I am wondering...(Day 1 in the Orphanage)

Do we consider a piece of garbage to be equivalent to a dora doll?  Do we think that seeds from a tree inside a run down "sandbox" can teach a child how to count? What about bread and butter everyday for breakfast - would you "get sick of it"?  How often do we consider the true weight of the words - Alhamdullilah, Praise be to God?

All of these questions and more run through my head every second I am with the kids at the orphanage.  Day 1 at the place was so many different things that the amount of adjectives I could use right now would cover this whole blog.  I got into the room I was assigned and had to jump right in.  I introduced myself to the nurses in Araby and began passing out bread and milk to the kids.  Almost immediately, two boys called me "mamma"... a word defined by new faces coming in and out of their rooms every few weeks.  They do not understand what a mother is.  There is no consistency in this word, yet there is still so much love attached to it. This observation was confirmed by the kids running up to the only male nurse outside and the 2 male volunteers during playtime yelling "baba, baba! (dad, dad)".  After I got over the initial shock of the standards of living and the many disabilities "normal" kids have, I began to converse, sing and dance with these cute, energetic, AMAZING, children.  I had the urge to say "la! (no!)" to a girl breaking a piece of hilwa (a mint given to them by a volunteer) in her mouth and distributing tiny little spectacles of green sugar and germs to her eager friends, but then I realized that is their only real "treat" for the day.  The spread of germs was unstoppable, so I figured that they might as well enjoy it while it lasts.  

Speaking of "hilwa" (something sweet in arabic), I am going to spit out my gum and jump into be.  I can't wait to see them again tomorrow!  Taha, the most physically disabled yet mentally the smartest kid I have ever met, already knows my name.  

Much love back home.  Facebook is super slow, so I apologize for the lack of response.

xoxo, Mush

Musings.....

Wow...what to say! So much has happened in so little time, on so many levels. Today, even as I was talking with the girls about our volunteer experience thus far, I had to stop for a moment to ask if it really had only been our second day of volunteering. 

These children are pure joy to be around. It is so easy for us to focus on what they may not have in their lives, yet from their innocent smiles (or sometimes mischievous) and cheerful giggles I find it easier to see what they DO have in their lives. The nurses that care for them, as one volunteer said truly are saints. Especially after learning today in our educational talk on Morocco what wage the nurses work for, I have even more respect for their compassion and hard work. 

From the meager experience we have had it is hard to imagine what is to come in the weeks approaching. Yet, I find myself awaiting eagerly as the little bit I have experienced, even taking the challenges into consideration, has opened my eyes as to the impact even one small person's hug, kiss or foreign words can make. 

Those Smiles...

So yesterday we had our first day at the orphanage ...... and WOW. 

I didn't know what eye-opening meant until yesterday morning. 

The 3 of us went in the first van trip downtown at about 8:30. Once we got there, the guards let us in and we followed Mohamed into the building. We could hear many little voices in the rooms above us. Some of the caregivers, or nurses as they are called there, met our group in the hallway and separated us into the rooms they needed the most help in. Maj was in a room with 4-6 year olds, and Kelli and I were in a room with 2-year olds. They were all sitting at tables when we walked in and welcomed us with big smiles. 

It has been tough since that moment to understand what the nurses expect exactly from us because of the language barrier, but so far we have just kept open minds, been willing to do anything they need, and tried to communicate with broken English, French, a few Arabic phrases and of course gestures.

In the past 2 days we have helped in feeding and changing the little people, and bringing them outside to play. This is my favorite part of our time there, as we really get to interact with the kids, and learn more about their developing personalities. There is not much for playground equipment, considering all the groups of children there that come out to play at the same time, and there are no toys. It is amazing how much love and attention each one of the children need, and how they fight each other to get it. It is a draining experience but as everyone who has gone there before us has said, the most rewarding too.

At the end of the shift, I am constantly thinking about the kids- their smiles, tears, hunger, developing minds...

and also the nurses, for their strict, yet their sincerely compassionate ways. It really takes angels to do what they do everyday...

The Home-Base

Hi everyone... Bonjour! Salam!

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

      

More Mush...if you really want it :P

Hey everyone,

Since I am an ultra nerd, I also have daily banter on: www.majedainmorocco.blogspot.com

Kelli, Candice and I will still be posting on this one regularly, with a lot more pictures and stories. Stay tuned!

Close captioning is brought to you by... :)

In Rabat

Hey everyone,

We are finally in Rabat!!!!!! WOOT. I don't think the total hours of sleep in the last two days amounts to too much so I may just end up rambling in this post (that was a run on sentence, right?)...

I zonked on the Edmonton Intl flight to Chicago after a emo goodbye to my mom and sister. I don't like to hear the worry in my mauji's voice. Got into the land of lollapalooza and had the best panini in the world. Seriously, Chicago has the best food (the cousins are right), even in the airports. Spoke and texted with some of my Chicago relatives during our 6 hour lay over. Too bad I wasn't able to see them... maybe on the return flight.

Chicago to Paris flight was about 7 hours. We had the most comfortable seats and had a good little nap until a lady got sick and there was a call out on the intercom for a medical doctor. Kelli and I contemplated jacking the nice blankets but we are good girls and know its bad to steal. Listened to some podcasts (Meccaone Radio), read a bit of my trusty lonely planet guide books and watched a bit of "I Love You Man". The chick who was acting in this movie was very sub-par. There was a few good laughs though.

Anywho, then we got to Paris. Oh the land of sweeeeetttt fashion. Ya Mom, I was a total HICK compared to them. I admit it! hahaha. It wasn't long before we picked up our luggage, switched terminals and hopped onto the flight to Rabat. We had some variation of couscous and pasta on the flight which I didn't really eat because I was half awake and feeling a little groggy. Best thing about this flight was on our eating trays... "Air France guarantees there is absolutely no pork in this dish." Sign you are going to a Muslim country, haha. Candice ended up sitting by an interesting Moroccan local who gave some great tips for our trip. She also got a glimpse of this while Kelli and I had our window shutter down...

It is the SHORT distance between Morocco and Spain. Apparently, due to poverty in Morocco, many people end up dieing trying to swim over to Spain (app. 14 km). We also just found out that we will be having a long weekend during our volunteer trip, so we will be able to go up to Fez, Tangir and take a ferry to Spain. Coool.

We got off the plane in Rabat, my attempt at Moroccan araby then began. The language barrier wasn't that bad between my broken lebanese slang and candice's french. The lady who stamped my passport refused to believe I was Canadian for about five minutes and kept asking me my origin and my dad's origin. Anyways, it all turned out good. Our taxi ride was an adventure in itself, but I will save that story for later. I will leave you with a picture from the balcony of our hotel room. Tomorrow is CCS orientation.

Piece hommies. xoxo. MF (does that have the same affect as "XOXO, GOSSIP GIRL"?)

Cross Cultural Sweetness

Our philosophy and values are fused into Cross Cultural Solution's approach to international volunteering.