A 2-month update!

Well, a lot has certainly happened in the last 2 months since I moved into my house! For one thing, I do everything myself!!! Cooking, shopping, cleaning, collecting water and personal hygiene alone seem to take up over half of each day! Then if I try to fit in things like exercise, email and language learning, it's hard to find time to work! So, with the travel I've been doing, BEGINing to find this balance has been the basis for everyday life. Then, there are times when one struggle seems to take over several days... for example: I have lost water in my house almost entirely now, so I have to go outside to the tap to gather it... well, this tap is also shared by three other families, so some days, the line of filling jugs doesn't make it to me before the water gets cut off! So, once I went three days before I was able to fill my buckets... Another struggle has been to get internet working in my house. It was no problem to get the connection (about a month and a half ago) but getting that connection to be recognized by my macintosh has consumed the better part of weeks... (and still to no avail) but even so, comparing these struggles to the things I imagined I would face as a Peace Corps Volunteer... they seem so trivial.. I mean I can have an internet connection in my house!!! Can I really complain? Yes, I can (and do at times), but I shouldn't.

Now, on from everyday life and onto the big events! In February, my host mother had her baby! They don't name babies right away. They have a baby naming ceremony a week after the birth where the Imam (religious leader) comes and gives the baby it's name. The day after she was back from the hospital (the day after birth), I visited and they asked me what I thought would be a nice name... I told them I liked the name Aya. Then, came the baby naming... they told the Imam my suggestion and so it was!!! I named my new baby sister! Aya, I found out, is a modern Muslim name and is what they call the verses in the Koran.


A couple of weeks after the baby was born and I was mostly settled in my house, I decided to have people over. I had my tutor over with her friends one evening and then my host family over the next evening. Around 5:00 pm each day, Moroccan families have "casqrout" or snack. Sometimes it's just tea and bread. Sometimes it gets quite elaborate. My tutor's are always pretty elaborate... So, I went all out! We had 10 herb tea, bread/butter/cheese, olives, figs, strawberries, oatmeal raisin cookies (oatmeal is a novelty in Morocco... haven't met a Moroccan yet that was familiar with it), and brownies (they were more like cake though because I used Moroccan chocolate, which isn't very chocolately). I also had my wood burning furnace going, so it was very cozy. Everything was great and all were impressed! It gave everyone an opportunity to see my house and it gave me an opportunity to show a little hospitality back to them.

So, from the above, Yes, I bought a stove! My sister Angela's gift of an oven thermometer made me excited to get one! This has a little story too... The ovens here are interesting. They are basically metal boxes with holes in the back and gas burners through the middle under the shelf. So, the first time I light the burners, I smell paint fumes. This happened with my furnace too, so I assumed I just had to let the paint burn off... I opened all the windows and waited about a half hour. The smell wasn't fading, so I took another look.... oops! Turns out I was burning the wall this whole time!!! The gas was on too high and flames were shooting out the back of the oven and burning the wall! After that, I began moving the oven away from the wall when I bake! Aside from the wall though, I haven't burnt anything! Big thanks for the thermometer! Other volunteers are always having problems with their ovens... Aside, from the brownies and cookies, I've also baked cornbread and scones (twice!). Yum!

I also commissioned one of the women of the Association to make me a rug of scrap material (you know how I'm all about recycling!) and it turned out quite nice (and warm!) Here she is with it half made on her loom.





I've been on some big trips too! For the four day weekend last month (celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed), I went to Marrakech to meet up with Mahri (my best friend from training). To our delight two other friends came as well. It was a long trip (about 11 hours for me), but well worth it! It was so wonderful to be roommates again ~ relaxing, and just talking. Marrakech is such a tourist destination that we didn't even feel like we were in Morocco anymore. It was a lot of fun to explore leisurely and to eat ice cream!!! We went to the Yves Saint Lauren Garden, which was lovely, taking in some amazing vegetation and lots of pictures! We ate in the intense and overcrowded Djema al fna one night although we were very money conscious, we accidently drank some coffee that cost over $3! I know this sounds fine, but it was 5 times the most expensive coffee would have been in our sites and still 3 times what it cost elsewhere in Marrakech. Oh well, at least it was just coffee. The trip was really relaxing and overall delightful! Next, we are hoping to take a camel journey to the dunes together!





Shortly after returning from that fantastic trip, I set out to the most north eastern part of the country - Oujda, to assist with a Moroccan Spring Camp for teenagers. I assisted an intermediate English class as well as leading a "Media Club." Now, media was not my first (or second or third) choice of clubs to lead, but it was what the Director requested and turned out to be the most popular club of the camp. We made a short film in 4 days! It was great to see the kids take it on as their own project, after helping them establish roles of director, screenwriters, actors, etc. In the end, the film could've used some more time and focus, but I was proud of everyone for pulling together and getting it finished. Other interesting notes about camp: I met a kid who talked to me about vampires and gothic music (in Arabic!) Another boy threw a "love airplane" at me during English class (which said "You are beautiful") and spurred a full on paper wad throwing frenzy... We had kids crab walking, wheel barreling, tug of warring (which turned out to be unmanageable, but fun) and Boom ShakaRaka-ing! Moroccan staff REALLY love music and singing a lot - they have amazing energy! But, we (the 8 PCVs involved) were exhausted everyday, with only about an hour and a half off during the day (in which we usually were planning lessons over coffee), getting up at 7:30 am and working until 11:30 pm. I also learned... I don't really like working with kids or with youth programming... especially when tired.

However, one day, we took a field trip to Saidia, which is a beach town on the Mediterranean. It was gorgeous (although very windy and a little cold); it was so nice to see the sea! We could see Algeria from the beach!

On my way home from Spring Camp, I met up with some friends and we took a gorgeous 5 hour hike through some of the lovliest land I've seen yet in Morocco!

















And then, returning from 2 weeks away, I was greeted at the post office by two amazing boxes from my family! Everything from Easter Candy and Molasses to a fitted flannel sheet and new slippers! My family is SO AWESOME! I Love You!!! Thanks for being so supportive and loving. You're the best!

This past weekend, I visited a friend for her birthday (about an hour and half hike from Azrou - lovely!) and did a little exploring around Azrou (which means "rock") - so climbed the Big Rock there and encountered a lion...






















AND!!! picked up my new KITTEN! 2 months ago, the nicest cat in Morocco (owned by a rug shop owner in Azrou) had kittens. She had three and the 3rd one was for me... sadly, that kitten died the day after it was born. So, I thought I was on my own to find another, until (also unfortunately) one of the other "to-be owners" was a PCV who had to be medically separated and a kitten was again available for me! So, Sunday, Taniya (tan-ee-ya) returned home with me. *Name explanation: Taniya means "second" in dialect. She is "Laila Taniya" Laila, which is my Moroccan name, means "night." She is black, so you can see how this is fitting... She was also the second kitten born. I held her all night and morning... she is so tiny and frightened, but she seems to be adjusting now. Soon she'll be gnawing chicken heads and using the turkish toilet - like a well-adapted cat!

And Finally - let me tell you about how exciting work is!! First of all - we have 3 more exhibitions scheduled this month! One in Rabat, one in Konitra (city outside Rabat) and one in Meknes. Next month, possibilities include an exhibition in Ifrane, an agriculture workshop in Khenifra, and the beginning of the grant writing for the REALLY BIG PROJECT - "TDART." Tdart means "house" in Tamazight (the Berber dialect of this area). This is an amazing project that I can hardly believe is even possible, but it does seem to be materializing! Land has been contracted to the Association for this project in a small town 5 kilometers from my site (on the main road). The "Berber House" will include a showroom, areas for artisans to work (weavers, knitters, painters, potters..), an office, kitchen, lodging, showers, a garden with plants for natural dyes and medicinal herbs, animals for work and sales, AND this will be solar powered, water will be well drawn and recycled/filtered through the property. (That's scraping the surface of the project). The hope is that this is completed before my 2 years is up... So, by December 2009!

And to make happy happier ~ SPRING has SPRUNG! Wildflowers are spreading. Warmth is returning. Life is bright!













More photos uploaded at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12973534@N04/