Welcome to yet another post about a Moroccan summer camp! I
have to admit, leading summer camps wasn’t exactly what I expected to be doing
when I departed for my Peace Corps service – nor is it something I plan to do
for the majority of my service. But, during the long months of summer, when
nearly everything is shut down due to Ramadan and the heat, and all work comes
to a near standstill in site, summer camps represent a much-needed break from
solitude and idle time. Thus, when I found out that there was an opportunity to
work a post-Ramadan camp with two of my closest friends in country – and in a
beautiful mountain city famous for its nearby waterfalls to boot – there was no
way I could refuse!
Azilal is a gorgeous town nestled in the mountains, right at
the point where the Middle Atlas transitions into the High Atlas. From nearly
any point in town, one can look out over the rolling hills and mountain peaks
that surround it on all sides. The town has a more modern, almost European feel
to it (without being European to the point of creepy, liker Ifrane), while
still keeping its Moroccan charm. There are cafes, restaurants, and patisseries
all over town, and the three of us – Charlotte, Eugene, and I – frequented them
as often as possible. There are no restaurants or patisseries in my town, and
though there are many cafes, it would be a scandal for me to go to one, being a
woman in a very conservative town. The chance to go to one, have a coffee or
avocado juice, and sit and talk with friends was glorious – especially with the
breathtaking views at the horizon.
Upon arriving to Azilal, we found out that the camp would be
geared more toward older youth – roughly 15-20 years old. As none of the three
of us are particularly excited about singing songs and playing camp games with
kids, we were really happy about the opportunity to work with older youth and
do more meaningful activities with them. We decided to plan each day’s camp
activities around a particular issue or theme: news/bias, environment,
sportsmanship, international, gender and development (GAD), and volunteerism.
The English lessons, games, discussions, and activities for each day were based
around that day’s theme, giving some coherence to the schedule and allowing the
campers to explore each issue in more depth than if we had just done a few
isolated issue-based activities. I won’t go into a complete account of all of
our activities, but I will share the general idea and main activities we did
for each day.
- News / Bias: We really wanted to
get the campers thinking about journalism on a theoretical level, with an
emphasis on bias and critical thinking. We broke them into small groups and
facilitated discussions (all in Arabic) about news in general and about
newspaper articles from a recent paper. We also did some activities and games
that revolved around critical thinking and spotting bias.
- Sportsmanship: Following English lessons dedicated to the subject of sportsmanship, we taught the campers Ultimate Frisbee, and explained its famous emphasis on fairness and sportsmanship during the game.
- Environment: A local Moroccan who
works with an environmental association led us on a nature walk through one of
the protected forest areas owned by the Water and Forestry sector of the
government. We talked about the environmental history of Azilal and the natural
resources found there, and the campers had a good time exploring the forest,
collecting pinecones, and the like. Later, we taught various environment
based-words in English, and did some activities to reinforce the concepts of
conservation and the food chain. We finished the day with a fun activity where a camper was blindfolded, led to a tree, and asked to "get to know their tree" without sight. Afterwards, the blindfold was removed and they had to find that tree again.
- International: We wanted to focus
our international day primarily on human rights and conflict resolution. We had
he campers read the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, projected on a
huge screen in Arabic. Afterwards, a camper led the group in a discussion of
the declaration, including things that might be missing or that they might
disagree with. Afterwards, we went to the mural of the world map on the wall,
and talked about areas in the world where there are currently conflict
situations. Later, we taught the campers an American line dance – the Virginia
Reel – and discussed what was going on historically and culturally at the time
of the dance’s popularity (the Civil War, immigration, etc.).
- Gender: We spent the bulk of this day doing activities that encouraged the
campers to think about gender issues and discuss their opinions with one
another. First, we did an activity where various statements about gender and
family dynamics were read aloud, and campers had to place themselves in the
room on a continuum according to their opinions: one side represented strongly
agree, and the other represented strongly disagree. Next, the campers were
given cards with various attributes and skills on them (e.g. strong, weak,
cooking, working), and asked to place them on a wall, where there were placards
hanging entitled “men” and “women.” Afterwards, a camper led the group in a
discussion about the cards’ placement and how gender roles function (they came
to the conclusion that almost everything could be moved to the middle; that is,
that everything is determined by a mix of factors, including society and
religion). Later, we had each camper draw a picture of a woman who inspires
them, and share who they drew and why.
Intense discussion about gender roles
Before the discussion
After the discussion
- Volunteerism: We had intended for this day to include some sort of
volunteerism or service-learning project with a local association, but our
search for opportunities of that sort was fruitless; volunteerism is much less
common in Morocco ,
and most associations were still not yet open after the Ramadan holiday.
Instead, we led the campers on a short trash pick-up of the forest we had
visited on Environment Day, and had them do an egg-drop competition using only
things they had found in the forest. There were 4 groups, and each group had a
limited amount of time to create a contraption which would protect their egg
from breaking when dropped from the 2nd story.
Overall, the campers were very enthusiastic and engaged with the theme
activities, including the more serious, discussion-based ones. There were some
who showed a clear interest in one issue or another, and it was awesome to see
them have a chance to express themselves and have their voices heard. We made
the campers journals for the week, and gave them time to write down new
vocabulary and reflect on the things they had learned. The journals weren’t
written in as much as we’d hoped, but it was clear in the participation levels
and types of discussions that ensued that the campers were interested in the
topics all the same. There were also two journalism projects going on
throughout the camp: a video and a blog. Neither one came to completion by the
end of camp (due to some disorganization and frankly a shortage of time), but
the campers seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to play the roles of
journalists. The video project made the most progress, and even conducted
interviews in a formal style.
On one of the afternoons, the camp welcomed a panel of four
professors / social workers from the court, to talk about the issue of violence
against women and children. We were looking forward to the panel, especially
because discussions of women’s issues aren’t exactly what I’d call mainstream
in most of Morocco .
After a long 3 hours, however, we left disappointed. What we thought would be a
panel discussion was really a series of games and activities, only half of
which somewhat pertained to the issue at hand. The games and activities seemed
to me like something you would use during the first session of a college course
on human rights, in order to get everyone comfortable with each other and with
human rights on a basic, conceptual level. The problem was that the
presentation never moved from basic games and worksheets into a real,
substantive discussion. What made matters worse was the glaring hypocrisy in
the presentation itself: the panel was made up of two men and two women, yet
only the men spoke. One man led the bulk of the activities and games, the other
talked for some time at the conclusion of the presentation, and the two women
merely sat at the grand table, keeping up a façade of egalitarianism that was
far from reality. In short, it was a presentation about violence against women
and children, during which the actual rights of women and children were hardly
mentioned, and the two women present didn’t participate. We were very
disappointed, to say the least.
In addition to all of the themed days, one of the days in
the middle of the week was dedicated to “relaxation,” and we spent the day
going to a real live POOL, followed by watching Wall-E. The three of us swam
with the campers – Charlotte and I in long shorts and t-shirts – and had a
blast having some real summertime fun. Up until that point, my relationship
with the Moroccan summer had been a less-than-positive one: avoiding the
oppressive heat, cursing the fact that I have to wear pants and long sleeves in
100+ degree weather, etc. But on this day, at least, we got to do something
iconic of the childhood summers that we miss so much: swim in a pool, and
actually enjoy the summer sun.
The last day of camp was dedicated to the talent show – and
the campers put on some awesome acts! There were rappers, dancers, singers, and
more – and Charlotte, Eugene, and I put on a performance of Bohemian Rhapsody
that I think it’s safe to say will never be forgotten by anybody present. Eugene wore Charlotte ’s
shirt, we sang and screeched along to all of the ridiculous (best) parts of the
song, danced and bounced dramatically around the stage, and even ended up
crawling on the ground at the end. Ted even made a surprise appearance (having
come to Azilal to visit and see the waterfalls with us), popping in and out of
the stage as the random guitar soloist that nobody had seen before. Yep. It was
fantastically obnoxious, ridiculous, and altogether epic – even if the Moroccan
kids had no idea what was going on or how to react.
The campers with their certificates on the final day of camp
Of course, a post about my week and a half in Azilal would
be incomplete without mention of the earth-shatteringly awesome meals that
Charlotte, Eugene, and I made during our time there. We didn’t actually have a
lot of free time and so ended up eating a lot of these meals at 1am after hours
of cooking, but it was totally worth it. Mexican night, with tortilla chips and
salsa made from scratch, Italian night with homemade garlic bread and a cream
sauce from scratch, homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese, kung pow chicken
and rice…I could go on and on about how well we did for ourselves those nights.
Cooking is so much better in the company of friends, and good food is so much
more delicious when shared with people close to you.
The day after camp was over, the four of us took a trip out
to see the famous Cascades d’Ouzoud, accompanied by Charlotte and Eugene ’s awesome LCF from
training, who lives in Azilal! The waterfalls were absolutely breathtaking, and
we even took a hike down the side of the cliff near the waterfalls, rather than
taking the stairs to the other side. I needn’t say more – the pictures speak
for themselves.
Since returning from the camp, I’ve been surprised to find
that the Dar Chebab and Nedi Neswi are still closed for the summer holiday. I
was under the impression that September might bring open doors and some work to
be done; unfortunately, that just hasn’t been so. School doesn’t officially
start until next week, and the Dar Chebab and Nedi Neswi won’t start fully
operating until sometime at the end of September or early October. Thus, I’ve
spent the last week or so reading, embarking on cooking adventures, and
finishing a craft project. I’ve read 3 books, made chic pea burgers, hummus,
homemade pasta sauce, soup, and pancakes, and completed an art project for my
wall that I think turned out rather nicely. It’s a line that I try to live by,
and will serve as a reminder to keep striving to make each day count throughout
my service. I plan to fill the wall surrounding it with pictures of friends,
projects, and adventures through Morocco over the course of the next year and a
half (because, did I mention, I’m already more than 5 months in – wow, how did
that happen?!)
The next few weeks are sure to be jam-packed, full of
traveling, and altogether awesome. I leave Wednesday for a short 4-day trip to
ROME (!!!), and return to Morocco
the night before our IST (In-Service Training) begins on the 17th!
What?! More to come on those adventures and more; and until next time,
Hold on to your hats!
