First day of placement, and tour of Rabat

Today was our first day of placement. Four of us went to the Children's hospital. Our guide, Khadija, took us on a tour first of the center which was created by a non-profit group within the hospital. It's basically a few rooms set up for the children to play in, including a library and music room with drums, keyboards, guitars, et cetera. The center is really, really nice.

I actually worked in the asthma ward, not the center. In the asthma ward, kids come into a large playroom in between treatments, and they just play. There is a large table set up for coloring, and there are lots of toys, like a slide, a see-saw, a house, and cars to ride on.

We were in the asthma ward for three hours, playing with the kids. Mostly, they colored because we didn't bring crafts for them to do since this was the first day. However, the kids love to color, and we also had a puzzle for them.  The age ranged from toddler to 16. A lot of moms came in with the kids, and they tried to teach us both French and Arabic. I am very humbled by my lack of knowledge of the French language! With the kids, the language barrier didn't seem too big of a deal (though it did get a little frustrating when trying to talk to the parents!).

Anyway, it was a very good first day, and I know I am going to LOVE working with these kids!

After placement and lunch, we went on a tour of Rabat. The tour included: the medina, the Kasbah Des Oudaias, and Le Tour Hassan and Mausoleum of Mohammed V.

We went to the medina yesterday, but today we got to see even more of it, including the more touristy parts where people can buy souvenirs. I have included a picture below. Out of the medina, we walked to the Kasbah Des Oudaias, which is a walled inner city housing beautiful gardens and whitewashed houses. The houses actually looked like a Greek village to me (all white and blue). Both the medina and the Kasbah are ancient. The medina is actually the area that existed before the French came--and the French walled it up and built their buildings outside the medina. The Kasbah is where the original city was, built in the 12th century (I think). You walk up the steps out of the Kasbah to this large area overlooking the Atlantic ocean. So beautiful!

Finally, we went to the tower of Hassan, which is an unfinished mosque that was going to be the largest mosque in the world. There are many pillars sprinkling a large area, and a tall tower with ramps leading to the top for the person who does the call to prayers to ride his horse up. Beside the pillars and tower is the mausoleum, which is another beautiful building with mosaics and tiles and detailed carvings. This is where the king's father and grandfather are buried. I got a picture of me with the guard out front (with the horse) as well as at the entrance to the mausoleum. When I was standing next to the second guard, he said quietly "smile," and I said "say cheese," and I made him laugh! (He's kind of like the guards at Buckingham Palace, you know, all stoic, not supposed to smile.) It was funny.

Another volunteer and I went to the park for jogging after the tour. It was a long way away, down this street lined with fancy houses, each with guards out front. The park was nice and shady and well-populated, with about a 1.5 mile path for jogging. The volunteer with me actually got hit on by a creepy guy in a jogging suit.

Dinner, and then we walked to the Acimi, which is a little shopping mall where you can get groceries, coffee, or dessert. I bought this really delicious mousse-type-thing for dessert. Now I'm back in the CCS house, ready to go to bed pretty soon, because tomorrow is another fun, exciting day!