My featured image represents my time in Morocco the best because it shows both the strong personal connections I made on this once in a lifetime experience, as well as the cultural emersion I was lucky enough to experience in Morocco. These two things are what I took out of Plus3 Morocco the most because both the people and culture surrounding me truly made this trip so great, and I will never forget my time in the program. In only two weeks, I feel like I’ve made multiple lifelong connections between new friends from Pitt and my host family who were more welcoming than I ever could have expected. That is why this picture, surrounded by friends and gifts from our host families representing the culture they were kind enough to bring us into, is the one photo that defined Morocco for me.
Getting out of my comfort zone, connecting with new people, and trying things I never would have expected to beforehand is something that I didn’t appreciate beforehand, but after going on Plus3, I think all of these things are extremely important and should always be a part of our lives. The only way to really grow as a person is to challenge yourself and branch out to find new aspects of your life you’d never think would exist. Back home, I’m usually someone who stays close with my main group of friends/people I know and rarely take the initiative to build bonds with new people. This was tested and completely changed in Morocco as I found myself not only excited to meet everyone in our group from Pitt, but also talking to local Moroccan’s every single day and seeing how welcoming and easy to talk to they were. Whether it was locals who invited us to play soccer on the beach, or a group of guys who invited us to be a part of their bachelor party, I found myself branching out every single day which is something I’m definitely proud of. I’m also normally a picky eater back in the states, and I was extremely worried about what my diet was going to look like, but I embraced the new food my host mom cooked me and found it was actually delicious. I can already tell the difference between the freshness after being home for a couple days and can say without a doubt that homecooked Moroccan meals are top tier.
Another thing I slowly learned throughout the trip was to throw my expectations out of the window and go at everything with an open mind no matter what it is. Sometimes it was more personal things like how I thought I wouldn’t be able to easily relate to people there because of different language, religion, or upbringing was completely wrong, as I found Moroccan’s, especially my host family, to be some of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. Other times, I may have come into a learning session or site visit uninterested as I didn’t think it would have much to offer, but after actually giving it a chance, I found every session and site visit to offer important information that made the trip worth it both academically and professionally.
Overall, I could not be happier with my time on Plus3 Morocco and would do it again in a heartbeat if I had the option. It will be hard to top this experience, but I hope to continue to push my boundaries into new territory and areas of knowledge I’ve yet to reach as doing exactly that in Morocco has changed my life.