Azrou

It seems like so much has happened, yet it has only been a few days since I last wrote. The days here are incredibly long! They say time flies when you travel, but I feel like I have been in Morocco for far longer than a week. Each day gets better, but slower. Maybe because I haven't been getting any sleep. Roughly 3 hours a night. I am the queen of sleeping, since when do I have insomnia? Anyways, we left Rabat and headed to Azrou, making an afternoon stop in the beautiful city of Meknes, where we saw some Spanish ruins, the mosque, and the Old City market. We had goat tajines for lunch in this little cafe on our way to an overlook of the Middle Atlas Mountains. It was breathtaking and I took a million pictures trying to capture how deep and wide and spectacular the view was but was unsuccessful. Upon reaching Azrou, a very small, very charming city in the mountains, we walked around and met Latvi at the school to get briefed and assigned to our host families! I am in love with, but allergic to Azrou. I haven't stopped sneezing and sniffing. I only stayed with my host family three nights, but they were so overly generous, welcoming and hospitable I feel like I have known them for years! Abbas, my host father, is the sports coach at the local college. He and Zhara have 3 kids, two at university and Souhail, an 11 year old. Abbas speaks some English which is helpful but also embarrasses me for needing him to communicate when they are all fluent in two, almost three languages. Zhara is an incredible cook. The first night, she brought out a full spread of breads, jam, yogurt, fruit, cakes and cookies. I assumed it was dinner so I ate my fill. Soon afterwards was another table full of chicken, vegetables, fruit, soup, and always, more bread. Every single meal is the same production- I keep telling her it is too much but she just shakes her head and motions "more"? No isn't an option. Souhail, the youngest, was shy at first, but so smart and well behaved. We went walking before dinner- he gets so giggly at the way everyone stares at us. I loved having lunch with Zhara. Abbas is so funny and friendly but when he is home he leads all conversations. When I ask Zhara about ingredients or how she cooked the meal, he answers. During lunches, we don't speak much but she comes out of her shell so much more. Everything about her radiates motherness. She is petite and plump with short gray hair and laugh lines and smile wrinkles. She pats me on the back a lot and it is the nicest. I loved Mama Zhara, even if she is responsible for my gaining 20 lbs in 4 days. Working in the school was equally wonderful. We laid down bricks and concrete to make a courtyard in front of the school and did some much needed gardening. It looks good. Like really good. Some of the children helped which was awesome- they were genuinely helpful and so eager to do anything we asked. The last day we did a recycling art project and finished early. We went hiking with Khalid, another host dad and a mountain guide. We literally hiked from Azrou, up a mountain, and back down. It took 8 hours. We fed monkeys, took in unbelievable views, cooked over a fire and sweat buckets. It was the best, most exhausting day ever- I am tired and sore but hopeful this will allow me a full nights sleep! Khalid calls me "California" and is the best guide in all of Morocco. He wants us to come back for a 2 week trek! I hope to someday, inch Allah (God willing- they say this whenever referring to something/anything ever in the future, pretty inspiring). I came home for a final dinner with my hosts, we had a fun evening looking at family photos. Tomorrow we leave for Fez. More projects and another host family- I don't know how either will compare to the work we did and the people we met here but so far Morocco has not ceased to amaze me. I don't think I'll be disappointed.