Wedges or Strappy Heels...Leave or Take?

Procrastination has always been a weakness of mine. That was clear at 10:00 PM Thursday when I still had not started packing for my 6 week Moroccan adventure that departed on Friday. First came the huge "Maybe" stack that finally dwindled to the most basic ensemble at 2:30 AM. Thanks of course to my Mom for helping me reason through the Yes, No, Maybe piles. After an early morning of shuffling and shifting, I was off for the Atlanta airport.

With a Delta flight at capacity and no individual TVs at our seats (Yes, I am a very spoiled Economy Class flier with high expectations...especially traveling internationally) I was off to Morocco. I had a quick layover in Paris and fortunately no embarrassing mishap on the airport bus shuttle between terminals (Connie, Molly, and Jennet should know exactly what I'm referring to from our Paris connection in route to Barcelona in 2004) I made it just in time for my flight to Rabat. Flying from 12 different destinations, 10 new volunteers met at the gate in Paris with 4 other new volunteers meeting up at the Cross Cultural Solutions Home-Base.

At 1:30 PM, Mohammed and Abdou from CCS greeted us at the very small Rabat-Sale airport and transported us by van to our home in the Hay Riad neighborhood. We immediately settled in to our shared living quarters before a 4:00 PM tea time with handmade pastries and warm mint tea. Our group is refreshingly dynamic and incredibly intelligent with ages ranging from 18 to 78. In addition to myself, the following volunteers will be here from 2 to 12 weeks:

Lynn D. from Arlington, VA
Erica O. from Omaha, Nebraska
David S. from Los Angeles (Originally from India)
Dev G. from Chicago, IL
Jean & Kirk A. from Louisville, Kentucky
Jen B. from Philadelphia, PA
Michal C. from Tampa, FL
Joyce C. from London
Terri & Polly from Stamford, CT
Allison W. from D.C.
Kay H. from Washington

We also have 12 additional volunteers currently living in the Home-Base that came on a previous start date with CCS. They have been very helpful with our transition in to the house and have shared a wealth of knowledge about Morocco and the volunteer work assignments that we'll be involved in. There are 5 men and 21 women....the men have rooms in the very dark basement and the women are spread throughout the ground level and 2nd level...thank goodness I have windows in my room!!!

The bell rang for our 1st dinner at 7:00 PM sharp. While gathering around low tables in our brightly decorated common area, we feasted on lentil stew, pasta with beef, salad, bread, and carefully filtered water. As I'm sure you guessed, I went back for seconds and even considered thirds but decided not to be too gluttonous on night one. After stuffing our bellies and engaging in friendly conversation, one by one we fell prey to the jet lag and carried our weary eyes to our bunk beds. As visions of Moroccon medinas danced in our heads, we couldn't help but dream about what was in store for our next full day.

Oh and if you're wondering if the wedges or heels made the trek, 1 shiny pair of strappy heels found themselves stuffed between a pair of Vasque hiking boots and a pair of Teva outdoor sandals in the suitcase. Afterall, a girl never knows when she'll need a stylish shoe :-)