Putting the culture back into "Culture Shock"

After a month of vacation I am back in Larache, Morocco.    At the first sight I was shocked by how different everything appeared after an entire month away from here.  People that have lived here or in other parts of the world can attest to the way life here can have a tremendous power over what one feels is "real" or "normal".  In Morocco, it might seem perfectly normal to be befriended by someone, and in ten minutes you are already being swept off your feet as you are taken to his house and served one of the most delicious meals you have ever tasted.  Whereas in another place it may not only seem strange but even dangerous!I feel as though before I left my eyes and my soul had become numb to the world around me.  Now, when I hear the muzzein call the faithful to prayer I turn off the music to enjoy a sound that is once again mysterious and inviting, the colors seem more brillant, the smells more alive, the smiles more real, and now more often, I look to the heavens with hope.  I think that I spent the last year running around without stopping for the entire year.  Without stopping to breathe a little bit, without enjoying the sun or the wind in the afternoon and doing this I lost my spirit, my positiveness, and myself.  I based all of my decisions and my work solely on my love for humanity and my own "good intentions" and it is only now that I realize that sometimes pure intentions are not enough in this world and that some will not hesitate to take advantage of someone who easily opens their heart to others.  This doesn't mean that I have to change who I am or that I have to adapt myself to the ways of this unjust world just that I want to say that I am beginning to understand how to protect myself and have success in my job without sacrificing who I am or the person that I strive to be.   Perhaps this year, I will take a bit of air, breathe now and again, and whenever necessary take a look up at the sky and dream.  

Finally, I have come to accept that I am not here to erase a thousand years of hate, distrust, and bad blood between these two peoples, between these two countries, between these two religions.  I just want to help Tareas Solidarias-Caravana Por La Paz provide their service of solidarity and love to the people of both countries.  I am not here to save this neighborhood, this city, or even this world.  And just saying it makes me feel as though the weight I have been carrying the past year has been lifted off my back.

 Peace and Love