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My school trip to Morocco

Student Lydia Webb shares her experience of her school trip to Morocco which brought her physical challenges, a sense of achievement, and strong friendships.

Jumping off the plane in Marrakech was welcoming: the air was fresh; not a cloud in the sky and the heat was beating down on my new white sunhat...that very sunhat is now brown and has an everlasting stench to it! Talking of horrid smells, my specially-made Morocco T-shirt never got washed, as I wanted to keep the smells of the trip. When I bought it into school for our presentation, I had to keep it away from other pupils for health and safety reasons!

{img_alt} I'd like to mention that now looking back to the beginning of the trip, I was pretty weak. We took part in a community project which involved carrying weighty rocks from the mountain back and forth a couple of hundred yards, five hours a day for four days. When I had to carry my 14kg Schools Worldwide bag through the airports at the end, I felt extremely strong and the weight of my kit was nothing compared to how I felt carrying it around before the project! This feeling has definitely encouraged me to keep fit.

The mosques are treasured by the Moroccans. In Marrakech, they have built an immense mosque and in the evenings, you catch its splendour. Fantastic lights create a sense of power over the city; additionally a beautiful sight from the balcony of your hotel room. The Muslims get called to prayer by the Imam who sings passages from the Quran through speakers. This was a relaxing sound from a distance when eating a meal late evening. Although, in the city of Essaouira, they had speakers spread around the city. This meant you could always hear the call which is still beautiful even in another part of the country. Here's comes my comedic anecdote: my friend and I found our petite room in Hotel Souiri.... 

We approached the window and flung open the window screens in anticipation for fresh air. Our smiles dropped off our face when we found speakers right outside our hotel room. {img_alt} "That's fine" we thought "we'll be having dinner when the call is taking place!" It was my decision to leave the windows open overnight for, even by the coast, it was very hot; I don't think my room-mate could ever forgive me for doing this. It reached about half past 4 in the morning and both of us were awoken abruptly by the blaring noise of droned Arabic words running through our heads. My friend's reaction was unforgettable and kept up moral although I shouldn't repeat what she said...! At this point, I was so relieved that we weren't doing six hours of trekking after breakfast for we were very restless following this event.

Even after all the hard work for fundraising and getting the right gear I feel a real sense of achievement for I have grown as a young adult and have improved my physical ability as well as gained strong friendships.

We offer a range of inspiring trips and projects in Morocco.