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Freedom?

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by seejanesblog in Observations

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

free, freedom, freedom from religion, freedom to criticize government, King of Morocco, marrakech, Morocco, to be free, travel, united states, visa, way of life

Freedom. It’s a word I’ve always known, grown up with, understood. For me it just is. I never really think about the word and its meaning, but naturally just live it. Live with it. But that isn’t the case with people from certain other parts of the world.

Recently when discussing a possible trip to the States, a Moroccan friend commented, “I just want to know what it feels like to be free!” It got me thinking. Really, for the first time, I evaluated just what it feels like to be free; to feel free. I had never really thought about that before. What does it feel like to be free? And I tried to describe the feeling to him. But it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy because it’s so engrained in me. It’s a way of my life.

When I said that one of our freedoms in the States is the right to criticize the government, he said he wouldn’t want to criticize his government because he loves the King. When I told him another freedom is the right to criticize, select or deselect religion, he said he would never want to do that; he wouldn’t think of not being Muslim. Those are two big freedoms right off the bat that he would not be able to comprehend on just a short visit.

So that’s what got me wondering if someone visiting the USA can understand or grasp even the concept of our kind of freedom in just a short visit. Is it possible? Freedom is more a state of mind I think; a knowledge that you have choices.

 

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Say YES

24 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by seejanesblog in Morocco, Uncategorized

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

best friend, bff, documentary film, emmy award, film, filmmaker, filmmaking, inn, Kickstarter, Laurel Lindahl, marrakech, Mokhtar, Moroccans, Morocco, riad, sahara desert, say yes, tourism, travel, US Embassy, video, visa

I’ve said it before on this blog, but I’ll say it again: if you keep saying yes in life, it’s hard telling what will happen or where you’ll end up. Take for example these recent doings. Since I love Morocco and have an interest in pretty much everything surrounding travel, new cultures/people, and real estate, I decided to pursue my plan to buy a riad, or guesthouse, in Marrakech. A real big deal, but only one part of this story.

Here’s another part. My best friend, Laurel Lindahl, is a producer/director and writer, among other things (like jokester, comedian, brownie-batter-eater, etc…). She recently won her second Emmy Award for a documentary film, linked below.

http://vimeopro.com/ebenandelle/the-ketchikan-story-project

So she knows what she’s doing. And she’s good at it. That got the two of us talking. Since I’m interested in buying a riad and she has experience with documentary filmmaking, why not film the whole riad-buying experience? Why not make it into a marketable piece of film for some such use down the road? We got excited about this so loosely laid out a plan where we would travel to Morocco in November 2014 and bring a filmmaker with us to capture some footage.

And then things progressed even more. Mokhtar, my friend in Morocco, wants to visit the USA so last week went to the US Embassy to interview for a visa. They kept his passport, which is a real good sign that they’re going to allow him to visit. At least that’s what we’re thinking. So that’s another part of the story.

But there’s more. Since I’m going to Morocco over Labor Day weekend (next week!) to check out riads, why not bring a filmmaker along for a few days to film the experience? And why not ask the one filmmaker whom you have heard so much about and with whom you really want to work? And besides, he lives in Amsterdam, which makes the flight so much more manageable. So we quickly devised a plan and emailed him asking if he was available. He is. We asked him if he wanted to work with us and if he would provide costs involved. He does, and he did. And now I’ve booked his flight and we’re making plans for an entirely different trip than I originally planned!

And also, on this end in the States, we’re going to meet with another filmmaker and storyteller who will create a video for a Kickstarter campaign so we can get the film funded. And since Mokhtar will presumably be visiting in the next month or so, we will be able to work with him during his visit for the Kickstarter video and for a film we will do about his life as well as the lives of other Moroccans.

We came up with this idea a few months ago, but all details have transpired in less than 24 hours. The project has already evolved into more than we thought and we will keep moving forward with our ideas as long as things are falling into place. We will keep saying YES and see where we end up. More here as it happens!

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The recent past

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My traveling past in Flickr photos

...dunkler Himmel über StykkishólmurPapučica / Slipper flower (Calceolaria herbeohybrida)Dreamlike PathASUNDERAmuse-GueuleWinter over the Grand Union Canal …"The Unknown From The Seine"Free  Feature • Read the 'Behind the scene' storyMare d'inverno
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