May the work begin...

Wow. Today was the first day of the orphanage. Afterwards we had a house meeting where we were asked to explain how our first day volunteering went in one word, and mine was “overwhelmed”. I could seriously end my blog post with simply that word, and it would sum up exactly what I was and am feeling about the orphanage!

I don’t think I can get into it too much tonight; it’s far too raw and I really don’t want to start crying again. The bottom line is I’m glad I’m there and I know this will be a life-changing experience. There was the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I’m just plain emotionally exhausted from it all. I promise to tell you all about it in the next couple of days, but for now I think I need some more time to process it all. I’ve heard the first day is the hardest, and so I look forward for what is to come.

After a rough morning we went on a tour of Rabat, which was super cool. We took public transit into downtown to the medina which was an experience in itself for me as a Bellevue Gal! It was much easier than I thought and it was quick and affordable. The medina is absolutely amazing and there was so much to take in, including: beautiful carpets, leather purses, colorful hand-woven sandals, fresh spices, and even a bucket full of pet turtles for only 20 dirhams each (about $2.50). The colors were unbelievable and I couldn’t get over how beautiful yet inexpensive some of the stuff was! There were carts much like our hot dog carts that have fresh orange juice, men on large bicycles with huge bushels of vegetables in the side baskets, and women with itty bitty babies tied to their back. It was a really cool spot and I can’t wait to go back and check it out when we have some more time.

We also went to the Kasbah des Oudaia, which is a large fort next to the medina built by the Almohads back in AD 1150. Inside is a beautiful garden, amazing blue and white walled walkways, a wonderful Café for mint tea overlooking the ocean, and so much more! My stupid camera battery died halfway through so I’m going to have to go back and get more shots (Side note: Mom, any idea how your camera warns you it’s going to die?!).

Finally, we finished at the Hassan Tower, which was intended to be the largest mosque ever before construction was halted due to the King’s death. Once again, it was very beautiful and a huge honor to see such an important part of the Muslim world! While we were walking around I noticed a few people signing near the water. I decided to go over and see if they were able to understand my American Sign Language (ASL), and while there were some differing signs, they totally could! It was such a trip to meet them and it felt so ironic that I was finally able to converse with locals in a full-on 5ish minute conversation, all the while never opening my mouth. They spoke French Sign Language which ASL is largely created from, so many of the signs are the same or similar (except for where were you born, which they asked by creating a pregnant stomach. I was quite adamant that I was not pregnant, and finally figured it out after some more clarification!). It was a pretty neat experience; I could have chatted with them all afternoon.

Well, I told you that I wouldn’t blog a lot, and alas I did it again. I guess it’s my blog so I can blog as much as I want, and you can choose how much you care to listen to ;) I was going to leave you with a quick video from the medina but I’ve waited over an hour for it to post without any luck; pictures of today will follow in the next couple of days. As a side note, I’ve had a few of you say that you cannot comment because you don’t have an account- so sorry about that! I’ll look into it to see if there’s a way you still can. I’m still available via e-mail as well. Hope everything is good in the states!

Day 2.... I must get more creative with my titles...

Hi Everyone,

What a first day. First of all, I’m absolutely exhausted so I may not make any sense whatsoever! Besides feeling like I’m about to fall into a deep sleep, all is well!!

We had orientation today and covered everything from not putting toilet paper in the toilet, safety precautions in the medina (outside shopping area), and more about our work at the orphanage. Here are some interesting tidbits about Lala Maryem Center for Abandoned Children:

• There are 210 kids, which are then broken down into three groups. The first is ages 0-2, the second 2-6, and the third are mentally and physically disabled children ages 6-26.

• If a child (without a disability) turns six and is still not adopted, they move to another orphanage where they can provide them with schooling and care until a boy turns 18 or a girl becomes married.

• If they are disabled they will stay at the orphanage for the rest of their lives, as no one adopts children with special needs here. The average lifespan of a disabled child at the orphanage is only 26 years old…

• Most of these children are not orphans and without parents, but children who were given up due to the woman becoming pregnant out of wedlock, rape, etc. Society is very against single mothers in any form unless they were a result of divorce or have become widowed.

• These children are mostly found by garbage cans, hospitals, mosques, etc. The women try to find a place where the children will be found, but they won’t be caught leaving them, as it is illegal and they will be imprisoned.

Sounds exciting, eh?! It should be quite interesting. I have signed up to work with the children with disabilities next week and from there I will decide if it’s still a good fit. Everyone says it’s very hard yet very rewarding.

After orientation we had lunch and then our first Arabic lesson. My lack of uvula is causing havoc on my Arabic!!!!! (Editor’s Note: For those of you that don’t know, the doctor “accidently” nicked my uvula during my tonsillectomy when I was younger, and decided to take the whole thing out). There’s this one noise that is an “H” sound, but kind of sounds like you’re coughing up a logy. I can’t make the noise to save my life, but I’m working on it.

It’s unlikely all of my blog posts will be as long as the last few. It’s all so new right now, and I want to make sure that I capture everything before I lose it! Below are some photos of today. Have a good Sunday!

Front Entrance of HomeBase

Gray, it is so!!!!!

Laila, working on dinner

For my Microsoft friends... :)

Tea Time

Mohamed pouring tea Moroccan style!

Our Dinner

.

Day 1

Salaam! Well, if you hadn’t gathered as much from my previous post, I made it!!!! After 25 long hours of journeying, I made it to my new home in Rabat, Morocco. It was exhausting but other than that really smooth and uneventful. The food on the Royal Air Maroc flight from JFK to Casa was even the best airplane food I’ve ever had! We’re talking blackened salmon, yummy rice, fresh grilled veggies, salad, bread, cheese, potato salad, cheesecake, and tea. And that was just dinner! I got a few hours of sleep but kept waking up to more food being offered. Who can refuse a good meal?!

I landed in Casablanca at 8:20 local time (there is an 8 hour time difference from Seattle). After waiting almost an hour for my bags, Abdou and Mohamed picked me up outside the airport amidst a sea of people. We jumped on the (slow) highway and drove two hours to Rabat. Passing I got to see a bit of the countryside, random shantytowns, and elite resorts. It’s crazy how different it is from the states! Some of these shantytowns for example are clusters of lean-tos with tires on the top of the fiberglass they’ve turned into a roof. However, you look closer and see that there’s a mass of satellites on top of these buildings that would be considering inhabitable at all costs in the states (one such photo below is of one of the nicer houses I went by)! On the side of the highway there is trash as high as knee deep in many areas and you see entire families and policemen hitchhiking from here to there. Craziness. I’m still in shock that I’m actually here. Driving on the highway in the big white van I felt like I was watching an HD movie at the IMAX, and that it was happening all around me. But I’m here!

I was the first volunteer to arrive and had the house all to myself. The maid’s name is Leila, and when I told Mohamed he thought that was hilarious but told me not to tell her that. Apparently dog’s saliva is considered unclean and so many Muslims are wary of being around dogs in fear that if the saliva touches them they may not be able to pray (I think I got that correct, but I could be slightly mistaken!). So, many Muslims refuse to be around dogs and don't have them as pets except if they are for house protection.

The in-country staff is all very nice. Mohamed is the only one that speaks English right now; I guess the house manager is off on holiday but she also speaks English and will be back soon. It’ll be a good challenge for me to learn more Arabic and French! Apparently we’re in more of the wealthier part of town where there are many dignitaries, etc. Rabat is the only Cross Cultural Solutions (CCS) placement that has staff at the house at all hours of the day, and I feel very safe and secure.

After a wonderful lunch of lentil soup, bread, salad, and veggies, I decided to close my eyes just for a couple of seconds. I woke up 2 ½ hours later passed out in the same position I fell asleep in, with marks all over my face. I sure needed that! Shortly after the other volunteers showed up, and we had tea time and just finished up with dinner. It’s been neat learning more about the other volunteers and what they do outside of this and why they’re here. I’m in a great room with about 7-8 awesome girls that has a wonderful patio that overlooks the garden. Pictures below, of course (Mom, I thought you'd want a "foot in Morocco" pic)!

Tomorrow is orientation where we’ll do some sort of ice-breaker scavenger hunt and learn more about our placements, expectations, safety precautions, etc. I have a whole booklet I need to read by tomorrow so I should probably get on that.

Thanks again for stopping by, and for your prayers and support!

PS- still trying to figure out how to layout the photos, have them in order, be able to caption them, etc. If anyone knows, please let me know! My OCD is having a hay-day with the below layout.....

Salaam, Morocco!

I MADE IT!!!!! After 25 hours of travel, I finally made it to my new home in Morocco. I have so much to say but I'm absolutely starving and won't make any sense whatsoever until I get me some cous cous... Lunch in 15 minutes :)

I'll try to write more tonight. Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes!

What a busy last day. I had big plans of hanging out, laying low, and catching up on some sleep. Silly me, I'm going to Africa tomorrow!! I ran some last errands, did 4 loads of laundry, attempted to clean the house, and.... there was one more thing... Oh yes, PACKED!

Poor Leila played stealth dog in attempt to come along. This was the first attempt at packing above. Three re-packing attempts, a new, lighter suitcase, and Super Packer Mom, and I got down to the below 50lb limit. I was tempted to throw out all the clean underwear in an attempt to keep some books in the suitcase, but cleanliness won me over yet again...

Tomorrow morning I leave Seattle at 6:30am, have a 5 hour layover in JFK, and then head out on a red-eye to Casablanca for an 8:45am arrival. I'm stoked!

Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement, and well wishes. I have been blown away by the support, and could not have done this without so many loving people around me. So, signing off for now, but I'll be in touch!

Livin' in the Gap

Ah, so much to do and so little time! I got the majority of my To-Do list crossed off, and now it's just packing and last minute errands.

Yesterday I had a conference call with some of the other volunteers that will be arriving the same day as I am. They're from all over the world, and it was nice to be able to hear a bit more of why everyone was volunteering, figure out some final details, and get additional information on airport arrival. Apparently I'm the only one taking the JFK to Casablanca flight! There will be someone to pick me up there and get be back to Homebase in Rabat an hour or two away. It sounds like I'll be the first volunteer to arrive, as most everyone else is arriving later that afternoon from a Paris connection.

It's all coming together! I have a super nervous stomach, which means it's getting close! I'm very excited and have seemed to already accept it's what's happening, without feeling too anxious about it all. I've had a couple moments of "Oh my gosh! Just kidding! I want to stay home where I'm comfortable, know everything, and have a routine!".... And then I think of cous cous, the Medina, those adorable kiddos craving attention and someone to love on them, new adventures, and new friends. I can totally do this, and I'm pumped. The sermon at church this last week touched a bit on how it's important to focus on the gap between who you are and who you want to become. This requires us to be active and intentional with a plan, and to occasionally take risks.

So here I am, taking a risk and outside of my comfort zone. My goal is to serve in whatever way needed, and I couldn't be more stoked. I'm sure it's not all going to be easy, and I'm up to the challenge.

Now for the first challenge.... Begin packing!

To Do: update blog... check!

So much to blog, so little time!!

Takeoff is getting closer and closer.... 4 days tomorrow, to be exact! I cannot believe how quickly August 7th, departure date, has come. I go through waves of thinking that I have everything ready and put together, and other moments where I'm in sheer freak-out mode to get everything accomplished. That said, amazingly, I am not nervous or anxious at all. For someone who usually gets nervous about driving into Seattle, this is a miracle in itself! I'm okay with the anxiety setting in later if it happens, but for now, I'm good to go.

So what's happened, and what is left to be done? Well, my parents threw me a fantastic goodbye party Moroccan style (even though I promised I'm coming back, Mom! And no, not with a Moroccan baby, Dad!). We had great company in friends and family, super yummy food, and plenty of Seattle sunshine to last through the evening.






It was a total blast! Besides hanging with friends and family, I've been working like a mad woman trying to get everything done before Friday. This photo pretty much sums it up:



There's so much to do, coordinate, plan for, and work through. That said, I know this is all worth it. Thank you to all of you that have supported and encouraged me through this process and beyond. Goodnight for now- more later!