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!