This gallery contains 57 photos →
Culture, History, Life, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Zwina Medina (Not to be confused with Funky Cold Medina)
by Thomas Stanley • • 2 Comments
Culture, History, Nature, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Rabat Zoo
by Thomas Stanley • • 0 Comments
Being the first day out of site in three months, especially in much cooler weather, it was a busy day. After visiting Chellah, Emilio and I took a trip to the Rabat Zoo, better known locally as Jardin Zoologique de Rabat. Despite some reservations I have about zoos in general, it was surprisingly nice. According to…
Culture, Life, Nature, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Seaside
by Thomas Stanley • • 1 Comment
It’s been nice to have a break and hangout by the seaside in Rabat this week. While I love my town and its people, escaping the heat for a bit is helping to renew my spirit. As volunteers, in order to better assimilate, we were prohibited from leaving our site for three months. Near the…
Africa, Awareness, Culture, History, Life, Nature, Observations, Peace Corps, Photography, Travel
Morocco’s Southern Coast
by Thomas Stanley • • 1 Comment
First, let’s be clear, since I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. There is an extensive coastline along Morocco’s most southern coast that, as of yet, I am not allowed to enter as a current Peace Corps volunteer. I want to visit Dakhla and Laayoune, insha’Allah, but I can’t. Not yet. So, this is…
Awareness, Culture, History, Life, Travel
Albert Camus on the Merits of Travel
by Thomas Stanley • • 0 Comments
“Without cafés and newspapers, it would be difficult to travel. A paper printed in our own language, a place to rub shoulders with others in the evenings enable us to imitate the familiar gestures of the man we were at home, who, seen from a distance, seems so much a stranger. For what gives value…
Culture, Europe, History, Photography, Travel
Pena National Palace
by Thomas Stanley • • 3 Comments
High atop the tallest hill in the Sintra Mountains sits the storybook Pena National Palace. It’s an amazing sight to behold. What used to be the remains of a defunct, simple Hieronymite (followers of Saint Jerome) monastery was severely damaged in the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 and left in disrepair until it was renovated into an elaborately decorated royal palace by…
Aside
Reason 404 Why I Love Morocco: I can sit in a crowded taxi with my arm around a strange man and his hand on my knee without all the Western fears of male/male intimacy.
Culture, History, Peace Corps, Travel
Volubilis, or وليلي (Walily)
by Thomas Stanley • • 0 Comments
For those of you back home, here is a VERY brief overview of our trips to an amazing archaeological find. Take this information with a grain of salt, as they say, for I am not an expert. Consider this merely a solicitation for further exploration. It’s an ancient city just outside of the town of Moulay…
Awareness, Culture, History, Life, Peace Corps
Teach Me English
by Thomas Stanley • • 0 Comments
Louis C. K. has an insightful comedic bit about being a white, middle-aged, English-speaking, American male. He discusses the uncomfortable intersection of guilt about having all the unearned privilege each of these identifiers offers him while simultaneously being grateful for having them. He admits that, if he was given the choice, he would certainly choose to have…
Africa, Culture, Life, Peace Corps
Rural Road Safety
by Thomas Stanley • • 1 Comment
Though my town is relatively small, it has a serious road safety problem because of a major highway that runs straight through its middle. Traditionally a group of villages spread throughout the oasis that surrounds what used to be a river—but that is now dry most of the year—much of the town has grown to envelope the thoroughfare. “Centre,”…
