Site visit!

A map of my site

The view from my host dad's cafe

Road to Tafraoute

My local sbitar

Site Visit!!!

So I am staring at my computer with this blank look on my face……..where do I even begin to describe the past week of my life?  I guess the blank look could also be attributed to my level of exhaustion.  Tuesday morning, 5:45am, I am sleeping so peacefully in my room at my host family’s house……..and then I wake up to BANG BANG BANG “Iman!!!! Sbah lxir!  Yella!”  What!?!?!?!? (The town has taken to calling me Iman…closest thing to Erin) So I was cursing everything in sight as I rolled out of bed that incredibly early.  SERIOUSLY!?  I spent the day working in the fields with the women, and I guess they decided to leave a little earlier than planned.  But I got to ride the mule to the fields so it wasn’t so bad. 

So I visited my site!  My brand new, all mine, super wonderful site…..where I will be working for the next 2 years!  2 YEARS!  I am so excited…….I was on an emotional high all week.  I am technically not allowed to divulge my exact site location, but it is stuck in between Tiznit (on the coast, South of Agadir) and Tafraoute.  It is very hot, very conservative, and very gorgeous!  Hot…as in probably will get to 140-150 degrees Fahrenheit this summer.  Conservative, as in the women cover their faces with a sheet, only eyes showing.  The men dress in djellabas and turbans (how do the turbans stay on their heads?  I was thinking maybe double-sided tape…..a lot of them are bald…..) and the women all wear these long black skirts with little red pom poms on the bottom and a large white sheet wrapped around their heads and faces.  Of course, all of this on top of three layers. Gorgeous, as in palm trees and cactus and rolling hills with mountains in the distance…….and 2 hours from the beach.

From our seminar site in Ouarzazate, it was 8 hours to Agadir, and 1 hour to Tiznit.  All of the new Tiznit region volunteers (there are 5 of us) spent the night in Tiznit, and then ventured on to our sites the next morning.

Jasmine, a first-year Health PCV escorted me to my site, in order to help me settle in.  We met my host dad in the town center, where he owns a cafe.  My little 14-year old host brother, Omar, was there all nervous about meeting the Taromite (foreigner) who is coming to stay with him.  That shyness lasted about 10 minutes.....he is not shy at all, its great!  

Later on, I got to meet my host mom- the sweetest little thing!  She is so cute I just cant describe it!  They have 9 children, but only a few live in the village.  Omar and Njma (26) live at home still, and I truly adore them.  Njma is much quieter than her little brother, but makes a huge effort to communicate effectively with me.  Fadma (24) lives down the street.  She just got married 2 weeks ago, and misses her family a lot.  I have a feeling she and I will get along very well.  

So I stayed pretty busy all week....visited the Khalifa (local government official) the day I arrived.  Khalifas are famous for being power-hungry jerks here, so I was pleasantly surprised at my Khalifa's friendliness!  He even made me tea! 

I also had to visit the gendarmes (local police).  Mine are located about 40k from my site, so Meredith (whose site is 20k from mine) and I went together.  Again, famous for being slightly unfriendly, our Chef was incredibly nice.  These folks are important because the Ministry of Health puts them in charge of knowing exactly where we are at all times.  If we make them angry...........they can make our lives miserable.  

I opened a PO box at my post office, visited my sbitar (health clinic), and walked around quite a big, just saying hello to everyone I passed.  Since my site is so big (technically 24,000 people, but 8,000 in one commune) I am looking forward to getting my bike and traveling to the various douars.  

Like I said, I went into the fields one day with the women.....but you wouldnt even believe what "going to the fields" is for them.  We have running water 1 hour a day, from approximately 4-5am, so the women get up and fill up lots of containers of water.  Then, at around 6am they take the mule out about 3k to their fields.  Currently they are harvesting the wheat, so they are bent over pulling wheat from the ground for 12-14 hours.  There is a break for about 1 hour for lunch, and then they head out again until around 8.  All the while, the sun is beating down in this desert terrain.  I mean holy toledo!  I worked with them last Tuesday, and my hamstring muscles are still incredibly sore.  

Meanwhile, the men are doing.....um......nothing!  I know this is a bit of a generalization, as I have only spent 1 week in site, but seriously!  Sitting in cafes doing nothing, while the women are working their very hard.  

Generally women do not venture down to the town center unless they need to go to the sbitar or travel somewhere, so I was quite the odd picture.....blond girl with braids prancing all about town.  People are fascinated but seem accepting.  Men hold foreign women and Moroccan women to different standards.  Both the men and women are extremely friendly; consequently, I forsee little trouble communicating with community members.

I have a gorgeous 5k walk to my town center/sbitar from my host family's douar....which I enjoy immensely.  

After a week, we headed up to Agadir, to enjoy a day of beach and relaxation.  It was well deserved- we got McDonalds (mmmm...McFlurry) which is located right next to Pizza Hut, on the beach!  Definitely thrilled to be so close to Agadir.....but slightly nervous about the temptation.  

Now I am back in Ouarzazate for 2 days.....we leave for our last CBT on Tuesday....and then swear-in is May 19!  I can't wait!