Sidi Slimane

Day 5 started with a lazy morning in Cafe Islah, downstairs from our homebase in Kenitra. Sanaa brought down pastries, razezza, biscuits, and the usual breakfast delights. We all relaxed
in the cafe enjoying the sun and the free wifi.
After breakfast we visited the Moroccan artist, Benani's, workshop next door. We saw a few of his sculptures and paintings and it was very cool to see the space that he worked in and
check out the different works in progress around the room. We also saw camels for the first time on our trip.

We ate a quick lunch of sandwiches prepared by Sanaa before getting on the bus and heading to Sidi Slimane, Mr. Defaa's hometown.
While we have seen many of the city scapes in Morocco, the drive to the mountains was breathtaking and very very green. It was incredible to see so far around us and nothing but green and
the occasional village. Forests are few and far between in Morocco, so you can see for miles in every direction.

It felt great to help people in a different country we had never seen before. There were so many people who were looking for clothes, any clothes. Aziz said that a postive for him that day
was to help all of those people and to make the happy.

We couldn't stay the night in Mr. Defaa's childhood home, because it had collapsed due to a construction mishap, it was pretty awesome to see where his roots are from. Plus we got some
neat pictures of him as a younger guy. We also saw the bedroom where he grew up and all of the books he accumulated over the years.

We've told Defaa that he is growing this moustache for our graduation present!

we went to Otman's house for pre-dinner snack

We relaxed in a traditional Moroccan bathhouse or hammam that was over one hundred years old. Mr. Defaa had told us that he ised to sit on the entrance steps as a kid and watch the world
go by with Otman who now owns the hammam. It was a new experience that was surprising and relaxing. After a stressful day of travel, it was nice to relax in the hammam.

dinner at midnight
It was a very late dinner, with many of Mr. Defaa's old friends, it was awesome to see him in his 'natural habitat.'

It took us so long to get to sleep that night, so much giggling and jokes after a long day of good deeds and beautiful mountains. Usually we are pretty giggly at night, but this was a new
level because everything made us laugh, and Jeff complained about sleeping on the floor the whole night.