On Sunday, we spent the day with some underprivileged kids from the Assalam group home. These kids are either orphans or they don’t have their main breadwinner (their father) as a part of their life, for whatever reason. I think the way they were open to some strangers from America coming to visit them is truly admirable. I know that if some foreign strangers came to wherever I lived/ spent most of my time to basically gawk and feel bad for me because of the hand that I was dealt in life, I wouldn’t exactly be very welcoming. But it was like that at all, none of them seemed to be put off by our severe lack of knowledge of their language, or our cluelessness in Moroccan cooking, or the fact that we were all several years older than most of them. In fact, they were sweet and helpful and welcoming to a point where I felt like we I had known them for years.

That is part of the magic of Moroccan hospitality. They don’t really care about making you feel comfortable at first but in a way where they treat you like you have been friends forever; so, inevitably, you do become far more comfortable being around them and you end up treating each other like family.  It was kind of funny cooking with them as well, having them teach me how to make the salads and potatoes because they all did it a very particular way. I like to think I am a pretty good cook, I have been cooking for myself and others for years and years but the second I tried to cut a tomato on a cutting board, they looked at me like I was a lunatic. They taught me how to cut all the vegetables in the air without cutting my fingers off (thank you Selma!) And I’m glad they did take charge like that because the food was INCREDIBLE. They knew exactly what they were doing because they immediately had a course of action when we were allowed to begin. They “cut” and I said “into strips or cubes?!” Even when I was doing something wrong, they were nothing but helpful in making me understand how to do it right! Weirdly it felt like I was making food for my family with my cousins. I have a big family and when all my cousins and I are tasked with making the food, it brings a whole new meaning to ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’. We’re all laughing and playing around with the food, or making fun of each other (but all in good fun). This is kind of what it was like with them. They were joking around, and being loud and playing with the food but all for fun. It made the entire experience so enjoyable!

These kids had some of the best attitudes I have ever seen in other teenagers, let alone ones who have been through the things they have. They were happy to have us and help us as much as we were happy to be there. I left with a smile on my face that could not be wiped away!

I can genuinely say that the first 2 weeks of this program have been nothing short of eventful. Because I was here with my family for a while before the program start date, I have been here for almost a month now. Strangely, that feels like too long and too short at the same time. My time with my family was great, my sister and I only fought a few times and none of them were too violent, we visited many different places in Morocco and even went to Spain to see some “family”. We spent Christmas in Marrakesh and, despite the fact that Morocco is predominantly Muslim, we wished everyone we encountered that day a Merry Christmas, thus looking very dumb. Nevertheless, we had a great time during our trip!

Although my vacation with my family was terrific, I feel like the real adventure began the 5th of January, when the program began. The first day, Sierra, Domenica and I had to figure out a way to get to the program center from a Riad in the middle of the Medina. We were aware of the places that IES would pick us up from, and we were nowhere near any of them. Lucky for us, the staff at the Riad was incredible (shout-out to Zenab!!) and they called us a relatively affordable taxi, and a driver that led us out of the maze that is the Medina and brought us to the residence, our home for the next 2 months. We were some of the first people there and the first of the humanities group so we decided to explore around the building, although it clearly didn’t do much good because I still get lost at least once a day. Sierra and Domenica were roommates but my roommate, Cassie, had not showed up yet. We later found out that, for whatever reason, she would not be coming to Morocco this term, that was a bit upsetting because I was looking forward to bonding with her as well, but my new roommate Liz (one of the IQP Students here) is fantastic. I am very glad that I got her as a replacement. That night we had some amazing food at the Moroccan restaurant down the street from the residence and decided that we should go to bed. The next week was a blur of research for my project, orientation meetings, Darija classes, and a LOT of good food. I would say that at that point the biggest blockade I had encountered was the language barrier, but I feel that that will dwindle as the longer I am here. The first weekend the girls and I went to Tangier and Chefchaouen! It was beautiful!

I had a fantastic time with everyone there! It was a great vacation from vacation! After that it was back to reality (Rabat) and back to the weekday flow. Meetings with the wonderful Professor Brahimi (thanks prof!!), more Darija classes, more good food! On Thursday, we visited the Mohamed V University (unsurprisingly, the IQP students were not keen on tagging along) and were able to talk to some students there about some very interesting topics. I feel that we made a lot of friends; in fact, most of us are hanging out with one of them today (Saturday the 19th), but I am far too sick to even leave my room so, unfortunately, I was not able to go. On Friday, we attended an amazing conference that touched on the importance of the young people’s involvement in politics, and the danger of political apathy, among other things. I even got interviewed for Moroccan news! I was asked about why I personally believe political apathy is so strong among the youth. I gave a less than impressive answer but no one aired any grievances with me, so I will pretend that I was great (Celebrity Status in Morocco!) Sadly, I started to feel very sick around mid day, so I left a bit early. Tomorrow, most of the WPI group is going to Fez until Monday! Fez was my favorite city I visited with my family, so I cant wait to experience it with the girls!! Up to this point, I feel that the biggest obstacle I have faced is the language barrier, but I have already began to notice that decreasing a little bit! I am trying my best to order at cafe and restaurants, go to the ‘hanuts’ and the Medina and only speak Darija. One of the things I have been most blown away by are all of the artisanal work here. We went to a pottery place with our Professor, Brahimi, and it was amazing to watch them make the giant clay barrels. They are so talented as artisans, and workers and craftsmen, and they should be paid 10 times more than they probably are. The sheer work they put into making the clay malleable is so impressive, and then they paint everything by hand! Looking forward to seeing more impressive handiwork in Fez this weekend!

I am so excited to go. I am going to travel to Morocco with my family for a few weeks before the program start date, and I absolutely cannot wait. What I hope to gain from my entire Moroccan experience is more substance for me as a person. What I mean by that is, I want to have an experience that adds to my character, to my general knowledge of the world, to my knowledge of the language, to my understanding of completely different cultures! I realize it may seem like that might be asking a lot from 2 months of classes over there, but I truly want to dedicate myself to making the absolute most I can of my time there. These past few months have been very hard for me for several reasons, but what has kept me going the most is knowing that I am about to have an amazing, life- changing experience that I am truly looking forward to. I know that if I get my hopes up too high, disappointment is practically inevitable, but I just want something different. I just know that I have had more than enough of Worcester, Massachusetts, and that I am ready to go away and study something that sparks my passion for learning again! I hope that being in Morocco will expose me to a different culture, different food, different PEOPLE! I love meeting new people! I can’t wait to make Moroccan friends! I am ready for whatever Morocco has to give me, and to let this experience enrich my life forever.