Why Morocco?

About 6 months ago I was reading Conde Nast Traveler and there was a feature article about volunteering while traveling abroad. Something about the article fascinated me - not sure if it was the service-based aspect, or the destinations, or all the amazing cultural offerings that come with this type of travel, or the first-hand accounts from people who had done it. But something struck a chord with me, and I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to do this sometime?"

So I went online & checked out all the various companies that organize service-based, voluntourism/humanitourism trips. Some are more religious-based, some involve working within the community to build structures or clean land, and some offer working with people (hospitals, centers, orphanages, etc.), some working with animals. All offer some type of adventure or learning component (climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, white water rafting, cooking/language classes). All of these sounded very interesting to me, so the next part of my decision-making process was to find out costs, dates & specific destinations.

My 40th birthday (eek) is Jan. 1st, so I thought it might be a nice - albeit different - way to celebrate. That, and a baseline mammogram, but that's a different story...I digress...New Year's is such an overrated holiday with a lot of pressure: where should I go, where are all my friends going, will I have someone to kiss at midnight, will I be around people who won't judge me or look at me funny if I don't, will anyone remember my birthday, etc. All the ridiculous things to consider & inevitably worry about, and then on top of it I'LL BE TURNING FORTY. (shit)

As I looked at dates & destinations with these travel groups, I kept honing in on a three of them. One was a trip to Greece where for the first few days, you volunteer with local animal advocacy groups to teach the community about caring for stray dogs and cats. In Greece, apparently, they will feed strays broken glass so that they'll die. Heartbreaking, yes, but animal rescue and care is something I'm pretty passionate about. The last few days are spent whitewater rafting & camping. The only drawback to this trip is that I've already been to Greece. And would I be able to handle the heartbreak that is always associated with animal rescue?

The second one that got my attention was Costa Rica working in an orphanage. Never been, always wanted to go, and this might be a rewarding way to volunteer. The only drawback here is that I would really like to do this sort of thing with my sisters and that just wouldn't be possible right now for a variety of reasons.

The final destination that really sounded interesting was Morocco. A wide variety of volunteer options matched to your interests and background, and the next travel dates for their Insight Abroad program in Morocco: 12/25-1/1. Perfect timing for my birthday. I submitted my application and deposit, and there it was.

I had about 6 different vaccinations, and all said, I'm glad I didn't choose one that would have required a rabies vaccination. That sucker runs around $1000. But I am laced with H1N1, Hep A/B, Typoid, IPV, MMR, and TdaP. All of those together ran about $500. And yes, that is with insurance.

About a month ago I learned what my specific placement would be while there. Monday through Thursday I will work for 2 hours at a children's community center (Friday is a holiday). Kids are adolescent age, and are found as "street children" begging and living homeless on the streets of Rabat. The center brings in these kids, gives them meals, a warm place to stay, clean clothing, and an education. My role as a volunteer will be to assist the teachers and lead a few lessons, which can include physical activities, coloring, singing, or any other game I can think of. Because volunteers come in and out of this center all the time, I will have the benefit of seeing the lesson plans of previous volunteers from my group, and I can continue to build from their instruction, or I can create something new. I'm fairly certain I was assigned to this particular center because of my experience with Girls on the Run (which serves girls ages 8-10 yrs old). Other volunteers are assigned to work at a children's hospital (one of two in all of Morocco), an elderly community center, and an orphanage.

After the volunteer time in the mornings, we will then have options to take cooking or language classes, shop, tour the city, ride camels, etc. Not nearly as exciting as climbing a mountain or rafting, but I'm far more interested in the culture here. We will all stay in a large home, with home-cooked meals and a 24x7 staff. All our transportation is taken care of, and since language is going to be my biggest challenge (French - really rusty, and Arabic - trying to memorize a few key phrases), I'm glad I'll have some people around who will help with that.

Because Friday, Jan 1, is a holiday there won't be any volunteering, and from that point until Jan 5th I'll be on my own to travel to Marrakesh or other cities, try out a Hammam, whatever. It's definitely going to be an adventure, and I'm really excited about it. A little anxious, but it is going to be amazing. I just know it.

As of now, I've made it to Paris. One more 2-hr. flight into Rabat. There should be 6 or so other volunteers on this flight.