Living Life and Forgetting my Age

November and I'm Home

2011-11-16T09:45:00.000-08:00

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.

11/16/11 - I’m HOME on American soil!!! OMG……. This will likely be my last blog update (and some of you are saying – thank God), but if I am so inspired, I will write one more and tell you how it feels to be home, although I wouldn’t expect that to be soon since the holidays are upon us. I have changed and those I love have changed in the time I’ve been gone. How well will we interact with each other? Will we be able to pick up where we left off? I anticipate I will be overwhelmed with store shelves – so much to choose from. Tickled pink to turn on the hot shower, at will, and to sit on a western toilet. I don’t even have to bring my own camping toilet or toilet paper to use  

It seems long ago I realized that I needed the world to live, grow, learn and most importantly, share. A book about India, with its crowded streets, rich of culture, colors and spirits, feels inspiring. A picture of Paris, with its Eiffel tower and night lights, makes my heart beat faster. I could not resist wishing and dreaming about being there each time the world was brought to me. In my head, my luggage was packed and I was ready for the adventure. My travel bug was jumpin and ready to go.

I remember hearing about Kennedy’s speech in 1961 and being intrigued with the prospects of what he was proposing. At the time, the opportunity seemed both unreal and unattainable, but life took it’s own course and I was able to give it a try, albeit many years later. Here I was, a woman of 60 heading off to Morocco for 27 months with significant life experiences to share, and whose dream was suddenly within reach. Was this my moment? My excitement and happiness was beyond what can be described with words. I was ready and longing to spread my wings, immerse myself into a foreign culture and release all my potential to the world.

My experiences in Morocco have been priceless and I am very grateful for the opportunity. I came here with ideas to share about freedom and equality, diversity, and the possibility to go as far as one sets their mind to. During my time here I met many people, some were great and deeply changed me, and others were not as much of a pleasant experience but definitely contributed to my unavoidable growth. I can’t describe or put into words what the past two years have meant to me. I’m glad that I was able to share with you, through my blog, some of these very special moments. I hope you enjoyed the past two years as much as I did.

I’ve attached a couple of pictures that should have been in the last blog, but uploading was slow when I did the early November blog entry , and I just gave up. You will see a picture of Rachida and I and our glittery hands. It was an educational, yet fun way to share the “microbets” with others.

There is a picture of jelaba’s in my friend’s store in Ouarzazate. Aren’t they colorful and beautiful? One day while riding the bus I was looking out at the people standing nearby. I didn’t see one jelaba that was the same. We think of these women as being submissive, modest, covered and the “same”, but they are individuals who express themselves in the fabrics and colors they choose and in so many other ways. Each woman is her own person, you just need to give her the opportunity to share this with you.

When visiting my host mom’s family in Ouarzazate, they showed me the dates they had collected. Have you ever seen so many dates? And, wow, you haven’t tasted a good date until you’ve tasted these. They are wonderful!

Here is also a picture of Nuhalia and Samira – note those haircuts!! I didn’t do so bad did I? I lost count of how many haircuts I gave towards the end of my time in my village. Sometimes it was a minor trim, sometimes I cut twelve inches off . Unfortunately, there was one little girl that looked very disappointed after her cut. I cut off at least nine inches, maybe more. She wanted sleek, straight hair, but after I washed it and cut it, it came to life and turned into a bush. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do with it after it was cut. Because I have this straight, fine hair, I thought it was kind of fun and cute, but whoa….. she didn’t like it. I had some Velcro rollers that had been sent to me when my hair was growing, so we tried setting her hair to see if we could straighten it. It worked somewhat and I sent the rollers home with her. I saw her in school several days later and her hair was fairly straight. She must be using the rollers. Remember using rollers ladies? Aren’t you glad I’ve shared this knowledge and experience?

The picture of the field, boy, etc., is just a picture I like. It was taken in my village on one of my walks. Beautiful!

I’ve tried to educate you a bit about Morocco in each blog. As you know, I have spent a lot of time in our local school with the children. The majority of my students will not go to 7th grade since they would have to live in another town and board to do so. I recently read this article and thought you might enjoy reading it too.

“AIN LEUH, Morocco — In the heart of the snowbound Atlas mountains in central Morocco, a boarding school takes in young girls from isolated villages in a bid to fight poverty and illiteracy.
There are more than 300 such schools in Morocco, with another 30 planned for construction next year. They are now both home and class to almost 16,700 girls, who are often living far from their families. More than 70 percent of them come from a rural background, according to official figures.
"The criteria for admission to the dormitory? They are simple and clear: poverty and remoteness. ….
The dormitory has taken in 35 young women, just a little way from the school they attend each day.
Despite landmark changes in the family code known as Mudawana, pushed through by King Mohammed VI in 2004 against tough opposition from religious conservatives, many women are still second-class citizens in the north African country. In conservative rural zones, only one out of every two girls finishes middle school and only two out of every 10 goes to high school. [I think these numbers are greatly exaggerated – las)
The king promoted the boarding schools -- for both boys and girls -- soon after he took power, in 1999.
"My parents live a few dozen kilometres from here. But thanks to this home, I'm doing my studies in good conditions because I'm looked after and the school is just nearby” …
They are taken in hand, with a precise programme from morning to evening: breakfast, going to the nearby school, lunch at 12:30 pm, studies and, finally, lights out at 10:00 pm,.
The boarding school is financed and jointly run by the ministry of social development and a local non-governmental organisation, the Islamic Association of Charity (AIB). From November, it begins to get very cold because the region is mountainous. The girls stay in the home all week, but they can spend the weekend with their relatives or close family …. To see her parents, Khadija must first take a "big taxi" (a collective taxi) for several dozen kilometres. Then she needs to walk down a track for at least an hour to get home… "Local communities, the ministry (of social development) and our association participate in the finance, but we have to struggle to balance our budget," said Mohamed Bouyamlal, vice-president of the AIB. "We have to make choices which are sometimes difficult and choose the strict minimum, which is to say food," he added.
The headmistress only earns 1,200 dirhams a month (106 euros / 148 dollars), which is less than the national minimum wage of about 125 euros.
But in spite of the difficulties, the results are promising. The schools say their success rate in graduating girls runs between 80 and 100 percent, and more than half the boarders end up following university studies. Overall, the rate of illiteracy among rural women has dropped from 64 percent in 2006 to 40 percent in 2011, according to official figures. And the rate at which girls drop out of school in rural areas has fallen from 14 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2010, thanks to this programme. School is by law compulsory in Morocco until the age of 15.” [But I’ve not seen it enforced - las]

Since a replacement will not be sent to my site, my apartment needed to be emptied to the bare walls. A volunteer that recently moved to a site about 30km away, hired a truck to come and take a lot of stuff. I gave my host family my ponges (big cushions that are used as couches) pillows and white plastic table & chairs, plus a bunch of other stuff and food. Note how the moving goes in my village.

Luckily I learned before I left that my host sister, Zakia, had left the hospital. She couldn’t leave Ouarzazate since she needed to see the doctor again, but she was at Gma and Gpa’s (Jdda & Jddi). There is still much I don’t understand about this hospitalization, but hopefully they did learn what was really the matter and that she will be fully well again soon.

My last night in site was not as expected since my host mom and sister were not home. I had planned to spend that last night with them, but it was not to be. I had the offer from other friends to stay with them, but decided I wanted to stay in my own apartment that last night. I had nothing but one mat and the blankets I borrowed from my landlord for that night. I needed to say good-bye to my village, home and Morocco in my own way and I needed to be alone to do that. I wanted one more morning coffee on my rooftop. Walking down the hill and leaving was hard and four of the six puppies (two are dead) that I’ve befriended walked me down to the road on the day I left. It was early and I didn’t see many on my walk down. Luckily one of my teacher friends called a relative who drives a taxi and my ride was arranged so I didn’t need to worry about getting a ride. He was rather vague on when he would arrive though – anytime between 8-10a, and it was close to 10a, so I still had a two hour wait, but at least he came.

Saying good-bye to friends is never easy and knowing that I will likely never return made these good-bye’s even harder. I can’t remember when I’ve cried so much and I was exhausted and emotionally drained by the time I left. The people of Morocco have been kind, supportive, helpful and loving for the most part. They will always hold a special spot in my heart.

I left site a bit earlier than necessary and moved on to a friend’s site for the last couple of days. She will be returning home too. We talked about our experiences and the times we had. We ate up the food we both still had (I hauled stuff with me to her home too). It was a good way for me to leave. Yes, I am somewhat familiar with her site, but it isn’t my site. I can now walk away and catch that taxi , train and eventually the plane without so much emotion although I suspect I will cry many more times before I leave. We PCVs are all from varying places in the States and yes we plan to have a reunion, but if and when will that happen and who will come? Some of these people I will never see again – that’s a fact! Kind of feels like saying good-bye to your friends when you leave college. My time in Morocco is finished. I hope I am remembered and that I taught them something. I hope they’ll remember the hugs and kisses we shared. I hope a few of them will brush their teeth daily and wash their hands with soap. I hope flavored cheese continues to be made and sold and that the restaurant is finally finished and has customers. I hope the baby’s center one day as an adequate water supply – it is such a wonderful resource that has such great potential. It’s been a fantastic 27 months, but I am ready to be home and back in life’s loop.

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Take a moment and think about all that you have to be grateful for. We have sooooo much and much of it we take for granted and don’t appreciate. I wish you all health, happiness and contentment. Be all that you can be. Hugs to you all. Linda

Homeward Bound - SOON

2011-11-01T23:50:00.000-07:00

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.

11/2/11 - my goodness, only a few more weeks left in Morocco. If you read my last blog update, you know that I fly home on November 15th. I should have good internet access until November 13th, after that who knows? Until after the holidays I will likely bounce from house to house. I will get a cell phone soon after I return to the states and I’ll let you know that number as soon as I have it.

I've been tying up loose ends and finishing projects. I've done what I can do and I'm quite satisfied with my PC service. Perhaps not exactly how I envisioned it when I came, but I hope I've taught and helped at least a little. Baby steps, we start with baby steps -- I keep reminding myself of this. The last month has flown by and it’s been a busy month. I’ve spent a lot of time in the classrooms with the teachers and students. I met with them to discuss the importance of hand washing and I use glitter as my demonstrating tool. You put a bit of glitter into your hand, unbeknownst to the kids. You then proceed to shake hands, touch them and things. Soon there are bits of glitter everywhere - just as germs are spread. It's a great visual tool. A Moroccan friend that lives near helped me with the translation part. Not only is her English pretty good, but it was good to have help spreading those germs!!! The students love the glitter to demonstrate how germs (microbes) spread. A quick splash of water over the hands simply won’t do to get rid of it either. Soap must be used and for an extended period of time. They all know the song “Happy Birthday”, so I suggested they lather their hands with soap and scrub away, while they sing the song in their head. Heck, it’s okay to sing it out loud – it’s a happy song!! They always laugh at this. The use of soap is interesting. In the three homes I lived in, rarely was soap available to use at their water source (not all homes had sinks). For that matter, rarely did any of my host moms use soap to wash their dishes. They just scrubbed off the food matter with a scrubby thing in cold water. I gave out many bars of soap over the past two years and they just seem to disappear – to where? I never figured that out! While I had this captive audience, I always put them on the spot and asked if they had brushed their teeth this morning. Most did not, but a few did and I guess that’s progress. I reminded them of the proper way to brush one’s teeth and gave tooth brushes away to those that didn’t have one. The children say they can’t remember and unfortunately it is not a habit their mother embraces either, so she doesn’t think to remind them. I told them to try to make the connection -- when you put your shoes on - brush your teeth. When you go to bed – brush your teeth. Again, maybe a few children will make this connection and it will become a habit. It has to start somewhere – sometime.

I traveled to Fes this month for my last GAD (Gender and Development) committee meeting. We chose to meet here since the new group of volunteers that arrived in country in September was meeting then, and we would have a chance to meet them and mingle a bit. It was fun to look back and remember what it felt like when I had just arrived. It was nice to reassure them that life gets better after this training period is over and you have a home of your own again. I stayed over in the area for a couple of days and said my farewell to the city itself. It is one of my favorite cities in Morocco. Note the palace doors – aren’t they beautiful? One of my friends wanted to buy a tile table and so I accompanied her on the hunt for the perfect one – what do you think? I love it!! My friend is actually extending her stay here for one year, but she had the table shipped back to her home in Colorado. She has long admired these tables and decided to just buy it now and not think about it any longer – scratch that from the list!! I then went with two other friends to Moulay Yacoub. This is a small village just outside Fes where they have thermal baths. We splurged and did a package which involved a good soak in thermal tubs, a steam room, a hosing down with a fireman’s hose (now this was weird and almost hurt), and finished it off with half hour massage. The massage felt great and I wished it could have lasted “hours”. We thought we were getting a good scrubbing while there too, but it wasn’t part of the deal. The day was not as expected, but it was interesting nevertheless.

I returned to site to have snow greet me. Yuck!! Get me out of here – I don’t want another winter in Morocco. Luckily it did not snow in my village itself, just in the higher elevations, but it was cold. My house was/is cold!! We had several days of miserable weather, but luckily it seems to have cleared up and our days are back to being relatively pleasant. Nights are much colder now and I’ve had to put the heavier blanket on my bed. I also dug out the long underwear. Time to go………

I was invited by a Aicha to “something” last Tuesday. I was told to come to her home at 1:30p and we will walk to Soumia’s home at 2p. The invitation was extended to me several days before the event, which is unusual. Normally, you learn of such things hours before they are to happen. Again not knowing what to expect and why we are gathering, I am where I should be at the designated time and we walk to Soumia’s. Soon the salon fills with women all dressed in their finest jelaba’s and fancy zif’s (headscarves). Look at these wonderful pant legs under the jelaba’s. Not knowing what we were doing, I am again under-dressed in my jeans and t-shirt. No one seems to care though so all is well  There is much giggling and playing around/teasing. Loud music is played and the women “play” washtubs and anything else they can get their hands on to beat. The music is repetitive and chant-like. They dance with wild abandon. Some have removed their head scarves and many have the scarves tied around their hips to better show the motion. I have been asked to not take pictures since many women have worn make-up and are acting more spontaneous/relaxed than usual, and their husbands would not approve. I discern that this party is to celebrate the birth of the hostess’s baby. I never see the baby throughout the afternoon. Our host, Soumia joins in on the dancing from time to time and tries to get everyone on the dance floor. Meanwhile she is in the kitchen trying to cook a meal to feed thirty or so women and at least a dozen small children. Finally around 5:30p food is brought out. Liter bottles of soda are placed on tables. Granted I was hungry, but the best chicken I’ve ever eaten was then brought out, topped with olives and scrambled eggs. Following this was sffa (one of my favorites too). A very small, fine noodle that is steamed and then topped with cinnamon, (raisins & nuts sometimes) and powdered sugar. Yummmm. Following this is a platter of fresh fruit i.e., melon, grapes, dates & apples. So much food is consumed and I want a nap!! To top the night off, it was followed by tea and a great assortment of good tasting cookies. Almost everyone took a sample of each cookie. I think there were eight different varieties offered and they were tasty (sometimes they are not) and almost everyone wrapped them in a napkin to take home. Then, lickity split, everyone was up and we were out the door. It was 7p when I walked into my home. I was tired and very full and very soon I was in bed!!

Several weeks ago I had a ride into Ouarzazate with some village friends of mine. I had one more package to ship and it was so nice to just load it into their car and to have them drop me off at the post office and not go from taxi to taxi to taxi. I couldn't close up the package since everything needs to be inspected by an official at the post office to insure that I'm not sending ???? actually I don't know what they are looking for? I got through the process, closed up the package and it is off..... So nice to have one more task behind me.

There is obviously a tractor for hire working in the village these past few weeks. We don’t have many flat, large surfaces where a tractor can really maneuver, but for those places that he can work in, it seems he is busy at it and is moving from area to area. People stand around and watch him work. It will save those that can benefit from this tractor many long hours of back-breaking labor. I have never seen the tractor parked anywhere in the village, so I can only assume it has come here from another village.

Everyone is giving me nuts – walnuts and almonds. Both of which I love, but they are giving me large quantities. Do they forget that I will leave soon. I’m not baking as much as normal since I am using up my kitchen supplies. And, there is only ONE of me. I can never eat through the quantity of nuts I have in my house before I leave. These nuts have been gathered off the ground and most have been cracked open for my easy eating. Very nice, but……

I attended one more wedding – I thought I was through with weddings…… It was here in my village and I only went for a few hours one night. I felt I just couldn’t say no since it was my hanut owner’s (small store) sister and I see this family all the time. Everyone asked if I was coming – so I went. It was a chilly night. The men always eat first and they were in the house while we women sat outside in kind of a tent. Finally we women were allowed to go into the house around 10p to eat. It was nice to warm up a bit. I was certainly not dressed warm enough for the night. After dinner and we were making the move to outside again, I just kept right on walking and left for home. It was okay to attend the wedding, but time for me to go home. My friends said they stayed until 3a. Moroccans love their weddings – wish I liked them more.

I’ve been cutting a lot of hair lately. Little girls with hair to the middle of their backs have been knocking at my door asking for a haircut and they want it to look just like “Linda’s”. Well I can’t duplicate the color, which is what they really want, but after they have repeatedly assured me that it is okay with their mom’s – out come the scissors and off it comes. They have lovely, thick, slightly curly hair (much nicer than mine) and it’s quite easy to cut since their curls hide my mistakes. Lots of bobbed heads of hair running around my village these days 

These are some things, in no particular order, that I will never understand or get used to. I’m sure there are more, these are just off the top of my head. These are not unique to Morocco, although some most definitely seem to apply more here than not:
*Why are the women working in the fields while their husbands sit at the café’s drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes?
*How can a man watch a woman lug a heavy thing up the hill and not offer to help in most cases?
*Lots of labor is put into ceilings and they are exquisite, yet a bare light bulb hangs in the middle of it.
*Time is irrelevant. So what if you come an hour or two late to a scheduled meeting? Mushi Mushkiel (no problem). A job may be shared by two persons and you never know when the switch will be made. The replacement person may come today, may come tomorrow, may come next week???
*How do the goats, sheep, donkeys, animals in general, survive on what they have to eat?
*I understand the need for walls for safety and security, to an extent, but much effort and time is put into building walls around structures. I would think building a “quality” structure would be more important.
*Feuding and short-sightedness. Why can’t communities look at what is good for the community on the whole, and not have territories come into play?
*How can someone just stand and stare at someone else for long lengths of time? I understand they are curious, but it can make one feel pretty weird.
*I know it can’t helped, but people vomiting all around you on the bus or in the taxi.
*How meat that has been dropped on the floor can be picked up and wrapped in paper that has been stuffed in the corner, can then be sold, then cooked, then ate.

National Geographic came again in October and my host family served a lovely morning tea to all. It’s nice for these visitors to see and experience a “real” home with “real” people. We had a nice walk through the area to get to my host family’s home and lots of good pictures were taken. This exchange is advantageous to all and we all enjoy and benefit from them. Unfortunately, with the changes Peace Corps is making in Morocco, there will no longer be a volunteer here and the visits will end. A fellow PCV will come to the village for the November visit and this will be the last one. I’ve been saving the stipends given to me on these visits and hoped to help our baby’s center with its water problem, but that didn’t come about as planned. I did help the community with its water needs though. The village president informed me that the village on the whole was in need of a project that needed to be done. When the winter snow melts and the spring rains come, water runs off in torrents. They needed cement reinforcements in several places to help direct it. It ended up being that I bought the supplies and the men in the community provided the labor. I especially like the fact that it was a joint effort on our parts. With the remainder of the money, herby-curby’s are being bought with the hope that people’s mindset will change over time and rather than throwing trash out the door or just on the ground, that they will actually gather it and dispose of it properly. We have a trash truck that comes along the main road, but we’ve never had containers to collect in before. Perhaps this will help?

My host sister was hospitalized in Ouarzazate while I was away in Fes. They suspect it might be meningitis. I’ve heard varying stories from those I’ve talked with, even my host mom and host dad can’t seem to agree on the story. I went to the hospital to see her since she may not be home before I leave my village and had hopes that I might learn something but alas, not the case really. What I do know is that she has been in the hospital almost two weeks now. She has a continual headache and runs a fever. She throws up sometimes. They give her injections. They will do a scan of her head. She may come home this week, maybe in twenty days. Our visit was cut short because of a security guy who has let “power” go to his head. I was taking pictures – not allowed!! Oh well, I got a few before he came along anyways.  The hospital itself looked much better and was cleaner than I expected it to be. She is in the pediatric ward since she is only eight years old. I went on a Sunday because I was told that visitation was from noon to 6p. I arrived shortly before noon and was told that in maybe a half hour we would be allowed in. Okay, so 12:30p – not bad. About noon, they let us in. They kicked us out around 12:15p and were told we could come back at 4p. The doctors were coming and we had to leave. I’m glad I saw her, but it was for only a few minutes. I took along a “goodie” bag of things for her from me and greeting cards from her classmates. I took to her classroom, supplies to make cards, i.e., paper, scissors, markers, stickers, glue and the fronts of the greeting cards sent to me this past two years, along with a greeting card itself since I have seldom seen cards to be bought here, and certainly never in the small village where I live. The kids did a great job and had fun doing them. Unfortunately, she had only a minute to look at everything since we had to take the bag with us. I was told that it would be confiscated if we left it ??? Now that’s not right! Hopefully they will figure out what is ailing her and she is well and back home soon.

I then had an unexpected bonus visit to my host mom’s parents’ home since they live in Ouarzazate and my host mom was heading there for lunch and a rest. I love her parents and didn’t think I’d have the chance to say good-by to them, and now I have done so. We had a nice visit, a good lunch and I was home by 6p.

Well my remaining days in Morocco are limited and I have things left to do, so I’d best get my act together. I’ll send a short update once my feet hit American soil again. Until then – take care and hugs to you all.

October - Ouch!

2011-10-02T00:47:00.000-07:00

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.

10/2/11 -- okay stay with me here, my time in Morocco is coming to a close and the blog updates will end. I hope you have enjoyed my blog. I was rereading a bit of it recently and noticed typo's that tend to upset me. Why didn't I proof this better? Oh well..... I have enjoyed writing it and it has been a great way for me to not only record my experience but to share it with you. I've tried to make it informative, educational and yet humorous on occasion. Only a few more writings to go - yeow!

Leaving is obviously bittersweet. It's been an incredible experience and one that I will always cherish. There have been hard, difficult moments too, but luckily we naturally push them to the back of our memory and they will soon fade - kind of like giving birth to a child!! I will leave Morocco on November 15th and fly into Detroit where a friend will meet me. She'll hand me off to my sister after a day or two and I'll then stay in Michigan’s thumb area until after the Thanksgiving holiday. I'll likely travel to Kalamazoo after Thanksgiving for a week or so since I have been negotiating to buy a car from a dealer there. But first, I have to get my driver's license renewed. Darn thing expired while I was here. Since I knew that it would expire I tried to renew it before I came, but the DMV wouldn't let me. Sure hope they don't make me take a written test and/or driving test. I haven't been behind the wheel in over two years now -- what have I forgotten? It’s like riding a bike – right? I'll likely spend the remainder of December between the thumb and Traverse City where one of my brother’s lives and my mom is in a facility up there. From January on, my home base will probably be Kalamazoo, at least for a while.

Many of you have asked me this, so let me write it here. Yes, I still have my home in Portage (Kalamazoo), but I don’t intend to ever live in it again. I will get it listed and on the real estate market as soon as I can upon my return. I know that this is a terrible time to be selling a house, but hopefully someone will see it and fall in love with it as I did – inshallah. Great memories are connected to this home, but the yard and house itself is just more than I want to tackle at this point in my life. Remember, I have been living a very simple life for the past couple of years. I will most likely stay in SW Michigan. South Haven has always been a favorite place of mine, but can I find anything there that I can afford? Time will tell this tale……. I can always be reached at my gmail address while I am in this limbo stage, so I hope you’ll stay in touch.

The group of individuals (staj) that arrived in Morocco together recently met in Rabat for our close of service meetings and medicals. Much of our time was spend discussing the process of transitioning home. We’ve changed, our families have changed, the world has changed. How do we fit in again? It was great fun to see everyone (both small business development and youth development) and to catch up on everyone’s happenings over the past two years. Sadly, I now think I know everyone’s name! Why did it take me this long to do this? In my defense, the total group rarely got together so I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to match names and faces together. I’m sorry to say that we have lost about a third of the group over the past two years for various reasons. I’m attaching a picture of the small business development group – my how we have shrunk (group size, maybe not body size). Although to be fair, two or three individuals that are still with us are missing from this picture. Many younger PCVs will go to graduate school upon our return. Others are hoping to find jobs. We mature PCVs – well most of us don’t know what we are doing!!!! Guess we’ll have to “grow up” and figure this out soon. We have lots of paperwork and reports to do before we leave to sum up our experiences for Peace Corps. The group will leave Morocco on staggered dates, so this was the last time we would gather as a total group. Lots of promises to keep in touch and plans made to see each other again were exchanged.

I now better understand why we stay in-country for the term of two years. Granted, a few volunteers, five to be exact, from my staj have decided to extend their service and stay on for an additional year. I unconsciously, but maybe purposely, did not allow myself to get attached since I knew my time was limited and I would return home eventually. Having the puppies nearby has put me over the top. I’ve now named them for goodness sake (Mutt, Jeff, Shadow, Dipshit, Christopher Columbus and No Name). It comes so natural to stand on my rooftop and yell, “Christopher, don’t do that”. I do give the puppies treats from time to time, but I don’t want them to become dependent on me since I will, in fact, leave soon. I find now after this period of time that I could attach myself to not only the puppies, but people, my village, Morocco in general. It’s time for me to go home!!!

After leaving Rabat, a friend and I traveled north to the Mediterrean coast and to the Spanish (yes I said Spanish) town of Melilla. Melilla is the smaller of the two enclaves that mark the last vestiges of Spain’s African empire. A third of its inhabitants are of Rif Berber origin, as well as significant Jewish and even Hindu minorities. It has an atmosphere all its own, neither European nor African. Very strange indeed to walk through the border patrol and to hear Spanish spoken and euro’s, rather than dirham, as the money tendered. The city’s medieval fortress was built by the Portuguese and later Spaniards during the 16th and 17th century. Right up until the end of the 19th century virtually all of Melilla was contained within these massive defensive walls. Much of it has been restored in recent years. There are caves and tunnels that lead to the cliff face. The Phoenicians first excavated the tunnels; later occupiers took turns enlarging them and they now extend over three levels. Construction of the new part of town began at the end of the 19th century. It is considered by some to be Spain’s second modernist city, after Barcelona.

We traveled east from there to the beach town of Saidia, which marks the limits of the Moroccan coast, as Algeria is it’s bordering neighbor. We enjoyed a few hours of sitting on the beach in the warm sun before moving on to Oujda. Oujda is the largest city in eastern Morocco, although there are few genuine attractions for the traveler. It is the main axis connecting Morocco with the rest of North Africa (the Romans built a road through here). Oujda grew, and then suffered, due to its proximity to the Algerian border. Brisk cross-border trade swelled the local economy, which then crashed on the closure of the Algerian border in 1995. It’s a place to catch your breath before boarding a bus for the long trek south/east to the town of Figuig to visit PCVs’ Jack & Ina.

There’s no mistaking that Figuig is at the end of the road. Note the terrain - we had hours and hours of this scenery to watch before reaching Figuig. Its 200,000 date palms, fed by artesian wells, almost spread into Algeria, just 2km away. Figuig used to be a busy border post between the two countries, as well as a historic way station for pilgrims traveling to Mecca, but now it’s a sleepy town, only laboring into action for the autumn date harvest. Figuig is made up of seven communities, whose main activity in the past was fighting over water resources and grazing rights. Each settlement controls an area of palmeraie (grove of palm trees) and its all-important supply of water. In the past, feuding families would divert the water channels to wash around the foundations of the enemy’s Kasbah, hoping the walls would eventually collapse. Nowadays the blood feuds have ended and Figuig looks fairly modern. There is no passing traffic and you have to make a real effort to get here and life more or less matches the pace of the donkey cart and bicycle. There are numerous paths following the irrigation channels through the palm trees and then suddenly you’re in among a warren of covered passages. As you tunnel between the houses, wonderful, ancient wooden doors are to be found. Figuig is interesting and beautiful. I’m so glad they put a married couple there, since it would be a very lonely site if you were alone. We then proceeded to head home - 20 hours later we were there!!! Exhausted to say the least. Total time for this trip was six days and we saw a lot.. I can now say that I feel I have seen Morocco. Granted there is much middle ground that I have not covered, but when I show you my map of Morocco and the roads I’ve traveled I think you’ll agree.

While I was away my landlord’s daughter tended my wash tubs of flowers and herbs. She too grew tired of having the goats and sheep enjoy the fresh greens. Looks how she remedied the problem. Quite creative I’d say and it works!! I now have blossoms blooming.

I knew that my month of September would involve a lot of travel with little time being spent at my site and I was right. I attended regional meetings after being home only a few days in nearby Ouarzazate. Since Peace Corps is restructuring its volunteer service in Morocco, there is much planning and discussion about the logistics and new procedures. Some of us will leave soon and new volunteers have arrived. It was a getting acquainted and sharing of stories time for all. Building a team takes time and effort. How can we help each other? Since the focus will now be on youth development – there is a transition time to be considered and implemented. Most volunteers serve because they think they have knowledge to share and they want to help developing countries grow into being all that they can be.

I’ve had visits from volunteers passing through in the few days I’ve been at my site this month. Now that my time to leave is near, many think they’d best come now or I will be gone. We always do a walk-about with lots of introductions and hugs/kisses being exchanged. It feels like I know everyone and my name is called out often. The comment is frequently made by those that visit that I will be missed or at least my hugs and kisses will be missed. We visit the school classrooms and students. We visit my favorite people and of course the association and baby’s center. We almost always walk up to my host family’s home and have tea with them. We talk into the wee hours of the night…….

I also did a fast trip to/fro Rabat this month for a Harassment Working Group meeting. This group was formed to better define and distinguish the kinds of harassment volunteers will receive, be it political, religious, ethnic, sexual or otherwise. Coping strategies are discussed to be later used in the trainings given to volunteers when they arrive in country. Being the oldest member of the group I offer a very different perspective. Granted, I truthfully receive very little harassment, if any, primarily because of my age. Damn, does that mean I don’t have it anymore??? Many times though it’s not so different than walking by a construction site in the States and the wolf whistles that ensue or me standing at the door, with a grin from ear to ear enthusiastically inviting people in to see the handicraft we have on display. Granted no one has the right to touch me – that is wrong!! But I still believe the best strategy is to master the art of ignoring them. I do recognize that because we often don’t fully understand the language being spoken, it becomes scary and their body language can be bold/strong. And to receive it day after day…… it often becomes more than one can tolerate. This is when we need to take a “time out” and rejuvenate ourselves. It’s a great working group, with lots of good discussion and even better, some of our suggestions are being implemented.

School is now back in session. The Moroccan government provides books, small chalk boards, pencils, and tablets to each child. A backpack was also given to each 1st grader with the intent that it last them through primary school. This is the 1st grade teacher , Abdellatf, playing the guitar. He takes his job very seriously, but also wants to make it fun. I spent a lot of time with him in his classroom last spring. Don’t these kids look just like any other kid – all excited for that first day of school. I prepared a picture/word CD for each teacher in August, and gave it to them to be used in their classroom. The CD consists of a picture and the English word for it. I have divided it up into categories i.e., fruits/vegetables, colors, clothing, animals, etc. Each teacher can then use this CD to help teach English, French, Arabic or Tashlheet, plus a multitude of other facts and lessons. Luckily, at least one of the teachers has a computer, as well as the school director has one, and the school has a projector. Hopefully the CD will be a useful tool. Unfortunately the new middle school that is being built here in my village is not complete and ready for students this year. Maybe next year?

But, the good news is that my host brother, who graduated from 6th grade last year and was to go to this new school is going to school in the nearby town this year, thanks to his extended family member’s financial help. He boards over in the nearby town from Monday noon through Saturday noon. He is home for the entire day on Sunday. I know my host mom and how hard this must be for her to have him leave his home at only age 12 (although nearing 13 I was told today). But, what they told me is that they hope he will go through middle school, get his Bac degree (high school equivalent) from a school in Ouarzazate and then I keep saying university, university and maybe even in America. Inshallah (God willing) is the response often received. I am soooo pleased since I have been worrying about him just wasting away if further schooling was not available to him. I’m glad his Ouarzazate family came through for him. Hopefully they will do the same for my host sister when the time comes.

I have school projects I want to do before I leave Morocco and much of my remaining time will be spent with the students and teachers. I feel I’ve done and offered about as much assistance to my association as I can, but I will continue to visit with them and if nothing else, we work on the English/Tashlheet language. I have a house of furnishings to dispose of (much of it will be given to folks in my village) and PC paperwork to do. The time will fly by…..

I'm getting really excited about traveling home to the States in the very near future. I can't wait to have a nice chat over a cup of tea or a glass of wine and catch-up on what's new in your lives. Until my next update -- stay healthy and take care. See you soon. Hugs, Linda

Simply September (almost)

2011-08-31T03:49:00.000-07:00

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.

8/31/11 – okay so it’s not quite September, but since I am leaving my site for a couple of weeks this weekend, I thought it would be best if I posted this update now while I had time. I can’t believe it, but my time in Morocco will soon be drawing to a close. My staj (group of volunteers that arrived with me) in September of 2009 will gather for our close of service meetings and medicals soon and we’ll be making arrangements for our return to the states in November. Our numbers have dwindled since our arrival and I am curious to see how many of us actually remain. This has been an extraordinary experience for me and I will forever be grateful for this opportunity.

I thought you would enjoy seeing this pictures of henna hands. It was taken at the wedding I attended in July and the women are cleaning beef organs for later eating.

Y’all do recognize that when I refer to Morocco/Moroccans, I am referring for the most part to only the very small part of Morocco that I live in and that I am familiar with – my village/community, consisting of about 2,000 people (scattered in a 5 mile radius). There are parts of Morocco that are very developed and westernized and when visiting there you could be any place in the world.

As I stood on my rooftop one morning at 7a, drinking my coffee and being careful that others don’t see my cup since it would be very rude of me to eat or drink in front of them during Ramadan, I listen to my world. I hear a cow mooing, a donkey braying, sheep and goats bleating, dogs and puppies barking, a rooster crowing, birds chirping and the high pitch of women’s voices talking. I watch a woman who is tending her sheep and she seems to be pacing back and forth which is unusual. Suddenly I hear a baby crying. It is tied on her back while she is out in the fields watching her animals (she is multi-tasking). Step outside your door one morning at 7a and listen. What do you hear?

As I planned, August and this year the month of Ramadan, has been a quiet month for me. I’ve done lots of computer research on those many decisions I will be making soon, I’ve had a few visitors escaping Morocco’s heat, I’ve worked on some projects for my village that I think will be enjoyed for years to come and I’ve shared lf-tur (broke fast) with some of the special people here in my site. I’m sharing a picture of the table of my friend Samir, taken at his home when I attended for lf-tur with him and his family. Samir has twelve siblings and many of them are here in the village for this month, not only to share this special time, but to escape the heat that most of Morocco contends with at this time of the year. One of his sisters lives in M-hamid which is south of Ouarzazate and on the edge of the Sahara, and she tells me that the temperature there in August is 50-55 degrees C, translating to 122-135 degrees F. Now that’s hot!!!

For the faithful, Ramadan is a time of spiritual and physical cleansing - a month long detox that is welcomed each year. However daylight hours vary from country to country and this does cause some very real health problems and its timing may need some adjustment. The thirty day Ramadan fast between sunrise and sunset is not simply about refraining from food, drinking, sex and smoking. It is a time for prayer and reflection. However, not all Ramadans are equal.

The hours between sunrise and sunset may not vary much in places like Mecca in Saudi Arabia, but spare a thought for those living elsewhere. The problem is the difference between the Islamic and Gregorian calendars. As the Islamic calendar is eleven days shorter than the Gregorian, Ramadan moves back by that number of days each year.

Why is this a problem? Well, if you are a practicing Muslim living in Sweden, Norway or Finland, for example, where the sun may not set until around midnight and rise again only a few hours later, the length of the fast and the lack of real sleep becomes a major health issue. It has been suggested that those living in those areas observe and fast the hours that those living in Mecca, thus making the fasting period more reasonable and tolerable.

As I’ve mentioned before, you will constantly hear a child or children’s voices if you pause and listen. They scream, they giggle & laugh, they sing, they talk. They chase each other and play touch-tag. They play hide & seek. They are outside continuously, no sitting in front of the television or computer for them. They don’t have anything to play with really. They play jacks with small stones and they play in the dirt pile. If they have a ball, it doesn’t have any air in it so it doesn’t roll, but they still kick it around. We have so many thorny bushes around here I’m sure a hole was punctured in the ball long ago. Our school doesn’t have a playground and I have only once seen a swing made of rope hanging from a tree. Children entertain themselves….. they seem happy. It’s the only life they’ve ever known.

Speaking of the school – remember that building I talked about painting this month since it wasn’t painted last spring because it was old, yet used every day – well we did it. I could not have done this project without the help of Anna, my site mate that lives 12km from me. Anna did all the overhead and ladder painting, since my knee would not have tolerated the strain. The building is old and maintenance has not been done. It SUCKED up the paint. We ran out three times and had to travel to the next town to get more. Anna came over and we painted for five solid days and then I finished it up on another day. We tried to match the colors of the other buildings, but ummmm not quite right!!! So, since our building was different, we decided to make it DIFFERENT. The outside is sort of a pink/orange and the inside is white. Luckily I still had some leftover colors from my map project of last year. The windows and door trim are now painted in colors of yellow, green, purple, watermelon, red and bright blue. Bookcases and shelves were painted in like colors. It is bright, happy and child friendly. It is not perfect, but so much better. Many, many people stopped by to see what we were doing and to express their thanks and appreciation. You will note the before and after pictures – what do you think? As I was cleaning up, the pails, both plastic and metal were a hot commodity and in high demand. Not knowing what they would be used for I hesitated as to whether I should give them away, but decided that since they were so eager to have them that I would do so. Hope that was an okay decision…….

Today I see women walking with their totes and pails. Must be the day to visit the hammam . How do they do it in the summer? I have only been a couple of times, during the winter months, and it is sooooo hot in there that it does feel good, to a point to be warm, but…... Most women will stay a couple of hours, washing their hair, shaving body parts and scrubbing their bodies with these black, scrubby mitts that make the skin roll. They frequently take turns scrubbing each other. I swear when Hafida scrubbed me, my body formed scabs after. She went deep……. I must have been really dirty! Unfortunately, the hammam here in the village isn’t that nice. It’s old, rather dirty in fact and I just don’t like moldy water dripping on my head while in there. I don’t visit it often.

If you have a building project in mind, you’d best make yourself some blocks/bricks. Many times I have seen homeowners or someone they’ve hired, busy making blocks. Lately I’ve been watching some gentlemen busy at work. They, like me, are up early trying to get a few hours in before the sun gets too hot. It is Ramadan, so they can’t drink water and it’s important to do this sort of work early. Looks like they’ve made good progress wouldn’t you say? And once that building project is built and you need a door – how do you get it home. Well you carry it, of course!

I’ve spent a fair amount of time this month working on a picture/word book for the school. Last spring, a couple of the teachers commented when I showed them my pictures of South African animals how nice it would be if they had pictures to show the kids. At least one of the teachers has a laptop, as well as the school director has a laptop, and the school does have a projector, so I decided a good project for me would to make them just such a book. I have taken many pictures in the past and it gave me motivation to take more pictures and a worthwhile project to do. I have divided the pictures up into categories, i.e., colors, fruits & vegetables, clothing, animals, food items, etc. With each picture I have given them the English name for it. The teacher can then supply the French or Arabic word and take it from there. I will burn a CD for each teacher to keep and use in their classes.

I look at the skinny cows, skinny sheep & goats, skinny dogs and yes, skinny people. There is no comparison between the fat, healthy sheep I saw in Ireland and the sheep here in my village. Of course they had lush, green grass to eat. Here they have a few straggly bushes for the most part. This is a place of “barely enough” but it sustains you. More is not needed it seems and “must have” doesn’t seem to exist in their vocabulary.

Seems I am turning into the beautician of my village and who knew I could cut hair????? I don’t think I should give up my day job just yet -- oooops, guess I don’t have a day job  !!! Actually my patrons are all under the age of ten and most likely they won’t complain. Of course we shampoo first and I use my American shampoo. Maybe it’s the big draw for the haircut, who knows?

I usually wake up to a bright blue sky, but August has been screwy, at least weather wise and I don’t remember this from last year. Almost every day around 2p, the sky clouds up, thunder starts and we get spits and sputters of rain for a few hours. Usually by 6p, it is cleared away and the sky is once again blue. We’ve had heavy clouds, thunderstorms with lightning and torrential rain the past couple of days. Unfortunately, it comes down so fast and hard that much of it runs off without doing much for the soil. It’s also been chilly enough at night that I’ve pulled up an extra blanket. Oh I so hope cold weather doesn’t move in early. I am hoping for a long, warm fall – at least until mid-November or so!!

Well my friends, until my next writing please take care and remember -- inch by inch, life’s a cinch!! I continually remind myself of this -- imik-imik (little by little) but it’s not always easy!! . Hugs to you all, Linda

Awesome August

2011-08-08T08:29:00.000-07:00

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.

8/8/11 Now this is really weird, I looked at the calendar and couldn’t decide – are we into the second or third week of August? I had to click onto my computer’s calendar to find out. I’m not sure I’ve ever had to do this before. Is this what retirement will feel like?

I like this picture. It was taken at a pub in Dublin in June. I think it captures some of my personality and shows my wrinkles!!

August is the month of Ramadan this year (remember it is a lunar holiday that changes from year to year) and all is very quiet in Morocco and other Islamic countries. Lots of businesses shut down for this month and those that must remain open, work a shortened day typically 9a-3p. People are fasting from sun-up to sun-down. Children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with health issues do not usually fast. I’m thinking that food is not such a big issue, but going without water in August’s heat must be difficult at time, although people tell me it is not. I am frequently asked if I am fasting and when I reply “no, I am Christian”, they usually drop it. Sometimes they tell me I should give it a try and sometimes I think I should! The typical day here now begins around 4a when people get up to eat breakfast (bread and coffee – really just a small amount of coffee and a lot of milk) before the sun comes up. The women are seen out in the fields early in the morning tending their animals or gathering/chopping grass. I don’t see many men out and about. People are out early since it is cooler and they will retreat to their homes as the sun warms the day. We went off daylight savings time when Ramadan began so the clocks have been turned back. It is now very dark by 8p. The sun is down around 7-7:30p and they will break fast by eating dates, haira soup and shebekia (sp?) a very sweet, sticky cookie like thing that I personally like, but remember pecan pie is my favorite, so I like this sweet stuff! They will carefully drink a lot of water at this time. Too much, too fast, might make them nauseous. Breaking fast is a celebration and an affair they like to share and they frequently invite family and friends to join them. Families will be active during this time while they wait for their main meal of the day to be served around 11p or so. It will typically be whatever the family is used to eating for their mid-day meal during regular times – probably a tajine. After eating, they will then sleep until they wake for breakfast and their day goes on. Muslins view Ramadan as a time for simple sacrifice and to recognize that others are not as fortunate as they are and that others are often “hungry”. Ramadan is a time to be grateful for what they have. Obviously, this is my very simple interpretation of Ramadan. I’m sure there is far more to it.

Travel in Morocco is challenging in and of itself. During Ramadan, it is next to impossible. I intend to stay at my site for the entire month of August. I traveled into Ouarzazate at the end of July to visit the bank and to purchase those items I can’t find at my local hanut (small store) and getting home from there was already more difficult than usual. Buses won’t let me ride part-way since they can sell a full fare from Ouarzazate to Marrakech and why settle for a partial fare when they can collect a full one? Of course, if I’m willing to pay that full fare, I can ride with them. They also “up” their prices during this time since the demand is great for transport and they can get it. Taxi’s run, but they only get me part way and then I have to connect with another taxi service to get me to my village. Unfortunately it is the second leg of the journey that has become tricky. Fewer and fewer taxi’s seem to run to my village and I’ve had to wait hours to even see a taxi, let alone give it time to fill with people so that it make the run. Patience is a virtue – I keep telling myself this………

Not only am I staying in my village for the month, I am staying in my home a lot too. There are not many people out and about so why do the walk? I walk down to the village about every four days or so. Visit the post office, let the gendarmes (police) know that I am alive and well. Visit the association, although nothing is happening there. Babies are still be born though and the baby’s center always has some staff working so I chat with them, visit the hanut to pick up yogurt, maybe some veggies/fruit, and then walk back up the hill and home. I’ve decided August is my month of reflection, research and give the knee a break. Often times I am just too busy living life that I forget to think – I hope to do some thinking. And, I will need to buy a phone, a phone plan, a car and decide where I want to next live, etc. so I’m using “google” lots. Too many decisions will soon have to be made – yeow!!!

Unfortunately, not being out and about as much as usual, I’m not seeing folks and being invited to break fast with them as much as I was last year. Now in a way this isn’t a bad thing since if I were invited, it would mean that I would have to trek home in the dark and it is dark here at night, especially without a full moon. Most paths I would have to trek are hilly and rocky and I don’t want to slip and twist or stress my knee when it is making good progress. I am very careful with my knee during daylight hours, at night it would be even trickier. So I guess everything happens for a reason. My host mom did send my sister down to invite me to join them last night for lf-tur (break fast) and, of course, I went. I considered spending the night which they would have been thrilled with, but …… I really like my own space and bed. As it turned out, my host mom was also concerned about me walking home in the dark and she and my host sister walked me home to insure I safely made the trip. Not wanting to go to my host family’s empty handed I decided I should bake something. The kids are still eating during the day, but guessing my host mom is not too creative with the cooking since she is cooking in the night too. So I was thinking wouldn’t a nice, simple oatmeal bar cookie be good and semi nutritious too. I found a simple enough recipe online and I’ve made it to take. While working with baking ingredients I thought you might find this interesting. Baking soda is called bicarbonate de soude (French) and it is purchased at the pharmacy. Baking powder is called taxmirte n-lHlwa (Tashlheet) or translated it means yeast for cookies.

I’ve had a few volunteers visit me the past couple of weeks and I suspect a few more will come, since they are looking to escape summer’s heat and my village is quite comfortable. Anna, Angelica and Ali came to my house and we celebrated Anna’s birthday in late July. We made it a “girlie” day and did manicures/pedicures/mud scrubs, etc. Ended the evening with cake (of course) and laid on my rooftop for some time watching for shooting stars. It was a nice celebration. Anna is my site mate of sorts since she only lives 12km from me. I don’t think I’ve ever sent you a picture of her and this is a good one of us together.

My days usually start out sunny and bright and yes it gets hot in the direct sun later in the day. By mid-afternoon it is clouding up, the wind gusts and thunder might be heard in the distance with a few sprinkles now and then. By evening it has cleared and with any luck the wind has stopped. It’s cool enough at this time that a light blanket feels good to sleep with. It is actually quite perfect in the summer……. But then again, they will have winter to deal with in a few months  but I won’t – not this year. 

Even though I was late planting my seeds because I needed to be here to water consistently, my little garden of wash tubs is growing nicely. I planted more mint roots and the pot is filling in. My dill, basil, parsley and chives seem to be thriving. I had (note had) a great tub of flowers growing on my front porch, but the darn goats and sheep seem to like them too, and grab a mouthful as they run by. I doubt that I’ll ever see a bloom from them. And, you should see me water that front porch washtub. In my house, I dress in shorts and a tank top, but this attire is not meant for public eyes. But, am I going to cover myself to water that one tub of flowers on my front porch – of course not. Instead I try to pick a time that I don’t see anyone either coming or going and I stick my arm out with a 2-litre coke bottle filled with water and dump it in. I would love a picture of this actually, it must be quite funny to see.

Even though the temperature is warm, it is not unusual in my village to see women still wearing several layers of clothing. Sometimes the layers are woolen knits. Yeah, sweaters over their blouse or caftan and woolen leggings under the caftan and the skirt worn over the caftan. I would die, but they are used to it. Still, I can't help thinking they're soaked in sweat underneath all that. As a foreigner and non-Muslim, I can get away with short sleeves and I can wear cropped pants. Being older also helps since they seem to tolerate almost anything concerning me. Of course, I try to always be respectful and wouldn’t push the limit too much. Looking down from my roof yesterday I noticed a man dressed in two sweaters, and I’m sure he had a t-shirt under them. I was dressed in next to nothing and cookin. How hot must he have been?

As you know, I like to make this writing at least a little bit educational and I recently read this about henna. I’ve been hennaed myself on numerous occasions and I’ve showed you pictures of the exquisite hennaing on brides. Here is a bit more info for you on this subject. The earliest written evidence of the use of henna in bridal adornment goes back to 2100 BCE, when it was associated with an Ugaritic legend about Baal and the fierce goddess Anath. It was grown and used in Spain from the ninth century to 1567, when it was bannedby the Inquisition. But it is still widely used--by Jews, Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Sikhs and Roma--across the region from India to Morocco, and in places where people from that region have migrated. Henna has been used for joyful occasions other than weddings, including battle victories, births, circumcision ceremonies and birthdays.

Fresh henna leaves are smashed with a mildly acidic liquid. The mash may be powdered and then mixed with lemon juice or strong tea six to twelve hours before use. Without this resting period, the coloring might not successful. The stain may be improved by adding essential oils (e.g. tea tree, eucalyptus or lavendar) with high levels of monoterpene alcohols. The paste must be made from fresh leaves and left on the skin for at least a few hours and preferably longer; to keep the paste from falling off during this time, a sugar-lemon mixture (or just sugar) may be used. Sometimes the designs are also loosely wrapped during this period. Improperly stored henna may be contaminated by Salmonella or other microbes. Premixed henna powders may contain adulterants, including silver nitrate, chromium, pyrogallol, carmine and/or orange dye, that are hazardous to your health; certain henna products for use in body art are thus banned by the US Food and Drug Administration(though it is approved for use in hair products). So-called "black henna" is not really henna at all, and caution is advised: It often causes an extreme allergic reaction, with blistering and permanent scarring. The blistering might not appear until three to twelve days after application. Sometimes "black henna" is mixed with gasoline, kerosene, benzene or other chemicals associated with risk of adult leukemia. But properly grown and mixed henna seldom causes an allergic reaction or other health problems. Morocco is among the major growers and exporters in the world, along with India, Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt, Iran and the Sudan. During years with the requisite timing and amount of rainfall, plants may yield two or even three crops a year. Fine henna artists in Morocco, almost exclusively women, can earn good money with their skilled work. Henna is also used to dye wool and leather, for its color and also for its antifungal properties. In ancient times the henna plant was also used to make perfume, and there is a new commercial demand for this product.

There!!! Aren’t you glad to know this? Okay, now on to other things……. In late July we circumcised at the medical clinic that has been built since I’ve been here, 275 little boys aged primarily from newborns to two years old. People came from four villages surrounding my village for this procedure. Three doctors came, all from Marrakech, and from what I gather, this is their specialty and they travel from area to area doing just this. Now why would one choose this specialty? The thought of listening to screaming little boys all day long – not what I would choose. I decided that the older they are – the louder they scream, obviously!! I was asked to help and to be there at 8a. I was given the task of cutting tape – I managed to do this quite well!! Doing this task allowed me to stay in the room where the circumcisions were taking place, at least for a while. I think it was finally noticed that I was the only female in the room and assigned tasks elsewhere, basically taking pictures. No numbing was used and although it was a relatively simple procedure – spread the legs, stretch, clamp, snip, roll and a stitch or two - it must have hurt!!! On average, each circumcision took 7 minutes. Upon being banned from the room I was amazed at the gathering of people. What a joyful, party atmosphere. People were dressed in their finest and some had flags or flowers on poles they carried above their heads. If you could beat on it, they did so, and “drums” were beating and voices singing. I asked how often this procedure was done and I was told yearly. But, I commented that I know it wasn’t done last year – I was here. Oh no, they skipped last year because they didn’t have money and this year they were catching up. From what I could ascertain, the Moroccan government gave money for the procedures and for this day. A cow was purchased and butchered. Beef, couscous and fruit were purchased and the entire crowd was fed. The association that I am associated with did the cooking and people were served in the association, baby’s center, and restaurant. The day lasted well over twelve hours.

Fruit that is available, especially in my village, depends on the season obviously. We have just finished watermelon season and I am so sad. The watermelons are wonderful and it’s amazing how much I can eat. Granted lugging those babies up the hill is a bit challenging, but I’m a big, strong girl – I can do it!! At the moment, I am out of fruit in my home. I hope the hanut has something when I next visit. The fruits of the prickly pear, a cactus native to North America which reportedly made its way to Morocco during the sixteenth century are now ripe and sold from food carts in the medina and buckets beside rural roadways. I don’t know if you’ve ever tasted this fruit, which is quite good, but there are lots of seeds to sift through.

Remember my adopted dog, “Gus”. I haven’t seen him in a very long time, and recently I ran into him again. He is still alive, he is very skinny and he appears to have lost his zest for life. He is not an old dog and this makes me sad. In fact, there are a bunch of really cute puppies running around now and unfortunately their future is not very bright. Often times you will hear dogs barking and crying, especially when you are trying to go to sleep at night. When the numbers/ noise gets to be too much, glass will be crushed or poison will be put in bread or the gendarmes will do target practice. Personally I prefer the gendarme method – a quick, clean kill and it is over with quickly. I can’t think about this too much.

I’ll end this now, since there is little else to write. I must admit that I am looking forward to November and returning to the states. I can’t wait to see family and friends and “catch up”. I will end this writing with this thought - perhaps discovering our rich experiences will add something new to our life. The saying goes “Know One Another and You will Understand One Another”. Til my next update - I wish you well….. Hugs, Linda

Jolly July

2011-07-18T02:09:00.000-07:00

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.

7/18/2011 Ahhhh, it’s wonderful summer time in my mountain village. It is my favorite time of the year here. The days are generally sunny and warm, yet the nights cool down and a light blanket feels good. Many afternoons it will cloud up and we may get a sprinkle or two, but not much rain here to speak of. We frequently have gusty winds late in the afternoon that last into the evening, then everything quiets down. Why do we have to have winter????? Much of the harvest is done for the time being. Grains are stacked and drying. The long grass is bundled (kind of like our baling) and stored for later feedings. We are now waiting to do second cuttings. Not a lot of corn is grown here (why not?) and most people do not have gardens. I would think that you’d see tomato, peppers, etc. being grown at individual homes, but I haven’t yet. Of course, our souq market has a large supply on Saturdays and people stock up then I guess.

I am now home and hope to basically be here through August. Of course, things change quickly and I could be out and about with someone before I even know it. That happens frequently and I just can’t seem to say “no” so off I go. I’ve planted my herbs and flowers in my washtubs and even though it’s late to start them, I hope they’ll grow and give me a small harvest and some enjoyment. The flowers on my front porch have a hard time of it. The sheep and goats as they run by frequently jump up onto my porch and grab a mouthful or two as they pass by. Oh well, guess I grow them for everyone to enjoy, including the animals. Speaking of my front porch – when in my house, during the summer I am often dressed in shorts and a tank top. I cannot go out on my porch to water my plants dressed as such. Shuma (shameful) if I should do so. Now my body isn’t great, but it’s not that bad!! I have to put on long pants and a t-shirt if I want to step out my door. I try to early in the morning stick my arm out with a bottle of water to water the plants, before others are up. My Kzoo neighbors were witness to my scant clothing while working in my yard and probably get a big chuckle out of this.

Since my last writing and before school let out for the summer I had many visits with the school. I showed individual classes on individual days my pictures from South Africa. Note the freshly painted classroom. Doesn’t it look nice? After these pictures, I had the movie “Toy Story” that we showed the class. Arabic was one of the languages it was offered in since it was an illegal copy purchased by someone probably in Rabat and modified with this feature. Please don’t contact the copyright police – I didn’t do it. The kids enjoyed the afternoon very much. And, how can you watch a movie without popcorn? So, of course, I made lots of popcorn during these days so that everyone could munch and enjoy. It was great fun for me to be in the individual classes with the different teachers. Honestly, I was more impressed with their teaching abilities than I expected to be. As an example, students in one class each had animal names and when their animal came on the screen they had to tell what they knew about that animal. (I remember when my son, Chris, was a weasel in 6th grade – much the same) Another teacher made it a language lesson. I told the name and story in English, he told the same in French and a student would do the same in the language of Dareja (Moroccan Arabic). I have the feeling now that my teachers here really care about their students and teaching. Unfortunately their resources are limited and they do the best they can with what they have. One of the teachers grows beautiful roses in his front yard. He brought me a beautiful bouquet of roses on my last day at the school. I can only think as a “thank you”. They were absolutely lovely.

One day I received a phone call from my teacher friend Abdajalil asking if I was free to come to his home later in the afternoon. I was and I went. Little did I know that we were welcoming his new son, Yesir, into the community. There were many women gathered when I got there. They fed us a beef and prune dish (note picture) that is one of my favoritist things here. Guess I was eating too slow for the lady next to me, since she sort of yanked my mouth open to see if I had all my teeth – yes by golly I do. Okay, I’ll speed up my chewing….. Our next dish was sffa (picture attached) – also one of my favorites. This is a really fine, short noodle that is steamed. They then pile it on a platter and put cinnamon and powdered sugar in stripes over it. It may sound weird, but it is oh sooo good. Finished off the meal with some fruit. I felt bad that I didn’t have a gift to bring for the baby, but I didn’t see that anyone else brought a gift either. I did leave a gift for the baby before I left for South Africa, so guess I’m good.

When I visit with my family and friends, I am never sent home empty handed. I frequently receive mint or other herbs for tea, fresh bread, a couple of eggs and now that peas and fava beans are being harvested, I get bags of them. Many of the families have so little, yet they are so quick to share what they have. A lesson to be learned…….

We had a regional meeting in mid-June telling us that Peace Corps is changing it’s focus in Morocco at the Ministry’s request and suggestion. PC volunteers will no longer be working with small business development, environment or health. Since it is well recognized that all change depends on the country’s youth and progressive thinking, all future PCVs coming into Morocco will focus on youth development. PCVs will learn Dareja (Moroccan Arabic) rather than the Berber languages like Tashlheet which is what I’ve attempted to learn, or others. PCVs will be placed in communities where there are established youth centers. Although I recognize and appreciate where PC is coming from, I am saddened that small villages like my own, will no longer have PCVs placed in them. Sometimes, people like me are the only contact some of these villagers will ever have with the outside world. I am hopeful that PC knows what it is doing and that everything works out the way it hopes it will.

I met up with my friend Tom in Ireland to celebrate my 62nd birthday. Despite the weather being typically Irish with spits and sputters of rain all but one day, it didn’t keep us from having a great time! Tom rented a car and we stayed in bed and breakfasts along the way. We had some lovely dinners and enjoyed Irish music in a few pubs as we moved through. We headed north out of Dublin to Northern Ireland. We traveled the Causeway Coastal Route along the rugged and very beautiful coastline out of Belfast. We walked across the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, spanning a 24-meter chasm. We each picked one “must see” thing and my “pick” was the Giant’s Causeway, consisting of strangely regular basalt columns dominating the landscape that seem to lead across to Scotland. Rarely does nature produce such regular shapes. Unfortunately, this was the only day we encountered down pouring rain. We were soaked to the bone and downright chilly. We spent a day on Rathlin Island, visiting the bird sanctuary that is there and spent the rest of the day walking this small island consisting of 100 residents and many seals. It’s a special place in my opinion. Tom’s “pick” was the Cliffs of Slieve League on the southwest coast of Donegal. These 700 miter cliffs are said to be the highest cliffs in Europe. We luckily had a sunny day for our visit to the cliffs. We then traveled down through Galway on our way back into Dublin. The countryside of Galway was breath taking with azaleas blooming along the rivers and roadways. As we traveled and talked with shop keepers and others, we learned a few new phrases. One of my favorites is “gud craak to nigh” meaning, good conversation tonight, and “no bother” rather than you are welcome and “traffic calming” meaning slow down. A nicer birthday could not have been had.

I returned to site for two days after Ireland and then I was off again to a meeting in Rabat. While in Rabat I have always stayed at one particular hotel. Unfortunately one morning this time I woke up one morning with bug bites, as well as one of my roommates did too. I don’t think they were bed bug bites. They looked more like flea bites to me. I had well over a hundred bites by the time I got home. The really sad part of this is that I think I brought some of the bugs home with me since I continued to get more bites once home and I wasn’t bothered with bites before I left. They itched like crazy and what a mess of welts and scabs I was/am still. Last week I sprayed my mattress and fumigated my apartment. I washed everything including the rugs. A friend was visiting and she helped me haul the mattress to my rooftop for a bit of sunshine and airing. Maybe, just maybe, I have gotten rid of them. No new bug bites for the past couple of nights. I am so relieved – this was awful.

I totally planned to stay put and in my village for most of July and August, but that was not to be. I was only home from Rabat a couple of days when my host brother and sister, Zakia and Zakaria came to visit. My mom, Atika, wanted to see me. She told me that her brother Nordin was getting married the following week. Yes, this is really how much planning goes into a marriage in Morocco. Atika, his sister, just learned of it the day before. Nordin and most of Atika’s family lives near Ouarzazate, so south of me and nearer the Sahara – it will be HOT. I was specifically invited to attend and enjoy the week’s festivities. And, yes a week’s festivities. We were to leave the next day. Once again I would beoff not knowing exactly what to expect, who would be there, what we would do and when would we come home – so many questions????? All I know for certain is that we will kill the cow on Tuesday and the “wedding” will take place on Saturday. In Morocco, at least in small towns, the bride and groom celebrate separately. They will not “merge” the parties until the “wedding” on Saturday. But, I will pack the best I can and be ready in the morning – okay then.

Before I tell you about this wedding, perhaps I need to preface this with this comment. I was raised in a Catholic, Polish family where big wedding celebrations were the norm. For whatever reason I was never a fan of these weddings and vowed I would never have a wedding like this and I didn’t. I feel privileged that I have been invited by this family to share in this big day and event. Without this special connection, I could never have this first-hand experience and view. I was the only foreign, white person in attendance. It was a very special time.

Let me briefly tell you about the wedding week. I can't imagine staying one more day - everyone was exhausted, tempers were growing short and I keep asking myself - why do they do this????? At times it was hard to keep my mouth shut and not make this comment. Even if I had, the reply would have been "it's tradition" and who would go against tradition? Probably a good thing I don't permanently live here - I'd likely get myself in trouble "doing it my way".

Atika told me that we would leave between 7-7:30a on Monday, July 4th. Zacharia was here at 6:30a. Never are they early -- we are excited I guess. He has to wait since I am planning to be ready at 7a - oh well. Houssaine has arranged for a taxi he knows to take us directly to the groom's house. I really Nordin the groom. I have met him on several occasions, as well as Abdulah, one of the other brothers, and they have been particularly nice to me. We are going to Nordin’s house and he has built a huge house. It is beautifully tiled and painted throughout. I have included a picture and although it is a bit blurry, you can see the beautiful ceiling in this room. Most of Atika's seven siblings and their families, and her parents, have gathered and spend the week together. Several of them do live near so they go home at night, but all the rest of us crash on the floor somewhere. I must say, her family is great and I love them. Can't think of one of them that I don't really like. They make me feel most welcome and you can tell they are happy that I am there. They don't want me to help though and I insist from time to time. Feels very weird watching them work and me sitting - not what I'm used to at all. I learned the real reason for going on Monday - it was so the women could be hennaed. Okay, didn't do my feet this time, but I did have my hands done. All the women had it done and it took a full day to do all of us. We eat late and go to bed at 2a. I was told that Tuesday was the day we killed the cow. Well this didn't happen, but Tuesday was spent cleaning the silver and scrubbing/polishing all the pots, pans, platters, etc. to be used for the wedding. We wipe and polish the zillion tea glasses they have. Again we eat late and off to bed at 2a. Wednesday they slit the cow's neck around 5:30a I think, and I missed it. The entire day was spent processing the meat. Nothing is wasted. I couldn't wait to eat some of those organs! Women came that night carrying sacks or baskets of grain. They sat around piles of grain and sorted out the weeds, rocks, etc and sang songs. We finally eat couscous at 12:30a and we’re off to bed shortly after 2a. Thursday we eat meat in earnest. Skewers of liver, stomach, etc. are the main courses. The men came in the morning and prayed from the Koran. They returned for lunch. I was told to basically stay out of sight. Hmmm, not that I intended to crash their party, but guess they didn't want to see the blonde lady. I’m told that this is the men’s party. That evening the ladies come and this is the women’s party. Another 2a bedtime. Friday night is the big night for the neighbors and local family. The family is pretty quiet today and every time I sit down I fall asleep, as do the others. Drums have been delivered and men and women will dance traditional dances (picture attached). Since I didn't know we were coming to this wedding until Sunday, I need to buy a gift. I was told early on that we would go shopping sometime this week. Not sure why Friday is picked as shopping day since it's a big night, but I head out with the six teen-age kids for Oz around 5p and I'm told we would only be gone a short time. I find a gift early on and learn that shopping has just begun. We return home at 10p - eeee gads I don't even like shopping!!! People are JUST arriving for Friday night's affair when we get home - who knew it would start so late? Everyone looks lovely and it is really quite an affair. We eat many courses – starting with tea and cookies (yes dessert first then the rest) (picture attached), then fresh honey combs w/bread, beef with prunes, chicken with olives (picture attached), and finish the meal off with watermelon. We don't go to bed until 4a - ugh. Bia, my counterpart, arrived on this day while I was gone and she is my roomie :-) I've been asked to go with a group to my village on Saturday since this is where the bride is from. The bride has not been with us, she has been with her family and friends in my village, celebrating too. Seems that Atika (my host mom) did the matchmaking for this couple. About twelve of us drive to my village. Makes no rhyme or reason why this particular group is picked. We leave around Oz around 11a and don't get back to Oz until 7:30p. We go to the bride's home, which is very near my house and I kind of know the family. We have lunch with her and some of her relatives. Tonight is for the bride's guests and the groom's family, but the bride's mother and father do not come. It is tradition that they not attend. (Now as a mom, if I had a daughter I’m not sure I’d like this) Saturday night is a grand affair with live music and a Moroccan male singer and nothing has been left out. The bride and groom do not make their appearance until 1:30a. The bride changes her dress five times and their entire time with their guests is spent having pictures taken in these many dresses. One of my favorite dresses is the Berber dress. I’ll be certain to attach a picture of it so you can see it too. Finally the party breaks up and my watch says it’s 5:45a when I put in my ear plugs and go to bed. A large group of us women are sleeping together tonight. I learn that the wedding will continue through Sunday and Atika and family will stay one more day (ummm, thought we would go home on this day?). Nordin, the groom, has driven to my village and brings the bride's mother and father back with him. OMG, I'm not sure I can be pleasant for another day and the groom seems genuinely sad about my leaving. Unfortunately, I cannot stay since my friend Kathy is expected to come :-( and Bia and I come back to our village, I thought together, but since I didn't want to go shopping with her, I came back alone. There is obviously so much more detail to be told, but in a nutshell, this was my six days of wedding festivities. Again, I am delighted that I could be a part of this, but I returned home exhausted to say the least. I took 802 pictures and promised to make every family member a disc. My knee is tired, as well as the rest of me.......... whew.

Kathy did come and we had a nice visit. While Kathy is here we walk up to my host family house and learn that there will be another wedding in September and that I am invited. Not sure my body can do it!! I have a couple of meetings already planned for September and the dates may not work out for me to attend. Of course, at this time, no definite date has been set. Kathy left and I went with Bia into Ouarzazate last week to meet with the governor regarding our need for water at the baby’s center. I have gone with Bia on several occasions and met with the governor before. I’m not certain why she wants me there and what influence I might have? Guess just having her American at her side helps. Once again we were told that in 1-3 months they would look at our project. Last Monday we had four babies and their mothers in the baby’s center and no water coming out of the faucet. It’s very hard to properly take care of the babies and keep the place clean without water. I hope this situation is remedied soon.

I do my exercises religiously and my knee continues to mend and although it is not 100%, it is much better. Since I was told that it could take six months to fully recover, I think I’m on schedule and progressing nicely. I’m sure all this travel is not what the doctor ordered, but I don’t seem to be slipping backwards and that was what I was worried about. By the time I return to the states in November I should be back as good as new hopefully. I now plan to be in site until September with the exception of the occasional day trip into Ouarzazate for banking and food shopping needs. When in site, I’ve been able to rest the knee and will continue to do so. My lineless suntan is coming along nicely.  I will have occasional visitors seeking “cool” spots in the coming weeks since my site is so much nicer than lots of Morocco during this time of the year.

I have a bunch of pictures I am going to try and include. We’ll see how this goes? Well my friends, this is about it for this writing. I hope you are enjoying sunny summer days and that you’re taking the time to enjoy them. Remember – tomorrow isn’t promised!! Sending hugs to you all, Linda

June is Busting Out All Over

2011-06-05T02:12:00.000-07:00

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.

6/5/11 If you read to the last paragraph of my last blog update  , you know that I am back in Morocco and writing this June posting from my site in the Mid-Atlas mountains once again. Spring is here and everything is green and lush. We’ve had wonderful spring rains, almost every day in May since my return and they are helping the crops immensely. I don’t remember such nice rains last year. What I remember are the downpours that did little good since it just came down in a whoosh, washed everything away and did little to actually replenish the moisture in the soil.

I think I needed to be away, to once again appreciate the beauty of Morocco. It looks very different from South Africa. There is so much more Arab influence and architecture than I noticed before. I know that South Africa has some very rural, undeveloped parts of the country, but most of the areas I visited could have been anywhere in the States. Since my return, I look at the mud houses differently and now better appreciate the beauty of them. I particularly like the fact that when their usefulness is no longer needed they return to the earth, collapsing and leaving little trace behind that it was ever there. I’m told that no one can build on the same spot until the existing house shows no remains of ever being. And, I look at these gentle people and feel safe. I see idle chit-chat, and hand holding, probably more amongst the men than the women, and it could arguably be said that is why Morocco is a developing country. Perhaps less chit-chat and more labor! My host mom often says that she works, works, works and that my host dad, even though he is a plumber, there isn’t much call here for his skills on a regular basis, so he drinks coffee and smokes cigarettes with the men at the roadside cafes . I can’t argue with this since it often seems the case, and can’t tell if she is teasing or serious? I go along with her and say “yes that darn Houssaine”, but hope they can see the sparkle in my eye as I say this, since my host dad is one of the good guys really. He will cook a meal if she is sick, bathe the children if she is busy and do homework with the children. Many Moroccan men would not do so.

Most mornings when I look down from my rooftop with my coffee cup in my hand, I see women working in the fields. They come out early since it is cooler and work until basically lunchtime which is around 2p. Since most homes have several families living in them, one or two women seem to be delegated to the field work. These women are currently cutting grass for their animals to eat later in the year. They squat down and lean as far as they can reach, cutting the grass with a scythe. They then bundle it into small piles and let it dry. They later gather all these bundles into baskets that they carry on home on their backs to their homes. Backbreaking work and they must be exhausted by the end of the day. I don’t recall ever seeing a man doing this type of work – hmmm.

My community has warmly greeted me and welcomed me back – it feels good!! Even my counterpart seemed to have a genuine smile on her face when she saw me and she kissed the top of my head! I haven’t made the rounds to see everyone yet, since I am trying to be good and not walk the hills too much at least for a while. I’m not sure they understand what was done or why I went to South Africa or that I went to South Africa for that matter, but they do know that it involved my right knee and that I am back until November and they seem glad about that. Since the school is close to my home, it was the first place I visited and I was swarmed with wonderful, smiling little people. I greet them with hugs and very noisy kisses and they seem to get a real kick out of it. They wanted me to sing them a song – oh goodness. Since the word tafukt means sun and I could kind of explain this, I sang them “You Are My Sunshine” – they were delighted despite my voice…… I then, of course, asked them to sing me a song, which they happily did. As you saw in my last blog entry, I have some great pictures of some of the wild life in South Africa. The teachers and students would like to see my pictures, so I will most certainly make a visit to the classes and do that. I took students over to the world map that I painted on the school wall last August and showed them where I went and how I flew there (via Cairo) and back (via Dubai). As with most children, the distance meant very little. All they know is that it was really, really far away and that I went in a tiara (airplane). I struggled with Tashlheet before I left and I was very concerned that I would have forgotten what little I knew in the almost two months I was away. Surprisingly, maybe those words have moved from my “short term memory” to “long term memory” and I actually recall far more than I thought I would. Granted, I still stink, but at least I remember something!!

In my last blog update I mentioned that we visited the Pilanesberg game reserve and talked about “Steroid” the BIG elephant that KG our driver was so scared of. Shortly after I returned to Morocco, I received pictures of an elephant raising havoc in South Africa – it is Steroid. See how big he is compared to this car? He eventually picks the car up with his tusks and flips the car over onto its top. I sent the pictures on to KG via email and he responded, “I was there and saw it happen”. No wonder he is scared of Steroid!!

I may have mentioned this last spring, but since I find it so funny, I will again mention it again this year. Morocco, like many states in America, switches to daylight savings time for the summer months. We, in fact, switched here the weekend I flew to South Africa. Morocco will switch back before Ramadan begins in August this year (remember it’s a lunar holiday and the date changes from year to year). So for a few short months the common question here is -- new time or old time? Most people, especially in the villages, do not observe daylight savings time, so there is great confusion as to what time something will happen and if you are trying to plan something -- it is very important to ask “new time or old time”? Personally I think – why bother switching at all?

A quick update on my knee ….. We were down to the wire of 45 days and a decision had to be made and it was decided that I would return to Morocco. The meniscus repair went well, but still other issues to deal with. I’ve been told that it can take up to six months for soft tissue to mend fully. Although I don’t need a crutch inside, I’ve been asked to use a crutch when I walk outside, at least for a while. Walking uphill is therapeutic, walking downhill is hard on the knees. Squatting is impossible and PC in South Africa bought me this wonderful collapsible camping toilet stand to bring back with me. Must tell you that it works wonderfully well   Note picture!! I have been told to keep a low profile for a while and to give this knee more time. I have done that since my return. I have been out and about to let people know that I am back, but for the most part I've stayed in my apartment and will continue to do so for a while. I may not be the best PCV in Morocco in the coming months, but I certainly won't be the worst!! I’ve started to bake again since friends stop by to see me and to see for themselves that I'm really doing okay. The knee actually feels a bit stronger every day. I can almost do the stairs, leading with either leg now, without discomfort. This is progress!

Upon arrival back at my site I asked myself – what do you cook/eat here in Morocco? Yes, I have a few Moroccan dishes I make from time to time, but for the most part, I probably make something I am accustomed to. I can almost always buy the basic veggies (onions, green pepper, tomatoes, potatoes) and fruit (whatever is in season, currently, melons are available and oranges) here in my village and if I want a better selection I can travel over to my souq (market) town on Saturday morning and I have a bit more to choose from. I rarely buy the meat. This is my own problem to deal with since the locals buy it, when they can afford to, and they seem to be doing okay. But, I just can’t get past seeing it hanging outside the shop unrefrigerated, sometimes covered with flies, and who knows when the counter and knife were last washed. I’ve gotten quite good at making bagels, scones and tortilla’s. I frequently sauté up some fresh veggies, add a bit of garlic and olive oil and serve it over pasta. I make kind of a refried rice dish with lots of veggies. I eat beans and lentils on a regular basis. I find I make a lot of soups, all kinds…. I make a great granola (oat flakes, walnuts, almonds, raisins, figs, dried apricots, and dates, all sweetened with a bit of coconut and sweetened condensed milk Yes, I can get Nestle sweetened condensed milk even here in my village - go figure!! Combine a couple handfuls of granola with some fruit and a yogurt and what a wonderful breakfast I have. While in Rabat on my way home to my village, I bought a melon since I’d been spoiled with a wonderful fruit selection when in South Africa. Looks like a cantaloupe, smells like a cantaloupe, even tastes like a cantaloupe, but note the color – green, not orange???

Unfortunately while in South Africa the mint I had growing in a wash tub on my rooftop bit the dust. I thought a local friend was going to water it for me, but I think she gave up on my return. I will have to find some new roots from someone here and get some growing again. I have come to like mint tea very much and I need it to flavor cheese also – it is a “must have”. Once the weather warms I’ll get my annual herbs and flowers once again growing up-top too.

Things are the same all over it seems, just minor differences -- Why do kids scream as they chase each other like wild animals, as they run? Why do boys throw rocks at birds in trees? Why do baby animals (and some children for that matter) have to grow up? They were once so cute!!

It’s springtime and the season for babies it seems. My host family has a new calf, three wonderful kittens, and baby chicks. A wild dog got the rabbits unfortunately  . Baby sheep and goats are plentiful. Hmm, haven’t seen a baby donkey yet this year? Now they are really, really cute!! Even a couple of my teacher friends had new babies born while I was away. Both moms are still out of town, staying with their moms for a while, so I haven’t had the chance to see those babies yet, but they will soon return to the village and I will.

My village is in the process of building a new school which will house not only a primary school, but middle school, as well. Currently if the children are allowed to go to middle school, they must travel 12k to get to it. Yes there are boarding facilities there, but these are kids!! Who would want to live away from family at the age of 12 and the cost of daily travel is prohibitive. When the new school is finished, and they keep telling me by fall (seeing is believing!!) the children here can hopefully go to school through 9th grade. Most children here in my village now only get a 6th grade education. A few boys will go to middle school, but very few girls are allowed to do so. Now the girls can have more schooling available to them too (if their families don’t need them for household chores and tasks that is, since they are now big enough to be most helpful at home). I was told that the old school would still be used for pre-school and grades 1 and maybe 2. Now, I’ve been told that they miscalculated the number of students , and only grades 5 and 6 will move over to the new school. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see what actually happens when the new school opens, huh? Recently, workers came to paint the existing school buildings which were badly in need of it, both inside and out. Everything looks so much better and I noted that when the project was complete, the bathrooms were once again shining!!  Unfortunately, they left one building “ugly”. When asked why I was told it was old. Yes, but you still use it every day and from the sounds of it, you will use it again this fall. Makes no sense to me??? I’m thinking I might just have to paint this building myself this summer (providing the knee is okay to do this). Perhaps I can round up a friend or two to help me?

Since the school is close to my house and relatively easy to walk to, I’ve spent time down there in the 1st grade classroom. Most of these kids I knew last year when they attended the preschool, so I know them well. We’ve been working on some basic English. Common greetings, numbers, body parts, right, left, etc. We’ve danced the Hokey Pokey since it is a great one to reinforce some of the words I’ve taught them, i.e., put your right hand in, put your right hand out, etc. They think it is most funny when I dance the hokey pokey for them. Some of you might remember the kids’ song Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes – this is also a fun way to learn some words. The end of the school year is near and the kids are getting antsy. So to break things up I did some basic stretching - you know reach for those stars….. twist and touch the wall, etc. Lots of giggles when we do this one. We ended that class with popcorn for everyone. Popcorn is one of their favorite treats, as well as mine. The older kids learned what was going on though, and I mustn’t play favorites so I suspect I will need to take popcorn to the other classes too.

So my days are a bit different, but I feel okay about them. I’m still teaching Moroccans about Americans and I hope that by writing this blog, you are learning a bit about Moroccans too. We’re all the same….. different customs, different religions, different cultures, different food, different skin tones, but still people who love and care about their families and friends and living the best life they can under the circumstances. Until I write again – take care and make today one of your best ever. Hugs, Linda

May Musings

2011-05-14T01:11:00.000-07:00

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5/12/11 It’s fall in South Africa, but the days have been beautiful with sunny, blue skies and pleasant temperatures. Most days a t-shirt is enough, but a light jacket feels good in the morning and at night. Weird to have leaves falling, when in my mind it’s spring and the trees should be budding and spring flowers should be plentiful.

As you know I had knee surgery on that torn meniscus on April 8th. While in there he also shaved off arthritic spurs from the inside of the knee cap. I’ve been seeing an physiotherapist named Adrien, several times a week. The actual meniscus repair has gone well. Biggest issues we are dealing with now is the damage to the ligaments and tendons and the bursitis and osteoarthritis that the knee also suffers from. Adrien has been using electrode and ultrasound therapy and dry needles (kind of like acupuncture). Obviously I’ve been given a bunch of exercises to do several times a day too. I’ve made great progress we think, but as she says the knee is being very stubborn and it is not pain-free at this time. I’ve expressed to her that I am concerned most about the long-term health of my knee, since I have so many places yet to go….. If returning to my site in Morocco stops or slows down the progress I’ve made so far, then maybe this is not where I should go. I am relying heavily on her opinion as to what I should do since I feel she knows my knee better than anyone else at this time. If I were returning to a desk job or a terrain that was not hilly with gravel/rocky roads to traverse, there wouldn’t be a problem. On Friday, May 13th, she will give me her recommendation as to where I should next go and I’ve decided I will abide by that. I will update this blog after I know what is happening and add a paragraph at the end letting you know what I’m doing. You will also note that I am adding a lot of pictures to this blog basically because it is easier to do so while here. When I am at my site, it can take me 3 hours+ to upload ten pictures and I can grow quite frustrated.

I have been more than pleased with the care I have received in South Africa. The doctors and staffs I have been dealing with have been extraordinary I feel. I have also been staying at a lovely guest house that has provided me with comfortable accommodations and a lovely atmosphere to rehabilitate and rejuvenate. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and make new PCV friends from all over the African continent too. I can feel guilty at times that my days here have been so pleasant – almost like being on holiday! Obviously, I’ve had a lot of down-time since physical therapy has been basically every-other day and felt it would be a shame if I didn’t see some of South Africa while I had this opportunity, so I have done just that. I couldn’t travel far, but I have visited a few attractions that are within an easy drive from Pretoria. There are driving services you can hire by the hour/mile and we have utilized them. We couldn’t rent a car since PCVs are not allowed to drive a motorized vehicle while in service. Let me tell you about some of my adventures.

Mari is a PCV from Uganda that was also in Pretoria for medical reasons. We both had mobility issues, but decided we could manage a “ride & see” one-day safari quite well. With the help of KG, our driver and tour guide, we enjoyed a wonderful day riding through the Pilanesburg National Park. This park located about two hours of Pretoria and it is huge (550,000 hectares or 1.35 million acres). Obviously, we didn’t see the whole park in one day!! And, unfortunately, rainy weather preceded us, thus washing out many roads, so some were closed. We were not allowed to get out of our vehicle for any reason, other than when we stopped for lunch at the lodge. Truly, some animals came very close to our vehicle. The park ranger told us that many animals have retreated to higher elevations and are up in the trees to get out of the rainy weather . He also reminded us that we are going into winter here and many animals are in search of warmer areas to spend the winter. But, nevertheless, we saw lots of animals in their natural habitats. Some of the animals we saw were: herds of wildebeests, a/k/a gnu’s. Many different kinds of antelopes including the tssessesebe (fastest antelope in SA), the hartabeast, impalas (nicknamed McDonalds since they are seen everywhere and have a big M on their butts); spring bok (distinctive white face & belly), eland (largest antelope in SA) and the water bok (which has a big circle on the butt). Elephants, giraffes, zebras, wart hogs, ostriches, New Guinea fowls, and baboons are just some of the other animals we saw. Supposedly, we just missed seeing a leopard. An interesting tidbit re the elephants - there is a particularly large one in the park that KG has nicknamed “Steroid”. KG saw this elephant put his tusks under a car one day and flip it over. Needless to say, KG is scared of “Steroid” and I think elephants in general. We did see “Steroid”, but we kept our distance from him. If you remember from my trip to Zimbabwe last September, I mentioned the Big Five of South Africa consisting of the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard and named as such as they are said to be the most dangerous of all animals when they are hunted. Of them, the buffalo is said to be the most dangerous since he can slow his heart rate and you think he is dying, but in the meantime, he is circling around to get you. Supposedly all of these animals are in this park, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any of them except for the elephant. We had a wonderful day nevertheless and we were both so glad that we had a chance to do this.

KG was also an interesting young man. We had great discussions during our day with him re life and attitudes in South Africa. He says the best part of his job is meeting people who accept without prejudging based on stereotypes and prejudices. I’ve made the broad generalization that South Africa can be compared to the 60’s in the states.

Mari and I also took the opportunity to visit an elephant sanctuary that is located about an hour north of Pretoria. We hired KG again as our driver and tour guide through the Backpacker organization. The Elephant Sanctuary provides a “halfway house” for young African elephants in need of a temporary home. It is the only operation in South Africa that provides for elephants in this way. It is their vision to release all the elephants into an environment where they can be more independent once they are older.

The Elephant Sanctuary hosts a unique and fully guided educational program that sets itself apart from anything else that South Africa has to offer in terms of elephant interaction and touching elephants. Visitors can learn more about elephant habits, behavior, different personalities and anatomy through up-close and personal interaction. We had the opportunity to touch, feed and even walk trunk-in-hand with these magnificent animals. The main focus of The Elephant Sanctuary is to educate people about all aspects of elephants and elephant husbandry. If the elephant’s ear was discussed, for example, we had the opportunity to actually touch one and to get a closer look at the smoothness of the skin on the back of the ear compared to the rough skin on the outside.

We were each allowed to have one-on-one time with an elephant. Obviously the elephant’s trainer stayed near in case of problems. My elephant was named Mvusu and he was a twelve year old male. Mvusu was referred to as a typical male teen-ager and he is known to be mischievous. One of his trainers stayed on his back at all times – just in case he should decide to show off. Mvusu is trained to give a kiss on command. Wow, kind of like holding the vacuum hose on your cheek – he has a powerful suck!!! Not very romantic, but oh so fun…… I really wanted to ride Myusu, but because of my lame knee, they wouldn’t let me – darn!

Here are a few fun facts re elephants that you might not know: The elephant’s foot is constructed in such a way that the animal is virtually walking on tip toe, with a tough, fatty pad of connective tissue forming the sole. Elephants tusks are overgrown incisors protruding from the upper jaw. They grow at a rate of 15–18cm a year, depending on their diet. The skeletal frame of an elephant allows the animal to stand upright on its hind legs. Elephants wear down 6 sets of molars in a lifetime. Elephant herds consist of females, who are usually related, calves and young bull calves. The eldest female, called the Matriarch, most often leads the herd. Bull calves get kicked out of the herd when they reach about 12 years of age to join the bull “bachelor” herds or to become a solitary bull. Bull herds will only join a female herd when it is mating season, or at a waterhole. Elephants are known to display a deep sensitivity and awareness of death and will return repeatedly to carcasses and skeletons of deceased herd members, running their trunks gently over their remains as though paying their respects. Elephants spend as many as 18–20 hours a day feeding and drinking. Like man, elephants are usually left or right “handed” and will use one tusk almost exclusively. Elephants have a highly developed social structure, with family bonds, love, loyalty and intelligence. Elephants use a wide range of sounds to express their moods and feelings. The gestation period in female elephants is 22 months. The bone structure of an elephant is similar to that of human beings, for example they too have a wrist joint in the front legs as well as knee caps and ankles in the back legs. Even the shoulder blades are positioned in the same place as in humans. The elephant’s memory surpasses that of humans.

Mari and I also had the opportunity to visit The Freedom Park in Pretoria with Rob, another PCV, and his South African friend, Arthur. The Park is situated in the capital’s city centre, The Freedom Park stands as a memorial to what South Africa has ach ieved as a nation. The Freedom Park tells the nation’s stories. It honors the efforts of heroes and heroines, that died in the struggles for humanity and freedom. The park is divided into different areas: (1) Isivivane is a spiritual place – a resting place for those who died fighting for freedom and liberation in South Africa. (2) Sikhumbuto is the memorial telling of the most important conflicts in South Africa’s history and honors those who died fighting for humanity and freedom during these conflicts. This memorial consists of several elements consisting of the Wall of Names where names are inscribed who have died fighting for humanity and freedom. The Sanctuary is a quiet place where you can go to think or to pay respect to a loved one that passed on. And, the Eternal Flame is for the heroes and heroines that died without their names being recorded. The flame always burns to remind us that there are names that will never be known.

South Africa really celebrates the Easter holiday. Most businesses were closed from Friday thru Monday for the Easter holiday. And, even though I rarely attend church, it just felt like the thing to do so Gail (another PCV from South Africa) and I went with Mari to St. Wilfrid’s Anglican Church for the Easter service. It was a lovely service actually and the music was most enjoyable. They had a person playing the drums, someone on an electric keyboard, two guitars and two singers leading us in song. The music was very happy and upbeat and you should have seen the priest/minister(?) rockin-on. Walking out of the church into a warm, pleasant morning just felt right! To celebrate the day further, Mari, Gail and Rob and I grilled steaks and enjoyed a nice Easter dinner together. Yes, some of my customary traditions weren’t part of the day, but a good day was had nevertheless.

On Easter Monday, since it was still a holiday, one of the doctors from PC, called us and asked if the four of us would like to go with him to Groenloaf Nature Park. It is on the outskirts of Pretoria and what a beautiful park it is. Lots and lots of bicyclists and people walking the trails. Unfortunately, because of the terrain, I was not able to join the group on the three hour hike, but I walked some of the flat surfaces and saw some beautiful wild flowers. In the meantime, the group saw a herd of zebras that was very close to them, and giraffes, impalas, wildebeest and ??? Oh well, my nap in the sunshine was nice too!!!

Mari and I visited The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg one afternoon. It was really quite spectacular. It is huge, and most of the displays require lots of reading. You really could spend about two days there to fully get through it and appreciate it. After several hours, you are simply exhausted because you feel like you can't read and absorb any more. We stayed about four hours and even though we didn't get through the entire museum in depth, we skimmed everything towards the end. Just a little bit about it. From a brochure it says, "The basic principle behind apartheid was simple - segregate everything. Cut a clean line through a nation to divide black from white and keep them divided. You will come to understand that any form of racial inequality leads to destruction. The award winning and internationally acclaimed museum communicates this by using dark images, sounds and atmosphere prevalent in that troubled era. It attempts to present a balanced account of 20th century South Africa" The museum itself is stark and is supposed to bring to mind images of detention, oppression and division. It begins with segregation, the cornerstone of apartheid and goes through race classification, 150 acts of apartheid, detentions and the oppression of the nationalist regime. There is a small rectangular room which has a ceiling filled with hanging rope nooses depicting political executions and detention without trial in rooms where prisoners were held in solitary confinement. There was a very large Mandela Exhibit where they tell of his life and how he came to follow the path he chose. Although I did not see any signs prohibiting the taking of pictures, and I did take a few pictures, I was told that taking pictures was prohibited, so I had to stop :-( I think you really have to visit it to appreciate it . I am attaching a few pictures since I think you'll like seeing them.

I did one last adventure with Nicki (Madagascar) just this past week. We visited Ukutula, a privately owned lion reserve about an hour’s ride away from Pretoria. We were lucky, and KG was again our driver. They have about 100 lions on this reserve and the object is to one day turn them out into a wild game reserve. They are currently working with the University of Pretoria and a veterinary university (sorry can’t remember the name) on a research project involving the white lion. We had a young woman as our guide while there who was very informative and helpful. She definitely loves her job and is working on her qualification as a certified field guide. Ultimately, she hopes to teach animal husbandry for wild animals at the university level. While there we got to play with the three month old lion cubs, who were every bit as playful and mischievous as playing with a kitten in your home, albeit they were just a tad bigger!! We then got to bottle feed the seven week old cubs. OMG – what fun!!! We had personal contact with a one year old cheetah, who purred unbelievably loud. We then observed many other lions, both brown and white ranging in age up to ten years, plus a couple of tigers. All were absolutely beautiful animals – definitely a highlight of my stay here. Here are a few lion facts you may not know. A few months ago, 80% of the lions in Kruger National Park and Kenya were infected with tuberculosis. Today 90% are infected. At this rate, they will be extinct in these areas in ten years. Research is being conducted as to why TB is so growing so fast and how to save the lion. All lions in Ukutula are TB free. In the wild, a male lion lives to about the age of 9-10 years since it is then when a younger male forces him out of the pride. In the reserve, the male will live until 15 or so. Lions sleep approximately 20 hours per day. In the reserve, the adult lions are fed red meat once a week or if they are fed chickens, four chickens per lion are fed , twice a week. A male lion devotes himself to one female when she is ripe for breeding for 2-5 days. They will mate every 20 minutes during this 5 day period with the hopes of impregnating the female. The gestation period for a lion is 3-1/2 months. Typically 4-6 cats are born in a litter. The cub is blind for the first four weeks after birth. Females are the primary hunters, although the male gets to eat first. Lions stealth and ambush. Their preferred method of killing their prey is with a powerful bite delivered to the base of the skull, which breaks the neck of the prey. Tigers are solitary hunters between sunset and dawn and they bring down their prey by going for the throat and/or windpipe. The cheetah hunts in the early morning or at dusk. The cheetah is the fastest cat and can run at the speed of 60-70 miles per hour, but for only a sprint. He uses the momentum of his speed to knock down his prey and then usually tries to suffocate his prey by going for the windpipe. The visit to Ukutula was even better than expected.

As I said, I left spring in Morocco and I’m now back to fall since I am south of the equator and in a different hemisphere. I ate my dinner on the back patio last night and it was strange indeed to see leaves falling. Even smells like fall and the air is crisp and cool too. The area I’m staying in is beautifully landscaped and some of the high walls surrounding homes are impressive (see attached picture). Perhaps this is an “old” neighborhood, but I have yet to hear a child playing or in fact, even adult voices on my walk abouts. Everyone seems to stay within the confines of their homes. The locked, remote controlled gate is opened, the car parks in the garage, doors are closed and no one is seen again until they once again leave. Twenty percent of the South African population controls the economics of the country. There is a very large gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” it seems.

Some words/expressions/observations I’ve heard/seen here that I have found interesting:
It’s my pleasure -- rather than saying “you’re welcome”
Come back -- “repeat please” or “excuse me”
Calming area -- a street sign meaning “slow down”
Eish - describes disgust, surprise, or frustration.
Braai – barbeque
No complaints – response to the question of “how are you”, rather than our typical “fine”
Geyser (pronounced geezer) – electric hot water heater, up on the roof
Kombi – a van – frequently used as a taxi service
GoGo -- what they call the grandmothers (I love it, don’t you - I think I want to be called this one day)
I saw this sign -- breasts, hips & bum enlargement – not often do we see this wish do we?
Most homes in the rural areas have the main house, a small building in the yard and an outhouse. When asked why,
I was told that the small building is usually rented out to either supplement the income or is sometimes the main
source of income for the family

Along with Easter, we’ve had several holidays while I’ve been here in South Africa. April 27th was Freedom Day and May 1st was Worker’s Day. Most businesses and the schools were closed on these holidays. The guest house has also been quiet and I found myself alone for one weekend, since all other volunteers returned home too. Angie (a staff person) and I were the only ones here. I made guacamole one day and Angie and I enjoyed eating it one afternoon and she talked about her life. She was a nanny for a South African family in the late 90’s. One time she traveled with them to Scotland and commented on how different everything tasted, but how exciting it was for her. Unfortunately they decided to move to England and even though they invited her to move with them, she decided she couldn’t leave her husband and daughter in South Africa. Had she not had these responsibilities, I’m sure she would have gone with them. Another morning Angie talked with me while I drank coffee. I wanted her to join me and have a cup of coffee too, but she declined. Hopefully she truly doesn’t like coffee and didn’t decline the offer because I am a “guest”. This particular morning she talked about her daughter, Mavis, and her granddaughters Kholofelo (meaning “hope”) and Mpho (meaning “small gift”). Mavis did not want English names for her children and instead she chose traditional South African names. Mavis went to the university and is a chemical engineer, although she is a stay-at-home mom now. Mavis’s husband is a manager at the Checker grocery store. One night when it was just the two of us at the House, I had a small knock on my door and in Angie walked with a typical rural South African dinner on a tray for me. It consisted of boerewors (kind of like bratwurst), smothered in a tomato & onion gravy and maze meal (kind of like cream of wheat, cooked dry and solid enough to cut with a knife). How very sweet of her!! Wanting to reciprocate, I cooked dinner for Angie and Martha too. I shared my tales of growing up on a farm in Michigan and told them that the meal I would serve would be like a meal I grew up eating. I made scalloped potatoes, baked beans, meatloaf and fresh homemade applesauce. I made triple chocolate cookies for dessert. I insisted that this meal was my event and that they were not allowed to help cook or clean up and being as bossy as I am, they eventually listened to me. Even though they have cooked similar dishes, my version was different than they were used to. They commented that they always ate the same meal every night and having a change was very nice. I think the biggest surprise for them was that a white woman could cook. The white women they’ve had contact with can barely boil water. They were impressed!!! And, it was great fun for me to share this experience with them. Angie would like to take me home with her to her village in rural South Africa. Unfortunately, I doubt that her days off and the days I have free from physical therapy will coincide and make that possible. I have been helping Maria, another staff person, learn how to maneuver the internet. She sends me many “test” messages to test her skills.

My physiotherapist also had several food suggestions that I really must taste to say that I’ve been in South Africa. She herself baked me rusk (kind of a biscotti sort of thing), that should be dipped in coffee or tea. She also said I must taste koeksusters (really, really sweet pastry, coated in a sticky sweet syrup), melktert (custard like pie), biltong and droe wors (both similar to our jerky). I bought enough to bring back to the guest house to share with the other PCVs that are here, so that they didn’t miss out on the experience either. It was a fun taste testing.

I took walks while in Pretoria and frequently ended up at a shopping center. Now granted I love food and I like to cook, so this isn’t really as weird as you may think, but I frequently wander into a grocery store. In South Africa, the big supermarkets chains are, “Checkers”, “Pick & Pay” and “Spar”. Once there I can walk the aisles, pushing a trolley (shopping cart), puzzle over unfamiliar junk food and focus on the creative labels of items I found. So how does the South African deal with household pests? What flavors of ice cream do they have? And, since all supermarkets are fairly predictable, having aisles, trolleys and checkouts, it is a pretty stress-free walk-about and people just leave you alone to wander and shop. It gives you wonderful insight into the lives and homes of the locals you are visiting. If you’ve never done this before, give it a try….. it’s fun!! Here is a little test for you – can you guess at what food this is -- assorted luncheon loaves, soft citrus, polony, mince, biscuits, orange squash, loaf cake, chocolate slabs.

I visited one morning with another guest here at the House and he told me about the ostrich ranches near his home. You know how you’ve seen herds of cattle grazing in the fields, well he says here in South Africa they have herds of ostriches. He says the ostrich is one of the few birds that almost every part of the bird is used. The meat is eaten, feathers are used for decorations, the hide makes beautiful leather goods and even the toes are used for key chains and gadgets of other sorts.

D (decision) day is here and it has been decided that I will return to Morocco probably on Tuesday of next week (May 16th). No, the knee is not pain free, but soft tissue is so slow to heal, it may be months before it actually feels almost normal. With osteoarthritis, it may never be totally pain free and a knee replacement is probably in the cards down the line. Yes, this may accelerate the need for a replacement some, but we'll never know how much and does it really matter? The PC doctors really seem to want me to return to Morocco and advised me to continue to take it easy for a while. If the knee begins to hurt more, then I will just have them medically separate me from PC at a later time. So, I will return to Morocco, lay low in my apartment for a while and continue to rest the knee and before I know it, it will be November and officially time for me to return to the states. I think I really thought I would return to the States and can't decide if I'm disappointed or excited about this decision, but guess I'm okay with this and just hope the knee continues to improve. I don't think I'll unpack. I'll just sort of live out the remaining time in Morocco in a half-packed mode.

Whew….. this ended up being a really long update. My next note to be written in mid-June will be from Morocco once again. Stay healthy, be happy and take care of yourself and those you love. Hugs, Linda

April in South Africa

2011-04-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

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.

4/15/11 Tax time folks – that glorious time of the year!!! Hope your taxes are filed and that you are getting a whopping big refund!! Lucky for me, since I am working out of country, I am granted an automatic extension to June 15th so mine will be filed in a few months.

Some of you know this, but my plans changed dramatically. Since the US government budget issues lingered on and on (and maybe are still lingering??? – I’m really out of the news loop), rather than having me continue to sit on “stand by”, I was offered the opportunity to travel to our regional medical location in South Africa for surgery on that torn knee meniscus. Since all this waiting to see what tomorrow might bring was making me a bit crazy, I decided – why not? South Africa is purported to have a top-notch medical care system. I left Morocco on April 3rd and flew to Johannesburg, South Africa via Cairo, Egypt. I had a three-hour layover in Cairo, and all was quiet (I could picture a few worried faces when I reported this.) Upon my arrival, I was met by a shuttle service and brought to a lovely guest house in Pretoria which will be my home away from home for a while. There are other volunteers from all over the African continent (Zambia, Yuganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and the country of South Africa, itself) staying here while they seek treatment for and recover from medical problems. I am the first volunteer from Morocco to visit. We have private rooms, most have private baths, complete with televisions, and breakfast is provided to us. Nice breakfasts too -- I think I’ve eaten bacon (kind of a Canadian bacon/ham type) for breakfast every day since arriving. But please remember, Morocco is a Muslin country and we don’t have pork products in the country per se, so this is a real treat. We also have kitchen privileges here at the guest house where we can prepare our own lunch and dinner. And, we may use their washer and dryer for our clothes – such luxuries! The house itself looks like an English Inn and the garden surrounding it is well landscaped and full of flowers. I’ve attached a few pictures of the guest house and staff. Gosh I particularly like this bathroom -- note the western toilet -- ahhhhh!!!! The doctor in charge of this program said he wanted a place for volunteers to stay that was conducive to good healing for both the body and soul and restful . He found it!! I went to the grocery store upon my arrival and saw many products that looked familiar to me. I’ve fixed myself pork chops, baked potatoes, corn, beans & franks, kettle corn popcorn, spinach salads with feta cheese and a variety of fruit. I even bought ice cream so that I can have it whenever I want it. I will put that weight back on if I don’t watch it 

I had surgery on Friday, April 8th and it went very well. The knee surgeon cut out the tear on the meniscus and shaved arthritic spurs off the bones. He said structurally, my knee looks great and it should feel much better than it did before. Actually, it feels better already!! The physical therapist came in Friday night and had me actually walk a short bit for her. She then returned on Saturday morning and gave me some simple exercises to do. They initially had a tube in the knee for drainage, but removed it before I left the hospital on Saturday. My knee is wrapped, but I am walking (slowly) on it without crutches. I am supposed to rest it, elevate it and keep it iced for now. I am to continue these simple exercises for 7-10 days. I have an appointment on April 19th to see the surgeon and physical therapist. I suspect that this is when the real physical therapy will begin.. At this point in time, I don't have a clue what physical therapy will entail or how long I will stay here. I was told that there were about five issues involved with my knee (ligaments, tendons, etc.) but only the meniscus required surgical procedures, and I guess the arthritic spurs once they were in there. They are still saying that it could take up to six months for the tendon to heal entirely, but uncertain if that would keep me from returning to Morocco? No one is really saying where I will go from here and my guess is that they might not know yet since it will depend on how physical therapy goes. In the meantime, I am sleeping when tired, reading and giving my knee the rest it needs at this point in time. I’m also becoming better acquainted with the volunteers staying here and you all know how I like to talk!!

I must make a couple of comments regarding my hospital stay. It was a private hospital and looked very similar to the hospitals we are accustomed to. I was in a six-bed ward, but only my bed and another were occupied. My roomie was named Estelle. Estelle is an attorney and a divorced mother of three children. I had the good fortune of meeting two of them. (Side note re Estelle’s sons. Both worked in Maine one summer at a golf camp and later sold encyclopedia’s in Texas, near the Mexican border. Not their favorite job and both hope to never do something like that again, although returning to the states is something they would like to do). The operating rooms are called “theatres”. I asked Estelle if she knew why they were called this, but she didn’t. I’m thinking most patients are not likely that entertaining, but maybe the doctors/staff are??? Nurses are called “Sisters”. At first I thought we were talking about Catholic Sisters, but later learned the real meaning of the word. I wasn’t given a “call button” and wondered just how I was supposed to get their attention should I need it – hmm, South Africa is different! Estelle and I later learned that there were indeed “call buttons”, we just didn’t receive them. Perhaps we looked problematic?? A few interesting staff names were -- Surprise, Patience, Norah, Lizelle and unfortunately I just can’t remember all the others. Most were kind, attentive and helpful. I learned that I should have brought my own towel and washcloth to the hospital with me, but they did find one for me to use. Hospital food really doesn’t taste that good, regardless of the country you may be in. On the whole my experience was good and I was well taken care of.

Unfortunately, I can’t say that I’ve seen much of South Africa. From what I’ve seen here, it is very similar to the surroundings we are familiar with, but I know that the remote areas are not as fortunate. Peace Corps has volunteers in rural areas, and the conditions sound challenging. I’ve seen beautiful homes here in the city, all surrounded by high walls, and topped with electric fencing. Security systems seem to be the norm not the exception. I heard the ice cream truck in the neighborhood. Unfortunately I couldn’t run fast enough to catch it! Since we are located south of the Ecuador, it is fall here and we are heading into winter. The days have been partially cloudy and probably around 70 degrees. I’ve had the windows open at night in my room, but the locals think it has been chilly at night. (Ummm, they should have visited me a couple of months ago.) I’m told their winter days are frequently around 32 degrees, with occasional black ice, but rarely snow. June is typically their coldest month. Depending on my mobility as time goes along, it would be great if I could see a bit of not only this city, but of the country itself. There are some one-day safari treks and it would be fun if I could do one of these while here. I’m told it is mostly a ride and see trip, so it wouldn’t be hard on my knee I’m told. I’ve also just learned of an elephant sanctuary that is nearby. I recently read “Water for Elephants”, and I have a new-found fascination for these large, sensitive, gentle animals and I would love to visit this sanctuary if possible.

I mentioned in my last blog writing that I was working on a graphic/visual cheese cookbook for the ladies of the association I work with in Morocco since they are illiterate and unable to read the written version. I completed this before I left and gave it to my counterpart. I used the colored measuring spoons Elaine brought me as the devices to measure and I downloaded pictures of mint, olives, almonds, etc., and pasted these pictures near the appropriate spoons so that they would know the ingredients. Not that the picture I’ve attached is great, but I think it gives you an idea of what I’ve done and it is self-explanatory don’t you think? Lately, my counterpart has showed more interest in flavoring cheese and I hope this is helpful to her and the association. What I’d really like to see happen is to incorporate it into the restaurant, if we ever have a going restaurant business. I visualize the restaurant as being a showcase for the products of our association. We could have a small herb garden off to the side near the entrance to the restaurant. We could sell the customer plain cheese and ask them if they would like to add some seasonings. They could then pick out the fresh herb(s), or other makings. We could give everything a whirrrrr in the blender, and the customer themselves could do the mixing at their table to enjoy it as an appetizer as they are waiting for their tajine. We have a few carpets that the ladies have made and I think we could drape them over curtain rods where they could be seen and hopefully sold. The carpets would also provide colorful art for the walls of the dining room. As it is now, they are in the back room and if asked for, they are shown, but who would think to ask? We also do some embroidery and sewing that could be displayed and hopefully sold. There are so many possibilities to pursue, but uncertain if anything will ever materialize. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut!

It is customary to have henna applied before any trip or big event in Morocco. My leaving was just such an occasion. Khadeja decorated me the day before I left my site. I gave her a pretty free rein and told her to do anything she’d like to do. What do you think? I, of course, visited with my host family and their nearby neighbors before I left and they loved the henna. I told them that I hoped it would make the surgeon operating on my knee go “ooooh la la” and the ladies particularly liked this idea. I’m not sure the surgeon was impressed though  , but the physical therapist did notice and she loved it!

It was spring in my site when I left. Fields were greening up, trees were blossoming and baby animals of all sorts were scampering about. I had the chance to enjoy my morning coffee on my rooftop once again and watch the village wake up. Before I left, Anna and I visited our friend Angelica in her site, which is nearby, but off the beaten track. Angelica lives in a gorgeous valley and even though she is remote, her village is well equipped with everything, much better than mine is. Remember the puppy, Lily, that I babysat late last fall, well this is her home too. The home itself is a bit more rustic than I am accustomed to and I’m grateful for the luxuries I have. Angelica had been telling us about the rodent problem she has been having this winter. Well while we were in the kitchen, something caught my eye. Didn’t see anything at this time, but we heard rustling. Later, a louder noise caught our attention. Now I must tell you, I hate, really hate, mice and rats, I’d rather deal with snakes. Anna retreats to the salon, I’ve left the kitchen and I’m standing in the courtyard watching the kitchen door. Angelica is in the kitchen banging a stick……. We must have been a funny site! Finally a large rodent (rat) about 6-8 inches in length comes out of the kitchen – eeeeck! At this time, I start jumping as best I can since it was trying to decide the direction it should run – please not towards me…… and luckily it does head the opposite direction and goes up and over a nearby wall. Ummm, Lily is nowhere to be found. I presume she was scared to? What a watch dog!

I met up with one of the village teachers in Ouarzazate before I left. I had been given a gift of money to be used for art supplies for the school. Abdajil (the teacher) and I went to a large bookstore and we purchased paints, markers, crayons, paper , etc. and activity workbooks for the younger classes. I visualize happy, busy children creating art masterpieces now. We also investigated photocopiers while there since the school doesn’t have a copy machine and it would be ever so useful. Stipends previously given to me enabled me to give them the funds to purchase a copier for the school too. I later spent the night with a Moroccan friend named Chafia and her family in Ouarzazate. They kept insisting that I eat, eat – I don’t think I look hungry, but they must have thought I was. They had me sleep in the parlor that night and Chafia asked if I would be scared alone and offered to sleep with me. This is just another example of the typical Moroccan’s hospitality. I woke up to the sounds of roosters crowing & chickens clucking, cows mooing and a donkey braying. I’m thinking – what the heck – we’re in a house in the city. I was told that they keep animals on their roof (how did they get them up there?) and that they bring them tuga (grass) from family members’ homes in smaller villages surrounding Ouarzazate.

On my way out of the Morocco, I spent the night in Marrakech and met up with Mary & Gerry, volunteers in the Essaouria area. We explored the Jewish quarters in the afternoon and traveled together as far as Rabat on the following day. Mary & Gerry are “mature” volunteers like myself, married, work in the health sector and have been in-country for about a year. They too have had many memorable experiences. Actually one of their sons has just begun a new job with a NGO here in South Africa and they are traveling to the area next week for a visit and we might meet up again while they are here. Also, while in Rabat, waiting for my Sunday flight, Annie, Donna and Hanna came into the city and we spent Saturday night together. Annie bought a hat in Fes to add to her collection. We all had to try it out – I don’t think I should give up the day job do you? It’s kind of like working a hoola hoop.

Well my friends, this is about all I can think of to write for the moment. Rest assured I am well and on the road to recovery. From where I’ll next write is yet to be determined. Whatever is to be – will be, and I’m okay with that.
Enjoy the spring flowers that must be emerging and Happy Easter to you. Hoppy, Hoppy Spring to all. Hugs, Linda

March Madness

2011-03-20T02:59:00.000-07:00

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.

3/20/11 Well my son, Chris has come to Morocco and gone already. It was great to have him visit and to see him. We did a whirlwind tour of Morocco traveling as far south as Mhamid, complete with a trek into the Sahara on camels (gosh I love camels, don’t they look aristocratic?), staying overnight in a Berber tent, and then worked our way north through Marrakech, Meknes & Volubillis, Fes, Chefchauouen and finally Tangiers. Unfortunately, Chris got sick towards the end of the trip and totally missed Chefchauouen since he spent the day there in bed, but was able to make the trip home to Chicago okay a few days later. We visited my first village and host family that I lived with when I first arrived in September, 2009. I had not been back for a visit and promised them that I would bring Chris if he came. The kids have grown and the new baby is beautiful. They were delighted to see me and to meet Chris. Of course, staying only a few hours was not enough time and they wanted us to stay days. We also visited the other four families that hosted volunteers while we were there. Chris commented that he has never drank so much tea in his life since we had to have tea with everyone and even had to eat two lunches, since a tajine was brought out while we were at one of the houses and we were expected to eat at my host family’s too. We then traveled to my current village and only had one day to spend unfortunately since we had too many people to meet for that length of time. Chris plastered on a smile since he couldn’t talk with anyone, and off we went. We had a nice lunch with my host family. Obviously, we didn’t have time to meet everyone that would have liked to meet him, and I’ve received a few shuma’s (shame on you) since we neglected them, but we did the best we could do. Chris had a few girls ask if he would marry them and take them back to America with him, all of which he declined. While we were in Fes, Chris was offered 5,000 camels and a donkey for his mom. I think he was a bit tempted to take him up on the offer, but then wondered just what he would do with so many camels in Chicago? Personally I think I’m worth more – maybe two donkeys, rather than one  ?? Chris had a chance to meet a few volunteers on our travels and Sarah, a friend and fellow volunteer traveled with us for the last five days. By then, Chris and I needed a break from each other and Sarah was a great diversion. Chris and Sarah bought new leather coats in Fes, nice don’t you think? It was wonderful to have him visit and I think he now has a better understanding and appreciation for the adventures I’ve experienced.

In mid-February, before Chris arrived, two fellow volunteers and myself organized and hosted a women’s leadership workshop in Ouarzazate. We worked with a women’s organization in Ouarzazate and they provided us with three facilitators that basically conducted the workshop in Dareja (Moroccan Arabic) for us. It was designed for twenty rural Moroccan women in the general vicinity to attend. It was geared for those 15-30 years old that showed some leadership potential. They arrived late Friday afternoon and returned home after breakfast on Monday. We had grant money to fund this workshop, and they incurred no expense to attend. It was even more successful than I imagined. After the initial awkwardness of getting to know each other, they participated and seemed to enjoy becoming acquainted not only with the concept of leadership, but with each other too. One of our previous volunteers prepared a documentary (titled “You Can Dream”) wherein she interviewed six women who have stepped outside the normal realm and became leaders in their communities. We showed this film and had great discussions since each woman’s experience was very different than another’s. During the workshop they developed a vision and a plan to achieve that vision. There will be a one day follow-up workshop in May to see what progress has been made. The women left energized and enthused and commented that they never even thought that such things were possible. It was exciting to watch them and their reactions. It was also fun to observe just how much we are all alike. After dinner each night, the young ones headed out of the hotel to “see the town”. Granted they were back in by 10p, unlike some of our American youths would be, but they too wanted to experience it all. Some of them had never stayed in a hotel before, let alone without their parents or adult supervision (I guess we were the adult supervision), but they were given a pretty lose rein by us and no one abused it. One of the girls I took with me from my village is actually a bit more adventurous than others. She is one of the lucky ones here in the village and she attends the university in Agadir. While in the village she is very conservative and quiet. She is proper in every way. When I went to get her for the trip into Ouarzazate, she came out of the house dressed in sexy jeans and looked very chic. Her long hair was washed and swept up into a swinging pony tail. She was as cute as a button. And, later when given the opportunity, you should have seen her dance. Nothing shy about that girl!! I would not have known it was the same girl that I’ve known for the past 1.5 years. Not that she did anything wrong, because she didn’t, she was just so different. Yet, if asked what her future holds, she will likely tell you that she will come back to the village to live. Hopefully this workshop will motivate her to put her education to good use in the village at some point in the future.

Since Peace Corps is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year, we also celebrated it at our workshop. Everyone involved with the workshop including the hotel staff joined in the celebration. A cake was ordered from a local bakery and the creation was all their doing. What do you think? Quite the cake I would say!!!

After leaving the workshop I went to the home of Nadia’s family for lunch. Nadia is one of two workers at our baby’s center and she has wanted me to come for lunch for a long while, but seems like her days off and me being in Ouarzazate never seemed to coincide. Well this time it worked out and a lovely lunch was shared. She invited five other young ladies to join us, all either from my village or at least familiar with my village, and a lively conversation was had. A lovely cake was prepared in my honor, since my days in Morocco may be limited. I was touched by their thoughtfulness.

I met with the individual classes (grades 1-6) at our primary school and talked about oral hygiene. We watched a cartoon-like movie in Tashlheet that I have that reinforces good dental care that the kids seem to enjoy. Teachers also commented that they also learned something new from the lesson I taught. Everyone went home with a new toothbrush and most with a small tube of toothpaste in hand. I forewarned them that I would ask them when I see them whether they have been brushing their teeth and you can bet I do this. Almost everyone says “yes” and sometimes not only can I see that they have not, but their faces clearly show me that they have not been doing so. Obviously, I show my displeasure in this. Perhaps if I make myself out to be such a nuisance, they will just brush their teeth to make me stay away.

The kids and teachers seem to just like me popping in from time to time and I definitely do this, almost every day since I walk near anyways. I might only stay a few minutes, but their smiles warm my heart and make me feel good and hopefully they benefit too. I was pleasantly surprised to notice sparkling, clean bathrooms the last time I was at the school. It seems that they have taken my suggestion of assigning different classes – bathroom duty and both boys and girls are involved in the process of cleaning. I raved and made quite a fuss about how impressed and pleased I was. Everyone seemed very proud. They actually listened to me – I am tickled – it made my day!!

I also noticed while showing Chris the association and the place where we make cheese that in the refrigerator was a tray of cheese that had been flavored with (?) (maybe rosemary. Who knew??? I didn’t think that this was going anywhere and obviously someone must be buying at least some of it. And, this past week, my counterpart asked me to come and (I thought) show her how to make some of the flavorings I created. Well, she definitely wanted flavored cheese, but I don’t think the intent was for me to show her how to make it – she wanted me to make it. Which I did, but I also brought her over to watch while I made each new batch. When asked where she was going to take this cheese, she indicated that there was a demonstration and I presume she meant there was going to be a taste testing somewhere that she wanted to participate in. Regardless, I am just thrilled that maybe, just maybe, they have taken my suggestions to heart. Since almost everyone involved in the association is illiterate, even though I have the recipes written down in English, French and Arabic, how do you read them if you can’t read? I’ve now put the recipes in graphic form. Elaine brought me some great colored measuring spoons when she visited last October. I’ve used those colors to indicate the quantities needed in the recipes. I have each recipe in a plastic page saver complete with the graphics and written recipes. If they have questions, hopefully they will find a younger woman who can marginally read to help them.

I’ve now taken my tooth brushing campaign door-to-door. If they will take the time to let me give them a short tooth brushing demonstration, everyone in the house will get a new toothbrush. Again, since I really struggle with my language, my demonstration is probably quite comical. I usually get a lot of laughs and hugs and promises to brush their teeth twice a day. Hmmmm

We had a National Geographic tour group come by this past week for a visit to my village. We trekked up the back way to my host family’s home for tea. Not only does this trek give a different and unique view of the countryside, but it also gave them the opportunity to admire my painted door!! My host family is warm, welcoming and simply charming in an innocent way. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity for this experience.

Just before Chris arrived, we were enjoying spring like weather – it was lovely and I was sure that spring had arrived. Well, I returned to a village that was miserably cold. We had snow, winds and winter-like temperatures for about a week mid-March. My house was again sitting at 40 degrees. Downright chilly to comfortably live in. Luckily, we’ve had sun for the past couple of days and with a little luck, maybe spring is just around the corner. This morning I drank my coffee on my rooftop and it was lovely to watch my village wake up. A pile of cement blocks had been dropped below my apartment and I watched a donkey haul four blocks up the hill at a time. This animal worked with little supervision. They would load the carrier on his back and he would automatically start up the hill. I will never understand why the donkey is viewed as one of the lowest creatures in Morocco? What would we do without them?

Peace Corps has decided to bring me to Washington DC for surgery on that torn meniscus. I’ll have surgery at George Washington University Hospital. I will stay in Washington for at least a bit of the physical therapy that follows surgery, but it is possible that they will move me to my home of record, which is my sister’s address in Michigan. I almost went for surgery this past week, but with the US government’s budget issues, it was decided to put me back on hold until it is resolved. I suspect once things are settled, I will go soon. I am now told that they think I have a bit better than 50/50 chance of returning to Morocco after surgery. Of course it all depends on how surgery and physical therapy goes. I do have to be back to 100% in forty five days though to return. Can I do that? This has rather complicated my leaving. Do I pack to leave or come back? As it is now, I have everything that I want to return to the states with me packed in suitcases. If I don’t return, they will have to be shipped to me. I will just travel with a small bag for surgery. I have not disposed of my apartment furnishings, since I will need them if I come back. I have found homes for most things and I’ve left a list in each room as to what goes where. Unfortunately Anna and Angelica will end up bearing the burden of actually getting rid of things should I not return. I’ll be glad to have this all behind me. I’ve never been very good at not knowing what to expect. Initially, I was very disappointed that I would be leaving Morocco before my planned return date. Then I adjusted to this thought and I was getting excited about the prospects of being stateside sooner rather than later. Now I don’t know what I’m hoping for? Do I say good-bye or not? Guess I will just take what I get – huh?

Since I’ve sort of said good-bye to lots of people, I have had invitations galore to come share tea, a meal, or just a few minutes of time. Everyone wants to express their best wishes to me in some way. Again, their kindness overwhelms me at times. This is an extraordinary country in many ways.

Well that is about it for this update. When I next write I will likely be in the states recuperating somewhere. I hope you are enjoying spring like weather and that winter is behind you too. Take a minute to appreciate today and hug a loved one. Thinking of you and missing you. Til next time. Hugs, Linda

Frosty February

2011-02-14T04:02:00.000-08:00

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.

2/14/11 I'm sorry, but I give up on uploading any more pictures. It has taken me over 2.5 hours to load the ones I have done so far and I really must do something produtive today. Sounds like many of you have been blasted by some nasty winter weather lately. Brrrr, it’s cold here too, but luckily no snow for my village. The higher elevations have a nice layer of the white stuff, and I hope it stays up there. My house does not have a heat source and it has averaged 40 degrees for the past couple of weeks and the drafts coming in the windows can raise a rug. It’s a bit chilly to just sit back and relax and I find that I go to bed earlier and earlier, just be warm. It’s okay – spring is right around the corner – I just know it!

My friends, Donna and Gail, and I set off seeking some warmer weather in January and we traveled south . Of course, since Donna lives in the Taroudant area, she wasn’t really in such need of a break from the cold, and we started our travels at her site. Taroudant is known as little Marrakech and what a nice little city it is. A new, modern city in many respects, but it has some lovely old Moroccan areas too. This area is also known for having argan trees. The argan is a relative of the olive, a twisted, tortured-looking tree whose fruit is eaten by the local goats. The goats have become adept at climbing into its branches to graze. I did see goats grazing, but unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera ready to take a picture  Really fun to see a goat in a tree though!! One of the things that Donna’s association does is that it makes argan oil. They are not a big organization or producer, and it is a labor intensive product requiring many hours of labor to produce a small quantity of oil. Argan oil is touted to be one of the best beauty products available. They also have an edible oil that is light, nutty flavored and wonderful for bread dipping. We then headed down through Agadir, stopping for lunch at a café on the beach. The sunshine and warmth felt wonderful! Sidi Ifni was our first destination stop, a Spanish colony until 1969, now with a thriving port. This city seems curiously out of place with its art deco buildings and a Catholic Church . We spent a lovely afternoon north of the city at Legzira Plage,a secluded bay with a nice sandy beach and two dramatic natural stone arches reaching over the sea (pictures attached). We then traveled through 100+k of desolate, vacant desert until we reached Tan Tan, where Gail’s friends Auday & Fatima live. This is as far south as we PCVs are permitted to travel. Our documents were carefully inspected before we were allowed to enter. Tan Tan surprisingly has a population of 60,000 and it was far more developed that I expected to find it. We stayed at a beach hotel, but the area was quiet and few people were out and about. Weather was pleasant, but hardly swimsuit weather. Gail stayed on with her friends and Donna and I traveled to the Tata area where we visited Alisa and Courtney at their sites before we traveled back to our respective homes. It was only a few days away, but it was a nice break from the cold, mountain weather I live in.

I had committee meetings in Rabat at the end of January, and I headed in a few days early for medical appointments. I saw an orthopedic doctor while there and he says my knee issue is degenerative joint disease/cartilage degeneration/arthritis of knee, basically all the same thing, just different names to call it. Boils down to the fact that I have aging knees and the right one was pushed over the top with all the squatting I did while painting the world map in August. He advised that I increase my dose of glucosamine and hopefully with time it will feel almost normal. The doctor concurred with my diagnosis of a Baker’s cyst at the back of the knee, but advised that I do nothing with it at this time. With any luck, as the front of the knee improves, this cyst might just go away on its own. In the meantime, squatting is a bit problematic!! I actually head back into Rabat in the near future for another committee meeting and we are going to do an ultrasound of the knee while I am there to confirm the cyst, it’s size and it’s location.

I was told of another association here in my village, but I was also told that they were not active, that they didn’t do anything, etc. Dummy me - I should know better than to just blindly accept someone else’s word. Finally I ventured to the other side of town and found the association. As I approached, I head lots of laughter emanating out of the building. I found nine young 20ish aged women in the building working on embroidery, one was sewing at the sewing machine, and others were painting on fabric. I learned that they have a preschool with fifteen children. The room they use is pleasant with pictures on the walls and their artistic creations were displayed throughout. I asked if there was anything I could do for them and initially I was told “no”. Then after a bit of time passed, they asked if I would just come back and talk with them – a little language exchange as they would like to learn some English. Obviously I said yes I would most definitely do that. I asked if they were interested in doing some pilates with me and they emphatically said “yes”. I also asked about dental hygiene and would they like some instruction. Well, I have gone back and this past week I loaded up my daypack with toothbrushes/toothpaste and off I went (pictures attached). While I was in Rabat I found a movie regarding tooth brushing in Tashlheet, so I took my computer and movie along too. Everyone was excited. Probably watching the movie on the computer was a highlight of my instruction. For whatever reason, there were around nine elementary school children there this day too, some little ones working on embroidery too. So rather than give the instruction and tooth brushes to the young women, I met with the kids instead. I’ll go back another time and meet with the women. I was in the mood to bake the day before I planned to go back, so I made an orange cake and took it along. Guess everyone was thinking of a party mood, since three other women brought cakes too. So after everyone nicely brushed their teeth, we had cake and tea – seems a bit counterproductive doesn’t it?

I have become better acquainted with a 13 year old girl lately. She speaks decent English and says she learned it by watching television (this reminded me of a Polish friend who also learned much of her English by watching television). She likes to come to my house and visit with me. One day I invited her to my house to help me bake cookies (picture attached). Upon touching a hot pan she uttered “shit”. I wondered if I heard her correctly and asked and she said “yes”. I asked if she learned that on television and of course that is where she learned it. I then told her that nice young ladies really didn’t say such things and that perhaps she should say “ooops” instead. She has made great effort to substitute the words “ooops” into the appropriate spots. I learned that this young woman is going to collage (middle school) in the neighboring town. She boards there all week and comes home on weekends. She has dreams of attending a university in America. Not only do very few of the children from my village have the opportunity to attend collage, but to have the dream of an American university!! I recently saw her parents at a school outing and I told them how proud I was of them and of their daughter. Jhssan is smart enough to do this and I keep telling her that she must work hard in school and do well and that scholarships are available for those that really want to do this. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this really happens?

I’ve recently attended several school parties celebrating the end of the first semester (pictures attached). One was quite the gala affair celebrated at our municipal building. Many children participated and entertained the many guests that came to watch. The “who’s who” of the village were there. I took lots of pictures and the school director made prints of them that he is proudly giving out. Earlier in the week I also attended the pre-school party. Can you believe we had four cakes, two plates of cookies and a big bowl of candy for fifteen children. Yeow….. that was a lot of sugar. I listened to “Happy Birthday” for 2.5 hours since that seems to be the favorite upbeat party song. This party was a surprise for me and had I known, I would have taken along my “101 Silly Songs”. Granted they would not have understood the words, but they would have loved the melodies and I could have shown them the many moves these songs invoke. I just stopped by the primary school to tell them of an art project I’ve been made aware of. While there one of the teachers asked me if I could get him any information regarding teaching autistic, dyslectic or children with ADD. He says he almost always has a student or two suffering from this and he has to send them home since he doesn’t know what to do with them. If anyone has information they would like to share with me so that I may share it with him, it would be most appreciated. Thanks.

I haven’t done much with my other association lately. I stop in there several times a week, but nothing is really happening. We have had 145 babies pass through our baby’s center doors though in less than a year and I think that is a real accomplishment in and of itself. I am still hopeful of helping to get the water issue resolved. Unfortunately, nothing moves quickly here, so fast results will not be seen.

I am so looking forward to my son, Chris’s visit at the end of the month. Sure hope he feels like smiling a lot since he won’t be able to talk with many people and so many people want to meet him. My next update may be a bit later in March, since he will be here until the 13th but I hope to do it shortly after that date.

A quick update on my knee - well the ultrasound I had done confirmed that there is indeed a walnut-sized cyst behind the knee. Not sure that we learned much specifically about this cyst really, other than if the front of the knee heals, hopefully the cyst will just go away. Unfortunately, the MRI that was done later in the week confirmed that I have a torn miniscus requiring surgery. Surgery needs to be done soon and I'm told it will be done in the states. I've also been told it is a piece of cake - no worries. The bad news is that the recup/recovery time given to me by this orthopedic doctor is six months. Seems like a terribly long time, although we do have some cartilage to repair and you have to factor in my age :-) In all probability, the likelihood of PC medically separating me is almost certain after 45 days. Since Chris, arrives in Marrakech on February 28th, I have asked (begged actually) if the surgery can wait until April since I want to show Chris some of Morocco. Our PCMOs think this is possible, although it will be PC Washington's decision to make. So looks like I will be coming home, sooner rather than later........

I truly believe that we should finish what we start, and I am so disappointed that I will most likely not return to Morocco. When I know more details and dates, I'll let you know. In the meantime, stay healthy, happy and take care. Hugs to you all, Linda

Jumpin January

2011-01-08T10:11:00.000-08:00

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.

1/8/2011 Bonne Annee (Happy New Year) A new year is upon us. Let it be a healthy, happy one for everyone!!!
Hope your holidays were even better than expected or hoped for and that memories were made to warm your heart and make you smile during the coming years.

I know that I just updated this blog a few weeks ago, but I have a few minutes now and thought – what the heck. There isn’t a schedule here and those friends and family just love to hear from me   so write away…….

As I wrote in my previous blog, I baked nine different kinds of cookies and delivered fourteen plates of them around to people in my community for the Papa Noel holiday. I doubt that you fully appreciate what a challenge this can be. Imagine reading the recipe and it says to bring the butter to room temperature. Ah duh ---- the refrigerator, my kitchen, the same temperature here. I would follow sun beams around rooms with butter in dishes, trying to get the butter soft enough to work with. Some of you are thinking, just melt it. If you are a baker you know that this doesn’t really work, since it can really change the texture of the end product, unfortunately. And, I’m attaching a picture of my oven so you can get a better idea of this challenge. Does that look like a 350 degree flame to you? Regardless, the cookies for the most part turned out just fine and they were enjoyed by everyone.

Eight of us gathered on Christmas eve at Hannah’s house , just outside of Marrakech for the Christmas holiday. Hannah inherited a real Christmas tree (well artificial, but 6 ft in height) and she had it beautifully decorated with handmade miniature Berber dolls, complete with twinkling lights. Obviously, I had taken a selection of cookies along too, so the picture was complete. It felt like Christmas !!! The weather was chilly so we huddled/cuddled on the ponges and watched holiday movies Christmas afternoon (picture attached). We did a white elephant gift exchange and that brought about a few giggles and laughs, but mostly satisfied recipients. We had a lovely holiday dinner of sliced turkey breasts, roasted potatoes, cauliflower and homemade apple sauce. Just the pure fact of sharing the holiday with such good people made the holiday special for all of us. We all returned to our respective homes on the 26th, leaving a lonely Hannah behind. Now my tree wasn’t nearly as glamorous, but I forgot to attach a picture of it with my last update, so I’m attaching one now. Pretty special don’t you think?

I’ve made a new friend – Gail. Gail lives in Canada and found my blog and contacted me in early September. Gail had visited Morocco years before and she was returning to Ouarzazate for two months in December. Since we are the same age, she thought I would be a good one to ask questions to about living conditions, what clothes to bring, etc. Well after corresponding for several months, it was nice to finally meet. We clicked and decided we wanted to really celebrate the new year this year and off to Casablanca we went. It was a fast trip – traveled by bus, then train all day on the 30th. Had the day to spend as we liked on the 31st , and then we rode the train, then bus back home on the 1st. Whew……. I had low expectations for Casablanca, as it has been previously described to me as the armpit of Morocco. I came away with a very different opinion.. We only had good experiences with good people. At a friend’s suggestion we stayed at the Hotel de Paris located in the old French quarters. It was in a pedestrian mall and the area was full of cafes, little shops and lots of people (oh yeah, some great ice cream too). The hotel wasn’t fancy mind you, but we had our own bathroom, complete with western toilet, it was clean and the area felt very safe. Gail had been to Casablanca before and elected not to join me for a visit to the Hassan II Mosque (pictures attached) during the day on the 31st. This is one of two mosques in Morocco that is open to non-Muslims. It is located at the ocean’s edge. The 210m-high minaret, the tallest building in the country, is topped by a laser beam that shines toward Mecca. It is the world’s third-largest mosque, accommodating 25,000 worshippers inside and a further 80,000 in the courtyards and squares surrounding it. The prayer hall is huge and elaborately decorated. It is large enough to house Paris’ Notre Dame or Rome’s St. Peter’s. It is blanketed in astonishing woodcarving, marble and stucco and it has a retractable roof. It is amazing!!!

I can’t remember when I was last “out” for new years. Usually I’ve celebrated with home parties. But we decided to go the full nine yards and to bring in the new year we went to Rick’s Café - yes the Rick’s Café featured in the movie “Casablanca.” (pictures attached) Granted, the restaurant/bar was created after the movie, not vice versa, and there have been several renditions of it though the years, but the current owner has had it about eight years now. Albeit, it was expensive, but what a gala affair it was in an absolutely beautiful setting. The wait staff was friendly, attentive and made us feel very special. No one was left sitting in the sidelines, everyone was encouraged to dance and join in. The open bar, fresh oyster bar, courses upon courses of food (we ate almost non-stop from 9p til after midnight) and continuous wonderful music by various musicians was wonderful. One of the very nicest things was at midnight, the entire staff (including kitchen) was on the dance floor to bring in and celebrate the New Year. It was a night we will long remember.

So, yes, I’ve been away from site, but for very short time frames this past month. These fast trips are killers though. As I’ve said before, travel isn’t easy here!! Came down with a bug of some kind on January 2nd and it’s taken me days to finally feel better. So glad I was home and near a toilet when it hit. By the way, the knee in and of itself is better. At least the initial problem, diagnosed as tendonitis, is better. The walnut sized lump behind the knee remains the same and is problematic, but livable. I’m afraid I walk like a tentative “old” woman though and I’m not so fond of that. Hope to check it out with doctors while in Rabat later this month.

I’ve been to Ouarzazate several times this past month to work on the upcoming February workshop and to accompany a young woman with some health issues find a doctor/medical clinic that could help her. Emotionally draining and worrisome for her and must say that it affected me too. She had no one in her camp supporting her and as much as I didn’t want to get involved, I felt she needed someone. The problems seem resolved at the moment, and I’m hoping it remains this way. Sorry to be so evasive here, but for privacy reasons, its best I not go into details.

Earlier this week I visited our preschool with toothbrushes in hand. These happy little 3-5 year olds were excited about my visit and eager to greet me with hugs and kisses. I actually asked another PCV, Angelica, to come with me, since her Tashlheet is much better than mine is, and I thought between us we could better get the message across. The teacher then translated it to Dareja (Moroccan Arabic), which I found to be interesting since Tashlheet is the language spoken here in the village. I left a large tube of toothpaste with the teacher and asked if the children could leave their toothbrushes there at school and if she would help them brush their teeth every day. I said that I would try to come at least two mornings a week to work with them also. I know that this doesn't give them a toothbrush at home to use, but if we can get them into the habit of brushing at least once a day, perhaps we can then move on to twice and even three times. Not wanting the toothbrushes to sit in a cup together, I took a small plastic bag for each child and we wrote their name on each bag. I even had a sticker for each child that I put on their shirt after they had brushed. Now must admit that brushing their actual teeth was a bit challenging for Angelica to personally handle. Most 3-5 year olds are not very neat to begin with and with toothpaste/saliva sliding from their mouths, was almost more than Angelica could bear. When I saw her gagging, we decided I really needed to take over this part (pictures attached). They were happy little campers and oh soooo excited. It was a delightful morning.

While standing on my roof this morning I noticed that the almond tree near my house is blossoming. Isn’t that crazy? I’m guessing this “warm” winter we’ve had so far has fooled this tree into thinking it’s spring. I hope this tree knows something we don’t and that spring is just around the corner. Wouldn’t that be nice? Actually, so far it hasn’t been a bad winter. Yes, long underwear is part of my normal attire, as well as wearing four layers on top and I have my fingerless gloves on as I type this, AND I’ve complained a little, but ……. We haven’t had snow in the village yet. There is snow in the higher elevations, but luckily we’ve escaped it so far. But I’m trying to remember when was it last year that I was really cold. I didn’t move into my own house until January 1st, so it was after that. I’m afraid I have winter days ahead of me yet!

I know that I’ve talked about donkeys before, but this morning while on my rooftop drinking my coffee I noticed a donkey making a real fuss. He was bucking, pawing and most definitely did not want to be hooked up to that plow. I think I noticed it because I think this is the first time I’ve seen one act up. Normally they look so bored, complacent and just sooo sad. Their bray just breaks my heart. I’ve taken to saying, if I come back in another life, please don’t let it be a donkey in Morocco. I am pleased to say though, that the man working with this donkey remained calm, was not abusive and eventually the animal calmed down, although still not happy. On the whole, people in my village are not mean to the animals here. I’ve seen several times men pick up cats and stroke them. Just this past week I’ve seen two teenage boys playing with dogs. Granted rarely are they treated as pets and allowed in homes. They are oftentimes fed food scraps, although there aren’t many food scraps to be had here. Their diet consists of a lot of bread and whatever prey they come upon. Remember my friend Gus from the baby’s center? Must say that I’ve not seen my adopted pet in quite some time, unfortunately. Another dog has taken up residence though and she’s been heavy with puppies. She looks to have delivered and looks exhausted. This dog is a real talker. As I scratch her chin or between her ears, she just talks up a storm to me. I’m thinking her life isn’t very easy and she needs to tell someone about it. At least this is what her face tells me. And, on another note, I know that a rooster’s crowing is good luck, but why do they crow incessantly? There is one in my neighborhood that never shuts up!!

I received a sad text this week from my friend, Nadia, who used to live downstairs. Remember, she was the one who found a man and they were to be married in July. Unfortunately, she tells me that he has died. When asked for more details she just told me that he was healthy, but one day died. It was his turn and we will all have a turn. She hopes that Allah will bless him. I’m sure she is upset and terribly sad about this. If she didn’t live eight hours away, I’d go see her, but the timing isn’t good for that at the moment. Must say that this was one wedding I was looking forward too.

Well I must get ready to head out to teach some pilates and I have a group of girls that want to come by my house later to visit. Everyone is curious to see the American’s house, so I’ve been allowing small groups to come from time to time. I’ll likely make some popcorn and perhaps teach them how to play dominoes. It seems to be an easy game to learn and they all enjoy it so much.

Enjoy winter’s weather, stay warm and healthy. Until I write again – take care. Hugs, Linda

December - Side Note

2010-12-21T01:51:00.000-08:00

Hi Again, my apologies..... as many of you know I am technologically challenged and I wanted to edit the post BEFORE I published it, but couldn't seem to find the right spot to do so. So a bit of explanation is in order:

Pictures loaded too easy, knew that the morning was going too good to last
Two of the same picture are posted - ooops
The man in the picture is Ambassador Kaplan
The group picture is of my staj - 19 of 26 that came remain in Morocco
Picture of me was taken in Rabat outside Challah

Be Happy and SMILE!!!

December - Hurry, Hurry the month is almost gone

2010-12-21T00:39:00.000-08:00

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.

12/20/10 Time seems to be moving along faster and faster. I usually try to update this blog a bit earlier in the month, but here it is almost Christmas and I’ve still not done so. If you read no further than this first paragraph, I want you to know that I send you my warmest wishes for wonderful holidays and I hope 2011 is a year of fond, memorable memories for you and your family.

You may remember me telling you that a friend’s association made friendship dolls to be given away to little girls to love and learn from, since many little girls in rural Morocco never have a doll to play with. Well Annie gave me dolls to give to little girls in my village and the dolls have now been placed in loving arms and have new homes. Samir, my local friend, came with me to act as an interpreter since I was uncertain if my poor Tashlheet and charades could be easily understood. Samir suggested that we distribute the dolls to the little girls that live rurally and may not be able to attend school. We devoted several mornings to this task and what a rewarding time it was for both of us. I believe the little girls appreciated not only receiving the dolls, but our efforts as well.

Muslins celebrated L3id in mid-November this year. You’ll likely remember me writing about this holiday last year. Remember, my family slaughtered a sheep and we ate sheep until the meat was gone. We had it breakfast, lunch and dinner with little else being served with it other than bread. When asked why, I was told, “why fill up on other stuff when we have meat to eat”. To better explain the holiday, read the below paragraphs.

“The law in Morocco allows for home sacrifice for personal consumption only. Meat
intended for sale must be slaughtered at the public abattoir under supervision.

Guidance from the Quran is that if an animal is to be sacrificed, it should not suffer.
Prayers are offered and the animal is treated with respect. An animal should not be
sacrificed in the presence of another animal. The neck is cut with a sharp knife in one
clean stroke – two strokes can be used. Humane sacrifice and exsanguinations are
similar qualities of ‘halal’ and ‘kosha’ meat.

The Islamic festival of Aid El Adha, the festival of sacrifice, is an ancient religious festival
based on the story of Ibrahim and Ishmail. As was tradition at the time, Ibrahim was
about to sacrifice his only son to demonstrate his faith and submission to God when a
goat / sheep appeared in the thicket and God spoke to Ibrahim telling him to sacrifice the
goat instead (the same story as Abraham and Isaac in the Bible and Torah).”

My family invited me to share the day with them. When asked what time I should come, they said 8a. Now this seemed a bit early to me and I didn’t need to see the sheep actually slaughtered, so I told them I’d be there around 10a. Well 8:30a came and my host brother and sister were knocking at my door, they had come to get me. Now I’m a bit grumpy without my two cups of coffee and I was in the midst of drinking them when they knocked, so I sent them away saying I would be there at 10a – no worries. Well shortly before 10a my brother and sister were back once again, “when are you coming”. Okay, okay, keep your pants on, I’ll walk back with you. Nothing much was happening at the house and I still don’t know what the hurry was, but it’s a big day for them and I guess they wanted to share it with me. I thought for sure I had missed the slaughter, but while on the cliffs behind the house with the kids I noticed a black sheep being led into the yard – I had not missed it!! I purposely stayed away for a while, no need to see the throat slit, but I did watch them dress it out. We then had the liver cooked/served on skewers for lunch. About an hour later we walked to my counterpart’s house (my host father’s sister) and ate a sheep tajine. Put into this mix, tea and cookies being served not only at my host family’s house, but at neighbors and other family member’s homes too. My host mom’s parents and a couple of her siblings came out from Ouarzazate later in the afternoon and it was great to see them again since I had met them for the first time during this holiday last year. Later a leg was cut off and dinner was underway and I escaped home, besides it was getting dark. I was full to the brim, I couldn’t have eaten dinner if you had jammed it down my throat.

The next day I decide to work at my computer until time for pilates. Around noon, two sisters came knocking at my door. They asked me to come with them. Well okay, let me turn off the computer and get some shoes on. I walk with them to their house. They bring out cookies, nuts and made tea. I'm thinking, this is nice. Then they bring out a liver tagine for lunch. I say to them, ohhhh no I don't want to stay for lunch (they are not a wealthy family in any way, shape or form) and they tell me to sit, stay and eat, eat, eat. Now this is my third day of liver lunches (Samir on Tuesday, host family yesterday and now today) and I've never eaten liver in the states even though my parents and older brother love the stuff - yuck! So I try to eat a lot of bread, a little liver and attempt to have a conversation. One of these sisters takes care of my plants on my rooftop when I am gone and I think they have adopted me. While sitting at their home another young woman comes in that I know. She tells me that her aunt would like me to stop by. I notice that it is almost 2p, and if we're to be at the assn at 3p, not a lot of time, but yes let's go see your aunt. I really, really like her aunt. She wants me to have lunch with her family. Just had lunch, no room or time. She then takes meat out of the pan she is cooking and sends me home with meat in a dish for later (I make stew and it is quite good actually). Thankfully, it does not look like liver, although I am sure it is sheep. She also sends bananas and tangerines. While I am there, another woman comes in that I know. Come and have lunch with her. No, sorry, just had lunch and I'm full. Another time? Okay, I'm heading down the hill now and run into another woman who has a big load of grass on her back. We stop, kiss, exchange pleasantries and she asks me to come to her house for lunch. My goodness, this is four invitations to lunch in the matter of about two hours. I reflect back on the day and my heart is touched with the generosity of these people. I can't imagine getting four invitations to lunch if I walked my neighborhood at home. I have so much to learn from the Moroccans, lets just hope I can absorb it and share it. I must remember all of them and give them plates of Christmas cookies when I make them.
The day following the big feast, there are groups of teenagers dressed in costumes, many wearing sheep hides, that go from home to home collecting either food items or money for those less fortunate. I ran some money down to them and I did manage to get a picture of the last straggler. I was too slow in grabbing the money and camera and missed most of them. It is interesting to note that basically these people have very little, but they seem willing to share with others without a moment's hesitation. I suppose that is a big part of their religious background? I think almost every house gives something to these boys. The younger kids follow along behind them at a safe distance. If the guys in costume turn around and look at them, the kids yell, scream and run for their lives. Fun to stand at the window and watch. The boys also put on a play behind the school later in the afternoon. They were dressed in costume and had makeshift musical instruments. I inquired as to what the play was about and about all I know is that it is a tradition and it seemed to be enjoyed by the group that gathered to watch.

I have begun doing pilates with some of the teen-age girls in my site. Sometimes we do it on my rooftop and sometimes we go to the association and use one of the rooms there. I had five young women coming on a pretty regular basis before I headed out of site for two weeks, and I hope to have them return once again. I think of these girls as being quite strong, and they are, but in such a different way than I am. All of these pilates moves are foreign to them and difficult. Again, lots of moans, groans and giggles. I tell them to take those scarves off their heads and they do. My hair is of course falling in my face and they are shaking their heads of hair with a new-found freedom. When we finish I am asked when will we exercise again. They tell me that the pilates was very good and that it was fun. I had fun too. I'm not sure what I'm teaching them, other than its important to take care of our bodies and its okay to do something for ourselves as women. The men gather at the coffee shops, but the women don't have any place to go. Maybe exercise will be their bonding time? Guess I'm also showing them that a 61 year old woman can still move and is alive!!!

Anna, Angelica, Andy and I celebrated Thanksgiving together the following week. We didn’t have a turkey to roast (my oven wouldn’t hold one anyways), but we do have sliced turkey breasts. Angelica has a great butcher with refrigeration in her site, so we have that. To give our dinner a Moroccan flair I decided to make stuffing and wrap the turkey slices around it and cook it in a tajine. Not nearly as good as the turkey we remember from previous holidays, but not bad. Anna makes a squash pie and who can tell that it’s not pumpkin? We have a green bean casserole (of course), mashed potatoes, and a sweet potato casserole too. Yes we did have a bottle of wine, but no one’s telling – right? Some of the girls here at site painted fabric napkins for me in the spring, so we even had cloth napkins to use. No roughing it for us!!

We had a “clean the school day” in November. Decided we needed to do this now before it really got too cold. The tables/desks were all brought outside and scrubbed down. Paint that had probably been on them for years was no longer there. Floors were washed and anything else that could be cleaned was cleaned. The kids and I were wet-wet-wet by the end of the morning and I was chilled to the bone. If the classrooms were ever painted, it’s been a long time and they now appear to the gloomy cement color. I’m wondering if I couldn’t perhaps paint them at least a cheery color. I might have to look into that.

I also finally met the man from the new cheese store in Ouarzazate. He was familiar with our cheese and had, in fact, had some in his store to sell. My counterpart, Bia, told him that it was goat cheese, but his customers told him that it was not goat cheese and he asked me whether it was. Unfortunately, it is not and I had to tell him the truth. Bia creates her own problems……. I told him about my flavorings of cheese and he said that he would like to taste them and work with me. We will try to work together after the first of the year and see how we can best market this new product. Of course, I will leave here and who will carry on?

I was then off to Marrakech to help with Marche Maroc for the first week of December. PC volunteers work with some of the Moroccan artisans at the artisanal there to sell their wares. Unfortunately, foot traffic was down and sales were not as good as hoped for, in spite of the fact that a film festival was going on in Marrakech at the same time. The province delegate thought that would increase sales, but maybe people were up late watching movies and buying crafts was not a priority for the group that was in town. I can’t say that we had great fun or excitement this week, since most of our time was spent working, but we did have a nice dinner or two while in Marrakech. Basically we were too tired by the end of the day to go out. It was a luxury though to pick up a pizza and take it back to the hotel to eat since few of us can do this at our sites.

My staj (group of us that came over together in 2009) then gathered at the PC offices in Rabat for our mid-service medicals during the second week of December. Hurray, no parasites or cavities!!! Unfortunately, my knee is still not back to normal. I think I am battling two ailments here. Perhaps tendonitis, as previously diagnosed, and I do think that it is better. But now I have a lump behind my right knee about the size of a walnut. After doing a bit of computer research and self-diagnosis, I think I have a Baker’s cyst. This cyst is similar to a ganglion cyst in many ways. I have one on the top of my hand now and I’ve had one on the top of my foot before. They come and go and are not anything serious. Unfortunately, because this lump is behind my knee, it is problematic and it hurts to squat and extend the leg fully. They can aspirate it, but it often fills back up with fluid, or they can give cortisone shots into the knee. Not sure what this does to help? This cyst often occurs after trauma to the knee of some sort. I will head back into Rabat in late January for a committee meeting and will see a knee specialist at that time if it’s not better. Let’s see if the doctor concurs with my diagnosis. Gosh I bet they hate all of us self-proclaimed doctors with our diagnosis (how do you pluralize this?)!! As most of you know, I’m not a great inactive person, and sitting still is hard to do, so I keep on truckin and I hope the walking and pilates isn’t hurting the knee in the process.

While in Rabat, most of treated ourselves to eating at the German Institute (no unfortunately, there is not a wurst or sauerkraut to be found on the premises), the French Institute, a Lebonese restaurant and at an Italian restaurant. (I think we were all thinking – variety in food - what a novelty). Morocco also celebrated its New Years and we had a day off too while there too. Rarely do we have time to sight-see while in Rabat so most of us took advantage of the day and did something special. A group of us visited Challah – a Roman settlement from the 8th century BC which eventually became the seat of an independent Berber kingdom. A beautiful Kasbah is at this site. We were also invited by our American Ambassador Kaplan and his wife Sylvia to their home for dinner one night. What a treat it was to have this experience and what gracious, kind hosts they were to us all.

I did the trek home to site in one day from Rabat and it is a trek. Up at 6a and began the travel. I arrived home around 8:45p that night. It was soooo good to be home though, it was worth the long day. Unfortunately, I only had a day at home and I then had to head into Ouarzazate. I am working with two other volunteers and we are planning a workshop designed for teens to thirty year olds for mid-February. It is a leadership workshop for young women with the hopes that it will expand their horizons and empower them to seek more. We have grant money for this, so those attending will be able to do so without any monetary charge, although they will have to get their family’s approval to attend and for some that might be a challenge. We have a local association working with us and they will help with the facilitation of the workshop, but that will likely mean more trips into Ouarzazate in the next six weeks than usual.

As many of you know, I like to bake Christmas cookies and give them away as treats to my friends and neighbors for the holidays. I’ve done the same thing here. I made nine different kinds of cookies – perhaps a bit simpler than I would have made at home, but trust me, finding the ingredients can be tricky if even possible and my choice of baking pans is very limited. And, I have an oven that doesn’t have a thermostat, you just look at the flame and try to decide – hmmm, does that look like a 350 degree flame? All challenges to overcome!! Well today I spent the majority of the day walking around cookies to people that have been particularly kind to me during this past year. I could have given out so many more, I just can’t bake enough unfortunately. This is not a fast/easy feat in and of itself since I invited in for tea at each house. Tomorrow I will finish extending my “Papa Noel” wishes and most of the cookies will be gone. While out and about last week, I clipped a couple of pine branches and wired them together to construct a small tree of sorts. Not only does it smell great, but helps with the holiday spirit too. Last Sunday I had some children to my house for a small Christmas party. Christmas carols blasted from my iPod and I gave them the holiday greeting cards I received last year, scissors, glue and paper and asked them to make a card for their parents. They love projects, so they dug right in. When finished with that, I asked if they would each make me a picture either from the unused cards or with the markers I had so that I could put them on the wall near my tree. Of course we had holiday cookies and then popcorn, since that is one of their favorite treats. We finished off the afternoon with a few games of dominoes that they have learned to love playing. I had small gifts for each of them and they went home with big smiles on their faces. I had one on my face too!!!

I will join several other volunteers at my friend Hannah’s house for Christmas. It will be fun to share the holiday with friends. Last year I made pizza for my host family to celebrate. I think I’ll invite them once again for pizza, and a late celebration.

Well my friends, I really do hope you have healthy, happy celebrations with your loved ones. If you are traveling, once again Trek Salam (safe travels) and we’ll chat again after the new year. Happy, Happy Holidays and much love to you all, Linda

All About October

2010-11-10T04:23:00.000-08:00

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.

11/9/10 Well Elaine, my hitch-hiking friend from years long past, has come and gone. She arrived on October 15th and returned home on the 26th. We did a fast trek around Morocco (my village, Marrakech, Meknes, Volubillis, and Fes), and even fit in a camel ride and a camp-out in the Sahara in the MHamid area. I’ve asked Elaine to write a short note telling you of her impressions and about the trip since I thought you might enjoy this. Below is what she wrote:

“I still am on a high from the trip. Thank you very much for everything you did. Your knowledge of the country, customs, etc. was very helpful. And, your making all the hotel reservations and knowing how to get from city to city was stress free. I REALLY had a great time. Hope you did as well.

What can I say to summarize such a memorable experience - the Mococcan people are so warm and hospitable, the country and history interesting, the weather perfect, the food delicious, and the trip was priceless. Everyone we met and every place we visited has it's own story and rememberances. What a great vacation! What a memorable experience! What an unforgetable adventure!”

We had a good time together and it was sad to see her leave, but I was ready to head home and stay put for a while. Traveling in Morocco is exhausting. Nothing is particularly easy and you can never be sure of the transport, so it’s always a worry of sorts. Carrying the heavy backpack and an additional bag or two is a challenge at times too. But it was an enjoyable trip and we all lived through it. Now another trip is planned and it’s exciting news -- just last week the plans for my son, Chris’s visit were finalized. He will leave Chicago on February 25th and fly to Madrid. Spend a few days there and then come into Marrakech. He’ll then return to Madrid from Tangiers and then back to Chicago on March 13th. I have quite an itinerary planned and he’ll return tired, not rested, I’m afraid, but he’s young so he can do! I am so excited for his visit, I could jump up and down, but that hurts my knee, so I won’t. I can’t wait to show him off and there are so many people I want him to meet.

Speaking of my knee. The PC doctors seem to think it is tendonitis, not a torn meniscus, which is good news indeed. X-rays were done, and although I’m not entirely convinced this is the best diagnostic tool available, we will go with this diagnosis for now. I was instructed to rest the knee as much as possible. Well, since Elaine was soon to arrive, not possible to do so immediately, but once back to my site on the afternoon of the 26th, I have been doing so as much as possible. I am happy to report that my knee definitely feels better. Not 100% mind you, and I can make it hurt, but as long as I just walk and don’t twist and turn while doing so, it’s okay. I will continue to be kind to my knee whenever possible and hopefully it will be back to normal soon.

One of my greatest pleasures of late is having my morning coffee on my rooftop. I love crisp, cool mornings and they are definitely that, but oh so pleasant. I’m a natural early-riser, so I am usually up there before some of my community is out and about. It is great fun to watch my village wake-up. I have one neighbor lady that has obviously observed me up there. She almost always comes to her rooftop, just to say good morning to me I think since I never see her do anything while there, other than to greet me and then she returns downstairs to her home. I love it. School children walk to school past my home and now look up to wave and say good morning too. Cows have been milked and the couple of liters of milk that they got this morning are walked down to the street, to be picked up and processed. They are paid 5dirham for about a liter and a half of milk (8 dirham equals $1). I like it that most people look up to see if I’m there now and then they greet me.

This morning as I was looking up, about 25 sheep magically appeared at the tip-top of a hill near me looking for grass to eat. A woman was out with them. Pretty slim pickins in these hills, but most seem to survive. We are dry and rocky and overgrazed. Few trees since most have been cut and have not replanted. Lots of barren hills can be seen here. Speaking of the sheep and this woman. Can you imagine being a herder? A person (sometimes a man, but usually a woman) will take animals out each day looking for something for them to eat. They will sit all day and watch their animals. They don’t read, knit or do anything other than watch their animals. Sometimes they meet up with another person also herding and they’ll have a conversation, but generally they are alone. What are they thinking about? Do they want a different life or are they satisfied? A very different world from what we live in for sure. I always visualize Heidi running over the hill yelling “Grandfather, Grandfather” when I see this. Can’t you just see it in the movie now?

Most days are sunny with bright blue skies. A light jacket usually feels good. I don’t know what the temperature is? Elaine brought me a thermometer, but since it hasn’t moved off of 60 degrees, I am a bit suspicious of it. When the wind blows – it howls and makes me shiver to just hear it. My apartment is a bit drafty, the wind coming in under my door can raise the mat under my white plastic table eight inches or so. I’m thinking I need to stuff that crack with something, but what do I do about the edges and top? The leaves of the trees are changing colors, but nothing as vibrant and beautiful as Michigan’s colors can be. Lately, the sound of men yelling commands to their donkeys fill the air. One man has worked with his two donkeys all day today, tilling first this spot, then another, then another. The donkeys seem to understand Tashlheet – they are much smarter than I am!!  Soon they will be throwing seeds hither and yon so that they have a spring harvest – a bit of barley, some peas, perhaps some alfalfa?

I find that I love a goat’s face. They look so wise, don’t you think? Now, I know that I loved Dulcie from the minute I set eyes on him – remember my pet goat up at my host family’s house last year? Luckily he has remained a bit scrawny, so he’s not been eaten yet, and hopefully they won’t do so until after I’ve left next year. Lately, some goats have been tied out near my apartment to graze. When I go up to my rooftop to wash/hang clothes, do whatever, they all stop and look at me. I’m guessing they are wondering what is that thing with the light colored hair? They could win a stare-down, hands down. I’m as fascinated with them as they are with me. Have I been here too long – here I am thinking about a goat’s face?

Speaking of faces – would you check out this puppy. Angelica, a volunteer in a nearby village, decided that she would adopt a puppy. This little guy was one of six, and unfortunately the other five are now all dead. Originally the puppy was named Waldo, but we’ve since learned that a new name was in order – so Lily Luna it now is. I get the opportunity to babysit this week since Angelica needs to go to Rabat. I’m betting I’ll be ready for the puppy to head home, but I’m very excited now about the prospect of having this little gal visit for a few days.

Two National Geographic groups came to visit in October and this time they visited a home in Anna’s village. Unfortunately, one group came while Elaine was here, and even though we hitched a ride from Marrakech to my village with them, and we had the chance to visit while on the bus, the visit was short. Both groups again enjoyed the opportunity to experience a real Berber home. We only wish we had a bit more time to show them the communities we live in as well.

Here is a picture of Nadia taken at the baby’s center. Moroccan women seldom use hot pads or spatulas for that matter. I cringe every time I see them pick up something hot with their fingers. Can you do this? We’ve had over a hundred babies stay in our baby’s center since it opened in March. Not bad I’d say for a small community. Water continues to be a problem though. Sometimes we have it and sometimes we don’t. Unfortunately, the western toilets and shower that we have, have never been used since the water supply is so sporadic. I went with my counterpart this summer into Ouarzazate to talk with some officials about this, but so far nothing has been done to fix the problem. We are still waiting for our first customer at the restaurant – remember we opened in late March. But in a way, that’s not all bad. Water is also an issue here too and the western toilet has never worked. Think it needs a new bottom seal and perhaps a tank too, but first we need water on a dependable basis. Of course, the parking lot needs to be finished so that a car can drive in too. We have work to do for sure.

I think I mentioned that the teachers we had last year at the association decided to not return this year. So unfortunately, the non-formal education classes and the embroidery/sewing classes are not being offered. We have a very usable association building, but it is seldom open since there are no teachers. Sad to see because there are young women who used to use this facility. I have sent the word out this past week though that the young women should meet me this coming week there and we’ll do pilates together. They’ll be able to follow along with me and we’ll have some laughs. Should be fun.

I’ve spent some time at the primary school this past month. I delivered a new trash can with cover to each of the classrooms and talked with the students about how bad littering was for the community and environment. I always get a little theatrical in my presentation and they all laugh and think I’m a bit nuts. Hopefully they get my point though. I try to spend an hour each day picking up trash in my town. Unfortunately, I have to then burn it since I don’t have any other way to dispose of it, and I know that this is not the best thing possible for the environment either, but it’s the best choice I have at the moment. Anna (sort of my site mate) and I take our bottles and cans into Ouarzazate with us when we go since they have a garbage pickup and landfill there. Again I know its not the best solution, but we have to start somewhere.

I also took a basket of cleaning supplies to the school. The kids were most fascinated by the things I had in it. I then explained that I was going to clean their bathrooms for them since they were filthy. I did have teachers and some students offer to help, but I said “no, this time I will do it and show you just how clean they can be”. I then suggested to the teachers that they set up a schedule for the older students to take turns and be responsible for keeping them clean in the future. I must stop by this week and see how they look. In their basket there were soap dishes with soap. I need to return and give them a hand-washing demonstration soon. I’m told that using glitter is the most effective way to show the importance of washing hands. You pour glitter all over your hands and then touch and shake hands with others. Obviously, the glitter spreads from one person to another, just like germs do. Usually if the children can see this, it makes a bigger impression on how easily germs are spread and the importance of washing one’s hands with soap. First, I need to find some glitter though. There must be some in Morocco somewhere?????

The front door to my apartment building was rather scratched and boring so I asked the landlord if he would mind if I painted it. Since I had a bit of paint left over from the world map project and it is enamel paint, I painted my door with it. What do you think? Isn’t it fun? Looks very Moroccan to me and I love it.

One of my favorite times of the year is coming up - Thanksgiving. You’ll all soon be gathering with family/friends and eating turkey with all the trimmings. We all have so much to be grateful for. Take a few minutes and reflect on the many blessings you have. I’ve invited four volunteers that live relatively near me to come share Thanksgiving with me. Uncertain if they will all be able to come and I haven’t promised them a meal like gma/mom would prepare at home, but I hope I can give them some of their familiar things. My oven is too small to roast a turkey, but since I’m not aware of where I could buy turkey anyways, I’ll just bake some chicken pieces. I’ve never seen a pumpkin here, but thinking a squash pie could be close???? Regardless of what I serve, it will be fun to share the day with friends and I am looking forward to it.

Remember last year when I wrote about the killing of the sheep? Eid El Kebir will soon be here again this year and family and friends will be gathering and celebrating together. Hopefully I will join my host family for a meal or two during this time, but must admit that I won’t miss eating sheep for breakfast, lunch and dinner for days or until the sheep is gone.

Towards the end of the month, I will be heading into Marrakech to help out at a craft fair there that PC helps organize. The artisans that we work with are invited to bring their wares to sell them. Unfortunately, the cheese from my association is not conducive to this selling practice (transport, refrigeration, etc.), but we have forty artisana’s participating. It is a wonderful way to see what others are doing and for them to make some money too. I will then head directly from there into Rabat where those of us that arrived in Morocco a year ago will have mid-service medicals. I was sworn in almost a year ago – unbelievable.

I hope you continue to enjoy reading these blog updates. I like writing them and it does seem a good way to share my experiences with you. Sometimes I go on and on though so I’m trying to be conscious of that and make this a bit more concise. It is kind of like when you get me talking. You know how difficult it can be to shut me up. I wish you all a nice Thanksgiving holiday. Many of you will be traveling and I also wish you Trek Salam (safe travels). Until I write again – stay healthy and take care of yourselves. Hugs to you all, Linda

All About September

2010-10-03T04:35:00.000-07:00

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.

10/3/10 The weather is changing and fall is here, I’m afraid. Days are probably in the 70’s, but nights are now cool. I have permanently added that second blanket to my bed. Although, if I would close some windows at night it might not be necessary. Anyone knowing me well knows how much I love my windows open so they will get a chuckle out of this comment!! I can’t say that I am looking forward to winter’s cold and snow, and I’m hoping it stays away for a few more months. If I remember right, it didn’t get downright cold here until January. Please let this year be the same since I remember it to be quite miserable. I actually like the snow, but then again, I have a nice, warm house to live in when I am in the states and that makes all the difference in the world!

While working on the world map I woke up one morning to right knee pain. I thought I wrenched it, but didn't remember a specific incident. I did all the right things for it i.e., iced it, wrapped it, elevated it and took ibuprofen whenever possible. Obviously, I had the map to finish and I had the trip to Zimbabwe planned - both of which were probably hard on the knee. Well the knee still isn't better, although no worse I think. I am fearful that I might have a torn meniscus. I’ve read that it can sometimes heal itself and I’m hoping for that if, in fact, this is my problem (self-diagnosing can be dangerous  ). I know that the surgery itself is easy, but the recup/recovery time is what worries me. I don't live in a place where the walking is easy or conducive to good healing. PC will give me 45 days to fully recover, otherwise, they will medically separate me and I will be done with PC. Unfortunately, I know of a young(er) woman who went through this and was discharged. I debated whether I should just try to live with it as it is, but I hate to cause more or permanent damage to the knee, so I do have an appointment to see the doctors this week while I am in Rabat for a committee meeting. Let's hope the knee recovers in the meantime and the appointment is not necessary. Otherwise, I’m feeling great and doing well.

Despite long delays, missed flights and rescheduled itineraries, I am safely home in Morocco. I traveled to Zimbabwe from Casablanca via Frankfort, Germany; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and then into Harare, Zimbabwe. The trip home was a bit different since I left Harare, Zimbabwe about six hours later than planned. This return trip took me to Lusaka, Zambia; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Cairo, Egypt and then into Casablanca. I arrived home around noon on Friday, September 24th after traveling since Wednesday. Of course, not actually having rested in a bed for two nights, my legs/ankles looked like they belonged to an elephant and I was ever so thankful to be home again. I had a great time visiting Kudzie (the last student I hosted while still at K) and her family. They were kind, gracious hosts to me and I had the opportunity to view Zimbabwe through the eyes of black people who live there. I was the first white person to stay in their homes. My thanks to Kudzie, Patience, Anne, Sipho, Jean, Francis, Keanne, Chamichael, Steve, Millicent, Mpo, Thembi, Tinashe, Kudzai and Dominic for being the wonderful people they are. As is the Zimbabwean way, families take an active role in the lives of their family members. It was often said that Kudzie has four moms (real mom, two aunts and me), note the picture of us. I also had the opportunity to see Sydney, who studied at K in 2006-2007. I feel like I know Sydney fairly well too since he and Ayane & Naomi (two Japanese girls) spent the Christmas holiday with me and my family that year. Sydney is doing well and about to graduate from grad school. I think I represented the USA in a positive manner and hopefully changed some of their neighbors and friends' perception of us in some small way. I was continually impressed with the importance they place on literacy, and education, for that matter. And, I can say that most people in Zimbabwe have beautiful white teeth. I am told that Colgate did a big campaign there some years ago where they stressed the importance of good oral hygiene. It seems to have made a big impression on them and most brush faithfully.

I want to go back to the topic of education at this point. Ironic timing, but I was just forwarded an article from a friend referring to continuing adult education while I was in Zimbabwe. In part it reads:

“It may surprise people why the literacy rate in Zimbabwe is so high (to date the highest in Africa,
according to UNDP reckoning) despite the economic challenges the country is facing. The secret
lies exactly in the underlying message of the article under discussion. Women have dominated
literacy classes over the years following the launch of the literacy campaign in the early 1980s.
There has been a multiplier effect in the sense that women, being closer to the children, have
assisted children with their home work and this has led to better performance by the children in
schools. With better performance in formal education, literacy rates remain high as less people
relapse into illiteracy. Literate mothers pass on literate tendencies to their children and neighbours,
consciously or unconsciously.

The challenge with achieving high literacy rate is that the citizens continue to demand more and
Zimbabwe is now grappling with providing continuing education for adults who have acquired
literacy skills. Open and Distance Learning (ODL) remains the best option for accommodating
women in developing countries where a lot of delivery in the provision of continuing education
is needed. Of course in developing countries choices are limited because of resource constraint
as priority tends to be given to formal education for the school-age children.”

I guess I didn’t imagine it – it’s real!!! Obviously, I can only really compare Morocco’s education as it is my rural village. Unfortunately I have found that most women my age are illiterate. Many 20-30 years younger than me are illiterate. Those younger than that typically have a 6th grade education since we have a primary school here that allows them to attend until then. I’m told that 50% of the boys and maybe 10% of the girls will go on after 6th grade but they have to travel to the next village which is twelve kilometers away and a taxi ride of 5 dirham each way. Just too much money for most of these folks to bear. Students going on can attend three more grades here and then they will have to go away to a boarding school, at least 1.5 hours away for high school. Few will do this. But there is hope. I also just read an article re Morocco. As reported in the “Global Arab Network”, “Education – Key Development Issue for Morocco. Getting — and keeping — boys and girls in school, particularly in underprivileged areas, is a key development priority for the Government of Morocco. The World Bank is assisting in this effort advising on the design and implementation of targeted cash transfer programs, as well as by evaluating results to facilitate optimal scale-up in the future

However, in rural areas only 40 to 50 percent of first graders actually complete the six years of primary school, with significantly smaller rates for girls. The baseline value of school drop-out was 23 percent per school sector on average in school years 1-5. The government’s CCT pilot program target value is 16 percent or lower in beneficiary school sectors. 73% of the sampled household heads cannot read or write, as well as 95% of their spouses.”

I truly hope that Morocco is serious about this and that improvements are made to educating our youth. They are obviously the key to Morocco’s growth and future.

Back to Zimbabwe -- being one of the few whites in the group I was with, we found that we received some preferential treatment and we had great fun and many laughs because of it. They began calling me the “diplomat”. A few of the things that happened – we were in a shopping center and wanted to use the restroom. The door itself was locked but we were let in. When someone else wanted to use the restroom, they were told that it was only for staff use. When asked why we were there they were told that it was because of the white person. We were also charged less for taxi rides than usual. I would have thought they would have gouged us since a white person was along, but no they charged less – go figure? Also while in a taxi we were stopped by the police for a routine check. The taxi driver told the police that I had an important meeting to attend – they waved us through and let us be on our way. Too funny!!

Kudzie graduated with an agriculture degree, with emphasis on animals from Africa University in Mutare and we had the opportunity to visit. It is a college for all of Africa and luckily it was put in Zimbabwe. It was developed on an American model and I felt like I was walking on any campus back in the states. It is a beautiful campus and note the picture taken in the library. As Kudzie and I were about to travel there one day, she told me we were going to hi-jack a ride. I’m thinking – this is a criminal action, I think I could go to jail for this…. Not so sure it is a good idea. Well, she really meant hitch-hike. Just a little bit different and heck, I was once good at this! Not sure if being white helped or not, but we usually got a ride without any problem. I found that many people hitch-hike, including Kudzie’s mom, named Patience, a 45 year old woman. The only big difference is that people pay for their ride. Granted they probably pay a bit less than they would pay for the bus, but they pay nevertheless. We ended up doing a lot of hi-jacking during my stay.

Zimbabwe began using the American dollar as its currency in 2008, I think. Got to tell you though – the money is filthy. Do we send them the stuff that is almost beyond recognition? Luckily, the country has stabilized a great deal in the last few years, thank goodness. Most stores now have items on their shelves and those stores that don’t are in the process of stocking them. Since I’ve been away a year already, my memory of US cost for goods might not be correct, but first impression was that many items were selling for about the same as we would pay for them in the States, yet they earn much less. I brought home a few billion, trillion dollars from the old Zimbabwe days with me to share with my family and friends. You too can be a millionaire!!

Raising chickens seems to be a good thing to do. You don’t need to live in the country to do this since today’s chickens are kept in rather confined quarters. For the investment of $1 a peep, you can feed 100 of them for around $105 for six weeks. Granted the first two weeks require rather intensive care, but in six weeks you can turn around and sell them for around $6 a chicken and then you can begin again with the next batch. Hmmmm Speaking of chickens – Kudzie just began a job with one of the chicken producers in the country. She is in a one-year management training program. In fact, her boyfriend, Dominic, just began the same job with the same company. How convenient is that? They will earn $350 per month, be provided one chicken and 2.5 dozen of eggs per week and a place to live for free (not together, mind you). They began their jobs just before I left and their first impression is good. They both still hope to go to grad school in a year though and thought the job experience would ultimately help them do that.

While visiting Kudzie I had the opportunity to meet and stay with her two aunts and their families. Because of UK’s rule for so many years, Zimbabwe is very modern and westernized be it their furniture & homes, western toilets, and eating habits in general. I will post a picture or two of their homes so that you can see what I am talking about. I felt completely at home with my newfound family. The comment was frequently made that Kudzie has four moms (note picture). What a lucky girl she is! Funny though, as developed as they are they lose electricity and water several times a day, even in the capital city of Harare. It would frustrate the heck out of me, but they are accustomed to it and roll with it well. It is usually cut around 6a and comes back on around 10a and then again they lose it around 5:30p and it comes back on around 9p or so. Could they pick more inconvenient times? Most homes have a generator and their own water storing system. Patience generally cooks dinner around 5p and then keeps it warm in a thermal container until it’s time to eat. Otherwise, they build a fire to cook – everyone has a place to do this in their yard. Makes having a refrigerator a bit challenging too and Patience elects to have a freezer instead, since it holds the cold longer. Patience does have a generator, but hates using it because of the noise, so frequently just makes do. The country really must do something about their utility problems if they want industry and businesses to grow.

In this regard – Morocco is thinking ahead. Note: USA (Washington) - Morocco is well positioned to become North Africa's leading provider of renewable energy, especially solar-thermal power, the US magazine Newsweek wrote.

"A year and a half ago, the country shifted gears and turned to a resource that exists in abundance across the region: the sun," underlined the Newsweek, which is one of the largest weekly magazine in the U.S.

The magazine recalled HM King Mohammed VI's decision to make the development of alternative energy one of Morocco's "top priorities", putting a legal framework in place to encourage European investment.

In this regard, the magazine said that Morocco is privileged by its Sahara and geography, noting that "what distinguishes the country from its desert-dwelling neighbors is its close proximity to Spain."

Ooops, sorry I digress. Okay, now back to Zimbabwe again. I’ve made lots of silly one line notes to myself and think I’ll just give them to you with a bit of an explanation where possible. They will not be in any particular order or even grouped together. Hope you can make some sort of sense of them.

• Shona is the traditional language spoken where I visited. Ndebele is the other prominent one in the country. All children in school learn English.
• Most homes have high fenced yards. Most homes also have a dog or two or three. They are not necessarily treated as pets, but they appear to be well taken care of and are there for security purposes.
• Zimbabwe does not have a national television network. Most of their news is from South Africa.
• Patience frequently referred to “Fong Kong” and “Jing Jong” as the cheap junk imported from China. She said that they might make some good quality products, but unfortunately, most of what is imported to Zimbabwe was not worth bringing home since it wouldn’t last.
• A maid makes about $4 a day and most homes have one, plus a garden guy (I don’t know what he makes).
• Sadza is probably their national dish. Kenya has ugali which is similar. Kind of reminded me of cream of wheat, although it is cooked a bit more solid and then it is balled up and used as a scoop for the other food items being served. Silverware is not usually used when eating this dish.
• Covo is a green vegetable, kind of like spinach, but a bit more tough. Every garden grows it.
• Zimbabwe’s Big Five -- the lion, the elephant, the cape buffalo, the rhino and the leopard.
• A ngorzi is a revenging spirit (now why did I write this down?)
• White sliced bread in plastic wrap (Wonder Bread equivalent). I didn’t see anyone make homemade bread like they do here in Morocco. Everyone eats generally 5-6 slices per meal.
• 2008 – climax of country’s crisis.
• Food take away --- take out food
• A red rose near the gate (or the place where you enter a yard) is a sign of welcome.
• Most everyone starts off the morning with a bowl of corn flakes.
• When setting up a community, it should have a butcher, a grocer, a grinder and a bottle shop (well duh!)
• Mazvita means Thank You
• Clapping cupped hands means many good things – like welcome, it’s great, I’m happy, etc.
• Families have a clan name in addition to their given family name. While in the market, one vendor gave me a hippo as a present. It was decided that Schubel’s clan name is “hippo”. This means we have a connection to water and basically that I shouldn’t eat things from the water. Sorry, but I can’t abide by that one.
• Zimbabwe has a public primary school every 10 kilometers and a health clinic every 12 kilometers. I had the good fortune of visiting many schools since Patience was once a teacher herself and Kudzie has brothers, nieces and nephews in schools and we visited many of them.
• One of Kudzie’s aunts is a head mistress at a public school for girls aged 12-18. She earns $200/month. She has advanced degrees from universities.
• Zimbabwe has the saying – Why worry or hurry. Africa is ahead of London (or Greenwich).
• Avocados were plentiful and I made Chris’s recipe for guacamole for each household I stayed in. They loved tasting a Mexican dish.
• While waiting for transport on Sunday afternoon, I observed many young men imbibing on beer and ??? Drinking in public seems to be accepted. Unfortunately, most had had too much and they were hanging in our vehicle’s window wanting to chat with the white. Had I been alone or traveling at a different hour, I would not have been comfortable. Made me appreciate Morocco’s view on drinking in general (not to say that it’s not being done), but I have never really been in this situation and felt unsafe in Morocco.
• Olives and almonds were a new taste for them. I shared some of Morocco’s fares with them.
• I made Berber eggs for Patience and Kudzie. Ymmm, maybe I’ll make some for you?
• OMG – they have “Curves” in Zimbabwe. Harare is the first city to have one in their country.
• They are building HUGE houses in Zimbabwe. Interesting thing is that mortgages are not available. They must have cash for everything they do, so it is a slow process – little by little and eventually it is complete.
• And finally -- a sundowner is a cocktail that you enjoy as the sun is going down. A lady I met at the airport shared this one with me. I like it ….. “sundowner”. Think I’ll adopt this saying!

One day while staying near Rusape with Patience, I had the good fortune of meeting David. He drove us around in his pick-up for a good portion of the morning. David is a retired school head master. David is an environmentalist/naturalist/everything good you can think of. He has developed a conference center where he has hosted groups from Europe, UK and other parts of Africa. I can’t remember if any American groups were part of this? The topic discussed is the environment and how to preserve it. His center is built around natural rocks and uses natural building products. Each individual sleeping quarters building is a bit different in its construction. I can’t begin to express how impressed I was with this man and what he has accomplished. He has greenhouses and Patience herself is becoming quite a gardener and environmentalist because of his influence. She has worked with him at the center in the past. David has given each school and health clinic a few fruit/shade trees. His feeling is that if there is someone that is hungry or hot while there, they can always remedy it. Unfortunately, because of the economy being what it is, nothing is happening at this location now. I can only hope that things improve and it can again be utilized since it is a wonderful place. David also stopped at a homestead so that I could see it while we were driving about. There was this old woman there sitting in the kitchen hut. The smoke was pretty thick and David, Patience and I had a hard time breathing. She didn’t seem to notice. I’ve posted a picture of her for you to see.

Well, I doubt that I’ve told you everything, but you are likely getting tired of reading. It was a wonderful trip and experience. Again, I am grateful for this opportunity to visit Zimbabwe.

I am back at my site, school is in session and I’ve been there a few times already. We have a new school director and he’d like me to be more involved so I will try to be. I have cleaning supplies for the school bathrooms and I want to go give them a thorough cleaning and then have a talk with the children about the importance of microbes, hygiene, soap, etc. I have toothbrushes and need to do that instruction. As I said earlier, I am off to Rabat early October for a committee meeting but it will take a day of travel to get there and back. National Geographic is coming for two visits in October. Since I had three visits here in my village last spring, it is only fair that we give Anna’s town the same opportunity, so the visits will be there this time. Our association is once again open, but unfortunately we don’t have a teacher for our non-formal education classes or our pre-school. Not sure what the plan is, but it is so unfortunate since there are a number of girls that used this service. I will likely teach some English there soon. Elaine, my hitchhiking buddy from years ago is coming for a visit in mid-October. No we won’t be hitchhiking, but I will be showing her a bit of Morocco via the buses and trains. I can’t wait for her to meet my Moroccan family. They are already planning on us for lunch one day. So in summary – that’s about it.

I remember telling Kudzie when she came to Michigan that each season had it’s own unique smell and that I hoped she would take note of them. She eventually did comment that she did notice the distinction. Gosh, how I love the smell of fall. I hope you’ll enjoy fall’s weather and the last of the warmth for this year. Until I write again – take care. Hugs, Linda

All About August

2010-09-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

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.

9/5/10 I’ve been home for much of the month since my last writing and it has been wonderful. I’ve had lots of visitors during this time, so no time to get lonely or lazy. And, I’ve had a lot of practice cooking!! Many of my guests came to visit me in the mountains as a means to escape the intense heat where they live, but I’d like to believe they would have come to see me regardless of where I lived . The temperatures here remain pleasant, although there is a change in the air. We almost always get a short thunderstorm in the afternoon now. The rain really doesn’t amount to much and the locals wish for more. For a week or so, I had to add another light blanket to my bed, since the nights really cooled down. Since then, nights remain cool, but one light blanket is perfect and feels good. Can I keep this weather for the entire year - please?

Morocco is now celebrating Ramadan. It has little effect on me, because I’m not observing it, but I am often asked whether I am fasting or not. I would probably score some points if I did, but I can’t imagine going without water for the duration of the day. I am respectful of Moroccans though and I don’t eat or drink in front of them during daylight hours. I have been invited by many people to come join them at 7p to break fast with them and their family. Some of these people, I don’t even have a clue as to where they might live. Just another example of how generous and welcoming they are. I did have the funny experience of learning that I had invited someone to my home to break fast. When I later saw this woman and told her that it would not work on the night we had talked about she was rather miffed at me. Why would I invite her and then renig on my invitation? I thought she had invited me!! Luckily a friend of mine who speaks English/Tashlheet was able to get this straightened out for me and hopefully without any hard feelings. Just another example of how my inability to speak the language well gets me into trouble sometimes! Many businesses and restaurants are closed for the month of Ramadan Below is an excerpt from an article I read and it nicely explains Ramadan – I thought you might enjoy it too.

“The holy month of Ramadan, one of the five pillars of Islam, began on August 11 in the ninth month of the Muslim calendar all across the Muslim world. During this holy month, Muslims past the age of puberty must abstain from eating, drinking, smoking or engaging in sexual relations from sunrise to dusk. Elderly people and sick people are exempt from fasting. It celebrates when Muhammad went to the desert, encountered Allah in the form of the archangel Gabriel, and received the scriptures that form the Qur'an. There are about 1 billion Muslims around the world observing Ramadan.

The point of the sacrifice is to become closer to God, to practice self-discipline, and to aid in self-purification. Each evening of Ramadan, the fast is broken after the sunset call to prayer with a meal called the iftar. Harira, a well known soup in Northern African countries, is served as Iftar meal to break the fast after which Lahm Lehlou or “sweet meal” is served as a main meal. Lahm Lehlou is an energy-boosting meal. In some parts of Morocco, usually in the South, the daylong fast is broken with dates and milk. North Africans, along with most people from the Muslim world, change their habits during the Ramadan. Traditionally, men attend Tarawih Salat special Ramadan prayer sessions at mosques, after which they head home to share tea and Kalb Elouz (sweet cakes) with their family members. Fasters get up before dawn to eat Sahur, a meal that consists of couscous and milk. This traditional Moroccan meal is above all meant to satisfy the energy needs of the Muslim faster before dusk.

In many parts of the world, Ramadan is the most festive time of the year as well as the most solemn time. In places like Cairo, fancy restaurants serve all-you-can eat gourmet iftar buffets, and the city packs a month full of Ramadan nightlife into the calendar — concerts and theater and open-air dancehalls. All of this happens without alcohol, of course.

Ramadan ends exactly one lunar month after it begins, with the sighting of the new moon. It's followed by a three-day feast called Eid al-Fitr, the Celebration of the Breaking of the Fast. People travel to be with their families or take a vacation from work. And everyone eats plenty.”

I hope you learned a bit more about Ramadan by this article. I know I found it informative. I sent a text message to Nadia (she used to live below me and is now living near Errachidia) and asked her how Ramadan was going. She replied: “It’s very hot and we are thirsty every day. At night we keep drinking water and juice, but it’s very good we feel thirsty and hungry so we feel what poor people feel.” Perhaps we should walk in someone else’s shoes for a day or two ourselves?

I played with cheese flavorings again in my kitchen. Since we are in Ramadan and dates are plentiful, I tried adding dates and honey to our cheese, as well as just plain honey. Both were amazingly good. Wish I could remember what one friend named the date and honey -- she thought it was quite heavenly. I made some of this cheese for the association and also made an almond and honey cheese. Yummy also. My counterpart is again seemingly excited about this, and has taken some of each of this cheese to Ouarzazate. Maybe it will go somewhere after all? I also now know of a new cheese store in Ouarzazate. Unfortunately, it has never been open while I was there, but I will not give up!! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they would like to carry our flavored cheese ? Hopefully after Ramadan, businesses will be back to normal and I can actually chat with them.

I’ve been working with young people in my apartment this summer. Sometimes we study English, sometimes we do pilates (thank you Carrie & Rachel for those cassette tapes) and sometimes we work on cleaning our teeth. In the souq (market) they sell these rough textured cleaning mitts to scrub your body with. They are generally used to help slough off those dead skin cells. Some of the teeth I’ve seen are past the point of getting them clean with simple brushing. So I have taken new mitts that I’ve bought and cut them into strips to wrap around your finger. I then give each child some toothpaste and we work tooth by tooth, with this bit of mitt being careful to not hurt the gums. One little girl had deep grooves in her front teeth where stain had collected. No amount of scrubbing would clean those grooves. The only tool I had was from my manicure case so I carefully used this plastic instrument to clean the grooves. What a difference it made (note picture of smiling white teeth). Each child leaves me with a new toothbrush in hand and a small tube of toothpaste, both being donated to me for this purpose. I can only hope they continue to brush the way I’ve demonstrated. Years ago I worked for a dentist. Little did I know that I would be putting this experience to good use at a later date. Generally speaking, brushing is not a priority here and when a tooth problem arises, the solution is to just pull it out. I recently met a fully veiled (not even her eyes were showing) young woman who was visiting family for the summer holiday. Somehow the conversation came around to me and how old I was. “What - 61, we thought you were 39” (now that was nice!!). Then “you’re 61 and you have all your teeth” Obviously I laughed at this comment. Later, when I visited her in her parent’s home and she was unveiled, I saw that she was a 30+ year old woman and she had only a few teeth remaining in her mouth. No wonder she was surprised by this big toothy grin of mine.

Other than several day trips into Ouarzazate, the only trip for any length of time was to town near Anzal (southwest of Ouarzazate) for a regional meeting of the volunteers that are near. I volunteered to plan and buy the food for the meals since, quite honestly, I’ve had far more experience doing this than any of the other volunteers at this meeting. Thirteen of us gathered at a volunteer’s home from Friday to Sunday. The best thing for me personally to come of this meeting was the information re teaching English as a second (or third, or fourth) language. Since I’ve never taught before, they were able to give me some lesson plans, games, etc. to use and the promise to send more via email at a later date. I look forward to implementing some of what I learned. It was also a good opportunity to become better acquainted with those volunteers that live relatively near.

Three volunteers returned home with me to help me paint a world map on one of the walls of our primary school. What a tedious, detail oriented task this was. Luckily all of them had some experience with this task before. Thank goodness!! We have an instructional handbook to work from and PC has maps on walls in all seven continents. Before we could begin we had to determine what size our map would be, of course it depends on the wall size itself. A grid is then drawn on the wall depending on the space available. Each grid is then hand drawn expanding it to the appropriate size. It took us two days to draw the map itself. On the third day we began to paint. They stayed with me for five days and without their help, I would still be working on this. It was not complete when they left, but close. I have since had two other volunteers that live nearby give me hand for a day each and I’ve put time in alone. My part is now complete and the only thing remaining is for the country names to be written in Arabic. One of the local teachers has offered to do this task for me and he is almost finished. I’ve attached pictures of the map throughout the stages. Anyone that has ever painted with me will not be surprised by one of the pictures. Luckily we had mixed plenty of pink paint so we did not run out. I am delighted with the end product and glad that I was able to do this for my community. Many adults and children stopped by while we/I were working. Many wanted to help and I tried to give them a job so that their name could be added to the list of people that helped. This project really cemented me into the community. They saw me throughout the day working in the hot sun and I think they appreciate all my effort and hard work. I used an oil based paint and with any luck this map will remain on the wall 8-10 years. The director of the school and the teachers plan to utilize the map to teach geography to their students, so it will be put to good use too.

Recently I received a text message from Nadia (she lived downstairs last year). Her message said: “I find a man. We will celebrate our engagement in Eid Ilkiber [after Ramadan]. Our wedding in summer inchallah. I’m very happy. He is a good man working in a private school as a teacher & nurseman, in sala eljadida, near Rabat. Thanks God.” I then congratulated her and asked her how they met. She replied: “I meet him by chance. We know his parents. This man came this summer. He said to his parents, I want to get married. They said to him, meet Nadia, she is a good girl. We meet each other, we discuss many things. We realize that we share many points of view. That’s why we decided to get married.” Sounds so simple this way doesn’t it?

This means to marriage is still pretty traditional, but the classic Moroccan ideal of marriage is giving way to modern necessities. Men's pursuit of a soul mate is changing, as are the days of parents choosing the right bride for their sons. A recent article said, "Since feelings are not a major criterion for marriage, I have the right to marry a husband who already has a flat and a nice car, …. Love is essential, but it is built following marriage on the basis of mutual respect, he said. …. If a couple's financial situation is stable, they will have fewer problems. My monthly wage is just 5,000 dirhams. A second income will be necessary to run the household and pay for the children to go to school." Obviously, people here in my village do not earn 5,000 dirhams a month (for a point of reference for you, I earn 2,000 dirhams a month or about $250) and that is about par for what someone with my level of education/experience would earn here.

While working at Kalamazoo College I had a lot of interaction with our international students. Kudzie was the last student I hosted in 2009 while still at K. Kudzie lives in Zimbabwe. She graduated from college this past June. She hopes to go to grad school in the states in January. She and her family really want me to come for a visit while she is still in the country and September is the best time for the visit. I debated long and hard about this and must admit that my travel bug that is usually jumping enthusiastically about going anywhere new, is a bit sluggish and perhaps not as enthused as he should be. But with my son, Chris's encouragement, I've decided to go. As Chris says, when will I ever be on this continent again? I will leave my site on September 10th and head towards Casablanca. I will fly out of there on the 11th and return on the 23rd, late. I hope to be back to my site on the 24th. So, I will be traveling soon and can't even begin to imagine what an adventure it will be. I'm sure I will have tales to tell. Be sure to read my September blog update for details.

As of September 10th, I will have been in Morocco one year. Thinking back to everything I’ve encountered this past year it’s hard to imagine not being here. "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." Oliver Wendell Holmes. What’s next??? Who know??? Be healthy and happy. Hugs to you all, Linda

August #2

2010-08-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

If these pictures load easily, I am attaching three more pictures. Who knows what order they will appear? One is of me and some wedding guests. One is celebrating Hannah's birthday and the other is taken in Essaouria -- Jimi Hendrix's (sp?)song "Castle in the Sand" was inspired by this castle. Enjoy.... Linda

About August

2010-08-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

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.

8/9/10 How is summer going for you? Hopefully you’re kicking back a bit and enjoying summer’s weather. Most of Morocco is cookin with temperatures 110+. Lucky for me (I can say this now since it’s not winter), I live in the mountains and the temperature has been pleasant and we usually have a breeze blowing. But, I bet you are remembering my whining from the winter months  -- I don’t even want to think about January and February now!! Let’s enjoy the moment.

I thought I might stay put for a while, but once again I boarded the bus  in July - twice. It was for good reason though – a wedding to attend and to celebrate a friend’s birthday. First the wedding – I traveled to Goulmima for the wedding (near Errachidia). I visited there last May with one of the girls (Hafida) that lived below me and it was her sister’s wedding. Getting there was a challenge – I had great plans to just catch the 1:30p local bus (le-kar) since it was direct to Errachidia and I could just get off a stop or two earlier. Well so much for that idea – it was full and didn’t stop. Okay then, plan two. I caught a taxi to Ouarzazate (1.5 hrs). Then a local bus to Tinghir (3 hrs), taxi to Tingdad (1 hr) and then another taxi to Guilmima (.5 hrs). Of course there was a bit of waiting between each and I arrived a bit later than planned, but I made it. I didn’t stay at the house where the wedding celebration was taking place, but instead stayed at Nadia’s house (the other girl that lived downstairs). Goulmima was hot and we slept on the veranda, which was quite nice actually. We had the sound of frogs and ??? to lull us to sleep. Although I learned on the day I left for home that Nadia’s sister had been stung by a scorpion the day before and had had to go to the hospital for treatment. Hmmm, maybe the veranda isn’t that nice? Nadia’s family was welcoming and the wedding celebration was good too. I am personally not a fan of big weddings (yes certainly I have enjoyed some), so personal taste plays into this. Weddings consist of loud music, singing and dancing (mostly this shoulder dance, but they can move their hips too). Tea, cookies and nuts are served around 10p and then around 11:30p-12a they brought out the couscous, chick peas and beef. Followed by the second course of chicken, olives and bread, then followed by the third course of watermelon and cantaloupe (only it is green in color). It all concludes around 2a. The wedding takes place over a three day span, with much of this same menu being served each day. Let me back up a bit -- on the first day of the wedding celebration the bride isn’t seen. She is put in a room, alone, to rest. People visit her in this room from time to time. If she comes out, her face is covered so she cannot be seen. On the second day (which is the day I primarily attended) , she does come out to join the festivities. Family and friends are staying at the wedding house, so the wedding is always happening, but more people come to join the party around 8-9p. Latifa (the tizlit, bride) changed her dress four times (pictures attached) during the evening’s festivities. During the last dress, she had henna applied to her hands and feet. Anwar (the isli, groom) also attended part of the evening, but left before the henna was applied. I am told that the groom and his family were having their own party at their house. I was there for part of day one and two, but I did not attend day three, much to the family’s dismay. It is the day the bride is delivered to the groom around 5p and they are “married”. There is not an actual ceremony, but money has been given to the bride and paperwork has been filed with the local government official. The bride will now live with the groom and his family. In some cases, they might move and live on their own, but that would happen primarily in the cities, not in the villages. Luckily, when I board the bus for home, it is direct to my town (actually heading to Marrakech), so I didn’t have the hassle of changing transports so many times.

We headed to Essaouria (on the Atlantic coast, north of Agadir) to celebrate my friend’s birthday. All travel is on the CTM and it is relatively easy. Buses are close to being on time, tickets are sold for seats (so no standing) and they are usually air conditioned and comfortable. Essaouria is a nice beach town (picture attached), with a great medina area, and a wonderful beach, but it was soooo windy! You really couldn’t enjoy the beach, because you would be sandblasted if you did so. We were told that the wind was exceptionally bad, and not the norm, but the kite boarders and wind surfers were certainly enjoying it, so maybe we were just in the wrong place at this time! Since it was a town for tourists, there were beach bars to enjoy and we found one that offered great lettuce salads for lunch (first lettuce (don’t even think spinach) salad I’ve had since leaving the states), great music was playing and the beer was cold. We took advantage of these amenities and spent some time in this establishment. Camel & horse rides and quad rentals (picture attached) were offered next door to the restaurant (just like home) had we wanted to do this. We elected to be lazy!

I attempted to attend one more wedding. It was in Ouarzazate (so only 1.5 hours away) and I said I would come and spend just one day/night. The bride is the sister of one of the women that works at the baby’s center here in town. I know the bride because we have met on several occasions. I had my landlord’s daughter call (since she speaks English and Tashlheet) the bride’s sister to confirm that they would meet me at the taxi stand (taxiyat). I have no idea where their house is located in Ouarzazate ? It was agreed that someone would meet me between 4-5p. I was there, they were not. I texted and called, but our communication was challenging since Layla (sister of the bride) does not speak English and my Tashlheet truthfully stinks. I waited until 6p and still no one so I boarded the bus for home. Layla did call me while I was on the bus and asked if I could come back the next day. “No, sorry”. I tried this once, not in the mood for a second try. Gotta give me credit for the attempt!

Most Moroccans have a very different concept of time. It is likely someone showed up at the taxiyat at 7p and thought nothing of it. When a time is set to do something, I continually ask “American time” or “Moroccan time”. They laugh, but I’m quite serious. We also have this timing thing now with daylight savings time. Morocco also does it, started in May, but not all people do it, so we have “old time” and “new time” to consider also. It’s crazy!!!

It’s lonely sometimes and I’ve considered a pet, but I’m gone so much and I will leave in 1.5 years – what happens then? Well think that’s been taken care of for me. I would have picked something a big more cuddly, but I have a salamander /gecko living in my house. He moves fast and I only catch glimpses of him, but he seems to like my kitchen (l’kuzina). Not sure how he got in and up here since I live on the second floor, but looks like he’s found a home. I don’t know much about salamanders/gecko’s, but I’ve named him Geek – hope it’s okay he’s living here?

Speaking of living on the second floor -- I now have new neighbors living below me since Hafida and Nadia have moved home to Goulmina. Ummmm, at least eight people, maybe more, living there now – ugh!. It’s not a large apartment – consists of a turn-around bathroom (bit-l’ma), small kitchen and a decent-sized room where they eat, sleep and sit. They are probably not that noisy, but just eight people in and of itself make noise. A couple of the young people speak a little English and on the whole they seem nice enough. One aunt is quite bold though. She came upstairs, knocked on the door and made herself at home, after looking around my sween (nice) apartment. The next day she appears at my door with two pails in her hands and wants hot water to take a bath with. She has seen my hot water heater – so why not? I tell her no, that I have to buy the gas to heat the water, etc. My thinking is that if I do this for one, the next seven will be knocking at my door when they want to bathe. She is not particularly happy with me, but she does go away eventually – without hot water. They also use “my” roof. Yes, I say “my” roof. Nadia and Hafida didn’t use it except for drying laundry and I’ve gotten spoiled. They are making it a bit hard to sun bathe now, although I usually do it when they take their afternoon naps, so it sometimes works out. I’m told that they are only here until after Ramadan ends (mid-September) and that they came from Zagora to escape the heat. I’m looking forward to mid-September and hope the next tenants are less in number.

I’m told that we have one poisonous snake in the area, but I haven’t seen any snakes, so no freaking me out there. We supposedly have a few scorpions, so I should be on the lookout, but this mountainous area is not one they particularly like, so not a big worry. My friends Donna and Hannah have both found scorpions in their apartments, but they live in different areas that I do. As a pre-caution, I now have my shoes standing on-end against the wall, since scorpions like to hide in the dark/seclusion and like the toes of shoes, I also check between the sheets before I crawl into bed at night. Better to be safe than sorry. Since I have screens on my windows now, I am not bothered by flying pests – thank goodness.

I think because of the heat, lots of people are on holiday in the summer months. We have far more people living here in my village (because I am in the mountains and cooler) now than at other times of the year. Transportation is crowded and lots of businesses are closed. Somehow this doesn’t make sense – more people, more business – but what do I know? The association I work with is closed. The baby’s center is open since babies are still being born, the restaurant is open and still waiting for a customer and obviously cheese is still being made, but not much happening. Kids stop by my house and we play dominoes, Uno and Blink. They usually ask for popcorn when they are here. I bake and take plates of goodies to houses and usually I am invited for tea. I visit my host family. Somehow the days are filled? I recently had my host family here for an American summer lunch. I fixed hamburgers (kefta) and bread (no buns available), potato salad and baked beans (well as best as I could replicate them) with fruit salad for dessert. They liked the hamburgs and fruit. The potato salad and beans challenged their taste buds, although they were gracious and kind and tried to eat some. Wonder if they realize that many of their flavors challenge my taste buds too? Doubt it……

Remember I had a group of volunteers doing their training in a nearby town in the spring. Well they have since been sworn in and sent to their own sites. But, they are back in the area and they came for a weekend visit a week ago. Only four remain, one elected to terminate early and has returned home. It was great fun to hear about their sites and their homes. They said that it felt like they were “coming home” when they came to my apartment since I met them early on, they visited me several times when they were near and I probably “spoil” them a bit. It was great fun catching up.

I’ve been asked a number of times – what work do you do? Seems like you are always traveling? I hope you all understand that a lot of this travel is work – cultural exchanges/community relations are also PC goals, as well as the meetings and trainings we have. Yes, my primary assignment is to work with the cheese and saffron association. I have attempted to show them how to make their cheese unique and different by the addition of herbs and spices, and there was some initial excitement about this, but nothing is happening now. Perhaps in the fall, when people can again think about working, we can address this again? But, this association has been up and running for twelve years already. Not sure what I am really supposed to do with them? The person I work with is difficult to say the least and quite honestly, I am uncertain if I will make the recommendation that PC replace me. The PCV before me was young, just out of college and my counterpart ran her in circles and ruled. She made the recommendation that an "older" volunteer be sent to the site -- they sent me. I've had to stand firm and hold my ground. Best thing I have going for me is that I'm 61 (OMG, how did that happen?) and older than she is.

This is and has been quite an adventure and I am so grateful to have this opportunity. Will I make a difference that really lives on after I leave? That remains to be seen. I am curious to see if I will have much of an affect (effect, I can never seem to remember which?) on the business part of this assignment. Can I have an impact on some of the children I cross paths with -- I hope so. If nothing else, perhaps a child or two will wash their hands with soap, cough into their sleeve or will brush their teeth as a result of me being a clown and instructing them how to do it. Regardless, I think I am giving them a good impression of the "American" and hopefully they will think a bit more favorably of us.

Enough already – wake up – it’s over. Til next time – live well, love much and laugh often – Be Happy!!! Hugs to you all, Linda

July #6 (because I missed #5 and have two #4's)

2010-07-10T02:31:00.000-07:00

The last one was too easy, can't give up :-)

July #4

2010-07-10T02:12:00.000-07:00

If I can get this one to upload, we are calling it good for this month. I have some great pictures I would like to share, but guess we'll have to get together stateside to see them.

July #4

2010-07-10T01:06:00.001-07:00

OMG - I've never had so many problems doing this before. Lets hope it's not the new trend.

July #3

2010-07-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

I am really having problems this time. I will likely not post as many pictures as I would have liked to - sorry :-(

July #2

2010-07-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Having a really hard time keeping my internet connection long enough to upload the pictures. I will keep trying, but please be patient. Here goes -- one more time. Hugs.

Jumpin July

2010-07-09T00:45:00.000-07:00

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.

7/9/10 – Hope you had a great July 4th holiday weekend. I celebrated it with PCV friends in a town south of Marrakech. We didn’t have a beach to enjoy, but we had each other, good conversations and some laughs. The trip home was a nightmare though. I sat on the roadside for nine hours waiting for a ride. Several buses passed by, but none stopped ?? Finally a bus did stop, albeit it was full, and I had to stand, but at least they took pity on me. Unfortunately, the 1.5 hour ride took about 3.5 hours because we have a few bus problems, but I eventually arrived at my site. Gosh it was good to get home!!

As you know, June was a month of traveling for me. I hope to stay put in my site for a while – I need a rest!! The first week of travel was work related --- in-service training and our counterparts were invited to join us for the first couple of days. My counterpart was certainly out of her element and she latched onto me. It was nice to send her home!! My second week away from site was pure fun!!!

Directly after IST, I traveled to northern Morocco for a week with three girlfriends. We were tourists for the week. We stayed in Assilah for four days. Assilah is southwest of Tangiers on the Atlantic coast. This lovely whitewashed resort town reminds you of a Greek island town. Its narrow streets are squeaky clean . Totally, totally loved Assilah….. a lovely laid-back community. I’ve attached some pictures from there. We rented a small apartment, directly across from the beach, and watched the camels walk by. We traveled by horse and cart to a beach south of town, perhaps you’ve seen the picture of us on Facebook? We shopped, sunbathed, relaxed and kicked back a bit. The weather was perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing about this stop-over.

We then moved on to Tangiers. Now I visited Tangiers before, but it was in 1971 – does that even count anymore? My recollection was not favorable and in fact I’ve always referred to it as another Tijuana. Well I stand corrected, it is much different than I remember and quite lovely. I wanted to visit, the others were not crazy to do so, but we were all glad we did. Unfortunately the hotel we stayed in was a real dive -- 37.5dirhams/person/night (less than $5) and not sure it was even worth that. It was located in the medina, guess that was good? Noisy, sketchy, not so clean, etc. Not one of our better choices, but the pickings were slim and not a lot of choice. We had lunch at a woman’s association in their garden (picture attached – maybe in next posting?) A gentleman we met in Assilah recommended this place and he was right – the food was great and it benefited the women too. They prepare one menu for each day. Our lunch consisted of a tasty cucumber/tomato/onion salad, followed by vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, squash, etc.) stuffed with various things. Followed up with heavenly desserts – they had four so we each had something different and shared. The Café Hafa was also recommended (picture attached) for Moroccan tea and this wonderful café was located on the side of the hill and just so lovely! The beach was large and beautifully groomed. We wore swimsuits and could get away with it since we were tourists, but Moroccan women do not normally wear swimsuits. They swim fully clothed (pictures attached) - can you even imagine that? We had dinner in this beautiful blue café – don’t you love the colors? Actually only spent one day in Tangiers and I’m sure there is much more to see, but we moved on.

Traveled the northern coast road to Sebta – what a beautiful ride along the Mediterrean it was. Ooops, Sebta is a town goverened by Spain. Without prior approval and permission we PCVs are not allowed to visit – darnn!! Oh well, it was a lovely drive!

Passed through Tetouan, but can’t say that we saw the town. From what I saw it looked okay, but I don’t have a great need to revisit. Perhaps I’ll hear something about it at a later date and change my mind? The Rif mountains are in the northern part of Morocco. They are rugged and craggy, so different than the Atlas mountains. The Atlas tend to look like big sand dunes to me.

Arrived in Chefchaouen in time to celebrate my birthday with a great dinner at a restaurant on the top of a hill overlooking the plaza and medina. I had pastilla (pastry wrapped chicken, sometimes pigeon is used) since I had not that before – it was good. No birthday cake, but the chilled oranges sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon were great. Chefchaouen is a beautiful town located in the Rif mountains southeast of Tangiers. It is known as one of the prettiest towns in Morocco, sometimes described as fairy-tale like. It’s medina is a delight of red-tiled roofs, bright-blue buildings and narrow lanes. It is also known as one of the most prolific drug traffic areas in the country. Kif is freely offered to anyone who wants to buy it. Majority of the town was stoned!!! Although we didn’t do any hiking the mountains there are another big draw to the area.

We had intended to spend one night in Fes, but since we had all been there before, decided to pass on through on this trip and went directly to Khenifra where Annie lived. Note I use the word “lived”. Annie has decided to return to the states early. Her family asked her to come home and she has done so. Annie will be missed. She tactfully expressed her opinions and asked questions others might be hesitant to ask. She was also “always there for you”, and her sensitivity could be counted on. Annie was also the first person I met last September when we PCVs first met up. I’m sad  but I also understand. Annie had piles of “stuff” for each of us to take home. My pile consisted of “warm” stuff primarily since she knows how cold my site gets in the winter.

Annie learned/observed/was made aware of the fact that many young girls, especially in these rural Moroccan communities, never have/had a doll and it is her belief that dolls provide valuable tools/skills and enjoyment. Annie worked with the ladies in her association to make dolls (picture attached) to be given to as many young women as possible. Private funding was provided for this endeavor. Many dolls were given out and my community was one of the lucky recipients. I brought home a large bag of dolls to be distributed to the girls in my village. I have given out some dolls and if you could have seen the expressions of their faces. I cried on several occasions, they were very special moments. Not all dolls have been given out, but I will give out the rest when school resumes again in September.

Late June I returned to Rabat for some medical tests and to attend a GAD (Gender and Development) meeting. The purpose of this group is to encourage, wherever possible, that both men and women have a say in development. Easier said than done, especially in these small communities, but there are many activities involving children and that is where it must begin. The intent of the group is for a noble cause and I work with a good group of PCVs. Seems like I’ve been to Rabat a lot and I must say I am learning my way around. Not a bad city!!

I think I’ve rambled on enough for now – you must surely be bored. I have so many pictures I’d like to attach . Will likely have to do a posting or two, so be sure to check all July blog postings. With minor modification the following greeting was sent to me by a friend for my birthday and I love it. So…… May the summer “bestow on you a google of smiles, a gaggle of laughs and a gazillon moments of joy!” Til next time. Hugs, Linda

June Jottings - Pictures

2010-06-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

Hi - I'm having a real problem with my satellite connection and I can't get the pictures loaded. Will try again. Perhaps you'll see them several times??? :-)

June Jottings

2010-06-03T01:23:00.000-07:00

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.

6/3/10 - Happy June. I always feel that summer starts now. Fajiji…… Let the fun begin!! Oh sorry, I think we’ve been having fun all along haven’t we? I haven't a clue whether pictures will post this time or not. My satellite connection is sometimes slow and I lose my connection frequently. I never received a "confirmed" on the photo's, so who knows??? If not, I will try to post at a later time.  

I’ve been staying close to my site for the past few weeks. Not a bad thing, since it looks like I will be away for a good part of June with little internet access so my g-mail email replies may be slow in coming. I’ve done the usual trips into Ouarzazate since that is where the bank and super marchie is located and I was invited to speak on a diversity panel about what it is like to be an older volunteer, but this is a day trip and quite doable. Granted, we usually have to hussle to get everything done, because if we aren’t at the taxi stand by 3p, it is unlikely we will be able to catch a taxi to our site that day. We can get to Anna’s town okay, but getting to my town at that time of the day is tough. And, you have to take into consideration that the market and most business close from about 12:30-3p for lunch. The restaurants are open during this time, so the plan is for lunch then too and then trek to the taxi stand and head home.

Lots of general observations in this update.

I usually spend at least part of each day at the association. I flit from dar alouma (baby’s center), to the restaurant and to the cheese making part of the association spreading good cheer and passing out hugs. I think they’ve come to expect and look forward to my morning rituals, or I’m delusional and they only tolerate me!! I’ve flavored some cheese for a hotel in Ouarzazate, another restaurant and a few people, but not really much happening otherwise. I have to keep reminding myself. Things move very slowly here…… this might never take off or it may be close to the time I leave before I see any real results. Baby steps – baby steps. I’m told that the local women do not want to learn how to flavor the cheese unless they are paid more since more is charged for the flavored cheese. My counterpart says there is no money, so we may be at a standstill? I don’t get involved with the finances in any way. Can’t say whether we have money or not? Lack of money doesn’t seem to keep my counterpart in town. Seems like she is always traveling somewhere – for what? Otherwise, if there isn’t anything in particular I need to do, I sit in the classroom with the girls that are there for non-formal education and hope that some of their words stick in my mind. They seem to like having me just there. We usually take a walk in the countryside to break up the time.

On the whole this village is not unkind to animals, but they are certainly not treated as pets. I have befriended a beautiful dog (picture attached). He is frequently at the association and he follows me from building to building, and waits for me to give him one more pat. Now that he knows he can trust me, I can see that he is really quite young and he wants to play a bit. He romps and will mouth my hand. The locals gasp in fright when he does this and they actually hate it that he waits outside of the building for me. I have told them that they don’t have to like Gus (the name I’ve given him), and that they don’t have to touch him, but that they cannot be mean to him or throw stones at him. They think I’m nuts!!!

I stood in my kitchen one Friday night making pizza for dinner (who needs pepperoni when I’ve learned that onions, green peppers, tomatoes, spiced olives and just swiya (little bit) of cheese tastes great). Now a cold beer would be good though! My kitchen window is open and I hear the screams of children playing soccer (or football as they say here). Their ball is under-inflated, but they don’t seem to notice. Maybe it’s even easier to control it like this? It doesn’t roll quite as far this way. I could be in Kalamazoo and hear the same sounds. I would swear that I hear sounds like cheerleading chants, yet I really don’t believe this. They play until dark. It’s a good sound and it makes me smile. Children being children.

I am dependent on taxi’s for much of my transportation. One may come along right away or I might have to wait 1-2 hours for one. I am often times the only woman in a taxi filled with 5-10 men depending on the size of the taxi. I worried a bit about this initially, but I have not to date had an occurrence that scared me. There are several mid-20’s young men who drive taxi’s that I particularly like and they like me. They try to teach me Tashleheet and want English words in exchange. They look out for me I feel. I remember one day being in the middle seat of a taxi filled with men. Men were trying to talk to me. The taxi driver never had me out of his view in the mirror. Had the attempt at conversation been more than I could handle I feel certain he would have stepped in and stopped it. Since then, he more times than not sits me in the front seat next to him where he can more easily keep an eye on the situation. I assume he has shared this technique, since most of this young group of men normally place me in the front next to them. I appreciate their kindness and caring and I feel comfortable with them. They are looking out for me and I am glad.

Men -- a whole group of them meet twice daily. Usually around 8-8:30a or so they gather for coffee and cigarettes at the tables down on the main street. I have never seen a woman sitting at these tables in my village. They meet again after cass krute (5p tea) and stay until close to 8p. I assume they are catching up the day’s activities. Not sure that they really have this much to talk about, but guess they do. Many men work elsewhere to earn a living i.e., Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech. They come home for the holidays and stay up to 1-2 months when they come. Not sure what their employer does in their absence, but guess they have this worked out somehow? Because many men are gone, those men that remain seem to help out their neighbors with some of the field chores. Men seem to be in charge of tilling the soil using kind of a backward handled shovel. They bend over at the waist and spade away. It is back breaking work. They till the ground in patterns and I now see why – they irrigate this way. They open up on dirt trench for a time, and then pack the mud and open up another. Seems to work quite well. Granted we are talking garden sized fields. Not a lot of tillable soil compared to where I grew up. Men also seem to be charge of the planting since I remember my host dad throwing pea seeds about after he tilled last December. (We are now enjoying the fresh peas he planted - yum). Husain, my host dad is also a plumbee (plumber) and he gets involved with the water issues here in the village. And, you must remember my host dad is a really good guy – he was peeling potatoes in the cousina (kitchen) the last time I was there visiting. Not sure how many men help their wives out in this area? I’m guessing some of the younger generation that has had the opportunity to attend university has probably had to fend for himself and can get along in the kitchen just fine. Now do they put their talents to work when they marry or do they fall into the traditional roles?

Women – yeow…. They have a lot on their plate. They are expected to keep up the house, tend the children, attend to all the cooking and that includes making bread fresh every day. Many bake bread in these mud ovens (picture attached). Looks like one woman gets the fire going in her oven and the other women in the near vicinity come and bake their bread there. They take turns doing this and this is their social time it appears. They chat while the bread bakes. Unfortunately, they don’t have the opportunity to gather at the tables downtown and chat like the men folk do. Most do not have refrigerators, so meals are cooked fresh for each meal, no microwave warm-ups in these kitchens. Lunch is the typical big meal of the day and it is usually a tagine. (I’m attaching a picture of a tagine, but must admit this is a bit fancier than the typical one made at home. This tagine was prepared at Restaurant Bia, by a young man who worked in Marrakech for a bit of time and he learned how to make them attractive, as well as tasty.) The women also take care of the animals they may have. The lucky have at least one cow to milk. Butter is then made from some of it. My host family has several cows and two new calves, a donkey, 10 goats or so (my pet goat, Dulci, has grown up and is part of the group- I don’t want to think about his future), rabbits, chickens, dog, and cat, with kittens. Taking care of the animals involves cutting the grass for the animals to eat too. They are busy working in the fields when time allows cutting by hand and tying it together to dry (kind of like we would bale hay). I’ve seen them working before breakfast and until dark (picture attached, note the irrigating system too). They are also busy harvesting the grain now (I assume winter wheat and barley) that they will use for bread making, etc., in the coming months. If there are several women living in the same house, one seems to take over the chore of taking the animals to pasture. This means they sit and watch the animals eat for hours at a time. Can’t imagine doing that or what might go through their minds as they watch???

I decided to spend some of my stipend from National Geographic to buy cleaning supplies for the primary school, pre-school, and association. I’ve bought bleach, toilet brushes, disinfectant, sponges, soap dishes, soap, towels, pails for each water sprocket in the toilet areas so as to encourage a flush of water after use, etc. I’ve been delivering the baskets of goodies to each place and showing them how to actually use the cleanser and clean those dirty toilets. It seems to be shuma (shameful) to clean a toilet. Well for goodness sake, someone has to do it!! The girls at the association were very excited to have new supplies to use and eagerly helped me clean last week. I’m sure this novelty will wear off, but it doesn’t hurt for them to see me put the products to use. Yes, they even watched me clean the toilets and with a little luck at least they might be at least conscious of the filth. Baby steps – baby steps……

Most everyone takes an extended lunch hour for a nap after lunch until 3p or so. I’ve never been good at napping in the middle of the day, so instead, if the weather permits, I am on my rooftop soaking up the sun’s rays. You all know how I love to tan (yes I know it’s really not good for me) but I love it so. I’m gonna have a killer tan and unfortunately no one to appreciate it since I have to be pretty well covered up once I step out my front door. Hafida gasped when she saw that my legs were getting tan. Wonder what she would think if she could see the other parts of my body. No tan lines this year for me. A bit naughty on my part don’t you think?

I bought a washtub and mixed up a concoction of dirt and manure to grow flowers in. My host mom gave me some of her perennials she has in her garden. I think many of them will live, but they look a little shabby now. I came home one night and found that someone had planted several other varieties in my washtub too and had watered everything well. I don’t know who the garden angel is, but I would like to thank her. Will likely never know, but she obviously noticed that I like flowers and she wanted to contribute to my happiness.

I’ve done a couple of activities with the pre-schoolers these past two weeks. One day we took a long walk, up to the top, near my host family’s home, to let the kids run and play. I baked sugar cookies with colorful sprinkles on them as a treat. They were gobbled up. Today, I went to the pre-school and talked about oral hygiene. I put a lot of action and theatrics into this, to keep their attention, and demonstrated how to use a toothbrush. I had new toothbrushes for everyone, but first they had to promise me they would brush at least once every day and that they had to smile – really big, so that everyone could see their wonderful, clean teeth. Today I brought popcorn as a treat.

Nadia and Hafida (the girls that live downstairs) (picture attached, Nadia in solid blue) will leave my village in mid-June, (likely when I am still gone) to return home to their parents’ homes for the summer holiday. If they come back, and it is unlikely that they will since they seem to want to be closer to home, they will not be back until mid-September or so. Lots of Moroccans have the summers off – I am curious to see how the world survives without workers. I’m certain I will miss the girls, especially since Nadia acts as my interpreter when I need one. Nadia, some time ago, asked me what a hot dog was. Well I did my best to explain it. Then the same question about a hamburg. Since I know I can get kafta (ground beef) , albeit not in my village, I promised them an American summer meal. So yesterday I fixed hamburgs, complete with the pickles – eeeeck, I paid through the nose for these babies….. Also potato salad, baked beans (not quite as good as those I made in Kzoo), and a fruit salad for dessert. They were thrilled by the fuss made for them and seemed to like the lunch. Initially they took just swiya (a little) of everything, but I saw second, and even third helpings on the potato salad. I loved lunch, it was a real treat for me.

Well I have presentations to work on that I have to give next week, so I’d best get back to task. Until I write again, please take care. Bslama Linda

May Meanderings

2010-05-14T02:05:00.001-07:00

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.

5/14/2010 -- Can’t believe it’s May already. I’ve been at my site for six months now. Nine months in country. Wow…… funny how times flies when you’re having a good time – right? Most times are good, occasionally a bad one, but those happened at home too.

I was thinking about this recently ...... I am continually going somewhere, with someone, to do something, for however long it takes ????? I walk blindly with, never really knowing what is going on. Rarely would have I done this stateside. Case in point, several weeks ago I left my house at 6:30a to meet up with girls - how many? Eleven to be exact for a picnic. Now who begins a picnic at 6:30a? There are three adults along too, me being one of them. The other two teach at the association (one embroidery and the other teaches non-formal education). We walk for a while on the road, then begin the trek into the hills (picture attached). How many of these big hills (mtns) are we going to go over and just where are we going? We walk for about two hours and now I know why we started early. The sun warms you quickly when you are climbing/walking like this. I'm told it is just over that mountain - yeah right, heard that before. Why does it have to be so darned high??? Okay, guess they are right this time, we walk into a village (picture attached). Looks small from this side, but I later learn it is rather good sized, maybe 120 homes in total. We knock on the door of a tigmi (house) that one of the teacher's sisters live in. Two of her sisters live here and they teach too, one non-formal education and the other at the pre-school. All of these sisters grew up in the Ouarzazate area and have varying levels of education. There are government programs that pay their wages to teach in these villages. We rest for a bit, eat some breakfast (I've brought along some of my newly flavored cheeses to taste test and some enjoy, others not), then we head off to see the fields (great - more walking!) It is quite beautiful and there are sporadic rose bushes blooming here and there. We come across four women doing their laundry in the river. They don't want me to take their picture. They are singing and talking as they scrub on their washboards. We wander about and end up back at the house. We now prepare lunch (chicken and potatoes) in the pressure cooker. We've all chipped in 10d (a little over $1) to pay for breakfast/lunch supplies. After lunch we walk over to the classroom where the non-formal education is taught. I've been told there will be a competition -- I'm thinking they will be running, jumping, etc. Not the case. The girls from our town are on one side and the girls from the other town are on the other side. Questions are asked (some are right off the wall and very irrelevant to their lives), and scores are kept. The girls from my town outscore the other girls -- yay we are the winners! I was surprised at the competitive nature of this event and it is quite a thrill to be the winner. We finish up with orange soda, store bought sugar wafers and a couple of moms have baked cakes for the event. We walk home in the rain that started just as we were about to leave. At 6:30p I am home for the day. Okay, I'm tired..... but it was an interesting, good day and it was a bonding event for all.

About a week later the girls that we visited, come to us for the day. They arrive around 9a to the building I/we live in. Nadia & Hafida live below me and Nadia is the non-formal education teacher who is involved with this exchange. We gather in her living quarters because she doesn’t know if these young women are faithful. I later determine she is worried whether they are trustworthy and she doesn’t want them to steal or break something in my apartment. I suspect though that everyone is curious to see the American’s house so I invite them up. There is a lot of ooohhhing and aaahhhing and they are quite fascinated by it all. They primp in front of the mirror, hug Penelope (my stuffed pet platypus) and marvel at the toilet paper I have hanging in my bathroom. I have brought with me a small album of family pictures. They think Chris looks like a movie star – would he like a wife? We eat breakfast at Nadia’s since they have walked a couple of hours to get here and then we go out for another walk to show them our village. The sun is bright and I find it fun to see the hats on top of the scarves that they wear (picture attached). In so many ways they are just teen-age girls who giggle, joke and worry about how they look. They have brought lunch with them, and we walk to the association where we can use the restaurant kitchen to prepare it. We have chicken, French fries and hard boiled eggs (picture attached), and of course bread. They also make a sweet pasta dish (sffa) that I unfortunately don’t have a picture of. It is little slivers of noodles that are steamed, and then cinnamon and powdered sugar is served on top of it. Actually quite good! I don’t know if I can find this pasta stateside, but I’ll have to perfect it’s preparation and serve it to you when I’m home if possible. We then have another competition of questions and our girls again win, but only by 3 points. A picture of all of us is taken in front of the association (picture attached). There is much singing, clapping and banging on whatever might be available. They don’t want to go home and they don’t leave until 7:30p. I can’t imagine how they got home before dark. Likely they didn’t.

First weekend in May I traveled with Hafida to her parents’ home in Guilmima (about a 7 hour bus ride away to the south and east of me near Errachadia). It looks very different over in this part of the country. Much flatter and palmeries (groves of palm trees) are everywhere. They have ducts of water running throughout the town. I will likely post a few pictures from this visit on another posting. Hafida’s family is very friendly and welcoming. Mom and Dad are there, along with two of their adult daughters. Another daughter comes home for the weekend to meet me. They have four other adult children that live in different parts of Morocco. Their house is immaculate. And, besides my own bathroom, this is the cleanest bathroom I’ve seen in Morocco. Their little compound is enclosed by walls and inside is their home, their cows and goats and a small garden space. Dinners are late 11-11:30p or so and we’re up early. They drink warm milk for breakfast. I’m really not into this – I need caffeine. They are amazed that I would add a whole spoon of Nescafe to a cup that is already half full of milk and I convince them that hot water will do just fine to finish filling it up. We walk around the area and stop into homes to say “hi” on Saturday. On Sunday we walk around more and if we don’t stop to see someone, they later come to the house to see the American. We sit in the parlor and they look at me. Sawl Tashlheet (talk Tashlheet). Sure, what would you like me to say? Then they laugh at my pronunciation and words chosen because their Tashlheet dialect is different than where I live. I’m tired and I’m afraid a bit grumpy. I feel like a circus act. It’s been a nice visit, but about time to head home! We’re up at 5a the next morning to catch our bus at 8a. Not sure why we are starting so early????? We’re at the bus stop at 6:30a. Highly unusual that we would be so early, Moroccans usually run late. A bus arrives at 7a and we get on. I say, I thought we were catching the 8a bus and they say “yes, yes”, but I’m thinking it’s 7a? Later I learn that Morocco changes to daylight savings time for the summer months and this was the weekend to change. How would I know that? At least it explains some of the morning schedule. It’s been a good trip and interesting, but so glad to be home. AND, I finally connect with the carpenter and he comes this afternoon. I HAVE SCREENS ON MY WINDOWS AND I’M THRILLED. Not the best job I’ve ever seen, but hopefully they will keep out the big bugs and the birds! Hurray…….

We pass through Kelaa M’Gouna during our travels to Guilmima. They have an annual Rose Festival there each year in May. We see fields of roses from the bus windows. They are beautiful and this meets my need to see the Rose Festival – no need to return to the crowds that will be there on the next weekend. Well so much for that thought. My counterpart arranges a day trip for 25 women/girls to travel to the festival. I MUST come and bring the camera with me. I am up at 4a since we are to leave at 5a. My counterpart arrives around 6a and we are on the road around 6:30a. Yep forgot, we aren’t on American time, we’re on Moroccan time – time has little significance…… We haven’t traveled five minutes when one young girl starts vomiting. Unfortunately she vomits for the next three hours as we travel. At least half of the women are vomiting as we travel to the Festival. This is a society that has had little experience in moving vehicles and everyone suffers from motion sickness when they ride in a car. I play the “age” card and sit in the front seat by the driver. At least I have a little space between those that are sick and me. We arrive, it is packed with people, watch a parade and wander about eating ice cream and candied nuts. Two young boys tap me on the shoulder and tell me that my backpack is unzipped. Yep it is and my wallet and the association camera have been taken. Entirely my fault – no one to blame but myself. I know better than to keep these items in such an easy place, but I had gotten lazy and I’m far too trusting. Won’t happen to me, well, guess it can!! File a police report with the gendarmes and they are very kind and helpful. They like my blond hair and pet me often. We leave the Festival around 7p or so and I’m thinking we’ll be home around 10p. Well, guess since we have a day’s excursion planned we are going to take full advantage of it. We stop in Ouarzazate and turn everyone loose, but we don’t set a time to meet up again. Every one wanders back to the vehicles willy-nilly. My counterpart is furious since she has been ready to leave for quite some time. Everyone is tired and we need to head for home is my thinking. The driver of the vehicle I’m riding in must think that if he goes really fast around the curves of this mountainous road, it will make the vomiting women feel better and we’ll get there sooner too. I’m not so sure I agree with this thinking. Finally at 11:30p I crawl into bed. It’s been quite a day. Luckily PC will reimburse me a good portion of the money that was stolen, but will not do anything about the camera. I feel very badly about the camera’s loss and decide to spend a portion of the stipend I receive from National Geographic to buy them another.

Another National Geographic tour group stopped for tea this week. This time I asked my host family if they would like to host the morning tea. They said they would and they put out quite a spread of food for the guests. My entire family is there and they patiently pose for the many photos that are taken. I made some of my flavored cheeses for the group to taste also. Tried to take a vote as to the favorite, but I think all were liked fairly equally. When I went to reimburse my family later in the day for the expenses incurred in putting on this tea, they didn’t want to take money. They are my family – they wanted to do this for me. I convinced them that the money was not coming from my pocket, and that they should take it. Eventually they did. They are wonderful people and I am so lucky to be able to call them my Moroccan family.

In my last update I commented on the donkey’s braying and the thought that he brays when he has seen the devil. Well just today I learned that a rooster’s crowing is quite the opposite. The rooster is held in high esteem. He is hard working and gets up early to help others get up early too. When he crows it’s a good omen and we should be grateful. Remember this when you’re traveling in those remote areas and the rooster wakes you at the crack of dawn – it’s a good thing!!

Our days have been sunny and bright lately, but we’ve had a howling cold wind for about a week and a half. We have lots of windy days here it seems. Wonder if it will be like this in the summer? I will likely appreciate that wind if that is the case. This morning I wake up to snow on the ground. I knew that it was cold yesterday, but didn’t think it would snow. Surely it won’t last. I packed my long underwear away in a suitcase since I didn’t think I’d it until fall again. Hope I don’t have to dig it out.

Well, I’ve probably written way too much again – sorry. Sometimes I just get typing and don’t know when to stop. Hopefully this finds you all well and healthy. Until I write again, take care. Bslama Linda

Pictures of Guilmima

2010-05-14T01:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from my visit to Guilmima with Hafida. I talk about this visit in my May posting. Read that paragraph to better explain. Hugs to all, Linda

April's News

2010-04-22T03:36:00.000-07:00

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.

4/22/10 - It’s official – spring is here!!! The wind still howls from time to time, and it can still be quite chilly, but on the whole the weather has turned and it is lovely. In fact, so warm that the flies and mosquitoes are waking up and buzzing around my house already. I’m in the process of getting some screens made for my windows since I can’t stand the pests. I won’t keep them out entirely, but this will help. I waited three days last week for a carpenter to come measure the windows, finally I ran into him at the thanut (local grocery mart) and we walked together to my house. Maybe next week I’ll even get them put up? I brought a piece of screen with me from the US, but obviously not knowing what, if any, windows I might have I do not have enough. I have screened my kitchen & bathroom windows, but have three others to do. Our quality is much better and easier to work with, so thus I am soliciting help with the others.

Remember the tea I was trying to organize to celebrate International Women’s Day – well it finally happened in late March before I left for camp. 35 women came and I was thrilled. They enjoyed the treats that I baked and there was lots of chatter and laughter. I talked about the importance of good health and the need to take care of themselves because so many people depended on them. When I showed them some simple stretching exercises, you should have heard them. I kept reminding them – “hey I’m 60 and if I can do this, you can too.” Everyone went home with a new toothbrush in hand. (I’m beginning to think that oral hygiene may just be my project…… , the dentist I worked for so many years ago would be soooo proud!)

English immersion camp was fun, albeit exhausting, but I’m glad I participated. What a beautiful location (picture attached) It really did take about three days to get to the northern coast of Morocco and I traveled by taxi, bus and train. It could be done quicker, but when you have to coordinate schedules, it takes longer. My English class consisted of eight teen-age boys (picture attached). Yep, they were boys….. and I was told that I handled them very well and probably better than any of the other volunteers could have done. Perhaps it was helpful having had experience with Chris and his friends over the years! Actually they were quite dear and even the “too cool for school” guy participated as time went on. I had a different group of kids when I taught about Kenya and that was a mix of language abilities and ages. I found physical activities were a much better tool than an actual classroom setting with them, so we made masks, I cooked a Kenyan staple and we taste tested, drew Kenyan flags and ran long distance on the beach (ummm, they ran more than I did), etc. When the day came that they had to leave, you should have seen the tears – everyone was crying. They were either a very emotional group or we made more of an impact than we realized. There were six of us PCVers (beach picture attached) and we stayed in a dorm like setting. The Moroccan staff was great to work with. We went down to the docks on our last day there and purchased fresh fish from the boats and had them cooked for us. Yummm, delicious (picture attached)! Then we began the trek home…. on a day that happened to be the conclusion of a Moroccan holiday. Everything was full and there was standing room only on trains and buses. We should have just stayed on the beach for an extra day or two and then began the trek since the travel home would have been much easier. It was good to get home.

A National Geographic tour group stopped in my village again in April for morning tea in a Berber home. I think a good time was had by all and they found the experience interesting and fun. Another group will visit in May. I’ve decided that at least some of the stipend I am given for the visits will be spent on cleaning/hygiene products for the preschool, school and association. I am in the process of collecting baskets to organize toothbrushes, soap, bleach, scrub brushes, towels, toilet brushes, etc. I’d also like to buy the supplies to paint a world map on one of the walls of the school. Now, I have no artistic ability whatsoever, but I’m told we have a grid available to us, that will help with the process. Hopefully both of these projects will be helpful to the community.

A Moroccan PC representative from the small business sector came for a visit this month and we had the opportunity to sit down and talk with my counterpart – finally. Since I’m not fluent in this Tashlheet language, I had some very basic questions I wanted asked and answered and I greatly appreciated her assistance. I really wanted to know what the my counterpart’s expectations of me are and how I can help. As I’ve said, this cooperative has been up and running for quite some time. Basically it was decided that if we could diversify our cheese product that would be most helpful. I also commented on their embroidery work and the products they make. The work itself is beautiful, but no one I know would buy what they make. Hopefully we can make some modifications to their handiwork and make it sellable. Nothing, let me repeat, nothing happens fast here. Don’t expect to hear exciting news of great sales in the immediate future. Maybe before the time I leave we will see some results?

Addressing the need for cheese diversification, I came prepared….. I had played with cheese in my kitchen prior to this visit. I brought with me to this meeting four variations. My favorite was mint and honey – I called it Moroccan Mint Cheese. It is yummy. My second favorite was a spicy olive cheese. I think of both of these are “Moroccan” since both are dominant in this culture. I also made a parsley & chives cheese and a garlic cheese. My counterpart was very receptive to these variations and she really liked the spicy olive cheese. In fact, she is off to an expo in Meknes (near Fes) soon and she’d like to take a sampling of all four variations with her for taste testing. She’d like me to come too, but I haven’t decided if I’ll do this yet or not. It would involve two days of travel to get there, five days at the expo and two days to get home. That’s a lot of “together” time. There are so many other variations to the cheese I can think of, I’ll have to continue to experiment. I was delighted that my counterpart reacted as she did.

I did a quick trip into Marrakech a week ago. Went in on Saturday and came home on Sunday. A number of PCVers and their artisans had organized a craft fair there for the weekend. I didn’t have any artisans participating, but I wanted to see the fair and the products. Nicely done!! Annie, one of my PC friends also had family visiting from the states and a few of us were invited to their hotel for cocktails and conversation on Saturday night. A good time was had!

In so many ways living here doesn't feel that much different than being in the US. Maybe it only feels that way when I am in the comforts (if you will) of my own home? Being out and about is sometimes stressful, but when I am rested and feeling well, not such a big deal. Very hard to explain. I keep waiting for the time when I will feel bored. So far that hasn't happened. I have many things on my "to do" list and I'm still waiting for that time to do them. I think I used to accomplish more in a day than I'm doing now, but maybe not? Everything here is basic -- I wash clothes by hand and hang them out. I buy fresh and cook on/with devices that are not at the standards we are used to. I like to bake, but no hand mixer or even a suitable bowl and then you bake in an oven that doesn't have a temperature guide, so you are constantly turning and checking. My mattress rests on the floor, so getting out of bed some days is a challenge (but I'm so lucky to have a mattress), etc. We take so much for granted in the US, this is good for me and it is indeed a reality check.

There are three young girls (12ish) (picture of the girls on a recent hike is attached) that constantly ask that I make pizza for them so I recently did just that. One of them I know quite well since she is a neighbor of my host family and I saw her often when I was living with them. Another is rather quiet and shy but sweet and I like her. The third – not so much…. Well surprisingly, the third young woman was eager to eat pizza and was willing to dive in. She thoroughly enjoyed herself finishing the meal off with jello and cookies that I had baked. The young woman that I know well, took one bite of the pizza and wanted no more. Did I have a tagine (kind of a stewed meal)? That is what she is familiar with. She took one spoon of the jello and spit it out. She even picked the raisins out of the cookies. The shy, timid one was in the middle with her response to the meal. Interesting reactions and a bit unexpected. Since our lunch, the problematic girl has become my best friend and wants to taste anything that is considered American. She may be the one that has the most potential? Perhaps her unwillingness to just accept “whatever “ is her way of wanting and getting more?

With spring temperatures I have my windows open more now. Several donkeys are frequently tied in a field near my home. One in particular brays constantly. I’m told by the locals that when a donkey brays he is seeing the devil. We must have a lot of devils here!!! Personally I think he’s in need of something. Maybe water? I try to walk a pail of water down to him (actually a pail for each donkey) during the day. It seems to help. I could become an animal advocate here, although this area isn’t as bad as the area where I did my initial training and this could probably be said of all developing countries. But still I see too many animals in need of a good meal. It breaks my heart. I have to hold myself back. But, if they lose their survival instinct, how will they survive when I eventually leave? And, because a hungry animal is dangerous, I’m told they are poisoning some of them now to decrease the number of them that roam freely. I really can’t think about this too much.

The new volunteers that arrived in Morocco in March will soon be heading to their permanent sites. The five that are training nearby are coming for lunch on Sunday to celebrate the new adventure ahead of them. All are leaving this area to parts of Morocco unknown to me. I see more travel in my future  A new volunteer will be coming to a town near me. Perhaps I’ll have a new friend? She is coming for lunch and a visit so that we can set up her post office box, visit the gendarmes (police) and the local government official.

Tired of reading? Okay, enough for now. I hope this finds you all well and enjoying spring to the fullest. Until next time – take care. Linda

Happy Spring!!! March Recap

2010-03-21T00:50:00.002-07:00

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.

3/20/10 – Dare I say this ??? I think “spring has arrived” !!! The past ten days or so have been lovely and spring like. I’ve been told that anything can happen in March though so I am trying to keep my excitement under wraps – it might just snow tomorrow. Not a lot different than Michigan’s March this year I’m told. So I’m feeling right at home.

Time is flying – can’t tell you where the days go? Seems like I am busy and doing something all the time, but what am I accomplishing? Let me start where I left off.

I did attend the cheese making workshop and it was good. One of the second year volunteers taught the workshop. We had a bit of difficulty with getting the cheese to set up correctly, and several of the recipes took a couple of attempts, but we did make yoghurt, ricotta, feta, neufchatel, and gouda cheese. Lisa (the instructor) couldn’t determine exactly what the cause of our problem was – perhaps the elevation we were at, the milk we were using, temperatures in the kitchen, etc.? Making cheese (at least these cheeses) is really quite simple but it does take some time. I made ricotta last week and it turned out great. Doubt that I will really make cheese at home often, but I now understand the basics of cheese making at least. The workshop was held in a town near Boumalen which is located in another part of the mountains, east of Ouarzazate so it took me to a new part of Morocco also. (There are lots of caves in this area and nomads live in them) The workshop was primarily offered to the local women. The volunteer in that site wants to expose them to new things that they can do and she and two other volunteers received grant money to offer workshops to expose them to cheese making, soap making and how to make confiture . Ten women gave up two days of their time to attend the cheese workshop. They remained attentive and seemed interested in learning about this. After the cheese was made, we did a lot of sampling and we then incorporated some of it into recipes that we later ate. Lots of laughter and hugging was shared throughout the days we spent together too!!

Back home for a few days and then I was off again. I was invited to sit on a panel of volunteers to chat with the 71 new volunteers that arrived in country in early March. We were told to “tell it as it is” and I think we did a pretty good job of it (right down to how to use the Turkish toilets like the locals do). I was the only one from my volunteer group and I was the only “older” individual on the panel. Being so new myself I could really relate to the questions and concerns that they had. Five of these new volunteers are now at a training site near my home. They walked the 14k to my home on March 14th and spent the afternoon with me. They are experiencing the emotional roller-coaster of training and I think they needed an American mom’s hug. We sat on my rooftop and ate the banana walnut bread I baked and big bowl of popcorn that I popped and washed it down with kool-aid, while we soaked up the sunshine and rejuvenated our spirits. I assured them that life does get better once you are through training and you are in your own home.

After my time with the new volunteers, I met up with friends and we headed east of Ouarzazate on the souq bus for a day of travel to the Aoufouse area where we stayed at Emily and Sean’s house for the night. Emily is a great cook and she fed us well, complete with fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Sunday morning. What a treat!! They live in a beautiful part of the country and palmeries (groves of palm trees) were abundant. We had a nice walking tour of their small town and then headed towards Merzouga which is located right on the edge of the Sahara and you can see the Algerian border in the background. We then joined a small tour group and hopped on our camels for a trek into the desert. We all named our camels and I named mine – Cecil (picture included). Not only did he look like a Cecil to me, but that was my dad’s name and I think he would have so enjoyed this adventure. Cecil was quite well behaved, but Princess Sara had an attitude. She balked and threw quite a fit. Guess she wasn’t in the mood for a walk that day. We rode camels for about two hours and watched the sun set over the Sahara that night. We camped in Berber tents (picture included) that evening and a lovely dinner was provided. We attempted to climb the dunes that evening, but didn’t make it very far, but we so enjoyed the night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a clear, star studded sky before. It was truly beautiful. After breakfast we boarded our camels once again and headed back. It was a trip well worth taking and I would recommend it if you should come visit me.

We then headed to the Tinerhir area where we spent time walking in the Gordes of Todra (picture included). A lovely area also where many hours could be spent hiking, but unfortunately, we didn’t have a lot of time to do this. Definitely worth the stop and glad we made time for it. Lucky for us, Wes, another volunteer lives in the area and he graciously invited us to spend the night with him, so we crashed at his home that evening. Wes is one of those really outgoing guys and he works with youth development. I swear he knows everyone in his town and his town isn’t that small. We had a nice visit and it was great to see his site also.

I only had an afternoon at my site and then I headed to Rabat for a follow-up on some medical tests the next day. The tests were okay and I only had to spend a day in Rabat. Since we now have more hours of daylight, I decided to make the trip to and from Rabat a day trip only. Of course that meant 14 hours of travel on buses and trains each day, but it was sooo good to be home again.

On March 14th I had a National Geographic tour group (16 people) stop in my village for tea in a Berber home. Amy, the volunteer before me somehow got connected with this group and I was asked if I would like to continue. Of course I said “yes”. Anna (my site mate – she lives in a town near me) and Abdellah (one of my tutors) also helped. The host home put out quite a spread of goodies for morning tea and they seemed to enjoy having guests very much. It really involved very little on my part (I just had to meet, greet & hug – something I ‘m a natural at) and it was a win-win for all I think. The family was reimbursed for expenses plus $$ and I was given a stipend to spend in the community as I saw fit. What a great group of people and I think it was both educational and enjoyable for them. Two more tour groups will visit this spring, one in April and one in May.

The days at my site have been spent at the association. Can’t remember if I told you this, but we have a new baby’s center and restaurant to open. Government funding paid for the facilities and my counterpart Bia was instrumental in getting it done. She has been working very hard. Actually, the baby’s center opened March 9th and the restaurant opened March 17th (picture included). Both are beautiful and have such great potential. I’m not of the opinion that they should be opened quite yet, since there is still some basic work to do, but what do I know? Hopefully we will have water soon to flush the toilets and a driveway and parking lot. I spent time showing them how to set up the rooms and make beds. Moroccans typically don’t use sheets on their beds and instead wrap up in blankets, so this was new to them. I scrubbed toilets, sinks and showers and they were sparkly clean when I finished with them. Explained what food should be kept in the refrigerator, etc. The baby’s center has beds for eight moms and their babies (picture included) and we have had four already use it. We have a small hospital in the village and they will have their babies there and then they will move to the baby’s center for a few days of recuperation. It was primarily built for those women who live in the surrounding towns and hills so that they have a place to stay after giving birth. Looks to me like the mom’s family helps with the care, cooking and cleaning of the center while they are there. I spent yesterday picking up around the sites and then burning the pile of rubble. Interestingly, the young girls made the comment to me of “shame on you” for doing this kind of work. I replied that no work was shameful – everything needs to get done by someone. Perhaps in time they will follow my example? They are not to blame – culturally this is what they’ve been taught and small things like garbage being strewn about have very little significance and quite honestly they don’t see it.

I have been trying to host a morning tea for ladies to celebrate International Women’s Day, and have yet to get that done. I have a date planned and then it has to be changed for one reason or another. I hope to do it on Monday, March 22nd. I plan to make a pineapple upside down cake and oatmeal raisin cookies. Popcorn seems to be a real treat too, so will make a big bowl of that. I intend to talk to them about taking care of themselves and the importance of hygiene. I would love to give them all a toothbrush and maybe I’ll spend a bit of that stipend from National Geographic and do just that. I also have some simple stretching exercises I would like to show them. They work extremely hard and their bodies take the toll from it. A few minutes of stretching would make them feel so much better. Hopefully it will be fun too – fajiji as they say here in Morocco.

I will leave my site on March 25th and head off to volunteer at a spring camp for teenagers. It is a Moroccan government sponsored camp and the PC has been asked to help with it. It is an English immersion camp and I will be teaching English. As part of the experience, we are all assigned to teach about an English speaking country as well. I will be teaching about Kenya. Now what do I know about Kenya?? Not that much, but I have been googling and trying to prepare myself. Thank goodness for this laptop and my satellite connection. The camp I will be at is located east of Tangiers on the Mediterranean coast. It will take me about three days to travel there. The camp lasts until April 4th and then I will head home once again. Looks like Easter will be spent on the road this year. For many years I have hosted my family for the Easter holiday weekend in Kalamazoo. I will miss doing it this year, but will fondly remember all those fun times we had.

Well my friends. I have much to learn about Kenya, lesson plans to write and other things to do, so best get with it. I hope all is good with you, that you are well and that spring has come for you too. Happy Easter. Until the next time. Hugs, Linda

February Update (Finally)

2010-02-21T14:25:00.001-08:00

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.

2/20/10 - I was away from site for 21 days in total – great to be home again. I had hoped to return to my small mountain town and find that spring had arrived. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Rain/snow and cold temperatures greeted me. Luckily the mountain pass (tiska) was open and buses could run and I made it home okay. The weather has continued to be winter-like since my return and for some reason the cold seems more intense now. I’ve even pulled out my down sleeping bag for sleeping purposes since I can’t seem to get warm. Let’s hope for an early spring.

I left my site on January 28th and met up with my friend, Donna in Kech. Seems I can’t go anywhere north that doesn’t go through Kech. We spent the afternoon exploring more new places and had dinner at an African restaurant - the name of which escapes me at this moment. Seasoned chicken and vegetables served over rice. It was great!! Not a late night for us, since we needed to be at the bus station for a 7 hour bus ride early the next morning.

We head northeast of Kech with the destination being Khenifra. Our friend Annie lives here and we plan to spend a day and a half with her at her site. The town itself is nothing special, but it is very nice and has everything you might need. They have a Sam’s and a Costco (not really, but they have nicknamed several stores these names since they are so well stocked) . Remember those pictures of my cement house – you should see Annie’s. Lovely painted walls and tile work throughout. Even marble countertops in the kitchen. She has it rough!! Guess that is one of the advantages of living in a small city. We visit her hammam on Sunday morning. It’s new and very clean. (The hammam in my town is hot, but looks dirty and lots of mold. Kind of creeps me out when I go there.) FYI - the hamman is a public bath. Your underpants are generally left on, but everything else is removed. There are three rooms, each one being a different temperature. It is steamy and hot. Buckets of hot water are available to pour over yourself. Once you are really sweating, you scrub yourself (sometimes other women want to help scrub you too – maybe I look that dirty?) with a very rough textured mitt. Old skin does roll off when you use one of these mitts!! I think it could draw blood. I can’t say that a hammam is refreshing, but it is relaxing and we certainly felt clean when we left. Annie was a wonderful hostess and a good time was had.

Now for the purpose of this trip – we have two weeks of post-PCV training. The entire group of us that came in September is together. We have lost nine people already for varying reasons, but most were voluntary early terminations. We are in the Middle Atlas Region and on one side are cedar and pine forests and on the opposite high meadows. It is a relaxing spot to unwind. The area is particularly known for its Berber carpets. The hotel is in a quiet, wooded spot, with a beautiful garden, just a short walk from the town. We obviously share rooms, but we have private showers with hot water, and towels, soap and toilet paper are provided. We are living high!!! This training was on the whole great. It was energizing and inspiring. We shared stories of our sites, frustrations and expectations. Most presentations were from current volunteers so they had great relevancy. They gave us suggestions, directions, advice and just plain “how to do”, hands-on experiences to relate to. We all left it thinking/believing that - we can do this too. Another good thing to come of this training is that I passed that darn language test. I am so glad I am over that hurdle. I still have a lot of learning the language ahead of me, and I will continue to meet with tutors, but that pressure is off. Whooo Hoooo.

We were given the weekend off between the two weeks of training and some of us went to Fez for that weekend. I have posted several pictures of Fez. See that rather close-up photo of Donna and me, see if you can read the sign behind us. Fez is said to be the spiritual and cultural centre of Morocco. Did you know that Morocco created the world’s first university (Kairaouine Mosque & University) centuries before Oxford and Cambridge? This mosque is also the largest mosque in Africa. The medina draws you in – narrow lanes, covered bazaars filled with aromatic food stands, craft workshops, mosques and a continual parade of people. Blind alleys lead to squares with fountains or they are filled with the hammering music of copper beaters. Getting lost in Fez is easy and that is part of the fun. You can’t visit Fez and not visit the tanneries. As you get deeper into the medina, just follow the stench of hide and dye and you will arrive in the leather district. Pits are everywhere filled with different colored dyes. Men are working in these pits stomping on the hides (as you would visualize stomping on grapes) - gosh what an awful job to have. Not only does the job REALLY stink, but to be that wet every day. Hides are drying on rooftops and hanging on walls. I’ve posted a picture of this. Interesting to see, but not where you would want to spend a lot of time. We had lunch one day at the restaurant talked about in the book “A House in Fez”. It is called Clock Café, although it is not called this in the book. That was fun since it was the book I read just before I left for Morocco. I love Fez and look forward to going back and spending more time exploring in the future.

Training ended on February 12th and a few of us traveled to Meknes on the 13th. I’m told you will either love Fez and hate Meknes or vice versa. Gotta say, I’m staying with loving Fez. Meknes is billed to be a smaller version of Fez, more laid back and with less hassle. It’s okay, just didn’t excite me too much. We did stumble across a wonderful carpet store though where the owner was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. I fell in love with a carpet of Fez colors (aqua, yellow and cobalt blue). I might just have to return to Meknes one day.

Just north of Meknes are the Roman ruins of Volubilis (picture posted). It is a wonderful archaeological site with many beautiful mosaics still preserved on the site. This site was settled by Carthaginian traders in the 3rd century. We just wondered at will, but next time I’m back I’ll take the tour to hear more of the stories. I know that this is a place that my son, Chris, will enjoy when he comes for a visit.

Everyone else headed home and I headed into Rabat for a GAD (Gender and Diversity) meeting. There are three of us new members joining the group. We visited the Association Feministe Autonome center one afternoon. They work with and help women in many ways (i.e., counseling, legal advice, finding refuge from dangerous home situations). They have three offices (Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech). The meeting was conducted in French and it was translated into English for us since we have all learned different Moroccan Arabic dialects. It was an interesting meeting and it is staffed with dedicated individuals. International Women’s Day is March 8th and we as a committee are encouraging our sites to recognize the work that women do and the contributions they make to the world. I am planning to host a morning tea for the women at the association and for the girls that attend classes there. I’m feeling pretty inspired and ambitious at the moment, and would like to later host something for the ladies that live near me. I’ll have to see if that mood continues.

On Wednesday, February 17th I began the trek back home, via Kech, of course. I had the company of a couple of other GAD members, so we just bummed around the afternoon and ate our way through the medina. Boarded a bus early on the 18th and I was homeward bound. Contracted a bit of a bug somewhere and felt quite miserable by the time I actually arrived home, but did arrive without making a mess on the bus. Literally dumped my wet stuff out of bags and went to bed. Slept eighteen hours with the exception of a few bathroom breaks, and now feel back to normal, thank goodness.

I am planning to attend a cheese making workshop later this week. It is a two day workshop, and it is being taught in English by another volunteer. I figure I need to know and understand the basics of cheese making before I even attempt to make recommendations to my association. I have ideas to propose, but need time to experiment and play a bit before I share them. Unfortunately, the workshop is a five hour bus trip away, so I’ll be away from site for another four days when you consider travel time.

The Peace Corps has three goals for its volunteers – briefly they are – (1) help people in meeting their needs for trained men and women, (2) help promote a better understanding of the American people to the peoples served, and (3) help promote a better understanding of the people you are living with to Americans. So far I haven’t done much with goal number 1, but I have thoughts and ideas and I think I’ve done pretty good with the other goals. It is easy to get frustrated and wonder what you are accomplishing. I have to remind myself that the date/nut bread that I baked this afternoon that I intend to share with lots of other people tomorrow is part of the purpose of my being here.

Hopefully the next time I write I will say “spring has arrived”. Until then stay safe, warm and take care. Bslama and Hugs, Linda