Happy Eid!

On Tuesday, we celebrated another year with a lot of sheep slaughtering... This year, I had henna done on my hands the night before and slept at my host family's. We woke early and had cookies and such for breakfast before visiting the neighbors (for more tea and cookies) and then they slaughtered the sheep... Typically each family slaughters a sheep (or a goat, but here it's all sheep) to call to mind the sacrifice that Abraham was willing to make in the Old Testament. Afterwards, everyone grills up the innards and bbqs. They remembered that I'm not a fan of the sheep insides and they actually grilled me some chicken! awesome... I visited about 6 other families homes as well and think I had about 15 glasses of tea that day. I think I'm the only person in the country (minus our vegetarian friends) that has eaten no sheep in the past few days... Here are a few more pictures from my parents trip :)










My parents with my host family... me feeding a monkey in Azrou... me with my host family and the 2 new volunteers they hosted for training.... sight in the village of Tanourdi (Logan's site)... me and Taniya with our suitcase of goodies from America... the mosque Hassan II in Casablanca



























Lots of Love to you all as the season unwinds...

A Life Update :)

So much has happened... and I haven't kept you all updated! I'm really not sure where to start...

Let's just start with now... It's COLD here! It snowed for about 3 days and now my alley is about 2 inches of ice. Many of the roads were closed for several days (which caused me some very difficult travel), but now things seems to be back to normal (with the exception of the windy wonderland weather). It kind of hurts to walk around outside... Today I wore 7 layers!


Back in October, my parents visited! They were here for almost the whole month. It was fantastic. It was their first trip out of the U.S. and they were amazing! I was so impressed with how they took everything in stride, even though some pretty crazy stuff happened and Morocco isn't the easiest country for travel. We traveled all over Morocco (renting a car was definitely worth it) and took the ferry over to Spain. I made a map to show you our journeys! For the specifics, you should definitely ask them about their experiences here! I also posted a bunch of our pictures on facebook, but I took over 400... so... visit and I'll show you :)



I had a surprisingly doleful week two weeks ago... I found out a lot of pretty crazy news all at once... I lost 2/3 of the money that I possessed in stocks... My camera and IPOD were stolen... and I found out that I've been exposed to Tuberculosis! What a week, right? Sounds dramatic... and really, I think it is, but through it all... my spirits haven't fallen (hardly at all!) For me this is evidence that perhaps I've arrived at the positive attitude I've been seeking to have throughout all of life's beauty and obstacles. I really can't help but feel blessed. From my perspective, money isn't important - sure it would have been nice to have, but I didn't have exact plans for the money and I can just act like I never had it in the first place. The camera and IPOD are covered by my property insurance :) And the exposure to TB has a very high chance of being eradicated with treatment. So, life is still beautiful and I'm loving living it. I also am constantly putting my circumstances into a grander perspective. The suffering that a huge percentage of the world endures everyday is a reminder of my many blessings.

In the time that I've managed to be home (not so much lately) work has been busy! Before my parents came, the CBT (community based training) group arrived and I was able to work with them on project ideas with the Association. They were a really great and hardworking group! While I was gone with my parents, they tackled almost all of the projects I had suggested and had some pretty impressive results... they developed brochures and flyers for Trekking weekends (also posting this online in a few places), developed a small mailing list of places that might be interested in hearing about and posting the information, did some studies and documentation of carpet motifs, started an ordering process for the carpets, helped Mohamed the artist document his work, worked with one of the weavers to improve a handbag design, and developed a website! It's so amazing what can be done with a focused group of people committed to working! Great work team!!! Here's the website: www.afcmaroc.org (we are still working on some improvements but it's a really nice base). After that, I've been working on carrying out some of these projects and helping prepare for more exhibitions. We just came back from a small exhibition at the Rabat American School, which went well (with the exception of all the rain and snow).

Thanksgiving was great! It's so nice to be around wonderful people with great food and to reflect on life's wonder and God's grace. I am constantly overwhelmed by the incredible blessings showering my life!

It's Happened!! It's really happened!

Barack Obama! I'm so happy for our country's future! This is probably the most important and historic moment in my lifetime. Humdullilah! Bless you all.

Oh! Busy, busy Life!

I took another Vacation :) There was a Wed/Thursday Moroccan Holiday, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a 5 day holiday with only taking one day off! A small group of us headed to Chefchouen, the "Blue City," about 8 hours away; it's a small, relaxed city in the Rif Mountains and we later made our way to the Mediterranean, where I was happy to finally swim! We had a nice time, relaxing and discovering.












Just before that, I finally attended a Moroccan wedding... well, actually, just one of the three nights (and I think this was one of the less interesting nights)... women all sat in one room, singing and dancing... we ate dinner... then we all headed to the roof top, where men also joined us, and a band played more music and we danced... I didn't see the bride or the groom the whole time (I was told they were coming tomorrow)... very strange. I stayed until 3 am, but it continued on till dawn!


So, now it's Ramadan... Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting, basically the whole month of September this year. It's meant to teach the person patience, sacrifice and humility, a time to fast for the sake of God, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance into the future, ask for help in refraining from everyday evils and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. I fasted for a few days with them (from sunrise to sundown), but determined this style of fasting as rather unhealthy and have modified it, so I can stay healthy and still participate in the fasting and festivity of the month. Each evening when the sun sets, each family prepares a special "break fast" meal with food only made during Ramadan - usually at least dates, different types of sugary treats, special bread prepared with animal fat, and a tomato based soup. It's fun to eat, but not really very healthy... Then I'm full for the rest of the night, but Moroccans eat a very late dinner (anywhere from midnight to 2 am), then sometimes eat something small again right before the sun rises (and go back to bed)... My modified plan is drinking water all day and having only a breakfast when I wake up and the "break fast" meal... maybe a yogurt or something small in the evening... It's been a great time to get to know more people and integrate further... Any family in town would be pleased for me to show up at their "break fast," however, I've still just waited for invitations... I've eaten somewhere every night except two...


One of those nights, two of my nearby volunteers stayed the night and we made a HUGE and wonderful meal for our "break fast." It included fruit salad, pasta, cheesecake, garlic bread, and bubbly water... It was so filling... we were all in serious pain. It was silly to eat so much, but SO fun. We have been cooking a nice meal together almost every weekend (that we are all in town), which so far has been 3 times... but that's about to change... Logan, one of the two, has decided to move to my town. His counterpart (Moroccan working partner) will be living here and he has determined it too difficult to commute. We found him an awesome old house the other day, so he'll be here the first of next month. We have so many plans for cooking! I think we are going to have the best food in Morocco in my little village... soon we will both be receiving all sorts of Thai and Mexican ingredients :) Jed, the other of the three wishes he lived here too, but he comes every week to go to the market and we've just decided to all have French tutoring sessions together once a week!

In addition to Logan's coming, about 6 other volunteers will be here next week, for training. They are in the Small Business Development Program (like me) and will be working with my association, so I'm really interested to see how this goes and meet them all! I'll only be here for part of their stay (because I'll be traveling with my parents), but they'll be fully integrated in my life during that time (working with my association, home staying with families that I know, and living in my little town, school right around the corner from my house). So, when I first moved here, it really seemed I was sort of isolated, not being on a main road and not that close to other volunteers... if I didn't leave, I didn't see other volunteers... but that's really changed. It's a welcome change :)

As far as work goes, this month is usually a down month for any type of work... however, my counterpart isn't like everybody else. He works more. Since he's not eating, he uses that time to work... We managed to get a grant proposal sent out to support the "tadart" project. I've been working more closely with some of the weavers (I put in 3 commissions for my family and helped another woman come up with a new design). We hosted a French Association to come and give away clothes and wheelchairs to the disabled, orphaned, or abandoned people in town. Plus, we've been getting the school ready for the new volunteers, among other things! Busy, busy...

During all this, I also managed to get my cat to Fez to have her spayed (although getting the stitches out hasn't been successful just yet) and went through a painful process of getting my NJ driver's license renewed. If you ask me, I think Peace Corps Volunteers should get the same extension privileges as the military... but hey, I guess they just think we are SO much more resourceful... we'll just figure it out.

Other than all that... I've spent all my free time planning a country tour for my parents! They'll be here almost the entire month of October and we are going to see a lot of the country (unfortunately the South had to be cut out). It's going to be intense and probably exhausting, but I think they'll have the time of their lives and I'm so excited to see them! I love that I'll have the opportunity to share all I've learned about this amazing country with them and that we'll have this to share for the rest of our lives! How special :) So, look forward to the next update: Parental adventures in greater Morocco!

perusing life... and the country.

Oh so much wonderful travel! This country may not look big on a map, but let me tell you, it's a never-ending source of beauty... and it's all different. In June, I had the pleasure of spending time in Mahri's site, Tafraoute. It takes a long time to reach the other side of the country... but well worth it :) Tafroute is known for these painted rocks... a Belgian Artist painted them in 1984, about an hour's walk from Tafraoute into to the squat desolate valley, about 15 tons of blue paint was applied to rocks indistinguishable from a thousand others on the horizon...sounds a bit strange, but when you think about how long it must have taken and the amount of paint used, it's interesting to wonder about his motivations...

It is pretty incredible to stand in the presence of these enormous rocks and wonder about how they maintained or morphed into these shaped. What wind or rain... the stacking... the variety

I've posted a lot of pictures of this gorgeous place (and others) on flickr (link at the bottom of post). There is a Lion's Head in the side of a mountain and a rock formation of Napolean's hat! (also famous sites). After some great hikes and great time with Mahri, we headed south to Tiznit to visit Amelia...
Amelia has a gorgeous "Riad" style house, with 2 courtyards in the center and rooms coming off of those. It's nice to feel outside and still secluded :) She was a fantastic hostess. I had treats I'd not imagined in this country - blue cheese! Real (rich) chocolate ice cream and a real (and comfortable) bed! woo-hoo! Thanks, Amelia!


From there, we all headed up to Essaouria, for the annual Gnaoua Music Festival, which is a free world music festival, but highlights Gnaoua music, from the Sahelian region of West and Central Africa. There were 10 stages for 4 days. It was a wonderful experience and Essaouria was really lovely. We ate fantastic food (western!), we watched the water (we tried to get in once, but our feet went numb and we retreated), we shopped, and of course, we listened to some incredible music. Oh! and we even had lunch one day with one of the Artistic Director's of the festival! odd how these things happen... We really enjoyed just sitting outside our hotel room, on this roof, where we could watch the waves crash and feel the ocean breeze... felt like I was in another world there.

I hosted a 4th of July party (on the 5th). It was pretty incredible. I (to much suprise, even my own) served Chicken and Beef Kebobs, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Pasta Salad, Peach Cobbler, Watermelon, Wheat Bread, and Iced Tea (all from scratch, mind you!) and my guests brought peanut butter cookies, spinach dip, deviled eggs, and chocolate cake!) Talk about good food! Here you see what happens to people after having peeled and cut up 4 kilos of potatoes. Brian and Mahri are such good sports! I wouldn't have survived with out them :) So, in the end, great party, but next time... maybe I could find a caterer. Glad the new volunteers could come and everyone got to meet each other. We had a nice hike and people even stayed to help me clean! (bless them!)
One day a couple of weeks ago, Moumi and I rode our bikes to a nearby village... 7 km to talk with the government representative there and see which land we would like to have to build "Tadart" on. They are donating the land and we had our pick! It's on one of the main roads that tourists travel, so it'll be a nice location. Below you see the view from the land we chose. One side you see the mountain road coming in to the town and the other is a nice view over the town and you can even see my town from there... the majestic mountains and extinct volcanoes... I don't think we could have chosen a better location for a tourist destination!

Here is a little insight into how and what the women I'm helping make and do... There was one day when all the women in town had a big party and sheered all the sheep... then there was a day when they all took their wool to the river to wash it (see left image) After it's all washed and dried, they clean it by hand, picking out the plants and what not... Then they spin it (see below) After it's spun, they prepare to dye it, washing the wool in aluminum (so the dye will stick) and crushing the plants to put in the dye bath. (oh yeah, I didn't mention, they go out in the fields and pick the plants they need themselves too - one woman was showing me her cut up arms from collecting a particularly coarse plant). Below Raquia is crushing something to make a pinkish brown colored wool. You can see Fadma pulling the dyed wool out of her dye bath... They do this all year, even though it gets well above 100 degrees in that room she's cooking the dye in. And then, they weave it... They make beautiful carpets and rugs. I love these natural colors. They are one of very few groups still working in this traditional method. Here are a couple examples of things the women have made... one in progress still on the loom, one detailing the designs. The last picture is one of an old carpet (not natural), detailing a motif that represents camels. Each half of a symbol is supposed to be a camel, three feet and a head (can't get an answer on the 3 feet thing...) I'm collecting traditional carpet motifs and their meaning from the women, hoping to eventually make a book out of them, which would then both preserve the tradition as well as help others understand the carpet and what goes into them better.











and then came my birthday!
Wow! I am so blessed! I couldn't imagine feeling so loved and not lonely so far away from "home."

It really has been more like a birthday month... First, about 3 weeks early, I received 2 big boxes from my parents and sister, filled to the brim with first class treats and presents! Well, that was more than enough to make my birthday! Then, right before traveling, I started receiving wishes from all directions... cards by mail, facebook messages, cards by email, texts, emails, phone calls... and then a box from my other sister with homemade peanut butter cookies! whew! I sure do feel like a special girl!

Then, for my actual birthday, I decided to visit a friend for a nice quiet time, where we could maybe take a hike and go swimming. She baked me a cake. We made killer fajitas and lasagna (ricotta chesse from scratch!), watched some movies and took a trip to see a waterfall (so, the waterfall was dry for the season and the water was frigid... but we swam anyway! and it was a nice adventure!) The next day, we went up to visit another friend and her artisans, that were participating in a craft fair. I bought a couple of necklaces from them and later bought a fan for my hot house! I also cooked Thai food! Happy Birthday to me! Then, we got some urgent phone calls from another friend of mine, asking me to stop there on my way back... he was having some problems and really needed to talk. So, I added that on to my trip and arrived there to a little surprise party with three
more of my friends! And if you think that's enough, hold on... that night after arriving home, the Association I work with put together another little shin dig in my honor... I was exhausted, but there's always energy for a little craziness - including an American music cd mixed just for me, cake in the face (how did they learn about this idea!?), and a little more nonsense...







So, after all that funness, I clearly needed some down time!

I've been spending a lot of time at my house (with the heat, people don't much leave their houses between noon and 6pm)... I've built a new spice shelf, a compost bin (not quite up to par yet), and what was most time-consuming, I finished my green house! The bad part is now I don't have any plants to put in it :( They died... sad, I know. The African sun is intense. Anyway, I'm working on getting some herbs and more veggies. I've restarted the basil and broccoli and a friend here just gave me some flowers, so I've planted those too. Hopefully, now things will go better :)

Another important investment of time (that happened a while back, but still thrills me), my solar shower is now fully functional! It holds about 10 liters (2.5 gallons) of water on the roof and I have a hose running down into my "water room" inside the house. If I shower anytime between 11 and 8, the water is hot to warm :) and I've managed to get a quick shower down to about 3 liters of water! Speaking of water... that situation is increasingly difficult. The water has stopped coming to my street... don't know why, but it seems to be excepted, so I am now filling water at the association.. this is about one city block from my house. So, now instead of up the stairs, I'm carrying about 150-180 liters (40+ gallons) about one city block each week... hey, if it doesn't kill ya... right?... This is actually a minimum amount of water too... I do serious water conservation! No water goes down a drain unless it would have a distinct odor... I use it all... shower water, dish washing water, even the rinse from brushing my teeth... (all of those things go towards flushing the toilet in case you were worried...) you think about these things when you are carrying your water... feeling a little more "real" peace corps these days :)

and to give you a little preview of things to come... my parents are visiting for over 3 weeks in October! Big trip planning going on there. Plus, from September to November, there will be a SBD training group in Azrou and CBTing in my site with my association! I'm going to have 6 new volunteers working with me periodically during that time! crazy, huh?

Again, more pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/12973534@N04/

Pictures on Flickr :)

Ok, I put the pictures up on Flickr now too. I don' t like it as much because I can't put them in order, but you get the idea... Enjoy :) http://www.flickr.com/photos/12973534@N04/

Hi all. I just realized that you can only view my facebook photos if you are signed up for facebook... Sorry about that. I'll upload some to flicker soon and let you know when I do :)

Love & Peace ~

The Past Few Weeks of Travel...

These are a few images from my "In-Service Training (IST)" presentation I did on my community and work... The others are posted on my Facebook page with some other recent photos... http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1085541521

These women are really talented! We have just taken on the incredible and immense initiative to make only natural products! All of the colors are made from using plants with natural dying properties and the women do the whole process from sheering the sheep to making the rug... It's great and traditional and sustainable :)


I made this piece for an exhibition titled "World Peace and Friendship" in Agadir. I also exhibited it in Rabat and Marrakech on the way to Agadir! I had a lot of positive response from the public and other PCVs. It felt really nice to make something. This piece is titled "Gardinier" or Gardener in Moroccan French. The man was the gardener at the Spring Camp I did in Oujda. They are pencil drawing on the top, acrylic painting on the bottom and a dried plant composition in the middle. The frame is made from an old hammam door (cutting it up, not the whole door...)!

Here is a close up of the plant part...






So, here is a little timeline of the past few weeks (and crazy weeks they've been!)

Sun - Tues, May 25-27 Exhibitions in Rabat
Wed - Sat, May 28-31 Travel and Exhibitions in Marrakech
Sun - Sat, April 1 - 9 IST in Agadir and travel home

To put that in perspective, it was about 35 hours of travel time total...

So, the first exhibition in Rabat was at a church... It went really well! We sold almost all of the natural production, plus quite a bit of the other. Unfortunately, the next two days at the Institute in Rabat were rather uneventful... We realized it's best to exhibit on weekends when there are a lot of people in and out (we were relying on outside sources to set up these exhibitions and are now learning that they don't necessisily consider some of the most important factors, so we are currently reevaluating our collaboration with them, which is important anyway and would make the association more sustainable)

The exhibition in Marrakech was a huge shock to everyone (except for perhaps this outside source...) It was 40Km from Marrakech center in the mountains! It was an Ecological Festival! Well, it was beautiful and obviously a lot of money went into organizing it, but unfortunately, it wasn't well marketed and was poorly attended. The benefits however, turned out to outweigh the lack of sales. The association was able to make a lot of great new contacts and gather some important information for seeking assistance and information... those hopefully will prove most useful in the future. Check out the facebook page for a look at just how crazy this experience turned out to be...

In Agadir, it was fabulous to get back together with everyone! It was like a reward for our first 9 months! We stayed in a nice hotel on the beach with a swimming pool and hot showers, good food, full of the PCVs that we swore in with! What more could a girl ask for? **Here you see the view from Mahri and I's window... It was absolutely outstanding to spend time with Mahri again!

Here we are with Mahri's piece in the art show... She painted a mural in her home and this picture is the mural with some supplementary drawing added - lovely!

On top of all our fun and relaxation, IST was suprisingly helpful and insightful in many other ways. It was really good to hear about was others are doing in their sites and experiencing. It was good to talk with the new staff about our program and where we feel we are going and where we need support. All in all, it seemed very productive and I think everyone went home with a clearer picture of how to do our work. I wrote a Marketing Management & Promotion Plan for the association, which was a nice way to clarify what's been done and where we are hoping to move in the future...

And now I have just a little time left (about a week and a half) until I head back to the beach (hard life I know) to Essaouria! I am going to visit Matthew and Mahri before heading to the Gnawa Music Festival!

Oh!!! and I can't believe I almost forgot to mention... INTERNET @ HOME!!! Yes, it's finally up and running! and wireless nonetheless. I'm so glad the stress of that is over! It's been over 3 months! Praise God.

more exciting times...

I bet you are impressed I'm posting again after such a lapse before my last update! I'm keeping up!

Firstly, (I like that word and it seems to me that it is severely underused!.. thanks to "First of all") Taniya is a real trip! I like her most of the time. She is sweet sometimes and definitely amusing running around everywhere and dancing with chicken legs... (see video), but I haven't yet had much success with getting her to not scratch and bite... I've heard removing claws can be effective... but other suggestions? Anyway, she is young and plays all the time. It's quite cute.

So, the weeks are packed, as always, but these ones seem to have been a little more relaxing. I've spent a lot more time at home and that's been refreshing... it makes me feel like I am on top of things (more so anyway).

One day, when I was feeling a little down, Moumi decided we would take our bikes out on an excursion! Well, that was a great idea, but it was one of the windiest days here so far... so that, in combination with my lack of much aerobic exercise and the small mountain we were climbing on the way back made it a little difficult... The whole route was about 10 km and it was gorgeous. and it was right here riding on the outskirts of town :)

After that, we were to have another exhibition in the capital city, Rabat. It was scheduled to be a two day event, but what would have been a weekend trip turned into a 6-day adventure! I went to the doctor and the dentist, met my new Program Manager (and had a 3 hour talk) and then there was the exhibitions... The first day was in a city 40 km outside of Rabat, and although there were a lot of people there, it was clear we had targeted the wrong audience... We were at what seemed to be a programming session for new students at a University.. There were some professors there, but no one was particularly interested in us. The second day was at the Institute (same institute as before, but this time near the Teacher's lounge and Stables). This was a better location, but it started raining and we went inside the cafe/lounge. Not very happening in there when the weather is as such. So, this led us to the possibility of staying a few extra days and trying to sell some more. We did and we did :) We moved to the restaurant where most of the teachers eat and our sales definitely increased, but only at lunchtime... Until, the owner told us we should stick around because a lot more people come at night! The restaurant turned into a teacher's bar! We exhibited in a bar in Morocco! How crazy is that? The night was passing and no one was buying. The bar was to close at 9, so we started packing up and all of the sudden, there was a huge influx of people buying! I was in debate about if this was because they were all waiting to buy things when they left or if they were impulse buying at this point, but either way, it was nice to make some sales. The exhibition overall had more sales than the first exhibition, but when you consider the length of time we were there, the transportation and the percentages given to the artists, the association didn't make any money... So, we had some talks about what was good, what wasn't, how to make the percentages fair and equitable, publicity, etc. I think next time will be better. It's still early, so it's good that they are taking notice of where their weaknesses are and such.


The following weekend, the association took a group of involved kids on a "trip." I went too! We visited a waterfall. It was sort of a Moroccan tourist destination, but after a 4 hour drive there (geez!), we had a nice relaxing time, with a full on (brought a gas tank and cooked a tajine!) picnic. It was a lovely place and people there had built these little huts you could rent for about $5 (seemed like a lot for them, but with so many of us, it was more like 30 cents each). We stopped at a national park and ate breakfast on the way and stopped at a lake on the way back. It was a really long day, but everyone enjoyed it and it was a generous thing for the association to do for the kids (who otherwise might not be able to visit a place like that).


Another member of my "extended family" had a baby about 2 weeks ago. Mina - I guess she would be like a cousin. She lives on my street and after the baby was born, they again asked me what to name him! I was really surprised at this, since I had already named my host sister! I told them I didn't know. I didn't really know many boys names... Mostly, I was uncomfortable with the idea of naming someone's baby that I feel like I only sort of know... So, they named him - Omar. I took them the two outfits that Angela had sent before we knew my host sister was a girl and I gave his two older brothers two toy cars she had sent. No one else took the other boys presents, so they were especially excited. They always liked me a lot anyway, but this put it over the top. They make sure to see me in the alley and say hi everyday (sometimes while playing with the cars). They are adorable.

So, ever wondered what a baby party looks like? I was (of course) at the women's gathering (in the afternoon). There is a dinner party for the men... It's similar to a wedding reception in a house, I suppose... Many times after the eating, there is music and dancing, but both parties I've been to so far included neither... although, there were tea and cookies prior at both.

So, after all that, I stayed home for a while... but what is stranger... I ate lunch with a different family each day of the week! I didn't plan it at all, but it worked out that way. I've never done that before! Monday was the baby naming lunch (for lack of a better term - certainly wasn't a ceremony), Tuesday I unknowingly sat next to my neighbor at the hammam and she had me to lunch with her husband, Wednesday I visited my host family, Thursday I had lunch with the woman who I pay my rent to and sometimes does my laundry and her family, and Friday I had couscous with the barista of the cafe where I go for internet and his family (he had been insisting on this for weeks). They were all very nice and I didn't eat too much (for the most part, which tends to happen with Moroccan families...) Normally, I have two meals with my tutor each week, so it was particularly weird that I had 5 meals and none were with her or my counterpart, the president of the Association. People here certainly are very inviting and generous. Always welcome :)

This week, I also found out that I'm going to have another volunteer placed nearby towards the end of the month. He will now be my closest volunteer and he is will come to my town for all of his necessities - buying anything, hammam, internet, etc. He is a health volunteer and therefore has a very remote site, where he will be working to help them work towards clean and reliable water. So, I imagine, I'll be seeing him pretty frequently, up to twice a week. He seems nice and not crazy (smiles), so that's a good start... There are a few others being placed in the area as well, so I'm hoping to invite them all to my house next month for a welcoming party!

If you didn't believe me that it got warm here... this Sunday, I was planting seeds (broccoli, basil, and tomatoes!) on my roof for about 2 hours and received a more than mild sunburn... It actually made me flu-like ill for a couple of nights. But with a few meds, I'm as good as new and looking forward to my new tan :)

A note that I don't think everyone would be interested in reading, but it's so worthwhile... so, Women, Read On! I have just completed my first week wearing the "Diva Cup" and it was great! It's an environmentally friendly, efficient, and convenient alternative to tampons... Check it out. www.divacup.com And if you need more convincing, do a little research about the ongoing problems tampons cause in waterways...

And... BONUS!!! There is an exhibition coming up among PCVs in June here. I've started drawing again! I also plan to paint and incorporate some glass! Something to show for it soon... The drawing is going well (and making me happy!)

Again, more pictures posted at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12973534@N04/

Peace and Love to you all... send me a note :)