Blog 1: May 15, 2019

I cannot believe I arrived to Morocco around a week and a half ago. My time here has been full of surprises and unforgettable moments, specially arriving to Rabat and having the city surpass every single expectation I had about it on the first day. As a volunteer under IVHQ, I am teaching English to adults, both men and women, at the NGO Le Féminin Pluriel. This organization has the overall goal of elevating women’s position in society. It was nice to see that, although focusing on women, it opened its educational opportunities to everyone regardless of gender.

 With some hostel friends at the                               Ouzoud Falls, the highest waterfalls in North Africa

I’m not a native English speaker, and I haven’t taught English before, so I felt a little bit uncomfortable at first when I was informed about my placement. My volunteer coordinator offered to place me somewhere else if I felt I could not follow through, but I decided to take this as a personal challenge and remained there. After a few days, I felt absolutely comfortable. All the students share a great determination and desire to learn English, which motivated me even more to work with them. They often complimented my teaching style, and soon what I thought was going to be an uncomfortable experience turned out to be something I woke up excited to be doing. I have encountered some challenges on the way but thinking about how motivated all of them are to be learning English is the only thing I need to push forward and put out my best for them.

Teaching at                 Le Féminin Pluriel

On the cultural side of things, I’ve been intensely immersed in the customs of Ramadan. I have been fasting during daylight hours almost every day, except when I break the fast to try some street food because I want to make sure I don’t miss out on Moroccan gastronomy before leaving. My homestay family is amazing and welcoming, I get along very well with my four host brothers and also with my parents. Having iftar (the meal to break the fast at sunset) with them every day has been such an amazing bonding and cultural experience for me.

Cannot wait to see what the rest of my time here will bring!