Hi! My name is Bella! I am a third-year student at WWU Fairhaven College. This past year I was awarded the Adventure Learning Grant: a study abroad opportunity dedicated to giving students an open-ended opportunity to explore other cultures and to assist in personal development. This blog is my way of sharing my time abroad with my community and also a way for me to dive deeper into what I am learning.

In my studies, I have found myself drawn to the world of food and plants. I love looking at how different relationships are created and sustained. My interests fall under the realms of cultural anthropology, ecology, and permaculture.

On this trip, I wish to broaden my knowledge, especially relating to the realm of food. Each culture has its own meaning of food and carries unique methods of preparation and consumption. Cuisine is intertwined with culture and can be affected by many things: region, religion, relationships, migration – even politics. These topics are best described under the term foodways: a look at the intersections of food and culture: how factors like region, politics, migration, etc. affect the development of cuisine. The main idea I want to explore is the respective food cultures of Northern Morocco and Southern Spain and their context in the history between the two regions. I also wish to expand my view to learn about the ecology of the area and wild foods, a newer passion of mine.

I want this blog to be a time capsule of my time abroad. I wish to share my about experiences, the people I meet, the places I go, the recipes I learn and everything in between. Thank you for joining me on this journey!