It feels unreal that we already finished our stay in Morocco. This is something I had been waiting for for so long, and I could not have asked for a better experience. I feel extremely fortunate to have traveled to a country I have wanted to visit my whole life, and I am grateful for the memories, friends, experiences, and food along the way.
The thing I will miss most about Morocco is the free afternoons in Rabat. Going to the cafe to refuel and debrief, playing beach football until the sun faded, and then jumping into the cool ocean is a routine I will cherish forever. I felt like a local when other Moroccans playing nearby would join in our games. It was also beautiful seeing the Casbah alongside the Moroccan flag standing tall and waving in the wind. It reminded us a lot of a FIFA map. I like this picture because it encapsulates the beautiful Medina of Rabat, the historic fortified Casbah, the glow of North Africa, and seven Americans whose lives changed forever. This picture holds a lot of meaning, and if there is only one I could choose to keep, it would be this one.
One thing I learned to cherish was the opportunity in front of me and to live every day like it was my last. Money comes back, but time and opportunities do not, so I made sure to take advantage of every moment. Luckily for me, everyone in the program was so open to trying new things and going out, which is what made this trip so memorable. Staying with a host family was also an experience of a lifetime. I knew I would never be in that situation again, so I made sure to interact with them and talk about our lives as much as I could.
When I was 16, I solo traveled to Costa Rica to help build a school for under-resourced children in a poverty-stricken community. I commuted to a small town but lived with a host mom in San José. I loved being able to compare those experiences to this trip. One thing I noticed was that hospitality is a universal language, no matter where you come from. There are good people everywhere in the world, and anyone who holds prejudice against a group of people clearly has not traveled enough. This shows the importance of experiencing different cultures and having an open mind because the memories and insights you gain are truly unforgettable. My biggest advice to anyone young is to step outside of your comfort zone and travel. It does not have to be across an ocean, but anywhere in the world. Shukran Morocco.