Two months in Morocco down, only 24 more to go

To be honest with you all, writing in this blog will not be consistent. After being here for 10 weeks I have come to terms with the fact that for the next 2 years internet will be slow and not dependable. That said, I will do my very best to keep you all updated of my whereabouts in Morocco.

I finish training and swear in as an official Peace Corps volunteer on May 25. My job title in the Peace Corps is a Community Health Educator in Rural Morocco. I won’t bore you with my training schedule, however I’ll give you a very brief description of what my life has been like since my arrival in March. There are about 58 of us who arrived together and were broken up in to small groups for training. Four others and I (along with our teacher) have been living in a village 20 minutes away from the city of Ouarzazate called Tazentoute. I have been learning the Berber dialect Tashlheet, which in my opinion is the most confusing and frustrating language on earth. (I mean really, what is the point of conjugating adjectives?) However, I was lucky enough to get placed with an amazing host family who has taken me in as their own. They have demonstrated an immense amount of patience and tell me I speak great Tashlheet, even though I know it’s a lie.

            A month ago our final sites were announced and we were sent to visit our assigned locations for a week. I am going to be living in a very small village (population: 401) an hour and a half away from the city of Ouarzazate called Tamalakort. Tamalakort is nestled at the base of the High Atlas Mountains, and as my new volunteer friend Alexa described, has a lot of character. My second day I decided to go on a walk and as I sat on a mountain and looked around, all I could do was laugh. Here I was, my blonde American self, alone in the middle of Morocco, and all that surrounded me were sheepherders and their sheep. It hit me that this was going to be my life for the next 2 years. In reality, I wanted to cry (and I did this once I got home), however I have accepted that I have many challenges and many more uncomfortable situations in my future, and I need to keep reminding myself that this is what I wanted. After only being in Tamalakort for 5 days, it became clear that the idea of a single 27 year old girl is blasphemy. There were at least eight women in Tamalakort telling me not to worry, they will find me a Moroccan husband. I need to learn how to say “Thanks, but I’ve already been promised to James Franco” in Tashlheet.

            So much has happened since I got here and yet I often don’t have the right words to describe to you all what it’s really been like. Moroccans are probably the most hospitable people on earth. It is difficult to walk through my village without an invitation for tea. I am still trying to conquer the Turkish toilet (for those of you that don’t know what this is, please Google image it immediately) and not a day has passed that I haven’t peed on myself. While rinsing my laundry (Yes I have to hand wash everything) I did loose my underwear to this evil contraption and almost lost a sock as well. I can’t count how many times my family just looks at me and laughs, and I laugh too, still not knowing what the hell is going on. Luckily, I have met some pretty amazing fellow volunteers, and it took many of them no time to comment on my laugh or tell me I walk like a duck.

            There are a bunch of committees within Peace Corps Morocco such as a Gender committee and an HIV/AIDS committee. I ran for the VSN (Volunteer Support Network) committee and was excited that my fellow volunteers voted for me to be their representative. The VSN committee serves as a strong support network for volunteers during their service. I will be traveling to the capital city of Rabat every 3 months for the meetings with other representatives. I am really looking forward to supporting my new friends these next 2 years, as we all know there are many challenging and frustrating days ahead of us.

            The other day my training group had a going away party for our families in Tazentoute. My host brother and his friend (around 9 or 10 years old) were sitting next to us and our cook was serving them food. We asked our cook to stop and made them get up and serve themselves. Although this won’t change their attitude of the role of women in their village, I was overwhelmed with joy as I watched them pour their own drinks without the help of their mothers. While Morocco is a progressive Muslim country, there are still many conservative families, especially in the rural areas. Being the feminist that I am, learning to live in a world where women empowerment isn’t valued will probably be the biggest challenge I will face. These 2 months in Morocco have made it clear to me how lucky I am to be American. 

            Within the next couple weeks I plan on posting a wish list. I welcome any care packages or even letters from you all. I’ve only been here for two months and I already feel terribly homesick, so even a card from my wonderful friends or family members will be greatly appreciated.