Meet my fellow volunteers!
These amazing people were with me on my one week Cultural Expedition. I thought introductions were in order after two weeks abroad. I’m sure funny stories about our time together will be shared on this blog. Lets
start off with our fearless leaders!
Cedric
Cedric is one of the co-founder of UBELONG and has travelled
to over 30 countries. Cedric has been to
Morocco several times and was a great resource of information about the places
we went as well as connecting us with locals.
Favorite memory of Cedric is when he would get fake outraged at the
prices in the market. No matter what the
price was, Cedric would put on his “you’ve got to be kidding” face. However, the price would always drop afterwards so I guess it worked.
Adriana
“Ta-da! My
luggage finally came on the last day!”
I was so excited that Adriana was one of the leaders for the
Expedition as she is also my Mentor at UBELONG.
Adriana lives in Portugal and has been to Morocco numerous times. Adriana always knew where to get the best
deals on things and good places to eat.
I learned a lot from my brief time with Adriana and I’m happy I get to
continue to bug her though email while I’m here. Favorite memory of Adriana is when we sang
“All About the Base” on the bus to Marrakesh.
Karima
and Fairouz
“I can
show you the world” or Morocco. “Shining shimmering splendor!” well the Medina
is not so much shinny as it is dirty.
Karima and Fairouz
are our local support team here in Morocco.
They get the joy of helping us foreigners manage to not get dead. Just kidding, they do a LOT more then just
keeping us all alive. They manage our
volunteer projects as well as help with our day-to-day life here in
Morocco. Who needs a Yelp review when
you have Karima and Fatiema to the rescue!
I’m sure in the next four months these two women will save my butt more
then once.
Deena
“I
wonder when are we going to eat again.”
Deena has been
volunteering in Morocco for the last three months before joining us on the
Exhibition. Deena is teaching English at
a local school and enjoys teaching her young students all about verbs. Deena is also our resident closer and will take
another serving of food for the team no matter what. Favorite memory of Deena is when she didn’t
even flinch at taking another pastry after painting the school. She is my hero.
Tessa
“I
can’t do pensive face when you’re all looking at me!”
Tessa has been in
Morocco for two weeks before joining the Exhibition. Tessa volunteers at the psychiatric hospital
in Sale. Tessa is our resident
psychologist and we always turn to her for insight into our brains. Tessa hopes to finish up her time in Morocco
in the New Year and then start applying for graduate programs. Favorite memory of Tessa is when we all
confessed our awkward phases we went though in School.
Lois
“This is my throne.
I’m fabulous.”
Lois is my awesome
roommate in Rabat and we’ve shared many laughs together. Lois is from Ghana but moved to the US in
2008. Lois has recently graduated from
college and it taking extra time after the Exhibition to volunteer here at the
Childcare Center. Favorite memory of
Lois is when we came home from a 4 hour lunch and we told our host mom that we
did not want afternoon snack. We thought
she understood and we went to our room to lie down. Ten minutes later our mom called us in to eat
and we both started crying and laughing. I don't know how we survive
eating anymore.
Kitchie
“This
garden is so cool! When are we going to eat again?”
Kitchie is always
smiling. No matter what we were doing or
how full of food we were, Kitchie was there to make us laugh. Kitchie is from the Philippines and now works
in Washington DC for the World Bank. Kitchie
worked at a Woman’s NGO Project during her time here. Favorite memory of Kitchie is when I was
narrating our travels in Sale and we couldn’t stop laughing at my horrible
description and made up stories.
Wendy
“Peace and love to
the students in Sale!”
Wendy was our
business savvy volunteer. Wendy lives in
California and has her own graphic design company. Wendy worked on the Woman’s NGO Project and
made great progress in their efforts with her background and knowledge. Favorite memory of Wendy is when we would
share our Highs and Lows for the day.
She always had great insight into what we were doing and could relate to
the people we met.
Dewey
“I am
the Alfa wolf of tea pouring”
Last but not least
is Dewey. Dewey has volunteered
internationally an impressive 14 times!
This is his second trip with UBELONG and he can’t wait to do
another. Dewey is from Ohio and had a
great time arguing sports with me (Go Green!).
Favorite memory of Dewey is when he poured the tea at the school for
us.
Caity
Then there is me…
I’ve already said too much about me.
Here are some more photos
of us painting the school!
Note: This post is
named “the girls of Mo5” because Kitchie gave us that name as we all lived off
the main street called Mohamed Five.
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