One Year

Happy one year in country to me! ☺ March 4, 2008, I arrived in Morocco. This week, 60 new trainees arrived, beginning the journey I began a year ago. It is crazy how fast time flies! I haven’t had much time to celebrate, but I hope to do so this weekend with my PCV friends in the region. In fact, we are planning a 24 Season 2 marathon, complete with salsa and nacho cheese from America. ☺ I know everyone back home was hooked on 24, so I thought I might as well give it a shot. Dad sent me Seasons 1 and 2. This week when the weather was too awful for me to walk to the town center, I stayed at home, watching hours upon hours of Season 1. It literally stole my life from me for 3 days. As much as I tried to convince Chandler to make me stop watching, he just wasn’t very persuasive.

With regard to the Women’s Center, I am waiting approval from my office in Rabat. According to my programming staff, it has been approved by one of the two people whose approval I need. As soon as I have PC Rabat approval, it will be sent to Washington, where it will be posted on the Peace Corps website. At that point anyone back home can go online and donate. The girls in my village are extremely excited that things are moving along, and we can’t wait to start construction!

This past Sunday was our region’s AIDS Skit Competition. Brooke, a Youth Development volunteer had been organizing the event since November, but unfortunately it kept being postponed. Finally, we decided to have the event on Sunday March 1st. On Thursday, my local nurse came to “play practice” with my students, and helped them make their skit more accurate and informative. On Friday, I confirmed travel arrangements with the teacher and guardian who would accompany the students to Tiznit. There is a mailman who travels between Tiznit and Tafraoute every day delivering mail to the post offices along the way. Brooke sent travel money for my students with the mailman, to drop off at my site on the way to Tiznit. So Friday I went to the post office early in the morning to wait for Ahmed. Unfortunately, he passed right by me and kept on going. I had to get up and run down the street chasing him and calling to him before he stopped and remembered to give me the money. I must have been quite the sight, running down the street.

Saturday, Brooke, Brian (a volunteer from another province who helped out), and I met in Tiznit to confirm arrangements with the people there. Things were looking good until Saturday night at 7pm, when we got a call from the doctor who was supposed to judge the competition. Apparently he wasn’t going to be able to make it. And then at 9pm the principal of Brooke’s youth center called to say that the students from her site weren’t coming. As we went to bed Saturday night, none of us was expecting a successful event. In fact, there was talk of just not showing up and going to the beach instead.

Well, Sunday morning I got a call from the doctor who bailed. Apparently he felt bad and had called another doctor to take his place. Thank goodness! So, although we didn’t have Brooke’s students, we still had a phenomenal event. I was so proud of my students I thought I would burst!!! These kids rarely get the chance to leave the mountains and spend time in the city. They also don’t usually have the opportunity to hang out with kids from Tiznit. Overall, the day was extremely successful, with plays by students from my site and Tiznit, dance numbers, an AIDS talk by the doctor, AIDS discussions, AIDS activities, and an awards ceremony.


Here is the stage with our banner advertising the event


Brooke leading a true/false activity about AIDS


Me, the teachers, and the students from my site who attended. I may get in trouble with PC for posting this picture.....but we'll see :)


And then we went to Agadir and celebrated our success, American style. :)