Written by CorpsAfrica/Maroc Volunteer Mr. Ayoub El Fadili

A few days ago, I was approached by a man. “Are you a teacher?” he said. I responded “No, I am not. I am a CorpsAfrica Volunteer in Imn Gourzi village.”

Before I continue, let’s back up a few days.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Ayoub. Five days ago, I moved to my site in the Ijoukak commune. While my colleague and I were enjoying our first coffee in our new home, I saw someone asking about a cup of tea, but unfortunately, our “BRAD” (teapot) was empty. The man who asked for the tea had dirty clothes and an untidy beard and moustache, but the way he asked was so nice:

Him: “Is there still a cup of tea?”
Me: “I don’t know, Asmae could check.” ALBARAD (the teapot)

Asmae checked the pot and found it was empty. I apologized and offered to give him some money to get a cup of tea from the shop. He told me they didn’t offer single cups, but Asmae and I gave him some money anyway. He said kindly: “Oh, thank you, and forgive me.”

The next day we came to the souk (shopping day), and the same thing happened again. This man is crazy about tea, just like me. He passed by me while I was eating and I asked him if he wanted tea. “Yes, sure,” he said,  “but I will leave you until you finish your dish.”

He came back right when I finished, perfect timing. Lol.

We then had tea together and I got the chance to have a quick conversation with him. His name is Khalis, he is from Casablanca and he has a baccalaureate degree. I noticed that he is super kind and has good manners. Yes, good manners! Undoubtedly, my first impression of him was different. Because of his appearance, I thought that he would be a quarrelsome person. However, we all know judging people from first sight is unfair. Eventually I realized my mistake and I promised that I would always respect that man. Behaviors are more important than appearances. Some people with a good appearance could turn out to be evil and dirty, and people who appear dirty could have extremely kind hearts.

I hope this will be a lesson to all of us. See you.

PS1: ALBARAD = teapot
PS2: I don’t have any picture with Khalis.
PS3: I changed his name, due to privacy.