October

I know it has been awhile, almost a month since last I updated my blog. I had COS Meds and Conference in Rabat until October 4^th, then I traveled back to site October 5^th. Nothing extraordinary happened along the way, it was actually a quite smooth trip. I stopped in Fes the night of the 5^th to visit my tutor who is now studying at university there and then made it home on Monday. I had a whole week in site before heading up to Rabat again, for a VSN committee meeting. During that week in between Rabat trips I relaxed, cleaned up my house a bit, did laundry and visited people. I went to the coop one day as they weren’t meeting Wednesday. It was nice to see everyone. Then I started my second trip Wednesday, October 13^th so I could be in Rabat by the 14^th. I took the day to relax and get some internet things accomplished such as my TFA application. TFA stands for Teach for America and is a 2 year program where you are placed in a place where there is high educational inequity and you work in lower income schools as a teacher while being certified and earning a full beginning teacher’s salary. It is a great alternative licensure program and I really hope I am accepted. I won’t know for awhile. I spent that Friday and Saturday in meeting for VSN to discuss changes in the curriculum and then traveled back to site that Sunday. So I have now been in site since Monday October 18^th, about a week. It has been a crazy month!

This past week I have been deciding what to keep, what to mail home, what I will take while traveling back home, what I will sell, give away and leave for my replacement. I also have loads of other things to do before I leave in 2 weeks! I’m still not quite adjusted to the fact I am actually almost finished… On my travels I developed a sinus infection which is finally gone, humdullah. But now I have a clogged ear and a rash. The ear is from the altitude changes and remnants from the sinus infection combined in traveling back home. The rash is an allergic reaction to an antibiotic they had me on for the sinus infection. I’ve been taking Benedryl for the rach and it seems to be improving.

Last weekend I went to visit a friend about 30km from me, was nice. Made an oreo cheesecake with real oreos, :). Sunday I visited my women at the cooperative. They were working on orders and projects for the coming cold weather. Lots of knitted sweater outfits. They love the cross stitch project I am almost finished creating. I plan to leave all my leftover cross stitch items with the women when I leave they love it so much. I wasn’t feeling well yesterday so I stayed home and rested. Today I went to town and arrived home later than expected so I hope to visit some people tomorrow. Might have lunch with a friend. Lots of people to see and spend time with before I leave. I don’t know when I will be able to return for a visit.

Today I also finally got the fabric to make my Halloween costume, :). A lot of my fellow volunteers and I are celebrating Halloween this weekend. Our last hoorah before the 4 of us 2^nd year SBD and YD volunteers depart the region. I’ve decided to go greek. Bought a dark green fabric and a gold sash for a belt and plan to be a Greek Goddess. Debating on who…there are so many.

These 2 years are simply flown by, I find it hard to believe it’s the actually the end and I’m not just leaving for a visit home. I’m excited and ready for whatever my next adventure will be, but I will also miss my community here. It is a bittersweet feeling. Only 2 more weeks in my site, about a week in Rabat and then my month of vacation traveling home. And so much to do before I leave!

COS Meds

I arrived in Rabat Tuesday afternoon and had a lovely dinner of lasagne at a nice restaurant near the awesome hotel Peace Corps is putting us in. The rooms are so nice and there is hot water all the time!

Yesterday I had every single one of my medical appointments. I started off my morning with an 8:30am meeting where we also got our TB tests. Now we all know how much I dislike needles...and I had to have the test done TWICE. The first attempt didn't work so they had to give me another shot of fun tester fluid under my skin. At this point I was sufficiantly freaked out but had to be donwtown to get my dental x-rays and dental appointment and cleaning by 10am. I left Agdal at 9:30am. The taxi ride down made me very motion sick, great on top of the lowered blood sugar from my needle freak out, so I managed to get over to the x-ray place where it took me an hour to get my dental x-ray done and printed out due to so many people being there. I was an hour late to my dental appointment but was able to get in and out. Good news: no caveties and my teeth were clean! Dental cleanings are the worst though with all that scraping against my teeth and gums, but I made it through. My lower front teeth are still a bit sensitive, but clean, :).

I then had a quick lunch of yummy thin crust pizza before rushing back to Peace Corps HQ to have my physical down where I was prodded some more. Had a quick meeting with the country director before running out and having some blood drawn. COS meds are very thorough in everything. Crook of my arm is still a bit sore, but good news is all my appointments are done!

I slpurged on a nice meal at the French Institute last night. I had filet mignon with blue cheese dressing for dinner and then a small creme brulee, brownie and mousse with coffee for dessert. Delicious. Today I'll have some sushi for lunch and pizza for dinner, :). Today is my free day with no meetings or appointments.

Been thinking more and more on my return home, not long now at all.

Birthday Shananigans

My birthday was last Friday. I celebrated by making myself a lemon pepper glazed broiled chicken breast and fried green beans and garlic with cheesecake brownies for dessert. I also replaced my empty buta gas tank for my stove and oven operation. Then I visited my friend's sister as my friend was out in the fields and my host family. In the morning I went into Errachidia and enjoyed a banana juice at a cafe while perusing the internet a bit. I had a great day.

Saturday I went up to Ifrane to visit my CBT family. It was so great to see them and I had never been to Ifrane before. It was so much cooler than my village in the south! It felt amazing to sleep with a blanket at night and wear a sweater again. Then Monday on my way up to COS medicals and conference I stayed with one of my CBT mates in Taza. I really liked Taza, it's a nice city and beautiful. I visited my friend's cooperative and some of the volunteers in the area.

Then I made my way up to Rabat for COS Meds and Conference.

Berber Wedding

It's been awhile I know. The weekend of September 19th I went to a fellow stage mate's berber wedding. I have been to Arabic weddings but not yet a Berber one. One of my friends just married a Moroccan. It was so much fun. She wore this elaborate Berber headdress and had her face and hair covered, the only parts of her body showing were her hands and feet. The headdress was a large triangular red fabric with red and yellow scarves hanging down her back from it and a black sheer veil over her face. The first night she had her hands and feet hennaed as well as any guests who wished for a bit of henna design on their hands. The next day was her wedding in which we started with a lunch, some dancing and then had the bridal train were we all piled into cars, trucks and transits honking and uulating our way around her village before settling down for an early dinner and lots of haydeues. Haydeuse is a berber dance in which there are 2 lines of people who do the same movements while rotating in a circle to berber drumming and singing.

It was such an amazing experience and made better by having had lived in Morocco for the past 2 years and the bride being a friend I knew. It felt so normal.

Ramadan and After

I know everyone is probably wondering what I have been up to lately as my last update was a month ago. To be honest, not very much. Ramadan was a lazy month in the fact that no one was doing much work, or more specifically, my women were not currently meeting to work. The month of Ramadan is a very holy month for Muslims and as such, my women met twice a week to chant verses out of the Koran, retell religious stories and to pray. I went the first Monday I returned. It’s always interesting to experience a different religion and culture. I was also able to understand more of what was being said this year, though the Koran chanting still simply sounds like beautifully sung cadences to me. I did not completely fast during the month of Ramadan and only broke fast with Moroccan families a handful of times this year. My system couldn’t handle a complete fast and much of the time my ear ached enough that I preferred to stay in majority of the time. I did have a meal with the host family with the traditional figs, dates, pastries, harira (soup), milk, and eggs. Then a couple weeks later I broke fast with my friend Layla and her family in Errachidia with many of the same items with slight variations. Her mom always makes the best meals. I was supposed to go again but things came up and I was unable to.

It was a long month between the fasting, no work, and lingering summer heat. I worked on several personal projects and read many books. As well as much research on post Peace Corps plans and travel. I have finished booking my hostels and flights for Prague, Vienna and Barcelona. Very excited. Only 2 more months! I also plan to apply for a few Teaching Fellows programs when I return. I would really like to become a teacher and there are several really good alternative teaching licensure programs that sound perfect. I am still researching as to what I would like to teach and what I would be qualified to teach.

Friday was the end of Ramadan! I saw my neighbors briefly, was really nice. Saturday I went to town hoping to purchase a medicine for my ear, but I forgot the pharmacies would be closed for the holiday. I tried a week of ear drops and one antibiotic with only a little luck at slightly decreasing the inner ear pain, so I will be trying a stronger antibiotic this round. I was able to purchase it yesterday when I went to town, hope this one works!

Saw a few volunteers while I was in town, was nice. Visited my counter part and friend today. The coop isn’t meeting yet as there are still many people still visiting and out of the village. Ramadan only finished a week ago. I expect things will pick up again in a couple weeks. So I’ll probably have things to do after I go to Rabat at the end of the month for COS meds and conference.

Saturday a friend of mine and stage mate will be getting married! Hard to believe our 2 years are nearly up. Only 2 more months now. I will miss Morocco and many people here, but I am also ready to come back to America. It’s been the experience of a life time. I have a busy month ahead of me. Friend’s wedding, then the following week my birthday, then I’ll be traveling to Rabat for COS meds and conference. For my birthday I hope to visit my first host family. October seems fairly free at the moment, but I know it won’t be. I still hope to hike the Todra Gorge and visit as many friends as I can before I leave and get many things done in my site. Once November hits work will stop and I’ll just tie up a few final loose ends before taking my vacation back!

We’ve had several storms roll through, rainy season here in the desert. So the temperature has been slowly dropping, but not quite enough yet, still 86 in the house. Soon I won’t need to use my fan anymore, humdullah! Only 2 seasons here, Summer and Winter with a month or 2 of rainy season thrown in here and there, generally in between seasonal changes.

For those of you reading this back in America, I’ll be back in Iowa in about 3 months, :).

Ras el Ma / Site / Ramadan

Ok…after Al Hoceima I jumped over to Ras el Ma, aka Cape de l’Eau. Woke up early on Saturday morning around 7am to catch an 8am bus. Well, after arriving to the bus station we learned the bus was full and had to wait for a 9:30am. It was a long ride. We arrived in Berkane around 3pm and Ras el Ma around 4pm. I settled down and then changed for an afternoon swim in the Mediterranean. We had an awesome house all to ourselves. Just beautiful. The Mediterranean was so choppy. I played in the waves for a bit but didn’t go out too far due to the tidal pull. Then after swimming I showered and walked downtown with several friends and we had the most amazing seafood dinner. A couple kilograms of tasty shrimp, perfectly breaded calamari, soft red snapper and buttery sol. We ended our perfect dinner with a scoop of ice cream before walking back to the house. It was an early night for all.

Then Sunday I woke up really early, changed my cell phone time as it was “fall back” here already, went back an hour. Had a breakfast of yogurt, granola and coffee before hitting the beach nice and early. Played around for hours in the water. The waves were just as strong and I decided to go out further. Was a perfectly tiring time out in the water other than the fact that a huge wave hit me and I totally lost my sunglasses, :(. Afterwards I went back to the house, showered and bought supplies to make a tuna melt for lunch and Pringles. The house was having plumbing issues so we had some staff over. At one point I took a nap only to wake up and be told we had to pack up and move to separate apartments. I was not very happy about this as I was still groggy and the house was so nice. The apartments were ok, but at least the plumbing worked. Went for another afternoon swim and then we had fajitas for dinner. Was delicious! Had a bit of a late night and a night swim before heading to bed. The water was so calm.

Monday I woke up early again and hit the beach around 9am. Starting to get a nice tan, for me, ;). Relaxed and read for a bit and then swam. This day the sea was calmer and we swam out a ways where it was gentle and just floated. Was wonderful. Afterwards I went in and had a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch before going out on a Catamaran! That’s a type of sailboat. I should have taken my Dramamine though…got a little seasick. Was still a great experience. After we reached the open sea we all jumped/dived off/out of the boat and swam around in the clearest, blue/greenish water I have ever seen. A friend took photos but alas I was unable to get them from her. It was just beautiful. That night we went out for dinner again and of course got another fish platter. This time only calamari, sol and shrimp. And ice cream afterwards again of course, :). Then as there was a bit of a fair going on we all decided to do the bumper cars. Was a blast! Some then did the ferris wheel after that, an interesting setup. Goes around much quicker here and virtually no safety bars of any sort.

Tuesday was out final day. Went for my daily swim as usual in yet another calm sea. Was pure bliss to simply float and swim around in the water. Then for lunch we had our final fish meal of shrimp, sol and calamari. Afterwards we bought supplies to make Italian for dinner. And it was amazing! A friend of mine made an absolutely delicious tomato sauce to put over pasta and garlic bread. I made caramelized banana filling for dessert crepes. I ate way too much and just relaxed afterwards.

Wednesday morning was a long travel day with a stop in Oujda for an early meal.

Thursday I went to town and bought a few things and simply relaxed and caught up on sleep and rest. It was also the first day of Ramadan. I was too tired to break fast with anyone though.

The past couple days I have just been catching up, doing laundry, relaxing. I was gone nearly 3 weeks. I have also begun making my travel plans for after I COS. I find myself planning my vacation backwards. First I decided to do the cruise, then booked my final flight back to Iowa. Now I have a flight from Vienna to Barcelona for the pre-cruise get together and to celebrate Thanksgiving with my fellow cruise taking volunteers. Now I just need to sort out my flights out of Morocco and to Eastern Europe. I have decided to do Prague and Vienna. I also haven’t had a very good internet connection since my return back to site. Though part of that could be the storms that have been rolling through almost daily now.

I have so much to do before I leave in less than 3 months now. Crazy to think about it. I am thinking of applying for Teach for America or a fellowship program similar to that when I return home. After much though and discussions with friends and fellow volunteers I believe I should give teaching a try. I’ve always been drawn to it through working at camp and in speaking to several of my friends who are teachers. We’ll see what life has planned for me when I return back to America. I’m also still definitely taking a short break to Australia mid-February through May, maybe a little longer depending on what work I find there and what work opportunities I come across in America. Hope all works out.

That’s the final leg of my vacation through to my current standing here back in site. It’s nice to be back, though I must admit I am counting down the days till my COS date. I’ve been here for a long time now and am simply ready for my next adventure though I will miss Morocco and many people here.

Monday I went to my women's new coop where they can now meet as they please, :). Due to it being Ramadan, work is at a standstill and they currently meet twice a week to sing verses out of the Koran and tell biblical stories during the morning hours.

I finally broke fast with half of my most family on Tuesday evening. Last year it was always both families but now that they have moved into their new home they have moved into 2 different floors. I was also surprised to not see the usual festive shebekiya. Deep fried pastry coated in honey and sesame seeds. It was a quiet affair. I had fasted all day and was having trouble communicating.

Yesterday I went into town to use internet as can be noted from my blog entry with Ras el Ma photos. Also to purchase a few food items.

Today was not very note worthy as I stayed in and rested. I had planned to visit my women again, but had an ear ache. I hope to visit my counterpart tomorrow and start planning a few workshops. I won't be doing very much traveling over the next 3 months and hope to get several desired projects completed before I leave. I hope to break fast with my favorite neighbor tomorrow as well. I haven't been breaking fast very often during this first week of Ramadan as I haven't been completely fasting and feeling a bit under the weather. I am feeling much better now and plan to enjoy harira (soup), shebekiya, eggs, figs, and dates during the remainder of this Ramadan month, :).

Ras el Ma Photos

Seems I have forgotten to transfer my blog update to my USB, so until I can find my way to a computer and internet again please enjoy the photos of my trip to Ras el Ma. Currently I do not have a very good wireless connection in my site, possibly due to all the storms. We had an outright downpour the other day.

Some volunteers decided to commemerate our trip, very pretty.

This is where I got to swim everyday, :)

Some decided to brave the Moroccan ferris wheel, they move a bit faster here and have less safety features...the rest of us just did the bumper cars.

One of many delicious seafood platters enjoyed by several of us

The catamaran me and several others sailed out on one day, apparently I do get a bit seasick, so I spent the majority of the trip laying down. But the swimming part was fun!

The beautiful open sea view from the catamaran

Several volunteers helped to make an amazing dinner of fajitas

Me posing at sunset on the beach so near our apartment

Beautiful sunset view of the Mediterranean