(Click the photos to enlarge them!)
April: We had Spring Camp- an English Language Immersion camp hosted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. I co-coordinated this camp with a number of Moroccan staff and had the unending help of 4 other PCVs to put on a fun camp in the city of Oujda for high school kids between 13 and 17 years old. It was a sleep-away camp that lasted the entire week of their spring break. There were tears at the end.(not the most flattering photo but I wasn't in too many of them.)
Early May: I went to a city called Goulmima (300km from where I live) to do Project Design and Management for a hip hop group who work with a volunteer. This particular group is talented and really wanted to finish producing their CD. I am all for supporting the arts so I agreed to come and help them focus their energy on actually getting it DONE as opposed to just talking about it. While the other PCV who works with them is 100% capable, I think it helped them take it seriously when they found out that "outside resources" were being brought in. It also did some good in the realm of gender development- the leader of the hip hop group asked where the Goulmima Volunteer's "business man" was, when I was right there. They did, indeed, get their CD finished! Visit their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/S7rawa-boys/144435102263982 . All their songs are in Moroccan Arabic with a little English worked in and very wholesome- about respecting your mother, quitting smoking, etc.
Late May: I went to Tanger to work with the Moroccan Special Olympics. These are Olympic Games for the mentally handicapped- particularly, Moroccans under 30. 23 other volunteers and I were selected to act as "coaches" in the games. (Personally, I timed the track and field events!) Apparently, this is a rough place to have a disabled person in your family because there is a social stigma associated with it along the lines of how disability is a "punishment from God." (not my words.) This was the first year that Peace Corps participated on an official level with the Special Olympics and both parties loved it so much we'll most likely participate with bigger numbers next year!
June: In-Service Training. For a week and a half in June I traveled to our In-Service Training (IST) that all PC volunteers participate in after six months of service-meaning after about 8.5 months in country, including training time. It was held in the beach town of Mehdia. Most of what I got out of training was the opportunity to brain storm and share ideas about projects and activities and hear what other PCVolunteers are up to. This photo was taken on the beach outside our training facility. Despite that training can be boring- when 67 PCVs get together there is always fun to be had- this was our highly organized beach dodgeball game. We played with brackets. My team lost, but then the losers played a losers bracket and we won!! (yay?) I'm in the white tank top in the photo- a little taste of clothing freedom- just about the only place in Morocco I could get away with it! (btw, YES, two days after training ended was the Shakira concert in Rabat, just a taxi ride away from Mehdia. So I did stay a little extra to attend. I was already on the other side of the country for goodness' sake!)
Last weekend: I went to a village called Beni Tajjit (it's on google maps!). THIS was an all business weekend- exhausting! (no other PCVs participated) The president of a women's weaving association invited me to help her do a workshop in Beni Tajjit. This workshop was to teach the (mostly illiterate) Berber women the Berber alphabet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berber_languages ) Now, don't get me wrong- this was not so much a literacy workshop as a business workshop. These women weave traditional carpets and sell their carpets to tourists. They traditionally weave the berber letter "zaid" into them. This workshop was to teach them weaving techniques to incorporate these letters into their designs. The president of the weaving association has generally worked with the Small Business Development volunteer but the previous two volunteers sent to her Early Terminated. (it can be tough out here...) So we've formed our relationship and I went along with her to help as another hand, photographer, and personal assistant. It was very rewarding culturally and I have lots to say about it that will probably be another entry. I got VERY very sick and threw up on a moving bus. Attractive. (I'm in the second group photo, next to the woman with bright yellow hijab.)
So that's all for now in terms of my traveling adventures. Yes, my weekends here and there, when I'm with other PCVolunteers, are VERY fun and entertaining and we do a great job of turning business trips into working vacations. (Take them where you can get them, right?) I can't even describe how wonderful it is to get together after a month or so of little English and being in the countryside. To make my point- no, Dad, I'm not constantly running around frolicking away my time and hopefully these visual representations helped convince you!! :)
