2 June 2007 ? Saturday
I?m back in Kuwait now, first day of work in a couple of weeks. The place is nuttier than usual ? people way too hyped up. Perhaps it is end-of-year craziness ? let?s hope so. Finals officially begin Monday and students are scurrying around to get work done ? anxiety abounds and nerves on short-edges for the moment.
My nearly two weeks away have done wonders for my attitude. The week in England visiting first Michael & Jill Brookes and then touring with Willie & Neville Custance was absolutely delightful. We got to see some areas that were new to us ? Chipping Camden in the Cotswolds and the Derbyshire area (visited Chatsworth ? nice shack if you are a lord). Good food, too, and lots of adult beverages ? yeah!!!
The AMICAL conference in Morocco was excellent. Ifrane is 50 kilometers south of Fes (which is pronounced with a soft ?s? ? a feZ one wears on one?s head ? FeSSS is a place to live in). If you are interested in which institutions are in AMICAL, take a look at
www.amicalnet.org ? we are a remarkably diverse group. We are also a remarkably compatible group ? 18 institutions using the American model to teach, yet keeping their own spirit and character. Yours truly is now chair of the NomComm (nominating committee) and the SusComm (sustainability committee) ? we?ll elect officers by the end of June and then we and they have to figure out how to keep AMICAL alive after grant funding runs out.
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane is very pretty. One feels like you are in Switzerland vs. Morocco ? the area is very hilly and the weather is cool evenings (need a sweater and jacket). I?ll be sure to include a picture of the Library with this report ? you?ll see what I mean by the Swiss look and every building on campus has the same look. The library folks there ran a great conference ? excellent logistics, good food and lots of it, nice facilities, neat road trips (to Azrou and Fes) ? a fairly young staff excepting the director and all very competent. The conference went well, too, as librarians, IT staff and faculty all keep focused on learning and how to partner to make it better.
One last word about the Moroccan experience in that the souk in Fes is incredible. It dwarfs the Khan Khalili in Cairo, which I had thought massive. The souk is also in the medina, the heart of the old city, so it is a real warren of streets, alleys, paths. The medina is very old and one gets the sense that you really are in a different world when you are among shops, houses, apartments, food stalls etc. This souk is the best I have been in so far if you like the idea of getting lost and exploring things that are foreign to your own background!