Exactly a year ago, I counted the last seconds of the fading year in the middle of a busy square. I was with seven other people I just met hours prior at a dingy Marrakechian hostel. We all left our countries excited with the idea of spending a lively New Year’s Eve in this historic city. And so there we were, clinging tightly to our coats and sweaters as we stood semi-circle in the middle of the cold Moroccan winter.
3, 2, 1... the countdown ends and there were no fireworks. My newly-found friends and I looked at each other with confused smiles. Locals in the square took no break from their usual business of peddling soukh-sourced goods. We saw another group of obvious tourists looking as confused as us. Unsure greetings of a happy new year, awkward laughter. The starry-eyed Kiwi boy said he was going to look for his friend who just arrived from Casablanca. The Dutch couple left for a party at a nearby club. The cool Romanian girl said that the German kid still had three bottles of ‘Deutsch fuel’ left and that if we go back to the hostel, we can still snack on the leftover tajines. The Italian-speaking Japanese dude led the way while the tall Belgian parted the crowd of busy Moroccans as we walked away from the square laughing about the weirdest New Year’s Eve we ever had. Should have taken that as a sign for the weirdest, most confusing year ever.
Ah, I’m so glad to leave 2020 behind. Time is a social construct but may our optimism for the coming year propel a kinder future for all of us. Don’t lose that hope!
Happy new year, everyone!
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