Day 1

I arrived in Rabat, Morocco this afternoon and was immediately greeted by Simo, who recognized me from the picture I sent him a few days before. He drove me from the airport to the biggest mall in north Africa, which has about 35 shops. We parked there and went across the street to the local private university and met some AISECers. I met Sarah and Olga, who told me I would be living with her. Sarah is a girl my age from Montreal who has traveled to more places in the world than I have ever imagined and has a lot of amazing stories to tell because of it. Olga is 23 and from Poland, but has been living in Morocco for 6 months now. She says she is just so much happier living the life she enjoys in Morocco rather than finishing up school, and I can really imagine getting accustomed to the more relaxed mindset that I can already see takes its place in Moroccan culture. I spent the majority of the day relaxing by the AIESEC office and getting to know different people, mostly Moroccans, who I would be working with for the next few months. I went to an english class with Kouta, where the teacher, Neil, was teaching about Plato's Allegory of the Cave. He brought up an interesting analogy of how living in the US and never leaving can be like living in the cave. You think what you are seeing is reality because you don't know anything else, but when you leave and experience different cultures, you are able to see that there is so much in the world. That's why it is so important to make an effort to try new things, and why I am so excited to see what the next few months have in store for me.

Simo and another Moroccan man drove me around the city a little bit and took me to get a cell phone and then some authentic Moroccan food. I ate a kind of bread with cheese called Hashah (spelling?) and some Moroccan yogurt. Simo then drove me to the house where I am living with about 10 other people around my age, most of whom haven't arrived yet. The house is an old, authentic Moroccan building in a crowded, but very pretty neighborhood. It's very messy and doesn't have much furniture, dishes, or food, but I like it that way. I feel like I am really living in another country; We are completely on our own. Sarah took me to the roof, where I'm sure I will spend a lot of time, to show me a breathtaking view of the city. I know I have an amazing 2 months ahead of me, and I already wish I could stay longer.