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!