First Meeting

Monday, April 13, 2009
Casablanca, Morocco
We had our first presentation/meeting today with the "Oasis" Rotary club in Casablanca. Di talked about her club in Green Bay, and then we showed our video. The Moroccan rotarians seemed to really like the video, especially when Governor Doyle spoke at the end. Once again, we ate a pretty huge lunch. We don't feel too bad, as we aren't eating much for breakfast, and our dinners are pretty light. I read in a travel book that for Moroccans, lunch is their big meal, and that is definitely showing!

Before the meeting we visited and got a tour of the Hassan II Mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world . It started to be built in 1987 and was finished in 1993! It was pretty magnificent. Apparently 20,000 people can fit in the lower portion to pray, and 5,000 women can fit in the balcony. All the materials used to build the mosque are local, with the exception of the chandeliers and white pillars, which were brought in from Venice. After lunch we toured an orthodontic business, as well as Casablanca Technologies. We were very impressed with everything we saw today.

We stay very busy during the day, but do get some time at night to chill out a little bit, which is nice. It gives us a chance to relax, catch up on emails, call friends and family via Skype, etc. Tomorrow we are visiting another club.

The weather has been beautiful, with today being the warmest. Sunny, breezy and highs probably in the lower 70s if I were to guess. I'm finding Moroccans to be very warm and friendly, even the ones who gawk at us a little on the street. :)
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2023-12-09