Morocco

This afternoon, 22 SKHS students and two of our teachers will depart for a ten-day trip to Morocco. The excursion is organized through World Challenge Expeditions (WCE), an outfit that has been sending students to different parts of the world for over 20 years. I came across WCE when I worked in East Greenwich. At that time, they were just starting to work with US schools (they are a British-based company) and we sent two different sets of students to Bolivia and then Peru. At that time, the trips departed at the end of the school year and were for four weeks. Adjusting to the economic times, WCE is now offering shorter trips. The philosophy and the format are the same no matter the length of the trip: students and teachers who are interested begin planning a year in advance. They can choose to go virtually anywhere in the world as long as the country is politically stable. Students spend the year fundraising, researching the country where they want to go, and planning the itinerary. All trips must include some sort of trek and a community service project. Our kids will be working in schools teaching English and working on the facility and will be trekking through some of the mountainous regions in Morocco.

Each student, while in the country, will be required to take on some sort of leadership position for a portion of the trip. While teachers and knowledgeable WCE guides are “in charge,” students are expected to largely make decisions collectively. Students will exchange money, book local travel and buy supplies. If a student leader for the day directs the group to get on a train heading north, when they’re supposed to be heading south, as long as it will not ruin the trip, the adults will allow them to board the train and leave until they discover their mistake and remedy it. For any of us who have traveled overseas on our own or with friends, we can relate to the above scenario. The trip is about visiting a foreign land but it’s also about self-confidence and learning to adapt to a different culture and interact with different peoples with different customs and viewpoints. I remember a parent from East Greenwich telling me that they were blown away by the self-confidence and assuredness that all the students seemed to possess after spending four weeks in Bolivia. Like most aspects of life, one can’t experience authentically by reading about a foreign land or learning a language, one has to live it. This experience, both the positive and the struggles, will stay with these kids for the rest of their lives.