May 12th was our wedding anniversary -- 32 years of married bliss and blisters. (We know, we know -- we don't look old enough to have been married that long. But we were only 7 at the time.) So we wanted to work in something special for the occasion, before our afternoon shift of teaching … Continue reading The Usual Suspects in Casablanca
Category: Africa
Here’s Looking at You, Casablanca
Casablanca, we'd been hearing from several people who'd been there, is a letdown. It is, they reported, a city for commerce rather than a city for sightseeing. So we were pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. Of course, some people who have not been there have an overly glamorized perception of … Continue reading Here’s Looking at You, Casablanca
El Jadida take II
On May 3, the driver for British Language Academy, Khalil, picked us up at the campus in Berrechid where we'd been volunteering, and drove us back to El Jadida to teach for another three days. Actually, he didn't take us all the way there, but dropped us off at the bus station, where we caught … Continue reading El Jadida take II
Bouncing Back to Berrechid
So after a one-day detour to El Jadida, we were back to volunteering in Berechid. Sunday was, as usual, a busy day of classes at the school. But on Monday and Tuesday, the school was closed and we were free. So on Monday night, we decided to avail ourselves of one of the few noteworthy … Continue reading Bouncing Back to Berrechid
Escape to El Jadida
After teaching a few days at British Language Academy in Berrechid, Morocco, we were picked up, along with fellow volunteer Jason, and driven to Casablanca, where our van collected two more volunteers – these brand new, freshly arrived in town. From there we had a drive of about another 45 minutes to El Jadida, site … Continue reading Escape to El Jadida
Bound for Berrechid
After a pleasant train ride from Marrakesh, we got off at one of the stations in Casablanca, where we were met by a fellow named Khalil, whom we’d be seeing quite a bit of during the coming three weeks. He was a driver and general factotum of British Language Academy, our next volunteer post. April … Continue reading Bound for Berrechid
Take me to Marrakesh
The bus ride from Oulad Teima, where we'd just completed a volunteering assignment, to Marrakesh was rather pleasant and scenic. The monotony of the chanting sounds the driver played on his speakers for nearly the duration of the trip was compensated for and colored by the friendly young woman across the aisle from us who … Continue reading Take me to Marrakesh
Oulad Teima Counting the Days
Our third and final week in Oulad Teima was only our second week of volunteering at the school; so while it seemed as if we'd been in town forever, we were just getting started with our volunteering when it was time to start wrapping it up. We continued having some chaotic sessions with the younger … Continue reading Oulad Teima Counting the Days