Morocco!! Day 4

November 2nd

We woke up at 5:30am to watch the sunrise over the dunes. It was still dark as we walked about a ½ mile to a tall dune. Sitting on top of that dune, watching the sunrise and listening to the peaceful silence of the Sahara was absolutely breathtaking, an experience I will never forget. It felt like time stood still for a moment as I sat there watching the sky turn various shades of red and orange, I was waiting for someone to pinch me and wake me up from this dream I was in. After the beautiful sunrise we went back to camp for breakfast and got ready for the adventurous day ahead of us! After breakfast everyone bought turbans to protect our heads and faces from the sun during our long day in the desert. Around 10am the camels arrived at camp! The men who were directing the camp/our tour guides were Berbers, a desert tribe that speaks Berber which is a dialect of Arabic. The Berbers were so knowledgeable and friendly, as we spoke to them in Spanish while they organized the camels for our camel ride! Riding the camel through the dunes was so much fun! Even though you feel like you are going to fall off when the camel gets up and down, it was awesome!

We rode the camels all around the desert and took a break to climb a huge dune and see the panoramic view of the desert. Wow!! One of our directors brought her snowboard and some people were sand boarding down the dunes. After seeing the astonishing view of the Sahara from the top of the dune, we got back on the camels and headed to a small desert town called Merzouga. Here we went to another place where they sell awesome Berber rugs and then headed to a school to give out our toys and school supplies we had brought for the kids. Visiting this poor town and seeing the children run around with excitement as we walked up to the school had a very profound impact on me. I had brought a big bag of toys to give to the kids and when I pulled it out of my backpack I was literally almost mauled over by a group of seven year old boys who began fighting over the toys. It made me so sad to see them this way because it was obvious that they had never seen toys like that. I felt so helpless and wished I had brought more toys, because they ones I did bring were ripped out of my hands. Seeing the excitement on their faces as they played with their new toys was so awesome. Once we got inside the school house the same thing happened. The teacher had to yell at the kids to sit in their seats and wait until we came around and passed out the pens, markers, papers and binders we brought. They could not control their excitement, they were just adorable. This humbling experience really helped me realize how extremely fortunate we are in the United States. Although many districts are complaining of the budget crisis and not having enough materials, we really do have more than enough to teach our children. This poor teacher had almost nothing to teach a classroom of thirty young boys and girls. Although seeing this school made me sad, it really did inspire me to continue working hard in my education so that one day when I am a teacher I can go to third world countries and help educate young children like those I saw that day.

After seeing the school we went back to camp for lunch and relaxed for a little while. We took some photos of the dunes and watched the sunset. Before dinner a group of my friends and I sat with a few Berber men and talked. This was an awesome experience because we learned so much about the Berber tribe. These men speak at least five different languages, and they have learned all of them just from spending time with tourists in the desert! They call the desert their “escuela internacional” (international school). They are so smart! I brought my journal to the dune and my friend Mustafa translated words from Spanish to Berber and Arabic in my journal! They also played Berber music and taught us a song in Spanish called “Vamos a la playa.” This was truly a surreal experience, as we sat on the dune listening to so many different languages and learning about the lives of these men. The simplicity of their way of life is incredible; it was awesome to learn about. My friend Mustafa showed me what a sand bath is as he dug a whole for me to lay in and covered my legs with sand. He massaged my legs with the sand on top of it, talk about exfoliating! My friends Melissa and Nicole got a sand bath as well, it was so fun! After spending time with our Berber friends we went back to the tent for dinner and dancing! An African band came to play at the tent and we had so much fun dancing the night away!