Orientation Day in Morocco!

Sunday was orientation day for the new group of volunteers. We were introduced to the staff, learned about the CCS program policies, rules and expectations of the house, and the organizations we would each be working with. There are 9 CCS staff members that direct us, feed us, and keep us safe. Mohamed is the Country Director for Morocco, Abdellah is the Program Officer, and Khadija is the Office/House Manager. All 3 formerly worked for the Peace Corps in Morocco and are such wonderful people! Abdelouahed is responsible for transporting us to/from our partner programs each day. Aicha is the primary cook and prepares 3 full meals each day. Laila and Fatiha are in charge of certain housekeeping duties and assists with the food preparations. To keep us safe and secure, we have a Day Guard, Mohamed, and a Night Guard, Hamid. I couldn't imagine a more hospitable staff and we are so blessed to have such intelligent individuals watching over us during our stay.

During the morning, we were divided in to 3 teams for a Rabat scavenger hunt. Each team was responsible for exploring a specific part of Rabat and returning to the home-base with info about what we found. My team consisted of me, Dev, Michal, and Erica. We discovered an internet cafe, post office, grocery store, secondary school, the treasury where locals pay taxes, Western Union, and the spa. After lunch, we were given a short class on Arabic words and phrases that would be helpful during our stay. Mohamed and Abdellah elaborated on my placement in the Ibny Street Children's Center. Ibny means "My Son" and has around 200 kids ages 3-9. There are only 8 teachers currently employed by the school, which means the classrooms can be very large. The children were found begging on the streets while their parents worked in the Medinas during the day. Begging can be more profitable than an actual job for families and most parents exploit their children and force them to beg on the streets of the medinas. The beggars average between 100-200 Dirham per day compared to the 60 Dirham an actual job may bring each day. To help you understand what the conversion would be in USD, 60 Dirham is around $7.80.

We wrapped orientation just in time for the daily tea time....always with the traditional hot mint tea and sweet delectable treat. A group of us decided to walk around and explore the neighborhood to find the park nearby. During our walk we approached a street lined with guards in uniform. Of course we were uneasy at first but we learned that they were only there to guard and protect the property of the various Moroccan ambassadors. The so called park is really not a park at all in terms of how Americans view a park. The land is around 2 miles in circumference, all dirt and trees with no grass....more like a forest you could say. Supposedly the police patrol the park in search of Moroccan couples that aren't married. It is illegal for unmarried Moroccan couples to be in public and they can be arrested. We returned to the house for dinner at 7:00 PM, which is the standard time each night. The food is so incredible! It's difficult not to worry that the food is going to run out before all 26 volunteers have their bellies full. However, there always seems to be enough. After every meal, the volunteers must line up in the kitchen to wash his/her own dishes. It's actually not a bad concept and keeps our already busy house ladies free to focus on the many other responsibilities they have.

There is so much more to add about this week but it's just too late to keep writing and I need to crawl in my bunk bed right now.

Ahlam Saida!!! (Sweet Dreams)