Week 5: Expect the Unexpected

The past week has been the first full week with my second host family. We started off Monday morning heading to work at the family’s large apple warehouse/refrigerator where they are washing crates to store the apples in come September when they are harvested. The workers wash with a power washer, and we stack them up on palates. We usually spend from about 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. there when they break for lunch. The afternoons/evenings we can do as we please, from taking a nap, going to the pool, or exploring a nearby park.

This week had an unexpected wrench thrown into the plans. Long story short I had COVID. I have no clue where I got it but nobody in Morocco wears masks so it could have been anywhere. I started feeling very sick on Tuesday, body aches, headaches, sore throat, and fever. Wednesday morning I still didn’t feel better so I took an at home COVID test that IFYE had sent with us and tested positive. Throughout the five days I felt sick I think I had almost every symptom possible of COVID, I definitely was not lucky enough to have asymptomatic COVID. Throughout all of this communication was a challenge. During the week we stay with just the host mom and dad. Their kids and grandkids go home and come back on the weekend. This was difficult in this situation because the host mom can not read and write and without WIFI google translate will not speak/listen. So, I had no way to really communicate with her what my symptoms where and I even struggled initially telling her that I was sick. But we eventually got the message across and the host brother from Meknes/our country coordinator got some medicine sent over for me to help with the symptoms. I will say that being sick and not being able to do anything in a place that doesn’t have WIFI was not ideal. It was difficult for me to entertain myself for the hours a day that I would spend in my room. But I pulled through and I am happy to report that I am feeling much better and now have a good story to tell at the IFYE debriefing in September.

One thing that very much so surprised me was the family’s attitude toward COVID. They did not seem to care at all about how contagious COVID is. I thought that once everyone knew I had COVID none of the family would want to come back for the weekend to risk getting themselves and the kids sick. But no, they brought everyone. All the family from last weekend and more came back as well as neighbors coming over. The family and kids would just come into my room to talk to and wanting to hang out. Most of my five days quarantining I was in my room laying down/sleeping because I felt bad, but I made sure whenever I left the room, I was wearing a mask. However, it honestly seemed like the family thought I was weird for doing that.

Once I started feeling better over the weekend, I got to spend some time with the family. On Saturday night they had a celebration for one of the sisters and they taught us how to dance Amazigh. They got a cake, chips, cookies, and even pop for everyone. It was a great night and I was very happy that I was feeling well enough to join in on the festivities. We also spent some time this weekend teaching all of the kids English. We did numbers, colors, and days of the week. The colors have been practiced a lot with all of our UNO playing.

Like I mentioned in my previous blog, there is a big difference between here and Meknes/my previous host family. It is honestly night and day. I have really enjoyed getting to see both sides of the Moroccan life from living in a home that is nicer than my home in the US where all of the kids are grown up, I slept in a king size bed, and they have a cook and housekeeper to living in rural Morocco using a traditional toilet, taking bucket showers, and there constantly being little kids running around. I will say it was an adjustment getting used to life here. However, I really do appreciate this opportunity to see both sides and what life is really like for so many Moroccans, it is what the program is about. It also proves to me that I can adjust and live places that are way outside of my comfort zone. At first it is taxing when the little things like going to the bathroom as so uncomfortable, but eventually the uncomfortable becomes comfortable, you adjust. But it would be a lie if I said I was not looking forward to a nice warm shower. I have been proud of myself for navigating all these adjustments and having COVID all within the same week. It has not been easy and there have been some very trying days, but I have been trying to cut myself some slack.