“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” -Jawaharlal Nehru

Phase one is complete. My 12 days of orientation in Meknès was culturally stimulating…and very hot. Morocco is a hubbub of identities, the ethnic center point of North Africa, and it’s people boil in the sun every day.

As the late King Hassan II described, “Morocco is rooted in Africa, watered by Islam and rustled by the winds of Europe.”

            WOOO. It is now officially the day night before I leave for England, and the months of distant planning have finally boiled down to something a little more tangible, albeit equally surreal. That is to say; regardless of the continued absurdity of the idea of me flying across the Atlantic tomorrow, the realities of things like “preparation” are starting to hit home.

Upon arrival, I was exhausted and excited, but I was also kind of afraid. Being the only person from my university who was participating in this program, I was embarking on this journey completely by myself. I knew no one when I arrived in Nagoya, but that soon changed very quickly.