Dashing to the Finish Line

For those of you who were wondering what the "Rabat City Challenge" (mentioned in last post) was, it was basically a scavenger hunt. All the YES scholars were split into two teams. Team #1 was Manal, Jonathan, Kalyn, and I while team #2 was Noa, Caleb, and Cheila. Each team was given 150 dirhams (About 17 dollars) and a sheet of paper with a list of things to do. The first team to complete the list and make it back to AMIDEAST headquarters wins a prize. One of the places we had to go was the Medina which is a section of the city where commerce takes place. Lucky for my team, Manal speaks Arabic (although she doesn't speak the Moroccan dialect, Darija), allowing her to quickly navigate through the narrow, maze-like streets which were crowded with people. You can find just about anything in the Medina and what really astounds me is that most of the merchants know where everything is. You can ask a jewelry seller where you can find some pasteries and he/she will be able to tell you. We also walked past the Parliament of Morocco and saw some protesters in front of it (lying down, playing chess, and smoking). Our teams kept meeting at different points in the city which increased the competition. However, both teams decided to split up in order to finish the last few things on the list quickly. Jonathan, Kalyn, and I were at AMIDEAST waiting for Manal to arrive (we couldn't call her since Kalyn had her phone) while Noa was clutching her telephone to her ear and yelling at Caleb and Cheila: "RUN! RUN!". They were the first ones to arrive which meant team #2 won 100 dirhams for a cafe outing. Manal later came and told us that she was waiting for us at the tram stop. Yesterday afternoon was really fun. Today, I took my french class in the morning, walked back home for lunch, and walked right back to AMIDEAST for a class on culture shock and what to do if someone starts catcalling. I have to go back home for dinner, so later!

Caleb was able to post pictures of YES scholars at the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V on facebook. Here they are:


Kalyn in front of Mausoleum of Mohammed V





Noa in front of Hassan Tower