I’m currently sitting in the Frankfurt Airport as I write this blog, my Plus3 Morocco journey has come to an end!

I now have a chance to reflect on what I learned throughout the entirety of the experience, and the best way to begin is by selecting a singular photo to represent my time in Morocco. I chose the cover photo for this blog as my selection since I feel it represents the community of locals in the Medina. Throughout the duration of our trip, the social life present within the Rabat Medina would find a way to shine no matter what we were doing. Locals seem to appreciate the time that they can spend with loved ones, both family and friends alike. While working in the Souks, shopkeepers would converse with neighboring stores to catch up on what they have missed. The same can be said for the consumers, strolling side-by-side with family or friends to gossip or appreciate each other’s company. Each instance that we went to the beach to play soccer, I could feel the impact that this community has. Whenever an individual is spotted with a soccer ball, groups of people swarm in an attempt to enjoy the game together. This even included those who physical couldn’t or didn’t want to play, and would watch games go on with a smile. Each time that we drew out the boundaries for our field, locals would approach and ask to join in on our game, despite having never interacted with us before.

To reflect on what I’ve learned about myself through this trip, I believe that I have improved personally, academically, and professionally. When it comes to professionalism, I had never directed a professional site visit prior to visiting ANDD this past Tuesday. Through preparation both before arriving to Morocco as well as on the days leading up to the visit, I feel that I improved on how I hold myself as a person to represent where I come from alongside my purpose. This ties in to how I feel I improved academically, where despite being in a beautiful new country & continent, I never fell short on any of my deadlines. All blog posts and presentations throughout the two weeks were completed in a timely manner, without under the pressure of a time constraint. I plan to carry this mentality with myself moving forward into the fall semester to keep my academics consistently strong. Finally, I improved personally through handling meeting new people. When I learned that I was selected for the Plus3 Morocco program, I only knew a handful of people heading into our introductory courses, yet as I began my journey, I could feel an immediate connection with everybody I interacted with. Additionally, I had the privilege of staying with a host family for most of my time in Morocco, and I feel that the connections and memories that I made in the limited time I had with them will be priceless.

I’m super grateful to have had the opportunity to go on this journey and be a part of the Plus3 program!