We’re winding down month five of Remote Year Darien and it’s time for my monthly video update showing friends and fam where our group has lived and worked over the past month:

Here’s a photo album that tells the month’s stories in pictures:

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Gear Shoutouts

Two pieces of gear I’d like to celebrate this month:

1. My Brookstone mini pocket projector. We’ve done movie nights on the roof of our Riad once each week since we got here and it’s really been a nice break from the grind. Spinal Tap, Swiss Army Man, The 9ines, Napoleon Dynamite and Life Aquatic have been keeping us entertained and sane. Nothing like throwing down some magic carpets and hookah on the roof to watch an American film. At night this little projector is plenty bright and projects a 12′ crystal clear HD image. It only lasts for about an hour on battery so you have to use a power converter but it’s pretty slick and small enough to fit in your cargo shorts (hat tip to Stephan b/c he loves my cargo shorts).
2. My Aker iPhone case/battery. This thing is a gem- I don’t know what I’d do this month without it since it seems Maroc telecom for whatever reason drains my battery 2x as fast as it should. This thing provides great protection as a case, is only slightly thicker than a normal iPhone case and gives me 2 extra battery charges. I regularly 2 full charges here in Morocco so like I said, I don’t know how I’d do without this thing.

Major takeaways

• Morocco is home to some of the warmest people I’ve met. It’s ragged and rough around the edges and precisely the type of experience that we signed up for in joining Remote Year. Anyone can go to London but I would likely never have come to this place if it weren’t for this program.
• Between the air pollution and the mold in our place it’s definitely been a respiratory challenge. We leave in two days for Valencia and I’m ready for the change of scenery and air. There are very few grassy parks with lush foliage here and as silly as this sounds that grinds on your psyche. It makes you appreciate places like Prague that had ample greenery and parks scattered throughout the town.
• The very first night we had dinner with the RY group that was leaving and got a chance to chat with them. I remember making a mental note that everyone just seemed… tired. I understand now. I think it’s the combination of the extra cognitive load of being on alert and maintaining more thorough situational awareness at all times + the language barrier + the scarcity of greenery that has left us all a bit drained. I don’t have a suggestion there other than to be prepared for that going into it.
• The Sahara was amazing. Asilah beach and Hercules’ Cave were both beautiful. The medina in Fes was crazy. All these places we’ve visited here have been super interesting. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have experienced this place, for our guides in the desert, our city managers, cook and support staff at the workspace and all the Careem drivers who took us places while we were here.

Tunes this month

Some of the music that’s been in my ear buds this month:

Good bye Marroco. Inshallah we’ll meet again.

BTW, if you’re not already signed up to get my quarterly impersonal update emails, now would be a good time: