Pre-departure for village stay

It's a two-post kinda day because it's a special occasion: I’m about to head out for the next big adventure…a week in a rural village. You can bet there will be no cell phone service or internet, so don’t hold your breath for the next post. I’m spending a week with a host family in the Ouled Khallou tribe in the Feryat village outskirts (east of Casablanca in the Khouribga province)…I’m not really sure what to expect quite yet and besides being a little nervous, I’m so excited! We’re going to be spending the first day meeting with our families and attending a discussion with the Ouled Khallou men, and then the next few days will be spent hiking, painting walls, weaving, planting trees, and immersing ourselves into the rural life. The houses are spaced very far apart and you can’t walk by yourself because of the psychotic guard dogs (we’ve been told to carry rocks in our pockets), so I’m anticipating spending a lot of time with either just my family or by myself. To be honest, I think it’s going to be a nice change of pace and a very eye-opening experience. I’m going to be bringing pens and paper for the children and we’ll be helping out around the village (hence the painting and planting I mentioned before), so I feel like we’ll be doing some good while absorbing as much of the culture as we can. I think that we’re going to be learning so much from the Ouled Khallou people, and it’s only far for us to give something back as well. A lot of people in the program are worried about getting sick, the bathroom situation (there isn’t one), the fact that we have to sleep on the floor, etc. etc., and it’s getting kind of annoying how pessimistic and close-minded these opinions are. I just keep thinking that this is exactly what we all need. There’s so much that I know I take for granted and I think this week-long excursion will help remind us all of what we have. I’ll be back next Friday or Saturday and I’m sure I’ll have some crazy stories to tell about my attempts at herding goats or communicating with the village kids (no pun intended). Have a great week!