Goats in trees, flies in ears, and a one dollar bill

My new henna...this is the traditional Berber way of doing henna...I feel like a kid with fingerpaints and I love it! :)

The bookshelf in my room....my host family was taken aback by the number of books.  I love books!

On our mountain hike last week

For the first time since arriving in site, I feel as if there are no major events, or incidents to report.  Maybe it is a good sign!  Perhaps I am finding a sense of normalcy in my life here.  I am getting into a routine that granted, can often be interrupted, but that is what keeps life interesting!  This has been an exciting weekend, and although I was not home for it, I think it was still exciting!  Saturday was Mom and Dad’s 28^th wedding anniversary!  And then Sunday was Father’s Day.  All weekend I liked to think that my parents were having a fabulous time in Cincinnati at the Brooks and Dunn concert! 

 

Since my daily events are beginning to resemble a routine, I figure I can relate that routine.  One of the things PCV’s told us during training is that we will have a lot of time to sleep when we first arrive at our sites, since our current work is to improve our TashelHit and to integrate into the community.  I, unfortunately, do not agree with the sleep thing.  I often get 6 or 7 hours of sleep in a night, which, as many people know, does not make me happy.  I need 8 hours! 

 

So on Mon, Wed, and Thurs, I head to the sbitar (health clinic) in the morning.  Since it is 5km away, it takes me an hour to get there and an hour to get back.  So each time, I spend about 3 hours there.  At the sbitar, I stay with the nurse/midwife, Saadia, in the consultation room.  Most women in the community prefer to see her over the male nurse and male doctor.  My community is truly blessed with a female member of the health staff.  Women come in for various medical issues, and often to bring their children.  Wednesday is vaccination day, so the morning is filled with BCG, Measles, Polio, DTC and Hep B shots.  I have never spent so much time with such little babies!  Stephanie would go nuts! 

 

Quite often the morning also consists of informal health education to new mothers.  There are many birthing traditions here, including putting a form of make-up on a new baby’s eyes, and henna on the umbilical cord.  Some of the traditions present considerable health risks, so Saadia is able to try and address the issues while the babies are being vaccinated. 

 

I usually head back at around lunch time, and then spend the afternoon working on creating health lessons to use in the future, and spending time with the women and girls in the community. 

 

Sometimes in the evenings I try to watch an episode of House, which my parents graciously sent me, because dinner is not until 10 or 10:30.  And then I sleep….of course, doing a thorough check for creepy crawlies before bed. 

 

On Tuesdays I go to Tafraoute for the day, where I can find internet, a sandwich, some coffee, and chocolate.  Once I live on my own, I will also be going to Tafraoute for food shopping, since their souk day is Tuesdays. 

Fridays are a bit up in the air.  I would like it to be an “in the community” day, where I will spend the day with various families, but I also need to start TashelHit tutoring, so I may do that.  We shall see! 

And of course weekends are weekends.  Time to relax, get some reading done, or go on a weekend trip out of my site. 

Re: The title of this entry

Goats in trees:  Who knew goats could jump?  Let alone jump into trees?  Well they can!  It is the funniest thing to see a herd of goats, half of which are up in trees eating the fruits.  Hehe!

Flies in ears: Yeah a fly just flew into my ear.  SERIOUSLY?  Why me?  Trying to get it out just encouraged it to take up refuge in my ear...but then it finally left.  But yuck!

One dollar bill:  Since the closest store to my community is an hour away, my little host brother (14) has become an entrepreneur.  He started selling candy, gum, and other misc items to the community in the evenings.  Yesterday I bought 2 bags of “Kurrachitos” from him, the closest thing I have found to Cheetos.  J  Together they costed 2 Dirham….which translates to about $.20.  Since I didn’t have change, I brought him a $1 bill instead, and asked if he would accept it as payment.  To see this kid’s eyes light up was priceless.  Something as simple as a dollar bill just absolutely intrigued him.  Now 24 hours later, I am quite sure the whole community has seen Omar’s one dollar bill.