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
near the associationI'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 to
p 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)
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 to
p 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)
4 comments:
Wow, a cafe without food! Clay walls in a house or association would hold in the cold. Maybe you can have a cup of espresso or some long underwear (later) to help warm you up. When I was young, at my grandparent's house, I had to use a bucket of hot water to take a bath. Get your water when the getting is good. All in all, nice views and liveable. Roger
What is a cafe without food? What is the bathroom situation in your home? Can you flush toilet paper?
It sounds like you may not even have the water to throw down there. They have public bath houses? Could you wear a bathing suit? So do you live with the host family or in your own appt? Why do you have a host family if you get your own place?
Yep, the cafes pretty much must serve drinks, but sometimes bread, so I'll have to check that out. They are pretty much just a place for men to hang out. At my host family's, I don't flush toilet paper and Lauren didn't either, so I don't think I would do that anywhere in my site, but we do in Ourzazate in the hotel. They do have public bath houses, hammams, and we have 3 at my site. One of them is brand new, so I will probably go there sometimes. It is also a good place to warm up in the winter :) You just wear your bottom underwear at the hammam. I think you would get even more looks than usual if you were to wear a bathing suit. I am going to go with my host family when I get back. I will be with the host family for the first 2 months and then I will hopefully (inshallah) have my own apartment somewhere in town. I live with the host family so that I will become integrated and practicing my language everyday. It is also good to not be dropped in a town all by yourself right away. This helps you not feel so lonely and also they help you get to know other people. Good questions :)
Oh and their aren't too many clay walled areas there. The outdoor parts of the houses are clay walls, but most often, they are tiled on the inside. I guess clay helps with insulation, but it is awful with my allergies. I don't think I could live in a clay house. A few of my friends host families have clay houses. Mahri's host family does and no running water at all!
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