Month: March 2025

Ramadan In Morocco: A Journey of Reflection and Cultural Awakening Part I

Ramadan In Morocco: A Journey of Reflection and Cultural Awakening Part I

Sometime last year, as I made the decision to leave Poland, a few WorkAways in Morocco caught my eye. WorkAway is the largest and safest community for cultural exchange, working holidays, volunteering, and house-sitting in 170 countries. I bid my farewells and departed Poland on December 16, 2024. Upon arriving in Marrakech, I took a few days to catch my breath as I prepared for a new chapter in my life. My original plan—though it has since changed—was to stay in Morocco until April 9th, when I would head to Paris to meet a friend.

There were a few reasons I chose April for my departure. First, since I was no longer a resident of Poland, I had to adhere to the Schengen Visa rule of 90 days within a 180-day period. Although I had reapplied for temporary residency in Poland, my application was still pending when I left, meaning I couldn’t enter any Schengen countries before March 15th. Secondly, a friend was coming to Marrakech for a yoga retreat in early April, and I wanted to see her while she was here.  Lastly, Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, was set to begin on March 1st or 2nd, depending on the moon sighting. I couldn’t think of a better way to immerse myself in the culture than by experiencing this sacred month firsthand.

On December 19th, I boarded a bus with all my belongings for a 5-hour scenic ride over the High Atlas Mountains to Ouarzazate, Morocco, the Gateway to the Desert, for my first WorkAway. I was met at the bus station by two young ladies, 2 of the daughters from my WorkAway family. The Berber family with whom I would spend the next 5 weeks, but that’s another story for another time. However, they are part of the inspiration for this post.

When my time in Ouarzazate came to an end, I returned to Marrakech, where I developed an inner ear infection that sidelined me for about a week. That unexpected turn of events ultimately led me to El Kelaa on January 28, 2025, for my current, unplanned WorkAway – though that’s a story for another time.

El Kelaa is a small city in central Morocco with a population of around 100,000, known primarily for its olive tree cultivation. After spending a few weeks here, I realized it would be the perfect place to experience Ramadan.

As this month-long celebration now nears its close, I felt inspired to write this short introductory piece while walking home from the English School a couple of nights ago.

El Kelaa, isn’t a tourist destination, so there’s a good chance I’m the only person with blonde hair in town. As a result, I’m easily recognized as I go about my day. I walk everywhere since taxis are rarely necessary-living near the city center means everything is in walking distance: my school, my souk, my spa, the laundry service, and plenty of cafes and restaurants. Except for about 7-10 days near the start of Ramadan, when it rained every day, the weather has been quite temperate, even for late night walks.

For some reason, on my way to school, around 20:30 (8:30 pm) that evening, it struck me – I was walking down a street in North Africa, in a town that now felt like home. As I walked, the call to prayer echoed from the mosque and as I rounded the corner, I took a moment to really notice the 50+ men praying both inside and outside. I pass this mosque everyday, but that night, I truly reflected on how deeply woven it is into the fabric of their culture. As I continued on, turning the next corner, a group of young boys kicked a soccer ball back and forth. They greeted me, as they always do, with cheerful calls of “Hello”, “Ciao”, “Hola”, “Salaam”, and “Bonjour”. Sometimes, they even kick the ball my way. But that night it made me think about how fortunate they are to grow up multi-lingual – here, it is common for kids to speak two to four languages with ease.

 

A few moments later, I arrived at the school, ready to teach a late-night English class. Even though we don’t finish until 22:30 (10:30 pm), my students were eager to learn. Our lessons often lead to meaningful conversations, and more often than not, I find myself learning just as much as they do.

El Kelaa has little light pollution, and as I was walking home from school that night around 23:00, the sky was crystal clear, filled with stars that even the glow of the last-quarter moon couldn’t diminish. The streets were fairly quiet and as I turned onto my street, lined with orange trees, a gentle breeze rustled the  branches, carrying the intoxicating scent of orange blossom through the air.

When I arrived home, I went up to my rooftop terrace, the scent of the orange blossoms still lingering in the air as I gazed up at the night sky. I have always been fascinated by the stars, and that night, I was reminded of three other times when I was overwhelmed with emotion looking towards the heavens.

The most recent was during a two-day journey deep into the Sahara, led by the Patriarch of my Berber family. I was sitting by the dying embers of a fire, the moon had yet to rise, and the words of the Eagles’ Peaceful, Easy Feeling came to mind: “I wanna sleep with you in the desert tonight with a billion stars all around”. Out there, 50 km deep in the desert, with zero light pollution, the Milky Way stretched across the sky so vividly it felt like I could reach out and touch it. And in that moment, it truly looked like a billion stars above me.

In 2016, I camped at Mount Everest Base Camp on the Tibetan side. Around 04:00, I stepped out of my tent, and despite the biting cold at 5,200 meters (17,060 ft), I stood mesmerized for nearly 20 minutes, unable to tear myself away from the breathtaking beauty before me.

The final memory that came to mind was from the early 2000s, on a mountaintop in Fornalutz, on the island of Mallorca. A little drunk on wine and lost in love, we lay on a blanket for hours, watching shooting stars and passing satellites, feeling as if we were the only two people on Earth witnessing such magic.

So, what does all of this have to do with Ramadan?

Ramadan is a time of deep spiritual reflection, self-discipline, and a strong sense of community.

Over the past couple of weeks, friends have made a few comments that stuck with me. One told me I’ve never looked more vibrant. Another said Ramadan seems to have made me more introspective – that I was glowing. A third friend agreed. Maybe their words led me into a deeper reflection that night, or maybe it’s simply the energy of Ramadan itself.

As for self-discipline, I have been fasting for 25 days now, and by the end of Ramadan, it will be 30. And the spirit of community? I feel it every day, especially when I have been invited to share Iftar, the meal to break the fast at sunset, with students and friends in the community.

I’ll share more about my month-long expereince in Part II of this post after Ramadan comes to an end. For now, I’ll leave with a quote I’ve often turned to from Gene Wilder, “My only hope is that even for a moment, I helped you see the world a little bit different.”

Be The Change

Be The Change

Change – an act or process through which something becomes different”

“Be the Change” – I use this phrase a lot in my social media posts along with two of my favorite quotes. The first one is from Mother Teresa, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”, and the second by Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

Currently I am living in a predominantly Muslim country. Officially, 99% of the population are Muslim. The second largest religion in the country is Christianity, but most Christians are foreigners. I am living in the town of el Kelaa, Morocco, a smallish town about 80 km (50 miles) from Marrakech.

I am here on a WorkAway volunteering at an English school. Students at the school receive 4 hours of English lessons per week from a Moroccan English teacher. Then, depending on the availability of English speaking volunteers (usually native speakers), they can have a one-to-one, one-to-two or a small group session with one of the volunteers. It is a one hour conversation session as most students want to improve their speaking/communication skills. I would like to note that I tell the students if I ever ask any questions they are uncomfortable answering or just don’t have an answer, they can pass. Honestly, I don’t think I have had anyone pass.

Recently, I had the opportunity to have back-to-back one-to-one classes with two lovely teenage girls. After the classes, I went across the street to my usual cafe for a cafe creme. I was lost in thought, the two girls were polar opposites and I had an epiphany. I made a few notes on my phone, but knew I needed to put the pen to the paper and share my thoughts.

I remembered a blog post I had written in 2019 when I was living in Bali. I went back and reread it. Two of the passages are relevant to my current mindset. The first one, “I have been blessed to live and travel to many places around the globe that don’t practice Christianity. I’ve been to Mosques and listened to the prayers of those of Islamic faith. I have sat with monks in Buddhist temples. I have attended a service of Caodaism (cultivating self and finding god in self) in Tay Ninth, Vietnam. I have sat in monasteries in Tibet and read the teachings of the Dalai Lama. I have been at a Hindu cremation ceremony in Kathmandu, Nepal which follows closely to the Hinduism of India.”

The second relevant passage from that blog is, “Growing up Christian, we heard stories of missionaries in far-off lands converting these “pagans”, “non-believers”, and even those of other faiths to Christianity. Through my travels, I have come to question this practice and ask, “Why?” Why do we in the west think that our religion is the one true and right religion that everyone else should follow?” Why do we often seek to change others. Hear me out – this post isn’t about religion, though the idea was lingering in the back of my mind. It is more about understanding and accepting people’s choices, in religion, in relationships, in life.

My first student of the day was a 16 year old girl, wise beyond her years. She came into my class in a niqab, which means the only thing I could see were her eyes. Don’t let anyone tell you the eyes can’t smile. I was greeted with the biggest, brightest smile that put an equally big smile on my face. I sat across from her and we went through my usual intro stuff…name, age, are you originally from el Kelaa, etc. I have to be honest here, I had no idea what to expect from this young lady with the beautiful eyes. I had no idea how traditional she was, although based on her dress I had to guess very traditional. Traditional, for example, when approaching a Muslim woman (whether she wears a hijab (head scarf) or not) – it’s respectful to wait for her to offer her hand and give her the opportunity to show you if she doesn’t mind shaking hands, or you can place your hand on your chest as a gesture of polite greeting. I was curious and intrigued with countless questions racing through my mind.

My one-to-one sessions mainly consist of me asking a lot of questions, some easy, some deep, some just fun. I decided to start with my usual opening question, “Why is it important for you to learn English?” She replied that by learning English she would become a more confident woman. She also said that it would help her in all areas of life…her education, job opportunities, travel, etc. Very profound for a young lady without much worldly experience. Another question I ask comes from Twenty Questions to the World. The original concept of 20Q was started in 2016. Since then the same twenty questions have been asked to thousands of people around the world and their answers recorded…from a nomad in Mongolia to the little old man in a coffee shop in Spain to me when I was volunteering in Wasso, Tanzania.

I then asked question 3 from the original 20, “If you could choose one thing to teach in every school in the world, what would it be?” I also usually add, “and why?” She told me she would teach everyone to understand Islam because it is often misunderstood. To which she added, “No offense, but especially in America.” I couldn’t say I disagreed with “especially in America”. We continued to have a beautiful conversation and at some point I asked her what was the best thing about Morocco. She told me, “It is the people and our culture. We are kind, welcoming, don’t judge and most importantly we respect all. That is part of the basis of Islam. I respect your choice of religion and maybe if more people understood Islam, they would respect mine.” Did I tell you she was wise beyond her years? As our time came to an end, she surprised me with a big hug, a thank you, and a request for a selfie.

She had my head spinning but I didn’t have time to process my thoughts because a bubbly 12 year old was walking into the room and was my next one-to-one. She sat down and started talking without even being prompted. When I say polar opposites from the young lady before her, I wasn’t kidding. She came in dressed in western attire…meaning jeans, a sweatshirt, tennis shoes and no head scarf. We chatted about school, her family, their travels. She is one of the few young people I have met that has traveled outside of Morocco. Both of her parents have careers and if I recall correctly she has a younger brother. I change up my questions based on the age and English levels, so one of the questions I asked was, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Well, the question was barely out of my mouth before she started into a discertation on becoming an airline pilot and how she wanted to see the world. I didn’t need to ask the why is it important for you to learn English question because she answered that in her I want to be a pilot. She knew that English is the language of the skies and she would need it to fulfill her dream. Next, I decided to also ask her the if you could teach one thing question. Not surprisingly she said she would teach that you can be anything you want to be. We finished up talking about Morocco, its culture and religion of which she was very knowledgeable. She also told me about being excited for Ramadan because it is very important in their culture/religion.

I left the school and walked across the street to the cafe to just sit, sip my cafe creme and try to organize my thoughts as they were racing around my head. I immediately started writing this post when I got home. I had just about finished and decided to sleep on the ending until morning. Somehow, when I went to work on it the next day, it was lost in cyberspace as a corrupted file on my SD card. I was crushed and angry but started again fresh. Now it has taken me about 3 weeks to finally conclude. I have had so many interesting conversations with students during this time, I wish I could tell every story.

Every conversation I have gives me deeper meaning to “be the change”. I have a PhD student, a Professor of Philosophy, some 40 something housewives who just want to learn English, and a young teenage boy who asked me what I thought love was, because he thinks he is in love.

I am sitting here tonight on the third day of Ramadan. I am following the fasting for thirty days. No one has said I have to do this. I also have an English version of the Quran that I read a little on occasion. I am doing this not because I want to convert and no one has asked me to, but because I want to see the world, their world, their culture through their eyes, not mine. In turn, I hope I can share with you what I see, what I taste, what I feel. I want to be one of those ripples. I overuse this quote by Gene Wilder, “My only hope is that even for a moment I helped you see the world a little bit different.”

When I say “Be the Change”, I don’t want to change anyone but myself. Be the change isn’t about changing others, but understanding ourselves and our view of the world. Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” tells me that if I make the change within me, I have the power to create a better world.

I want to end on a lighter note with a quote from the Dalai Lama, “If you think you are too small to make a difference…try sleeping with a mosquito.”

#BeTheChange