I am currently sitting in one of my favorite places in the world-feeling the goodness of life.
A few things I am extremely grateful for…
Being alive-how often do we actually take a moment and appreciate being ALIVE.
I am so lucky that I get to live this life, my life.
Living somewhere that no matter where I travel to and what I see, I am always excited to come home.
المغرب
The PEOPLE-the people in my life-worldwide. It is hard to believe that this little Spokane girl went international.
The familyships, my sisters-the women I have met along the way who have become family.
May everyone meet people along their journey who become literally-family.
شكراً بزاف، أخواتي
The people that aren’t just passing through…
the ones that have left a permanent imprint on my heart.
The people that make my life happier.
شكراً على كلشي، الله يخليك ليا
My teaching partners
Teaching is HARD. These people make it possible.
In the USA, Japan and Morocco-coworkers that have become my people…I was placed with random people to be partners with in the adventure of teaching. A teaching partner is defined as individuals that work alongside each other in the classroom…These people have become some of my dearest friends…People that I live alongside.
Adventures-airplanes, trains, boats, taxis…
Especially…my own two feet.
My family
Where life began
The most wondrous thing about family is that there are some things only we can understand. Our experiences together, the jokes and the storms we have weathered.
Sometimes I feel guilty for leaving home. I’m sad about missing out on being an auntie, a sister, a friend and a daughter…while it’s heart breaking, it’s also heart building. I bring along everything I know and love, wherever I go. I’m building the life my parents raised me to build. I’m becoming who I’m meant to be, because of who I came from. So when sadness knocks on my door-I allow her in and I cry. I cry for all that I miss and those that I love…and I thank sadness for reminding me that big love exists & knows no distance.
Moroccan celebrations
May everyone experience a Moroccan wedding at least once in their life.
Sunsets-I’ve also fallen in love with moonrises and moonsets.
What I love about the sun and the moon is the connection it gives us. When I am saying goodbye to the sun others are just saying hello to it. We are wishing on the same stars, gazing at the same moon.
While the sun is setting for me, it is rising for my family. I find comfort in this. It reminds me that we are one.
The ocean&sea-The Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Mediterranean&Tyrrhenian Sea…and the rest I have yet to see. Yet another way we are all connected.
Animals-they make the world a better place. Pure and limitless love.
Growing up in the 90’s & 2000’s.
We were LUCKY to live in a generation where technology was gearing up but not taking over. Having to record songs on the radio, watch commercials, take your change to the Coinstar. Lemonade stands and rollerblading. Tree houses and neighborhood hide and seek.
The love of my life
شكراً بزاف، يا حياتي
I traveled the world to discover the love of a lifetime. Never did I dream that I’d meet someone that I share such a mutual love for life, the world, people, and the magic of being.
I knew I would never settle & now I know why.
I’ve learned that while looking out at the view- sometimes the view is right here-We are the view.
I haven’t shared as much of my life or my people with you since I moved to Morocco. I’ve been grappling with the mystery of…when you have a treasure-should you share it with the world or keep it private?
So, I’m living Ma’Roccan (my-rocking, get it??) life and I hope you are too.
While I am often in awe of my own life, don’t forget that your life is magical too. I have a superpower of finding the happy in every crack in the sidewalk. Become an expert in identifying magic (rainbows, butterflies, the moon, stars, sun, airplanes, hugs, new socks, a new song, AN old song, birds chirping, a hot shower, a COLD shower, sun dried laundry or machine dried, a good sleep, waking up, the feeling of laying in bed with nowhere to go but to sleep..). Pretend it is your first time driving or brushing your teeth. How silly would it feel to be brushing your teeth for the first time?! See and feel things for the first time again and you will be surprised how quick excitement and joy floods your life.
Once you become an expert in noticing everyday magic, magic in the mundane, living happier becomes the baseline.
The marriage process as an American who is marrying a Moroccan (in Morocco) is overwhelming. I gathered my papers and had everything done in a month-so I will share my process as it happened in 2025. Your steps will be the same but you might have a different time frame which allows you to do it at your leisure, on a budget. As always, this guide is based on my experience. Regulations can change so always do some research to make sure the same steps are required.
Our whole process (with the court approval) took 3 months with about a month break included. Our rush didn’t exist anymore due to family being in the country so we slowed down.
Step 0: Make your consulate appointment in Casablanca. On the US consulate website you will schedule an appointment for notarial and other services. When I went to make this appointment the earliest appointment was 2 months out which was perfect for me. https://evisaforms.state.gov/Instructions/ACSSchedulingSystem.asp
My process went like this. Proposal June 25th. Scheduled the embassy appointment on June 27th for August 12th.
USA trip July 2-August 5th.
Step 1 and 2 can be done in either order but you want to do this ASAP if you are in the states for a short time.
USA
Step 1: You need your original birth certificate from the vital records office in your state. For me it was the regional health district. I did a walk in, paid $40 and left with my birth certificate-if you have your original already, you can use it. This next part is VITAL-you need an apostille from the Secretary of State which will be obtained at your state capital. Depending on your time frame you can send your original birth certificate by mail to your Secretary of State, with the fee and get it back in the mail. I was in a time crunch as I didn’t know I needed the apostille for my birth certificate until 4 days prior to heading back to Morocco (don’t let the certified stamp on your birth certificate trick you). My only option was to do it in person so I drove 5 hours to the Secretary of State, got there at opening, paid $115 for the rush fee (same day service) and was on my happy way with my apostille (paper attached to my original birth certificate).
The regular fee to apostille one document is $15 in Washington state.
The apostille is a paper and it will be attached to your birth certificate, do not separate them.
Step 2: You need an FBI Rap Sheet. I have done this from Morocco VIA mail-sending a physical fingerprint card and getting the results back in the mail in the past. If you have the time this is the cheapest and slowest route. There are a few ways to do this-the USPS does finger printing in house (research for the location as not all post offices do it). You apply online and pay an $18 fee before going to the post office for an electric scan. (You will get a QR code or number to take to the post office with you, if you are not doing the post office route, you don’t need to pay the $18). This is the route I meant to go but I scheduled an appointment through Sterling (certified Live Scan, $65) after finding a local UPS store that offered this service. I scheduled my UPS visit on their website and then paid the fee on Sterling. UPS did my virtual scan and got the electronic results sent to my E-mail the same day. I then needed to send this to Washington DC to get an apostille. Again, the apostille is vital.
The printed version is considered the *original*. If you have time you can send it in the mail, or take it yourself if you are in Washington DC. I did not have the time to do this so I paid a company, Monument Visa Service LLC ($155 for the rush apostille service and 2-3 day shipping back). What they do is print your original and take it to the US department of state (Washington DC) for a walk-in service-what you can do yourself if you are in the area. Again, the apostille page will be attached to your FBI check, do not separate them.
Step 3: Once you have these documents, find a sworn translator in Morocco who can begin the translation for your documents before you arrive in Morocco.(If you are doing this in Tangier I can give you the one I used, she was a GEM.) I sent my birth certificate/apostille, FBI check/apostille pages via email to the translator and she began translating. I sent it before arriving in Morocco to cut down on the amount of time it would take to get them back once I arrived back in Morocco.
Step 4: Religious document-if you are a female you need a document declaring that you are Christian, Muslim or Jewish. A baptism paper works if you have one. I happened to have my original documentation so I did not have to get it…If you do need to-the establishment that did it should have the record.
If you are a male, you need to convert to Muslim. You can do this at any mosque where you will get a document. If you bring this document from the states, it also needs to be translated.
Step 4.5: I did this from the states but I had to be connected on a VPN (Morocco) to access the site. Request your Moroccan background check. I requested it and had it sent to my Moroccan address for 25dh. I requested it and it was processed and mailed out the same day and I got it 2 days later. Your partner will also need to do this step. (I did something wrong here, these papers did not end up getting used…and I never did clarify what the issue was. However, in our city in when submitting the paper to the family courts they let us know it was wrong and they ordered the correct one from the same place and got it in 2 days…I wasn’t there for this part but my husband picked up the correct papers that were delivered and added them to our file which was held at the court office.)
USA documents are complete! Congratulations. When you get to Morocco you will give the translator the originals so they can finalize the translations or start if you did not send them beforehand like I did. You will have one more paper to translate-the one you get from the embassy, so you will make another trip to the translator.
Step 5. Make copies of your passport. You need your photo page, your Morocco entry number page (typically the last page) and your most recent entry stamp page. 1 copy for you to keep and 1 to take to your consulate appointment. I made color copies.
Step 6. Hopefully you have a morning appointment for this. I took the train to Casablanca and arrived at the consulate at 9:30 for my 9:45 appointment. You attend this appointment by yourself. They checked my copies on the outside and I didn’t know I needed my most recent entry stamp copy so I had to run across the street and copy that page (5dh). With your three copies (picture page, entry number, most recent entry stamp) and your appointment confirmation page you will get in. You will be in a waiting area, watch who walks in before you as you will be after them. There isn’t a system here. You just walk up when it is your turn.
You will hand your copies and passport over and they will give you an affidavit of eligibility to marry in Morocco. You will fill this out, go pay the $100 fee for the notary on your affidavit and the passport copy. After you pay you wait to be called up where you will raise your right hand and swear that you are eligible to marry under Moroccan laws and then you will be off with your papers!
Step 7. Take these papers to Rabat to be stamped. It was the easiest for me to do this on my way back home-I recommend doing it in one day. I got off the train and grabbed a taxi. You will go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (legalization)located at 5 Rue Tamsloht. You will find several addresses online but this is the correct location. This is another appointment you must go to solo. You will be directed up stairs, get one stamp, change to another office across the hall for the next stamp. You visit two people here, make sure you get both stamps on your affidavit and passport page. You will have 4 stamps on your affidavit and 6 on your passport copy. From what I have heard the affidavit is the most important paper in this process. The legalization process does not have a fee. MAYBE-if you get your Moroccan background check stamped here or picked up the original it would be usable?
Step 8: The consulate papers are the last papers you need to hand off to the translator. I took these the day after we got back and received all of my translated documents on the same day. The timeline on this may depend on your translator. The cost for all of my translations was 800dh. My translated documents include: FBI background check/apostille, birth certificate/apostille, affidavit, *religious document if you brought it from the US.
Step 9: Moroccan medical check-go to a doctor and let them know it is for marriage. You will get a medical certificate in French or Arabic and the doctor will put your information on this and stamp it. Easiest part of the process!
Step 10: I wanted to be extra prepared so I asked my work for a work certificate for my proof of employment. For females this is not necessary, males it is.
Step 11: Copy your residence card and get your passport pictures taken-you will use 4-6 of these in your file.
5. Moroccan background check •Ours was not correct…ask your Adoul which one to order…•
6. Moroccan medical check
7. Work certificate
8. Copy of residence card
9. Passport photos
Step 12: Make 2 complete copies of all of your documents. You will have 2 copy sets plus your original set.
If you have an Adoul you will hand these papers off to them and they will handle it from here. I recommend doing this. We submitted them ourselves and it took my love 4-5 trips to the family court (for his paperwork). I cannot comment on this part as I was not present for all of it. If you choose to do it yourself you should both go-it was unusual for him to be there alone.
Once your file is submitted to family court you need the reference number for your file. We picked this up from an office in the Family Courts Division a few days after submitting everything. We got a sealed manila folder that included our file and the reference number. We went directly to the main police station for our police interview. We handed the file over and waited to be called back.
Step 13: Police interview
The officer started by asking my love a few questions about us (when we met and started dating, where I am from…). Then he asked my him and I both for a DETAILED report of our education and work background, starting from kindergarten until present.
Step 15: Pick up your papers! After the interview (Friday) he told us to come back Tuesday which is when we picked a paper up to deliver back to the family court. The paper was delivered to family court on Tuesday and we went back Friday. Friday we had to arrive before 11 pm. I wasn’t sure what we were waiting for or what we were getting.
To my happy surprise, when we sat down the woman gave us the stamped papers with the permission to marry! The judge approved and signed up on everything this morning and we left with two papers. They keep everything that you submit.
We took these papers straight to the Adula and the process was COMPLETE.
Your fiance needs to be diligent about their paperwork as well. My file was in order and the only hiccup was the Moroccan background check.
I did something BIG this year. I MADE IT TO THE ELLYS! Next blog will be dedicated to that…so, I’ll leave out those goodies until then. (I wrote this blog in 2023~never published it because I couldn’t upload photos and I still can’t-so here it is! Publishing it nearly 2 years later)
May 20th, 2023
I’ll be in Botswana in one month.
I’m dreaming of tracking dinosaurs, in preparation for what my brain understands as the task. (Volunteering in the bush.)
I’ve dreamed of seeing elephants in their natural habitat for years.
To be honest it started by dreaming of seeing them in a zoo…at that time I didn’t know the implications of a zoo…I also didn’t realize that I was capable of doing whatever it is I dream. *We all are, so dream bigger*
So here I am, 15 years after declaring elephants as my dream, elephants as a world treasure-that I am preparing to head into my first volunteer project, tracking animals in Okavango, Botswana and Phinda, South Africa. I’ll never wait this long to pursue a dream, again.
I’ve imagined the stars, my first time spotting something wonderful, the sounds that will arise on outside of my tent. I missed the stars in Morocco but I saw constellations I have never seen!
A year ago, sleeping outside in a tent, alone, was my biggest fear…something that I’ve only done once in my life and I’m headed into two weeks of it 🎉
June 5th, 2023
It’s so weird, growing and going. One day I was tweeting 🐥 John Cena everyday and then one day I just stopped.
I wore a bow 🎀 everyday for nearly 6 years, now I do it occasionally.
I use to see friends 👯♀️everyday and now it’s been years.
I love doing things for the first time.
I fear doing things for the last time.
The thought or knowing of doing things for the last time holds me down. It’s suffocating, really.
It’s not about first or last. It’s just about each moment, being in that moment. I know this. Come on, I know this. Still working on this one.
South Africa day 1 Botswana June 19th, 2023
I dropped a tear on each flight here. I did this. I am doing this.
Day 2: flight to Botswana is in 3 hours.
People ask if I’m excited and I freeze. Now sitting by myself I must say, I feel like it’s my birthday. Butterflies and nerves flying around. Or this cup o joe is strong. This is what it feels like to be on the brink of a dream. The step before a life changing experience. I know that I’ll never again be the same, stepping into the wholeness of me. I guess that part makes me a little nervous. I’ve got a lot of wonderful relationships in life right now and I know this experience is going to change me for the better-May it also impact them for the better.
Found out I’m the only volunteer on this research and data collection adventure, in the bush, in a tent.. Boarding the flight my knees were shaking and my heart was pounding.
June 20th
I’m terrified and I’m doing it anyways.
In Botswana Riding to camp.
This ride puts theme parks to shame. Already exceeding all expectations. Pretty sure I saw elephant poop-because what creature could take poops that big.
Sunset one: the sky is a master piece.
I saw 4 giraffes 🦒
I hear unidentified sounds.
I asked a tracker to move his tent next to mine…They had never had a voluteer who was scared of the dark or camping in the bush…
The moon is my favorite finger nail slice.
No power 🎉
10 meters from the men who are to keep me safe. Growing up with boys prepared me for this week, a week with no women. Collecting headlamps, finally useful 😆
33 years in training for this moment right now.
Saw the eyes of a creature 15 meters from tent. Unsure what it is but I’m now in bed while wild life lingers around.
Driving here was like being home. Like I was on the way to see long lost family…
The air feels of fall. It was winter.
The roads feel like the back way.
The silence is quiet.
June 23rd, 2023
Been thinking about why I enjoy doing things by myself. I think when I’m alone I give myself permission to be 100%, fully and completely, me.
I hope to take this into the real world. When I experience things alone my emotional response is stronger. I don’t water down my happy or excitement.
“Don’t keep your shoes outside your tent, a hyena will eat them” SERIOUSLY.
6/26 I slept in the REAL wild. I’m talking no camp site, kitchen, just our tents.
I heard animals all night.
I could hear them calling from afar.
Breathing. Walking. Eating.
It was my best night of sleep. I had no fear 😢 I did it.
Today I saw 4 leapords, over 600 buffalo and a lioness hunting, she caught a buffalo calf. Two tears dropped from each of my eyes and I quickly wiped them away. Not because the world is making me cold but because I’m learning new perspectives, my mind and heart are expanding.
My heart ached for that baby buffalo but my heart also leaped in joy for that lioness who was bad ass enough to hunt her own meal, alone, because she got left behind.
I’ve seen a lioness hunt.
I’ve seen elephants trumpet in fear and throw dust up in the air for fun.
I’ve seen crocodiles sneak into rivers and the warthogs have jooked me out with their running pattern.
I’ve tracked leopards and wild dogs and seen hyenas in their den. I’ve slept under the stars with a measly tent as the only barrier between me and the entire Phoenix zoo.
These animals in Botswana are ordinary. I grew up thinking these animals were just exhibits.
Instead of seeing animals in zoos I hope to teach (my) children/students to live a life of traveling, gaining new perspectives and learning beyond what they can see at home.
In the future I don’t want to work to provide for my children.
I want to live happy so that they can grow up to live happy.
I’m learning. Learning from people and nature. I have a lot more to learn and it’s an exciting path.
To making the ordinary always extraordinary.
Keeping the magic going when doing the same thing for the hundredth time.
Experiencing a new way of life and appreciating it, whether you adopt that life style or not.
We are all here, together. Let’s celebrate each other and this place we call home.
A lion 5 meters away, roared and pounced at me. I jumped out of my seat and yelled oh shit. The trackers told me “don’t move, it gives them a chance” Another tracker later told me that you “don’t move because only food runs”.
6/26 5am and I’m preparing to leave Mankwe, Botswana. I’m holding back tears. This place supported me in upgrading myself. It took 4 nights (heart pounding, nearly in tears every time I woke up-hourly at least) to overcome my biggest fear, the dark. I slept 3 nights with no fear. Nothing in the surroundings changed, which means I GREW. I’m proud of doing something here, everyday, that gave me crippling anxiety and fear. From being in the dark, to leaving my tent to pee, to being bed length distance from the mammals of Botswana. Elephants scared me more than I expected.
You know, I’ve been here with these people a week and I’m sad to leave them. I think that’s special. I value connection. Give me a week and I’ll know you as if it’s been years and If you’re interested, you’ll know me the same. These men treated me as their sister and I’m sad to leave them. My first note to start this adventure-on June 20th “Boarding the flight my knees were shaking and my heart was pounding. I’m terrified and I’m doing it anyways.” Heading to the airport now, I have that lump in my throat, my eyes are full of tears, my heart is racing and my knees are shaking because I’m sad to leave.
I came terrified and I’m leaving brave.
Driving to town, breaks went out. A whole new adventure…
Scared? Yes. Maybe this is one of those things you don’t do scared.
Do it scared, if it’s safe.
Cried leaving Botswana. The place I went that changed my life. A place that changed the trajectory of my path. A door that I opened and walked through. *I did this*. I know I’m strong. Physically and emotionally but this adventure is one where I felt weak and vulnerable which isn’t a bad thing. I had nowhere to turn but within. That weakness brought me to a new level of bravery, a new place to operate from. Leveled up. everything in Botswana became eye level. Stars, animals, the ground, everything is now leveled.
South Africa for 1 night. Emerald guesthouse.
Muthi-magical medicine
Phinda-collecting elephant poop to research the impact of elephant contraceptive over long periods of time.
The elephants here seem different.
June 30th, 2023
Social experiment. Dropped into a house with 5 complete strangers. Wonder if this is how students feel beginning a new school year. I am fascinated with the different experiences each of us brings to the table. In learning about others, I’m learning about myself.
I miss Botswana.
I miss sleeping outside by myself. (WHAT!?!??!!! Shocking for me to even think that much less write it.)
Trying to gather back all of my sparkles, may have left some back at Okavango.
Recalibrating so that I can be fully present and engaged in these moments and experiences.
People are SO different. Why not focus on what’s the same? 🤔 what brings us together rather than what sets us apart.
Rhino injury treatment. Darted a rhino that had an injury that started from a tick bite. While treating this injury we also dehorned her so poachers won’t want to kill her for her horn.My first night in the volunteer house the trackers told me that we may assist in rhino dehorning. I thought it was cruel. I did not understand it.I thought, they will take care of their horns naturally…Turns out this is part of Rhino conservation.
Nowhere to be but in the moment. Just what I needed to bring myself fully and completely to the *now*.
July 2nd, 2023
Happy July! Fresh out of the Indian Ocean and my head is spinning, heart is buzzin.
With a group of people I’ve known less than a week and as I look at them playing in the water, I am happy to call them My friends. This is what it’s about ay? Traveling your world-whatever it may be. Your backyard, neighborhood, city, country or the globe. Sometimes my big travel is just to the couch and I don’t mean that lightly. Sometimes getting out of bed is my journey for the day and sometimes it’s hardest if all. Many people say I’m living my best life and I AM, by choice AND our best lives look different. Comparing lives is our demise. It’s the downfall. I hope no matter where you are in the world, you let today be the new best day of your life. Smile at the butterfly, listen to your children laugh, look in the mirror and say I LOVE YOU, let the sun hit your face and warm your heart. We all deserve it. Beaming love.
July 10th, 2023
My brackets have been blown and I reckon my vocabulary has grown. I’m keen on South Africa.
Ingani-little one
This trip is changing me.
My next dream to chase down is a motorcycle journey through the Himalayans. Or to the Amazon River.
If life turned out the way I thought it would…I wouldn’t be transcending beyond what I can see.
The world around you is happening inside of you.
I extended my two week trip to three weeks and I could have stayed longer.I could have done a summer but the next adventure awaited, a summer at home. Not just a summer…my first summer in 5 years.
July 11th-August 17th, 2023
This was my longest duration in Spokane since I moved to Japan in 2018. My first summer.
Summer
It was a lot. A lot of love, sunshine, play time, family time, and some sewing of course.
My nieces and nephews are growing up. My friendships remained.
Burgers, BBQs, lake days and jeep drives were highlights. Coffees and face tanning with my mom, parasailing with my dad for his 70th birthday, water balloon fights with the little ones, these are treasures in my heart.
Leaving home breaks my heart and heals it at the same time. When I think of the deep sadness I feel when I leave home, I think I must be the strongest person in the world to endure such pain. Living abroad is not for the faint of heart, this I know to be true.
September 7th, 2023
Reading this I know I was experiencing some serious home sickness.
The things we never see
All the thoughts racing through the brain before it even wakes.
Does it even sleep?
Working 24 hours a day is taking a toll and the cost is my peace.
The anxiety of having to go to the market, take a taxi or just to leave the house… I didn’t know you may not think of many things like: who, what, where, when, why.
Not to mention, having to ask for help.
I miss the ease of grocery stores and the ease of conversation.
Most of all when I get down, what I miss the most is that radiant being I call myself.
It doesn’t happen often but when it does it’s hard.
A curious new day ahead, brain please rest easy and let me go to bed.
October 4th, 2023
So, if you have made it this far, THANK YOU. That is just a snippet of the past year of living, loving and growing. I have a wondrous love story that I will share at a later point, it deserves a blog to itself.
Order the tea and sit for hours. Let it get cold because the company you’re with is far better than any drink that can be ordered.
Love big in small moments. Love in all moments.
If it’s a maybe, a soft no, a hell no or anything but an astounding YES, it’s a no. It’s not black or white. There is a whole rainbow of color between…
Be generous & be kind.
Boundaries-build that white little picket fence and let it be the boundaries that make life easier.
Acknowledge and embrace people for existing. March 16th, 2023 I experienced the love of Southern Moroccans. These magical beings loved my dad and I just for existing. Communication was limited and I have never felt so much love for just existing. Love doesn’t require the same language.
Two people experiencing the EXACT same thing, feel completely different about it. Communicate. In one brush of the hand I felt my world make sense, I broke the code, I got the sign. For me it was the beginning of everything and for them it was the end of all of it. Perspective-get with it.
No decision-is a decision
Hug more. Let people know they undeniably matter, and hold that hug until they end it.
Cheek kisses are not the easiest greeting in the world, but one of my favs. 😘 landed myself in 2 face kisses with a great laugh after.
No one will be harder on me than I am on myself, lighten up. 👍
Time is the most valuable thing on Earth. That & land. ⏰🏔️
Show people the magic of life. Butterflies, flowers growing in cement cracks, sunsets, moonrises. 🦋
The place my life really began. Hard to believe that 4 years ago I had never left America and now I am 2 hours out from landing in Casablanca, Morocco.
2 hours out from my new home.
2 hours out from my next chapter.
A FEW Japan chapter take aways:
I can do anything-move to a new country by myself, start a new job and succeed, make new friends with language barriers, bungee jump, sky dive, ocean dive, and brighten the world while brightening my own life.
The airplane is small. Hard to get out and go to the bathroom. I don’t remember airplanes being this small. I haven’t flown on a full flight in 3 years, since COVID began.
Our layover was in Dubai.
My dad will have traveled the globe by the time he gets back to Washington. How bad ass is that. 2 one way tickets, 3 weeks and 4 countries/ FOUR CONTINENTS. I think that is amazing.
The next chapter is beginning.
*Trust the process. Keep safe in doing so. Be smart and be strong.
August 25th, 2022
New continent, new adventure-same girl and same bike!
I had a sweet ending to my time in Japan. Time with people that I adore and admire. I am now 24 days into my time in Morocco.
It’ll be fun to go back and see how my first weeks in Japan were-that is when and why I began this blog!
Getting off of the airplane in Casablanca, my knees were shaking, I was really nervous. I was more than nervous, I was terrified. Hard to believe that I did that by MYSELF when I moved to Japan. This time my dad was with me :]
Driving to Tangier I saw: horses and mules, pulling wagons (SAY WHAT?!). Earlier that week my dad was talking about how his grandparents used horses to do the farm work-then I was seeing that with my very own eyes!
Wagons for transportation- another shocker.
The car ride was hot-AC is not as popular here as it is in the places I have lived. Airport to home was about 5 hours and after an 18 hour flight commute we were exhausted. Walking into the apartment I was happily surprised by the size and condition. The apartments here are BEAUTIFUL. Tile floors and giant rooms.
No AC so windows are open all the time. For sleeping I have to decide if I want to have a hot room or a quiet room. The night life here is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The city seems to come to life around 8 or 9 and continue until the morning hours.
September 10th, 2022
I am now 1 month and 9 days into my journey here. The way I feel today is completely different than how I felt the day I arrived at the airport.
The day I got here I was ready to leave. I wouldn’t have written that before today or told anybody because I knew I hadn’t given Morocco a chance. I hadn’t given myself a chance.
I didn’t like the lack of smiles. Guess what-not everyone expresses happiness with a smile. Accepting that and learning to beam inside when necessary and outside when safe.
I didn’t like being looked at. Now that I am around and living here, people don’t look so much.
I was scared. Going out took a lot of energy. I was scared because I went from a place where NO one looks at you or touches you, to a place where everyone looks and personal space is everyones space.
I went from a quiet life to a city that comes to life at night. (It is beautiful.)
It was a lot of adjusting. A new and different way of life.
I appreciate the discomfort because I know that my greatest growths have come from being uncomfortable. The real changes have come from stepping outside of comfortable.
People would ask me how I was liking Morocco and I would respond as positively as I could-It’s a lot and I look forward to the magic to be found.
I was grasping at straws, yearning for the day I would feel safe and free.
I had a moment, 13 days into my time here, where I KNEW in my heart that I was going to be okay…That I was going to be more than okay, that I would thrive, grow and sparkle. That was a big moment for me-the moment I knew this is the place for me.
You know who was LOVING it from day one? Dad. Who knew that guy was born to be international. He is a natural at it. No fear. At least he shows no fear, in his daughter’s eyes. Something I am most thankful for is that my dad began this adventure with me.
Tangier, Morocco
Being 40 days into my time here, two years feels like it won’t be long enough.
40 days mask free after wearing a mask for the past 3 years. I felt naked without it for awhile and I still giggle when I reach up to my face to take it down.
A funny for you: A guy at the beach told me I dropped my toilet paper…The entire roll that I carry in my backpack fell out. Most public restrooms don’t have it. Learned that the hard way.
Crossing the street is an adventure.
HEY! The Mediterranean sea is spectacular, can’t wait to explore that more. Also said my first hello to the Atlantic sea. In fact, dad and I both took our first swim in the Atlantic Ocean.
My dad stayed with me for 3 weeks in Morocco before completing his trip around the globe. Washington state to Japan, to Morocco, to Spain and back home again. So thankful he was able to start this chapter with me. We both lucked out on that. I love that I made this decision to leave home and how my parents too, get to leave home.
In a short month together my dad and I traveled places we never dreamed of, places we had never looked at on a map and we did it together. I really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world.
SpainTangierTangierFull moon
Japan is where my life began.
I am excited to see what unfolds in Morocco and how much more at home I will begin to feel living, as me. I am sure of something wondrous and beaming.
All the love and all the power from your now, Morocco Lovin’ Rachel.
Found a note that I started on my computer during my flight home!
December 19th, 2021:
Watching the sunrise above the clouds with the stars still sparkling. When these two meet, magic happens. The sun is rising while the moon is setting, the stars are shining while the clouds are changing colors, welcoming the new day. Like a birthday party for a brand new day!
My first international flight in 3 years. The excitement, adventure and opportunities that this trip will bring are as great as the opportunity of a new day. Infinite.
My covid experience was not knowing if I would hug my parents again.
In 2 hours I hit ground in Seattle, Washington.
My trip started off in a new way. A great family, dear friends, brought me to the airport, parked and walked me in. They saw me off and boy did it feel like the sunrise meeting the moon set. Calm, peaceful and pure. To start my trip in such a way, I know that I have some great days ahead.
Familyships
How could they not be, after all?
… Back to present day:
Last year, 2021, I was on a night dive, under water to bring in the the new year. 2021 consisted of 50+ dives around Japan, which is a lot for a girl who had never been under ocean water before. This year, 2022, I was on my way back to Japan, over the clouds. When I was younger I always heard *How you bring in the new year is how you spend the year. While I don’t put all my eggs in that basket, I know this year will be exciting and it is starting off with my head above the clouds.
February:
March! My favorite month. February was one for the books this year and I know March will be the same.
I went to visit the place I use to be from…My first home away from home. Nishinomiya, Hyogo was a lot of firsts for me…I’d never left America and only visited a handful of states before getting my passport at 28 and moving here. I turned in my car keys, packed 3 suitcases and got a one way ticket to Japan for what I thought would be two years MAX. Here I am three and a half years later. My first: foreign country, train ride, chopstick use, sushi, raw fish, public bath, taxi ride and the gathering of my fragmented soul. It was also my first starting from the ground up building: familyships, friendships, a new language and career. It was my first time without: a car, an animal, gatorade, hot tamales, starbursts, pralines and cream ice cream…
Living a life I never dreamed of, MAGIC.
I am often smiling when I get on my bike because I am 31 years old, in a foreign country that I call home, RIDING my bike to the train station to go on a little adventure. COME ON now, does it get better than this?!
I learned a more about living the past 3.5 years than I could have in a lifetime- if I didn’t take this opportunity. I feel that I have navigated and become better from each experience. I have learned about a new culture. The things I thought I would never understand are now normal. I think that is how I knew it was time to move on to the next adventure.
This feeling is one I am familiar with…I’m not scared of where I’m going, I am lucky to have a life full of love to leave. Hard goodbyes are the best because where a difficult goodbye exists, love lives. Anywhere love lives, count me in.
Most days I feel like I am walking on sunshine, sliding down rainbows. It is like I have these HAPPY glasses that I wear around. I find happiness in everything. Some may think I don’t see the realness in life but really, I find happy in that too. The other day my hands were so cold I could have broken my fingers off. I laughed. Stubbing my toe, hilarious. The hard stuff too, I may not always find happiness in it because let’s be real…there isn’t happiness in hurting someone you care about, a broken heart, the loss of a friend or the disappointment of a letdown. I do always recognize that the set back, is the set up. The cards are stacked in my favor and regardless of what it is, I will grow and become better, braver, stronger and wiser.
Smile, it makes a difference. Laugh, it changes your life.
Spring is here. Cherry blossoms are beginning. I use to feel restlessness in Spring. Now I feel hope, wonder and magic because I am at home with myself. What a wonderful place to be.
I am 15 months hangover free and 30 pounds lighter. I was thinking this morning while getting ready for work, I have been living alone for 4 years, single for 5+. Sneaking up on 32 years old, I thought I would possibly be married by now and absolutely have children. Like I said…I am living a life that wasn’t even in my wildest dreams and it turns out, it’s perfect for me.
Just be 