A long and winding update...

Yep, we are now official... Peace Corps Volunteers.

The hardest thing here right now (surprisingly I'm not going to say the cold) is that I am never really alone and am always feeling exhausted from that. Here's a little insight into how it's been lately: I go to the association most mornings around 9. I get up around 7:30 and have breakfast with the others. My host sister teaches at the association, so I'm a little bit on her schedule. We come back for lunch at noon and go back again at 2. Some days, I need to do something else or my counterpart is doing something else, but that is pretty much the schedule M-F. Saturday is souq day, so when I'm in town, we all go. Souq is really big here. You can find everything (fresh meat and fruits and vegetables, household items, clothes and shoes (new and used), furniture, furnaces, live animals, hardware, seriously - I think you can find most anything you would need there. I bought some scotch tape.) It's like a weird mix of stores, food, those bulk bins that we have in some super markets, but here they aren't bins, their bags..., yard sales, flea markets, and tons of people.












My host dad is a butcher and works there and it's sort of a social event for everyone else and they stock up on all their vegetables and meat, etc for the week, plus I bought a sweater last time used for 8 dh ($1)! It seems strange to me that my little town has such a large souq, but then I found out that it is the oldest town in the area, so everything developed around it and it has maintained and expanded it's souq because of that. On Sunday, I thought for sure, I would have the day off, but no... I was taken along to the association for kids sing a long! It was really great, but I was so cold and exhausted that I really didn't want to be there, but for a while, I went up on the roof, where it was sunny, and I listened to them all singing and it was really pretty beautiful. Later, I found that we weren't going back there in the afternoon, so I was relieved to think that I at least could relax for the afternoon (and bathe!) but wrong again. It was expected that I come along for a hike along the river to collect decorative materials to make new years gifts from the association! Again, it was great, but you know... So, this was how last week was going... We eat dinner about every other night with my uncle's family downstairs and hang out there until it's time for bed. So... I took up knitting! They love that and it's fun for me to have something to do in those times. I learned from a book that Lauren left me (and my host sister and aunt are both quite good and helped me learn too). I also write in my journal when I'm not too tired. Most of the time, when I do get free time, I'm so exhausted, I just want to lay down, but I have to do this sort of casually with everyone else in the same room... I think the exhaustion is also from getting used to the altitude and the cold and then sitting for a long time in really warm rooms. (...although it has been beautiful here lately during the days, outside that is..., really sunny and warm, though it always seems to be uncomfortably cold inside without a furnace on). I did take time on Tuesday, finally to go to hammam, but that was REALLY draining and I got a little sick, so I went to bed early and was fine the next day. Then, on Thursday, my host mom was going to the hammam again and I told her I'd like to go too, just to shower quickly, not to scrub and sit for a long time, but since I had gone on Tuesday, that was a ridiculous request it seemed. I told her my hair was oily and she agreed that it would be ok to wash my hair in the sink... This ended up being a fantastic thing because my counterpart also couldn't meet on Thursday and I had the house to myself.. First I secretly bathed out of a bowl :), then I spent the morning listening to music on my computer and sewing and writing emails and reading a bit. It was so awesome to have some time alone. very peaceful. I think this was a major decompression for me! I am really looking forward to the time when I can have more time alone. I'm also seeing my tutor twice a week for 2.5 hours each day. The review with my tutor hasn't made me feel like I'm learning a lot (like it was when we were in training), but it is good because it is some concentrated time that I spend on reviewing the language. Maybe it is silly to pay her to force me to practice, but so far, it's been the only time I've really been able to focus on it, at least from the book. I think I'm going to ask for a half and hour of French each time too, that would be a nice enhancement I think, plus people talk to me in French all the time because most white foreigners in this country are French and everyone learns French in school, usually pretty well. I've had a little back and forth with the Jendarmes (the local authorities that are charged with keeping an eye on me and making sure I'm safe and happy. I'm applying to get my "carte de sejour" that will make me legal in country as a foreigner after my 3 months of regular passport allowance is over. Plus, I check in with them everytime I am leaving town for any reason to tell them where I'm going. I went to the nearest major city one day to get some things (like a hot water bottle that gets filled and put in bed with me every night!) and pick up my other bag from the bus station, where it was shipped (it's nice to finally have all my things in my site, even if they are still not quite in my own house). I have to go again to the city this week because the jerndarmes want me to meet again with the police (I think it's just so they know who I am and will recognize me - they are the closest police and are also sort of supposed to be responsible for me, it seems). In my *other time* I've also been trying to fit in skype sessions... I'm really hoping to get internet in my home, although, I think it will be expensive (not to mention a little outside of the Peace Corps experience, but nothing is what it seemed, and that's ok), it would make my communications easier and the timing of skype sessions more regular. It might be a hard thing to do, but again, we'll see.
As I mentioned before, (and I seem to return to the subject often) showering is a really big accomplishment for me (but, overall I'm really fortunate for the options that I have! - right now, it's mostly a challenge of how to relate my wanting to shower so often with my host family who thinks once a week is more than enough). I usually don't have a problem going to the Hammam once a week (because that is the standard), but now I think I can maybe get in twice (?) and a hair washing!(?) I might be pushing it though. Every time, it seems like a struggle to fit it in and to have my family agree it's ok to go. Today, I managed to get some hot water and bucket shower in our bathroom. Luckily, it wasn't really cold outside today, so I wasn't freezing, but in general, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to do that. If they are running the hot water heater in there (wood fired), it's a lot warmer and that might be ok too.


With the association, I feel like something new comes up everyday. I've been meeting the women weavers and taking pictures of them and what they are working on homes. This is ain their long process, about an hour for each woman and a whole lot of sweet tea. Moumi has told me of some of the projects he has in mind for us - a member roster with the pictures I'm taking, a book of the motifs found in carpets in the region (at least 1000 different ones), exhibitions in Morocco, product development (color adjustments) and market analysis, trainings for associations and development in a nearby city. Recently one of the nearby volunteers also contacted me for some help with a developing association with export questions that we will be working with. Moumi also has his own small business he has been developing and would like to soon push further. He is the only food vendor in town and he would like to open a little hanut front for souq, with a refrigerator, etc. Now, he just has a little metal shack that he made with a grill and he makes sausage and potato sandwiches for souq day. They are pretty tasty! I'm going to help him get to where he wants to be with that this summer, hopefully. He does so much to help everyone else, I think it will be fantastic to help him too!

My host dad's brother, downstairs, broke his arm early during my stay in here (note him in the background of the picture of Radia below). This inspired a large portion of the extended family to visit day after day (as was referenced in the afore written blog). That has been pretty exhausting because they don't know me yet, so it's important for me to sit with them and talk about myself and get to know them all a little. There have been a lot of exhausting nights of this, but they were mostly concentrated in the day he broke his arm and the next two days. According to my host mom, though, I didn't nearly meet the whole family. At Eid K'Bir, in a couple of weeks, I think I will meet even more.

Some other interesting information: people don't really seem to celebrate birthdays here. I asked my cousin how old she is and she told me 15, but I later found out she is actually around 14 and a half and she said 15 because she is closer to 15 than 14, but she didn't actually know when her birthday was. She told me she thought it was in February. I don't know if everyone thinks that way, but I've been asking the weavers how old they are and they really don't know. The pretty much guess. A couple of them knew, but I think they just know the year. Moumi, my counterpart is 35, but his mom never wrote down his birthday and no one knows, so he doesn't know his birthday either.

I don't think I've talked much about my new host family, so I should tell you a little more... There are three children, 21 Radia, 17 Nora, and 14 Abdaltif. Nora is married and lives in the next town. Radia is a really hard worker. She teaches the kids at the association 6 days a week for free. They are about in kindergarden. She also tutors neighborhood children for free at home and does most of the housework and cooking. She is a pretty amazing young woman! Abdalitif also seems like a great young man. He studies a lot and seems to do really well in school, ahead of where he needs to be. The other day, he was singing from a book for about 15 minutes straight really loud and in a great Moroccan voice... they do a great thing with their vocal cords - you'd have to hear it... He was practicing for his singing class :) There is also another little one on the way! There should be a new addition right around the time I get my own house! How fun it will be to visit with the new baby and I'll get to go to a baby naming ceremony! (pictures are of our living room, note the furnace!, Raida and her cousin Moona, and Abdaltif!

I've started looking for my house lately. I've seen the one Lauren had and two others. I am supposed to see more this week. They are cheap enough, so I'm within budget there, but I haven't found one I really like yet. One of the jerndarmes showed me one the other day that was two stories with a roof. It is the best option so far, with running water inside (once a day like the rest of the town, but inside the house, unlike the other one's I've seen that have the water downstairs or outside), but it seems like an awful lot of space and I'm not sure how much sun it gets and if I'd be able to heat it very well... We'll see.


Thanksgiving in Fes was awesome, I was there with all the others for swearing in (all 67 of us! This is the first time, at least in the last 5 years - so that is 10 groups - that all of the trainees - we're also the biggest group in Morocco ever - made it all the way through swearing in!!! We're troopers). Everyone brought their best recipes from home and PC bought us the the ingredients from the American Commissary. We had a feast with every Thanksgiving dish ever expected! We had turkey (of course), mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes (no marshmallows - I hear that's a southern thing...), green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, fried apples, pumpkin pie, macaroons, apple cider, etc. It was soooo good! I don't know if it was just because I hadn't had American food in 2 months or if it was that fantastic, but I was pretty thrilled either way. I also spent the morning in Fes with Mahri exploring, and received mail on Thanksgiving :) plus, my parents called. It was a great day. The weekend after Christmas (we aren't allowed to travel the weekend before or during the week), I'm hoping that some of the other volunteers and I will get together somewhere to celebrate, but so far, we haven't made any concrete plans. New Year's either :( In town, however, I've got three different family's that want me to make cookies at their houses. Funny, but they are excited about American cookies! Most of the women I have met are really good at making cookies :) I hope the recipes I have will work! I'm hoping to get a local metal worker to make me a gingerbreadman cookie cutter! Big undertaking - that request! inshallah.

I had my first overnight out of site visit this past weekend! I visited a town very close to the mountains about an hour south of me. There is a married couple there that are environment volunteers and they invited people in the area to come and meet each other. It was pretty awesome. I met a few new people that were really nice and we hiked up one of the mountains that is really near by. We probably hiked for a couple of hours or so. It was exhausting, but grand! I haven't been excercising much and this was some much needed blood circulation. Loved it. On top of that, it was beautiful. We made it to snow (although there was also a small unmelted pile in their yard) and saw the sunset in and over the mountains. Lovely... It was great to retreat for a night with other like-minded Americans. It is funny, but the next morning, when we left their house, it felt like we stepped back into the world. Interesting feeling.

I am, everyday, in awe. I stop when I see the mountains and inhale so my lungs fully expand with the fresh mountain air. I love that these enormous masses of land accompany me here. That they are unyielding and constant. That their snow is a constant flux of more and less, but never ceasing adornment. I think of the snow on the mountains a little bit like my emotions and my mentality in being here. I know that it can be full and lush and all I ever hoped for, but it won't always stay that way. I need to be prepared for all seasons, with their flux, but realize that the beauty of what I wish them to be is always within me and will return in time. I'm also in awe of the people. People here are amazing. SOO Friendly, so loving. Sometimes (and shamefully), it takes a lot for me to walk down the street, because I feel there is an expectation that I say hello to everyone, sometimes, I just want to walk with my head down, straight to where I'm going, but it is important that I am friendly - partially because it is part of their culture and partially because I am representing so much more than another person in their town. I represent Americans, foreigners, Peace Corps, women, my host family, the association I'm working with... It takes a large amount of responsibility to take that walk down the street. I wonder if that is something that other people think about... I don't feel like I necessarily had that responsibility (or certainly wasn't as aware of it) when I was in America. Cultural differences and the experience of living in another culture is totally fascinating to me. I am amazed at what I start to get used to - that it isn't shocking. Some things still hurt to see though. People aren't often as nice to animals here. I often see a donkey or a goat or sheep with it's hoof tied to something and it yanking at it, trying to get unstuck. I see donkeys everywhere - they are the most unclean animal, aside from pigs, to them, I think. Every time I see a donkey, I think they look so sweet, with their white rings around their eyes. I want to pet them and tell them it's ok, but then the owner comes along and hits it with a stick to get it to go where he wants. Dogs and cats roam the fields and streets, looking for meat and scraps to eat. They are afraid of people and people seem to prefer it that way. They don't generally like them and they don't like them around. But... not washing my hands after we eat fatty meat with our hands, and it gets under my fingernails - that doesn't bother me as much. And going outside to get to the bathroom - it's not so unnormal. Not living by the standards that I was raised with is ok with me, in fact, I really think it expands my understanding of how to live and the possibilities therein. So, I'm happy with the mental progress I'm making. I think I'm learning to be more aware of what surrounds me and why and less focused on myself, my perceived needs and my less than accurate understanding of how to live...

I've uploaded pictures again onto my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12973534@N04/ (Make sure to look for the Set titled "Once upon a time in Skoura" because the general pictures are out of order.)
Check it out. There you will find a lots more pictures, but also a story that I wrote for our Small Business Development Presentation in Fes. I read this story with the correlating pictures, a little dramatic intonation to describe our group's CBT experience. Everyone liked in a lot. We utilized all kinds of other creative presentation techniques (poem, song, Q&A, art on the spot, superlatives...) It was informative and entertaining. Bonus. Some key points that I mentioned involved our work with the Ministry of Tourism and Traditional Crafts. We are hoping to help them achieve their 2015 Goals, including creating 115,000 new jobs in the artisan sector (which by the way is the second largest job market in Morocco after agriculture!), increase exports 10 fold from 700 million MAD to 7 billion MAD, and increase industry production from 10 to 24 billion MAD. Our programming staff, Youth Development, and the other staff all complimented us on our good job and hopefully, we set a precedent for what to expect from our dedicated, hard-working group! We're going to do great things!

One other interesting fact.... I ate an acorn on Saturday. Yep, didn't know people eat them, but lots of people seem to love them here. I guess it was roasted or something because it wasn't quite as hard as usual. You break away the shell and eat the inside. It was really bitter and I wouldn't prefer to eat another, but an interesting experience nonetheless.

Not Really Alone

Nov 28

Now I'm alone in a sense but never more accompanied in another.
Today I sat with at least 50 different members of the family in a warm room in the cold middle atlas mountains.
No one here speaks English and many times I'm not spoken to, only about,
but still everyone is warm and they invite me to be part of the family.
So, although I have left the comfort of those conversations and understanding,
those comforts are also here, waiting to be discovered.
I am never really alone.

Language Profiency Interview & more :)

I scored "Intermediate Low!" How exciting is that after just 10 weeks! That means I can make complete sentences and elaborate on them. I can ask questions and understand questions, etc. My interviewer was really impressed and happy with how I did. I am beyond where I need to be: "Novice High," so I felt like that was a nice confidence booster and I feel a little more prepared to go into my site.

Oh, to clarify... I will be with my host family for 2 months before finding a place of my own (check the comments for a little elaboration on that).

I said Goodbye to my host family at CBT (Skoura) and they were not super emotional (but maybe a little) and they really want me to come back and visit (hoping for next month, but I told them maybe next year!) I will send them a card for Eid Kbir and a letter in my broken drija script! fun. It will take me a couple of hours to write probably. I gave them a pretty ceramic vase that I found here and they gave me a nice ceramic mug and a little tagine (they make food in them, but this was just a little replica). cute.

Newest news on my site.... it is rumored to be one of the coldest if not the coldest site! geez.... what were they thinking?

A NEW HOME

The middle atlas mountains.... these are fields and they will all be green in the spring... with wild flowers too**

The High Atlas mountains... looking in the other direction...

A street of homes near the association

I've been assigned my site and I've just returned from a week long visit! I will be in the "middle of Morocco" The site is a town in the Khenifera province in the middle atlas mountains (considered one of the most beautiful parts of morroco and green! The town is about 5,000 people and at an elevation of 5450 ft (a few hundred feet higher than Denver!) It is near some major cities and there are a lot of volunteers in the region. I don't have any other volunteers in my site, but the closest ones are about 45 minutes away. It is about 3 hours to Fes and a little less to Meknes (close by Peace Corps standards). Azrou is also close (about 1.5) and Rabat is about 5 (sometimes varying by how fast or slow your bus is or whether you have to wait for 6 people to want to go to the same place in a taxi). There is a weekly "suq" or open air market on Saturdays that has lots of produce and general needs items. There are little "hanuts" that sell daily items, a post office, internet cafes, regular cafes (no food though), and lots more to be discovered! If you want to pin point me on a map, send me an email and I'll send you the name of the town and exactly where it is.

I spent a lot of time learning things from Lauren (the PCV that I'm replacing) about the site and what she did there. She was such a great resource!! She was the first volunteer in the site, so it's come a long way, but there is still plenty to do! She was working with the President of an Association in town. He is really motivated and excited. He has a lot of projects in mind and has been implementing a lot of new endevors and helpful changes. Lauren had also been teaching English as well as computer skills. I said that I would not start out teaching English, but would be happy to continue working with them on computer skills (mainly Microsoft Word and Excel). I will leave the English open as a possibility for later, but I hope to focus more energy on the artisans in the association and development. The Association has been taking on all kinds of different projects including training other associations to develop better practices and marketing, etc. They have worked with medical and eye doctors to do free clinics in town too. But mainly, they are a carpet weaver's association. They have a partnership with an association in France and sell most of their rugs that way, but the president wants to start doing more festivals and sales venues in Morocco. Should be good! He is also very personable and easy to talk to. He tries really hard to understand me and even speaks a little English! There are some other associations in town as well, one that serves as a sort of youth center, teaching English, among other things and an Environmental Association. I need to learn more about what they do and I think there are also others, but I'm excited about the possibility of also doing something with the Environmental Association.

My host family is really cool. The sister is 21 and teaches french and arabic to little kids at the Association (oh yeah, that's another thing they do at the association I'll work with). I think she might also be taking some university classes. My little brother is 14 and is really fun. The other night we worked together on some pretty advanced mathamatics! I think he is taking Algebra (and he is taking it early, like I did!) My parents are really nice. The dad is a butcher. They tell me to eat all the time, definitely more than I want to, but that is one of the things that Moroccans do to be hospitable. I'm starting to understand and I think they are starting to understand that I don't eat that much too. The house that I'm living in is nice. It's sort of a large complex, with my dad's brother's family living on the first floor and we live upstairs. I have a room where I sleep with my 5 blankets and their is a wood burning furnace in the living room, where we all sit and hang out until bed. We also eat in there. Generally, it's colder inside the house than it is outside, during the day... that's challenging, but fortunately, they have a roof and that great furnace :) When I went to the association, I was a little disappointed about how cold it was there... I remember teaching in the mornings in the classroom in China and them bringing me green tea that I was so happy to hold. It's very much like that and it's just going to get colder from here.

So, to solve my problem of being miserably cold...
Peace Corps gives us some money to settle in... usually this just covers the necessities (like buying a mattress, stove/oven, and maybe a small fridge) and it your site is particularly cold, they will give you a little money towards a heater (usually electric). So, a furnace costs more than a heater, but it is what everyone there uses and electric heaters aren't as effective, but I think they'll put some money towards it. On top of that, I was fortunate to buy what furniture Lauren did have! I bought her mattress, her Moroccan couches (ponjes), a wooden coffee table, her kitchen table - (given this is plastic), blankets, a floor mat, and she is giving me most of her kitchen items and a few clothes, etc. YAY! And she sold it all to me for less than half what she paid, only charging me for the big items! So, what this translates to for me: I will have enough move in money to afford the furnace and a refrigerator too! I liked her apartment, but I'm going to look around to see if it's the best one for me. She did really cute paintings all over the apartment, which is great, but there were also some water leak problems and the landlord hasn't been so proactive about fixing things (although a really great guy otherwise!) So, he is going to hold it for a month or so while I decide.

I also found a tutor! She is one of the English teachers at the high school and she speaks English really well. Teachers here, once they finish their training, get placed somewhere to teach! So she and her two friends met with me and they all had this sense of being transplanted in a site that was chosen for them. It was an interesting bond that I didn't expect to find in a Moroccan! One of the women even has a husband working in another city, their hometown. Each year, they can apply to be transferred. She is on her second year in Itzer now. My tutor is young and seems fun. I think she will make a good friend too.

So, the other major obstacle that I am going to overcome is the lack of running water!!! Apparently, cold water is available from the tap once or twice a day in the winter for a couple of hours and it becomes even more limited in the summer. This means, that during that time when the water is on, everyone fills jugs and buckets for all the water they will need that day (and maybe it's good to keep a few spare). When you want hot water for anything, it has to be heated on the stove (or a nifty trick) you can leave a kettle on top of the furnace when it's on. So, as you can imagine, bathing is a whole other story... my host family has a big tank that is wood fire heated that I can fill my bath bucket with, but without that, I either have to become much more prudent with the amount of water I need for even a bucket bath or I have to get used to the idea of bathing at the public bath house. Hmm... not the challenge I was expecting when joining PC, but I did hear that joke about the glass half full... (An optimist sees the glass as half full. A pessimist sees the glass as half empty. A PCV sees the glass and says, hey, I can take a bath with that.)

All in all, I'm excited about my site and I think that I will learn to live with my challenges and even learn from them! Here's to the next 2 years!!! First day at site: November 27.

Oh!! And I have a new address! I can't post it, but please email me and I'll send it to you - love love love receiving mail! (Angela, PCVs think you are the best sister in the world!)
Love to you all!
~LAILA (new Moroccan name)

L-Eid and the end of Ramadan!

L-Eid is the celebration of the end of Ramadan! They weren't sure if it would be on Saturday or Sunday (it depends on whether you can see the moon at all or not), but it did end up being on the day that most predicted - Saturday. Typically, this is a big celebratory day for everyone. They dress up in new or their nicest clothes (we did dress up, but this was a different day, just for the picture!) and do henna on their hands and feet (the night before), wear special coal makeup around their eyes (women and children) and go to be with their family. They go around to their neighbors, other family members, and friends and have tea with them and socialize. They pay alms or food to the poor and eat all day :) We had meat kabobs, which I think is probably pretty special (to have extra meat at a meal) and cous cous during the day for lunch. We went to the "bled" or home village of my host mom. It is about a half hour walk back into the fields and fruit trees. It is a beautiful walk on a dirt road, passing by all kinds of fruit trees, mostly olive trees and other small gardens. 'Grandpa and Grandma's' house is really big. They have a mud/straw walls, some of which are covered by concrete. They have a garden with all kinds of fruit and vegetables and herbs - grapes, pomegranates, olives, flowers, mint, verbena, beans, onions, and more :) There was a donkey in there too! Inside the house walls, but outside the house (an open air courtyard, sort of), there is a dog, chickens, a dairy cow, goats and sheep. It was nice to visit and see some different places and people, but it was still hard. I talked to a few people a little about where I'm from and what I do, but only some of it gets through and they ask questions that I don't understand too. So, it's hard not to just be a spectator all of the time. In one of the homes of another
relative, they were really excited to see me and have me as a guest, but for the first 15 minutes, they seemed to think I was
French. They get a lot of French tourists in that area and I'm not sure they've ever come across an American. They gave me a pomegranate to take home :) My host mom had/has a terrible tooth ache. She can't even sleep it hurts so bad, so our festivities were really limited. Baheeja, the oldest daughter, took me around to the relatives houses for tea and also took me to see a nearby Kasbah and some 'ruins.'

It's interesting here because if a house is abandoned, it pretty much just decomposes quickly back into the earth because it is pretty much just made of earth. That was before plumbing and electricity though. Now they are using concrete too, so I'm sure that is changing. My host mom also has a new niece, Miriam. We visited with her at the grandparents house. I'm pretty sure her brother and wife and kids live there too. Altogether, it was a nice day with the family, but not a highly celebratory day for us. It is nice that people are eating again during the day. It was such a strange addition to the cultural adaptation to avoid eating, drinking, chewing gum, etc during the day around people. We felt like we were sort of hiding when we ate :) A couple of the people in our group tried fasting. One did for almost the entire month! They had a hard time with it, but really valued the cultural experience. One of the main reasons that Muslims fast is to know what it is like to feel poor and without food. It is also for purification. I just found out, however, that my host parents are still fasting! Apparently, you get extra deeds if you fast an additional 10 days after Ramadan! I wonder what it will be like once they start eating too!

On our way to Skoura, we stopped at a Kasbah for a minute. It is the Kasbah that is pictured on one of the old bills. Apparently, they reprint their money every time there is a new king, so now the money is all with the new king on it. We met with our artisan, Rashid, before we left Ourzazate - he happened to be there also! We asked him a lot of questions about costing and pricing so we could continue on with our project ideas. Here are a couple of pictures of him in Skoura, loading a kiln with 60 water jugs... We went to the suq again to buy vegetables and practice asking for them. We did pretty well, except the sellers were always answering us in French. That is pretty confusing. I'm not sure if I'm just not understanding them or if they are talking in French. There are some interesting sites at the suq... not mentioning the meat hooks and that whole area, it's pretty funny to see sellers lying on their product or totally surrounding by it. The spice displays are also attractive and it's great anyway to have so much fresh food!!! It's thrills me - really! You can make anything here! as long as it's not processed :) So, it's time to learn to cook! In fact, my host mom asked me today if I cook. I told her a little and she asked what I cook. I said eggs (I've been thinking about cooking them scrambled eggs!) and pasta (which turned into me saying I can cook spaghetti with vegetables). That was pleasing and she said when you come back, you will cook Spaghetti with Vegetables! I hope they like it. My friend, Brian, made guacamole and they politely didn't eat it after trying some. Well, it's back to Ourzazate for 4 days before the long stint in Skoura... and then we find out our final sites! One of the last two days in October, we'll know and then we spend over a week there checking it out and such! We are all so nervous to find out where we will be for the next 2 years! When I visit, I'll also be able to set up my P.O. Box, so I'll be able to receive mail there - I'll be officially moving to that address at the end of November after swearing in on November 26. whew... it's all coming along pretty quickly. LOVE and PEACE to you all!!

CBT Homestay!

Me and Amina

Again, I wrote this on a different day than the posting date... My homestay so far has been a challenging, yet rewarding experience. My family (which turns out to be different than the intial one I was told about) is awesome. There is a father and mother and 4 girls (ages 15, 12, 6, and 9 months). My host sisters: Baheeja, Dure, Waseema, and Omyima...

The father is a Classical Arabic teacher, so he is really patient with me and helps in learning the words, although sometimes he tells me the words in Moroccan Arabic, classical Arabic, French, and Spanish too. The kids also like practicing Dreeja (Moroccan Arabic) with me and practicing English.


Two days ago, something didn't agree with me and I had a ridiculous amount of diarrhea. I went all through the night and took a little Pepto and a little rehydration medicine, but I was throughoughly miserable, wearing down the pathway between my room and the turkish toilet every half hour. In the morning, I made it to Amina's house before school was to start and used her phone to call Peace Corps Medical. They gave me a plan for how often to take the medicines and what to eat. I'm eating on the BRATT diet that Peace Corps prescribed. Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast, and Tea. I'm not exactly sure why this is a good diet for diarrhea, but it seems to work, so I'm sticking to it. After school, Amina went to my house and explained the food to my family. When I got home, I slept and slept. I got up only to go to the bathroom or once, they woke me up and I ate half a banana and a little bit of bread. Today, I feel a lot better, although I still have a little ways to go. A funny thing - in the Peace Corps - Gastro-intestinal problems are so common that everyone knows everything about each other. We discuss the specifics all the time. So, maybe this explains why I shared this... Prior to this, I've really been enjoying the food at my host family's. I feel like they talk me into eating more than I want to at times, but still, it's quite good. The "break fast" at sundown is also full of very sweet items. That is a little weird because it's at our dinner time, but I'm guessing that they are so depleted that they need the sugar right away to get some calories. Now, I'm still a little sick, so almost no food sounds appealing to me. A typical day in Skoura (this is about Mon-Sat) goes like this: I wake up around 8 and get ready for school then I walk myself to Amina's house. This takes about 5 minutes. The first couple of days I had escorts there and back, but once I knew the way, they let me walk on my own. Two of the others in my class always have their little brother or sister there to pick them up after classes. Once arriving, we talk briefly about our evening with the homestays and then we start language lessons. These go until lunchtime. We have an hour for lunch and then we do our technical training. For us, this has been getting in a taxi and going to a small village about 7 km down the road to talk with the potters there. We have been gathering information about their community, resources, needs, and knowledge. We are going to try to develop a project that will help them out in some way. Right now, we are thinking of developing a small marketing strategy for them, as they are only depending on passersby for clients. We get back to Amina's house around 4 or so. After school, I sometimes go to the internet cafe (which is down the road from Amina's (maybe another 5 minutes). Sometimes I buy some fruit or something on the way back, but usually I head back to the homestay at this point (I always tell them when I'll be back so they don't worry). Sometimes my host sisters want me to go out for a walk with them before L'fthur or Break Fast around 6:45 or sunset. Otherwise, I usually help in the kitchen, finishing up with the preparations. After the meal, I hang out with the family for a while watching TV (every family in Morocco seems to have satellite TV, even those that are not at all well off). I, of course, don't really understand much, but sometimes I understand some by context. During this time, I usually bring my language books into the living room and review my lesson and vocabulary. Most of the time, the family will get involved trying to work with me and help me somehow. Now, the dad has taken to asking me what I learned that day, so that is really helpful for review. Around 9:30, they serve mint tea (with lots of sugar) and some snacks or bread or something. Then there is another meal around midnight before everyone goes to bed. I don't do so well with staying up for the midnight meal. Since I've been sick, it hasn't been a problem for me to go to bed early, but other times, it's harder because they want me to stay up and they don't understand why I would go to bed, I guess (also, I can't communicate a whole lot to them besides "I'm tired" "I want to rest" "I don't feel like eating"). Really, I want to explain that I don't feel good in the morning if I eat a big meal before I go to bed, but I don't feel like they would understand this (but maybe). I think after Ramadan, it won't be so difficult. In general, Moroccans eat dinner very late, but midnight is later than usual, I'm pretty sure. **Additional note... now it's been a couple more days and the last two nights we have had a little more to eat with the tea and then went to bed! I've been on BRATT still, but I don't know if this is why. I think I'm missing something in the routine here.... hmm...

** One day, we visited the suq (the open air market that is in town once a week) and bought some fruit and vegetables. They also have all kinds of things, like second hand clothes (you know where I'll be shopping!) and miscellaneous stuff. I thought the suq seemed kind of like lots and lots of yard sales all together, where some people are selling the same things and bargaining was expected. One morning, I set up a time (7 am) for me and two other volunteers to meet a current PCV at the Dar Chebab (Youth Center) to work out (Yoga and Running), but then that was the morning that I was so sick and I missed it. :( When I get back to Ouarzazate, I'm going to try running with some others. I miss working out. I also didn't bring a yoga mat and the floors so far haven't been befitting of laying down on.

Today, in Gdarra (the small village), it got really windy and it felt like we were in a sandstorm. I don't know what qualifies as a sandstorm, but I'm going to go ahead and say this was one. There was sand going everywhere. We were inside a little shop, but the doors were open and we were all covered in dust and sand sitting in there. I kept sneezing and the sand was getting in my eyes. The shop owner poured water on the sand outside his door to stop it from sweeping in so much. They also told us that one or two trainees will probably be placed in Gdarra/Skoura. We like it ok for our CBT site, but none of us really want to be located there... After the sand storm, I really don't want to be. I don't think I will though, inshallah.






Pictured above is our group interviewing the president of the potter's association in Gdarra and one of the members. Also pictured are my CBT mates: Anna, Matt, Brain, Amelia, and my Language and Cultural Facilitator, Amina.


So, back to my homestay: their house is really nice, it seems. I think it's made of brick or stone and concrete(?) and it's 3 stories. The top level is the roof - there they have a goat, 6 sheep, and a rabbit. The goat and sheep get all the food scraps - just like a compost bin! The first floor is the only floor that is really finished and decorated. There are 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, two living rooms (one for family and a nicer one for guests), a common room (outside the kitchen - like a dining room, but no one eats there), and the entry way with a sink. On the second floor, it seems like someone sleeps up there (maybe the parents). There is also some food for the animals, and a sink and stuff like that. I think the idea is that they finish the house little by little as they get more money, but of course that is my speculation because I haven't asked them that yet. At this point, they don't really seem to need anymore space, but Moroccan families don't necessarily stop growing. When the children get married, sometimes they live at the parents too (even more than one couple) and lots of times the the grandparents are part of the home. Also, from the roof, there are open stone windows that look out over the desert. Behind the house is the vast open desert. It is beautiful. And in the distance, you can see the mountains and at night the moon and stars. I don't know if you guys all know about the turkish toilets, but that is what they have all over Morocco. There are some western toilets around here and there, but, I guess we should expect the norm, which is the Turkish toilet. I took a picture for you, since my family's bit-la-ma (bathroom) is pretty clean. You stand where the foot marks are and squat down over the hole. Their plumbing is good enough that we can use TP, but they use water and soap. You then pour the water from the bucket down the hole and this flushes it (similar to our system). I've also been fortunate to take showers in here (sometimes even with hot water!) Morrocans typically go to the hammam (bath house) once a week and get seriously scrubbed down (removing layers of dead skin) and if they need or want to, they take bucket baths with the hot water. Some of my fellow traininees don't have showers or hot water (that they know of). Just like the landscape of Morocco, the amenities can vary greatly from place to place, even house to house. The major tourist destinations in Morocco have all the luxuries of home. I'm happy to experience something in between and also to be aware of the variations. I'll keep letting you know what I find, but keep in mind that I am just observing. There is a lot more out there than what's before my eyes.

Well, we are now headed back to Ouarzazate for 4 days... We are all excited to see everyone else again and to take hot showers and share experiences. Hope you are enjoying the adventure as much as me. Please don't hesitate to send me a little message on the blog or by email. I'm enjoying hearing from everyone and writing you back :) LOVE and PEACE!!!!