalism of the performer. Somewhere in the mixture of all this cultural, musical and economic transition there lies a center at which Morocco will find itself. Now is the perfect time to go to Morocco precisely because it has not yet found that equilibrium point. It is easy to go from country to country in Europe and see how they have grown and matured as societies, but it is rare to see one still forming itself. This is exactly what you are exposed to in Morocco and what makes it such a unique place to visit. In Morocco you will find beautiful Mediterranean beaches, like that at Essaouria (pictured below), contrasting medieval land locked cities such as Marrakesh.
It is certainly a lot more work to get to Africa than it might be to travel somewhere in Europe because of flight arrangements, customs complications, tour organization and an immediate culture shock, but a trip to Morocco will give you insights into culture that you could find nowhere else. A good starting point for organizing your trip to Africa is to browse the Authentic Morocco web-site at http://www.authentic-morocco.com/.
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