Bslama

Yesterday at the Children's Hospital was much more difficult than I had anticipated. I made a new friend and got to spend time with my old ones which was a nice way to end these two weeks. I saw little Hajar and Yasir. It was a fun day. Hajar's mother brought out a photo album to show David and me her other children and family. When we left, I went into Hajar's room to say goodbye to her mother and explain that I was leaving for good. All I said was "Amrika" and she understood perfectly. She ushered me toward her and grabbed my face and kissed each side, hugged me, & said "shukran" (thank you). The other mothers in the room did the same and little Hajar gave me a kiss as well and said SLAMA (Bslama is the proper word for goodbye...she's so adorable). I teared up as they were so sweet and appreciative of our help and said thank you to us more times than I can remember. These two weeks have been incredibly touching and eye-opening.











After placement we had couscous for lunch. Couscous is the traditional meal eaten on Fridays, which is the holy day for Islam. I never learned why couscous is the dish eaten on holy days, but both Fridays that I was in Morocco this dish was served at the house.

Following lunch, Khedija gave me some henna, as most volunteers do before they return home.

Once it dried Adrienne, Alexis, Alex and I went to the beach just below the Kasbah to kayak. Adrienne is a certified kayak instructor, which made me feel better about kayaking in the ocean for the first time ever. It only cost us $6 a piece for an hour on the water. It was a beautiful day, perfect for kayaking. I wiped out within 30 seconds…a wave got the better of me. But, I hopped back on, and after quite a bit of effort, made it out past the breaking waves. It was such a stunning view. At one point I somehow managed to accidentally ride a wave in to the shore and flipped, all the while freaking out. I got back in the boat, bobbed around past the breaking waves for a while and enjoyed the stunning view until it was time to go in. While we were out in the water, there was a call to prayer, which was really very cool to hear the call from the shore in the Kasbah and the shore of the little town of Sale. Another “wow” moment. I successfully rode a wave in to shore and we returned home to get ready for dinner.

Since most of the house was off on weekend excursions, the remaining 9 of us went out to dinner at Ristorante Finzi and it was beyond delicious. So mouth-wateringly good in fact that some people ordered second dinners. We split up after and 5 of us went to get ice cream near the house. It was a great way to say goodbye to the new people and incredible culture that have enveloped my time these past 2 weeks.

Thank you to all who made this trip possible. I gained many invaluable experiences that are all because of everyone’s generosity. This has been an eye-opening experience for me and really started me thinking about where I’m going next as far as my life plans.

This blog will continue to function as an art/etc. blog and I will post some more pictures/videos in the coming days and weeks from Morocco. Especially once I get my film developed…..