life is a TV series

My friend Mona and I used to like comparing our Moroccan experience to a TV series. They are usually clearly divided into seasons so I have decided to try to split my year in Morocco into seasons.


Season 1 - "the first taste and enjoyment", aired between Jun and Aug 2007

I came to Morocco on Jun 2, 2007. The last week in Poland before departure was kind of tough. I was scared of leaving (although I had been very excited about that earlier). The last day was the worst because I was super stressed when packing, dealing with different stuff and saying good bye to some people. Everything within my last few hours in Poland. Then the plane took off and I landed in Germany where I spent 18 hours at the airport. Not fun at all. But only when the plan from Frankfurt landed in Fes all my fears totally dispersed. I got so excited when the heat wave hit me on the runway of Fes airport and when at the same time I saw the palm trees that I love until now and I will always love them. Everything was so different and exciting from the very first day. The flat I lived in was full of parties and international people (see the movie l'Auberge Espagnol to understand the life I had there). I enjoyed it a lot given the fact the people were really cool. Within that season, I got to know many cool people, travel around Morocco a lot and do lots of other cool stuff. 'May these networks last forever' became my favorite quote. In the middle of August, I went to participate in the AIESEC conference in Turkey but in fact I was so comfortbale in Morocco that I didn't feel like leaving at all. I came back from the conference and was still extremely excited. But this time I was more excited about Turkey and what happened to my there than about Morocco. My excitement about Morocco was over. It was not that I started hating the country but I was just not that into it anymore. The hating part came later.


Season 2 - "I'm ready to jump", aired from Sep to mid Nov 2007

This season started just after coming back from the conference in Turkey. The flat got much emptier because a lot of people left. Soon, new interns arrived but it took me a while to get used to them and even then it wasn't the same as in the summer. It was the period when I was the most devoted to AIESEC work (impacted by the conference in Turkey) and I was strongly thinking of staying in AIESEC for another year after my experience in Morocco. This period was not very exciting but still I could enjoy the country. In the middle of November I went to France to extend my visa and I took part in the French National Confernce of AIESEC.


Season 3 - "the dark ages", aired from mid Nov 2007 until end of Jan 2008

I came back from France and the flat was almost empty. Just one trainee - Catarina and me were living there. Other trainees either left the country or moved out somewhere else within Rabat. The weather was getting worse and the temperature was slowly dropping each day. The flat was huge, cold and empty. I also started having some financial problems especially after spending some extra money in France and then in December being robbed in Madrid. I was literally cashless and hardly making ends meet. A few times some people asked me why I was staying in Morocco at that point when I wasn't enjoying my experience at all. I looked very unhappy there. I couldn't find a good answer but was sure that moving to another country or coming back to Poland would not resolve anything at all. I decided not to leave although I was constantly unhappy. At the end of January, I started preparation to leave the apartment in Hassan because it was empty and too expensive (the one I moved into straight after getting to Morocco). It was lots of work and most of it I did by myself. It was awful and I just wanted to leave (not only the apartment but the country too). And it finally happened (I left the flat after 8 months of living there). And it was a big relief. It was the end of the down period.


Season 4 - "back on track", aired in Feb and Mar 2008

I moved into a small flat with cockroaches in a very traditional area of Rabat not far from my office. The conditions were much worse than in the other apartment but somehow I liked it much more than the previous place. The anti-cockroach war turned out to be a lot of fun. My Moroccan flat mate (I had just one) seemed very cool. I got to like the neighborhood too although before having moved in there, I would have said I would never be able to live in such a place. My financial situation got better too. Everything started slowly improving. In the middle of Feb, I had this fabulous trip to Marrakech with the swimming pool as the main attraction. It was really great although some people (including me) got robbed there. We all suspected my flat mate so after that I decided to leave the flat. I moved out in the middle of this season to the Oudayas - an old fortress on the hill by the river and by the Atlantic Ocean. The roof of the house was overlooking the big part of Rabat, the Ocean, the river and the neighboring city Sale. It was amazing. One of the most important thing about this season was the fact the I was an extra in a Hollywood movie (the Green Zone with Matt Damon - to be released in the cinemas in 2009). Despite the fact of meeting a lot of cool people there and in general having a lot of fun, I earned a lot of money thanks to which I could party party party and travel :)


Season 5 - "the best things come at the end", aired from Apr to Jun 2008

I think that the beginning of this season (that should be mainly associated with crazy parties) can be the 28 Mar 2008. On that day, I got a call from PwC Brussels saying I was accepted for the internship starting from September. That was literally one of the happiest days of my life. It was a reward and a summary of my last 5 years. I got a dream job in a great city. The new part of my life was about to start. So on that day, I had a wonderful dinner with my two great friends - Sophia and Jihane. Then me and Sophia went to le Grand Comptoir and Yacout. I spent there lots of newly earned money (mainly on gin and tonic) and had a blast. Le Grand Comptoir, Yacout and gin tonic started to be the symbols of the fifth season. On 4 Apr I turned 24 and the next day I threw a huge birthday party. I didn't know more than half of the people that came for the party. It turned out to be very amazing and full of expats of Rabat and Casablanca. This party actually introduced me more to the fabulous expats community that is the most enjoyable part of my Moroccan experience. The amount of amazing expats with whom I had connection straight away was also unbelievable. The season 5 was full of hanging out on great international parties all over Rabat and Casablanca. Life didn't stop keeping my surprised all the time. It was as if the amount of surprises and great things was unlimited. Even the last episode of the season 5 that started just last Monday has been amazing. My love and hate relationship with Morocco starts to be only love. And not only with Morocco...