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/