Blog Post 4: Nathaniel

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 our goodbyes until after lunch (and a two-hour nap), when we would reconvene. I had the absolute pleasure, with Shepard who was staying in the same homestay, to meet Hannas, our host mother’s youngest son Yoosef and older son Briam. After meeting with our family, we went on a stroll to a nearby hill so we could see the whole village. All of the children walked with us, so it made the burning hot journey much more fun! Then, after walking down the hill, we met up with the sheriff of the town and another local authoritative figure. Then, all of the Lakeside students came back to our homestay! Thanks to our gracious homestay mother, our whole group was able to plan our service plans with English, Math, and French education to the local kids. After the rest of the Lakeside students went back to their homestays, Shepard and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner of cornbread, pasta, and Hanna’s wonderful Moroccan mint tea. To end the evening off, my whole host family, Shepard, and I played countless rounds of Uno and chess that brought our bedtime close the the next morn. Anyhoo, t’was a pleasure catching up. Goodnight to you all, and shukran.

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