Holiday Greetings

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information

12/20/09 Happy, Happy Holidays Everyone and I hope your New Year is one of the best years of your life!!

I’m still uncertain how my Christmas will actually be, but I will celebrate with my host family. Since Morocco is primarily a Muslin country, this holiday is completely foreign to them. Part of my purpose for being here is to share the American culture, so I intend to introduce them to this holiday. I won’t go into the religion part, because with my limited language abilities, it would be too hard to even attempt. I have a couple of evergreen branches that I have wired together and I have a tree of sorts. The kids and I are making ornaments and stockings and I have small presents for everyone. I’m intending to make pizza for Christmas dinner because my family has never had it, the ingredients can be found in my town (minus the pepperoni) and hopefully they will enjoy it. I plan to make some holiday cookies in the next day or two. Should be all set for “Noel” as they call it. I’ll let you know how it goes the next time I write.

Yesterday I went on a hike of all hikes. Earlier in the week I was asked if I had plans for Sunday and I said “No, I was all theirs “ and smiles broke out across their faces. What was I in for? After breakfast, I was told to put on my sport shoes and it was gestured that we were heading out across those mountains – really? Yep, away we went. The donkey was loaded up (I couldn’t tell what was put in his baskets) and we were ready. I have a friend who is fearful of heights, this would not have been the walk for him. Didn’t have a watch and really don’t have a clue how far we actually walked. We climbed, there were loose rocks, beautiful views, and it was a sunny day, albeit a bit chilly at times, they should have told me to bring a hat! We saw goats, goats and more goats. Finally my host mom indicated that we were heading “over there” - still quite a ways to go and more hills to climb. The kids ran through these hills like the goats we see. Gosh to be young again! My host dad is a plumbee and he drew me a picture some time ago of what I thought were patches of tilled soil and I thought an irrigation system since there are natural springs everywhere. Yep, I was right and that is where we ended up. They had kind of a make-shift lean-to made to block the wind if need be, complete with a tea pot. There were patches of soil that were tilled and a couple of men that I recognized were already there, along with my host dad. These men worked with kind of a pick axe/shovel tilling the ground. Talk about back breaking work! Where was that John Deere when you wanted it? Impossible to get to this site silly girl, what are you thinking? Anyways, my host mom brought along the makings of a stewed meal and we got the fire going and the vegetables cut into the pot and lunch was underway. We then joined the men and we all planted crocus bulbs. If you remember, this is where saffron comes from and it is a cash crop for them. We had three big gunney sacks of bulbs to plant and with all of working it went along quite fast. We then had a great lunch, complete with clementines. It was one of the best days I’ve had here in Morocco. I noticed seedling trees and asked about them and my host dad plans to plant apple, almond, olive and some other kind of tree also in this spot since he can irrigate them. I don’t know if they own this land or if ownership is even possible here or if they just found a relatively flat piece amongst the hills and staked claim, but it seems to be theirs. They said they would call me in the spring when it is time to pick crocus flowers so that I can experience it too and I’m betting they will. It was on our walk back home that I gathered my evergreen branches for the makeshift tree we will have.

My host family keeps growing and growing. After we got home Sunday afternoon, we learned that another of my host mom’s sisters would visit with her family. You could see that she was not particularly pleased with the news, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of planning or announcements, they just come. We were tired!! Anyways, they came and they were a lovely family. I have now met three sisters and two brothers of my host mom and her mother and father. They all live in Ouarzazate (a/k/a Oz). I have their telephone numbers in my phone and I’ve been instructed to call them and to visit. Since I’ll be here two years, I will certainly try to do this.

Several weeks ago Anna (the PCV in the nearby site) and I went to Marrakech (a/k/a Kech) for the weekend. It was a 4+ hour bus trip through windy, mountainous roads. Thank goodness for Bonine, not sure I could have made it without having taken this motion sickness pill. We met up with some other PC volunteers on the bus so we tagged along since we had never been there before. We stayed at a clean hotel for a little over $5 a night. Granted the showers were cold and the toilet was in the hallway and shared by all, but what do you expect for this $$? Hotels I’ve stayed at here (within my PC budget) don’t provide towels or toilet paper for that matter either. Our hotel was very near the “jamaa lfha” or the big colorful square you may have seen pictures of if you’ve ever seen pictures of Kech. This place is hoppin….. There are vendors everywhere, music playing and snake charmers entertaining the crowd. The snake charmers were on the “to see” list so we were delighted when we could scratch that from the list. We later learned that the snakes actually have most of their mouths sewn closed with only a small opening left so that their tongues (if you will) can come out and that they frequently starve to death since they can’t eat. Took some of the “charm” out of them for me. We visited the Margane (sp?) which is a large Wal-Mart supermarket while in Kech and found some things we had not seen elsewhere in Morocco. I thought it was a bit pricey, but it did have some of those hard-to-find things and obviously it wasn’t mean for the typical Moroccan to shop at. Had to catch a bus back in the morning so it was a fast weekend trip. Probably not something I will do too often, and a three-day weekend would make it more enjoyable.

My host family loves music. They are always beating on something to make a rhythm and singing. They are usually smiling and laughing too. Well, you should see my host sister dance. Is this just born in them? She is a beautiful little 7 year old and does she have the belly dance moves. I took belly dance lessons for a year and NEVER had near the grace that she has. She is wonderful to watch – think she can teach me something? Watch out family, Thanksgiving 2011 and I’ll be teaching you some new moves!

If I’m lucky, I will post a few pictures along with this blog. If not, maybe next time?

Again, best wishes for the best of holidays. Til we chat again, love & hugs to all. Bslama Linda

December 13th

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information

12/13/2009 Seems like quite a while since I’ve written, but it really hasn’t been that long, has it? I hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures I posted in my last two entries. I will take some of my apartment when I am settled in so that you can it. Where to start ……

Well the “great feast” is over and I can tell you I’ve eaten enough sheep to last me until next year. In fact, next year, I may become a vegetarian! I know I ate testicles, feet and brain, and who knows what else? It’s really best that I not always know what I’m eating. We ate sheep for every meal and very few vegetables or fruit was served during this time. After a few days, I actually got quite sick. The meat is greasy, rich and just too much of it was served. My system couldn’t handle it. My family didn’t quite understand how I could refuse meat, but I switched to bread and unsweetened tea for a couple of days and let the system settled down. One day I laid low and just wanted to sleep. Someone sat with me the entire time and would occasionally wake me up with Meryam (that’s my name in Morocco) – are you sleeping? Ummm, trying, but guess not, maybe later. Sounds like something my mom would do.

The actual holiday celebration lasted about two days, Saturday and Sunday. Family came from Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech to visit. We ate a lot of cookies, almonds and sweet tea. We visited family in the area for more cookies, almonds and sweet tea. Everyone was festive and jolly. Reminded me so much of how my holidays were as a little girl. I grew up in the area where my mom was from. She came from a big family and almost everyone lived in the area. During the holidays the families would visit each other. Kids would play, parents would visit and we would all eat….. and drink. Not so very different really. I met a lot of people, smiled, nodded my head a lot since I really didn’t know what they were saying and kissed cheeks. The children had about a week off from school and my host mom was glad to have them return to their schedule too. I was glad to get back to normal days.

Speaking of normal days – what is a normal day for me? Right now, rather low-key and laid back. PC has told us that the job at hand for the time being is to learn the language. We really aren’t expected to be involved with our businesses until probably February or so. We have a two week in-service training period scheduled for the first two weeks of February in a town in northern Morocco, I suspect when I return from that I will become more involved. Obviously, I have visited a time or two, and when I’m out and about I meet a familiar face from time to time, but basically, I’m greeting and meeting people right now. School for the children here begins at varying schedules, but usually one of the children has to be to school at 8a so the family gets up around 7a. We have breakfast consisting of coffee (actually more sweetened milk with just a hint of coffee) and bread. Sometimes my host mom makes kind of a starchy white, slightly salty soup to have too. It warms you up on a chilly morning. My host mom and I are the only ones that eat it, guess the others don’t like it? I usually then get on the internet for an hour or so, although I get the feeling my host mom really doesn’t like me doing this – perhaps I should be studying Tashlheet? I do then try to study the language for most of the morning outside in the sunshine because it is much warmer outside than inside, but seems like someone is always stopping by to see what I’m doing. Tea and bread is served around 10a. Sometimes my host mom makes fried donuts or crepe like things for this morning snack. The children arrive home from school around noon and sometimes my host dad comes home too at this time. The big meal of the day is served around 1p and usually consists of a tajine (kind of a conical shaped clay cooker) where there is a small portion of meat placed in the bottom and then potatoes, carrots, onion, tomato, etc., put on top. Sort of a stewed meal. It is served out of this dish and each person has a designated triangle of food in front of them that is theirs to eat. This family rarely leaves their triangle, but my previous two host families just dug in and whoever ate the fastest, got the mostest. Silverware is not used and we scoop our food with a small piece of bread. It is eaten from the top down with the most precious being the meat that is served last. If we happen to have fruit in the house, it is served last. We ate a lot of pomegranates for a while and they were delicious. Seems like the only thing available in my town now is clementines and luckily I like them. Vegetables may vary a bit, but the tajine is the most common meal eaten. On Fridays we usually have sksu (couscous), but not a lot of variation otherwise. The kids go back to school at 2p and I’ve been leaving the house then too. I visit the post office, maybe a hanut (really small store) and then I’ve been going to my apartment and cleaning and settling in. I aim to be back to my host house around 5p since that is when the kids get home from school. Tea and bread (yep, one more time) is served then. Depending on the night, I might then get back on the internet for a bit, play tic/tac/toe with the kids or cards (kind of a Go Fish game). The family sits in front of the television from about 6-9p wrapped in blankets. I usually try to join them around 7p because much more of this and I could scream. I didn’t watch television in the US, and to sit in front of the box and watch something I can’t even understand seems nuts!! We eat dinner at 8p in front of the television. It is usually a noodle dish, rice, lentils or if I’m lucky some sort of soup. At 9p everyone is ready for bed, myself included. Ahh, to be warm. My host mom has three wool blankets on my bed. The coverings are so heavy, I can hardly roll over. God help me if I have to get out of bed fast, I can hardly move them, but they are toasty and warm so I’m really not complaining. Whew….. sorry this really was more involved than I anticipated it being, but someone asked how I spend my days.

I had sheep sickness (or whatever it was) and other family members have been sick too. My host brother has been running a very high fever, has had upset stomach and a terrible cold (gosh I hope I don’t get this one). Hope it’s not H1N1.! These parents were every bit as concerned about their child as any parent in the US would be. The mom was really quite upset. The reason I share this is to give you a picture of my host dad. My host mom was sick too. She did the bare minimum during the day and collapsed on the couch late afternoon. My host dad came home and asked if the kids had had a bath since there was school the next day – they had not. He helped them bathe. He then made dinner – granted fried eggs, but dinner nevertheless. He moved everyone along to bed that night. This is soooo not the picture of the Moroccan man I had in my mind. I think he is an exception and I just wonder how he got to be this way? He will clear away the dishes after dinner, he tends to a sick child. He is just a nice guy. This is truly just a nice family!

We were talking (well kind of talking) about me moving to my own house soon. My host family tells me I don’t have to leave. I can stay with them for two years. I am part of the family. When Chris comes to visit, he is part of the family. My host mom cried. I assured them that I would visit and they could feed me whenever (as long as it isn’t sheep).

If the kids aren’t in school they are playing with friends. They are dusty and dirty by the end of the day. Unfortunately they don’t have the practice of cleaning them up before bedtime and they usually sleep in the clothes they have played in for the last day or two or three. Baths are usually taken twice a week or so. I do have the kids brushing teeth with me in the morning and at night – sometimes after lunch too. I am working really hard on getting them to cough/sneeze into their sleeves rather than out into the world. I’m making progress but not there yet. I keep telling them microbes are dangerous. Let’s wash our hands with soap – now. Speaking of playing I watch the kids of the house play with their make-believe car. They have a wheel of some sort stuck on a stick that is then stuck into a pail. They have a piece of wire going out and up from this (I think it’s the antenna). They have a head of an old doll tied on the pole (a passenger?) They play for hours with the sounds of a motor running. Who needs more?

Well, this has droned on much longer than I expected it to. Hope I haven’t bored you to death. I’ll try to write again before the holidays. Suspect you are all busy with holiday preparations. Have fun and enjoy the moment! Miss you, Bslama. Linda

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THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information

11/28/09 (I think. I’m never entirely certain what day/date it is.) I do know that today is l-3id mqqurn, a/k/a as the “great feast”. Today each Islamic family will slaughter an animal. For many it will be a sheep, but for those that cannot afford a sheet a goat or lamb will be slaughtered. The animal is then eaten in an orderly fashion usually starting with the liver, heart, stomach and lungs. Day two we move on to the head and feet, etc. I’m glad I’m a country girl and that my family hunts. The slaughter wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, but uncertain if I’ll be able to eat meat for a couple of days. Once we’re into eating familiar parts, I will probably be fine. Meat is a precious commodity and to think we have LOTS to eat in the next few days.

The family has been as excited about this holiday and we are about Christmas. Family and friends have stopped in for atay and l-kiks (tea & cookies) My host father bought new clothes for the children to wear today. Today they have dressed me in a fancy green kaftan type dress, complete with a black zif (scarf). I’m thinking this is not a look I should adopt for everyday wear! If I can attach a picture of me, I’m thinking you’ll agree that it does nothing for my round face. I don’t know what the rest of this celebration entails, but I’m sure I’ll learn in the coming days. I intend to celebrate a bit of Christmas with them. Uncertain what that will be at the moment, but the cultural exchange is good for all of us.

I really do like this family. They have opened up their arms and welcomed me in. I’m guessing it was an arranged marriage since most of them are here in Morocco, but there is a genuine love and caring amongst the mom and dad. They engage in great conversations and you can see that my mom definitely has her opinions, but guessing in the end she would concede to whatever he wishes. She takes wonderful care of the family and rarely leaves the homestead. Of course, she has animals to tend to, cooking/cleaning/washing to do for the family and none of this is done with the modern conveniences we are so accustomed to. She and I did walk down to the village one day and took lunch to my dad who was working on plumbing a new s-sbitar (birthing center) for the area. You could see how very proud she was of him and she just wanted to watch him work. I think she would have stayed all day. And, he is an involved dad. Almost every night he does homework with the kids. I’m guessing that both my mom and dad went to school through 9th grade or so. My mom grew up in Ouarzazate, but I don’t think she has been back to that area since she married Hussain. Too much to do here is what she tells me – no time. She has received several phone calls from her family since I’ve been here and certainly last night wishing her happy holidays.

Last Sunday I went on a great walk with the children. Had I known it was going to be such a long walk I would have worn my tennis shoes, but the clogs worked just fine. They run over the shrubs and rocks like wild animals. They climb trees like zadood s (monkeys) Eventually other children joined us and they had a real song fest in the shade of a tree. It was quite delightful to see these kids have a wonderful time without the need to have “things” to make it happen. Again, I hope to have a picture of what the countryside itself looks like. I call them hills, they call them mountains surrounding me. Nevertheless, a hike when you’re walking them.

The days here have been sunny and warm. I’m guessing around 75-80. Rain is predicted for Monday and this will be about only the 4th day of rain I can think of since I arrived in Morocco last September. The rain would be most welcome. But, as the sun goes down, it does cool down. By the time I go to bed I’m dressed in about three layers or so and welcome crawling into bed. I have a hard time thinking they really get as cold as Michigan and I can’t imagine much snow either. Let’s hope I’m not surprised and that the winter is milder than they lead me to believe.

This site has had a PC volunteer for the last few years. I think I am the third here. They have a very active association that sells goat cheese and saffron. The president of the association is a 47 year old illiterate woman. She is driven and wants improvement for the area. I’m not certain of the role I will play? She is strong-willed and I’m told challenging. My age will work to my advantage in our relationship, I hope. They have a relatively new, very clean building where they process the goat cheese. They currently deliver cheese to places in the area, but I think they would like more of an on-site retail business. Saffron – what a labor intensive process that is. Saffron comes from a crocus flower. Inside that flower are about three red sprigs that have to be taken by hand out of the flower. I don’t know when the season for harvest is, but it’s not now. I see bags of crocus bulbs sitting around, waiting to be planted I would assume.

Right now I have to concentrate on the language and I continue to find it most challenging. I have found a tutor who I think will be good, but he is very busy and I’m only able to meet with him one a week. There is a young woman living in the apartment below the apartment I will move to in January who speaks decent English. She has some college education and she is here working at the association with young women teaching computer skills, some English, etc. I’ve asked her if she is willing to work with me too and I hope to start sessions soon.

I was lucky and had the opportunity to spend time with the PCV (Amy) that’s been here before she left. She introduced me to lots of people and showed me around town. I am also able to rent the space she has been living in and bought some home furnishings from her. The gray, cement tall building will be my new home for the next two years. Doesn’t look that appealing, but it will be better than the adobe homes that are more typical here. Even though I’m not able to officially move in until January 1st, the landlord has given me free access to the apartment, so I am slowly working getting things settled. Amy was not fond of the kitchen and didn’t like to cook much, so I have purchases to make there. I also bought a table and chairs. If you’re into white plastic, you’d love it!! The biggest problem with buying things is that you have to somehow lug them home with you in the taxi since local business don’t offer much. THEN, since the taxi lets you off in the center of town, you have to lug everything UP the inclimb to my apartment. Hey, I’m a 60 year old woman – not always an easy feat. I did buy a 3-drawer unit at the hanut in town and a young man carried them up for me. Age does have a few benefits I guess.

We have a young man, Nortin, who lives with my family. I’m guessing him to be about 15 years old or so. I’m told that his dad died and he has been living primarily with this family since he was 6. Nortin heads out everyday with the assidun (mule) to gather grass I’m guessing for winter feeding. One day last week he came into the kitchen with a gunny sack folded down and in it a very young goat. The goat’s mother didn’t have milk and he brought it home to be tended to. This goat is the cutest thing I’ve seen. He looks like a patchwork quilt – he’s gray, black and white with little ears that curl up at the edge. I fed him his first bottle of milk. My mom milks the cow and feeds the little guy several times during the day. He has gotten so much stronger and you should see him run and play. Like a puppy with his tail wagging like crazy. He obviously likes people and loves to suck on your fingers. I love him and don’t want to think that someday they will likely eat him! I’ve attached several pictures of my new little friend.

Well, til I sit down the next time guess this is it. Love and miss you all, Bslama

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November Update

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information

11/21/09 - Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve written and life has certainly changed for me. I left my host home where we’ve been training and many tears were shed by everyone. They might not have been perfect, but they were a family that cared about me. I have heard from them several times already since I left. All 56 of us trainees met up for a few more days of group training and then we were sworn in on November 12th in Rabat. Quite a formal affair and attended by some of the Moroccan officials, US Embassy personnel, etc. We PCV’s were cleaned up too (complete with showers) and I even wore a dress!! We had a lovely lunch in the garden at the PC offices and then we had the afternoon free to explore Rabat. One stop was to the train station where I purchased a senior citizen travel card that enables me to save 40-50% on train trips I may take. Morocco doesn’t have a lot of trains and CTM busses seem to be the next best way to travel, but will travel to Rabat several times a year for meetings and that will be at least partly by train, so if it can help – great. On the 13th, we were turned loose and left to find our way to our sites on our own. There were several volunteers heading my way so we all boarded a train early that day and we were off….. Arrived in Marakesh and planned to board a bus to get the rest of the way. Since there were five of us, decided to travel by Grand Taxi since it would be more comfortable and not that much more expensive. We had luggage piled on the roof and the trunk was tied down. We traveled a couple of hours on curvy mountain roads. Kind of glad I took that Dramamine before we left.

I can’t believe I am really in my home town for the next two years. I didn’t say “home” because I’m not in my home yet. The PC requires us to live with one more host family before they let us live alone. We will live with our hosts until January 1st. I can’t say that I’m excited about living with another family, even though the last family wasn’t bad, I am just eager to be in control of myself and life. Never quite certain what is happening when?? The purpose, of course, is to give us a local family to bond with and to help with immersion into the community and language practice. One of the best things about this area is that we will have electricity and water 24/7 – whooo hoooo. This update will be focused on giving you a mental picture of where I am now.

Host Family – Might as well start here. Must say if my first impressions hold, I lucked out here. They are by far the best family I’ve been with so far. Lucky for me too, since I will have two years of contact with them. My family consists of a dad, LHussain who is 50 years old and works as a plumber. My mom, Atika, is 43 and she is a housewife. When I say housewife that means milking the cow, feeding the animals (chickens, rabbits, and sheep is what I’ve seen so far). And I think taking the animals out to eat grass, thus being a herder too. She takes care of all household tasks including baking bread each day to serve with fresh butter she has made from the milk. She is one busy lady… I have a host brother who is 10 years old and his name is Zachiria and I have an 8 year old sister named Zakia. The children both attend school and so far are smiling and well behaved. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a bit of sibling poking and prodding, but on the whole the house is relatively quiet. There is also another young man here by the name of Nortin. I’d guess him to be about 15. I’m not certain how he fits into this family, but I have learned that his father died and his mother lives elsewhere. Is he a relative, does he live here permanently ???? He helps out with any task my mom and/or dad is doing at the moment. My family is nice, happy and very accommodating to me. My mom wants to help me with the language and is always talking to me. Some of which I understand and some I don’t. Unfortunately, I still tend to try to answer in English with only a few Tashlheet words thrown in. Something I need to work on.

My home is up in the hills, the last house at the end of the lane. The area is beautiful and surreal in a stark kind of way. Their house looks huge, and it is a good size, but I’ve seen that the barn-like structure is attached. They have three parlor like rooms, one formal room surrounded with cushions and this is where I am currently sleeping. Another room is also surrounded with cushions and houses the TV. This room doubles as the bedroom for the kids. The other parlor was to have been my room and they were painting it a HOT pink the day I moved in (second HOT pink room I’ve had. Do I look like a HOT pink person?) This room has two windows opening up to the central hallway. For whatever reason they haven’t moved me to this room and I’m kind of glad since there are no window coverings on the windows and I would be quite visible in there. The parents have a bedroom to themselves. The part I’ve just described seems to be a new addition and there is tile on the floors and light fixtures (not bare bulbs) hanging from the ceiling. The bathroom is also in this area and it stinks very badly. Can’t really figure this out since we have water and my mom appears to be conscious of the concept of clean??? The bathroom was also painted HOT pink while the painting was being done. Whew…. It does wake you up in the morning. The kitchen is in the older portion of the house. My other two host homes didn’t use soap to wash the dishes and I’m glad to see that this mom does. It makes eating a bit easier. My mom must also realize that I don’t want to share a glass to drink from and even though I sometimes eat with my hands, she usually gives me at least a spoon to use. Last night they showed me an area to bathe in, complete with hot water (my dad is a plumber, after all).

Town Itself – I think most of you know this, but I am located south of Marakesh (a/k/a Kesh) and north of Ouarazate (a/k/a Oz). It is in the mountains and I’m told at about the elevation of 4,800. The town has a population of about 3,000 people, but it doesn’t look it. We have many of the local officials here in town, a post office and they and the local businesses are located along the highway. There are groups of homes (called duwars sp?) clumped around and about the hills. Everywhere I walk there is a hill to climb. I keep telling myself – I will either be in great shape in two years or dead from exhaustion. I’m guessing the area could be a bit challenging when it rains and snows. I haven’t really had an opportunity to look around town much, but there doesn’t appear to be a lot here. Several hanuts (small storefronts where you can buy the basics) a butcher, a couple of teleboutiques (public phone areas), but unfortunately no cybercafés. Because of this, I decided to purchase a satellite connection to the internet so I could have contact with the world on a regular basis and without having to travel 1+ hours to otherwise do so. The initial outlay was 500Dh (about $60) for the modem and I will have to pay 200Dh a month (about $35) for the service. I haven’t used it much yet, but it seems to work well. I’m told it is slow and will not be great for downloading, but will otherwise meet my needs okay. Doubt that my PC monthly allowance will cover this, but I’m willing to pay for this for my piece of mind.

New Home – Most homes in the area are made from adobe complete with mud floors and roofs. My home is relatively new, made of cement and appears to have been constructed for rental purposes (only one in town) since it has two complete living areas. I am located on the second floor of this building. None of the homes (mine included) have a heat source within them and betting they will be a bit chilly in the winter. The volunteer that was here lived in this home before me and I purchased from her the furnishings she had which made my life so much easier. I have a front room you enter into and it has great window looking out into the hills. I think I’ll buy a plastic table and chairs to put in there and use it for dining and as my space for computer use. I need to get a mat or rug for under my feet since that cement floor is cold! I have a parlor that has a window and since I took over the apartment of the volunteer who left, I have three ponches (large cushions to sit on), a coffee table (most often used to eat on by the locals) a bamboo doored shelf thing and a rug on the floor. Probably won’t do much else with this room since it meets basic needs. I have a kitchen with a window. I have a small countertop with a sink built in complete with running water (albeit cold). I have a small stand-alone oven with a separate two burner (kind of camp stove) on top of it for cooking. I don’t have a refrigerator since that is really considered a luxury here, but I do intend to buy a small dorm-sized one since I consider it important for my health and luckily this area has the electricity to let me do so. There is also a nook with a shelf in the kitchen for storing dishes. Now to my bit-la-ma (bathroom). I have a small window and yep, has that wonderful Turkish toilet once again. The best thing about this room is that not only do I have running water to gather water in to flush the toilet, but the PCV had a hot water heater put in and I have a shower….. A luxury I never thought I would have. I do have a sink, but it is located outside this room and in the front room. Now you have a complete picture of my future home in your mind. Can’t wait to cozy it up and make it mine. The PCV that was here was not a cook and seems like she broke a lot of what kitchen dishes she had, so I do have things to purchase and will begin the gathering process in the coming days/weeks. I have two 20+ women living below me. One speaks a bit of English and teaches at the association and the other works at a daycare. Neither of them are from this area and they are here on contracts from the gov’t til June. I hope they’ll stay on, but they don’t seem that happy with the area and betting they will not 

Language Update – still my biggest struggle. I didn’t do as well on the test as I would have liked and I had to sign a contract agreeing to tutoring and studying the language more. I wasn’t the only one, but the majority of the trainees passed the minimum required. I obviously know words but I have great difficulty putting them into sentences and verbalizing them. I still can’t hear the spoken words to distinguish what is being said. I have talked with a tutor and hope to meet up with him soon. Between him and my family, I hope and need to progress. Still, considering I’ve only been in-country since September and knew no Arabic before I came, I’m no soooo bad.

I will gladly share with you my new address if you contact me via my gmail address. I also had to purchase a new SIM card for my phone so my telephone number has changed from the first one given to me. Let me know if you want this information.

I know that Thanksgiving is just around the corner for you. Seems impossible to me that it is this time of the year. I seem to have lost the entire last year. I don’t intend to celebrate Thanksgiving in any special way. Seems like such an undertaking with the language barrier and all. Next year I will definitely cook! I hope you all have wonderful times with family and friends. Eat a bit of turkey and a piece of pecan pie for me. Well my friends, I have much to do and I’d best get with it. Til next time. Bslama

November 6th Update

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information.

10/26/09-11/1/09 - My time here is almost over. Only a week left at this site. In some respects the time has flown, and at other times it seems like I left Chicago so very long ago. I’ve had a cold for over two weeks now and I’m tired and feeling a bit old and out of sorts. Hopefully the antibiotics the doctor has put me on will knock the cold out and I’ll be back to my shining self soon!!

Today is again Sunday and souq day. It is the event of the week here and everyone looks forward to it. It reminds me of a big flea market so picture this in your mind. Guess the main difference is that they sell fresh meat. And, I mean fresh meat – they kill and clean it on the spot. Considering the fact that refrigeration is not a big thing here, this is probably the best possible choice for purchasing meat. I do wonder what they do with all they can’t eat, and I chose to believe they divide it up among the many relatives that surround them. I can’t think too much about the kitchen/food process or I won’t be able to eat and this is a HUGE statement for me to make – “can’t eat”!!! One more reason I can’t wait to get to my own home where I can control the conditions, at least to some extent.

Granted we have the big interview/language evaluation/assessment scheduled for November 6th, wherein they ascertain that we are worthy candidates to be sworn in as official PC volunteers, I am fairly certain that the remaining 57 of us will move forward. People like me will have to sign a contract agreeing to language tutoring, and the PC will pay for this for a period of time. We do have to find our own tutors and hopefully I can find one in my town. My Tashlheet needs a lot of work, so I have a job cut out for me because I have a long ways to go. We will leave out host homes on November 8th and the entire group will meet at another location for more training prior to our official swearing in on November 12th. We then move to our permanent site on November 13th and it looks to be a two day trek getting there via buses and cabs.

My site -- At this point I really don’t know that much about it. I had a short conversation with the volunteer that has been there, about to leave and she has enjoyed it a lot. I will have one day with Amy and I told her, we might have to do an all-nighter so she can tell me everything I need to know. I am southeast of Marrakech and in the Ouarzazate region. It is a mountain town of about 3,000 people. I do have a post office in town, but no banks, cyber café’s, or supermarkets. My primary job will be to work with the goat cheese and saffron cooperatives. I’m told I will have water and electricity 24/7 – hurray!! (Again, I really don’t know what those statements mean since I was told I would have water at this site and in fact I do, but they neglected to tell me it was only pumped into town twice a week and that you had to store it for future use to have it every day.) Amy also tells me I can buy a satellite internet connection (jump drive) and for an additional monthly fee I can have the internet in my home. I am intending to do this, even though I will have to pay for it out of my pocket. Otherwise, the closest internet connection is about an hour away and I find I hate being this disconnected. Contact me via my gmail address if you would like my specifics about my new home address. You’ll need it to find me when you come to visit .

We continue to study vocabulary, verbs, phrases, culture & customs. Soooo much for this old head to remember. I feel like my head is swimming at the moment and even those things I thought I once knew no longer come to mind. I’m hoping that once this cold is gone and I’m settled somewhere I’ll find that I really have absorbed something! We recently were given some words of harassment to be aware of and I found a few of them to be very entertaining. Now wouldn’t you be flattered if someone said to you – aHatasa – you are my liver, or tlla kra n lviza – give me a visa.

Since yesterday was Halloween, we had a party for the children in our host families at our school. Well it was intended to be for those children, but the word got out that there was a party in town and they were flocking in like sheep. The more the merrier, but it did cut down on the number of pieces of candy the children got when they went trick-or-treating. The children had no idea what kind of party they were coming to since they have never heard of this holiday. We purchased a pumpkin and carved a Jack-O-Lantern. We played pin the nose on the pumpkin, bobbed for apples, played hot potato (complete with me being the music – eee gads), and had them make masks out of paper plates so that they could go trick-or-treating from room to room in our school. The party was a success and LOTS of children returned home happy from the new experience.

Granted my current town is very small, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised that not only do the women greet us with a s-salom, but most of the men too. Something I did not expect and I’m sure I won’t find this everywhere. Interesting side note with re to my host dad. If he should be outside the café (remember, women are not allowed in the café) when I come home, he will not make eye contact with me or say hello. Once behind closed doors, he is a very friendly guy, affectionate with his children and I’ve seen him pat his wife. I have also noticed that if he is sitting outside with some older men and they speak to me first, he then acknowledges me. My host dad is very conservative and would not allow 5 year old Selma to attend the pre-school that opened this year, and believe me she could use some discipline. There are no requirements that any child attend school, but I am hopeful she will be allowed to go to the regular school next year. If a girl goes to school, she generally goes through 6th grade and some boys attend school through 9th grade. If a boy wants to continue with school, he will have to move to another town to do so and the probability is not great that he will be allowed to do this. My host mom attended school for a while and I’m guessing my host dad did not go long, since he usually has her do the reading if there is something that needs to be read.

When visiting Ecuador earlier this year, loud roosters frequently woke up and you can bet we complained about it. No comparison – Morocco’s roosters have them beat. I don’t know how many roosters are out there crowing in the morning, but enough to wake up an army I think. Combine this with the donkeys braying and I wake up to a real concert most mornings. I’m naturally an early riser, but they usually start my day a bit earlier than I would prefer. Not only do I start most mornings early, my nights are frequently interrupted by a thousand (at least it seems like a thousand) barking dogs. Lots of wild/stray dogs running around. They are skinny, look hungry and are covered with ticks and fleas. A friend in another town saw a pack of dogs attack a donkey. Perhaps this is why we are asked to be in by dark? I’m told the police come in occasionally to shoot them in an attempt to keep the numbers down. Makes me sad to see them and to think of their lives. On the whole, American dogs have it made in the shade.

Still warm and sunny here. I may miss this nice weather when I get to my next town so send me warm thoughts. Until I write again. Bslama.

October 25th Update

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information.

10/8/09-10/18/09 - Best news is that I did okay on my language assessment. I will never be a shining star, but I’m confident that I will be able to communicate. Granted a lot of body language will go into my communication, but I know I will eventually get my point across. I need to continue working very hard. I just can’t remember anything!! Words, words, words --- need to memorize them and recognize them when spoken. One of my biggest problems is hearing it – the subtleties are so small, sometimes I can’t differentiate between them. I think everyone did okay on their assessments – gosh we’ve only been exposed to the language for three weeks at the time of the test, what do we/they expect? As expected, the younger adults seem to have an easier time with it and most (not all) older adults have to work much harder. I still have the final test ahead of me and I have to do okay, so please don’t let up on those positive thoughts and prayers.

One more volunteer left this weekend, unfortunately for health reasons (so now 6 have left from the original 63). He’s a recent college grad and he is very sad to be leaving. Originally one of his arms swelled up and was discolored. He now suffers from fatigue, joint ache and fevers. He’s been in Rabat for testing, but no diagnosis to date. I understand they will do a lyme disease test before they ship him out, but he (and I’m sure his family) want to get to the root of this and I’m sure he’ll be stateside soon. We’re sorry to have him leave. He was nice and great with the language.

My colleagues have selected me to be their GAD (Gender and Development Council) representative for our group. The purpose of this committee is to ensure that gender issues and activities are incorporated into community projects. I will travel to Rabat four times a year to meet up with the entire committee and I will be a resource for volunteer efforts re gender issues. There will be activities (i.e., camps, events, regional conferences, etc.), and at this point I don’t know if I’ll be directly involved with them or not? I’m delighted and tickled that my friends have elected me for this position.

Hammams are popular in Morocco. Hammans are usually public baths in urban/larger cities, but here in my town almost every home has one. It is a igloo shaped rattan structure, covered with cement. One person fits into it quite nicely, but not quite tall enough for me to fully stand up. It is located outside the house in the yard. Inside there is a tub (i.e., metal pail) filled with water. A fire is built outside and under the tub. When the water is really hot, you enter the hammam with a cold bucket of water and an extra pail. You proceed to mix the hot and cold until you reach the perfect temperature for yourself. You then scrub and scoop cups of water over yourself to wash/rinse. I would be lying to say it’s as good as a daily hot shower, but twice a week we enjoy a hammam and it feels great to be somewhat clean for at least a short while. My family enjoys a hammam in the afternoon hours and since our days have remained sunny and probably around 85 degrees -- a hammam is a sauna of sorts!! It will probably feel really good when the days get cooler. Now picture this -- I get out sweating….. My family comes out dressed for a Michigan winter storm wearing at least two layers of clothes, wool hats and scarves. They are convinced I will catch a cold and die since I am not bundled up. I don’t think this is the case in my home, but in some areas, a woman showing a wet head is considered a whore -- what kind of a reputation do I have?? I have washed my hair daily for years. I can’t believe I go 3-4-5 days between washings now. But, since I haven’t seen a mirror for a long time, I don’t know how bad it looks!! I’m sure Fatima would heat water up for me whenever I wanted it, but since our town only has running water twice a week, I hate to use unnecessary water.

We take the water issue in the US for granted, certainly not the case here. They store it up in containers of all sorts and then use the communal cup to scoop some for drinking/cooking/baking, etc. Even though we’ve been assured the water is safe for drinking, I just can’t join in on using this water to out-and-out drink yet. I continue to buy bottles of water and will probably do so until I am in my own house when at least I know who has been drinking from what and whose hands have been in the bucket. Fatima does use this water for cooking and for coffee/tea, but hoping the heat has destroyed most of the germs.

Speaking of germs – soap doesn’t seem to be a big thing here. Rarely does Fatima use soap when washing dishes. She instead slushes water around in cups, turns them over to drain and we use them again when next needed. I watched her tonight cleaning up the café – same thing applies here. Makes you think twice about eating in restaurants doesn’t it? Washing hands with soap – not so popular either. I’ve been very obvious about using soap. When I arrive home after school, I purposely bring my soap out where I can be seen and wash my face and hands. Most times I can get the kids to join in with me. Same applies to brushing my teeth., I make a spectacle of myself, but brush away. I bought two toothbrushes at the souq last Sunday when I learned that only the males in the house had toothbrushes. Now the females have them too!! Most times we brush together but I think that is partly because they really like my Crest toothpaste. If I leave them with just one memory of me – let it be me brushing my teeth. The Moroccan diet is very high in sugar and most lose their teeth at an early age. Brushing would at least help combat some of it.

I don’t want you to worry that I am wasting away to nothing. When I reread my last blog entry I noticed that I didn’t mention that we have tea, olives, (and bread , of course) at my host home when I arrive at 6p. Then after Ebkleam closes the café which seems to be anywhere from 8-9:30p, we have a light meal. Sometimes lentils, beans, fried eggs and of course bread. The kids have usually fallen asleep by this time and they rarely join us. Selma (the five year old girl) is a screamer, so it is a welcome break. Also to clear up any misconceptions you may have. Ebkleam does have a café in the lower part of the house. Unfortunately, I don’t wake up to the smell of coffee nor am I offered coffee on a regular basis. Besides, most coffee offered is Nescafe instant. Sweet tea is the drink most often served and the café is open for only a few short hours in the evening. I am still wondering what Ebkleam does to fill the daytime hours? Fatima (although seven months pregnant) seems to take care of all household tasks, children and cooking.

Here are some random thoughts/comments based on a few weeks in Morocco. I realize my perceptions and understanding may change as I become more acquainted with the culture. (1) If you have a bugger in your nose – dig it out. Doesn’t matter where you might be or with whom. (2) A loud, long belch is perfectly acceptable in any setting. (3) Should gas be passed, grab the perfume and spray everything possible. Seems like anything associated with the butt is dirty and revolting. (4) Two pieces of meat feeds a family of five perfectly well. (5) My sister loves rocks – she needs to come to Morocco, rocks are everywhere, I’ve never seen so many. How do they grow crops? (6) Two hours for lunch is great. The cat-nap is delightful! (7) Crocs are great to wear to the bathroom (bit Lama) since they can easily be washed when you pee in them. (8) Attending school six days a week is a bit much. (9) An age appropriate Moroccan man will likely not have teeth and his wrinkles will be overwhelming. (10) Moroccans are warm, welcoming and willing to share what little they have. Whenever a visitor shows up, tasks are dropped, tea is served and engaging conversations ensue.

On October 26th,we receive our permanent site assignments. I doubt that I will be able to include any of that information in this blog entry since I am writing this before that date, but cross your fingers for a good assignment. Hmmm, near the ocean, running water/electricity 24/7 and the internet in my home. What do you think my chances are? We won’t move to this site until November 13th, but I will then have a permanent address for letters and packages.

We were asked to prepare an American meal for our host families while staying with them. Today (9/18) is Sunday and souq day and I will cook since I can buy fresh produce and meat. The intent is to make chicken and dumplings. (Need to run, will continue in a bit.) I went early to the souq since the best is available then. I picked out a chicken and watched them slit it’s throat and pluck it for me. The chicken itself cost me about $3, but to have it plucked, cost me another $1+. The chicken was cooked in a large pot with fresh vegetables, but must admit they were the toughest dumplings I’ve ever made. Gma is back living with us and she licked her plate clean. Fatima’s uncle also visited today and he seemed to enjoy the meal. Had I thrown everything into a tajine, I’m betting they would have liked it better than being prepared in a pot. The newness of the presentation threw them off since I know they like everything I put into the dish. Will they ask me to prepare it again – NOT, but I enjoyed the comfort food and they have now had an American meal. I carmelized apples and served them over vanilla yogurt (didn’t have ice cream, best I could think of). They didn’t particularly enjoy it either!!

I am hoping to head out of town with a few other volunteers for a weekend trip on the 24th and 25th (unfortunately, the trip didn’t happen ). I will probably head into the nearby town and visit the cyber to post this instead. It is likely this blog will not get updated again until November 10th or so. I always have things I should be studying and being with the family for a full day is exhausting. Love & Hugs to all.

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information.

9/28/09-10/7/09 - Can’t believe I’ve only been gone a month. At times (most times) it seems so much longer. We were told that this training period is probably the hardest part of this commitment, and it is really hard! Much harder than I anticipated, but I’ve gone through some tough times before and I can do this too. I’ve had a good cry or two which have also helped. There are so many things to adjust to, studying to do (and I haven’t done this in years) and, of course, a language I don’t understand most of the time. There have been some tense times where I have seriously questioned – why am I doing this???? But can quite honestly say I’ve not thought of throwing in the towel and heading home. When I can get a good night’s sleep, it also helps!! I’m gonna laugh more……

Other volunteers & language -- 5 of the 63 new volunteers that left Philadelphia together have gone home -- all for personal reasons. I’m told that this is more than the norm for this point in time. Four have been young adults and one was an older (like me J ) female. On the whole, spirits are good, but I’m sure we have all had low times. Except for a few, we all have problems of some sort or another with the language. Having just spent time with my colleagues at the hub site last week, I’m feeling better about my language learning. Many of the “mature” volunteers are having a harder time of it. As suggested to me by the country’s director, I am going to try to learn five new words a day – even if I just learn five a day – think of the vocabulary I’ll have in a few months! We are scheduled for a language assessment test when we are at the hub site on October 8th, so keep me in your thoughts and say a prayer for me if you are so inclined, that I do okay.

Host home -- I’ve moved to another home. My group unanimously agrees that I got the short end of the stick with my original home assignment. Not that the people were bad or mean to me, but the atmosphere was not warm or welcoming. I would have rather done anything than go home! They were also dealing with some difficult times. They lost a loved one just six months ago. He was the son, husband, father and brother of this family and he died in an industrial accident. I believe everyone is grieving and they aren’t feeling a lot of joy at the moment (maybe they never did?) Initially I thought I should stay -- maybe this is why I’m here? Give them a diversion to think about. But at the encouragement of everyone (and finally myself) I asked the PC to move me. My experiences were not positive nor was the atmosphere conducive to good learning.

My new host home is soooo much better. I have a large room with a window facing the main (only) street. It is directly across from the souq (weekly market selling everything from soup to nuts – very noisy on Sunday). I have a mat on the floor to sleep on and a small round table in the corner. Certainly nothing fancy but it works quite well. Unfortunately, our squat toilet is not in the home. I have to go out the main door and down some steps to get to it. The bathroom is a 3x4 room with just a toilet in it. It is tiled and at least this toilet doesn’t stink and it is kept much cleaner. The rest of the house consists of a parlor (a room surrounded with benches and thick cushions. There are two tables in the middle of this room and this is where we eat, do homework, watch TV (providing they have electricity, every house has a TV with satellite dish) or just hang out. I think the room I’m currently in was their TV room and the bedroom for the kids. There is a master bedroom which is furnished just like a room in the US. While I’m here the kids are sleeping on the floor in their parents’ room. There is a small cuisina (kitchen) with a tiled counter top. I haven’t seen this room used much, since there are two other cooking areas (albeit outside) but they seem to be the preferred places. The outside kitchens have dirt floors, bags of grain, etc., piled everywhere, a small pit for fires and the butane hotplate and an oven of sorts. There is also a bed in one of the kitchens and I’m betting this is where the grandmother stays when she is here. I’m told she lives here most of the time, but she is visiting relatives at the moment and I haven’t met her There is a lovely, natural courtyard with a vine covered trellis across the top where we often have our tea when I get home from school.

My family consists of my 33 year host dad. He has a café in the lower level of the home where he serves Nescafe (instant) and hot sweet tea and they play pool and foosball. He closes up shop around 9:30p and from what I can tell, he opens up around 5p. What does he do with the rest of his day ??? My host mom is 25 (yep, younger than Chris). She is pregnant with her second child which is due in late December or so. My host dad’s first wife died at childbirth and my host mom is raising his 9 year old son and their 5 year old daughter. My host mom is warm, loving and ever so nice. I haven’t seen preferential treatment displayed between the children and she kisses/cuddles them frequently. She also feeds me on a regular basis, something I really couldn’t count on in my first home. She is up, cheerful and has tea waiting for me before I head off to school. The only problem I have here is that they all want me and my attention. It is hard to carve time out in the evening for homework and studying. And, I need some time for me alone, a rare commodity at this time and it will probably remain so until I get into my own place.

I attended my first Moroccan wedding last Saturday. It actually started Friday night. Around 9p on Friday, we heard horns blowing. We checked it out via the windows. The cars in the village (all five of them) were lined up and slowly driving down the street, blowing their horns. One of the cars was decorated with balloons. I was still wondering what was going on at this point??? The cars drove past and then returned and stopped at the house next door. Lots of people gathered in the street with drums and horns blasting – and the party began. I later noticed them hauling out blankets and bundles (gifts, I presume). They played music (I think the same song) all night. When I returned from school on Saturday afternoon the party was still going. Fatima (my host mom) and I went over to it after I changed into a skirt and top. We women all gathered in a space behind the house, covered with a tarp. We sat on the ground, some chatted and we looked at each other. Some women were scurrying about serving the men food. After the men finished, we women went into the house where we were fed platters of chicken and bread. Later lamb and veggies came out (who knew there would be a second course, I was full). Then the platter of melons and grapes. A shared water cup was passed from woman to woman. I’m passing on this part since I am not drinking the local water. At this point I’ve yet to see the bride or groom?? I later understand they were married Friday night, probably around 5a or so, maybe they are consummating the marriage?? We head back outside where more drums and horns blow, along with singing. We walk the main street, clapping our hands and have a gay time. A white horse is brought out that is switched continuously, making him rear and buck a bit. I’m told the horse likes to dance too (yeah right!). The party continues all night and seems to end at dawn on Sunday. Luckily Fatima is pregnant and we head home at a reasonable hour on Saturday night. The kids were in and out of the party and did eat with us ladies, but Ebklean (my host dad) did not join us at all.

We’ve had a couple of days where we received torrential rain. I’m told in some areas the cars were floating. We lost electricity and used the butane tank with flame out the top for light. It was kind of scary. Most days have been sunny and hot. Guessing 85 or so, but who knows. It is beautiful here around 5p since it is cooling down. Nights have been comfortably cool, yet not cold.

We are in school all day from 8:30a-5:30p. We have a cook who serves us a breakfast (yes another breakfast) around 10a, lunch (our biggest and balanced meal of the day) around 12:30, and then we have a tea break around 4p. One day we made pizza for lunch. Not quite as good as we would have in the US, but not bad. Ummm, no pepperoni to be had here, so it was a veggie pizza with gouda cheese. I would like to believe that I’m losing some of the weight I put on my last few months in the states. My pants are baggy – isn’t that an indicator?? Guessing they since I’ve worn them for two weeks now, they are only stretched out!! Too bad… We have bread, bread and more bread offered here. I’m passing on most of it, but I’m certainly eating far more than I did in the states.

End of update – out of time for now. Will likely be two weeks before I have internet access again. Miss you all. Bslama

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information.

9/28/09-10/7/09 - Can’t believe I’ve only been gone a month. At times (most times) it seems so much longer. We were told that this training period is probably the hardest part of this commitment, and it is really hard! Much harder than I anticipated, but I’ve gone through some tough times before and I can do this too. I’ve had a good cry or two which have also helped. There are so many things to adjust to, studying to do (and I haven’t done this in years) and, of course, a language I don’t understand most of the time. There have been some tense times where I have seriously questioned – why am I doing this???? But can quite honestly say I’ve not thought of throwing in the towel and heading home. When I can get a good night’s sleep, it also helps!! I’m gonna laugh more……

Other volunteers & language -- 5 of the 63 new volunteers that left Philadelphia together have gone home -- all for personal reasons. I’m told that this is more than the norm for this point in time. Four have been young adults and one was an older (like me J ) female. On the whole, spirits are good, but I’m sure we have all had low times. Except for a few, we all have problems of some sort or another with the language. Having just spent time with my colleagues at the hub site last week, I’m feeling better about my language learning. Many of the “mature” volunteers are having a harder time of it. As suggested to me by the country’s director, I am going to try to learn five new words a day – even if I just learn five a day – think of the vocabulary I’ll have in a few months! We are scheduled for a language assessment test when we are at the hub site on October 8th, so keep me in your thoughts and say a prayer for me if you are so inclined, that I do okay.

Host home -- I’ve moved to another home. My group unanimously agrees that I got the short end of the stick with my original home assignment. Not that the people were bad or mean to me, but the atmosphere was not warm or welcoming. I would have rather done anything than go home! They were also dealing with some difficult times. They lost a loved one just six months ago. He was the son, husband, father and brother of this family and he died in an industrial accident. I believe everyone is grieving and they aren’t feeling a lot of joy at the moment (maybe they never did?) Initially I thought I should stay -- maybe this is why I’m here? Give them a diversion to think about. But at the encouragement of everyone (and finally myself) I asked the PC to move me. My experiences were not positive nor was the atmosphere conducive to good learning.

My new host home is soooo much better. I have a large room with a window facing the main (only) street. It is directly across from the souq (weekly market selling everything from soup to nuts – very noisy on Sunday). I have a mat on the floor to sleep on and a small round table in the corner. Certainly nothing fancy but it works quite well. Unfortunately, our squat toilet is not in the home. I have to go out the main door and down some steps to get to it. The bathroom is a 3x4 room with just a toilet in it. It is tiled and at least this toilet doesn’t stink and it is kept much cleaner. The rest of the house consists of a parlor (a room surrounded with benches and thick cushions. There are two tables in the middle of this room and this is where we eat, do homework, watch TV (providing they have electricity, every house has a TV with satellite dish) or just hang out. I think the room I’m currently in was their TV room and the bedroom for the kids. There is a master bedroom which is furnished just like a room in the US. While I’m here the kids are sleeping on the floor in their parents’ room. There is a small cuisina (kitchen) with a tiled counter top. I haven’t seen this room used much, since there are two other cooking areas (albeit outside) but they seem to be the preferred places. The outside kitchens have dirt floors, bags of grain, etc., piled everywhere, a small pit for fires and the butane hotplate and an oven of sorts. There is also a bed in one of the kitchens and I’m betting this is where the grandmother stays when she is here. I’m told she lives here most of the time, but she is visiting relatives at the moment and I haven’t met her There is a lovely, natural courtyard with a vine covered trellis across the top where we often have our tea when I get home from school.

My family consists of my 33 year host dad. He has a café in the lower level of the home where he serves Nescafe (instant) and hot sweet tea and they play pool and foosball. He closes up shop around 9:30p and from what I can tell, he opens up around 5p. What does he do with the rest of his day ??? My host mom is 25 (yep, younger than Chris). She is pregnant with her second child which is due in late December or so. My host dad’s first wife died at childbirth and my host mom is raising his 9 year old son and their 5 year old daughter. My host mom is warm, loving and ever so nice. I haven’t seen preferential treatment displayed between the children and she kisses/cuddles them frequently. She also feeds me on a regular basis, something I really couldn’t count on in my first home. She is up, cheerful and has tea waiting for me before I head off to school. The only problem I have here is that they all want me and my attention. It is hard to carve time out in the evening for homework and studying. And, I need some time for me alone, a rare commodity at this time and it will probably remain so until I get into my own place.

I attended my first Moroccan wedding last Saturday. It actually started Friday night. Around 9p on Friday, we heard horns blowing. We checked it out via the windows. The cars in the village (all five of them) were lined up and slowly driving down the street, blowing their horns. One of the cars was decorated with balloons. I was still wondering what was going on at this point??? The cars drove past and then returned and stopped at the house next door. Lots of people gathered in the street with drums and horns blasting – and the party began. I later noticed them hauling out blankets and bundles (gifts, I presume). They played music (I think the same song) all night. When I returned from school on Saturday afternoon the party was still going. Fatima (my host mom) and I went over to it after I changed into a skirt and top. We women all gathered in a space behind the house, covered with a tarp. We sat on the ground, some chatted and we looked at each other. Some women were scurrying about serving the men food. After the men finished, we women went into the house where we were fed platters of chicken and bread. Later lamb and veggies came out (who knew there would be a second course, I was full). Then the platter of melons and grapes. A shared water cup was passed from woman to woman. I’m passing on this part since I am not drinking the local water. At this point I’ve yet to see the bride or groom?? I later understand they were married Friday night, probably around 5a or so, maybe they are consummating the marriage?? We head back outside where more drums and horns blow, along with singing. We walk the main street, clapping our hands and have a gay time. A white horse is brought out that is switched continuously, making him rear and buck a bit. I’m told the horse likes to dance too (yeah right!). The party continues all night and seems to end at dawn on Sunday. Luckily Fatima is pregnant and we head home at a reasonable hour on Saturday night. The kids were in and out of the party and did eat with us ladies, but Ebklean (my host dad) did not join us at all.

We’ve had a couple of days where we received torrential rain. I’m told in some areas the cars were floating. We lost electricity and used the butane tank with flame out the top for light. It was kind of scary. Most days have been sunny and hot. Guessing 85 or so, but who knows. It is beautiful here around 5p since it is cooling down. Nights have been comfortably cool, yet not cold.

We are in school all day from 8:30a-5:30p. We have a cook who serves us a breakfast (yes another breakfast) around 10a, lunch (our biggest and balanced meal of the day) around 12:30, and then we have a tea break around 4p. One day we made pizza for lunch. Not quite as good as we would have in the US, but not bad. Ummm, no pepperoni to be had here, so it was a veggie pizza with gouda cheese. I would like to believe that I’m losing some of the weight I put on my last few months in the states. My pants are baggy – isn’t that an indicator?? Guessing they since I’ve worn them for two weeks now, they are only stretched out!! Too bad… We have bread, bread and more bread offered here. I’m passing on most of it, but I’m certainly eating far more than I did in the states.

End of update – out of time for now. Will likely be two weeks before I have internet access again. Miss you all. Bslama

Morocco Update 9/26/09 (I think)

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS. Since this site is public, specific details are not given so email me personally if you’d like more information.

9/15/09-/9/26/09 - Arrived at our Hub site later than planned since the busses were late in picking us up – welcome to Morocco!! Too late to travel to our individual sites that night so we spent the night. Ahhhh, a chance for a hot shower, probably our last for quite some time and since I haven’t had one since Philadelphia, a welcome treat.

Our six hour bus ride was on pretty decent roads. Since it was a almost a week ago, I’ve forgotten much about it. Perhaps it is the time of the year, but when I think of Morocco’s landscape I see brown. I’ve seen little “good” soil, (lots of rocks) although I’m told they have some somewhere? I saw lots of olive trees and probably almond trees on our trek. We wound ourselves through mountains and valleys to arrive at the hub.

Village - The village I live in is about 20k out of the hub site and takes about 20 minutes to travel to by Grand Taxi. They pack six people into the taxi and costs each of us about 8d (approx $1) each. There is not a city center for my village but instead it consists of clusters of homes scattered about and the clusters seem to be primarily family groups. Three of us volunteers live in my cluster and I live with a sister of another volunteer’s brother and uncertain how the third volunteer’s family fits in but betting it does. The road traveling to my home is paved and along the road are tahanuts where you shop. I have seen three tahanuts here, but have been told to avoid one of them since his prices are too high. The hanuts are really basic, bare necessities in them, certainly could not stock your kitchen for meals from them. We are able to buy water, coffee, tea, soap for washing clothes, etc., but little fresh produce has been seen. We have been told that our village has a souk on Sundays and that many vendors will be there selling everything from cattle to plastic ware, to fresh produce. Unfortunately, our first Sunday here is a Ramadan holiday so we will have to wait a week.

Home - My home is made of cement not mud as I was first told it would be. You enter into it through a small courtyard. It was a very muddy courtyard on the day I arrived. We have two water faucets our there and on the two days a week that we receive water they fill every available bucket and container. We do not have a faucet or sink, for that matter, in the house. Our bathroom is a 3x3 room and there is a squat toilet in it (that’s it!) This area is used for most everything concerning water. This is not a very appetizing room in my opinion and is almost always wet and stinky. If we want to douche (shower) we are to take a bucket of water in there with us and wash down. I have been bringing a small pail of water to my room and sponge bathing there. If people brush their teeth, they also do it there and quite frankly this grosses me out so I’ve been brushing outside. When the weather turns, we’ll see what I do? Frankly, I spend as little time in this room as possible. My bedroom is right inside the door and near the bathroom. It is painted BRIGHT yellow with a bit of chipping paint for white accent and black (hopefully not mold). My bedspread is HOT pink and quite frilly. Perfect for me don’t you think? I have color in my life!!! Initially I thought the bedspread was newly acquired, but on closer inspection, I think not. I imagine I have taken over someone’s room for this temporary stay. We have a small cooking area where there is a hot plate with two burners, a separate propane cooking unit and a kind of oven. Fabric is hung across the bottom of the two counters to work as doors and also as hand wipes (wondering if they ever wash them?) There is a larger room in the middle of the house where the refrigerator is located, as well as a cabinet where the dishes are stored. We wash the dishes in this room on the floor in pails. I’m not feeling they are particularly clean when the process is done, since the floor is frequently not that clean to begin with. Sometimes we heat water to use for dishes, sometimes not. There are two bedrooms other than my room and then kind of a sitting/living room. We have benches surrounding the room with thick cushions on them. Everyone has a television in Morocco, complete with a satellite dish, and this is a very popular room. People sit for hours in there watching it (not so different than in the US).

Family - My father’s name is Said and his wife’s name is Abouch (I’m probably older than they are). Said is a serious fellow who rarely has facial expression – and I’ve seen little communication from him. Abouch has a smiling face and at this time I’m uncertain what she does around the home, except to jump when Said says something. The daughter-in-laws seem to do most of the work. They have one son (Baujmaa) living with them, along with his pregnant wife, Hayat. Baujamaa is 25 and Hyat t is 19. Their other son died in an accident and his widow Khaddoug (age 25) lives with them also, along with her son Hameed who is 4. Appears that once a woman marries she becomes the husband’s family’s responsibility. She seems to be at the bottom of the totem pole and I have been given to her to take care of. Not only is Hameed’s father “imut”, but he is a son and a treasured commodity – he is very spoiled and catered to. Having me in the home is a new experience for this family and they don’t know what to do with me. Initially they showed me my room and I felt like I should stay there. They brought a small table in and served me my meals on a tray. I have since talked with my LCF (Language/Culture Facilitator) and asked her to talk with them about this and she has and my inclusion has improved. I feel like they expect me to know the language and that they don’t understand why I am such a dummy. How do I get across to them that I’ve only had a few days of exposure to this Berber dialect??? Cut me some slack!! I’m hoping this will improve, but my house does not feel like a warm, comforting haven to me. They meet my physical needs and I get my warmth elsewhere. One of the other volunteer’s homes is most inviting and warm feeling, and luckily I can spend some time there. Again, trying to not be so hard on my family – this is a new experience for them. They are getting paid to house me and feel like they should treat me as a guest. Hopefully it will improve as time goes on. Since writing the earlier part of this paragraph, I have learned that they have two other sons and two daughters. One son, Mohammed is a teacher and lives in a nearby town with his wife Tooli and their two daughters Heba and Hooda. They spent last weekend with us and I enjoyed them very much and was sorry to have them leave. Mohammed spoke a little English so I could confirm some of the words being spoken and it helped a lot.

Food - Hard to tell what the food is really like since I’ve arrived during Ramadan. My family actually fasts from sun-up to sun-down during Ramadan. I hear someone preparing food around 4:30a or so and those that are interested in eating/drinking get up shortly after that to do so. They then don’t eat or drink anything until the end of the day when they break fast. That is usually eaten around 6:30-7p. That meal has consisted of the same soup each night (there is a name for it – can’t remember), several kinds of bread (which they bake daily) sometimes some figs/dates/grapes, usually a drink made with apples & pears blended with milk, coffee and sweet tea. We had an omelet sort of dish made in a tijene which we scooped out with pieces of bread which was very good and another night we had mini-mini meatballs cooked on top of tomatoes & onions which we also scooped out with bread. Very little silverware is used or for that matter plates are seldom used. We generally eat from a central dish or off the table with our hands. The soup is served in individual bowls. Drinking water is stored in a cooler type container, but a shared cup is just dipped in to refill and I’ve chosen to buy bottled water at this time. I’m told the water is safe to drink and if I could just get it from a container with a spicket I would probably do so, but the way my family does it I’m not comfortable drinking it (at least yet) The family then has a very late meal , around 11-11:30p. I haven’t stayed up to join them yet since we have class early each morning and I have to get up. Other than Khaddouj, my family has been sleeping when I get up and leave. My breakfast has been brought to my room on a tray and it consists of two kinds of bread w/very strong olive oil and SWEET coffee w/half of it being milk. I’m getting a bit of my caffeine fix, but not quite enough. Guess the sugar is meant to keep me going? Ramadan will end on 9/21 and then our meals will change. Hopefully dinner will be served earlier so I can join them. We will typically have a large lunch at our training site since we have a cook to prepare it. I’m told that lunch will be a balanced meal – and doesn’t much matter what I’m fed after that. So far our lunches have consisted of what we bring for ourselves. I always have bread available at my house and I’ve picked up some cheese and some fruit when it is available. I need to make more of a point of drinking water since I’m not drinking nearly enough.

Training - Our LCF is Samira and she is from southern Morocco which is where I will likely be placed. Not necessarily in the Sahara, but north of it. She is 24 years old and attended the university for three years. She works with the PC as a sub-contractor for training periods and works other jobs during the rest of the year. She is very patient and explains well. I am struggling with the language – no bones about it. Not only do I find it hard to articulate the new sounds, I haven’t refreshed my English grammatical skills in years and my foreign language experience consists of one year of Spanish in 1964!! Two of the other volunteers in my group are mid-20’s and they are getting a good grasp of it. The other volunteer is late 50’s, speaks French pretty fluently and is also learning better than I am. I’ve had moments of great frustration (just can’t get it!!) and I’m being told to go easier on myself. Just not sinking in it seems – even the simplest thing. Of course I’m getting myself in a knot and already worrying about the proficiency test and I need to get a grip. Even if sent home – what an experience! We meet each day from about 8:30a-5:30p. We have four hours of language, break for a bit and then have cultural/country training. Our CLF lives in a home by herself that the PC is renting for this period. It is sparsely furnished, but functional.

We went into a nearby town this week to do grocery shopping for our cook. Their supermarkets are not much bigger than a 9x12 room. No fresh produce or meats are available in them. The storekeepers have known a bit of English and have been most helpful. We then visited the souk - yeow…. At least a hundred vendors – with many of them selling the same things from soup to nuts (as we would say in the US). It is full of people and animals and a challenge to maneuver through. Samira advised us to be careful here since she trusted no one and to keep our bags/purses close to us. It was a hot, dusty, exhausting experience and I’m told I will likely have to visit a souk twice a week if I want fresh produce. We didn’t buy any meat here since most of it was covered with flies and had been out in the open air for hours. We didn’t have time to go to a butcher shop, but I’m told that is where our meat should be bought. I can’t imagine my family buying from a butcher….. We had lunch in town – nice cucumber/tomato/onion salad (cut up into very small pieces), ¼ of a grilled chicken and French fries for 25 dh or a little over $3. It was tasty and hit the spot. Women do not frequent many of the cafes, but this seemed to be a place where women went and were welcome. Granted the clientele was primarily men, but still possible to join in.

Everywhere you look you see dogs running wild. My family has one they feed leftovers to named Bisbis (or something like that) but I’ve never seen them show any affection toward it . People seem to be afraid of them since they seem to believe they will attack and bite. Of course, I think this is quite possible since most of the time people throw rocks at them. The dog may approach in a timid manner with his tail wagging and then someone yells and throws a rock at them -- I might develop a bit of aggression too! At night the dogs bark endlessly and I swear their bark is different than an American dog’s. I’ve seen a few cats, but not many and of course there are donkeys everywhere.

We visited a nearby town to see the cascades (waterfalls). It looked a bit touristy, but the area itself was lovely and nice to see something new. We have a day off on Sunday (9/27?) and we are going into the hub town to catch up on some emails at an internet cafe. We’ll be back in on October 1st, but the PC has our time planned pretty tightly, and rarely enough time to catch up. Looking forward to the day.

Please send me lots of positive thoughts re language learning. I can use them since I have found this to be the most stressful part of the process so far. I am relishing the experience, have questioned my decision to do this, but staying the course and moving forward. My apologies if you’re bored with details. I wanted to set the stage so that you could visually picture where I am. Promise to not bore you with minute details forever. Miss you all. Love & Hugs

9/14/09

THE CONTENTS OF THIS WEB SITE ARE MINE PERSONALLY AND DO NOT REFLECT ANY POSITION OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT OR THE PEACE CORPS.
9/8-9/10, 2009 Philadelphia’s one-day staging was primarily a get-acquainted time. Played games, shared stories, etc. Most of us split up into groups for dinner and became better acquainted. We were bused to JFK with hours to kill and many of us landed in a wine bar where we savored the fruits of the vine immensely since it is publicly forbidden in Morocco and who knows when we will next have the opportunity to enjoy it?
9/10-9/14, 2009 Arrived safely in Casablanca at 7:45a. We boarded a bus to a seaside facility north of Rabat. Some of us slept on the flight/bus, but many of us were up for 24 hours+. Can’t believe they held sessions that afternoon. Most of were nodding off and retention was nil. There are 63 of us and about a third are mature adults (I fit that category – right?) We represent America well (culturally, racially, etc.) Breakfast is from 7:30-8:30 and consists of coffee, orange juice, bread, croissants and condiments. I will definitely gain weight on this diet. I have made friends with Fatima (dining room attendant) so I am able to get my coffee early and I’ve been enjoying it on the rooftop with an ocean view before breakfast. Sessions begin at 9a and lunch is at 1p. We start with huge trays of salad fixins (without the lettuce) i.e., olives, beets, eggplant, hard boiled eggs, etc. usually followed by a small plate of meat (i.e., meatballs) then followed by another huge tray of meat and vegetables (yesterday chicken, peas and carrots), then followed by apples (soft, not crisp). Plus, big baskets of bread are available at every meal. Training sessions begin again at 2p and last until near 6p. Many of us have been taking walks at this time and we have found a place where we can get ice cream. I’ve enjoyed a lovely pistachio/almond ice cream and the walk back via the beach. We have been advised to not walk about alone and we must be inside before its dark (7p). Dinner is at 8p and it starts with soup/bread (of course) followed by a meat dish (last night lamb chops) and pasta. Dessert was packaged pudding, but we’ve had yogurt mostly for dinner dessert. Groups then gather on the rooftop for conversation, lobby area for internet access. And the lounge for card/other games.
Our days have been sunny, hot and humid. We are in a dorm like facility and I have three roommates (two are recent college grads from Mich and one is 40+ and originally from England). We have community bathrooms and our showers are cold, but we have modern toilets rather that squat toilets and we are thrilled. Only wish they would keep them supplied with toilet paper!! We had a free day on Sunday and most of us traveled to a city north of where we are living.. Cell phones were the purchase of the day and I will gladly share that number if you ask for it via my gmail address. I’ve received HepB, Rabies and Meningitis shots with more shots to come later in the week. We are learning survival Arabic at this time, and will concentrate on our specific dialects when we are moved to our hub on 9/15. The small business group will travel to our hub in the foothills of the mountains by bus and we’re told it will be a 6 hour drive or so. We will then split off into groups of 5 individuals and head to our village where we will live individually with host families. Each day the 5 of us will meet for 4+ hours of language training and the remainder of the day will be spent on learning the culture or jobs we will be undertaking.
We’ve had the luxury of having the internet on-site, but can’t imagine I will have it with my host family or in the village where I will live for the next nine weeks. When we travel to our hub site (every couple of weeks or so), I imagine it will be available, and I’ll update this at that time. Bslama……

September Update

s-salamu alaykum. I’m off to Morocco….. Scheduled to arrive in Casablanca at 7:45a on Thursday, September 10th. 63 new volunteers will then board a bus for a 2.5 hour ride to Mehdya, a small beach town north of Rabat. We will meet the training staff, medical team and the country director at this time. We will stay here until Tuesday, September 15th. I will then move to Azilal which will be my hub for small business training. After just a brief stop here, small groups of us will move to our community based training site where we will live individually with host families for the next eight weeks or so. I’ll update you when I know more. Bslama