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Earlier this week, we went to see the village weaving cooperative and meet some of the women who work there. The goal of the women’s cooperative is to empower women in the community and give them a way to earn income and increase their role in the family. Currently, there are 17 women in the cooperative but others are always welcome to join. We spoke with a couple of the women, including Fatima who spoke to us about her experience of the cooperative. We saw a lot of their work, which was all very beautiful and involved intricate designs. Some of the design elements were direct references to Amazigh culture and traditional tattoos. Afterwards, we were able to learn how to tie basic weaving knots and see the room where they make goods. I was amazed at how long it would take to make something even seemingly simple. Since each knot and stitch is done by hand, a small rug can take 10 days from prepping colors to completion. It was really great to go to this incredible initiative and hear so...

During our pre-trip days, we were tasked with writing a list of our concerns for the trip. Looming on each list was the bullet point: “language barrier”. While our Arabic lessons have definitely reassured us, it wasn’t until Day 6 that I was able to realize that there are so many more ways to bypass the complexities of a language barrier and build deep connections. Food: It is no exaggeration when I say we are eating well here in Morocco. However, it is not solely the delicious meals that makes it so special, it is the whole eating process. Meals can truly be a multiple hour experience, Syndiely and I have been able to connect with our host mother, Fatimah, by preparing cous cous together, her repeatedly telling us “cooli” (eat!) even though we are contentedly full, and the way she subtly pushes more food in our direction. I remember how our family warned us when we added spice to our side of the plate, and the surprised laughter and smiles when we gave two big thumbs up after tasting...

The night of the 20th was one that was quite shocking to the inhabitants of room 211 at the Rabat hotel! As Shepard, William, and I gazed out of our balcony window, we noticed something peculiar. Half of the crescent moon was missing. And as we watched, the moon completely disappeared, and reappeared 10 seconds later. We never figured out why the moon disappeared, but that definitely stuck with me.  As we drove along southeast towards our homestays, excitement flooded every student. Besides some of us, who were asleep the entire drive, many students continued to learn more about one another, and admire the Moroccan countryside. After taking a pitstop in Marjane to buy school and sports supplies for the upcoming workshops, and after an hour’s more driving, we arrived in the host community. Everyone on the bus was peering over one another to see which host siblings, who lined the road, they would be staying with. After a quick introducing with our host-moms for the month, we all said...

Today, after coming back from our morning activities, Ellie (my roommate) and I came home to Salma and Henna in the kitchen cooking. Because their mother and older sister was gone from the house, the two younger sisters had to take the responsibility of making lunch. For lunch, we had bread with a main dish, of which we all shared, of vermicelli noodles with roasted chicken, carrots, potatoes, and eggplants. There was a side dish of chopped bell peppers and tomatoes drenched in lime– it kind of reminded me of salsa. The main dish was filled with so many different flavors and spices and its savoriness paired perfectly with the side dish– this lunch was a perfect thing to come home to. After eating, all of us worked together to help clean up. After cleaning up, Salma suggested a game of Uno. Ellie and I nodded agreeingly and the four of us sat around a table on the beautiful and comfortable couches and dove into a round of Uno. Ever since the first day, it’s very obvious that food and ga...

My biggest fear as I embarked on my journey in Morocco was not living in the moment. The month would whiz by, fading into a vague memory in a couple of years. I wouldn’t have the life changing experience I was promised. Luckily, there isn’t much room for daydreaming in Rabat. In the Ville Nouvelle, crossing the street involved lots of running across places without crosswalks. And in the medina, you needed to be on the lookout for motorbikes squeezing through crowds of people. Plus, it’s not like I had any desire to drift off into another world. The one I was in amazed me. The market was filled with towering mosques, ornate fountains, and smells of grilling meats and spices. We met a very kind old friend of a Lakeside teacher who gave us keychains with Arabic calligraphy. That night at dinner we talked to a trip leader’s relative. He told us all about Moroccan geology. Why did I ever think I’d get bored?

After a  cumulative 12 hour flight from  Seattle to  Paris and Paris to Rabat, we all s tumbled off the plane into the  surprisingly nice and cool  weather of Rabat. Only later did we find out that this weather wouldn't follow us when we got to the village. Regardless, we savored the weather as we traveled to the dinner spot next to the river that borders Rabat into the Medina (Old city) to the new city. Many fishermen were  trying  to catch  fish there,  but as it turns out there's  only small fishes and sardines there . W e arrived to the dinner place there was an aroma I had never experienced before.  The already beautifully layered clouds started to turn light blue and purple, and then an almost neon orange. Every minute the clouds would change shape and colors, as if it was showing us a sunset from every part of the world. Fluffy purple clouds turn into streaks of deep red. It was the best sunset I've ever seen in my entire lif...

Marhaba! The past three days have been spent learning about what’s to come on our long journey to Morocco! We are so excited for the commencement of this fabulous journey together and the ubiquitous learning opportunities in store for us. Listed below is a collection of takeaways from these last couple of pre-trip days.  Building team camaraderie Excited to do service! ready to bond on the plane #airfrance #shareout excited for this journey with this group #squadgoals<3 #seeyouagain You get out what you put in! lots of good tea = good stomach health food is gonna be FIRE i like Moroccan music right hand = clean, left hand = dirty establishing group norms! be ready for “wait what” moments what can WE do? how can I help?