The Ones I'll Remember Most

Dunia and her brother who loved getting raspberries (not the fruit) from me. Dunia is a calm, sweet girl who is content with very little.


This little guy would give me a huge hug and kiss every day. We took this picture after a huge cous-cous meal eaten with our hands. He insisted that I walk him home every day. We shared ice cream on the curb one of the days.

Sumia and I had some great times at the beach. She was quite distraught when I left on Friday.


Buddis was really annoying at first, but somehow we became really good buddies.


Staff and Mona, whom I called Mona Lisa. One of my favorite moments was teaching her relaxation for a week as she was stressin about upcoming tests.

Fatima (far right) was intimidated by water that went over her head until we spent some time together doing swimming lessons at the beach. I have a large scratch on my cheek as evidence of her fear, displayed in a frantic scramble to grab onto anything that wasn't water.


l to r youssef, hechem (from previous cous-cous celine dion post), marouan, break dance man and ammin. We had a lot of good times together.

Marouan and I could not seem to stop hugging each other and crying as we said goodbye on Friday. We had a blast during the world cup going to cafes, ordering cokes and watching the games together. Somehow we were always cheering for opposite teams, which made the anticipatory banter for the next game even more exciting. He has a gift with drumming and making people smile with his goofy antics. We shared many laughs together as he entertained the kids on the guitar, which he used more as a drum than anything else. It's a miracle that we got as close as we did because he speaks zero French and I speak zero Arabic. Somehow we always understood each other, though. He was definitely the hardest to leave.


I could never remember this guy's name, so I just called him sadiki (friend). He did the same with me. For a 9 yr. old he can dance like a champ.


Omar's mom is deaf and mute and I think that's the reason he's such a clown. His gestures are always exaggerated and he can contour his face into unbelievable expressions. He has an adorable raspy voice that makes him sound like an old man who's smoked a few too many. We played a lot of soccer together on the beach and I buried him a lot in the sand.


Asmaa (left) is the first kid I talked to at Amesip. She was very warm on my first day, inviting me to play soccer with her. Her name was easy for me to remember and so we became friends very quickly. As the kids were singing a farewell song to me yesterday about how much they loved me and didn't want me to go, it was making eye contact with her that sent the message straight to my marrow. Arabic names are so hard for me and I felt like a doofus asking over and over, so i don't remember the girl's name on the right. She hardly ever spoke, but would smile a lot when I'd talk to her.

Asmaa (far right) speaks a fair amount of French and a little bit of English. She is a bright girl whose favorite English phrase is, "Oh My God!"

Sara (right) gave me a kiss every day. She liked to play with my hair and dress me up like a girl.


The bald one is Aziz, who is known as the clown of Amesip. Many a dance party were made more lively thanks to his moves.



Fatima is holding the guitar. She's another one that insisted upon me walking her home every day.

My previous posts may give the appearance that coming to Morocco was an excuse for me to dink around listening to music and going to the beach. Well, it was. But, it was also a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with this organization, its staff and especially the children. I can't exactly say what I've done for them, but if the party, hugs, tears and gifts are any indication of meaningful connections having been made, my efforts to make a difference for a marginalized population were not in vain.