By Kelsy Nelson, Program Advisor in our New York office and a recent visitor in Morocco

Hailing from the fashion Mecca of the United States (representin’ Brooklyn y’all!), it’s impossible to travel and not notice how ladies around the world make Tyra proud. For me, the most stressful part of packing is trying to be culturally sensitive while feeling comfortable in my clothes. So, as we beckon on spring and volunteers making bold fashion choices in our destination countries, I present you with the first ever Projects Abroad style guide:

*~*Rockin’ au Maroc*~*

Country Director Saad Rbiai and myself in the ferocious Projects Abroad Morocco office

1.) Head and Shoulders

I know the whole of North Africa can get pretty hot, but ladies keep those shoulders to yourself! I have to admit I was surprised with how liberal some Rabatonians dressed, though I would advise to strut conservatively on Mohammed V’s catwalk. Lightweight cardigans and button up shirts ensure you’re covered while staying fashion forward with layers.

2.) Scarves, Scarves, Scarves!

Keeping your chest covered is important for being respectful. Since turtlenecks probably aren’t everyone’s ideal outwear during the heat of summer, so full bodied scarves are a good alternative for dressing modestly. They’re useful for covering up shoulders, collar bones, or simply looking fabulous.

A volunteer utilizing the scarf method on a Teaching Project

3.) The Bottom Half

When it comes to pants, anything goes in Morocco. Loose pants are preferable in the hotter months, but if you want to go Sienna Miller style with skinny jeans, then more power to you. As far as skirts go, make sure they at least hit your knee (but longer is better). Short shorts are always a no.

4.) Footwear

Rabat is a very walkable city, so shoes you can wear for hours are important. Sneakers are a must, but having sturdy sandals for the warmer weather (and desert if you’re lucky enough to go) will come in useful. Maybe throw in a pair of fun flats for the volunteer socials.

n conclusion, keeping your sense of style while dressing for the culture of Morocco is easy as 1,2,3,4. As Hardy D. Jackson once said, “Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” Word

Rabat, Morocco

I have made my first visit to Morocco since it became a Projects Abroad destination.

The first thing I’ve just got to mention is the food. Saad Rbiai and his partner are looked after by Saad’s childhood nanny who is the most utterly amazing cook. We started our dinner with chicken and mint pasties, a subtle blend of flavours in perfect puff pastry. The main course was a traditional Moroccan tajine, a kind of excellent beef casserole. The pudding, for which I thought I had no room but somehow had a second helping, was a lemon pie which I will still remember after several years in heaven. STUNNING!

I am pleased that Projects Abroad Morocco is based in Rabat. It is rather an attractive city with lots of walls and castles, including a splendid fortress called Chellah overlooking the river and inhabited by many storks who nest on the turrets and towers of the old castle. I went back to the airport at the end through Casablanca which is really just a huge industrial city and not at all in keeping with its romantic image - Bogarde and Bergman and all that.

I met all our volunteers who work on a variety of Teaching and Care projects, and these all seem to be going well, doing work that’s really needed. I was also able to see a brilliant new care project where we’re soon going to start work, a highly imaginative scheme for street-children from the shanties surrounding Rabat. In this project, kids do ordinary school lessons and get a square meal – and just a few are residential as well – but, impressively, they also have drama classes and learn how to do circus acts. It’s great to see kids in difficulty not just doing the necessary things but also having a great time just for fun, not just kicking a ball around the yard but doing something really special and unusual that will always be a part of their lives.

From Morocco, I headed to Togo. The most important thing there is that we will be able to have human rights projects for French-speakers. These will be at the Organisation for Women in Law and Development, where volunteers will be able to help set up and run educational campaigns and can help to deal with the individual cases of the women who come for help.

Morocco and Togo have in common that they are both French-speaking African countries. We in the English-speaking world tend to forget about French-speaking Afrca – yet there it is – to return to the theme of food – a mix of baguettes and fufu, of Côtes de Rhone and mint tea.

… oh, yes, I forgot the mint tea – we finished off our meal at Saad’s place with mint tea – amazing mint tea – the mintiest, most honeyish, subtlest, spiciest, sweetest …. – get me back to Rabat – get me back to Saad’s nanny – NOW!

Peter Slowe
February 2008

Saad and volunteers at quiz night

By Suzi Lamb, International Development Manager

I found myself unusually excited about my trip to Morocco, as much as I get to travel quite regularly with work; I hadn’t visited a new country for almost two years. I also studied French at university, and have enjoyed having the chance to use my language skills in Senegal recently and I was keen to see how French in Morocco would compare.

We meet volunteers at either Rabat or Casablanca airport; however I flew into Marrakech, as I was also keen to see another Moroccan city at the weekend before I left. Marrakech was very hot, and I jumped straight onto a train for a steamy five hour journey to Rabat.

Our Morocco director, Saad, met me at the train station in Rabat. Due to its coastal location Rabat is a much more pleasant temperature, like a hot summer’s day in the UK, around 27 degrees during the middle of the day. After rainy season in Thailand and the torrential rain we’ve had in the UK this summer, a week of clear blue skies and sunshine was much appreciated. Anyway, enough typical British talk about the weather…

It was good to visit some of our teaching and care placements in Rabat. As it is currently the school holidays the teaching volunteers are working in ‘Associations’ which offer free English lessons to small groups of students from non-privileged back grounds. The volunteers I met were doing a great job of making their lessons fun and as more volunteers arrive we will be able to teach greater numbers of keen students. Any volunteers able to teach French would also be really welcomed by the associations.

More after the jump …..

MORE…

Suzi and child at care centre

The care volunteers are currently working with disabled children at a small centre, where the children are bought for the morning. The volunteers often work one-on-one with the children or in small groups as they require lots of help and stimulation. The children enjoy activities like colouring (see the photo of me and one of the children), and simple games like dominoes.

The remainder of the volunteers in Rabat were taking part in either French or Arabic Language projects. I sat in on half an hour of an Arabic lesson, and it seems so complicated, just learning the letters and the sounds is so different to learning a Latin based language like I’m used to speaking French and Spanish. I was very impressed by how much some of the volunteers had learned though, and their host families were eager to help and practice with them.

All our host families are located within the walled Medina, the oldest part of the town. This means the volunteers are all in walking distance from each other and in a great central location. The volunteers regularly meet up for a quiz night, or to go out for some mint tea and super sweet Moroccan biscuits.

The atmosphere in Rabat was very relaxed and there was much less hassle in the streets than I expected. I think this is due to it being less of a touristy town, as in Marrakech I got far more comments from men and vendors in the street, which can get frustrating and tiring. However, I’d love to go back to Morocco, particularly to spend more time in Rabat, take a trip into the Sahara and climb Morocco’s highest mountain; all activities that volunteers can take part in at the end of a project.