These past two months have been the longest I’ve been abroad. I’ve never had an experience quite like this. I cannot express how grateful I am to have had this opportunity, as a twenty-one-year-old, to travel to Morocco and work with a non-profit. Initially, I was uneasy about spending the majority of my summer in a foreign country. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to adapt or that I wouldn’t be treated well by the locals. I also knew that I'd miss my friends and family, since I’d be away from them for an extended amount of time this summer. 

Looking back now, I can hardly believe that I had such doubts. My experience in Morocco had completely exceeded my expectations. Everyone who worked at the HAF office was incredibly welcoming to the UVA interns, accepting us with open arms and doing their best to integrate us into their office environment. 

However, the most lasting impression of hospitality and kindness came from our trips to the villages. In every single village, regardless of where we were, the people’s attitudes were the same—kind, selfless, and giving. I was afraid that, as an outsider to Moroccan culture, I had no right to go and “infiltrate” their spaces as a random American coming from a university background. 

But, in all honesty, it never felt that way when we would visit these villages because of how open they were with us. They wanted us to experience their culture to the fullest extent, through eating and dancing with them and trying to communicate with us in Darija, Morocco’s national language. Their comfort with us being there and joining them allowed me to shed any discomfort I had. I was able to fully embrace Morocco without a doubt in my mind because I knew that the people surrounding me encouraged it. 

Throughout my time here in Morocco, I’ve started to appreciate the idea of not always doing something. I feel like in America, and especially as a university student, the world around me is moving a mile a minute, we always have to fill our time with something, or we aren’t being as productive as we need to be. There were so many times during our visits to rural villages where I found myself restless because I felt like we weren’t “doing anything”. I especially felt this in Aghbar, and I had to take a step back and tell myself, “Why does it feel necessary for me to be doing an activity right now?” 

I think the reason for this is because in American society, your worth as a person seems to directly tie to what you produce. However, I didn’t feel this same pressure that plagued me while with the people living in Morocco's villages. I had to learn to be okay with not having a specific, achievable task that I needed to work on every moment, and through that, it allowed me to relax and become a more sociable person. 

I just felt as though time moved differently in the villages, and it was a big adjustment for me at first. It allowed me to reevaluate my perspective, to see if the way I’ve been going about life — always looking for the best new thing, never satisfied with what I have, or trying to extract as much value as possible from something —is the appropriate way to truly live my life. 

I can’t say that after only two months in Morocco, I know the answer to these questions. I still have a lot more life to live, and I hope and pray that I will be able to continue to have more opportunities to engage in experiential learning like I’ve done here in Morocco. However, this experience has opened the door for me to start at least questioning and not blindly assume that the way I’ve done things in America is the only correct perspective. 

As my time in Morocco comes to an end, it marks a new beginning for me. I want to see more of the world, learn about different people's lifestyles, and grow as a person. I’m looking forward to doing that even after I’ve left Morocco. I know that I will always keep a piece of it with me wherever I end up.