Week 2

The second week became difficult for me. The feeling of homesickness began to creep into my days, and the exhaustion of adjusting to another schedule weighed me down.

I spoke of speaking to my mother over the phone, and how the things that made me feel welcome in the first week made me feel more estranged in the second. Hearing modern Moroccan music reminded me a lot of my home in Florida, and caused me to reminisce on my family more. I worked through it, but not alone. My host mom encouraged me to go out and took me with her to Jnan Sbil, a famous and ancient garden home to thousands of plant species.

I remember her grandson kept pointing at a tree and I noticed a ripe orange hanging from it. I got the idea he was telling me to pluck it but I couldn't reach myself. I decided to lift him and he grabbed the orange. He excitedly ran back to my host mom to show her what we had done. Come to find out, picking fruits from the trees is not allowed. We had a good laugh about it, and the man guarding the park was kind enough to let me off the hook because I was unaware.