you give me money, i give you what you want.

so the Honors Program, who gave me money to go to morocco, asked me to write an article for their newsletter about my experience. and it finally gave me a chance to sit down and write about my time there. granted, its not even touching on how amazing it was, or how incredible the people were. but nothing in words ever could.

so here you go:

Ana kountoo fe al-Maghreb. I was in Morocco. It is one of those incredible, ludicrous, surreal, amazing experiences and ideas that completely change your perception on the way your life works. You stand there and think about how ridiculous that actually sounds, For my spring break, I went to Morocco. Who says that? One of those dreamlike moments, and there I was. In the middle of Morocco surrounded by over two hundred amazing individuals and nineteen different cultures, living the dream… maybe I should start at the beginning.
In September, when I was just a Recently Acquired Techie, I was dragged to an information session for a student organization by the Honors Program’s very own Emily Pechar, and when I say dragged, I mean dragged. I had no desire to walk across campus (I’m lazy) to hear about another student organization intent on my membership (I had walked enough on Skiles even after that first month to recognize that pattern). But in that information session, I found exactly what I wanted in an organization, and it was called AIESEC. AIESEC is the largest entirely student-run organization focusing on leadership development and cultural understanding through international exchange. It offers around 4500 international internships in over 100 countries per year for students and recent graduates of over 800 universities.
Long story short, I joined. And through AIESEC, I have had so many opportunities that I would not have had otherwise. Which brings me to Morocco.
I was granted the opportunity to attend the Middle East North Africa Leadership Development Seminar (lovingly acronym-ized to MENALDS) taking place in Bouznika (a incredibly tiny town on the Atlantic coast of Morocco) with about 240 delegates, including the aforementioned lovely Emily Pechar. I met people from nineteen different countries, ranging everywhere from Brazil, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates, to the Netherlands, Bahrain, and Tunisia.
It was an incredible five days, and incredible hardly does them justice. I had the opportunity to not only learn from these intense cultures and amazing people, but also had the opportunity to be a positive ambassador for America to nations that don’t necessarily see the best in the United States. I actually had the chance to completely shape the perceptions of Americans to a few people, as some of the delegates had never actually seen an American that was not on television. Believe me, that is an eye-opening and rare experience. I discussed everything from marriage traditions in Bahrain to Islam and women to freedom of speech in the Gulf, and learned something incredible each time. Imagine chatting over dinner about family life to someone whose father had a second wife, or discovering facets of a religion that tends to be demonized in American media that are so moving and thought provoking it changes your perspective on the entire region. I learned the concept of Insha’Allah, or “If God Wills It”, and the impact that has on one’s mindset. I was at one point in the conference pushed into the center of a circle of dancers to test my Middle Eastern dancing skills, and to my surprise was told by an Egyptian that I could fit in her country. I found myself watching the sunset over the minarets of Rabat’s mosques and the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, listening to the beauty of an Islamic call to salah (prayer). Like I said, incredible hardly does it justice.
If you ever, and I mean ever, have the opportunity to go to Morocco, TAKE IT. The people there are the most hospitable, gracious, and interesting people I have met in a long time. Or if you have the chance to go abroad, don’t let it pass you by. You will have the ability to experience a culture, change your perspective, meet incredible people, and see something that could take your breath away. And it could quite possibly, most probably, change your life.


i miss Morocco. take me back.

paradigm-shift

ana kountoo fe al-Maghreb.
i was in Morocco.

and it changed my life.

tomorrow, tomorrow...

i leave in about 28 hours. i cant even begin to tell you how incredible that is to me.

there was a point however that i was almost told i couldn't go. my mother, upon finding out about the suicide bombing incident in Casablanca on sunday, officially freaked out and told me that she didn't want me going. i think that is part of the reason why i need to go - to achieve the AIESEC mission and end the need for suicide bombers. i believe in what AIESEC is doing, i just wish that i could get that across to my parents. and everyone.

speaking of conference - it looks like BEBOT will be the roll call for AIESEC US. count it GT.

2 days 2 hours 54 mintes 57 seconds

the title pretty much says it all.


(excitement)

can i wait it out?

3 days, 4 hours, 26 minutes.

if i can last that long it would be amazing. i just finished a test, still have a project and two more midterms to go. I have class in about 10 minutes, but i would rather sleep. i haven't gotten to that point just yet. LTM went late, then worked on a project, then went to dinner at R. Thomas with Charlie (at 2am.) it was delicious by the way, and very good conversations about all sorts of things.

right now i am just trying to focus for more than 2 minutes on one thing. i have been so jittery lately that i am never sure what is going on. i hate this feeling of not being able to focus. or sleep. im worried that i will be getting no sleep this week, and then i will be off to morocco (yay!) which inherently requires me not to sleep, and valencia (yay!) which will not include sleeping either. i'm either going to have to start taking meth or become a zombie in the next few days so i can survive. i'd prefer neither.

3 days, 4 hours, 5 minutes.

almost there.

oh silly.

so RoKS was fun. i went in excited - and it was great to see so many kids that i met at WSC. really good sessions were had - and i had so much fun being a Facii. i mean - i feel i could have done better, but its an amazing experience! we had a little trouble with the partying issue...soon to be resolved i hope...we'll see. but good. yay roks and yay aiesec. (speaking of which - I am now on national leadership team!! yay!)

but now, before i leave for morocco and spain (yay! 9 days!) i need to focus. i need to go to class and figure what the hell is going on in my life. and what i am doing with it. i need to find a way to make me work. and get stuff done. and not skip class.

ok meeting time.

ps. bought lottery tickets - i want in on $340 million!

in like a lion....

its march already. can you believe that? march! 9 weeks from today is the last day of exams. the last day of my first year at college. that's mind boggling. more than mind boggling, its unbelievable.
and in just 2 weeks i will be in morocco! and tomorrow i will be in augusta, georgia, celebrating my very first RoKS!
i am soooo excited. you don't even know.

stress? what stress?

i feel like my brain is about to explode. i say that, and i realize i say that quite a bit. but, believe me when i say that it is a pertinent possibility in the next few days.
presentations, papers, tests, reviews, preparations, attempting to sleep and eat and maintain my ability to function without biting people's heads off.
it's a lot to handle. and i hate that i am complaining about it which i feel like that is all i am doing. don't get me wrong - i love all of the things i am doing and am passionate about doing the best i can for all of it - but i am worried about my ability to do the latter. i want to do so well and keep pushing myself to do well for it, but how? ideas?

i think the only way i will relax this week is to here from MENA LDS. i need to know. now. i want morocco so badly. pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaassssssssssse, let me go!!

ok, back to banging my head against a brick wall...