Entries and daily reflcetions from a tired group.
June 1, 2004 -- Day 1:
“On the radio on the way to the airport we heard that this could be the most highly trafficked day at Hartsfield ever. We believed it! The ticketing line was not too long, but the line for security weaved in and out of the building and all the length of the outside sidewalk! Very, very, very long!” – Andrea Jones
“This day I was really excited and tired because the night before Laura and I stayed up late talking & because WE WERE GOING TO MOROCCO!! The lines at Hartsfield looked horrible but the lines went pretty fast so it wasn’t too bad!” – Hillary Hanley
June 2, 2004 -- Day 2:
“Culture shock! You speak 2 languages fluently and neither of them is English!?! This will put you back in your place immediately as an American across the ocean with only one language under your belt! The person who picked us up at the airport is the life saver of this trip!!! Without his multilingual guidance we’d still be wandering the trains of Morocco!” – Anna Bearden
“When we arrived in Casablanca, you could easily tell a difference between Morocco and America. The land was very flat until we came into Ifrane where it became very mountainous. The train ride from Casablanca to Meknes was very tiresome, so Anna, Brent, Daniel, Joe, and I had a very psychological talk about God the entire trip. Everyone else, however, was asleep in another compartment.” – Devon Hembree
“That night we went to see a high school performance of ‘Footloose,’ which was absolutely hilarious! I’m sure it was really difficult putting on the performance in English, a language that was their second or third to learn…For most of us, it was great fun, as there are few opportunities in life to hear a Moroccan teenager perform “Let’s Hear it for the Boy,” “I Need a Hero,” or “Achy Breaky Heart” in front of a live audience. Good times!” -- Brent Jones
June 3, 2004 -- Day 3:
“After a night in that ‘beautiful’ hotel, we came down and had breakfast. It wasn’t bad. The orange juice was awesome. Then we went from Ifrane to another town by taxi. We met two people that we would see often during our trip, the first of many great people we would meet throughout our journey. We also ate lunch there. That was definitely an experience! At lunch I met two American workers. Then we started work. I was given a key and we went up to a house to get it ready for a family to live in at some point and work in the area. I don’t think we ever got the house quite finished, but we scraped a lot of paint!” -- Joe Swengel
“Breakfast was good. It was the first time I had real marmalade. I really enjoyed meeting two of the workers. We had lunch and I tried some green melon, and so my obsession with melon began.” -- Daniel Burns
“That morning we talked our taxi drivers into taking us to try to see monkeys in the mountains. When we got there, though, the monkeys weren’t around. We never got to see them, unfortunately. From there, our drivers decided to take us on the scenic route through the mountains. It was a treat we really didn’t ask for, and we certainly paid for it in dirhams when the ride was finished. That’s okay, though. At the time we didn’t know how to ask for anything – or stop anything from happening – so we just rolled with the punches at that point.” – Brent Jones
“I loved staying up late and talking to one of the American workers about the unique work she is doing in Morocco. What a different culture! I learned a lot.” -- Laura Sanders
June 4, 2004 -- Day 4:
“We got to meet some Moroccan kids! They are too cute!! Our first Arabic lesson proved I wasn’t very good at grasping their language to say the least! I really got to talk to one American worker and discuss issues in Morocco, which was great!” -- Hillary Hanley
“We had our first Arabic lesson, and I learned Arabic lesson number one: Be careful around our Moroccan teacher! He’s always testing you. It was a lot of fun, and I think he liked it a lot too! I talked to one American worker some more. He’s a good guy who really understands that God has a purpose for his life! He likes to be helpful. I also got to paint with David and Laura…It turned out to be lots of fun!” -- Joe Swengel
“Arabic lessons were a hoot! Daddy and Hillary kept us and our Moroccan teacher laughing laughing. The work wasn’t bad. We painted the metalwork over the reservoir (used to water the garden). Lunch was a cultural experience. We ate our first couscous because it is the traditional meal on Friday or Holy day. It wasn’t bad.” -- Laura Sanders
June 5, 2004 -- Day 5:
“As Americans in a country that doesn’t speak our language it is always nice and comforting to be reminded of home. McDonald’s (in Fez) seemed to be an unlikely comfort. Instead we found the cleanest fast food place we’d ever seen as well as the most packed out; both stories and deck were as crowded as could be! The employees were proud of their business; they were outdoing Americans at serving an American staple.” -- Anna Bearden
“As Americans we tend to think that the rest of the world caters to us. And signs like people who speak English in a country where everything is taught in either French or Arabic…and a McDonald’s in the middle of Fez with its catchphrase “I’m lovin’ it” written on all the signs, in English, tend to prove that theory. That makes learning Arabic all the more important and rewarding. The concerts were great. I was impressed with the wonderful sounds coming from some of those rather hokey-looking Iranian instruments. And closing with gospel music that Andrea fought hard for was great!” -- Joe Swengel
“I loved Fez. What a unique town! The Sacred Music Festival was a treat. I heard more of the Iranian band than I ever plan on hearing again but the gospel choir was a great show. Gospel music in Morocco. Who would’ve thought that would happen?” – Laura Sanders
June 6, 2004 -- Day 6:
“The tour (of the medina – the ancient medieval city of Fez) was awesome even though it smelled like roadkill. It was my first time to ever haggle for prices.” – Daniel Burns
“The tour (of Fez) was an interesting one! The smells weren’t too great and I almost threw up but other than that it was good! I really enjoyed the mint tea! I also enjoyed dinner with a professor from the university in Ifrane. He was very interesting.” – Hillary Hanley
“Whoa! Move out of the way – a donkey coming down the alley behind you! The medina was one of the most crowded places I’ve ever been! People, donkeys, cats, dogs, wares…oh how the list goes on! It was awesome to see where stuff was made and some of the people who make the stuff. Many people live so much differently than Americans. The Medina was cool, though. It is the only place I’ve ever received 1st customer and student discounts!” – Anna Bearden
June 7, 2004 -- Day 7:
“I worked the hardest I have ever worked in my life today! I also got to know Andrea better which was great! It was a really tiring day, but I was proud of everyone – no complainers at all! We also got to meet a French girl that was staying in the same place we were!” -- Hillary Hanley
“I am bringing a lawn mower with me next trip! The weeds were tough work. It looked 100% better when we were done though! It didn’t know I had it in me!” – Laura Sanders
“The working environment was completely silent in the afternoon. Some of us scraped paint in almost absolute silence for the last 3 hours of the day – all of us tired but content and diligently working.”
-- Brent Jones
“I actually ate turkey pot pie.” -- Devon Hembree
“It was a very long day of work. I was very tired at the end. There wasn’t much talk this day.” -- Daniel Burns
“After dinner Brent, Daniel, & I went into town to pick up some water. It was the second such trip and was much like the first. Men packed the streets and the restaurants. Women were fairly scarce and those who were out seemed to make bee lines to certain stores or to head home. It is a bit different to be seen as inappropriate by being on the town and a woman. Gender bias is an unspoken but prevalent form of life in Moroccan society.” -- Anna Bearden
June 8, 2004 -- Day 8:
“Me, Devon, and Brent worked (picking lentils) while everyone else shopped and I began to hate lentils. Later that day we found a turtle who tried to take off my fingers. That night we went to the house of some American workers and ate chili. We also played an awesome European game which Anna and I competed at.” -- Daniel Burns
“Once again shopping was great! I really love to shop, so this was great and the prices were so cheap, even better! The souk (Berber market) was great, like a J&J Flea Market on steroids! Today was the day I began disliking lentils!! Dinner at the house of two American workers was great! I loved playing with the babies…I really enjoyed playing the European game and talking to the female American worker.”
– Hillary Hanley
“The souk was neat! The deals everyone made were great! I didn’t buy anything, but I felt great about going. We met a Toureg, a nomadic person whose culture is dwindling away quickly. I got to know one of the American workers better and realized how blessed we were to have her around. We also picked lentils! What an experience…” – Joe Swengel
June 9, 2004 -- Day 9:
“More lentils! But Devon found an awesome scorpion which we killed. It was a very awkward day at the Berber school, but I learned that our cab driver was awesome at football (the real one).” -- Daniel Burns
“The (Berber) school was very interesting!...The kids were a bit rowdy but they were very cute and excited about all the goodies (crafts) they were getting! The shopping made the day better and better! The dinner was good as well (chicken and French fries).” -- Hillary Hanley
“I tried to learn some of the Arabic I had missed on this day. This was our last lesson. We’ve learned a lot, but there’s so much more to learn. The Berber school was fun, but kinda weird. Something didn’t feel right when we got there. The children didn’t understand much Arabic (their first language is Berber) and the other American group that came knew even less.” – Joe Swengel
“The kids at the Berber school were really fun! They were more timid and reserved than other kids we had met, but I think they enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed them!” – Laura Sanders
June 10, 2004 -- Day 10:
“We woke up at 4:30am and climbed this one mountain that took us about an hour and a half to get to the top. The view was amazing! Daniel, Anna, and I made a flag with a 9 foot pole and a Class of 2004 senior t-shirt and tied it down with a hair band provided by Anna. After climbing the mountain, we named it Mount Dew.” – Devon Hembree
“It was an early morning but well worth it. The climb itself was an adventure, but once we reached the peak, WOW! It was the most amazing view I’ve ever seen. So we…put our (JCCHS Senior t-shirt) flag up, called the mountain Mount Dew, and sat and sucked up the fact that we were on one really high mountain in North ‘A-freaka.’ I tried to sleep the rest of the day.” -- Daniel Burns
“I enjoyed my extra sleep and it was sad leaving everyone and really hearing the sad story about one of the teenage mothers we had met. It really made me appreciate my life and family in America more than ever! It opened my eyes to needs that are much more important than what-to-wear today! I feel very blessed in my life and have a greater understanding of more world issues! This trip has been awesome and I have had a blast! The taxi was interesting – two and a half hours just listening to Arabic music and sharing a front seat with Laura can make a trip very tiring!...” -- Hillary Hanley
“Me and David kinda slept in today, and then took everything over to our departure point. David negotiated us out of working, so we sat around talking and waiting for lunch, to say goodbye to two of the kids we met, and to wait for everyone else to get back from the mountain…Also, in the evening it happened to be my turn to pray. I knew it was going to happen! I did my best, and David, Brent, and Andrea said I did good. It was kinda nice.” -- Joe Swengel
“Last day – it’s bittersweet. There is no place like home, yet I will always feel special towards Morocco! It was a great trip. What a beautiful country! Our hotel in Fez was a bit of a retreat for us after roughing it in another location. The hot, long shower was soooo nice. We trekked all over town looking for “I Love Morocco” t-shirts and finally found them. An early bedtime gave us enough rest for our 4am wake-up call!” -- Laura Sanders
June 11, 2004 -- Day 11:
“The trip has been great: the experience of another culture much different than your own opens your eyes. All of us have seen things and heard the stories of people that outdo any news report we can watch. Life is different around the world and in Morocco it seems slow and yet people are always working: in the fields or at their home. There is no way we can leave here and not love the comforts of home: from plenty of water to fences that keep animals out of the road!!! The situations of so many Moroccans serve to fill us with more compassion for people who have been abused in many ways and force us to remember that we as Americans and Christians have such a variety of opportunities and freedoms and that is something we should be thankful for each day of our lives!!! None of us will ever forget all of the awesome people we’ve met in the past 10 days!” -- Anna Bearden
“I really had a great time on this trip. Seeing so many people who live so differently from how we do, it makes me realize how much we as Americans actually have and how much a group of nine can really help. Morocco is a great country, but I’m glad to be returning home. I love America.” -- Devon Hembree
“Another early morning. I’m so tired. Now we’re on our way home. I actually miss it. It was an amazing country and I loved getting to know everyone better and visiting ‘Mor-o-coco’” – Daniel Burns
“As I’m writing this we’re about half-way home. My mind is focused on home, yet my heart is still in Morocco. Three hours to the U.S. from here, and still a while till we’re home. Things are winding up nicely…It’s been quite an experience! I have so much to think about now, both me personally and about the less fortunate people who live on this planet with me…I thank God for the workers we met and all the other volunteers who have given so much to that country through their time and effort. Only about 2 hours and 45 minutes before I can walk on U.S. soil again.” -- Joe Swengel
“Very early! A long trip home, but I am ready for a LONG, hot shower and to see my family and friends again! The trip has been amazing!” – Hillary Hanley
“We made it through security, minus Anna’s oranges! Three airplanes and we’re home! I’m ready to sleep in my own bed!” -- Laura Sanders
Posted by Stephen at June 14, 2004 01:02 PM