Marrakesh and El Attaouia

Sundays are when volunteers from the two schools come together to explore Morocco accompanied by a school staff member who lives and helps manage the school in El Attaouia. For my first outing, a poll was created to decide where we would go, and Marrakech received the most votes. On the morning of the outing, those of us living in Kelaa took a shared taxi to meet the volunteers from El Attaouia. Marrakech is a busy city with a great number of tourists. As any location where tourism is the focus, it has adapted to cater to them, creating a cycle of commerce that shapes business and the community. After visiting the Koutoubia Mosque, we walked to a small park next to it where we waited for a student that would be joining us. While we waited we got to try sugar cane juice from a cart. It tasted just like what we have in Brazil. From there we walked to the medina and its narrow streets filled with tiny shops tucked into twisting alleys. Many stores were clearly tailored to tourists, but there were also plenty of locals browsing and buying goods, adding a good mix of locals and tourists going about their day. The various streets lead to the Jemaa el-Fnaa Square, a sprawling area filled with vendors, performers, and customers. As we walked through, I was amazed by the sheer number of street performers, it was by far the most I had ever seen in one location. There were acrobats, musicians, and various animal shows featuring monkeys, pigeons, and snakes. Seeing all these activities, my initial reaction was thinking how unfortunate that so much seemed geared toward tourists. But, as I reflected, I realized this wasn’t a modern phenomenon. Street performers have been entertaining crowds for centuries, and my perception of it as a recent invention of consumer culture was naive and misguided. I was reminded of the perils of judging too quickly, and how processing our reactions can lead to better and more insightful conclusions.

The following weekend I participated in my first club event at the school. These “clubs” range from 2 to 3 hour activities held on Saturdays that bring students together to form teams and accomplish various tasks. Before my arrival, the school had organized a business club. This time, it was a cooking club, and I was excited to join. We split into two teams of about fourteen kids, ranging in age from 10 to 13. Each team was led by a staff teacher and a volunteer. After gathering the kids, we worked together to decide what to cook. Our team ended up with a mix of ideas, so we split into smaller groups to make pizza, tacos, and pasta salad. Next, we boarded a van and headed to the grocery store to gather supplies. Managing such a large group in a busy store seemed like it could become chaotic, but somehow, after about an hour, we had everything we needed and were on our way back to the school.

Once there, we carried everything to the rooftop, where we improvised tables using old pallets and set up small gas camping stoves that would be shared amongst the groups. The kids quickly began assembling the dishes, often working independently or asking for help only occasionally with things that required adult supervision. Like my earlier worry of being in the store, I was again doubting the success of cooking the various plates with so many kids specially because daylight was quickly dwindling. Somehow, the kids and teachers seemed unphased and continued on. There was no sense of panic or stress, just a quiet confidence that it would all work out. This wasn’t the kind of perseverance I’ve often seen, where quitting is viewed as weakness. Instead, it felt effortless and natural, like a steady movement through time. We did encounter a few challenges, such as the premade pizza dough sticking to the pans, but by this point, I was getting used to finding solutions as problems arose. By the end, all the dishes were complete, and the children eagerly devoured their creations. Nothing was left over. It was wonderful to see the kids’ sense of accomplishment as we all enjoyed the food.

Our next volunteer outing, we visited a dam near the town of El Attaouia. Those of us not staying there took a shared taxi in the morning and met up with the others at their volunteer apartment. This trip was going to be slightly different for me as I decided to stay two nights in the city to visit the school and give a few sessions as well. We prepared for the outing by gathering everything we needed to make a fire and cook chicken skewers for lunch. At the reservoir, the wind made building a fire challenging, but we managed and enjoyed a simple meal of chicken and bread. The dam and nearby river were beautiful, quite a contrast to the surrounding dry landscape. After lunch, we walked for a couple of hours toward the city before calling a taxi back into town. Tired, hungry, and eager for a hot shower, I realized I had forgotten my towel. Thankfully, the school manager sent me a link to a nearby store, and I managed to buy one just before the shop closed.