Day 30: Home and Final Thoughts

No pictures today but I wanted to end my blog with my final thoughts on this experience.

I'm on one of my three flight on my way back to Austin.   I woke up this morning at 3:30 am to get to the airport on time and it will essentially be 4am on my 'Moroccan body clock' when I get back to Austin at 10 pm on Saturday.  Hard to put into words how much that I'm looking forward to seeing my family again.

It will likely take me weeks and even months to fully absorb this experience but it has truly been an experience of a lifetime.  I am so fortunate to work for a company like IBM that make programs like the IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) a priority.   During this trip, I've had the chance to study some of the other 150 similar trips to emerging market countries that other IBM CSC teams have made.  It's amazing to see some of the work that has been done in the five years that IBM has had this program in place and all of the lives that have been changed and improved because of it. 

I've always been very proud to say that I'm an IBMer but I have a deeper appreciation of its corporate culture and overall values after being a part of this great program.    I'm not sure who at IBM I need to thank for allowing me to participate in this program and travel to Morocco for a month, but I am deeply thankful of being given this opportunity.  I certainly know that I need to thank my manager, Jason Risley, for supporting me being a part of this program and for essentially doing my job for a month in addition to his own.  :-)

I think one of the great things about international travel is that it allows you to see and experience other cultures.  In my case, it always gives me a deeper appreciation .... both of other countries and cultures but also of home.  I've listed below some of what I have enjoyed - and missed most - while on this trip.

What I’ve missed most from home:

• Family!   You simply can’t put into words how much I miss seeing Paul, Thomas, and John every day.  I can’t wait to get home to give everyone a big hug.   I also missed being able to easily talk to my mom and sister.
• My normal daily routine.   I miss getting up each morning, waking up the boys, making breakfast, talking with the boys, drinking my cup of coffee, etc.   I can’t wait to get back into my normal routine.
• Coffee to go.   While I love being able to get a cup of coffee and sit and drink it in a street side café, I miss being able to buy a cup to go and carry it with me.   It really is not an option in Morocco…. and I looked.  J
• A glass of wine at dinner.   Although I don’t drink wine at dinner every night, I really miss the option of being able to order a glass at a restaurant.  With the exception of a very few restaurants in Morocco, wine (or any type of alcohol) is not something readily available for purchase because of the Muslim culture.
• Soap and toilet paper that is readily available.   Many of the bathrooms don’t automatically provide this so I learned to carry both with me in my purse.
• Traffic that I can understand.   It will be nice to drive my own car again and feel somewhat confident of the rules of the road when I drive.   Someone described the traffic in Morocco as organized chaos… you would have to see it to believe it.
• Being able to walk places by myself.    Although it was generally safe where we were, I never went out alone and always felt a bit ‘on alert’.   I will have a different appreciation for being able to take a walk in my neighborhood any time that I want.
• My grocery store at home.  I just miss my local HEB and being able to easily buy things we take for granted at home.
• My salads from home.  I didn’t realize until this trip how much I miss being able to order and make salads each day.   I think that is part of the reasons that my stomach has been so messed up.  I’m not used to all of the heavier foods and meats.
• My work.  Believe it or not, I did miss work and my job.   I miss the people, the daily challenges, the group celebrations around accomplishments, etc.   I look forward to jumping back in when I get back.

What I will miss from Morocco:

• The people.  I truly mean it when I say that almost everyone we met was very hospitable and welcoming.  We were continually surprised by small – and large – acts of kindness.  We met so many lovely people that I will not soon forget.
• Although I missed my ‘to go’ coffee, I did enjoy the culture around sitting down for a cup of coffee over conversation.   It is not uncommon for a one hour cup of coffee break.
• Moroccan fruits and vegetables.  One of the great things about this project was being around all of the delicious and beautiful fruits and vegetables in Morocco.  I ate a lot more of both while I was here and I expect this 'new taste' will carry home with me when I return.
• The weather.   It could not have been more beautiful while we were there.   The mornings were cool and generally in the 50’s and most of the days did not get any warmer than the low 80’s.  The skies were always blue and we never saw any rain… although they need it very badly for their crops.
• Leisurely dinners and conversations.  Our dinners were never any shorter than 2 hours and were generally over 3 hours.   It is the culture and it is a much slower pace at restaurants.  It helps for some great nights of conversation with the team.
• The foods.   Although my stomach was ‘out of wack’ during much of this trip due to eating different foods, I will miss much of what I ate.   I think that my favorite Moroccan dishes were fish tangines, chicken and seafood pastillos, and great vegetables salads.

Although not specific to Morocco alone, this trip gave me the opportunity to meet a new group of international friends that I know that I could call and visit anytime now.  If I'm ever back in Morocco, there are so many friends from the Ministry of Agriculture and the IBM Morocco office that I would love to see again.   I also know that if I'm ever in the 'neighborhood' of the Philippines, Australia, India, Taiwan, or Japan, that I have a lifelong friend that I could call and would love to see again.... and I hope to do this with each of them some day.  :-)

Day 29: Leaving Rabat

Friday morning was our last time in Rabat.   While we were eager to get started on our journey that would ultimately take us all back to our homes, it was a bit sad saying good bye to our friends at the hotel who had taken good care of us for a month.  You can see in some of the pictures below that the people at the hotel had also become our friends.  We also ran into Jennifer that morning at breakfast and were able to say good bye to her as well.  You may remember that she was the lead actress for the National Geographic show who had been taping in Morocco for an upcoming episode of 'Locked up Abroad.'  Jennifer was leaving that same morning as we to return to her family in LA.  Fun pictures below of Jennifer and the breakfast crew.

We boarded the buses to take us back to Casablanca where we stayed in the same hotel that we had on the first day we arrived in Morocco.  It was walking distance to the IBM office where we headed for our last meeting where each of the teams did their final presentations as well.   The IBM Morocco office could not have been nicer or more accommodating to us.   I actually felt like it had become my 'home office' so to speak because it was our fourth visit to this office since our team had also travelled there twice for our teleco meetings in Casablanca.

One quick story about the IBM Morocco office going 'above and beyond' for us.  Austin realized a few days ago that his visa was actually for 5 days when he originally thought it was for 50 days.  Yikes.  The problem was made a bit more challenging since there is no Taiwanese Embassy in Morocco.  Our friend Ali Aqallal from the IBM Morocco office worked for several days making calls trying to figure out how Austin could legally get out of Morocco.   He announced at our team meeting the last day that he had worked things out with the appropriate officials so that Austin would be able to leave by the following Tuesday.   I'm not sure what would have happened without the help of our friends from the IBM Morocco office.

That night, our team ate our last dinner together at a casual pizza restaurant where we once again had to sample the desserts.  You will see in the pictures below that they were quite the desserts.  I think that any weight that I lost at the beginning of the trip had been replaced by the nightly desserts we had grown used to. :-)

Later that night at the hotel, we said our good byes and thank yous to Boutaina who had been our Moroccan contact and friend during our month long stay.   Boutaina did such a great job of helping with the sometimes daily questions and requests.   You may remember that Boutaina had grown up in Morocco and also had worked for the IBM Morocco and France offices for four years.   She is also expecting her first child in a few months and is such a warm person that we will all miss very much.

Tomorrow morning Andrew, Rahul, and I will get up at 3:30 am for a 7 am flight back to the US.   While it has been an incredible experience and trip that none of us will forget, we are all so ready to get back to our families, homes, and friends.

Rahul at breakfast with Jennifer.   Jennifer is the lead actress for the National Geographic show that had been filming in Morocco for the last couple of weeks.   She had also become one of our 'dorm buddies' that we ran into and talked to daily at the hotel.

This was our breakfast crew at the hotel along with Jennifer, myself, and Anup.  The male waiter standing next to me was so funny and would kiss my hand daily when I came up for breakfast.   For a person who doesn't normally eat breakfast every day, I will miss my 'Rabat breakfasts' and the conversation with my IBM teammates in the mornng.

This is in the hotel lobby with the house keeper and hotel receptionist.   They were so nice and would greet my daily and although they spoke little English, I would enjoy talking with them each day.  The Hotel Texuda really took good care of us.

Starting to board the buses that would take us to Casablanca.

Loading our luggage on the trailor that the bus pulled.

Last team picture in Rabat before we boarded the buses.

Arriving once again at the Hotel Ibis in Casablanca.

Waiting to check in our luggage before heading over to the IBM office in Casablanca.

Visiting in the IBM office lobby before our meeting started.

Round table discussion with the IBM Morocco team.

This is Austin's face when he was first told that his visa issue at been worked out and that he would be able to legally return home to Taiwan.  Very good news.... we had all worried about this for days.

Can you believe these desserts?  I'm not sure that I had ever seen so much ice cream on one plate before.

Tej and Rahul about to dig in.

Back at the hotel lobby after our dinner.   The team had bought Boutaina a couple of thank you gifts for everything she had done for us.

Little baby booties that the team gave her. 

Boutaina is someone that I will miss very much when I return back home.  I know that I will always have a good friend there if I travel back to Morocco.

Final goodbyes.   The team headed up to our rooms shortly thereafter.  Everyone was flying home the next day and Rahual, Andrew, and I had to get up at 3:30 am to make our 7 am flight.

Day 28: Final Presentation Success

Thursday was a very good day.   We arrived at the Ministry of Agriculture for our last day at the office.  Many people came by in the morning to say goodbye, give hugs, and even give a few presents.  We continued to be surprised by the kindness and generosity of the people we have met while in Morocco.  We will certainly miss them after we leave.

We presented our study and recommendations to the Ministry of Agriculture and it was very well received.   What we thought would take less than hour, ended up going well over two hours because of the good questions and discussions that we had afterwards.  Our team felt very good about some of the insights that we were able to provide based on research we had done on other similiar projects internationally, discussions we had had with IBM experts on the subject, and meetings that we were able to hold with two of the three major telecom companies in Morocco.  We reviewed the 24 recommendations we had made with the majority of the emphasis on the SMS/text piece of the solution.  We also presented the 'lessons learned' that we had gathered during the last couple of weeks based on research and meetings we had.

I think what was most rewarding is that a representative from the Morocco Economic Competitive (MEC) organization was at our presentation and spoke openly of their willingness to fund this next piece of the pricing project and that they were ready to move quickly.   He spoke about setting up conference calls after we leave so that we could further describe our SMS design specifications to the company that is selected to do this work based on an RFP.  It's a great feeling to know that many of our recommendations are about to become a reality for the farmers of Morocco.

It was a real sense of accomplishment knowing that work that we had done for a month was really going to make a difference in people's lives in Morocco.  It makes me smile to think of the small farmers who work so hard every day will now have a means to know what the prices are for their crops and where they can take their produce to get the highest prices.   Until this project, there really were no options for the small farmers to get this information.  I know that in the future, these farmers will be able to use this same SMS infrastructure to get information on the most profitable crops to grow, how much water is required to grow these crops, where they can get the best prices on seeds, fertizilers, etc.    It is rewarding to know that in a small way, we helped to make this happen.  :-)

Thursday night was our last night in Rabat since we are leaving on Friday morning to drive to Casablanca.   In Casablanca, our teams will meet with the IBM Morocco office and present our findings.   We leave Saturday morning to return home.  Really looking forward to going home!

Rahul, Andrew, and myself 'high fiving' each other after giving our final presentation to the Ministry of Agriculture.  We were all very pleased with how well it was received.

Our team in the office before leaving for the final time.  We are with Ali Aqallal who is the IBM Business Development Manager for IBM Morocco.   Ali was so helpful to our team while we were there.  He helped to schedule the two meetings that we had with the telecos and attended both of these meetings with us.

Celebrating our last night in Rabat at our favorite Italian restaurant.

I didn't actually order this dessert (although I tried it and it was delicious) but I thought it was so pretty that it needed a picture.  :-)

Day 27: Telecom Visits in Casablanca

On Wednesday we had the last of our interviews scheduled.   Overall, we completed 19 interviews and site visits.   Ali Aqallal, who is the IBM Business Development Manager for IBM Morocco, was kind enough to get a second meeting scheduled with one of the three top telecommunication companies in Morocco.    On Monday, we met with two executives from Inwi and on Wednesday we met with the Vice President of B2B and Wholesale for Meditel.

We traveled to Casablanca for a second day this week for this meeting and Ali met us for this meeting as well.   It was an extremely good meeting and was very helpful to us in determining potential SMS plans, costing models, and technical architectures that could be used to support the proposed SMS strategy for farmers.   Both Inwi and Meditel were very open, giving of their time, and very helpful to us.  We were also very appreciative of Ali's assistance with these meetings.

Tomorrow is our final presentation to the Ministry of Agriculture.  On Wednesday night, I actually started the beginning of my packing to travel back to Austin.   All of our teams have their final executive presentations on Thursday.   On Friday morning, we all board a mini bus to travel back to Casablanca where we will meet with the IBM Morocco team to also do our presentations.   Our flight leaves at 7:30 am on Saturday and I get home around 10 pm.   I'm so looking forward to seeing my family again!!

It's hard to believe that our trip and project are nearing completion.  :-)

Andrew, Rahul, and I in front of the Meditel building in Casablanca.

Here we are again standing in front of both the Meditel and Inwi buildings in Casablanca.  We thought that it was interesting that two of the top three telecommunication companies where located right next door to each other.

In front of the Inwi building where we had our meeting on Wednesday.

Here is one of our favorite lunch spots - El Forno.  They had a great combination where you could get half of any salad and half of any pizza of your choice.  The caprese salad and Rustica pizza were my favorite.

Rahul enjoying lunch.

Day 26: Second Family Dinner



Sitting down in Redouan's living room after we arrived.   Hot mint tea and cookies were served at the beginning.



Andrew doing the honors of pouring the hot tea for everyone.   He is getting very good at pouring this in the Moroccan custom of very high from the top of the tea glass.

The various almond cookies were both beautiful and delicious.

This is the seafood pastillo that we were served.  It was stuffed with shrimp and various types of seafood and was very delicious.

You can tell that the group enjoyed 'digging in' and sharing this delicious meal.

It is customary to eat with your fingers and everyone did a fine job of it.  :-)

Our group about to enjoy our 3rd course of meat cooked with dates, apricots, and almonds.

Delicous!

We had a lot of fun with Redouan's daugher.

Group picture with Mohammed and Redouan's family before we left for the night.

Tuesday night, Redouan Arrach invited Rahul, Andrew, and I to his home for dinner.   Redouan is Mohammed's manager and it was another wonderful night of good company and delicious food.   In addition to his wife and two children, he also invited four other co-workers from the Ministry of Agriculture that we have worked with and it was a very fun night!

The conversation was interesting because between the group, there were some who spoke primarily Arabic, some who spoke primarily French, and some who spoke primarily English.   Some parts of the conversations required interpretation, but it is amazing how much was universal and easily understood.  We had great topics of conversation and there was a lot of laughing.     Andrew was able to teach the children some hand games to play that didn't require conversation and the kids loved playing with him.   He even did majic tricks with coins.

The dinner was another amazing one.   Similar to our lunch on Sunday, this dinner also started with hot mint tea and a plate full of delicious almond cookies.    I'm getting a bit addicted to these.  The second course was a seafood pastillo.   Pastillo is another common Moroccan food that is a stuffed pastry.   We had had chicken pastillo while in Fez and we understand that pigeon pastillo is also made.   The seafood pastillo was delicious.   It was stuffed with a combination of shrimp and fish.   You can tell from the pictures below that the group enjoyed eating this together with their hands.   This is also a common custom for eating Moroccan foods.

The third course was another delicious meat dish that was cooked with dates, apricots, and almonds.   It was served with hot bread that was used to also eat with your hands.   We had learned our lesson at Sunday's dinner to eat smaller portions because of the number of courses so we really enjoyed eating the meat as well.

Dessert was a plate full of fresh fruits that the group enjoyed cutting up and sharing with each other.   It was a wonderful and very memorable night.   I'm amazed at the kindness of our Moroccan hosts and their families.

Day 25: Portraits of Moroccan Women

Monday was spent primarily traveling to Casablanca and in meetings there.   We first met with Ali in the IBM Morocco office and then we had lunch.  In the afternoon, we had our second to the last interview with Inwi which is one of the three primary telecoms in Morocco.   It was a very successful meeting and we gathered many 'lessons learned' from other similar SMS models that have been used and are available in Morocco.

Since it was a 'short' day (ha ha - we worked until almost 8pm on our final deliverable), I thought that I would take this opportunity to show some of the pictures of Moroccan women in the more traditional dress that I have taken while in Morocco.  It has been a fascinating experience to see the various ways that the women dress.   You see everything from the very traditional, fully robed clothing with the face covered to traditional clothing of jeans and a shirt.   Below are some of my favorite pictures from my four weeks here.

Three women visiting on a bench in Fez.

Mother and her child at the market in Marrakech.

This picture was taken in a market in Marrakech.   The women were sitting on tables and selling clothes.

Shopping is a universal pasttime of all women.  :-)

This was one of my favorite pictures that I took in Marrakech.   It was a family walking down the street and I thought it was very interesting of the various styles of dress that it showed by generation.

Picture of women shopping in the market at Marrakech.

Day 24: Sunday Family Dinner

Sunday was a big treat for our Ministry of Agriculture team.   Our primary client contact, Mohammed Kamili, had invited us to have a family lunch with he and his family on Sunday.    He was kind enough to pick us up from our hotel and drive us to the apartment that he lives in with his beautiful wife, Zhor, and his three children - Oumayma (7), Marwann (14) and Hatham (17).   We had no idea what a hospitable and culinary experience that we were in for.

His little girl greeted me at the doorway with a big hug and she was adorable.  Her name is Oumayma and we had a great time teaching each other words in English and Arabic.   His two sons are the same age as my two boys so it was fun to be around them as well.  His wife made us a meal that may have surpassed any that I have eaten before.   The pictures are below but they truly don't do justice to how beautiful and delicious this meal was.   One funny story .... we had eaten our first three courses and were so stuffed when he mentioned that it was time for the 'main course'.   This was after eating the most beautiful plate of five full chickens, two handmade salads, homemade bread, and appetizers.    We ended up eating another two courses.  Wow!

I also think that it may go on record as the longest lunch that I have ever eaten.   Mohammed picked us up at noon and we didn't get up from the table until almost 5pm.    The hardest thing was starting work again after we got back to the hotel.   The first draft of our final deliverable was due Monday morning and we ended up working until after midnight to get it finished.   Needless to say that we did not eat dinner .....   :-)

This is a picture of Oumayma and I in their living room.   This is where we ate our traditional Moroccan lunch.

We started our meal with some delcious handmade cookies.   The flavor was delicious... not too sweet with honey and almond flavoring.   I'm not sure if you can see the details of the flower cookies but they were almost too pretty to eat.   We also ate traditional cookies that are actually fried in olive oil and honey and seasoned with sesame seeds.... so good.   My two boys would have loved 'starting' dinner with cookies.  :-)

I could have made a meal off of the salad plate alone.    Zhor had made a homemade beet salad with parsley and another salad of tomatoes, corn, and cucumber that was seasoned with apple vinegar.  Both were so good!

They also served homemade wheat bread.  Not only was this bread made from scratch but Mohammed has his own farm where he grew the wheat that the bread was made from.   It was served warm and you can tell that Rahul is quite excited.

Andrew was a little amazed when Zhor put that beautiful plate of chicken in front of us.

Mohammed was describing to us how the chicken was prepared.

Words cannot describe how delicious this chicken was.   It was marinated overnight in a mixture of salt water, garlic, olive oil, and saffron.   It was then slow baked and served with fermented lemons and olives on top and was served with an onion chutney.   Mohammed showed us how to each the chicken with our fingers and homemade bread.   We ate this chicken for nearly an hour before we realized that the 'main course' was still to come.  Unbelievable....

This was the main course.   Even though we were so full that we couldn't eat another bite after eating the chicken, we all managed to eat some of this beef.   It was cooked and served in a large tangine and was garnished with dried dates, apricots, and sesame seed.   It was difficult to decide which I liked better... the chicken or the beef.  :-)

Marwann giving his sister Oumayma a hug after lunch.   Such sweet kids and a lovely family.   It was a family lunch that we will not soon forget.