traveling and PC.

This past weekend was Independence day! I was able to get away for the weekend and visit a beautiful city outside Errachidia where a fellow volunteer lives. I spent the weekend there and we celebrated our nation's founding wearing Red, White, and Blue and reminiscing on what our lives were like back in the states. On my way back home, my dad called me and expressed concern that I seem to be gone a lot. I thought about it and I realized that there is quite a bit of traveling associated with Peace Corps; whether for trainings, national events, or other happenings. He (semi-jokingly) wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting tax payer dollars. I assured him I was not. I LOVE being in my city and am happy to stay here. Traveling in Morocco, especially from where I live, is Hard Work! So I thought it would be a good blog entry to document, photographically, the different places I have traveled since April.

(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!! :)

(rode my bike 13km outside my city, turned around, and snapped this photo. Crazy how fast it disappears into the desert!)

By the way

This is an addendum to the blog just posted below:

I added new photos to my daily life album on facebook.

Copy/paste the link below to view them!

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.729125095489.2240060.18806879&l=990f60e4a6

(you don't have to be a facebook member to view them.)

oh yes, I'm in Morocco.

Tuesday was a day of 3 of those “oh yes, I am in Morocco” moments.

1. While I was at Naima's house (president of a women's weaving cooperative), a neighbor brought over some fresh “Leben” (fermented milk- in this case goat's milk) that had been made just the day before by Naima's neighbor's family who are nomadic herders and live in tents in the desert outside my town. As fermented milk goes, you can't get much fresher (or unpasteurized) than that! I'll say that this particular Leben tasted a lot like feta cheese...most definitely an acquired taste.

2. Again, while at Naima's she went up on the roof to adjust the satellite dish that the goshdarned chickens always screw with. She came downstairs with a gooey egg and said “well say congratulations to me because I saw this one pop right out of her! Here put it in your pocket and take it home!” So that night for dinner I had possibly the freshest egg I've ever eaten in my life. It didn't look fertilized, not that I would know, but there is a rooster up there. The yolk was almost orange, as opposed to yellow, and it was delicious. Who says I need a fridge when the food barely even makes it to room temperature after “production”!?

3. (this one is longer) The last two small business volunteers who were in my site terminated their service early (known as 'ET'ing, or as I like to call it 'quitting.') I don't know why they quit but one particular co-operative of artisans sought me out to help them since they no longer had a volunteer. Naima, the president of the weaving cooperative had been trying to communicate shipping a spinning wheel from my city, to Ourzazate, a city about 700km away, where another volunteer is working with another weaving co-op. Why so difficult? I can't really answer that. It shouldn't have been but it was. Part of the problem is that to co-op in Ourzazate who wanted Naima's spinning machine wanted her to escort it out there to show them how to use it properly. You may recall from a previous entry that it is Hshuma for a woman to travel alone and Naima just wouldn't do it and the cooperative in Ourzazate didn't have the money to send Naima and someone else.

That lead to some difficulties but after weeks and weeks of negotiations (my role in this was as translator because the Peace Corps volunteer outside Ourzazate doesn't speak Arabic- I believe she speaks Tashelheit, a berber language, which Naima does not speak, but I could be wrong about that. And it helps to have someone on hand) We finally decided that the best thing to do would be to ship the spinning wheel by a bus, under the seats, where the luggage goes. So to work all this out of course I had to go over to Naima's for lunch. I arrived about 12:30, early for lunch considering daylight savings time. I helped her knead some dough for bread, then we ate lunch and then we had tea and chitchatted. Finally....at about 3pm I was putting on my shoes and Casually mentioned that we might possibly ship the machine that night, on the overnight bus from my city that goes all the way to Agadir but would arrive in Ourzazate at around 6am. And she said “oh sure, Inchallah. Come back over around 6:30 or 7pm and we'll see.” So that was it- a 2.5hr lunch date for a three second conversation. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVED having lunch with them and appreciate them very much but it is funny to me how absolutely necessary it was to spend that time talking about nothing in order to get business done.

In the end, we did get the sewing machine sent that night. Naima is a young newly wed who's husband lives in the next town over and said it would be a problem if she went to the bus station with me so her young nephew and I carried a Sleeping Beauty-esque spinning wheel across town and got it shipped off!

Developments!

It's been a month since I last posted and a TON has gone on both in my town in Morocco and within Peace Corps.

The day after my last post there was civil unrest here in my very own town here in eastern Morocco. Did it make the news? No, but it was definitely news-worthy. There is no reporting agency out here. I don't want to put a lot of info about it on here, but if you'd like an account, I wrote a long document on it for Peace Corps Safety and Security department, and I can forward it to you.

Let me just put it this way: following the unrest, Oujda, the nearest big city and kind of an eastern "hub" sent in dozens, if not hundreds, of police here- and they were lodged at my Dar Chebab (youth center)

So this was a month ago and the police are still occupying my Dar Chebab. This has really messed with my routine because that's the building I work out of. To occupy my time I decided to visit the Dar Taliba-- a girls' residence hall-- for children of nomads who are here to go to middle or high school, or girls who are studying computers or accounting at the "tquin" (vocational school). I went a few times and they were quite welcoming but were honest in saying that they were done with school and didn't want to get started with any activities until the Fall.

Conveniently, after that I went to Tangier and worked with the Moroccan Special Olympics. I was hoping the police would be gone by the time I came back...but no, they weren't. Then I just had a week in Bouarfa before leaving for "IST" or In-Service Training that every volunteer does throughout every Peace Corps country after six months in country.

I just got back from IST and my regional meeting yesterday to find the police STILL occupying my Dar Chebab, citing some more unrest last week while I was gone. These are new police too- it appears they've had a personnel change- all from Oujda though.

So I had quite an overwhelming feeling of guilt because I was traveling so much and many of my students are about to sit the baccalaureate exam next week. Now that I know the Dar Chebab has essentially been closed for a month though, I do not feel as guilty.

Today I was brought by three of my Dar Chebab kids to the local Dar Taqafa (House of Culture- like a theater center) which has just opened to give kids a place to study for exams, since they're not in school. It's set up a bit like a school cafeteria, with large tables and chairs and I was able to help kids with a sample bac exam that I had photocopied.

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Basically, what I'm figuring out is that summer is kind of a dead time. It's VERY hot and people don't seem to want to do much. I plan on staying here as much as a can for the summer, including Ramadan which begins August 1st. I will be gone two weeks in July or August for the Ministry of Youth and Sport's summer camp in El Jadida. It's a very expensive summer camp for wealthy Rabat kids and the ministry allows each Youth Development volunteer to bring 3 kids to camp from our towns on scholarship.

Because summer is not a real "action" time, I plan on using it as a time of planning so when Fall kicks off and productivity shoots up, I can move straight into activities and projects. These are some of my ideas, many of which were inspired/borrowed through brainstorming and collaboration with other volunteers at IST.

- Job Skills workshop
- Misc. activities with girls at Dar Taliba (including yoga or aerobics, inchallah)
- Women's Wellness weekend- possibly coupled with a "Spa day" of sorts- with treatments made of natural ingredients. The women here work their hands and feet to the bone daily and never seem to get a break- they would really enjoy and deserve some pampering...plus a health lesson!
- Pen pal-ling my students from the Dar Chebab with an American classroom for a letters exchange
- Newsletter publication for Dar Chebab and its happenings
- Study skills weekly workshops- the concepts of flash cards and mnemonic devices are totally foreign here.

I also need to look at the UN's millenium development goals and see how they fit into my possibilities here- plus continue brainstorming ideas.

One thing I realize is REALLY lacking in the education system here (that I never realized was so valuable before) is CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS! The ability to think outside a given structure and formula is KEY to Development. How can one possibly think outside one's situation and then go on to achieve those goals/dreams if one lacks critical thinking abilities?

I vow to work this into as many activities and projects as I can from now on.

I look forward to seeing how many of these materialize. Feel free to hold me accountable and ask me about them or give me any suggestions you may have.

Points for Morocco today

Somewhere between walking out of the Nedi Neswi this afternoon (women's center) and walking to go buy some lemons, I dropped my purse- which is just a small blue clutch. I didn't realize it until I was buying the lemons. Most of what was in there was not too important-- my carte se jour (residency card), which would be a pain to replace, but still possible. 100 Dirhams- which is a solid amount, but nothing worth losing my mind over. But I was very worried because my house keys were in there.


So I went frantically back to the Nedi Neswi, back to the lemon vendor, walked the streets... It turns out I'd dropped it on the sidewalk outside the Nedi Neswi. Some kids had picked it up and given it to some adults who were working construction by the Nedi Neswi.

When the construction workers saw me on the street, my eyes scanning the pavement, They approached me and pulled out my purse. They emptied all the contents and said "we found it- it's all still here, we didn't take anything!"

I was immediately so relieved. I showered them with a million "Thank You"s and "God Bless Your Parents" plus some other common phrases and I gave the kids a little reward.

As I was walking away, the main guy who'd been explaining that nothing had been taken just kept saying "You see, we didn't take anything- we are good people. We fear God. We are true Muslims- NOT terrorists. A true Muslim wouldn't take anything- we are not terrorists." And I acknowledged that I knew that, and I love Moroccans, etc. etc. he continued that if he hadn't seen me on the street, he would have taken it to the police and turned it in.


What is worthy of note is that everywhere I go in Morocco, people feel the need to explain/prove/swear by the fact that true Muslims are NOT terrorists. It's like they have collective guilt for the things that terrorists do. I hope that one day there will be no more violent Islamic extremism and Muslims will not feel they need constantly defend their religion- which, in my experience has been nothing but peaceful.

"guidance regarding recent events"

This is a piece of an email I received from a Peace Corps staff member:

In light of the bombing and the killing of Osama Bin Laden, here is some guidance for you:


· You may receive questions and/or pressure from members of your community to discuss the circumstances of Bin Laden’s death or your reaction to it. Please avoid engaging in discussing this issue. Appropriate responses include: “I don’t have enough information to discuss this issue.” and/or “I am never happy to hear of anyone’s death.” If you experience pressure from your community or are otherwise concerned please contact me immediately.


The bombing s/he's talking about are the bombs that were detonated by a tourist cafe in Marrakech last week.

Personally, in regards to this request by Peace Corps, it's a little unachievable since it's the only thing people want to talk about and they are genuinely curious as to what I think about it. I mean, if you think about it- I am the one and only foreigner in this small Moroccan town near the Algerian border, the only foreigners most of them interact with are Peace Corps volunteers (so that's one new one every two years). They see all this chaos on T.V. "caused" by this far away nation called America and here's their chance to know what a real live American thinks of it all.

Goal 2 of Peace Corps is: "Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people s served." Goal 3 is "helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans."

But at the same time, there exists a blanket rule that we are not to talk about religion and politics.

One of the most common questions I'm asked by people of all age groups is "What do Americans think of Muslims?" which is generally followed by the request that I tell Americans that Islam is a peaceful religion and to make sure I tell them that "we're not terrorists. Terrorism isn't Islam." Serving in a country that is a Islamic monarchy where the vast majority of Moroccans are Muslim presents a new dynamic to goals 2 and 3- that, unfortunately, Peace Corps wants us to ignore. (for your own security. which I can understand.) America may be able to ignore religion most of the time through political correctness but it's impossible here.

So.... I'd like to talk about the Marrakech bombings and Osama Bin Laden's death but....I don't have enough information to discuss this issue?

Water, Agua, al-ma....

After a cold snap this weekend we're back to being warm. It's 26 degrees c today (79F) and so I took a celebratory 20km bike ride. I am so thankful the weather is warm and will be excited when I turn on the (solar powered short-wave)radio (Thanks Dad!) and hear that we're up to 32C (90F!). I don't know how I'm going to feel when that radio tells me it's 45C (113F...). I really don't think I'll mind.

With warm weather comes good moods and me feeling very productive. It also helps me feel very "Peace Corps"-y because my hours-per-day of running water is dwindling. In the last 48 hours, I've probably had about 2 hours of running water. It's not that there isn't any water, it's that there isn't enough to go 'round. I live "foq" which means "high" like, on an incline, and other households who are more "tHt" (low) use the water and there isn't enough pressure to get the water up to me-- it just can't quite make it to my tap.

On days where I decide to take 20km bike rides, it would be really nice to have some running water for a shower. But, this is not all negative. I have learned to be resourceful in a way that would make my mother proud-- when I have water, I make sure I get all the household-water oriented tasks down, like dishes and vegetable washing. I had a trickle of water last night and got all the dishes done. I have a number of buckets and a 20-liter barrel that I keep full for toilet flushing and, if necessary, cooking. I have 11 liters worth of water bottles full under the sink for drinking. I was warned that once summer hits, my running water becomes very unreliable, though I don't know what the seasons have to do with it. I may invest in another 20liter barrel.

I could go to the Hammam (public baths) to bathe but it's a very social event and well, being social is probably the last thing I want to do while bathing.

This past weekend was Earth Day and Erika (the volunteer 70km north of me) and I held a two day conference with about 30 kids from all over the country. They slept at the auberge, or dormitory, that's next to the Dar Chebab. We went hiking and we talked about the flora and fauna and all kinds of environmental problems in the region. The main "youth development" aspect of it was that on the second day they learned "project design and management" and planned environmental projects that they will then implement in their home cities. And these projects will be led by the youth (youth empowerment!) and involve other youth (volunteerism!). Despite how easy this project might sound it's actually very complicated and time consuming to get something like this going. Moroccan counterparts must be found, and Erika wrote a grant for $500 to pay for food and transportation. Grant writing in itself is time consuming. Plus, government approval is needed for everything, which takes time. (I think the level of importance of people is judged by how many rubber stamps they have on their desk- literally. And they will by stingy with their stamps just because they can!) Also, as much time as these things take, people don't tend to commit to things too far in advance because they have no idea what life will throw at them before that. So it's a big juggling act and this act was a success, lHamdullah.

Sunday I'm going to travel an hour and a half for an environmental-themed theater competition- just to watch and act as a supporter. This competition was started last year by the PCV I replaced. So this year the kids organized it by themselves with the help of a French teacher. That's sustainability!