After working on a weeklong project in April where I traveled to six different cities with a crew of Moroccan skateboarders, I had developed a network of friends in country who stayed connected with me through Facebook. In early June I got an invite online from a friend for the county's "Go Skateboarding Day" activity later that month. Every year, on June 21st, skateboarders worldwide take to the streets to celebrate Go Skateboarding Day . I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to connect with my friends again, meet new Moroccan skateboarders, and purchase the board I had my eyes on from the only Moroccan deck company, Atlas Skateboards . Atlas Skateboards, AMS and Tamara, along with DC Maroc and other associations sponsored the day long event in the country's capital, Rabat.
The morning of the 21st I took the train from Sidi Slimane (yes, its amazing, we live on the train line from Fes to Rabat) headed to Rabat. When the train stopped in Kenitra I spotted a few of my buddies on the platform that I knew from before and we rode the rest of the way together. From the Rabatville station we skated/skipped (I still didn't have my board) and rode the bus to a place called Hay Riad, or what all the locals call "White Spot", which is pretty much the Moroccan equivalent of Love Park back in the States. It sits at the feet of the massive Maroc Telecom tower and complex, which would have you think it would be crawling with security guards, but the only one I saw walked up to watch our best trick competition and let us be. When we arrived, there were already 25 or so skateboarders, by the time things really got going, we had about 100 skateboarders from around Morocco gathered for the festivities, which consisted of games of SKATE, best trick competitions, plenty of filming and photos, and just skating for fun.
I spent the first part of the morning longingly watching others skate, catching up with friends, and making some new ones. I met up with Romain, the founder and owner of Atlas, who brought the board I ordered. However, my connection for trucks and wheels fell through, and although there are some great skateshops in Morocco, the only places that might have had the goods I needed were some surf shops in the old medina on the other side of town; and that wasn't a sure deal either. So, there I was, in a sea of skaters, without a board to ride. Luckily, my friend Amine lent me his board while he filmed a bit. I enjoyed the ledges and drops that "White Spot" had to offer, but most of my skating was shaking the dust off from not being on a board in two months. After about two hours of skating and competition we left for our next spot.
The great part about Go Skateboarding Day is that getting there is literally half the fun. I will never forget the scene of 100 skateboarders barreling down the streets of Rabat in search of their next conquest. I didn't know the name of the next spot and for convenience will call it the Call Center Set. When we pulled up in the car the crowd was in full formation including the workers from the cell center who we amazed at the swarm of skaters. I watched at first, taking photos, but after a while couldn't control myself and snagged a board and ran up the steps. I attempted a frontside flip three times. Each try ended in a hubbub of Moroccan Youth cheering for more. I landed on the board the second try, but didn't roll away and fell. By this time, someone from the call center was trying desperately to clear the walkway to his establishment. He didn't want me or others to run back up the stairs, but I apologized and said the famous last words every skater knows "Just one last time". With that, I attempted the trick for the third and final time. I can't exactly remember my foot placement as I caught the board in the air, but when I landed something shifted and I locked my leg and instantly felt and heard a "POP". I rolled/hopped out of the way and stayed crouched for about a minute until I was able to get up. It was painful, but I think my endorphins kicked in and helped ease the pain.
I ended up traveling to the other four spots that were on the agenda and just watched. I called the Peace Corps medical team and reported the injury. It was a Friday afternoon, so I would have to wait until Monday to get an X-ray. I would later get an MRI and find out the following week that I had in fact torn my ACL. An unexpected benefit of tearing my ACL that day was the fact that I made a bunch of friends, more than I expected, and different that I expected. Everyone at some point during the day came over to see how I was and tell me they hope God would help me. "Allah Shefek" is what we say to someone who is sick or injured.
After we had been to every stop we planned, Romain drove me to the train station to head back home. I spent the next hour and a half in a baggage compartment watching the sunset on that day and on my hopes of skating anymore that summer. Incidentally, I was actually able to use the deck I bought that day; it turned out to be a decent crutch.
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