Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Alexandra Page, Morocco, Week 2

Greetings from an Internet cafe just outside of the old medina of Rabat! I'm blogging a little late about last week because I haven't been feeling the urge to go out of my way to get internet since I don't have any at home. One of my favorite parts about living here is not having a phone or internet surprisingly! But my roommate Sophie from Ohio University and I are at an Internet cafe sipping on delicious Turkish coffee before dinner later.

Last week was so much fun! We finally got into the swing of things at work and around town so we're getting more familiar with the kids and the tasks that they do. For example, we had a 2 hour session of gardening with some of the older boys and it was awesome to see them work so well - they're definitely better gardeners than me! Here's a photo of one of the boys that so kindly posed for me in his gardening uniform:



We have also sat in on  a cooking theory class where the kids learned proper cleaning techniques for working in the kitchen, the facilities we work in are really nice and all the teachers are fantastic, it's so exciting to see! But besides that, we mostly play sports with all ages of kids younger than about 16. I especially love this because one of the harder culture shocks thing I've had to deal with is that women here aren't very active and never swim or play sports like the boys are constantly doing. So to be able to play every day with adorable special needs kids is a dream come true! Tell me what's not to love about this face:



For the weekend we trekked all the way to the desert to ride camels! The 10 hour bus ride was completely worth it, we got to see the stars of the sahara and the sunrise in the desert and I climbed a huge sand dune/mountain and I swear I saw Algeria :) We even hit a sandstorm so it was a legitimate adventure! And here's me mid-sand-blowing-adventure:

1 comment:

  1. Alexandra,

    Oh no! Your pictures didn't show up! I really would like to see them. Maybe you can try troubleshooting and upload them differently next time. Thanks for blogging- even if it is a few days late! Also, I appreciate the way you titled your post (name, location, week #)- it helps me out a lot.

    Although being "disconnected" can be frustrating, it can also feel so good! Props to you for really embracing the culture and not wasting hours online. That is interesting that women are not typically as active in sports as men. Do the women show interest in these kind of activities? It sounds like you are providing the students with opportunities to practice important life skills.

    I have always wanted to ride a camel. Was it uncomfortable? Was the weather super hot?

    I'm looking forward to your post about 5/26-5/31.

    Best,
    Tammy

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