July #2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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