From Morocco with Love

So I today I am beginning my journey to London, where I'm spending 2 weeks for Christmas and New Years with very dear old friends! I woke up at 9:30, finished packing and ate breakfast (bread and honey) and headed down to the Gendarmes (police) station. We're required to tell them when we leave the region, and also I needed to pick up my carte du sejour - my official Moroccan registration card, the equivalent to a Green Card!! - which had finally arrived. We've been waiting for this since June! Then he had one of the other gendarmes drive me to the taxi stand! I was so grateful I told him "Llayerhem waladeen" which means "may God bless your parents". I ended up getting the bus rather than a taxi, so that saved me 5Ds. When I got to Essaouira, I left my bag at the bus station baggage consignment area, and went Christmas shopping. ... (I can't tell you what I got in case you are one of the people on my list!)

I stopped at the sandwich shop my sitemate and I have started getting sandwiches from before we travel and got the chicken sandwich with everything on it. Not really sure what "everything" consists of. I usually have it eaten before I even realize what is happening. But other than the baked chicken, there are olives, beets, tomatoes, onions, some yogurt sauce and some hot sauce. Maybe rice sometimes. It tastes completely different every time I get it (it has been three different people making it the three times I've gone so far) but it is always surprisingly good! And it comes with fries (though they are admittedly a bit soggy). All for only 10 Ds (approximately $1.10). On my way to the bus there was a cart selling the biggest reddest most juicy looking strawberries I had ever seen. So I bought one of the medium sized crates for 15Ds (approximately $1.90). A bit of a splurge, but I felt I needed something of a reward for the long travel day ahead. I got to the bus station, got my bag out of consignment, bought my ticket, and headed out to the bus lot. As I followed the voices calling, "Marrakch!!" and approached the bus, it was pulling out. They grabbed my bags and slid them into the compartment as I passed them the baggage fee, and I jumped on. They keep the doors open for both the luggage compartment and the passenger area, and pull out of the station really slowly, because half the passengers get on as it's pulling out. Perfect timing!

I happily ate my lunch and strawberries as we drove, while listening to music and reading "The People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. He inspires the revolutionary in me. I read 20 pages during the bus ride (it's a 688 page book and I have been making great progress - only have 268 pages to go). Got to Kech, got a taxi and made sure he wasn't going to overcharge me (by asking how much it was going to be before getting in) and then he took me to Jam3 Ifna (the main square in Marrakech with the flame throwers and the snake charmers and the monkey men). This is where the "Peace Corps" hotel is (not officially a Peace Corps hotel, but we all regularly stay there and we have an understanding with the proprietor).

He said there weren't any single rooms left (at the rate of 50 Ds) but he would let me have a double for the discounted rate of 70Ds (instead of 100) so I sighed and decided it was worth 20Ds extra to not have to lug my bags around and find another hotel that DID have a single room. So here I am happily lying on my bed eating strawberries and waiting for my hunger to build so I can go out and get the chef salad at that one cafe I went to last time. I have to find out how far it is to the airport so I know how early to start out tomorrow, but it shouldn't be too bad either way because my flight is at 12:10. Tonight is all about charging my ipod and loading up movies (just downloaded some software to convert .avi files to .mp4 files so I can put Casino Royale on my ipod - WHAT UP!) in case the journey starts to drag tomorrow.

This is the first time I've left the country since I got here over 9 months ago. This life I lead here in Morocco, which I have come to regard with a certain sense of familiarity, half the time seems normal and the other half of the time I can't believe this is my life, and shake my head at the wonderous miracles, or ridiculous frustrations I encounter. So who knows what kinds of insights I'll gain while I'm away from it for a bit! I feel peaceful, happy and expansive. But mostly, I know that as the plane gets closer and closer to landing in London, I will be nothing but excited. I can't wait to see my friends!!

Working in Morocco

Everyone kept saying wait till October. Work will pick up in October. And they were right. After four months of integrating and building relationships, setting up our apartment and figuring out the basics of living here, learning the language, doing some Peace Corps-related traveling, and reading as much as I could about development work - not to mention enduring the month of Ramadan - the fall weather is bringing renewed vigor in work.

I am lucky in that I am placed with a very proactive group of association members who already have a long list of things they want me to do. I haven't had to go out and look for, or create, work for myself at all. So I'm grateful for this. The month started with several weekly meetings about projects, meeting with the beneficiaries of the project to hammer out details, and then working on project proposals which I then submitted to the association. Although the pressure can sometimes feel overwhelming, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd much rather be stressed than bored!

I am working with three associations: Association Ahadan, Association Noor, and Association Green Valley. Ahadan and Noor are focused primarily on women's development, whereas Green Valley does general development with an environmental focus. I have been asked by Association Ahadan to do lots of teaching work: to teach English and Health to the high-school-age girls living at the student house (out-of-town students who come to the high school in Talmest), to do a Health Club for the elementary aged students at one of the elementary schools in the town, and to teach dance/exercise to the local women three nights a week. In addition, I want to do health workshops for the broader community, and in neighboring Sidi Abdel Jalil where there are several brothels, on sexual and reproductive health.



I was approached yesterday by a high school student asking for English tutoring to help her prepare for her Baccalaureate exam, so I am thinking I will hold a Bac study group once or twice a week for those who want to attend. I am supposed to be helping teach English at the high school, as well as have a Health Club that I think will have a Public Health focus, and will work with my sitemate's Environmental Club on things like trash and water projects, as soon as the new principal comes and we can get it going.

The associations have also asked me to do some business development work: they want to help empower the women financially through argan oil production and sales, in particular to do market research to find markets abroad for the women to sell their products. In addition, I also want to do some NGO development work with all three associations - in particular workshops on things such as the laws that apply to NGOs and small businesses and how to navigate the bureaucracy to apply for available government funding, to enable the associations to function better in striving towards their goals. Of course, the thrust of all of my work should be in equipping them to carry on better after I leave than before I came. I'm not here to take over for them.

So there is no shortage of work and I'll be spending a good part of my time writing lesson plans - a new but engaging challenge for me! And of course a big obstacle in this endeavor is language. Teaching, in particular, is heavy on communication. So my first reaction is to freak out, conclude I can't possibly do this, and retreat into my shell. However, then I have to pull myself out again and remind myself that there ARE ways. First, the association has assured me that one of the members will always be there with me in the sessions to assist with language (and perhaps helping to maintain order in the classroom). Secondly, I am surrounded by people who can translate for me. So I can write my lesson for the day, and send it off to be translated, and then use it as a guide during the class to give me the words to use to communicate concepts to the kids, as well as to learn new words myself.

And third, I have FINALLY - after 4 months of searching - found a tutor myself, so perhaps I actually might learn this language and be able to do some of this communication myself. The tutor used to work with Peace Corps about ten years ago as a language trainer, so understands where we are coming from. He speaks English quite well - he has a degree in English Literature from a Moroccan university - and is very smart and energetic. I'm so grateful to have found him. And now just need to continue to integrate daily study time into my schedule...

I'll keep you posted as I begin each new project so you can follow me in my efforts and hopefully encourage me and give me strength to keep putting my best forward. I really do hope to empower the people of Talmest - especially the women and girls - to find the best in them, to open their eyes to their own capacity to rise above mindsets that are destructive to their own gifts. I hope we can all come to greater understanding that the humanity within us all is more important than the different cultural or gendered manifestations of it. I want to help everyone find greater freedom to more really and truly fully live their lives.

And in so doing, find it myself.

CATCH-UP ENTRY #1 This Is It: CBT and Introduction to Life in Morocco

The day I was to meet my first host family was one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life. After five days of a whirlwind of staying in hotels, being fed three meals a day, going to trainings in everything from preventing diarrhea to rudimentary Arabic, and bus rides through Morocco, it was time for the real thing. We left from our hotel in Ouarzazate and headed east into the desert, to a small village 45 minutes away. As I sat in the transit watching the desert pass by the window, I felt the landscape was as foreign and unknown as what lay ahead.

Right before the suq town of Skoura, we veered off onto a barely passable dirt road heading towards the village of Oulad L’Arbiya. After about 15 minutes of jostling about, we turned up to the village, which was essentially just a row of low dirt buildings lining the road. We drove through the long narrow town, curving around at the end, driving through a mud gate, and pulling up at the school, which was an unfinished house on the outside of town.









The rest was in somewhat of a haze. We were ushered into the main room of the schoolhouse. Long and narrow, with windows on two sides, it was decorated and furnished in typical Moroccan style. Carpets covered three quarters of the floor, and pillows lined three walls.



Some families had already gathered in the room. Women and children sat against the pillows smiling but probably as nervous as we were. We were told to sit with them so we all awkwardly took off our shoes and found spots on the carpet. Our LCF (Language and Cultural Facilitator) was reading off the names of trainees and the corresponding names of their families. Greetings, hugs and nervous laughing would then ensue.

My heart dropped to my feet when my name was called. I was introduced to Suquena, who turned out to be the second oldest daughter of my host family. She was cordial and seemed surprisingly calm about it all, whereas I felt about as self-possessed as a dolphin on a mountain path. I came to learn that although this was the first time I had ever done anything like this, she, at the tender age of 18, had done it twice before since her family had already hosted two volunteers.

After we all had tea and cookies, we all took our luggage and dispersed with our host families. I did not understand anything Suquena was saying to me but we communicated somehow. I followed her home, which was a short walk down the road behind the school. The road marked the furthest reaches of the town and beyond it, the desert. Reddish rocky terrain, dotted sparsely with rugged shrubs, stretched out as far as the eye could see. To the northwest was a majestic snow-covered mountain range. The houses on the other side of the road were the same color, made from the same reddish soil. Mud houses. I was going to live in a mud house!



We passed two of these houses before veering off the road onto a path leading between a pit and the mud wall of their house. We rounded the corner into the main yard, where laundry was drying in the wind. It was a serene spot with a lush garden stretching the length of the main yard.

She brought me into the house and gave me a tour. It seemed quite large once you got inside. There were two large salons, one of which doubled as the parent’s bedroom, a family room, three additional bedrooms, a kitchen, a courtyard off which was the bathroom and a storage room, which also held a mud pen where they kept their 12 sheep, and a storage room off the kitchen.
As I walked through the mud hallways, which were so low and rough-hewn I had to duck through doorways, I laughed out loud at the wonder of it all. I was going to live in a mud house!



They showed me to my room, which was decidedly non-mud-like. I registered this with a mixture of relief and disappointment, as well as awe at the grand and generous hospitality that they would give clearly the best room in the house to a stranger who was coming to live with them for two months.







This would only be the first taste of a smorgasbord of hospitality I would experience over the next two months. I had survived the hardest part – meeting the family. Now the adventure of living here with them could begin!

At Home in Morocco

I have been in Morocco now for four months and three and a half weeks. In some ways the time has flown by – or stood still – because it's hard to believe it has been almost five months. But in other ways it feels like it has been a lifetime because it's hard to remember a time before the crazy new life I'm leading didn't feel normal. Though it wasn't until this past week, I think, that I really hit equilibrium. Meaning, I feel I have finally reached a level of normalcy in my consciousness and awareness of my surroundings. The feeling of being constantly overwhelmed has finally ebbed. My mind and soul are finally feeling comfortable – and at home - enough to be rooted and to start to reach beyond to build new dreams and plans for my life and work here. It's a good feeling.

Of course, being physically in my own home has had a lot to do with that. My roommate and I fell in love with a little apartment with a rooftop terrace and on July 2nd, moved in. We then celebrated our independence along with that of the American people two days later - in proper style with Mexican food! :-)



Since then, we have made good progress in furnishing and equipping the apartment for living, though at the same time adjusting to a different standard of living. We bought a brand new refrigerator, but our stove is simply a propane tank sitting on the floor, called a Butagaz, with a burner on top. We have basic dishes, a pot and pan, and silverware, though nothing to put them in so they merely sit stacked on the counter near the sink. Our sofa consists of three foam mattresses lining the wall. But we have a wonderful Moroccan rug and custom-made table in the living room.



Our bedrooms are slowly being made our own. I have a mattress with colorful bedding, an aluminum and cloth armoire that holds all my clothes neatly, and a bookshelf that holds the rest of my stuff. I am waiting for the custom-made platform bed for my mattress as well as nightstand to get the rest of my stuff off the floor and complete my bedroom. The colorful rug and wall-hangings, map of Morocco and a map of Africa, make the space feel like mine.



The outdoor area, the big rooftop terrace that is all our own, is the centerpiece of the apartment. We found a little rubber blow-up pool at Marjane. You can stretch out and be fully immersed in water so it really helps to stave off the summer heat in the absence of air conditioning. I like doing pilates out here, or just lying in the sun reading. With the table and four chairs positioned in the alcove by the window, it is really our second living room. Or first, really. It's a great place, especially after it cools off a bit in the evenings, to sit and eat, play scrabble, or just visit while watching the stars overhead.

Feeling at home in my community is another story so I’ll save that for another entry. For the time being, however, having a place to call home gives me the mental space – not to mention the time I haven’t had up till now – to write. So I will take this newfound opportunity to fill you in on my time here so far, focusing on the most important or common aspects of my experience. In that spirit, the next few blog entries will be catch-up entries. Enjoy and thanks for reading!

"Guests who arrive in the rain bring good things."

I have been in Morocco now for one month! It's not so much that I have been neglecting my blog as I have been throwing all my energy into my new life here. Plus, the internet availability has been a bit sketchy. But enough prologue; time to fill you in.

When I stepped off the plane in Morocco in the early morning of March 16, 2011, I stepped foot on the continent of Africa for the first time in my life. We were met by a warm rain which somehow made it more magical. We were told that guests who arrive when it's raining will bring good things. From that moment, we were scooped up by the Peace Corps, ushered through the diplomatic line at the airport - which gave me a thrill - and onto busses where they gave us bags of yogurt, fruit and candy bars for the journey.

We sped through the Moroccan landscape, watching as it changed from flat and green, to flat and brown, to brown and rocky, to rocky and mountainous. I was dazzled by our hotel in Marrakech - sprawling lawns, villas and a sparkling pool that made me drool. It was too cool yet to swim in it, but sitting by it and soaking up the rays – plus being fed three sumptuous meals a day – made me feel that Peace Corps is the life!



Though unfortunately, we had only limited time to enjoy it. We spent hours every day in trainings for safety, security and some basic language.

Three days later we all took the recommended Dramamine and got back on the bus for the three hour ride through the mountains. I was shocked and touched to find that we had a royal police escort with a siren the entire 4 hour trip. To me, this spoke volumes about the incredible hospitality of Moroccans. The cop on the motorcycle made all the other cars pull over when we passed. Even on narrow mountain passes!



The bus swayed quite liberally, and often there were no railings. I was sitting right in the front and had several mini panic attacks that were purely traffic-related.

I was struck by the dramatic change in the landscape - we had desert to green rolling meadows to rugged mountains and back to desert again. All in a mere 204 kilometers (or 126 miles).









Upon our arrival in Ouarzazate we were greeted by the sprawling grounds of the Atlas Studios: the biggest movie studio in the world. It includes a replica of Jerusalem, and was the site for the filming of Lawrence of Arabia, Kingdom of Heaven and Babel. Our hotel was on the main square in Ouarzazate, and from the roof, you could see the charming desert medina stretching out before you.

I was enchanted, running on adrenaline, and started to realize for the first time I was in Morocco! But we were most excited to learn that we had more internet access in this hotel so we could be in contact with friends and family from home.

We spent the day in sessions, being familiarized with everything from Peace Corps policies to how to avoid committing faux pas with your family to how to use the Turkish toilet. Last but not least, we learned our assigned language - either the Berber dialects Tashelheit or Tamazight, or Arabic - and our assigned training community. I was assigned to learn Arabic! And being sent to a small town called Oulad L’Arbiya about 45 minutes away from Ouarzazate. It was right on an oasis and the primary oasis was pottery. I thought it sounded lovely! We met our LCF (Language and Cultural Facilitator) Mohammed who would be going to our village with us, teaching us language and culture for 8 hours a day, and just generally holding our hands through the cultural integration process.



Immediately after learning our languages, we had our first lesson. The thing that struck me about Arabic was how difficult and harsh the sounds are. There are about four different kinds of throat growls you have to produce at different levels. And if you get it wrong, you just said a different word. And it might be like “penis” or “gambling”. So no pressure at all.

The rest of the time just went by in a blur. I was on a high for the next day or so and enjoyed a bit of relaxation and basking before ... dun dun dun!... it was time to meet our host families! Ulp!

Do I Dare Breathe A Sigh Of Relief?!?!

It is officially ten days before I leave!!! It has been a long journey - starting on November 12th when I received my invitation to serve in Morocco for the Peace Corps - and I honestly wasn't sure if I'd make it. But it looks like "it" - this ellusive, theoretical, mystical and epic journey to (what may as well be) Mars in just a few short days time - actually might happen! Though my to-do list still manages to keep growing - albeit more slowly than before - the number of things I have crossed off of it boggles my mind. I am generously and humbly listing them for you below.

Note: I tell you these things not to complain about everything I had to do. Not in the LEAST. Despite being overwhelmed by it all, I am filled with tremendous gratitude and awe at the miracles it took to get me here, and wish to honor the mountain I have climbed as a testament to the commitment I have for this journey I and the love and joy I feel for it. Please read between the lines to see the emotional roller coasters that followed - both the sinking dread and the indescribable elation when an obstacle - sometimes just a very small one - was overcome. Some of the items have been condensed (I have omitted the gory details to protect your delicate sensibilities). Find below my wholly inadequate list which woefully understates the whole rigamarole! :-D

1. Interviewed four management companies
2. Selected a management company
3. Advertised apartment on various websites
4. Showed apartment to potential tenants
5. Corresponded with tenants
6. Found a perfect tenant
7. Found a perfect new home for my cat
8. Painted bedroom (with the help of five fabulous friends)
9. Hosted going away party (with 21 fabulous friends)
10. Acquired boxes and packed up all of my personal possessions
11. Rented car and drove to Michigan through an ice storm with a Ford-Focus-full of my most precious possessions (including my drugged cat)
12. Drafted power of attorney form (with a little help from The Internets)
13. Selected a person to act as my POA
14. Arranged for Verizon (with the help of the National Peace Corps Association - http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2010/12/ncpa-to-phone-companies-parity-for-pcvs/) to waive my early termination fee for my Blackberry (which would have been $350!)
15. Listed, sold and shipped over $300 worth of my stuff on Amazon.com
16. Donated an entire carload of stuff to Goodwill
17. Acquired French language materials and spent many hours studing French
18. Made doctor and dentist visits and sumbitted final medical forms to Peace Corps
19. Attended a weekend Peer Counseling Training Workshop at the Whitman Walker Clinic
20. Volunteered at an Inclusive Security Conference
21. Went to DC office of Regulatory Affairs to obtain a copy of my Landlord license
22. Visited with as many people as possible (including trips to Jackson, Quantico, and NYC)
23. FINALLY finished my Turkey scrapbook
24. Filed taxes
25. Arranged my financial affairs (ok this is really items 25 through 100, but we don't need to bore you).
26. Found a place to stay post condo-move-out pre-Peace-Corps-departure
27. With the help of a faithful friend and two reluctant cabbies moved myself and the rest of my stuff (which was more than I thought (what can I say, I have rabbits - my stuff multiplied!)) across town to the home of another faithful friend and up three flights of stairs to my new temporary abode.
28. Dealt with a few move in/maintenance issues for my tenant
29. Shopped for and ordered items for Peace Corps
30. Worked full time and saved as much money as possible!!!

And yay for the members of Facebook's Peace Corps Morocco March 2011 group so I didn't have to go through all this alone!

An Empowering Development

On Monday December 13th, about a month after my original invitation, the NGO Development program I had been invited to in Morocco was cancelled. I was given the option to switch to another program in Morocco or go to another country to do NGO Development. After a week of deliberation, I decided to stick with Morocco and be a Health Educator and Community Development volunteer. I was a little disappointed about not being in NGO Development, but it wasn't strong enough to pull me somewhere else. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but Morocco was calling me and I just had to answer.

After adjusting to the idea of this slightly different work, I am now more motivated than ever. I am building my knowledge to empower myself by studying about Morocco, its economics, culture and religion and learning its languages, and devouring materials about the principles and practices of development - in particular Peace Corps' An NGO Training Guide for Peace Corps Volunteers. I’m delighted to discover that the work development actually entails at the ground level is something I'm excited about and feel I’ll be well suited to. I can't wait to find ways to use the knowledge I'm acquiring and the skills I'll gain in pre-service training (PST), and by applying any natural capacity I discover I have for the work, to pursue what I'm most passionate about: empowering my new community to strengthen themselves from the inside out.

Essentially, the primary challenges all the Volunteers will face, and the primary skills we'll all be learning, will be communicating with and understanding a country’s people and their needs, and figuring out how to ultimately meet those needs within their cultural context. It is this process of empowerment, after all, not a particular field, sector or job description, that is the real work of the Peace Corps. And it is exactly why I wanted to join in the first place.