claramsong

What in the world have I been doing in Morocco?? I arrived here at the beginning of October, with one suitcase and my surfboard. I think half of my anxiety was traveling with my 9’4 surfboard. I had to find a board bag to transport that thing, and also ensure that the airline I was flying with would accept my very oversized board. I swear it doesn’t feel that big when I’m surfing it in the water… I can successfully say that 6 pool noodles, a ton of plastic wrap, many hoodies, and a very sturdy board bag later my board was still in one piece. I can definitely recommend the 9’6 Prolite travel bag with wheels. I compared it to one of the Dakine board bags with wheels and it had a lot more padding around and came with another board bag inside it too. I would say it is definitely worth the extra money for a better long-lasting bag. You can also call your local surf shops to order it so you don’t have to pay the shipping fee. Shout out to Bird’s Surf Shed! Enough about the safety of my beloved surfboard…

Anyhow, once I reached Moroccan territory I felt at home with the welcoming family that was here to host me with a grilled fish dinner waiting for me at Maroc Surf Camp. Then under odd circumstances, I was able to experience the end of an iconic Maroccan Rally. Which is when motorcycles, buggies and huge trucks race in the sand for 5 days straight. I really enjoyed that experience, especially because I was with a very hilarious group.

Then back to the surf camp, I basically got to enjoy a couple weeks of how a typical guest staying here would enjoy their stay. I would participate in the yoga classes in the morning or evenings with the in house yoga teacher in the beautiful yoga shala. I would also tag along with the surfers and go surf some magical spots. All I can say is I also am happy to find empty surf somewhere (with the help of the surf instructor bros). I’m the type of person that will go out where the waves aren’t as good but no one is around me. Just because 1. I know myself and 2. because I always have more fun. Maybe I will make a whole different post about surfing here.

After a couple weeks of observing how this surf camp functions, I have made notes on things that I thought coud be improved from a Californian Clara point of view. At the end of the day, I am not here to boss anyone around or tell people how to do their jobs. My intention is to help the individuals and business as a whole. I started my work exchange job and to be completely honest it was and still isn’t as easy as I thought it would be for multiple reasons.

Managing people is draining especially when there is a language barrier and culture barrier. I acknowledge my privilege and not everyone speaks the same languages as I do and it is a learning curve as I learn Dareeja (Moroccan dialect) and try to communicate! It is also fun and hilarious!

Social media, making content, and taking pictures are so fun! I have taken over the Instagram and I’m having loads of fun taking pictures and feeling inspired.

Meeting people from all over the world is so rewarding! One of the great things about this type of work is that you meet such intersting people from all walks of life.

Moroccan food

Instead of writing about delicious and amazing the food is (which it is!), I wanna talk about how breathtaking each dish is. You simply look at a tajine or couscous and admire its beauty, then when you try it. Unreal. There are so many traditional dishes and foods that I’m so lucky to taste every single day. I’m starting to notice how different cultures have different foods but I feel like so many cultures also have many similarities… (more to come on that).

The things that shocked me the most

One of the things that shocked me the most is how much trash there is on the beaches. Loads of trash. But on the beaches?!? I didn’t completely understand this at the beginning, but now I understand that it’s more a lack of education than human beings wanting to harm the planet. But then, how do you come to a different country to try to educate the people in a polite and noncolonizing way?

About that, the other thing that shocked me was the large amount of french or french speaking individuals that live here in Morocco. Didn’t see that one coming. It makes sense because of the french colonized Morocco… But again, I’m trying to understand how to be a polite and respectful traveler.

That is all I have to say about Morocco for now, and I will definitely be posting more in-depth blog posts. If you read it all the way here, thank you for reading! Sending all of you much love ❤