By Coralie Belair
Originally from Canada, Coralie has been living in Germany for the past 7 years. Passionate about women’s issues, social equality, and human rights, she has been volunteering and interning internationally on related projects while finishing her sociology degree. Now having launched her online business and “Years of Change”, she has been working day and night to build herself an exciting future.
I often get the question “how do you get to travel so much while studying?”. In this post, I will go through a typical day in my life here in Morocco, where I am interning and completing my BA in Sociology.
8 AM: I wake up, hear Khadija (my host mother) preparing the tea and breakfast. I get up quickly, get ready for the day, and make my way to the living room.
8:45 AM: Time to go. Mayshad is just a 15-minute walk from home, so I put on my sunglasses, my earphones, and say hello to our neighbours on my way to work.
9 AM: I arrive at the office. Asma, my colleague, opens up for us and we get started. On today’s agenda:
- Record one or two of the modules of our online course
- Meeting about the couscous project in Southern Morocco
- Phonecall with Nezha regarding the course we are launching in the US on leadership
- Work with Yasmina to recruit more Mayshad Ambassadors
1 PM: Soon enough, it’s time for lunch. The team and I sit in the kitchen and share everybody’s lunch.
1:30 PM: Back to work. We have another conference call at around 4 PM with Nezha, who’s currently in New York working closely with the US Mayshad team to launch the new course.
3:30 PM: I help out Yasmina, who’s in charge of the MayshadMag, and we brainstorm ways to find new ambassadors.
4:30 PM: Time to go. I make my way to my favourite cafe, located in the Hotel des Oudaias, and settle for a 2 or 3-hour long study session. I have a lot to do for my “World of Work” class, so I get to work quickly.
7 PM: After a successful study period, I’m on my way home to drop off my laptop, change, and head to the gym.
7:30 PM: As I’m just starting to work out again, I decide to go for a full-body routine; cardio, weights, the whole lot.
9 PM: I head home just in time for dinner. I shower quickly and sit down with the kids for some family time. I jam a bit with Mohammed, who plays the guitar, and we eat Khadija’s traditional tajine.
10 PM: It’s been a fun night, but I’ve got some work to do. I get my study papers out, do some readings for my “Adolescent and Society” class, and finish up a discussion post due this Friday.
11:30 PM: Enough for today. I get ready for bed, text my family a bit, and spend the last few minutes on Instagram or Facebook. Too much work isn’t healthy after all!
12 AM: Sleep time. I prepare my study and work documents for tomorrow and get ready to start the routine all over again the next morning.
Also read: 7 STEPS TO CAREER TRANSITION