Pre-Ramadan shenanigans

            First of all I would like to apologize to those I tried to set up multiple skype dates with this past month and was not available. With the time difference, zero internet at site, and the inconsistent internet when I am able to connect, skyping is difficult. Please know that I would never intentionally ignore any of you.  

Last week we had PPST (Post pre-service training) up north. It was Quad’s birthday a few weeks ago so a bunch of us went up to Fes for a belated celebration. I always felt that transportation in Morocco was awful compared to other places I have been, however, this day verified my opinion regarding the bus system in this country. The plan was to meet Alex on a bus towards Marrakech, then catch the train to Fes. This entire trip should take on average 12-14 hours. I left my house at 8am, and finally met up with Alex at around 4. Take note that the trip from my site to his site should only take 2-3 hours. We finally made it to Marrakech (city of American goods such as McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut) around 9pm. I know that these restaurants are not usually recognized as delicious cuisine, however, live in Morocco for 5 months and trust me, you will change your mind. We got off the bus and immediately headed to Pizza Hut. Alex and I walked in to the restaurant looking frumpy, sweaty, and wildly unattractive, and were surrounded by modern Moroccans and foreigners. As we ate our delicious stuffed crust pizza (with real pepperoni), we sat and stared at the beautiful people, as if we’ve never seen girls in short skirts and nicely groomed men. The lifestyle in our rural, bled sites is quite different than a big, modern city like Marrakech, so we sat and enjoyed the cheese and attractive people. This is what living in the bled does to a person, scary to think I have 20 more months of this life. We safely made it to Fes and 8am the next morning. Total travel time: 24 hours. We ate McDonalds twice while in Fes J  

            I finally returned to site on Monday and will be here (with the exception of heading to the city for internet and a birthday BBQ for James next weekend) until the end of August. To be honest, it feels good knowing that I can put all of my time and energy in Tamalakoute. My daily schedule consist of waking up, working out, making my coffee, then I start my ‘work.’ Like I have mentioned before, I haven’t, nor will I, start any real projects for a couple months. Part of this is because I need to assess the needs of my community and I want to work on my language (which is still appalling). Therefore, work for me right now is going out on walks, getting invited to tea, and sitting awkwardly with everybody as I try to speak tashleheet. Getting tea invites takes no time, as most people in my village are eager to get to know me. It must seem like a joke to most of you back home knowing that your tax dollars are going to people like me who, at the moment, their job consists of drinking tea with Moroccans. Therefore I am hoping that I can eventually astound all of you when I actually start real projects. Until then, I am a slave to this rigorous and time consuming work schedule.

 After talking to other volunteers at PPST, I have realized how lucky I am to be in the Ouarzazate region AND to be in a small village. The people in Ouarzazate are amazing, especially in small villages where everybody knows one another. Tamalakoute is great because I can wear t-shirts, I can paint my nails, and wear my hair down (mostly signs of a prostitute). Also, men greet me and sit with women for meals. There are areas where the women don’t even leave their homes, so living in Tamalakoute is quite the positive experience when it comes to living in a Muslim country.

            Ramadan starts on Sunday night and I have to admit I am frightened about the whole month of August. I have to leave my site to get food (other than basics like jam and eggs) so I am not sure how to get out of site when people will be fasting. Many volunteers like to fast during Ramadan, however, I have opted to do otherwise. Experiencing Ramadan in a Muslim country is a rare experience, but I have no desire to not drink water in 100 degree weather. Needless to say, August is going to be rough. If anybody has any book recommendations to get me through this, please send me an email or message on facebook. Thanks!

Brief highlights of June

It’s been a while since I’ve written, and much has happened in the month of June, so I will give you a quick overview of what’s been going on. In the beginning of the month, a group of us (a mixture of older volunteers along with us newbie’s in the Ouarzazate province) went on a nomad hike. The purpose of these hikes is to trek and locate groups of nomads and to survey certain health related issues within the families. We then send off the questionnaires to the Ministry of Health with hopes of providing mobiles in the region to give them vaccinations and an opportunity to see a nurse or doctor, since clinics are not easily accessible to nomads. After they answer our questions, we provide them with soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. The newbie’s couldn’t do much because our language is still very limited, so we mainly shadowed the other volunteers. The trek was more strenuous than we predicted, and after the first day we questioned if we were ever going to walk again. We did make the best of our pain, often by busting out in to songs by Lady Gaga and even performed Nsync’s ‘Bye bye bye’ for everybody on top of a mountain. However, most of us were happy we did it, and now have a better understanding of how to do these treks, which is something many of us want to continue to do.

            Last week I went to a music festival in the beach town called Essaouria. About 70 volunteers all over Morocco were there and we rented 2 ‘hotels.’ Not only was it great meeting other volunteers, it was amazing getting out of the Ouarzazate province for the first time. Needless to say, it was a much needed good time.

            After arriving in Morocco in June, I have been living out of my suitcase and living with 2 different host families. Living with a host family is although a good experience, is extremely tough. We have no control over what we eat (tagine EVERYDAY), and are always checking in with our families. However, that all changed a couple days ago when I FINALLY reclaimed my independence and moved in to my new house. Although it’s not as posh as other Peace Corps houses, I love my new casa. It has 4 small bedrooms, a living room, a nice kitchen, a bathroom (no shower so bucket baths will be had for the next 2 years), and a roof with a 360 degree view of the mountains. Getting everything I need for my house is a pain, especially since I am so rural and have to haul things from the city to my village every time I want to buy something. This week I have made 3 separate trips to the city and still need many more things to get my house in order. I’m trying to get everything done before Ramadan (beginning August 1^st), as transportation during that time will be scarce. For my first meal to celebrate my newfound freedom, I cooked up a box of Velveeta shells and cheese, sent to me in an awesome care package from my wonderful parents. It was the best batch of Velveeta I’ve ever eaten in my life.

            The other day the transit from my site to the main road arrived and as I opened the door, there was a giant cow sitting there. The driver told me to sit up front and I just closed the door and sat in the front seat. It took me a minute, but I turned around and laughed to myself. I’ve only been here for 3 months and do not find the fact that a large cow sitting in my transit was odd. It made me think of a conversation I was having with fellow PCV’s and how after being here, certain things that we would find unusual is now ordinary. We laugh at how crazy we are all going to be upon completion of our 2 years here. I suggested that the Peace Corps provide us all with intensive therapy once we go home, just so we can get back to ‘normal.’ Everybody agreed….

            After heading to a friend’s house in the city of Ouarzazate for a 4^th of July party (no bacon or hotdogs were eatenL ), my standard group of volunteer friends in my region are working an English immersion camp for the week. A group of about 15 high school students were selected to attend this camp where we will provide them with activities such as theatre class, volleyball classes, leadership exercises, etc. It will be a lot of work (days start at 8:00am until 10:30pm), but so far, I am enjoying working with young Moroccans.

Hope everybody had a wonderful 4^th of July!