The Power of a Little Blue Book

Last semester I studied abroad in Granada, Spain and through our program we went to Morocco for five days. We started our trip in Tangier, then traveled south to Rabat, passed through Asilah, and the last stop was the city of blue, Chefchaouen.

Group picture in the city of Tangier (Photo by Emily Chavez)

Throughout the trip we met with Moroccan university students who gave us insight on what it was like growing up during the Arab Spring and under the rule of  King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Many of the students aren’t able to leave the country because of the difficulty and expense of getting a passport.  

I was in awe the entire time I was talking with these students. They knew so much about American pop culture—music, movies, shows— more than any of us did. Even though we hung out with the Moroccan students for a short period of time, it was still difficult saying goodbye.

We crossed the Moroccan-Spanish border at the town of Ceuta. Before we got out of the our van to cross the border, my program director looked at us and told us to be thankful because we’re lucky to have “a little blue book.”

We had to walk across the border because our van driver was Moroccan and couldn’t cross the border. The power of our passports got us in front of the long line of people— typically are porters— who are trying to cross to transport goods to avoid customs tax and possibly earn a small markup when the goods are sold. Porters pack as much as they can on their back and wait in line for hours, just to cross for the day.

We crossed the border with no problem and in less than 20 minutes. While we waited for our taxi on the other side, I was thinking about how fortunate I am to be able to have a U.S. passport and travel freely and easily.