Happy December, Happy Thanksgiving, and Mbruk L’Eid Kbir!

It is quite the festive time for me here in Morocco, for I’ve found I get to celebrate both Moroccan and American holidays.  How fun!

 

Regarding Thanksgiving-

How can I even begin to express how thankful I am for so many blessings in my life.  I am thankful that I woke up Thanksgiving morning to see snow falling in my village.  It didn’t stick, but it was nice to see.  I am thankful for Rachid, my Program Assistant, who was passing through the area for site development, and stopped by, picking up not only me, but my next door neighbor and her baby, and taking them to the clinic for a vaccination before we headed off.  I am thankful for the students at the middle school where I taught on Thanksgiving, but even MORE thankful for the principal who came in to make sure the students were behaving themselves. 

I am thankful that after my electricity went out Thanksgiving evening, it came on again.  J  And I am so very thankful for my family who called on Thanksgiving, and recorded me a message on Facebook (although they all seemed to be a bit unsure of the video?).  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family who takes care of me and thinks of me, even when I am a million miles away.  I am thankful for those letters and packages that always brighten up my day, even if it is just a short note saying hello.

I am thankful to live so close to such wonderful Peace Corps Volunteers.  On Friday I headed to Tiznit for a meeting with all of the volunteers in the area, and our new Country Director, David Lillie.  David arrived in September, and has made numerous positive impressions on us already.

 

We had a very productive and enjoyable meeting on Friday in Tiznit, and then a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration on Saturday.  At 7am Saturday morning, Meredith, Hanneke, and I woke up to start cooking our portion of the meal.  At 2pm we brought green bean casserole, sweet potato somosas, fresh oat rolls, persimmon pudding, roasted chestnuts, and baked camembert, to Amelia’s.  Thanks to one of the American PC staff members, we had pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce.  Thanks to a friendly butcher, we had a nice big turkey, and thanks to Amelia’s neighbor, we had an oven to cook it in.  We had 12 volunteers, 3 Moroccans, 1 American ex-pat, and 1 Canadian ex-pat present for an unforgettable celebration.  We ended the evening with an enjoyable musical session, listening and singing along to the various guitar players and singers in the group.

 

I am also thankful for the many people here in my community and in my region that are in the process of working with me to build a women’s center for the girls and women in my village.  It all started when I did a “needs assessment” with the women and girls in June.  They unanimously said they wanted a neddi (women’s center) in the community.  Recently, with the support of Peace Corps staff, I have been able to get the ball rolling.

 

For the past month, I have been meeting weekly with the girls from my community.  There are 14 girls (not in school, unmarried) participating.  Their ages range from 14-26, and education levels range from 0 years of schooling to 6 years of schooling.  And I love them!  They are ready to put forth a lot of work and effort to make this neddi happen.

 

Fortunately, we have gotten a commitment from the local association to donate the land for the neddi, and an architect and technician to design.  Recently I got a commitment from the Ministry of Social Development to donate various sewing machines, tables, chairs, and blackboards once the neddi construction has begun.  In addition, I am working with the Ministry of Health to include a Health Room in the neddi, where women could take their children to see the doctor a few times a month.  A lot is still in the air on this, but I am very excited to be working on a project about which the women care so deeply.

 

….a week later…..

 

So here I am, Monday evening, listening to Christmas music, heating up water for a bath, waiting for the dough of the cinnamon rolls I am making to finish rising, and getting ready to head over to my host family’s house for some Eid lKbir bread-making.  Eid lKbir is tomorrow!  This is the most important holiday in Islam.  Each Muslim family slaughters a sheep, like Abrahim did instead of sacrificing his son, Isaac.  Families get together and celebrate by eating the sheep (organs first!) over a period of 3 or more days.  Overall, the festivities remind me a lot of Christmas preparation.  In souk (town center), the past 2 days have been busier than I’ve EVER seen!  Family in from Casablanca, Rabat, France, all making their final holiday purchases.  The only difference (well, one of the differences) is that there is no gift giving.  The holiday (like most Muslim holidays) has a complete lack of materialism (except for dressing up), and focuses on family and the religious implications of the holiday.   

 

I am guessing tonight’s bread-making will be reminiscent of  the Eid after Ramadan.  Hopefully this time we won’t be up until 3am!  Today I gave in to something I have been avoiding a long time as well, in preparation for Eid.  I bought a pom-pom skirt and pom-pom shoes!  This is the traditional dress of the women from my village, and I usually borrow a skirt for special occasions, but I decided it is about time I buy one myself.  The skirt honestly makes me laugh out loud.  To the women here, it is absolutely normal to wear a black skirt decorated with colorful pom-poms.  The shoes are quite comfortable, and decorated with those same pom-poms.  I have been resisting because they are quite expensive.  However, thinking about it in USD, the shoes and skirt together come out to about $35, so I can’t complain too much. 

 

Today’s shopping trip came after a lovely weekend with 3 of my fellow Volunteer friends.  We spent the weekend together, baking Christmas cookies, listening to Christmas music, and watching Christmas movies!  We even found a garland-like thing to hang in my house.  And glitter to decorate homemade ornaments.  It was a great time, getting us all into the holiday spirit. 

 

The past week went well, with successful health lessons in the middle school.  December 1 is World AIDS Day, so I taught about AIDS in each of the middle school classes, and each student got an AIDS ribbon.  The days I wasn’t teaching I spent meeting with various people concerning the neddi (women’s center) project.  It turns out the Ministry of Social Development will be very helpful in supplying equipment.  I spent a good few hours at the Ministry one day, enjoying the company of like-minded Moroccan professionals.

 

The rest of this week will be spent enjoying the holiday festivities, and then taking my poor kitten to get fixed.  Poor little Chandler.  He has no idea what is coming!

 

….3 days later…..

 

Well, Eid is over, and all I can say is that I have, in the past 3 days, eaten organ kebabs, stomach tagine, and sheep head couscous.  And I am still alive.  J       

Fall in Morocco

11/14/08

 

This afternoon, as I was hiking around with two of the girls from my douar, laughing and joking around, talking about the potential community center/neddi we want to build in the douar, I had a moment, the type of moment that are increasingly few and far between, where I could take myself out of the reality of the present and assume a birds-eye view.  I started laughing, and could barely stop.  It just AMAZES me that this little rural Moroccan village, with its covered women, traditional food, donkeys, sheep, dirt roads, and mud houses, THIS village is my temporary home!  I no longer think twice about sitting on the floor to eat, eating with my hands, shooting out the rapid-fire greetings that are used every time I see someone, walking around like a sore thumb among girls wearing matching black skirts and white veils.  It just seems so normal now, when I remember how ludicrous this situation is, I burst into a fit of giggles. 

 

It is also refreshing to have those moments, because along with being integrated into a completely different lifestyle comes the necessity to deal with that lifestyle’s problems.  Their problems are my problems.  Like the 26 year old girl who hasn’t found a husband and is close to the “too old to marry” age, like the neighbor’s cow that is about to give birth, like the fact that the tomatoes available in souk are getting more and more pathetic looking, like the wedding that will take place in a neighboring douar next week.  Who will attend?  What will everyone wear?  Is the bride really 20 years younger than the groom? 

 

And then there’s the newest biiiiig problem.  My disclaimer is that this is probably a bigger problem for me than any other person in my douar.  Last week (while I was at in-service training), it rained for 5 days, and someone forgot to close the lid to the community well.  Consequently, a muddy river formed and flowed right into our drinking water.  So now there is murky brown water coming out of my tap.  Now, some people can just take their donkeys half a mile down the way to the nearest clean well, but unfortunately I do not have a donkey.  I asked a couple of women what to do, and they suggested buying my water (and dragging it 3 miles up the mountain to my house?!?)  So……I’m on this no bathing, no laundry, cooking little kick.  I am hoping someone will take pity on my and share some of that donkey water.  Some people estimate it will take a week for the “water people” to fix this.  Others estimate a month or more.  Hm.

 

Who could forget that yes I have not updated my blog in about 30 million years, and I apologize.  Some of it is the feeling too normal here, nothing seems worth writing about.  Also, I have spent a lot of time working on the beginnings of some of the projects I plan on organizing. 

 

As a short recap, in October, I stayed in my site for the majority of the month, leaving one weekend for an HIV/AIDS training of trainers in Essaouira (look it up, on the coast, GORGEOUS town that I fell in love with).  In my time in my site, I successfully obtained official Ministry permission to work in the local schools, so I taught health lessons at each of three schools in October.  All but one went very well (10 lessons total).  The kids were very participatory and seemed to have fun.  The primary school kids learned about dental health, and the middle school kids learned about disease transmission.  The one that didn’t go well?  Well, let me just say I have never been so close to hitting someone!  Middle school kids can be a bit of a handful, and this was a class of 30 boys.  Yikes. 

The first week of November began our sixth month in site, and a week-long in-service training in Azrou (up in the mountains, between Fes and Meknes).  On the way to Azrou a couple of my friends and I stopped in Rabat for the night, where we ate at TGI Fridays (oh, it is so good, a reall American hamburger!  But no bacon allowed) and ended up chatting with a former NFL player, Rusty Russell, who now owns part of TGI Fridays Morocco.  Any FREE REFILLS!!!  Fridays is the only venue in the ENTIRE COUNTRY where there are free refills.  Ahhhhhhh. 

 

Training went very well, and was very informational.  We received a lot of site-specific help, and preparation for our pending projects.  It was also great to see all 54 volunteers from our stage once again.  And MOST importantly, I experienced the happiest moment of my life thus far (no joke) on Weds morning around 4 am (Morocco time), when our room of 54 volunteers, and a few American staff members saw Wolf Blitzer in all his glory, come on with a CNN Projection, stating that Barack Obama was elected the next president of the United States of America.  It still gives me chills to think about that moment.  I could barely participate in the excitement around me, as I tried, unsuccessfully, to fight back large quantities of tears of joy.  From that point on,  all week, anywhere we went, we would hear “American?  Yah?  OBAMA!  YEAH!”  It is the greatest feeling, to be in a foreign country, and to be sought out as an American for a positive reason.  Even my barely literate host sister sent me a text message, just saying “OBAMA.” 

 

After training was over, a bunch of volunteers and I went to Fes, where we spent 2 days enjoying each other’s company and exploring the ancient city of Fes.  Along with trying many foods unique to Fes, I ate a camel burger for the first time since arriving to Morocco.  We also saw the tanneries of Fes, which smell absolutely rancid, but are very interesting to watch.  It is amazing that in this day in age, when so much is done by machines, there are still tanneries hand-working animal skin to make leather, and dying that leather with crushed plants and berries.  Very interesting indeed.

 

After being gone for 12 days, it was wonderful to be back in site.  I think Chandler (my cat) missed me, but he seemed to have a good time with my neighbor/friend, Najma, who came over to feed him and play with him every day.  Now, I am focused on keeping up with the various events/projects/lessons I am working on before Weds when I have to go to Rabat for a vaccination at the Peace Corps Office.

 

The first of December is World AIDS Day, so I had Peace Corps send me a World AIDS Day kit, consisting of information in Arabic, solidarity ribbons, and various other resources.  My plan is to have World AIDS Day themed lessons in my middle school the first week of December.  This is still a maybe, because it is generally unacceptable to discuss HIV/AIDS in co-ed classrooms.  We shall see.

This week I am meeting with the “girls” in my village, defined as not in school and un-married, to talk about the community center/neddi they want.  First, I will hunt down the local association.  Without their buy-in, this won’t be possible.  Any grants obtained through Peace Corps must have the partnership of a local organization, and at least 25% contribution (monetary or in-kind).  Unfortunately, my local girls do not have the power to help sponsor a grant, so a lot of this rests on some local men who don’ particularly care if the girls have a neddi.  We shall see.  J

More long term, my region is looking into sponsoring a HIV/AIDS candlelight vigil in May, and organizing a GGLOW (Guys and Girls Leading Our World) Camp over the summer for the youth of the area.

Even more exciting is that I recently found out my elementary school from home is going to do a fundraiser to potentially send over First Aid Kits for the families in my community.  I hope to organize a field day in the spring, where the students will learn about First Aid and safety, and have First Aid Kits to take home to their families.

 

Needless to say, I am being kept busy, and happy!     

EID!

Eid Mubarak Saaid! Happy Eid.  So it is 10:15am, on Eid lftr day.   I would like to still be sleeping now, due to circumstances I will explain in a bit; however, I just woke up to someone banging on my door, yelling “IMANEEEEE NKRRRR!!!” (Erin, wake up!).  It was Hajja, my host dad’s brother’s wife, who came to our douar early this morning to celebrate Leid.  What I learned from this is that different holiday rules in apply in the US versus here.  At least in our family, waking people up Christmas morning was perfectly acceptable until Stephanie and I reached a certain age.  Now it is quite forbidden; one must wait until the whole family has naturally woken up.  Well here it isn’t quite like that.  Yesterday when I was leaving (at 3am), I said I will sleep in tomorrow, and my host mom said I couldn’t because it is Leid.  Hmm.  Interesting. 

 

It really is fun celebrating a holiday in another country, a holiday I have never celebrated before.  This is the end of Ramadan holiday, and it depends on the presence of the new moon, so the date is not set ahead of time.  Yesterday afternoon I went over to my host family’s and we broke fast and watched the news to see if today would be the end of Ramadan.  We found out at about 9pm, and I figured that meant, oh, fun, and let’s go to bed soon.  Oh no, not for the women at least.  It meant, pull out the 30kilos of flour, giant box of yeast, and make some Eid bread!  Yikes!  So my host sister Fadma and I spent a couple hours kneading this giant mass of soon-to-be bread.  We literally had to stand up and keep punching it it was so big.  Then, at about 11pm, we went with Ijjoi (host mom) to the neighbor’s house, where they have an oven made for this very occasion.  It is a giant mud oven, and the loaves of bread cook in just 3 or 4 minutes on hot coals covered with clay pieces.  The oven holds about 10 loaves at once, and that giant mass of bread of ours made about 30 loaves of bread.  The problem is, the whole surrounding area of houses had to use this one oven, so there was a very long line of bread mass when we arrived.  Needless to say, everyone helps everyone when her bread, and all of us had finished at about 3am. 

 

Meanwhile, we kept running the finished loaves back to the house, and at one point we heard a car.  Fadma’s brother, Brahim, was driving in from Rabat (13 hours) for Laid, so we went to go say hello to him.  Earlier in the day, her other brother, Saaid arrived from Casablanca.  So we went into the house, and what did we see?  Well, Brahim, but also Arquia, Khadija, and Arquia’s two children, Sana and Omar.  They all live up north and although they told their mom they couldn’t make it down for Laid, they surprised her!!!  How sweet!!  It is funny, it isn’t even my family, and I was so excited for the surprise.  

Rain, VSN, Work

 9/18/08

So today is a good day.  We had our first big rain since I arrived in site; it has been raining all day long!  (Apparently it hasn't rained like this in 3 years!) The best part is….I only have 2 leaks in my whole house!  I had pictured buckets everywhere, catching the rain coming into my house….but so far so good.  There is a leak under my front door, and then one in the hall ceiling.  But we are talking slow drips…nothing a little bucket can’t take care of!  So that’s good. 

 

This morning was actually my first time back at my site in an entire week!  This past week I had VSN (Volunteer Support Network) training about 12 hours away, near Taznakht.  VSN is a volunteer-based peer support group for Morocco PCVs.  We had a great time, 6 of us being trained in basic counseling skills.  We had 3 great trainers, and had a lot of fun altogether.  The training was at a Small Business Development Volunteer’s house, a sprawling traditional house that made a great training site.  Her women’s association weaves carpets…..absolutely gorgeous!  I plan on saving for one to buy before I finish my service here.  It is sad though, because the women do not get a lot of foot traffic through their association, so like in many places in Morocco, they give these incredible carpets to store owners who sell them in Marrakech for absurd amounts of money.  In exchange, the women receive goods like flour or sugar….but NOTHING compared to the price the store owners get in ‘Kech. 

 

Pardon my digression…..so yes, we had a great week, with some great food.  Turns out our hosting volunteer is an amazing cook so we had Penne a la Vodka, Lasagna, Coconut curry, and stir fry as dinners.  DELICIOUS.  Of course I, along with 3 other volunteers, had to miss out on some delicious lunches (Ramadan is half way over!), but the dinners were phenomenal. 

 

So on my way back to site yesterday I stopped in Tiznit to meet with some Ministry people, and had a very successful day.  After meeting with the Ministry of Health rep, and the Ministry of Education Health Education rep, I am officially approved to begin teaching in the schools here.  I will be working in 5 schools, 4 primary schools of about 25-30 kids each, and a junior high with 150 kids (only 22 girls L ).  It took some badgering, but I got the Ministry of Education rep to send out my authorization this week so I can meet the kids in the next 2 weeks and begin teaching in October.  I will be doing lessons ranging from dental hygiene, to nutrition, to first aid, to reproductive health. 

 

In addition, a Youth Development Volunteer in my region and I have been discussing the plans for an HIV/AIDS awareness event with the youth of the region.  There will be an AIDS skit competition, which will be videotaped and compiled to make a video for PCVs to use throughout the country.  The YD Volunteer has secured the venue and met with the local AIDS organization in Tiznit, and I got a commitment from the Ministry of Health to participate in the event.  We are shooting for 2 days in November…..we’ll see…inshallah all will work out.      

 

 

Me and little Chandler watching Friends during Ramadan :) Guess who his favorite character is?

Chandler!

Blog 9/4/08

 

Well here I am, sitting in my house typing up a long overdue blog entry, listening to my stomach growling, with little Chandler Tamast Bing lying in my lap.  My hunger is due to today being Day 3 of Ramadan.  Although as a foreigner and Christian, I am not required by any means to fast for Ramadan, many of my fellow PCVs and I decided to fast with the people of our communities.  I am fasting in solidarity with my Moroccan counterparts; however, I also support the concept of forcing oneself to take a small glimpse into the lives of those who do not have food and water easily accessible to them.  It has been interesting so far! 

 

This past weekend I accompanied the midwife from my health clinic to visit her family in Taroudant (5-6 hours away).  We spent a couple of days with her family, where I obtained a new family member, a 12 week old kitten.  Ever since Chandler was born, I have been waiting for him to be old enough to bring home with me.  Regarding his name, he acts a lot like Chandler Bing, from Friends, but he was born in a douar named Tamast, hence Chandler Tamast Bing.  Seriously, I cannot even describe how cute this kitten is!  He is very cuddly, and our favorite game is what I like to call “lovefest,” where he curls up on me purring while I pet him for infinite periods of time.  Makes both of us happy!  I am proud of how he has held up over the traumatizing experiences the past few days.  First, I separated the poor guy from his mom, brought him in this big scary plastic cat carrier, squished him in multiple taxis in the scorching heat to my site.  We spent the first night at my site at my midwife’s house, so little Chandler was getting settled when I uprooted him again yesterday to take him to my house.  And then I tortured him a bit more by giving him a bath and picking off lots of icky fleas.  Needless to say, I think he has forgiven me, although he gets nervous at loud sounds.  And he picked up the litter box thing in less than a day!  My smart little kitty!

 

I feel like a parent bragging about her child!  J So back to Ramadan.  Day 1 was the travel day from Taroudant to my site, and wow, that was tough!  Fasting means nothing can pass your lips from the morning prayer (4:30am) until the 2^nd to last prayer (7pm).  This includes food, water, even brushing your teeth.  So my first waterless day was horrible, but it has gotten progressively easier.  You break fast as soon as you hear the evening prayer call.  Traditionally here, people break fast with dates and a glass of water.  Then they eat harira (a light soup), figs, bread, and shebekia (a DELICIOUS pastry made especially during Ramadan).  After 15 hours, all I wanted to do is drink 20 liters of water, but I was warned that I could get very sick very easily that way. 

 

A little later in the evening, people make dinner (10pm-ish), usually a filling tajine.  Then its off to bed!  4am is wakeup time, to eat before another day of fasting begins.  I think most people eat tajine or couscous in the morning, but so far I’ve avoided too much heavy food.  Its hard to force meat and vegetables at 4am!  And then its back to bed and fasting begins.  And people are so generous and welcoming during Ramadan.  I mean, Morocco is generally a very hospitable country, but during Ramadan, families and friends come together to break fast together.  I broke fast the first day with my midwife, I will today at my host family’s house, and tomorrow at some extended family’s in souk.  It truly is a great experience.  

 

It is just so interesting, because the whole country changes for Ramadan.  Work hours change to 9-3, since there is no lunch break, cafes are closed, and people are just a little calmer and move a little slower.  And stores stock up on dates, figs, and shebekia.  It makes me think of my muslim friends back home who fast.  It is hard enough to fast when everyone around you is doing the same thing, but if the person next to you is chowing down on Taco Bell while you are fasting?  Can’t even imagine!

 

In other news, I am sure word has gotten around, my wristlet was stolen a few weeks ago in Agadir.  Of course, it happened to not only have all of my money and my credit cards, but my passport too.  Now, I welcome any lectures regarding the wisdom of my friend and I walking to our hotel at 5am instead of taking a taxi.  Fortunately, she was able to lend me some money, and my parents were able to wire me some more, so the following week I headed up to Casablanca (its far!!) to apply for a new passport.  Ironically, a friend who accompanied me to Casa and I had to spend an extra night since the US Consulate took longer than we expected, and we ended up in a hotel with TVs in room.  Which meant I got to see the first night of the Democratic National Convention.  We stayed up until 4:00am in order to watch Michelle Obama give her fabulous speech.  There was so little drama surrounding the DNC, and it seems I can’t say the same about the RNC……..

 

Well I am off to do some lesson planning, since I will be starting health lessons in the local primary schools and junior high in October.  And hey, only 6 ½ hours until I can break fast!             

 

New pictures added to last post on 13-Aug.

Added some more of my house.

Happy Living on my own!!

After 5 months (exactly) of living out of a suitcase…I am here, in my own house, and although my clothes may still be in a suitcase….I’m here to stay!

Moving in and renovating...

Pre-construction mess

It took 8 kilos of plaster to close up the cracks so the scary scorpions
and spiders wont enter my house

Courtyard

My bathing/water area where I fill water every morning

My finished kitchen!

Me with the stove and the buta. Buta gas tanks are kind of scary to workwith!

Dinner in the Kitchen

Pictures in the Living Room

Living Room with the only seating in the house-a Ponj

Living Room

My bedroom with the amazing mosquito net

Lessons I learned riding my bike to souk on Friday:

1. Don’t ride your bike to souk.


2. Walking 5km up a mountain is very different than riding a bike up those same 5km.


3. If you just moved into a house and need to bring up a lot of groceries, biking may not be the wisest form of transportation.


4. It actually takes longer to go up the mountain with all of the groceries, biking 2 meters, stopping, biking 2 meters, stopping, getting off to walk the bike, than if you just walk.


5. It is also much more tiring this way, on and off the bike, walking the bike.


6. If you absolutely positively HAVE to take the bike to souk, arrange the timing so you will be back home before 10am, so you are not “biking” up the mountain in 120 degree weather.

In other news….while I was vegetable shopping, I spotted this red apple that looked suspiciously American. I ask bulxdert (veggie man), “mnkshk iga tfahad?” (How much is this apple). He responded, “Gwad?! Gwad iga winm! Win tamazirtnm. Iga delicieuse! Azzgag delicieuse!” (This? This is yours! It is from your country! Delicious. Red Delicious!). And I about passed out and paid 6 times more for this apple than the others. Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the fruits and vegetables here……apples, oranges, figs, peaches, pears, plums, EVERYTHING….but it was nice to have a little piece of home!

1 week later……

Well here I am…5pm on a Thursday, trying to move as little as possible to avoid sweating too much in the heat. But I could not care less about the heat. I am in my house! I can walk around dressed however I would like! I can make peanut butter (thanks to Tara and Doris) and jelly sandwiches! I can eat dinner at 7pm and go to bed at 10pm (whereas at homestay, dinner was at 11pm)!

As usual, today I woke up at 5:15am to wait for the water to come on. Fortunately I did not have to wait long, filled up the 100L jug I have, and went back to sleep. When I woke up again, I headed to the sbitar for the morning, where we were quite busy! Lots of discussions about post-natal diets for mommy and baby. The cycle of information that affects the people here is fascinating. For example, people are often in a difficult socioeconomic circumstance; therefore, breast-feeding would be an easier and less expensive option. However, people received information over the years that formula was better; consequently, many women opt to feed their babies’ cow’s milk and soup since formula is expensive and breast-feeding is “bad.” So when mom comes in with a baby who is not growing, it takes a complete realignment of the mother’s post-natal diet understanding.

The same applies for the mother’s diet. Somewhere along the line, people were told that a woman cannot eat regular food after giving birth. This lack of nutrition often causes sickness in the new mother and consequently the breast-feeding baby. Since most women are illiterate, all of this information is passed by word of mouth and occasionally a visual aid. I am lucky to work with a trusted midwife at the sbitar. Women come to her with a variety of questions. However, she has been here 10 years and was just given the opportunity to work in Taroudant, where her family lives, so she will be leaving in a month! L

So after my 5km hike back home in the heat around noon, I made my token PP&J sandwich, and went for a visit to my host family’s house. At around 3, when they were about to have lunch, I headed back home to get lost in some fabulous writing by Barack Obama.

And time to post!

Longest entry ever.

Well, I apologize for the lack of updates recently….my goal was to update my blog once a week, but something happened that hasn’t since in a long time….it is called being busy. I’m quite sure everyone back home is familiar with that concept….however I, personally, was taken aback. And as a disclaimer, this has turned into an extremely long blog entry, so feel free to skim and read what you like!

HOUSE

It all started last week, when I got my house APPROVED by Peace Corps! So exciting! This is the same house I originally looked at…..located in the douar, or community, where I currently live with a host family. Consequently, it is 5 km from the main road, where I can find the sbitar, or health clinic, as well as transportation, the post office and a store. After a heated negotiation with the butigmi, or landlord, we came to a compromise. Well, I guess you could say butigmi got what he wanted, and I gave it because I really want to live there. Ironically, we have a case of mutual distrust. He seems to believe I will refuse to leave his house after two years, and that I am in some way connected with the CIA. I, on the other hand, am suspicious of him keeping his end of our bargains. So he is installing lights and outlets, fixing the drain, and putting in a kitchen counter with a sink (no tap, but I really wanted a somewhat “normal” kitchen). I must buy the electricity meter and the thing, what’s it called? With the electricity switches? Whatever that is. And I have to paint the house myself….hehe that should be fun.

So my little house has a little courtyard out front, where the toilet and bread room (yes, there is a room for making bread the old-fashioned way) are located. In the house, there is a room that will be my bedroom, a “living room,” and a kitchen. Upstairs is the roof, with a room attached. There is one tap in the house, and the man who turns on the water earllllllyyyy in the morning will knock on my door to wake me up when the water is on. Right now, it is only on a few minutes each morning, but once summer is over, water will not be as scarce.

My little house

The courtyard, where the toilet and "bread and couscous" room are located

My one and only tap (water 20 minutes each morning at 5am)

The view toward my host family's house from my roof

ADVENTURES IN MOROCCO

On Friday of last week, I embarked on my cross-Morocco adventure. Friday morning, my boss met me in Tiznit (60k away) to drop off my bike (finally!) which I left with another volunteer in Tiznit. Saturday morning, Meredith and I left on our mini-trip with the final destination of Rabat. We spent Saturday in Marrakech, where we met up with 2 volunteers from our training group. It was great! This was really the first opportunity we have had to enjoy Marrakech. Place Jma Fna is the main market area, and like Megan said when she visited Marrakech last year, it is like a scene out of Aladin. There is everything from snake charmers to people with their monkeys (Abu, anyone?) to woman doing henna on tourists, to rows and rows of fresh orange juice sellers, to infinite windy streets where vendors sell everything from carpets to lamps, to spices, to iguanas. And at night food booths are set up, selling traditional Moroccan food. The festivities last well into the night. I can safely say there are perhaps almost as many tourists as Moroccans in certain parts of Marrakech, so when Meredith and I greeted the vendors in Tashlhit, they were often surprised, and delighted; consequently, we got some fabulous prices in the market.

In Peace Corps Morocco tradition, we stayed at the Sindi Sur, where PCVs can sleep on the roof with a shower included for 30 Dirhams ($4). We also ate “dinner” at Hagen Daz….and had some amazing ice cream. As we squealed with delight walking into Hagen Daz, the Moroccans around us probably thought we were nuts, getting so excited over something we have readily available in the US. Little do they know…..

Marrakech is also a hub of bootleg movies. So instead of being depressed as pop culture slips out of our awareness here, we stocked up on movies like Indiana Jones, Sex and the City and more…..doing our best to stay in touch.

On Sunday we headed to Rabat, where we were able to enjoy the city for the first time. Our first 4 days in Morocco were in Rabat, but we were limited by an 8pm curfew, and scared shitless by the Peace Corps staff. They made it sound like you will walk outside, get mugged, and taken advantage of. Well, we managed to make it through Rabat without any mishaps.

Monday morning was our vaccination at the Peace Corps office, the reason for the entire trip. We thoroughly enjoyed spending the day at the office, chatting with the staff, spending hours in the library, finding books to have the fabulous librarian send to us. For security reasons, the office was recently moved, and the new area is gorgeous! Nice green lawn with tables and chairs, palm trees, just wonderful! On Sunday evening, I experienced Heaven. We went to T.G.I. Fridays. OH YES. FRIDAYS. And although they do not have a liquor license, we still enjoyed every moment. We were greeted by the manager, an American from Virginia, who opened Fridays here about a year ago. Fridays happens to be the ONLY place in the ENTIRE country of Morocco that offers free refills. So we each drank 5 or 6 glasses of Diet Pepsi. Apparently when Jeff, the manager, called up Pepsi and explained free refills, they responded, “you want to do WHAT?!?!? People will drink 10 or 15 glasses of Pepsi!!!” Hehe….Jeff had to assure them that no one can or will drink that much. Too funny. So after a pleasant dinner, 3 trips to the bathroom, a brownie sundae, and an iced coffee (my first in Morocco!) we went back to our hotel full and content.

Tuesday we left to head back home, with another stopover in Marrakech. This time Meredith and I were by ourselves, without Brian and Doug to control our spending desires. We each left with a lamp our houses, Meredith bought a purse, and I bought a pink ponj covering. Wednesday we headed back down south and back to site. I was exhausted from the traveling, but went to the sbitar Thursday morning anyway. Around lunch time a woman came in to give birth. After a bit, it was discovered that the baby’s head was twisted in a strange way, so right as the baby is about to pop out, we had to call the ambulance, drug her, and take her on the hour ride to the hospital in Tiznit. Can you even imagine? Now I know I have never given birth, but for those who have…….you have been in so much pain for so long, pushing, thinking this is about to be over, then the midwife and doctor tell you never mind, there are problems, give you a sedative, and transport you in a hot ambulance on a windy road that is not paved very well….for an HOUR. Then YOU have to get up and into a wheel chair, get into the hospital, and eventually get a C-section. Plus, giving birth in the sbitar is free, but the hospital in Tiznit is not. So this poor couple, who had no idea there could be complications, will go home in a few days with a new baby and significant debt.

MORE BUGS

Oh, and I got to see an interesting insect today…..the midwife found it in her house yesterday. Not sure what it is called in English, never seen such a thing, but the important facts are that it is fairly large, and kills you if it bites you. Good times. Way to help me in my quest to get over the bug thing.

And I guess this makes up for not writing in a while! I hope to paint my house this week, and move in at the end of next. So exciting!!

WEDDING

Currently it is 4:14am…Monday morning. Now, I feel as if this is a perfect opportunity for me to go to bed, but I also feel compelled to record the details of this past evening before they slip away. I went to my first real Moroccan wedding yesterday….and let me tell you, it was quite the spectacle! So you know how when you go to a wedding, well at least females, basically devote the entire day to doing hair, making last minute dress decisions (Stephanie), and whatnot? Well, it was too cute; the same applies here! We all got up Sunday morning full of “timghriwin,” or wedding spirit. First we did henna, and then went back to sleep as it dried. Then, my host sister and I visited some neighbors, in from Rabat, to talk about the wedding. After lunch, we got all ready, and I literally wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between American girls getting ready for a wedding and Moroccans, except for the obvious difference in clothing. Skirts flying, make-up out, hair getting done and re-done….it was great! I felt so at home. And of course, it ends in our ride to the wedding waiting out front honking the horn because the girls are late. Sound familiar anyone? As we got in the car, I started giggling, just thinking how absurd it would be if I showed up at an American wedding looking like a did. My first layers of clothing were a long black skirt, and a tank top, and a long sleeved top. Then, a “Qaftan,” similar to a djellaba….like a really long dress I guess that tends to be sparkly (these ladies LOVE sequins and sparkles). On top of that, the token black skirt with colorful pom-poms all over that women here wear every day. The difference is the wedding pom-pom skirts happen to have more pom-poms. And then of course to top it off, the large white sheet/scarf thing, that can cover your head and hang down, or be wrapped up so that only your eyes are showing (whenever there are men around). Last but not least, jewelry. I was not wearing much, but tons and tons of heavy sparkly jewelry is the custom.

So yes…..I could barely walk in all of the clothes, and had much trouble trying to maneuver the white scarf. It just didn’t want to stay on my head! But we got to the wedding, and although there were many people in from Casablanca and Rabat, I knew a fair amount of the women from either my douar or the sbitar. This particular wedding was hosted by some rich folk who live in Rabat, so it was EXTREMELY nice, with tables and chairs and everything! There were even waiters! Now none of this is typical of a rural wedding, so I was a bit in shock, trying to reconcile the nice atmosphere that reminded me of home with the fact that we still had to share glasses of water and eat with our hands.

We saw the bride twice the entire night, and by night I mean from 4pm when we arrived until 4am when we left. My friend Hanneke, about 75km away, was at a wedding as well. Knowing that we would be participating in wedding activities waaaay past bedtime, we kept up a text message conversation throughout the night, commenting on the various funny, strange, interesting, and cool things we observed.

Of course in between meals, there is lots of “Ahawaj,” which is Berber dancing and music. Women are completely separated from men at weddings, so the rooms of women can dance and sing and really enjoy themselves. If a man walks in for some reason, those white sheets fly and in 1 second every single woman has nothing but eyes showing. We enjoyed our lamb tajine meals, without ever seeing the bride. Finally, after dinner, at about 2am, we headed outside where the rich family had brought in a men’s Ahawaj group. So all of the women spent the rest of the evening wrapped up like mummies in those white sheets since men were around. Although I really wanted to do everything just like the women for the entire wedding, I just couldn’t handle having my nose and mouth covered with the sheet. I couldn’t breathe! So I cheated and only covered my nose. The men’s Ahawaj group was truly amazing; their singing was quite impressive, and I never thought men could move the way they danced. I have been trying to think of what their dancing looks like, and I have had a bit of trouble. Think about a jelly bean. So, if a jelly bean could jump, imagine what that jump would look like. Kind of a boingy bouncy jump, right? So then imagine that jump, and fast forward. So its not just like boing-bounce, it is a very rapid succession of boing boing boing boing. All the while they are in a long line, clapping their hands and singing as they boing-bounce. At 3am, I was exhausted and my etiquette was flying out the window as I started giggling at the boingy men. Fortunately the white sheet covered my mouth, so I hope too many people didn’t notice. Somewhere around 3:30am the bride was brought in to see and I guess just listen, because she is completely covered from head to toe for most of the wedding. At 4am I was blessed by my host mother, wanting to go home.

Very very interesting night.

Heat etc......

Over 4 months in Morocco now………..really though, it feels like we just arrived.  For example….someone had the movie Juno, and I commented, isn’t that in theaters?  Apparently it has not been in theaters for 4 months now.  Hahaha, amazing how time flies. 

 

So yeah, it is hot.  Really hot.  I believe the highest temperature a volunteer in the region has recorded thus far is 129 degrees Fahrenheit.  Yikes.  But it makes me feel better that I am not the only person uncomfortable in the heat.  All people talk about now is the heat.  Some sleep on the roof, others, like me, just don’t sleep a lot of the time because of the heat.  Yesterday we ate dinner on the roof for the first time…..I was very conscious of the potential presence of insects, but it was an extremely pleasant experience.  Light breeze, stars so close you can almost touch them, TashlHit music playing, and just plain relaxation.  When I get the questions, “Is it hot like this in America?” I have trouble answering….well yes….but there is this thing called air conditioning (anyone know the TashelHit word for air conditioning?). 

 

Overall things are going quite well here…I am still meeting new people almost every day and I am understanding TashlHit better all the time.  Last week I had lunch at my midwife’s house along with a female doctor from a neighboring town.  She seemed quite intrigued by me and my job here.  For a lot of Moroccan professionals, working in the “bled,” or rural areas, is punishment.  Since wealth and consequently education are so unequally distributed between the urban and rural areas, most professionals are from the cities and are forced to work in the “bled.”  Can you even imagine, you are from Chicago, you go to college in Chicago, your family, friends, everything is in Chicago, and the only way to have a job is to work in Appalachia for an indefinite period of time? There is nothing voluntary about their work, so my desire to work in the “bled” is quite puzzling to many people. 

 

This past weekend 9 of us new volunteers met in Agadir for a weekend getaway.  After our Ministry of Health meeting on Friday in Tiznit, the other volunteers in my region and I headed up to meet the rest in Agadir.  Talk about forgetting you are a Peace Corps Volunteer, and that you take bucket showers and dress covered from neck to ankle……it was somewhere between eating Pizza Hut, drinking some wine (for the first time in 6 weeks!), dancing in a club, and wandering the aisles of a giant supermarket (think Walmart), that the incredible contrast hit us.  Many people in our sites have never been to Agadir, let alone heard of McDonalds or Pizza Hut.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but I am just as happy to be back in my site.  Tomorrow I am planning to go on a hike with the girls in my community into the mountains (after the sun starts to go down, of course).

Oh, and I dyed my hair brown this weekend.....why?  I dunno....just kind of felt like it :) 

House

I had a fabulous moment at my site this weekend….which really brought a smile to my face.  On Friday, my host mom and I went to visit a couple of douars (communities) further into the mountains, including Ait Boumzou where she was born and raised.  It was really nice, meeting her aunt, a little lady with no teeth and a big smile, as well as the extended family still living there.  It took about an hour to get there, and we stayed in the area until evening.  Then on Saturday, my host sister, Najma, and I went to souk, or the town center, to do laundry since there is running water there.  For lunch we stopped by some relatives of my host family.  One of the daughters, Fadma, said she heard there was going to be a wedding in Ait Boumzou this summer.  I replied that yes there was, Amina, who is living in Tiznit, will be home to be married.  And Fadma said, “Really?  I didn’t know that.  Very neat!”  And I couldn’t help but smile!  Our main goal for the first six months of service is community integration, and here I am sharing family news with people in the community.  It made me very happy!  One step in the right direction.

 

In other news, I may have a house to live in!  I will be moving out of my host family’s house on August 1^st.  It has just been brought to my attention that there is a little pink house available for rent in my douar/community.  It is 5k away from the main road, so transportation would not be too fun, but it is in the same area as all of the people I know from my site.  The only problem is the lack of electricity.  Hopefully I will meet with the house owner this week to see if we can work something out!

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.   

Bugs, rabbits and more!

Whether or not I tolerate them, we all know about, or have experienced my ridiculous fear.  So the other night, I was heading to bed, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I saw something strange out of the corner of my eye.  I looked at the black thing on the wall, initially thinking it was a fly.  And when I looked from across the room, I thought, there is no way.  But as I got closer……oh yes way.  There was a black scorpion staring at me.  So I shuddered, grabbed my pink plastic shower sandal, and smooshed it.  I was slightly shaken, but then relaxed, thinking that the chances of me finding another such bug were unlikely.  So I sat on my bed, looked up, and on the wall next to my books was a rather large spider with 8 longggggg legs.  I almost screamed.  Now, this guy was pretty big, and spiders are my weakness, but after 3 or 4 tries (and chickening out), I grabbed my hiking boot and smooshed the spider.  After a few hits, I confirmed that he was dead.  So then I was way freaked.  Like very very very very freaked out.  But I didn’t have a choice.  It was almost 12 and I needed to sleep.  So I reached for one of my bags to grab my toothbrush………….and out comes running an oversized black beetle looking thing.  That time I did scream, and never even got to kill it, it ran away so fast.  Away, and under my bed, never to be seen again.  To make a long story of pain and stress a little shorter, I ended up sleeping in my sleeping bag, tied all up so that only my mouth and nose were exposed.  Granted, I slept on average in 20 minute increments…………….talk about scary!

 

So then the next day, I did my best to express my horror to my host family.  Instead of understanding, they were laughing their heads off!  To them, being afraid of bugs is a ridiculous notion- as ridiculous as being afraid of, I don’t know, a shoe, or a book.  Nonetheless, I convinced them that I will never be able to sleep again if we do not do something.  So, that evening, we all cleaned out my entire room, moving the ponjes (the sponge-y bench things lining the walls of my room), and picking up the carpets.  All in all, I believe we found 3 giant spiders, and about 10 scary big black beetle things.  It was quite a relief for me to see them die, and even better, I now sleep on a cot in the middle of the room….so that the bxoy (bugs) cannot climb up to me.  I was so excited, that night, I thought I would sleep like a baby………except that my bxoy-free room happened to coincide with the worst gastro-intestinal issues I have experienced since arriving in country.  So I didn’t sleep well…in face I woke up 5 times during the night……and proceeded to be incredibly sick for the following 48 hours.  Oh well, you win some and you lose some. 

 

On a positive note, the day of the bxoy-cleaning, in the afternoon the I accompanied 17 girls and women from the community on a 5-hour hike/picnic to the top of one of the mountains nearby and back.  It was spectacular.  Peace Corps emphasizes the importance of community building to its volunteers, and the need to acknowledge that without strong community ties and a desire to work together, sustainable development just is not realistic.  So for me, to see my community want to be together, to “skr ryada” (do sport) and make an afternoon of it, is beyond my wildest dreams.  Not to mention, the view from the top of the mountain was indescribable. 

 

Just on a side note, I would like to mention a little something about laundry and the progression of laundry in my life.  J

 

In USA: Laundry is something that can be done at a moments notice….it takes little time and effort, just moving clothes from the washer to the dryer.  You can even leave the house to get something done while the laundry is being done.  Takes very little time out of the day, and leaves clothes feeling soft and fluffy.

 

In my training site:  Laundry is a bit more obtrusive as an activity.  Takes maybe an hour plus drying time, next to the tap with a constant supply of water.  Includes physical effort, but again, not too bad.  However, it is a bit of a surprise to feel how stiff the clothes are after drying.  I remember thinking, yikes, will my clothes be this stiff for the next two years?

 

At my site: It is called laundry DAY for a reason.  It fills up an entire morning or afternoon….and takes a few hours.  Much more physical, as there is often no water coming from the tap (ur gis waman!) so it is all about conservation.  Rinsing standards are lowered (there are just a few soapy bubbles!) and I now begin to question my previous statement about soft clothes…..these clothes feel fine…I don’t even recall what “softened” clothes are like……….

 

In other news…….I have come to the conclusion that there is something liberating about being elbow deep in cow dung.  Let me explain.

 

I often enjoy accompanying various women to the fields for a bit of work and conversation.  Today, I went with my host mom to one of her gardens down the road.  We brought the mule, and on its back was a very large container full of cow dung.  We arrived, and I realized she would be using this as fertilizer, to mix with the water in her garden.  At first I watched as she scooped up big handfuls of dung, and smooshed it into the dirt, and although I usually participate in the field work, I thought, no way, there are lines, and this is one of them.  There is nothing wrong with me not getting myself full of cow dung.  I will only go so far to participate in community activities.  Lines, there are lines!  And then, I thought, well, what the heck…..forget the lines.  And I rolled up my sleeves, hiked up my skirt, and dug in to the dung.  And instead of being horribly disgusted, I felt good….liberated!  To experience a moment wear I had thrown all inhibition to the wind, and decided there are no lines……….it was nice. J

 

Needless to say, I got back to the house, washed my hands 5 times, changed my clothes, and I still smell cow dung.  Or maybe I am just imagining it.

 

Ps I ate rabbit heart and liver.  Yikes!  They didn’t tell me it was rabbit til later!