• I studied abroad in France, and since then, I wanted to keep exploring the world.
• I bought a one-way ticket to Morocco without knowing what to expect.
• I don't have a dryer or a microwave, and I've adapted to a new way of living.

Five years ago, I booked a one-way ticket from the US to Morocco with no idea of what to expect.

I'd spent several months prior searching for international job opportunities, willing to go almost anywhere. I was surprised at how much I learned about living in my time in Meknes, where I now live.

Studying abroad made me want to explore more of the world

My desire to move abroad stemmed from my search for the heightened discovery and immersion that I'd felt when I studied abroad in France two years earlier.

That semester abroad was my first trip outside the US and an experience that opened up the possibility of living abroad longer-term. In my senior year of college, I received job offers for positions in France and Morocco and decided on Morocco — somewhere new, in a part of the world with a culture I'd never experienced before. I planned to live there for a year, the length of my initial contract.

When I got to Meknes, the city where I'd be living and working, one of my new coworkers helped me find an apartment within days of my arrival. The apartment I rented didn't have all of the features I was used to — no dishwasher, clothes dryer, or microwave — and yet these amenities that felt so essential in the US didn't seem to matter in this new context.

People jumped in to help me

During my first week in my new apartment building, my downstairs neighbors stopped by with a bowl of fresh fruit, then offered to bring a couch from their first-floor apartment up to my fifth-floor apartment when they noticed I hadn't yet bought furniture. People I'd just met were constantly asking what I needed and offering to help as I got settled in. In my initial few months of adjusting to Moroccan culture and lifestyle, I learned from those around me about the best ways to maintain my home, where to run errands, and how to live in a community.

Without a dryer, I began to hang my clothes on the rooftop clotheslines. I let the sun do its work, no longer having to worry about clothes shrinking in the dryer or excessive heat wearing down the fabrics. Without a microwave, I reheated leftovers on the stove and found that my food tasted much better when I did so.

I shared many meals with others as neighbors invited me over for Friday couscous and tea. When Thanksgiving came, I hosted a dinner with classic Thanksgiving staples: roast meat, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Despite it being my first big holiday away from home, I felt at home in my newfound community.

I started consuming differently

I realized within my first few months that although the bigger supermarkets were the most convenient for grocery shopping, they weren't where I could get the best food. My grocery runs grew longer — a stop at the bakery for fresh bread, then to the produce stand for fruits and vegetables, then to the corner store to stock up on pantry staples.

Despite what some may consider an inconvenience of not having a car and making at least three stops to get what I need for the week, the benefit lies in all of these places being within a 10-minute walk and the relationships I've formed with the shop owners as I come back week after week.

Now, I've grown accustomed to the small differences in my daily lifestyle. As time has passed, I've come to understand and appreciate the bigger lifestyle differences as well. Especially around holidays in the US, consumerism dominates our buying culture. Stores regularly cycle out themed decorations and products, reinforcing the idea that we constantly need the trendiest and limited-time-only items.

When I began asking friends questions when I needed to fix or buy something in Morocco, I learned that repair and secondhand shops are everywhere. I've taken shoes with worn-down soles to cobblers and clothing with tears to tailors, picking the items up good as new the following week. At least half of my current closet, along with many other household items, is secondhand.

Five years and many holidays away from home later, I still host a Thanksgiving dinner every year. Although I still sometimes feel the shift in cultural values between what I grew up with in the US and what I've experienced during my time in Morocco, I've learned what it truly means to live in a community here. I'm grateful for the people that have made Morocco a place I can call home and for everything I learned along the way as one year abroad turned into five — and counting.