Arrival in Casablanca: September 9th

Stepping off the plane I was intoxicated by exotic new smells. It was a combination of what I imagined warm red sand to smell like, mixed with that of subdued exotic spices cooked into long grained rice and that familiar scent of someones grandmother. The air was warm and there was some humidity in the air but that was balanced by the feeling of dry earth. The time spent in Casablanca was short and we were quickly whisked off to Rabat for pre-service training. The view from the windows of our large luxury bus was that of newly paved str eets, donkey pulled carts, farm animals such as cows, sheeps and chickens as well as a few stray mangey dogs who rustled threw the scraps of greenery for nutrients.

I was surprised by the litter scattered across the semi barren land. What appeared to be plastic bags and products seems to have been imbeded in the earth just as long as the soil they polluted. Houses and buildings were scattered about and the structures were consistantly painted in shades of white and earth tones.

Rabat: September 9-12th
The hotel in Rabat was both comfortable and foreign. The smells of the food filled the air even though it is Ramadan, the time in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown. While in Rabat we recived vast amounts of information regarding safety and security. There seems to be an air of freight of the streets when locked up inside the hotel, hearing stories of how things can go wrong. From a quick view or survey from the balcony of the hotel to down below, the fear subsides. It is like Platos cave. Images and stories of the outside fill our mind but once we are allowed to step out and see things for ourself the reality is not quite as scary as we had imagined.
Satelites seem to adorn every rooftop.
The traffic can be freightening to a foreigner. There appear to be similarities in driving styles in Morocco to that of Italy. There is chaos yet an understanding of that chaos amongst drivers.
The Ambassador also came to speak to us and we found out some interesting tidbits. Apparently the United States and Morocco have long had good relations. Morocco was the first country to recoginze the United States independence. The Ambassador spoke of a copy of a letter he has between George Washngton and the Sultan of Morocco dated 1789 which thanks the Sultan for his support and that he was sorry he did not respond to the Sultans messages earlier as he was just finishing up a revolution and getting used to his recent election as president.
After a few weeks in Rabat we took off for a town in the Middle Atlas mountains. I wish I could tell you where but this is confidential.


Middle Atlas: September 12-21



The town we are staying in is surrounded by mountain peaks and cedar tree forests and there are rumors of monkeys off in the distance. A group of us went hiking on our day off and failed to find them however, the view was breathtaking. Surveying the land I realized this part of Morocco is not how touring books generally depict it to be. Yes, the land is sandy but there is also greenery all about. Morocco also has many plants similar to that of the ones I see at home but only of a slightly different variety. For example, inpatients, grapevines, verbenas, roses and such.
The days are relatively warm and the nights are much cooler. The other night I witnessed the most spectacular storm from the rooftop of our hotel. Surrounded by mountains I watched as a massive thunderstorm went around the circumference of our town. The lightening spectacle was like watching fireworks but due to the distance there was no loud crash. I must have stood there for a good hour just watching, stunned by the beauty.

While in training here we have been doing a lot of language and cultural training. We learned the ceremony of tea preparation, how to use a Turkish toilet, food and water safety and table etiquette. We also received a few shots which didn’t feel too good. The whole group of the Small Business Developers began learning Darija (Moroccan Arabic) for the first week and a half. The past few days however I was assigned with a few other students to begin learning Tamazight instead. Tamazight is the language spoken by the Berber communities in Morocco. It is the language of the indigenous communities and has been spoken for over 3,000 years. I’m extremely excited about this as I greatly desire to work with the Berbers and learn about their culture which has been put on the fringes of society since the westernizing of the country by the French.

The whole lot of us are all breaking up into smaller groups for 5’s and 6’s and sent off to our first session of community based training in which we will all spend two weeks with a host stay family to better learn Moroccan culture and language. I will be living with a mum, dad and two daughters (18 and 21 yrs) as well as a son (12yrs). I will be without internet for those two weeks so I will update you as soon as possible.