“I have enjoyed my stay in Rabat”

General Impression

Overall Rating:    6 / 10

I have enjoyed my stay in Rabat. The enjoyment is as much the country as the project but I do think I contributed to the organization and the projects I worked on. It might have been nice to have more people contact rather then office time but ...
I’m not sure there is any reason to do something about this but there might be more room or consideration taken for older volunteers. I am sure your organization originated in an effort to facilitate gap year folks but if you are going to assist and take older folks maybe some thought should be put into it. You may be getting more and more of us.

Country

I have lived in developing countries earlier for longer periods of time, so these impressions join those experiences. I found many of the developmental aspects similar to my past experiences. But having the opportunity to experience the Medinas while living in one was a real plus. Most tourist operations issue warnings about venturing into various Medinas but once you have lived in one, i guess warning short term tourists is one thing but scaring the rest of the world is stupid. Being an older women I had a bit of an advantage over my younger female colleagues, despite the fact I always looked like a none Moroccan.

Project & Staff

I arrived in Morocco the Friday before a week long holy day celebration. This meant it was the Monday of the second week here that I actually reported to an office of my project. Then we had two more days off. While this gave me extra time to wander the city. I believe it would have been better and more productive if I had know that almost the first week and a half I was here there would be no work. But otherwise the staff was GREAT. Both the organization that was housing us and the NGO I spent two and a half weeks rewriting grants with. The amount of project work was sparse but the staff was helpful but not overwhelming.

Tips

Check out what holy days are being celebrated and for how long. While we were able to participate in some of the celebration of the holy days, in Morocco being a women left me out of most. I guess it is like arriving in the United States right after everybody just went on Spring break.
Relax and expect to feel like you are out of sink with what is going on around you and enjoy the moments of understanding.
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