A Girl Named Jihad
This is the story of my dearest friend here in Rabat. She is 20 years old, the second of three daughters. She lives in a cozy apartment with her family about 10 minutes away from me. She is a passionate…
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Festival, Food, and Hiking
I want to focus on three things that made this past week great. Festival: Bethlahem Live Street Festival (Yallah Makloobah) happened this past Thursday through Sunday. This festival occurs annually and features art, workshops, live music, and local vendors in…
Road Trips
So we went to El Salvador. This week was kind of a whirlwind, meaning I’ve spent a lot of time in the car. The car rides here aren’t bad, or are bad- I think it depends on the type of…
Who Run the World?
Early on into my program, I promised a post detailing the role of women I observed here in Morocco. And it’s really only fitting, seeing as the genesis of this project is centered around women’s empowerment after all. But before…
“What have I gotten myself into?”
“If at some point you don’t ask yourself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ then you’re not doing it right.” – Roland Gau This is a comforting sentiment because I’ve had this thought nearly a dozen times over the past…
No Nutella Left
Over the past 5 weeks, I’ve gone through 1 jar of peanut butter, half a jar of strawberry jam and 2 Jumbo bottles of Nutella. I wouldn’t call it stress eating, but I wouldn’t call it a healthy habit either.…
Once Upon a Moroccan Wedding
One of my favorite parts about my job at Feminin Pluriel was the wide variety of students that I got to work with and invest in… Everything from 6 year old beginners to astrophysicists seeking to improve their writing abilities…
The Separation Barrier
In my last entry, I mentioned crossing the checkpoints into Bethlehem. I’m going to talk more about that in this post. In June of 2002, Israel began construction on what is referred to as a separation barrier (which I will…
Confessions of a Volunteer English Teacher
Last week, I mentioned the difficulties presented in my project by the frequent changes in classes due to shifting needs at the Empowerment Center. Over the course of my time here, I have taught just under 10 different classes. As…
Dirty Hands
The only time my hands really get dirty at home is when I willingly garden on the 4’x6’ foot patio of my fourth floor apartment in Nashville. Once the weeds are gone and all the succulents and catci are comfortable…