Over winter break, sophomore Milana Levaniuk took a trip to Morocco, Africa. Morocco is located off the coast of Africa closer to Spain. Levaniuk shared that she spent 12 days in Morocco. 

The journey to Morocco was not the easiest, Levanuik said. Starting with a flight from  Saint Louis Lambert airport to Monakesh. Then, a two hour drive to Safie, Africa. 

“We flew into Monakesh, [and] we had a two hour drive to Safie,” Levaniuk said. 

With the time she got to spend in Morocco, Levaniuk said that she spent time with family at her relatives’ wedding.

 “This was a trip for a wedding, it was grand, and I really loved it,” Levaniuk said. 

Morocco created a great space for Levaniuk to create new memories and new experiences at many tourist attractions. 

 “We did go to Solento, we got to go to the market, [and] we rode camels,” Levaniuk said. 

Morocco is a very popular tourist destination, and with the main languages being French and Arabic, the city would be the most comfortable for an English speaker, Levanuik said.

“If you can’t speak French or Arabic, [you should] go more towards the city, [where there are more things that are] meant for tourists,” Levaniuk said. 

The social norms on the different sides of Morocco can be significantly different. On one side, they are conservative, and on the other they are more lenient and able to bend to tourist norms. 

“In Safie, it’s really looked down on if you were wearing [revealing] clothing, but in the tourist areas, they don’t care,” Levaniuk said. 

Although Levaniuk enjoyed her travels, the effects of being homesick did affect her. Levaniuk explains that though she had fun, she missed her friends. 

“I got homesick just because I was hearing about everything my friends were doing over winter break,” Levaniuk said. 

Levaniuk said that the opportunity to learn about a different culture can be very eye opening. 

“I also enjoyed learning about a new culture and talking to new people,” Levaniuk said.