Morocco Day 5: Oualidia & Marrakech
Today we and the morning free so many of us went to the beach to walk around and take pictures. I collected some nice sea shells that I hope to take home to decorate my room. It was especially nice to stroll along since the fog from last night had cleared and I could see quite far up and down the coast. After spending time on the beach we went to or trip organizer's friend's house which was kind of random, but turns out this friend actually an incredibly famous singer in the Arab world and has a house with a stunning view of the coast. She ended up singing me happy birthday - in English and in Arabic - which was pretty darn cool! Now I can say I was serenaded by a celebrity in my birthday! Oh and the icing on the cake: she had a DOG. So that was pretty darn great.
Then we had a long, long bus ride that was supposed to take 1.5 hours but ended up taking over 3 so we didn't get lunch until after 3pm. A highlight was that our trip leader is apparently obsessed with poppies so when she spotted a field of wild poppies, she pulled over the bus and got out to take photographs. Normally I wouldn't have gotten out but due to my obsession with Monet and his beautiful poppy field paintings, I had to get out as well. It was a very small cluster of flowers but it brought joy to my heart. Something I thought a lot about on these bus rides is that I saw a lot of construction, and I was curious to know whether or not there were issues of gentrification or what; I wondered who was going to be moving into these buildings. Driving through some parts it looked as if no one was living in many of the buildings. They either showed no sign of inhabitants or they were blatantly abandoned. It made me curious about issues of homelessness, refugee populations, and urbanization, which could all have potential roles to play.
When we finally arrived in Yousofia at the school that was hosting the eye care clinic we were scheduled to attend, we scarfed down lunch and got to work. Only 3 people could help with actual eye exams so I only got to do it for a little bit but it was cool to see the process since I had never had one myself before. After helping out with an eye test, I contributed to some of the other activities going on, mainly giving henna tattoos to young girls and painting murals on the school walls. As I was doing henna I desperately wished that I spoke Arabic and that I could communicate with the kids. After giving many henna tattoos, I helped out with a wall painting. Some friends of mine were working on a mural that was the globe made up of puzzle pieces and then I helped paint a person hugging that globe. I can't say I rendered an accurate or artful person but overall it was a cool concept! Towards the end, most of the kids had left and everyone was packing up but for whatever reason we weren't leaving yet. I ended up chatting with fellow classmates and playing some hand clapping games. Finally we piled back into the bus to leave for Marrakech.
After we checked in at the hotel, we ran back downstairs for dinner which was a nice buffet in the hotel restaurant. Mid-dinner I got to call my mom who was far away in Guatemala which was sweet birthday treat. Towards the end of dinner, I got sung happy birthday yet again by the hotel staff who brought out a cake! Apparently our trip organizer planned it, which is really very kind, plus I made a friend out of it. There is this super animated and expressive waiter at the restaurant there who was part of the group who brought the cake out and he remembered me every time I went down for breakfast or dinner, always super friendly with a large toothy grin across his face. After dinner I called my dad and eventually hung out with a few of my friends who generously brought me a bottle of white wine to share. We also half-played a cool story telling/Q-and-A game one of my friends had brought along. But we didn't play as the rules specified, we just played for fun without keeping track of the score. We ended up going to bed far too late but all in all it was one memorable birthday.
🌊🚌👀🚌🍰
A few important things to point out about today...
At the school today, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with program structure supporting the colonialist white saviorism that is unfortunately so rampant. First of all, a member of out program staff was taking photos of the children; I'm not sure if they had permission but it still surprised me. In addition, the eye care clinic was only a fraction of our responsibilities at the school this afternoon. There were only three eye charts at which one student each could assist with eye assessments. (On the plus side, at least the organization operating the eye clinic is entirely Moroccan-run.) The reality was that we were not making much of a substantial difference. The lack of personal introductions or communication at the school today between our program and those at the school as well as those running the clinic augmented the feeling of being insensitive to the locals there; we were simply a group of foreigners who just showed up. I also wondered about the meaning of henna tattoos in Moroccan culture because I know in some cultures at least some designs have very specific meanings. As a white American without knowledge of any cultural connotations surrounding henna in this setting, it made me a bit uncomfortable to be giving them out, not to mention the many fellow participants who received henna tattoos while in Morocco. Overall, although it's hard for me to say, I hope that we made a positive impact in some way.