Well, a lot has happened here since we got to the Home-Base!
We arrived Saturday afternoon, Moroccan time. Abdou, our transportation buddy, and Mohamed, our country director, came for us at the hotel. On our way through the city of Rabat to the house, we saw many interesting buildings, people, plants, you name it! We soon came to realize that we will be staying in a fancy part of town, in the house of an ex-diplomat. Not too shabby!
Once we arrived, we had a tour of the house, unpacked our bags, and met one other volunteer. That afternoon we had tea-time which is all about mint tea and some kind of pastries or sweets, and is part of our routine now. We then waited for the other volunteers to come in. We only met the volunteers with the same start-date as us, as some of the people who were already here from weeks before were out on weekend treks. It seems that we are pretty much even for numbers of Americans and Canadians in our group... and everyone is getting along so well. We are sharing stories from back home, and talking about our future plans here. Most people are staying between 2 and 4 weeks, whereas one girl is staying for 12! We had our introductions and ate an amazing supper together. The ladies in the kitchen give it their all every meal. So far we have met Leila and Fatiha, and they are so cute! I thought the food would be a shocking difference from home, but other than the spices and chicken liver in our rice tonight :) it hasn't been yet. We've had variations of potatoes, pasta, rice, salad, lentils, pastries, fresh fruit.... mm mm good! It was a quiet night and we didn't go far. Today we explored a bit of the neighborhood...
This morning we had orientation. Mohamed told us more about the area, the house, our placement (with the help of Abdellah, who is a Martin Luther King look-alike!), and he answered many questions, amongst many jokes. We went on a scavenger hunt to find the post office, cyber cafe, and spa. We even had some basic Arabic lessons. I now know *shwiya* (a little), including "thank-you" (shokrun), "you're welcome" (la shokrun ala wajib), and "what's up?" (shnu). We hope these phrases will help us get by tomorrow, which is our first day at the orphanage! We were fortunate to read some evaluations left behind by past volunteers that included things like challenges faced, expectations, tips, etc. Tomorrow will be an interesting day...
Other than that, Maj, Kelli and I went with 2 other people from the house to the ACIMA (small mall) near the house. It was really cool to see their grocery store. It was filled with things we'd find at home (Betty Crocker and Coca Cola), mixed with a lot of local products. After that, we went for a walk around the block and saw a mosque up close. The architecture here is beautiful... it's a photographer's dream!
Anyway, I better get going here. It is after midnight and we have work tomorrow!
Hope everyone is well. It's nice to see my family's faces on Skype!!!
Goodnight,
C
awww...LOVED your post Candi!! I am so proud of you and what you have already accomplished!:) Love all the pics...post more! Sounds like it is already off to a fabulous start the beginning of making amazing memories. I am so inspired by you.:)
ReplyDeleteLove you
xo