Morocco: Day 3

Monday was tough but put it into perspective how privillaged we really are. In the morning we packed up our stuff and left the hotel in two groups. One group (mine) went further up the mountain one side of the valley to get involved in some community work. The other half went up the other side and visited the local village school.

I don't think any of us were expecting to work while we were on holiday. For two hours we had to help build a water irrigation system by forming a chain and passing along bags of rock and other mountain like material to where the next part was being built. It was harder work than it sounds and by the end of it my back was killing me, but as we were told many times, it was for a good cause and something extra to put on our CVs.

Both groups then came together at lunch time at our tour guide's house. Each of the tour guides were either cousins or brothers to each other so the atmosphere was so much more comfortable than any of the resturants we'd been to. The food there was the best we had all week too. Bread was still put on the table, but instead of coucous we had rice instead, as well as sweetcorn, peas and carrot - almost like a vegetarian paella.

Afterwards we swapt activities and off we went trecking up the other side of the mountain to the school. It was a surreal experience. There were no laptops or electronic whiteboards or, from what we could see, no writing books either. However, we'd brought them all mini whiteboards, whiteboard pens, pencils and rulers and I've never seen someone so happy about a pencil. Ever. The kids were so adorable though. They all got involved and one kid even let me teach him how to draw and write in English. He probably didn't have a clue what he was writing but the fact that he actually copied what I'd done without anyone forcing him was the cutest thing I've ever seen.

The next big thing was the mule ride up to the next hotel which we were meant to go to the night before. I was aboslutley shitting myself the whole way up to the hotel, but, like everything else that day, it was an experience which I will never forget.

And now I know why people go on volunteering holidays so much.

Georgia.xo