Pondering the Near Future

I’m sitting on the roof of my hotel overlooking a forest of olive trees. Along the horizon, tall, pink, grey, and terra cotta buildings peer back at me. Beyond them, a picturesque mountain range holds my future. Today is our first day off since arriving in Morocco. We have been working hard these last four days to orient ourselves in this new culture, learn the language, and understand our purpose for being here. Tomorrow, we travel the switchback roads into the heart of the mountains,. where we will each meet the families that we spend the next 2 months with while we continue our CBT (Community Based Training). For most of us, myself included, this is as of yet the most exciting and stressful step along our journey. We will need to be especially culturally sensitive as we make our first impressions in our rural communities. Additionally, while our limited Darija (Moroccan Arabic) may get us through the introductions, most of our families do not speak Darija, but rather one of the three Berber dialects (Tashalheit in my case). For the next two months, becoming proficient in Tashalheit, perhaps the oldest existing language on earth, will be the focus of my training. We will also hopefully develop good relationships with our host families who will be our liaisons to the village and help us understand Moroccan culture.

My experience here has been difficult to assimilate. Moments of clarity tell me that this is one of the most important things that I have ever done, both for myself, and for the world. Rarely have I felt as enthusiastic or poised for progress as in this moment.