While our stories and experiences in the Smara Refugee Camp were numerous, I will never forget our arrival to the camp and the hospitality that we were shown.
After a long day of travel and four different flights, we finally landed in Tindouf, the city closest to the camp where we would be staying. Tindouf receives a whopping 3 flights a week, so needless to say it's rather small airport. After gathering our luggage and being greeted by our host, now affectionately known as Papa Rais, our group of 9 piled into the back of a van and set off into the desert.
After an hour long commute filled with sand, camels, and more sand, we arrived to Rais' house. Now it was about 2:30am at this point, and although our group was wide-eyed and wired with energy, we certainly weren't expecting anything more than a "You can sleep here. Goodnight" from our host. You can imagine our surprise when we were warmly greeted by several neighbors and family members of Rais! They laid out pillows and cushions for us, and we experienced our first (of what would be many) teas of the trip. The three cups of tea are poured with an expertise that only comes with years of practice and repetition. Our group watched in hushed awe as Mateo (easily the best tea-maker/pourer in all of Western Sahara) filled the cups over and over again without spilling a drop. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the living room where we were seated didn't have a ceiling, so we were looking up at the full moon and the desert stars this entire time! And I thought the stars overlooking the Walmart in my backyard were cool...
The surprises continued when, after an hour of tea, a full-course meal was laid before us. We ate in groups around large servings bowl, using our hands with varying degrees of success. The mixture of rice and chicken tasted like heaven after a day of airplane food and cliff bars. Although Colby and I put forth a Herculian effort to pick up the girls' slack, we couldn't finish all the food in our bowl. This theme continued throughout the rest of the trip and admittedly, upon my most recent weigh-in, I gained five pounds.
At around 4am, it was finally time for bed. Our hosts laid out sleeping mats for us in the living room and made sure we were comfortable. Then, they took their own mats outside and slept in the sand, in order to give us more space! This occurred every night: our hosts made us tea, prepared a meal for us, and then gave up their house for our own comfort.
The hospitality of the Rais and his family/friends, and the friendliness of the Sahawari people left a lasting impact on our group and will not be forgotten quickly!
-Benji