Embarking on a gap year in Morocco with Rustic Pathways was a journey of discovery and connection for Sophia Dong. Here, she shares her heartfelt reflections on her Morocco gap year and her top tips to make the most out of a gap year experience.
8 Best Tips to Make the Most of a Gap Year
- Embrace New Experiences
- Build Connections Quickly
- Share Stories and Struggles
- Create Lasting Memories
- Appreciate Temporary Homes
- Express Gratitude
- Reflect on Your Journey
- Stay Open to New Friendships
Embrace New Experiences
There’s always an incredible exhilaration that comes with stepping off a plane in a new country and realizing that you are about to embark on a new adventure. It comes in different forms, but for me exhilaration is always a ferocious pounding in my chest and a feeling of surrealism.
Stepping off the plane to Morocco, I had to remind myself that everything was real. The international stamps proudly displayed on my passport were real, the next month’s itinerary tucked into my backpack was real, my travel journal filled with elaborate stories (with even more soon to come) were real.
When barraged with a line of names and handshakes while meeting all of you, there was more heart-pounding surrealism: I was about to spend a month in a foreign country and continent with 15 strangers.
Build Connections Quickly
You all took me in and it was easy to pretend like I’d been with every one of you for the past month. Never in my life have I been so excited to be called a “plebeian” or hear three consecutive stories about how bad the bathrooms on Mount Kilimanjaro were.
I got to know people that I’d never met through intricate stories and hilarious anecdotes. There was no need for trivial icebreakers and instead we skipped to the part where we acted like we’d all known each other for ages.
Share Stories and Struggles
We all shared stories and struggles, whether they were created on this trip or a long time before. I for one will have to refrain from talking to my future college roommate about bucket showers or poop.
There aren’t that many people who know or understand the sinking feeling of horror as you realize that you’ve just clogged a squat toilet with no means of repair…there also aren’t many people that understated the weird beauty in that.
Morocco has become another moment added to my collection of travels. Because of my indispensable time here, there will always be a part of me that craves 8-hour van rides, nauseatingly bumpy 4×4 drives, restless nights huddled under a pile of blankets, and even seemingly endless uphill trekking.
Create Lasting Memories
It’s only been 30 days, but it has been an unforgettable, hilarious and sometimes exasperating 30 days. I will miss doing laundry in a precariously small sink with shampoo and a bucket. I will miss the laughter that inevitably wafts through the room at mealtime. I will miss trying to balance on dusty tires while painting the windows of a community center.
I will miss the hilarious failed attempts of surpassing the language barrier when interacting with the locals. But most of all, I will miss every single person on this trip, because no matter how many times all of you have made me want to smash my head against a wall, there are 10 times as many moments where you all have made me laugh or smile.
Appreciate Temporary Homes
I used to find it strange that people could call random places they’d visited their “home.” But more and more I’ve found myself referring to every single lodge as “home,” whether it be a cheery cement house nestled in the Rif Mountains or a quaint riad situated in the souks of Marrakesh.
Whether I was there for one day or one week, I’ve considered every single place as my home. There will indubitably be more homes in more foreign lands but there will never be another home like this one, with you guys.
Express Gratitude
So thank you for the endless supply of funny stories. Thank you for the invaluable memories of grueling hikes and dance parties. Thank you for allowing me to experience a very different slice of life.
Every time I stuff my Patagonia into my backpack and haul my bags toward the next destination, a part of me always gives a silent offering to a higher power for allowing me this experience.
Reflect on Your Journey
Through my work with Rustic Pathways, I’ve been able to reconnect with Latin America and restore my certainty that I’m a part of it. It has also reassured me of my love for the United States, for Florida and the Southeast, and of my place as a part of the larger Latina community here and what that can mean going forward.
Rustic has helped me develop a new understanding of my own language, of my history, and I am so thankful for it.
Stay Open to New Friendships
But most of all, I will miss every single person on this Morocco gap year trip, because no matter how many times all of you have made me want to smash my head against a wall, there are 10 times as many moments where you all have made me laugh or smile.
Bonus Quote: “Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.” – Rumi
Considering a gap year program? Learn more about Rustic Pathway’s Gap Year Programs or Contact Us for more details.