This trip has definitely been a life-changing event for me. Not only have I set aside 3 weeks of my life to working with students of all ages and levels to teach English to as best as I could, I gained much, much more than I ever thought. I was both skeptical going to a new country, to a house to live with many other volunteers I had never met, to working at a foundation, in a class I had never taught before. The Cross Cultural Solutions Staff gave me so much information to help my transition but nothing can ease your nerves as you walk off that plane into a new country. From the very start I was welcomed with warm smiles and open arms. All the volunteers I lived with from 2-3 weeks were amazing and definitely made my time there extra special. I truly felt we became a large family even in the small amount of time living together.
This trip opened my eyes to the different cultures around the world and how small our problems can really be. The one question that seems to come up quite often when we got back was, "Did you ever feel threatened or fearful?" Never once. The people of Morocco were very grateful and understanding to our different way of life. The home base staff made it very easy for us to dive into the Moroccan culture while all the while having a home to come back safely to. Everyone wanted to know what we thought of their way of life and wanted us to come back to visit. The students enjoyed teaching us about their language, food, culture and city just as much as they enjoyed learning English and American culture from us.
Thank you CCS staff, fellow volunteers, family, friends and mostly, my husband, Dustin for making this trip a reality for me. I know there will be many more trips to come and look forward to growing with each one!!
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