When was the last time someone you met on public transportation paid your fare and invited you to their home? It had never happened to me before I came to Morocco. Now I've had this experience multiple times, and made some great friends as a result of it!
This week's journal is about changing perspectives, and at first I wanted to write about challenging stereotypes, but instead I want to share with you how my perspective of compassion and kindness has changed since coming to Morocco. Moroccans are some of the kindest and most compassionate people I have ever met. If you ask Moroccans about their culture, they will tell you how proud they are of what they call "Moroccan hospitality." But I think it goes beyond hospitality.
Two weeks ago, when my friend and I went to Ouzoud, we took the train. It was spring break week, and the train was so packed, we could not get seats. In fact, we could barely get on the train. We ended up standing by the door, squeezed in with about ten Moroccans. We were all blocking the exit. At each stop, however, all the people standing around us would help the people getting off. They'd pass along the suitcases and children of total strangers, making sure they all got down okay.
For about half the train ride, I was standing with a stranger's suitcases.
