Madeira Students Explore Morocco and Spain

For nearly three weeks this summer, Madeira students crossed continents, cultures, languages, and centuries during their Global Education program through Morocco and southern Spain.

Led by History Teacher Andy Lehto and Assistant Dean of Student Life & Culture: Student Engagement LeNae Franklin, students traveled through Rabat, the Atlas Mountains, Marrakech, Tangier, Chefchaouen, Seville, and Córdoba. Along the way, they lived with host families, learned Darija, met with local peers, explored historic sites, hiked through mountain communities, and examined the histories and cultures connecting North Africa and southern Europe.

The theme of this Global Program was Crossroads.

“Crossroads really is the heart of the Global Education experience for us,” said Global Education Coordinator Shields Sundberg. “These are not just trips; these are transformative, personally meaningful educational experiences that transform the way students think about place, people, and their own learning.”

The program’s name reflects its location and its purpose. Morocco and southern Spain sit at a geographic and cultural crossroads; between Africa and Europe, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and histories shaped by Amazigh, Arab, African, Jewish, Iberian, Islamic, Christian, and European influences. Students were encouraged to look beyond simple definitions of a place and consider how those histories and identities intersect.

For Lehto, that approach is central to the difference between traveling somewhere and becoming a global citizen.

“Global citizenship is bigger than being a tourist,” Lehto said. “Global citizenship is interacting substantively with the environment that you’re in.”

One of the most important opportunities for that interaction came during students’ homestays in Rabat. Students stayed in pairs with Moroccan families and became part of their hosts’ everyday lives. Director of Belonging and Global Education Jasmine Larrauri said the variety of host families meant each student developed a different relationship and experience.

Those relationships became so meaningful that when it was time to leave Morocco and continue to Spain, Larrauri said students felt “like they were leaving home again.”

For Suhani Nanda ’27, living with a host family offered a chance to step outside what she described as the “protective bubble” in which students can sometimes learn about the wider world.

“I think it is very easy to get caught up thinking that the way I do something is the only or correct way,” Nanda reflected, “but traveling to these countries taught me that we all have our own way of doing things that works for us.”

Learning happened through both planned activities and the unexpected moments that come with spending an extended period in another community. Students shopped in souks with their host families, shared meals, learned about Moroccan traditions, participated in conversations about contemporary society and identity, and spent time with local peers. An unexpected highlight came as the World Cup unfolded during the trip, giving students the opportunity to experience the excitement alongside their Moroccan hosts and communities.

After nearly two weeks in Morocco, the group continued to southern Spain, where visits to Seville and Córdoba allowed students to explore connections across the Strait of Gibraltar and the intertwined religious and cultural histories of the region. The final days included visits to the Seville Cathedral, Royal Alcázar, Córdoba’s Mezquita-Cathedral, Jewish Quarter, and synagogue.

“The Morocco/Spain trip was truly a remarkable experience, giving me the opportunity to immerse myself in new cultures and learn from the people and places around me,” said Emma Defechereux ’27.

For Franklin, that willingness to learn from unfamiliar people, places, and experiences was one of the most meaningful parts of the journey.

“We all seemed to be willing to relinquish what we knew, what we thought we knew, and just be open to the things we didn’t know,” Franklin said. “That’s where the courage comes. That’s where the community comes. That’s where the compassion comes. I think that’s where the learning comes.”

The Crossroads theme asked students to approach the world not simply as visitors, but with curiosity, humility, and a willingness to let their experiences challenge what they thought they knew. As the program’s Crossroads Reader reminded students before their journey: “Pay attention. Be respectful. Let yourself change.”

View more photos on Vidigami.