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.
