"Anyone can be a mother but it takes someone special to be a mommy". My mom has a shirt with this on it. It's true that any woman can become a mother. It's even truer that it does take someone special to be a mommy. Lucky for me, I have a mommy.

So today on Mother's Day, even though I cannot be with her, I want her to know that I'm thinking about her. It's not just today though. I think about her everyday. Here's some of the reasons why:Coffee. We are a big coffee drinking family. On mornings when she didn't work, we would sit at home sharing a pot of coffee or go out to breakfast and enjoy coffee together. Sometimes she would forget her travel mug at home when she left for work early in the morning and I would have to bring it to her.Popcorn. When she would come from work, we would share a bowl of popcorn and some diet pepsi. I can't get the diet pepsi here, but I do make popcorn on a daily basis.My hair. It's incredibly long now and I could use someone to french braid it. Mom's the best french braider around.Clothes. Not only are several of the important pieces of clothing I have here in Morocco made by Mom, others have had to be patched up several times which always makes me wish Mom was around to do it for me.My soap. My aunt sent me a care package with Cotton Blossom shower gel from Bath and Body Works which makes me think of Mom because its her favorite scent.Mamma Mia! Not only is it one of my many nicknames for her, we also saw the musical in Toronto and went to go see the sing-a-long version of the movie. There was one other person in the theater with us and I'm sure he's still sorry for staying while we belted out the tunes. I still watch the movie frequently and sing the songs of Abba almost daily.Little children. Don't get me wrong most of them are adorable. Every once in awhile though they get me to that point when I think in my head "you're on my last nerve buddy". Just like when my brother and I were little causing trouble after Mom had worked all night and she would say that to us. Like mother like daughter :) Also, since she works with the little babies I think about all the little kids here who should be a lot bigger but they are not because of malnutrition and poor health. Sickness. Morocco and my health system apparently are not good friends. It seems that every week I have some sort of sickness going on which just makes me want my mommy. Or I need her to confirm that I am not dying from cancer or a brain tumor.Cleaning. It seems that everything where I am is destined to be covered in dirt. Every time I have to clean I think of my Mom always cleaning her glasses. Every time she would clean them, put them on and say "that's better". Just like how I feel after I've swept up the new inches of dirt covering my floors.Flowers. There are a few flowers that just make me think of her. Sometimes it will be the smell of lilacs or it will be the colors that remind me of the flowers she used to buy every week to put on the dining room table. Pancakes. My mom used to love making pancakes for dinner and so do I.The song 'Mama' by Il Divo. a) it's a beautiful song and b) it talks about love for their mother which I also have a lot ofTechnology. Not many people in Morocco can type very fast which yes, makes me think of my own mother slowly typing out the letters.Women. Not every women but the ones that I know who are strong, confident and loving mothers themselves. Blue and red. The color most likely to be seen being worn by my mother.Scrub pants. She's a nurse and sent me some old scrubs. They save my life in the heat of summer and make me think of her.Wine. Yes my mother is enjoying good quality wine while I'm stuck with the freshly squeezed bottles but I think about how I tease her for being an alcoholic when she might enjoy a glass of wine from time to time.Books. Mom's an avid reader and enjoys the benefits of working a few days at Barnes and Noble. She was always a pro- let's buy a book instead of a toy kinda mom.T.V. shows like 'House' and 'Revenge'. She's the one who told me to start watching them and I'm hooked!Germany, Italy, Albania and Canada. Just a few of the places that Mom and I have traveled to together.These are just a few of the things that always make me think about my Mom. It's been hard to be away from her and the rest of my family these past years but her support was one of the reasons why I've been able to do this. I look forward though to being able to go to breakfast with her again or have a spa day together. I'm happy that soon I'll be able to talk to her everyday or at least way more often than now. Soon I'll be able to spend holidays with her again. It will be good to be home. With that said, happy Mother's day Mom! I love you.

Mom and Me at my brothers wedding in 2008

In America, when you say "Let's meet at 10", you show up a few minutes before 10. If you show up at 10, you're late. Here in Morocco, time is a much more obscure concept. Here you're more likely to hear, "let's meet after lunch" which could mean anything from 3 onward. Several institutions are more likely to keep business hours such as the post office, banks and the dar chabab. However, that means every time you have to go to the store to buy bread or try to get a taxi to go to another town or try to visit a friend, you never know if the store will be open, there will be taxis running or if you'll interrupt that friends meal and/or nap.

Most places in my town close for about two hours for lunch. This means if its lunch time and you need something, you're out of luck until later in the afternoon. It's happened to me several times where I needed just one thing to make lunch and I forgot to go get it before things closed. I also had to learn the hard way about traveling out of my site during lunch time. When I first got to site and tried to leave anytime between 12 and 2, I ended up waiting for at least an hour to actually get on the road. Lesson learned.

Just when you think you have time all figured out in Morocco, they throw you a curve ball. Daylight savings time. Not everyone observes daylight savings time here. Farmers work by the sun, not an actual time. The only people who you know for sure follow it are those people who work in the post office and banks. Not even all dar chababs are on new time which is confusing since the schools are. This has now turned the conversation into something like this:

friend: Let's meet at 4.

me: ok, old time or new time?

friend: old time.

me: ok, so we're going to meet at 3.

friend: no, I said 4.

me: yes, but I am on new time.

friend: ok, well I'll see you at 4.

me: yes, 4 old time.

friend: inshallah.

me: inshallah.

Did you follow that? So you can see the confusion this causes. Most stores are still on old time. The workers work with the sun and accordingly the call to prayer. This means that now when I think it's lunch break, I still have an hour to go out and buy anything I need. This also means that most things are still closed for lunch break when I am walking up to the dar chabab at four. The best part about all this is that during Ramadan, everyone will go back to old time for the month and then spring forward again after Ramadan ends. Are you confused yet??

Luckily, this concept of new time and old time is not new to me. Even in Albania when there was daylight savings time, some people stayed on old time. It's just like old leke and new leke or dirhams and ryals. Not everyone uses the same unit of currency but after awhile you just know. You learn who uses old time and who is on new time. You plan accordingly. If all else fails, you just blame it on old time. "I'm an hour late? No that can't be. I'm on old time."

So you see, the concept of time in Morocco is quite different from America. You get there when you get there. An appointed time to meet is more of a time frame to meet. Time is money in America. In Morocco, time is uhm, well....... time is not going anywhere so don't worry about it!

There are so many colors found throughout Morocco. The best example of this is through the tiles you find around the country. There are so many different colors, patterns and designs. They use them on everything from walls, to fountains, to gates. I always love looking at the tile when I travel. Here are a few different examples of Moroccan tile from around the country.

Tile on a fountain in Agadir

Tile at a train station in Meknes

Tile in a house in Fez

Tile inside a hotel in Azrou

Tile inside a hotel in Azrou

Tile inside a hotel in Azrou

Tile outside a house in Azrou

Tile at a train station in Meknes

Tile outside the big mosque in Casablanca

Tile outside a park in Tiznit

Tile on the gate leading to the old city in Meknes

Tile in an outdoor fountain in RabatWhich one is your favorite???

It's not everyday that you see a wedding tent put up in the courtyard at a dar chabab. When a wedding tent goes up, you know something important is happening. Something very important happened at my dar chabab about two weeks ago when a delegation from the Ministry of Youth and Sports came to Massa.

We had known for about a month that a delegation would be coming to Massa. It took weeks of planning and organizing all the youth to prepare for their arrival. It didn't help matters any that they were coming on the first day of spring camp and I would have to leave spring camp for half a day to attend. The students all had assigned tasks. Some were told to clean others were to make new decorations and a few were preparing songs and dances. The kids were excited and so was I.

The main reason for the visit was to see the activities we were doing on AIDS education. The delegation spend two weeks in the Souss visiting dar chababs in Taourdant, Ikhourbane, Tiznit, Temsia, Kolea and Houara. Through my mudir, they had heard about the AIDS skit that my Acting Out Awareness group had been traveling around the Souss area presenting. Their play would be the grand finale of the event.

On the day of the visit, I rushed back to site after finishing English class in the morning at spring camp. I arrived back in Massa right before lunch time and ran up to the dar chabab just before my mudir arrived to drop off some posters that needed to be hung. We hung the posters and then my mudir invited me to his house for lunch with him and the delegation. This was the first time he had invited me to his house and it was even more intimidating since the delegation would be there. We arrived and after a short walk around his neighborhood we sat back to enjoy meat and prune tajine, fish couscous (a local speciality), dessert, tea and cookies. It was so delicious and filling that we all had a hard time making it back to the dar chabab!

The welcoming committee

Already about an hour late, we arrived to the sound of drums, singing and traditional Tashalheet dancing. There were two students outside the gate waiting to greet us and a table set up with traditional Tashalheet food and youth dressed up in traditional Tashalheet clothes. After we shook hands, kissed everyone on the cheek and received our red ribbons we proceeded to walk through the dar chabab. The ministry was impressed by all the English books I've managed to procure over the past few months and the new studio that the hip hop group built. After the tour, youth and parents were invited to sit down for a short discussion with the delegation on the direction the new minister is taking. There were well over 100 people crammed into our upstairs meeting room but I've never seen so many parents taking an interest in what was happening at the dar chabab!

The youth also created this banner for the Health Club

Next, the youth were divided into four groups to participate in Ministry led workshops about how to be ambassadors to their peers on AIDS education. Each workshop focused on a different way of educating their peers. One group watched a video and had a discussion, another made posters, another did games and the final one talked about creating health clubs. It was very interesting to see the ministry's take on peer education. I learned a few things myself.

Creating a poster on AIDS education

As the event was coming to a close, we all gathered again outside under the big tent. Each group did a short presentation on what they had done during their workshop. Next a group of youth from one of the associations that's active at the dar chabab did a short play on stereotypes about Berber people. I didn't understand most of it but it was funny to watch. Then it was finally time for the Acting Out Awareness group to take the stage.

It was perfect timing. The sun was beginning to set and the shadows cast on our makeshift stage of tables only added to the drama. The audience was silent and the actors were amazing in front of the 250 strong audience. I couldn't have been more proud of their performance and all the hard work they had put into organizing the event. I could tell by their faces during the standing ovation that they too were proud of their accomplishment.

I think doing the play outside as the sun was setting only made the play better

Before the delegation left, we had a small reception for them with the youth who are most active in the dar chabab. I had to leave early to get back to camp but my mudir told me the delegation had nothing but good things to say about their visit. I thought that that was the end of it but I was wrong.

When I returned from spring camp my mudir told me that delegation was so impressed by the Acting Out Awareness group that we have been invited to participate in an AIDS forum in Fez! The kids couldn't be more excited. For almost all of them, it will be their first time in Fez and their first time to be that far north. We still do not know the dates of the forum but it will be in the next two months. Right now we are working out logistics with the ministry. It's just another thing that these kids can be proud about.

Acting Out Awareness Group receiving a standing ovation

Just another day in Peace Corps :)

Spring Camp Agadir 2012 in Pictures

My English Class the first week

Morning Aerobics!!

Looking good PCV's!

Halloween Night!

Contestants for the 'scariest' costume category

Beach Olympics!

All the campers from Massa with me on the beach

Earth Day Activities

Planting flower crew

Moroccan Wedding Night!

Bjai representing as the Tashalheet mother of the groom

Human Knot!

Good way to keep the kids entertained for awhile

Tug-of-war!

My team did not win this one....

Crazy Sport Relay Races

Crab walk relay races

Talent Show at the end of Week 1

Some of the campers and I at the end of week 1

RIP Beth and Leslie

So tired after 2nd week of camp ended

Overall, camp was a huge success. The kids had a great time and we had some great activities. We were able to celebrate Earth Day, we put on a scary haunted house for 'Halloween' night, we had a ton of talented kids wow us during two talent shows and we went to the beach everyday. Another two weeks of camp under my belt here in Morocco. Good times as always :)

The turk toilet or squatty potty is the normal way of relieving oneself here in Morocco. At first it might seem intimidating or awkward but you will grow to love it. Here are the easy steps of how to use the Turk successfully.

Step 1: Pre-bathroom ritual. Roll pants up and empty pockets. You don't want to have to fish your phone out of the turk!

Step 2: Enter the bathroom and take in the surroundings. In many places, there may be something blocking the hole of the turk. You will want to remove that before squatting. Also, take note of whether there is a tap or if there is a water reserve. If there is a tap, you will want to fill a bucket up.

Step 3: Assume the position. Sometimes ladies like to face the wall when urinating but try both ways and see what works for you. Note, you do not have to have your feet on ridged blocks. You can take a wider stance if it is easier for you to aim. Also, there is no shame in holding on to the wall, door or water tap. Do what you gotta do!

Step 4: Do your business. I don't think you need help with this one (or if you do, seek medical help).

Step 5: If there is no toilet paper, pour some water into your left hand and reach on back there and take care of that business. Pat it dry. If there is toilet paper, take care of that business and discard said TP into a wastebasket. Sometimes it is next to the turk and other times you will need to step outside to find a trash bin. Putting TP down the turk is not recommended as it can cause a clog. You don't want to be the one to cause that!

Step 6: Flush! Pour that water down the drain.

Step 7: Wash your hands! Doctors recommend singing 'happy birthday' two times to achieve maximum cleanness.

That's it! That's all there is to it. See, not so scary is it?? The following video was created to show to the new trainees that arrived in Morocco this past month. Enjoy and next time you see a turk, walk in with confidence!

The next Morocco how to will be heading your way soon so stay tuned!

Many PCV's get asked the question "So what do you do?" all the time. It's tough to describe a PCV's job. It's not as easy as a job description in America. A PCV's role is defined by the needs of the community. For Youth Development (YD) PCV's, our job includes many things. In order for you the reader to understand what it means to be a YD PCV let's define a few things first.

What does youth mean? Many will probably say someone between the ages of 8 to 21. Here in Morocco youth is defined by your marital status. If you're not married, you fall into this category. Another way that we describe youth is young at heart. Many PCV's work with married members of their community who are looking to better themselves in some capacity. Whether that be learning English, learning how to knit, learning about healthy lifestyle choices or learning how to write a grant. This is one of the challenges of being a YD PCV. It's up to the discretion of the PCV to determine the needs of their community and then find the best way to meet the goals and objectives of PC as it applies to their community.

Many people think that YD means teaching English but that is not the case. We're not TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) volunteers. Many of us teach English as a way to meet people in our community and to have a 'job' in the eyes of the community. When people ask us what we do and we say we're a volunteer they become very confused. "Volunteer isn't a job. I asked you what you do!" When we respond with "I am a teacher" then they understand why we're here. It also gives us an amount of respect within the community. So what does YD mean?

YD means that we are working with youth to prepare them for the world of work, teach them about healthy lifestyle choices and working with community members to present youth with the best opportunities for their future. This includes many different types of activities; teaching English, creating sports clubs, art clubs, theater clubs, journalism clubs, health clubs, environment clubs, working at camps, helping at Special Olympics, SOS Villages, organizing workshops etc. It's hard to create a job description so that friends and family back home understand why we left our home and traveled to a foreign land for two years.

A new group of trainees just arrived in Morocco this past Wednesday. In order to give them an idea of what their job will be like for the next two years, I was asked to gather pictures from current PCV's and create a short video about the current work being done in Morocco by YD PCV's. You can find the finalized video here. Hopefully this will help explain exactly what it is YD PCV's do.

So what does YD mean? Well it means that we do what we can within our communities to help youth and community partners to prepare youth to be successful, contributing members of society. That might still be too vague a description for most people but how do you explain that you sit at your dar chabab and talk to your kids about stereotypes and opportunities to learn outside of Morocco? How do you tell people that your job includes sitting at your students house for tea or for couscous and talking with their parents about letting their child attend camp over spring break? There's no job description that can fully explain a YD PCV's job. That's just another reason why PC is the toughest job you'll ever love.

"Bonjour!""Ca va ghazhelle!""Ciao bella!""Hey baby!"loud whistling noises

These are all forms of street harassment. In most cases, it is just a shout out to a single person walking by. Sometimes, it is more intense followed by touching or in extreme cases, being followed. Some people believe that this is a way to compliment the person walking by. In reality, it is harassment and it is not ok.

As a PCV, I've experience multiple forms of street harassment. In Albania, it was usually "ciao bella!". In Morocco, it is usually "ca va ghazelle!". There have been occasions where I have been touched but thank God it has never been a case where I have felt unsafe or scared. PCV's worldwide experience street harassment. It is not limited to places where PCV's serve. It is in America. It is in Europe. It can happen to anyone at any time. It happens more frequently to the 'outsider'. As a PCV, we are usually different from everyone else in our community which makes us more susceptible to street harassment. This week, people around the world are raising awareness on street harassment as the key to ending it is education.

If you have ever been the victim of street harassment, now is the time to speak up. Tell your communities that it is not ok. Follow this link to read an article that goes into detail on how people around the world are trying to end it. Do your part. There are fliers that you can print out and put up around town. There are ideas for other projects and activities you can do to to educate your communities. Tell your story. Tell the people you know about what you have experienced and how it has affected you. This is the time to take action. Now is the time to stop street harassment.

For many women where I live, their day consists of cooking, cleaning and caring for their family. In their free time they might go to a friends house for tea or maybe to the hammam to get squeaky clean but that's about all the fun they see. For International Women's Day, I wanted to host an event at the dar chabab for the women in my community to gather, learn something new and get to do one of their favorite things - dance!

The women starting the dance party!

About a year ago, a PCV along with PC staff created a video called "You Can Dream". It is a short documentary on the lives of six Moroccan women who have looked to help their communities by doing something that is out of the norm for most women in Morocco. If you would like to see it, it is in Arabic with English subtitles but can be found here. We watched the video and had a short discussion on the obstacles that the women had to overcome and talked about how things are changing for women in Morocco. I also put together a short presentation (in French!) about gender roles around the world and we discussed important Moroccan and Muslim women from history. I think the women really got into it and we had a great discussion.

Without these girls, this wouldn't have been a success

After the nitty-gritty of the day we went on to what the women really came for, dancing! I had planned on making a few American goodies to the event and I bought soda for everyone. I was surprised when each woman walking through the door had also bought a treat to share. These women don't mess around when it comes to parties! They had bought a buta tank and all the fixing for tea as well. The women started passing around the drums and as we prepared all the cakes and tea they started doing their different traditional dances. You know they're getting into it when they need to open the windows and wipe their faces down! What Moroccan party is complete without dressing up the foreigner? I was a willing doll once again to be dressed up as a bride and have the wedding song sang to me. I enjoy it just as much as they do.

Leslie, an American doll coming to a Moroccan town near you!

Before we knew it, it was 7 and the women started to head out. After our good-byes and multiple invites for lunch and tea, they left and I stayed behind with my girls for the clean up and to finally eat our share of the goodies. Without the help from my three students, this event wouldn't have been as big of a success. I was expecting around 20 women to show up but we had over 40! At first the women were a little cautious of me and said no pictures. After they dressed me up though, everyone wanted a picture with me. I feel as though that counts as part of the success.

Getting our dance on

It's events like this that make me happy to be where I am. Even though it's taken me over a year and a half to be invited to a house that isn't my host families, I now have over 10 people who are insisting that I come in the next week. All the work that's gone into this event and all the cheek kissing has paid off! I finally feel as though they have accepted me into their community. I'm one of them. I couldn't have asked for more :)

Last week I had the honor of meeting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the embassy in Rabat. Morocco was her last stop before heading back to Washington after a week of travels in North Africa. She only had a short time in Rabat so the meet and greet was a quick affair. About 70 volunteers had traveled to Rabat for the event along with PC staff and their families and embassy staff with their families.

After going through the "rules" for the meet and greet, we all stood around holding our spots as close to the front of the courtyard as possible. The Secretary was slightly delayed to no one's surprise. About an hour after she was supposed to arrive, we saw the cars pulling up. First one, then two and finally four big black SUVs. Everyone was quiet and had their cameras at the ready. A group of secret service first appeared, then the aides, then Ambassador Kaplan with his wife and finally, Hillary!!

She just looks important

The Ambassador gave a few opening remarks, mentioning PC and the work we do for Morocco, and then gave the floor to the Secretary. Her posture and gestures through her short speech were perfect for the occasion. She wasn't stiff or too formal. She reached out to the different groups of people in attendance and it looked like she made eye contact with everyone in the audience. I was amazed at her as a public speaker. Her remarks were short but said it all. She talked about what a great time it is to be in Morocco and in North Africa. She talked about how far Morocco has come in the past year but that the journey is still long. She pointed out the fact that Morocco was the first country to support America as a new country and that our support of Morocco now should be just as strong. She mentioned the work that PC does (to much applause). After her speech, she took a picture with the children of the embassy and PC staff and then went around and shook as many hands as she could before being whisked away to break ground at the new embassy complex.

I shook her hand!!

It may have a been a quick event but I'm glad I made the 11 hour journey to Rabat to see her. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and what she said only made me prouder to be doing the work I am doing. Run for office again Hillary! I'll vote for you!

PC girls of the Souss, represent!

At the end of last month, I was fortunate enough to attend another volunteers GGLOW camp in Tazenakht (about an hour and a half west of Ouarzazate). GGLOW stands for Guys and Girls Leading Our World. At this particular camp, there were 37 girls in attendance, several local men and 8 local women who helped lead activities alongside PCV's. Sessions touched on topics like, goals, project management, health, physical fitness and Women's rights in Morocco. It was a huge success and I'm so proud of my girl Aly for pulling it off!

Conga line!!

The Group

The GGLOW camp made me think about things I could do in my site. Tazenakht is quite a bit bigger than where I am and I don't think I would be able to manage an overnight camp for girls in my area. However, I do have an amazing mudir who is willing to back me up with all my ideas. There are also several women in my site who I believe would be willing to take on leadership roles for a daytime activity. With that said, I have come up with the following project outline for a week's worth of International Women's Day events.

On Wednesday March 7th, women will be invited to the dar chbab for a few hours of fun where they can learn about different home beauty care products. Facial mask made out of yogurt and mint. Feet and hand scrub made out of yogurt and sugar. It will be a fun day to start off the week. On March 8th, the official International Women's Day, women will gather to watch the video You Can Dream and discuss the issues addressed in the film. Issues such as girls' education, discrimination in the workplace and Women's rights. On March 9th, a local doctor will come to the dar chbab to talk to the women about diabetes and heart health. These two issues are a huge problem for women in Morocco and many do not seek out medical treatment as they usually do not know they have either problem. To end the week, we will gather to have an aerobics class and end it all with what else but a dance party!

I think it will be a great week for women to have a reason to gather outside of each other's houses and learn a few things in the process. The great thing about doing this as daytime activities is that no funding is really required. I will be asking local business owners if they would like to donate tea or cookies for the activities and if nothing else, I will buy it for them. This is something simple that I can do for the women of my community. I'm looking forward to the event and have been busily getting things together for it. Fingers crossed that all goes well!

Happy Valentine's Day to all! I found this on the National Peace Corps Association today and thought it hit the nail on the head so to speak and wanted to share with everyone. Enjoy!

12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

By: Erica Burman

It’s Valentine’s Day! A day when we celebrate friendship, love, and romance. Through the years here at the National Peace Corps Association, we’ve heard countless stories of Peace Corps romance. The couples that met at the airport on the way to training. The couples that met while serving. The Peace Corps Volunteers that fell in love with a host country national. And the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers that connected back here in the States, discovering that the shared bond of Peace Corps service was the spark that led to a relationship.Peace Corps is a life-changing experience that develops a unique set of skills and attributes. So it goes without saying: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers make GREAT dates. And just to prove it, we’ve started a list.12 reasons to date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer:We can woo you in multiple languages. Who else is going to whisper sweet nothings to you in everything from Albanian to Hausa to Quechua to Xhosa? That’s right. Only a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.We’re pretty good dancers. Yeah, we don’t like to brag, but after 27 months in Latin America or Africa we know how to move it.We’ll eat anything. Seriously. No matter how bad your cooking, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have had worse and will eat it with nary a blink. Sheep’s eyeball? Water buffalo gall bladder? Grasshoppers? Bush rat? Bring it.We know all about safe sex, thanks to our very thorough Peace Corps health training. In fact, there’s a chance that we’ve stood unblushingly in front of hundreds of villagers and demonstrated good condom technique with a large wooden phallus.We’ll kill spiders for you. Well, actually, we’ll nonchalantly scoop them up and put them out of sight. Same goes for mice, geckos, frogs, snakes. Critters don’t faze Returned Volunteers.We have great date ideas: wandering a street market, checking out a foreign film, taking in a world music concert, volunteering…. Romantic getaway? Our passport is updated and our suitcase is packed. With us, life is always an adventure.We like you for “you”… not your paycheck. Especially if we are freshly back from service, a local joint with “character” will win out over a pretentious eatery. Living in a group house? Does it have running hot water? What luxury!You won’t get lost when you’re with a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Navigating local markets on four continents, we’ve honed an uncanny sense of direction. Or else we’ll ask for directions. We’re not afraid to talk to “strangers.”Waiting for a late train or bus? Don’t worry, we’ve been there, done that. We can share lots of funny stories about “the bus ride from hell” that will make the time go quickly and put it all into perspective.Our low-maintenance fashion style. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer guys are secure in their manhood and don’t mind rocking a sarong. Women often prefer flip flops to high heels. We don’t spend hours in front of a mirror getting ready to go out.Marry us, and you won’t just get one family — you’ll get two! When we refer to our “brother” or “mom,” you’ll want to be certain we’re talking about our American one or our Peace Corps one. You might even get two wedding ceremonies, one in the U.S. and one back in our Peace Corps country.And last but not least, we aren’t afraid to get dirty.

With a new group of trainees heading to Morocco next month, I thought I would post on Peace Corps acronyms. For any of you who have yet to make it to your PC country, do not be overwhelmed. Even to many experienced PCV's the following will make no sense. Be ready to hear acronyms thrown at you all the time. You're about to be a PCT living in a CBT with a LCF. Give it time and it will all become clear. For current PCV's and RPCV's, see if you can follow along...

Congratulations! You’ve been invited to PC/M! Until you arrive in country you will communicate with PC/W. Don’t let the PSQ’s stress you out. Upon arriving in country you’ll meet the TM and the TA who will manage your PST. You’ll spend the next 10 weeks with your fellow PCT’s learning the language with your LCF and HCN’s so that you can pass your LPI at the end of PST. You’ll be living in a CBT with a host family and a LCF and travel to HUB several times during PST. The HSC will match you with your host family prior to leaving orientation. Before leaving for your CBT the CD will tell you about the PC/M program and the SSC will give you a general overview of safety in PC/M. Also, the PTO along with the TM and the TA will go over the PST schedule. PST may seem like a long time but you will also go through PPST, IST, MSM and COS before becoming a RPCV. Unless you ET of course. During PST you will learn about being a YD PCV and TEFL. During your service you will most likely also do projects that an ENV, HE or SBD PCV would do as well. Whenever you have questions you can reach out to your RM or the RCM can get you supplies from ICE. You won’t learn about grant opportunities like PCPP or SPA until PPST. But I’m getting ahead of myself. You still have to learn about VAC, GAD, VSN and WWS. The FA needs to explain how you will get your money and how to handle reimbursements. If you need a bike and helmet in your final site you’ll have to talk to the GSO. If you ever have an emergency call the DO. Once you have completed PST and passed your LPI you will swear in as a PCV. Not to worry you but at the end of your service you will write a DOS with all your projects on it before COSing. For now, just enjoy being a PCT and the excitement of being a PCV soon and a RPCV in the future!

To sum up, you are a PCT living in a CBT with HCN’s and a LCF going through PST so that you can pass your LPI and swear in as a PCV. Your TM, TA, RM, LCF, CD, AO, PTO, FA, GSO, HSC, SSC, PCMO, DO, and RCM are there to help you with questions, comments and concerns. You just have to make it through PST, PPST, IST, MSM and COS before writing a DOS with your YD, SBD, ENV, HE, TEFL, PCPP and SPA projects on it before become a RPCV. Got it? Good!

If that didn't confuse you give these sentences a try!

The PTO called me to go to PST to talk to the PCT's about the VRF but I have to go to IST to talk to the PCMO about GAD and the CD wants me to talk to VSN because I've been having a hard time in site with several HCN's and my VAST grant is stressing me out!

The CD said that at IST we'll find out about PCPP, VAST and SPA but my RM said to ask the PTO if we'll talk about the new OOC policy and I'm sure the PCMO will come to give us our flu shots but the AO is on AL and won't be coming.

Understand? Even from PC country to country some of the acronyms change so don't be alarmed if you're a PCV serving in another country and didn't understand all of this. If you got all of this, you just passed another LPI! You speak Peace Corps fluently :)

Last week I went on my first camel trek in the desert. It was amazing and the sights were breath taking. I can't begin to explain it in words so here are a few pictures to show you what it was like.

One of the camels in our caravan

Me on my camel and Jack's camel all up in my business

Lead the way camel man!

Camel footprints

It just keeps going and going

Shadow picture

Sunset

Sunrise

Doing yoga during the sunrise

Sun's up, time to go!

Doing the macarena as we trek back to Merzouga

It was so tranquil out there!

It's that moment that so many girls dream of their whole lives. The moment that that one special guys gets down on one knee, takes her left hand, looks her in the eyes and tells her he can't live without her. The proposal. For most people, this happens once maybe twice in a lifetime. For girls serving in many PC countries, this is a common occurrence. This is my story of proposals received while serving as a PCV.

It first started in Albania. Not long after arriving in Albania, my host family and other people in the community started mentioning their single sons, cousins, nephews and brothers. Almost every other female PCV in Albania also noticed this increased level of attention within their community. It wasn't long before the 'proposals' started coming in. I started collecting pieces of paper that would be handed to me with phone numbers on them. Sometimes while I was sitting in my office, random men would come looking for me to see if I wanted to go for coffee. "Do I know you?" I would ask and they would reply something like, "Yes, I'm *insert name here*'s cousins wifes brother-in-laws nephew." When PCV's got together it would always be a fun topic to compare recent proposals.

Since arriving in Morocco, I have received even more proposals. The proposals I have received here have seen a little more serious than those in Albania. One man tried to set me up with his son for about two weeks before I had my tutor step in on my behalf and tell him that I was not interested. Another man tried to convince me to teach him English as an initial reason for meeting me. The most current one, is actually the son of the man who tried to get me to meet his son. He showed up for my adult English class and not knowing who he was, I let him attend. Last night after class (which was not his class but my advanced one), he gave me a book. I told him I did not want it because it was in script and I can't really read script. He said no just keep it until next week. He left and I looked inside the book and there was an envelope. Inside the envelope was the following note:

Now how can a girl say no to a proposal like this? It reminds me junior high when people would send a note saying "Would you go out with me? Circle one: YES NO".

Since most girls will only have one or two proposals in their life, I feel pretty special that I have been proposed to more times than I would like to think about. However, I don't think this will be on the one I'll be accepting. I'm still holding out for the guy that actually speaks the same language as me (fluently), already has US citizenship, has seen me outside of class or other group activities and doesn't live at home with his parents. Maybe I'm being too picky but I figure I still have time to be picky. I haven't hit 30 yet where I have to start talking to my friends who promised me if we were both single at 30 we'd get married.

If any of you ladies reading this have other excellent PC proposal stories, let me hear them! I love a good proposal story before bedtime :)

For almost four years now, my life has been Peace Corps. What does that mean? It means that I never know what the day will hold for me. It means that you have to be flexible and 'go with the flow'. It means that you have to learn to laugh at yourself and be prepared to be the center of stares and whispers. It means that you are out of your element but learn to fit into other peoples. I have not known what my day would be like, let alone my week, month or year. I will be finishing my service with PC this year and that means change. Finally, I know what that change will be.

I was accepted into Alverno's Adult Education and Organizational Development graduate program! I will be coming home in time to do all the 'grown-up' things that I have been putting off all these years. I will have to find a job, an apartment, sign a phone contract, pay for health insurance, car insurance and think about my future by opening up an IRA, just to name a few. Not to mention I'll have to adjust to having a set schedule again. It's overwhelming and entirely exciting!

When I was getting close to finishing my service in Albania, I wasn't sure yet what I wanted to do with myself so I signed up for 2 more years. When I arrived in Morocco, I was pretty sure that what I wanted to do was social work. I still love helping people but what I think I love more is helping people help themselves. One of the expressions that you hear a lot when working on sustainable projects is "it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish". By earning my MA I will be able to do just that.

I am so happy that I finally know what my next big step will be after PC. I still have seven or so months here in Morocco and I have many things planned for that time. Grad school is something that I've known I wanted to do for awhile but it took me awhile to find the right program. This is my next big step. This will be my next adventure. This will be the start to my 'real world' life and I can't wait!

When I think of Christmas, I think of midnight church services, Christmas ham, unwrapping presents in turns, and watching movies all day in my pajamas. For the past few years, my Christmases have been different and there hasn't been anything traditional about them. This year however, several other PCV's and myself got together and tried to celebrate by doing our favorite Christmas traditions. The successes:-Christmas pj exchange-stockings filled with little goodies-ornament exchange-Christmas tree(s)-cinnamon rolls and coffee-A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Muppet Christmas and other holiday favorites-staying in PJ's all day long-tree of shame-Christmas morning picture on the stairs-general snacking throughout the day-Christmas decorations everywhere!

Unfortunately there was no Christmas ham or midnight church service but I feel that we accomplished all the traditions that we could with the resources we had. It was a great Christmas and it was sad to leave Essaouria when it was all done but we'll always have the memories!

Christmas morning picture on the stairs!

New Year's Eve was also a big success. A few of us girls got together in Agadir and got all glamed up for our big night out. We started right with dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant where we were treated to a free bottle of champagne. There was a small incident outside the restaurant that had us a little worried for awhile but our Moroccan friends came to the rescue and made sure that we had a great night! At midnight we were on the beach watching the fireworks and calling friends and family back home. Afterwards we headed to a club where we danced the rest of the night away. It was a great night and a great start to 2012.

This is the start of my final year in Peace Corps (for now at least). So many great things have happened during my time with Peace Corps and I have many more still planed for this year. I look forward to going home for awhile and being with family and friends and hopefully starting grad school this fall. The idea of living in America again is a little overwhelming. I'll have to find an apartment, look for a job and wait in lines because I won't be the foreigner anymore. Even with all that I feel that this is my year. I think a lot of good things are going to happen. It started off great and the momentum has continued up till now. Fingers crossed that everything works out the way I hope it will!!

I hope everyone has had a great holiday season and may the new year bring you all happiness, health and good fortune!!

Christmas is just 5 days away!! I have been getting into the Christmas spirit since, well, Thanksgiving. This will be my fourth Christmas as a PCV, celebrating away from family and friends. I was looking back at my past PC Christmases and thought I would just post a few pictures. I hope that everyone has been enjoying the holiday season and no matter where you are for Christmas, remember that Christmas will come without packages and strings (to quote one of my favorite Christmas time movies). Merry Christmas to everyone!

My first PC Christmas I spent in Bangkok, having my wisdom teethe removed.

2008

My 2nd PC Christmas I spent with friends in Lezha.

2009

My 3rd PC Christmas I spent with the R, A and X part of team RELAX!

2010

I will be spending this Christmas in Essaouria with some of my favorite girls :)

A picture from my 2nd Christmas ever. What a cutie I was!!

One of my favorite Christmas time memories. My parents and I right before Christmas 2004. I can't wait to spend Christmas with them again next year.

As it approaches the holiday season in America most of you will be traveling for one reason or another. I thought I would give you an idea of how travel is done in Morocco. This will give you an insight of what it is like for both Moroccans and PCV's. This will only cover grand taxi travel and souq bus travel. There are also regular buses but that just seems to easy to have to explain it. That two hour drive you have to make to see family will seem like nothing after this!

How to Part A: Grand Taxi Travel

#1: Find a spot on the road or walk to the nearest taxi station and wait for a taxi to pass by or fill up. Remember that in a grand taxi two people sit in the front with the driver and four people sit in the back.

#2: Strategically place yourself in the taxi. For a woman this means, put yourself so that you are next to a window or next to other women. Keep in mind that the worst seat is the middle seat in the front.

#3: Depending on the size of the other people traveling with you you may be required to put your arm up on the backseat, lean forward or sit on your side. The elderly are less likely to make room for you to fit and don't underestimate the hips on that Berber woman!! Secret tip: sit down and don't be afraid to hold your ground. Otherwise you may end up incredibly uncomfortable.

#4: For long distance grand taxi travel, be prepared to shuffle around frequently as body parts go numb or other passengers move. Don't be scared to fall asleep on your neighbors shoulder because if you don't do it first, they might beat you to it!

#5: For those traveling with large bags or packages, do not be surprised if your bag or packages shares space in the trunk with livestock. They are well trained and most likely will not eat through the fabric of your backpack or go to the bathroom on it. Also, don't forget your bag or package as the taxi most likely will speed off once they see you walk away.

#6: For grand taxi's that travel a short distance but handle a heavy traffic of people, be ready to get out and get back in frequently. As listed in step #3, don't be afraid to claim a spot. Even if it requires you to get out and back in every few seconds, you'll be happy you're not in the middle of the two men who look a little too friendly.

#7: There is no starting and stopping etiquette. For example, if someone requests a stop close to yours do not feel obligated to get off as well. Go ahead and make him drive the extra 3 feet before asking the driver to stop again. No one will judge you.

#8: Paying. If you are leaving from a larger taxi station, there will usually be a guy in charge of collecting money. Most times you do not pay until you reach your destination. If you do not know the cost, agree on one before getting into the taxi. Some taxis will even have a list of charges on the dashboard. Do not hesitate to argue if the price does not seem right.

Congrats! You have survived your grand taxi ride!

How to Part B: Souq Bus Travel

#1: Walk to your nearest bus station, stop or a good looking spot on the road.

If walking to a bus station, tell the men calling out names of towns where you want to go and they will walk you to a bus and handle the money to get you a ticket. Be prepared to wait up to two hours as the bus fills up.If walking to a bus stop, wave down the bus as it approaches. You are not guaranteed a seat and you may be standing for awhile if it is a busy bus route. Even if you do not have a seat, you are still required to pay.If waiting on the side of the road, be prepared to wait for awhile until a bus passes that is going where you want to go and stops for you to get on. #2: Seats are not assigned so look for a seat that is not in the sun, has a curtain to close in case you end up in the sun, is strategically located next to a window that opens or has a working air conditioner vent. Also check for broken foot and arm rests, broken seats that are always in recline or that the bottom may slip forward every time the bus is required to stop.#3: Traveling with a buddy is recommended but not always possible. When traveling alone, look to sit next to a friendly woman or a respectable looking older man. Stay away from teenagers, people eating sunflower seeds or crumbly food, all too friendly young men and families with babies. For women traveling solo on souq buses, one way to avoid awkward conversations with the all too friendly young men, wear a fake wedding ring. Make sure that when you talk about your 'husband' you give him a solid Muslim name like Mohammed otherwise they will tell you that you need to marry a good Muslim man. #4: For those traveling with larger bags or packages, you will need to put them under the bus. Usually you will be charged a 5 dirham fee for this service. Make sure to check on your bag on longer stops or as you're waiting for a bus to leave a station. Try to keep valuables with you on the bus. As with grand taxis, do not be surprised to see livestock traveling under the bus with the luggage. #5: On longer souq bus routes, there will be longer food stops and other stops. However, you can never tell when those stops will be made so come prepared with snacks. There are no bathrooms on the bus so control your liquid intake. Plastic bags are readily available for those who get car sick.#6: If not traveling to the final bus destination, be careful to pay attention to where you are. Names of the stops are not called out and it is easy to miss your stop if you fall asleep on the bus. People are willing to wake you up if you tell them where you are going and also able to help if it is your first time traveling to the destination. #7: Souq bus travel is usually loud from multiple people talking on the phone, different sources of music, small children crying, unusually loud bus engines and different forms of body noises. Bring an ipod or something to help drown the noise out. Also extremely helpful if you sit next to someone who wants to talk the whole way and you just can't talk in Darija another minute. #8: The last thing to remember when traveling by souq bus is that tickets are bought before getting on the bus or immediately after getting on for those joining the adventure after the initial station. There are ticket windows at the stations where you will get the correct amount. The men who are calling out the names of towns do not always work for the company that you end up on and do not always give the right price. If it seems sketchy, don't be afraid to ask someone else. Congrats! You have survived your souq bus travel!!

I hope this helps you readers to understand what it is like for us when we travel. Even though some of the places we go look extremely close on the map, it may take a long time to get there. Travel in Morocco can be long and tiring but it is all part of the adventure. Day trips sometimes mean, four hours to get there, an hour there and then four hours to get back. Makes that two hour drive seem like a piece of cake doesn't it? Hope you all have a great holiday season and safe travels to those of you traveling to be with family and friends!!!

On the first day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, a pomegranate tree!!

On the second day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!

On the third day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!

On the fourth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the fifth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the sixth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the seventh day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the eight day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the ninth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the tenth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, ten donkeys mating, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the eleventh day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, eleven roosters crowing, ten donkeys mating, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, twelve children drumming, eleven roosters crowing, ten donkeys mating, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

When you think of Thanksgiving do you think of all the good food there is to eat or do you think of the people you'll eat the food with? Do you think of the football games on t.v. or do you think about how lucky you are to be able to afford a t.v., electricity and cable? Do you think about all the leftovers or the fact that you do not have to worry about what you will eat for the next few days?? Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all that you have in your life. With each passing year that I'm away from my family during the holidays, the importance of them becomes clearer to me. This year I have so many things to be thankful for.

Our Thanksgiving feast; roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, string beans, Moroccan squash, cranberries and biscuits!I'm thankful for; family and friends, PC and PCV's, a working computer, internet, my camera, external hard drive that entertains for hours, a house with no holes in the walls, real pillows, big coffee cups, American coffee, popcorn and cheesy popcorn topping, a dar chbab complete with amazing mudir, hard working students and enough electric sockets for all the new computers, living close to the ocean, camels on the beach, living close to a big city where I can let my hair down, being able to buy soy sauce and granola, people who understand sarcasm, the ability to laugh at situations that are frustrating, friendship scarves and necklaces, random phone calls from America, skype dates, care packages and letters, the #17 bus, Tuesday souq where I can buy a week of fruits and vegetables for under $4, big bakery where I can walk behind the counter, my nook, working headphones, unlimited free meds from PC, the phone plan, utorrent, media file exchanges, goats in trees, camel herds outside my town, sunny days with a gentle wind, little kids that say 'hello', lightweight cardigans, movie nights, power and water 24/7 (usually), Fannie Fan McFanster, clothes that have survived Albania and Morocco, friendly people in Inzegane, homemade holiday decorations, sitemates, being able to sleep through the first call to prayer, msm and hrira, tie-dyed lizars, windows that are open in grand taxis, air conditioned buses, McDonalds in the Marrakech train station, online news sources, people who don't laugh at my baby Darija or Tashalheet, international sign language and pictures of all the wonderful people in my life!

I'm thankful for the company and food I had this year on Thanksgiving!Last but not least, I'm thankful for you!! Thanks for following me during this adventure and sending your support. I hope that you had an amazing Thanksgiving and have just as many (if not more!) things to be thankful for. Now it's time to break out the Christmas decorations and play all my favorite Christmas music. This is indeed the most wonderful time of the year :)

A is for America, and all the conveniences that you find there

M is for movies and bowling and being able to go out all day long

E is for everything. You can buy everything in America!

R is for relatives and friends who help you celebrate the important things like birthdays, baptisms, and holidays.

I is for information technology. You can find whatever you need online. Weird, huh?

C is for coffee, big, enormous, steaming cups of coffee, and cooking pork products at all times of the day

A is for America, my favorite country in the world.

About a week ago, I returned from a two week visit home. It was absolutely wonderful. America did not disappoint. I had a great time catching up with family and friends, going out, dressing up, eating all sorts of marvelous foods, and just generally enjoying myself. It made me realize that I'm starting to get to that point where I'm ready to be home for good. I said starting to realize people! I'm not coming home tomorrow or next month, but I am starting to look forward to going home after I finish this service.

Life in America is still pretty much the same as I remember it. Sure there are a lot of new crazy contraptions out there but I'll figure them out some day (electric cigarettes; who knew?!). I can still go to a store and find an entire aisle of just bread. I can still go and have breakfast at 2 am or 5pm or anytime I feel like it. Americans still drink coffee by the gallon. America is just as amazing as I remember.

While I was home, my aunt threw me an early Thanksgiving dinner with all the classic dishes. It made me realize how lucky I am to have a family to support me through all of my adventures. I am very thankful for all that they've done for me over these past 3+ years with the PC. All the care packages and cards and skype dates have helped me make it this far. I am so lucky that they are and always will be my family.

There's so much more I could say about my trip home but I'll keep it short today. Overall, great trip home and America is still awesome. 'Nuff said :)

Just before I was about to leave for my trip to America, my kids at the dar chbab threw me an early birthday party. One of my counterparts arranged for me to get henna in the morning before the party in the afternoon. I had promised to bring brownies to the party and since I wasn't sure who else was bringing anything I was baking right up until my sitemate, Beth and I left to walk up to the dar chbab. This is Morocco however and when there is a party, there are treats!

I shouldn't say I was surprised at the amount of treats that they brought but it made me feel really good that they took the time to bring things. There were two cakes, numerous sodas and they even brought me presents! I really hadn't even thought about if they would bring me presents or not. I was really surprised at their generosity but then again it's Morocco and I should have known better. After we sang happy birthday and I blew out the candles, I cut the cake and we all dug in. Everything was so delicious!

After eating and digesting for a little bit, I opened the presents. There was a candle holder, a framed piece of art and a really cute 6 piece coffee cup and saucer set. We had gone shopping about a week earlier for a present for the mudir and they didn't want to talk about what to get me then but they had been secretly asking my opinion on things that they thought I might like. They know how much I love coffee so they decided on the coffee cups. I still can't get over the fact that they bought me presents at all.... the cakes themselves were present enough!

One of my cakes!!

It's little moments like this where I really love my job. I can tell that I'm making connections with people in the community. Two of PC's main goals is cultural exchange between Americans and host country nationals and I know that those goals are my favorite to work on. In a community like this, it's hard not to love! Just another reason why I do what I do :)

Just over two weeks ago, the Acting Out Awareness group had their first official performance in Inzegane, a town about an hour north. After months of rehearsals, changes in props and finally finishing the set, they were really ready to take on their first live audience. We met up just after 8am to pack up the van and head up where we were greeted by the mudir and an assistant and treated to a Moroccan breakfast. The Inzegane dar chbab staff seemed to be very interested in what we were doing and they were also eager to share what programs they have to offer their youth. I was impressed with the information available at the dar chbab about AIDS.

Opening scene.... the little guy is the AIDS virus

There were already about 20 kids hanging out at the dar chbab when we arrived but not more than five minutes after we pulled up another 20 kids came running up. As we were setting up and talking to the staff there, kids kept popping their heads into the room to see what we were up to. I noticed several of them point at me and go "That's an American!" I know what my part in this whole project is and if I can help out more just by being the American that every one comes to see and look at, fine by me. By the time we were ready to start there were close to 60 kids in the room.

Captive audience

The performance went perfectly except for one small flaw at the end. There are these six boxes that they turn around to spell out an awareness slogan and they flipped the boxes around out of order. A small mistake that they realized and fixed by the end. As I was watching the kids in the audience watch them, I could tell that they were fully engaged in the performance and that they were getting the message. They even got a standing ovation at the end! No Moroccan activity is complete without dancing so there was a little dancing and a few games after we finished to fully round up the activity. We also had a discussion with several members of a theater group at the Inzegane dar chbab to discuss how we could do joint projects in the future. Everyone seemed pleased at the idea of working together and sharing resources.

Defeating the AIDS virus

This was just the first performance out of eight. I think it went very well and the kids in the group were pleased with their performance. It will be interesting to see how they improve over the next seven performances and see how many people will end up hearing their message. These kids impress me every day by their dedication to this project. I'm just happy that I can be a part of it. The next six weekends will be the other performances most likely. With that said, break a leg guys!

Some of the participants

Tajine, a traditional food of Morocco, is actually not a food but the type of pot that you cook the food in. A tajine is a clay pot that is flat on the bottom with slightly raised edges and a triangle shaped cover. Traditionally it is cooked over coals but you can also cook it over a flame on a stove top. There are both clay and metal tajines but I would recommend the clay tajine as would most Moroccans you might talk to. There are many different things you can cook in a tajine but I will only give you the how to for one. The following how to is on how to make a traditional chicken tajine.

#1: Gather your ingredients and clean them. You will need, a tajine, oil, 2 big onions, 4 big tomatoes, salt, a chicken (cleaned, cut and sectioned), 1/4 kilo olives, and cilantro.

#2: In the tajine, pour enough oil to completely cover the bottom.

#3: Cut the onions into small sections. Size is up to your personal preference.

#4: Cut the tomatoes into small sections. Size is up to your personal preference.

#5: Sprinkle salt over the top and cook until the onions are slightly brown.

#6: Place chicken into the tajine so that it is spread out into one layer.

#7: Pour a little more oil over the chicken and let it simmer for a few minutes.

#8: Cut cilantro over the top of the chicken. Cover the tajine and let it cook for a about 10 minutes.

#9: Uncover the tajine and turn the chicken over. Add a little more oil and the olives and recover the chicken.

#10: Let the tajine cook until the chicken is tender and cooked all the way through.

#11: Serve hot and eat with bread. No silverware allowed!

This is approximately what your tajine will look like when it's done

Hope you will find this helpful and delicious! Keep your eyes open for the next Moroccan how to!

One year ago today I landed in Morocco with about 60 other Americans. As we traveled by bus from the Casablanca Airport to Mehdiya, I remember looking out the window and thinking "Can I do this?" My first impressions of the country was that it was brown, fairly clean, the roads were flat and straight, it was hot, and it was NOT Albania. As most of you know, I absolutely fell in love with Albania. I was at home in Lezha with my friends and Albanian family, my freedom to do almost anything and was comfortable with the things I had in my life. Here I was in Morocco about to start from scratch. What the heck did I get myself into??!!

Over the past year, there have been things I have struggled with, am still struggling with and things that I have done that I am proud of. There have been good days and bad days. There are things here that I like a lot and things here that I don't really care for. My job is not what I expected it to be but it is evolving and becoming more like what I want it to be for my second year. I still have no idea what projects will actually finish before I leave and what projects will still only be ideas. I DO know that I have made an impact on my community and that they will remember me after I'm gone and for that reason, I know I've been a successful volunteer.

So on this anniversary of my arrival in Morocco, I wanted to list out some things that I've done and some things that I still want to do. These lists are by no means complete but they are a good representation of my first year here.

Things I have Done-PST, PPST and IST!! (pre-service training, post pre-service training and in-service training)-One academic year of English classes with two of my students graduating high school-Spring Camp in Agadir with 40 kids-Summer Camp in El Jadida with 80 kids-Month long day camp at my youth center with about 200 kids between 3 sessions-World Map Project-Coordinated the SOS Village in Agadir and worked at one of the summer sessions-Volunteered at Special Olympics -Co-lead workshops on English and Customer Service at Marche Maroc Essaouria-Won a VAST grant for an AIDS awareness campaign put together by the youth at my dar chbab-Helped at a PCV led Women's Wellness Conference -Helped to redesign and improve PST for the new group that arrived in country YESTERDAY! (welcome new group!)-Learned some basic Tashalheet -Improved my Darija-Made Moroccan friends in my community-Learned how to wrap a lizar-Learned how to make mint tea and tajine-Traveled around to multiple areas of Morocco without getting lost, injured or pick-pocketed-Learned how to live as a meat loving vegetarian-Successfully stayed single (even with all the marriage proposals)-Survived having a wisdom tooth pulled in country-Killed my first cockroach-Successfully integrated well enough into my town so that I no longer get "Bonjour"-ed!-Learned how to make tortilla's and alfredo sauce (literally learned yesterday so I could put it on today's list)-Survived the Moroccan summer-Survived my first Ramadan!

Things I Still Have to Do-Finish my AID's awareness campaign with my dar chbab-Start a girl's sports club-Start a Health Club/Environment Club-Become conversational in Tashalheet-Help a friend find funding and start a tourism project for our town-Learn how to make msmn-Learn some basic French-Complete a 2nd year of English classes at the dar chbab-Work at spring camp, summer camp and day camp next year-Continue coordinating for SOS Village in Agadir-And anything else that comes up!!

My service in Morocco is nothing like what my service was in Albania. It's not better. It's not worse. It's just different. Morocco is growing on me more and more as the days pass. I'm starting to feel more at home here. Time has been passing quickly and it's hard to believe it's been a year already. If my second year in Morocco is anything like my second year in Albania, it's going to fly by. I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in my remaining time here and anxious for all my new projects to start. It's been a good first year Morocco, let's keep up the good work!

August is over half-way done at this point and so is my first Ramadan. Ramadan, for those of you who don't know, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which lasts for 29 or 30 days. Since the Islamic calendar is based on the moon, the dates change every year. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and yes, sex, during daylight hours. It is a time for Muslims to reflect on their spirituality, their humility, patience and submissiveness to God, or Allah. Ramadan is one of the most important holidays to Muslims as it celebrates the first time that a verse of the Qur'an was read to the prophet Mohammed. The following has been my experience with Ramadan so far and my plans for the rest of the month.

The first day of Ramadan fell on August 2nd. I was at summer camp at El Jadida and experienced it along with about 80 Moroccan youth, 16 other Americans and several Moroccan counselors. We went to bed as usual on August 1st but around 4am, those of us preparing to fast woke up to eat a small meal of bread with cheese, yogurt, orange juice and fruit. This was to prepare us for the day as we would not be eating again until around 7:30pm. We went back to bed and woke up around 10. Our day with the campers started at 12:45 and you could tell it wasn't easy for anyone. The campers were tired, quiet, and lethargic. For myself, I found it became hardest around 3pm. That's when I first became hungry and started getting a head ache. I couldn't believe I still had to wait another 4 1/2 hours until break fast. I didn't know if I would make it. I had a break and decided to take a power nap. My power nap got me through it and I ran to the food hall along with everyone else when the bell sounded that it was time to break fast.

My first break fast was exciting, delicious and painful. For those of you who have ever fasted, you know how delicious food tastes again once you eat. You're so hungry and everything just tastes twice as good as usual. You also inhale your food which is where the pain came in. For all of us first timers, we overdid it and left feeling over full. How could we resist the spread of soup, bread, cheese, msmn, hard boiled eggs, jam, orange juice, dates and sweets?? We vowed after that the second day we would eat slower so as to not leave in so much pain. The second day was easier. I didn't feel hungry until right before break fast and at break fast, I paced myself so I didn't overdue it. I also started staying up until 4 in the morning so that I could eat my last meal before going to bed. It worked out well and I felt good during those days of Ramadan at camp.

Since leaving camp, I have continued to fast. I had to stop for a few days because I got sick. The Qur'an states that young children, the elderly, pregnant women, sick people and travelers going farther than 60km do not need to fast. It has been an enjoyable experience and not as hard as I thought it would be. It has been hard to refrain from drinking water during the day, and I have slipped on occasion, but overall I think I have done well. I have found it easier to fast when there are other people with me also fasting. It's so easy to cheat when you're by yourself! I am back in Rabat to help out with a focus group so these next few days should be easy fasting days. I am going to continue fasting for the entire month as long as I am not hindered from doing so (ex: sickness).

For those of you who are still confused about Ramadan, think about it like the Islamic equivalent of Lent. During Lent, you give up something for 40 days. For Ramadan, Muslims all give up the same thing for 30 days. It can be hard but then challenges make successes that much sweeter, don't they?? Many people have asked why I am fasting. I am not Muslim. I am fasting because I am living in a Muslim culture where my neighbors and friends are fasting. I wanted to experience what they do every year. This might be one of my only chances to truly experience Ramadan as it should be. Even if I wasn't fasting, my life here would have had to change. Business hours are different for Ramadan. Things sold in stores change during Ramadan. Transportation has become more scarce in my town. Life continues late into the night now. This is my first Ramadan and I have been mentally preparing for it since I arrived in this country eleven months ago. It is here and I am enjoying it more than I thought I could. The bell signaling break fast is about to go off so I will end here so that I can get ready to go and eat. Ramadan kareem everyone!!

Summer time in Morocco. The thermometer reads much higher than you would ever like to see it. Juicy melons cost mere pennies. Laundry dries in an hour or two instead of all day. Beaches are crowded with different groups of campers. Youth Development PCV's take their turns working at summer camp in El Jadida. This is summer time in Morocco.

After having had a few days to rest and recuperate, I am now ready to describe my experience at summer camp. As some of you may know, I was partially dreading camp because of stories I've heard from years past. I was also excited about it because it was camp. Who doesn't love camp?! I arrived a few days late because I needed to finish up a few things in site but arrived at the same time as the campers so I didn't miss much. We started off right away with get to know you games and general shenanigans.

Campers were given a language proficiency test when they arrived at camp and then were divided into English classes, clubs and teams. The teams they were put on were able to gain and lose points throughout camp for good behavior, bad behavior, helpfulness, attendance, participation and winning challenges. Clubs varied from arts and crafts to dance to games to creative writing to theater. English classes were from beginner up through advanced. Every day they would line up for announcements and songs and then go to English class, followed by an activity, lunch, another activity, club time, snack, an activity, dinner and then more activities at night. At least for the first few days before Ramadan but we'll talk about that later.

The beautiful schedule Some of the activities included a fashion show, team competition of talent, a trivia game, a talent show, a presentation from an astronaut, workshops, field trip to neighboring Azemmour and going to the beach. The fashion show, as you can imagine, contained some true fashion, some out there fashion and some just plain old, "what were you thinking?!" fashion. We had four categories, modern, hip-hop, crazy and traditional. I am happy to say that one of my girls, Zora won 1st place in the hip-hop category.

Some of the team captains showing their team pride on fashion show night

The team competition of talent went well with some skits, songs, physical demonstrations of strength and team cheers. There were two trivia games; one was more like jeopardy and the other required teams to search for the clues based on the number of spaces they had moved on a game board. The astronaut who came to camp (no she wasn't wearing a flight suit....) was an American astronaut brought to Morocco by the American embassy to promote girls to follow science studies. We had several different workshops on leadership, environment and gender. The trips to the beach were enjoyed by all and one day we even went swimming in an indoor pool! I was just as happy as the campers that day.

Ben, Beth, Donniell, astronaut, me and Rachel

The day before Ramadan was supposed to start (we'll talk about that later), we went on a field trip to Azemmour, a town about 30 minutes away. The trip started out slightly chaotic since we did not know what to do and we were in a small market filled with lots of other people. Once we started moving it was much better. The old town of Azemmour has murals painted all over its walls. The murals are new but beautiful and colorful. There is also a wonderful park next to the river where we sat for awhile. We also were able to go into a section of the old town where we could climb the outer wall of the city and take some amazing pictures of the town. It was a really cool old town in the sense that it was old and touristy but not completely taken care of. There were buildings in need of repair and doors that you can tell are the first ones from when the city was first built. I liked the mix of traditional with modern. We returned to camp just in time for dinner and found out that Ramadan would not start until August 2nd.

Looking at the "new" through the "old"

One of our night time activities during Ramadan was Halloween. The kids were encouraged to wear costumes (most of them just dressed up) or get their faces painted. The PCV's put together a haunted house which I heard scared most of the campers. There was also bobbing for apples, face painting and we showed them the movie Hocus Pocus. It was a great way for the campers to enjoy one of the best American holidays. On our last night at camp we had the talent show. Campers were able to dazzle us with their singing, dancing, drumming, acting, poems, and overall thoughts of camp. We also celebrated everyone who had a birthday during camp that night. There was delicious cake to follow our dinner outside.

My girl drumming her heart out!

I don't want to get into too much detail about Ramadan as that will be a future blog post but I'll give you some basics. Ramadan started on August 2nd. Those of us who were fasting, woke up around 4am to eat a quick snack before the first call to prayer and fasting began for the day. We continued on with our normal schedule, only a few hours pushed back, and broke fast around 7:30. Breaking fast is an amazing experience but like I said that will be in a later blog post.

Camp ended on the 5th and as the campers left so did many of the PCV's. About 5 of us ended up going into Rabat for medical reasons after but we've all recovered, hamdullah. There is talk of redesigning summer camp so we'll see what happens but I hope next year will be just as much fun as this year. Either way, next year I'm only going to look forward to camp, not dread it. And for those PCV's out there who didn't like camp, I ask you, what's not to love about camp??!!!

During my dar chbab's day camp last month, we had one day where we started painting the outside walls. My mudir is a painter and I knew it would only be a matter of time before we started adding color to the otherwise bland new dar chbab. Along with some supplies donated from the American School in Rabat, my mudir donated some of his own paints so that this project was possible. The world map is something I've wanted to do since getting to site so I proposed we start it while we had a large number of kids to help. My mudir agreed and we set a few kids out to start painting the backdrop.

One of the students outlining the countries in black

The world map is a Peace Corps initiative to create a better cultural exchange between host country nationals (HCN's) and the global community. It's exactly what it sounds like. PCV's go into their communities and paint a world map with their community partners. In my case, the world map was done with the campers at the day camp and the counselors. We started it on the day that we were doing murals and finished it the day before I left for summer camp. In total we worked on it four days. The first day we just painted the backdrop. The second day we traced out the grid. Tracing out the grid takes the longest and is the most important. If you make the squares uneven, your map will be too. You can also use a projector and trace it but not everyone has a projector (I didn't). The third day we traced out the countries. Make sure that older kids do this as some of the countries are oddly shaped and it's harder for the smaller children to follow the outline. On the final day we painted in the countries, outlined them in black and wrote in the country names. Tracing out the grid. Yes that's a broomstick we're using.

This is a simple project to do in site and doesn't require to many materials or money. Usually this project can be funded entirely by a community with about $50 depending on the cost of paint. Our world map did not cost the community one cent because of the paint donated by the American school. The kids had so much fun painting and guessing the names of the countries. My hope is to use the map to talk about different cultures and use it for future English lessons. My mudir is very happy with the final product as were several other community members who watched its progression.

This is before the country names were written in For any PCV's out there looking for a simple summer time project, I recommend the world map. Gather up a few kids, find a blank wall or some sidewalk and get your pencils sharpened. This was a fun project for my community and me. Now I know even after I'm gone, they will remember me when they see the map. I've left my mark.

Over the month of July, my dar chbab held a month long day camp. In total it was three 10-day sessions, with about 80 kids in each. Over the course of the month, we played games, sports, did arts and crafts, went on excursions, ate amazing food, had dance parties and painted the outside walls of the dar chbab (to be described in a later blog post). Before the day camp started I was stressing out about how long the days were and being able to speak to the kids who mostly only know Tashalheet, however it was the best thing I've done in site to date.

One of the arts and crafts activities

The first few days were tough since I went from working a few hours a week to working 12 hours a day. After my body adjusted, it was actually exciting to get up and go to the dar chbab every morning. As soon as I walked through the gate I would be tackled by little girls who wanted to greet me by kissing my cheeks or by little boys who wanted to shake my hand. It felt so good to be welcomed by that by people who didn't always understand me. Since these were littler kids not all of them have learned Darija yet. I only know simple commands in Tashalheet. A lot of times it would be them asking me long questions and me responding with "ur snH" (I don't know). They would laugh, I would smile and we would move on. I ended up learning a bit more Tashalheet from the kids throughout the camp and I taught them some English.

Marching the kids to our spot on the beach

One of the things that most impressed me from the camp was hygiene. All the kids would wash their hands before eating and brush their teeth after. It was so cute to watch them get out their little toothbrushes and toothpaste and go to town in the courtyard. One day there was a group of doctors who came to camp and they did a teeth brushing demonstration. What made this hygiene even more impressive was we did not have water until the last week of camp. We had a water reserve which they would have to get water from first before washing their hands or teeth. On our excursions we would bring multiple jugs of water as well so that they would still be able to do both as well.

Brushy brushy brushy!! Each session we would go on 2 excursions. The first one to an area between the neighborhoods filled with trees. The second one to the beach. The day we went to the trees was always very pleasant. Not only did we have lots of shade but it was a very relaxed day. The kids would play different games in the morning and after we ate lunch we would do a big group activity. The beach was a little more stressful just because of crowd control but still fun. The kids would do activities in the sand and we would take them in the water in small groups. One day we went it was a little chilly but the kids still had a great time. My favorite part of the excursions was the way we traveled. We would get 3 trucks and all the kids would be standing up in the trailer singing and clapping the whole way there. Needless to say, we made a scene true Moroccan style.

Taking one of the groups in to swim

Something else that we did each session was a more traditional activity. The kids would all bring their best traditional clothes and of course, I was dressed up too. One time we did a re-enactment of two tribes fighting over a water well. Another time we did a scavenger hunt type activity where the counselors each played a role and the kids would have to do an activity with each. These activities were always fun to watch and helped me understand a lot more about Moroccan culture.

After one of our dance parties

There were of course the traditional sports, arts and crafts and songs as well. The camp favorite was "bananas". If you don't know it, it goes like this: Bananas of the world unite!! Peel banana, peel, peel banana! Jump banana, jump, jump banana! Go bananas, go, go bananas!! Overall the camp was a huge success. One day there was even a delegation from Rabat who came to see the camp. They were impressed with the staff and the activities we were doing with the kids. I did not get to see the end of day camp since I had to leave for summer camp but I hope that the time I spent at day camp will help my future projects in site. That is day camp in a nutshell. It was amazing, wonderful, inspiring, and exhausting. All in all an excellent chapter to my Peace Corps experience in Morocco.

On our way back from the beach!

This past week I was fortunate enough to participate in an amazing craft fair put on by several SBD volunteers in Essaouria called Marche Maroc. It brought together artisans from around Morocco to one place for them to sell their products, participate in workshops and network. I was brought in as one of four YD volunteers to lead a customer service workshop with a little English mixed in. The first day of the craft fair, the governor of Essaouria stopped by to see the event. The artisans proudly showed their handiwork and were able to discuss how their specialty items were made. Overall, I was very impressed by the fair and the work that the SBD volunteers had put into it. Congrats to all the participants on a job well done!

One of the artisans preparing her booth on opening day

An artisan from Taourdant talking to the governor of Essaouria

One artisans craft; jellaba button necklaces!

The governor of Essaouria talking to a PCV about his artisans work

The artisans along with some PCV's

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays in America and this year I celebrated in true American fashion; lounging on the beach with a campfire and hot dogs. In years past when I have been away from America on this, one of its truly festive holidays, I have felt homesick and longed for all that the 4th has to offer in America. This year I felt like I celebrated as much as possible with what I had to work with. It was a truly amazing celebration in honor of my favorite nations' birthday.

On the 3rd, I spent the day at a more secluded beach with students from my dar chbab. For them it was an end of the school year party but we managed to celebrate one of my students' birthdays as well as Americas'. We rented a little room where we ate breakfast, lunch and kaskerut (afternoon tea). I was impressed with the cooking skills of the boys but gave them a hard time while they were cooking which they took in good fun :)

It was a little chilly in the morning but we still had fun wandering the rocks and playing with crabs and borrowing fishing rods from some of the older men. Sadly we did not catch any fish but we had a good time being splashed by the waves. It warmed up in the afternoon and the boys took turns wrestling one down to the ground and then throwing them into the ocean. No trip to the beach is complete with some frisbee which my students really enjoy. We were able to have some snacks before being picked up by our transport and heading back into town.

Later that night I headed over to Beth's and we officially kicked off our raging 4th of July party! It was so crazy we needed to have a guest book in order to keep track of who attended. Unfortunately, I'm joking. We had only two guests but we still had an amazing time. On the 4th, we headed over to the beach. We arranged to rent a tent for the night. After dropping off our things we headed down to a part of the beach with less Moroccans so that we could be a little more Hshuma (shameful). After an enjoyable afternoon of frolicking in the ocean, building sand castles, playing frisbee, napping and running to move our things from the high tide we headed back to our tent to start making dinner.

My patriotic look...... thanks for the t-shirt Mom!

We decided that since dinner would take awhile to cook we went into town to grab a snack. When we got back, the manager of the camp and the kitchen staff helped us to wrangle up some wood for our campfire. Dinner was roasted potatoes, green peppers, carrots and hot dogs!! Of course we sang some of our favorite patriotic songs and wore all our red, white and blue to show our pride. We even had patriotic temporary tattoos. And no 4th of July campfire is complete without............. marshmallows!!! Delicious :D The only thing that would have made it better would have been fireworks but you have to take what you can get, right? Overall, I think it was my favorite 4th of July away from America.

4th of July cheers next to the campfire

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th as well. Happy birthday America!!

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays in America and this year I celebrated in true American fashion; lounging on the beach with a campfire and hot dogs. In years past when I have been away from America on this, one of its truly festive holidays, I have felt homesick and longed for all that the 4th has to offer in America. This year I felt like I celebrated as much as possible with what I had to work with. It was a truly amazing celebration in honor of my favorite nations' birthday.

On the 3rd, I spent the day at a more secluded beach with students from my dar chbab. For them it was an end of the school year party but we managed to celebrate one of my students' birthdays as well as Americas'. We rented a little room where we ate breakfast, lunch and kaskerut (afternoon tea). I was impressed with the cooking skills of the boys but gave them a hard time while they were cooking which they took in good fun :)

It was a little chilly in the morning but we still had fun wandering the rocks and playing with crabs and borrowing fishing rods from some of the older men. Sadly we did not catch any fish but we had a good time being splashed by the waves. It warmed up in the afternoon and the boys took turns wrestling one down to the ground and then throwing them into the ocean. No trip to the beach is complete with some frisbee which my students really enjoy. We were able to have some snacks before being picked up by our transport and heading back into town.

Later that night I headed over to Beth's and we officially kicked off our raging 4th of July party! It was so crazy we needed to have a guest book in order to keep track of who attended. Unfortunately, I'm joking. We had only two guests but we still had an amazing time. On the 4th, we headed over to the beach. We arranged to rent a tent for the night. After dropping off our things we headed down to a part of the beach with less Moroccans so that we could be a little more Hshuma (shameful). After an enjoyable afternoon of frolicking in the ocean, building sand castles, playing frisbee, napping and running to move our things from the high tide we headed back to our tent to start making dinner.

My patriotic look...... thanks for the t-shirt Mom!

We decided that since dinner would take awhile to cook we went into town to grab a snack. When we got back, the manager of the camp and the kitchen staff helped us to wrangle up some wood for our campfire. Dinner was roasted potatoes, green peppers, carrots and hot dogs!! Of course we sang some of our favorite patriotic songs and wore all our red, white and blue to show our pride. We even had patriotic temporary tattoos. And no 4th of July campfire is complete without............. marshmallows!!! Delicious :D The only thing that would have made it better would have been fireworks but you have to take what you can get, right? Overall, I think it was my favorite 4th of July away from America.

4th of July cheers next to the campfire

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th as well. Happy birthday America!!

Summer. As a kid, you long for the days of summer when you can sleep in, play outside all day, go to the beach, do all the things you can't do when you're stuck inside at school all day. Summer time has arrived in Morocco and instead of me looking forward to travel plans and sleeping 14 hours a day, I have a busy schedule for the next 2 months. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about it and happy that I won't spend my days sweating inside my house. I'll be outside running after kids, teaching silly games and songs and sweating through every piece of clothing I own.

My first project is my VAST grant, Acting Out Awareness. The theater group at my dar chbab and I will be traveling around to different dar chbab's presenting our AIDS awareness skit and then doing a wall mural at each as a long lasting reminder of what they learned. The start date has been pushed back because of getting money late, exams for the kids and dar chbab's being closed but it will be done this summer!! Now that the exams are done, the kids are back at rehearsals and getting geared up to get this show on the road!

My second project will be working at the Agadir SOS village. For those of you who don't know what an SOS village is, it is an orphanage where kids live with a "mom". These "mom's" come from the community and live with the kids. They live in this family unit and do everything together. They cook together, learn together, play together and live in the same house. It's an amazing model and I'm really excited to work with them. There will be several camps over the course of the summer but I will be working mainly as a coordinator between the SOS village and other volunteers. I have a training this week and then will go and meet with the director and see what they need so I can start setting things up.

Another big plan for the summer is a month long day camp here in site. There will be 100 kids who will meet at the dar chbab every morning at 8 for one whole month. About 15 adults/older students will be in charge of leading them in games, arts and crafts, songs, lessons, day trips etc. I'm slightly stressed about this one because it is EVERY DAY for a month from 8am until 6pm but I actually will only be there for the first 20 days because then I will leave for.....

SUMMER CAMP in El Jadida!!! Along with about 17 other volunteers and approximately 80 kids, we will have a two week session with English lessons, going to the beach, games, sports etc. I've heard many good things about summer camp in the past so I'm very excited about going. The only problem I foresee is that our session has 5 days during Ramadan. This means that we will sleep in until 11 or so and then stay at the beach without food or water until we break fast after the last call to prayer. We will stay up until 1am or so after that playing sports. Some people have said it works out well and others have said it's not too good. We'll see how it goes.

As for Ramadan, I plan on trying to fast for the first week to see if I can do it. If I can do it without dying, I will continue to do it. I'm looking forward to breaking fast for the first time. I'm not so excited about not being able to drink water. If anything, I might bend the rules a little and sneak water during the day. I'm sure it will be ok. Muslims have been doing this for hundreds of years without too much difficulty so I should be able to do it for a few weeks right? I'll let you all know how it goes.

Anyway, those are most of my plans for what's turning out to be a ridiculously hot summer. I hope everyone reading this is enjoying their summer up to this point (especially those of you with a/c!). Keep your eyes open for updates and pictures that will be coming soon!

Most people spend their lives only knowing one father. Some people will know two. I am luckier than most because I have four. This Father's Day I want to take a look at these four men who have made an impact on my life and thank them for all they have done for me.

My third day in Albania, I walked into a small apartment in the town of Cerrik and was welcomed by my host mother, Vushje. Later that night I met my host father, Mesiti. Mesiti had two sons who were around my age and I wasn't sure how he would feel about becoming a host dad to a 21 year old American girl. To my luck, he greeted me with a big smile and a firm handshake. Over the next three months, Mesiti became my protector, my teacher and my Albanian dad. Even though I would pretend to be frustrated when he corrected all my grammar mistakes, I secretly loved that he pushed me to be better than I was. We went for walks every night with my host mom and he would teach me vocabulary using our walks as a teaching tool. I looked forward to those walks and showing him what I had learned that day in class or using words he had taught me the day before. One night we visited a family friend and the man was asking Mesiti about his two sons. Mesiti answered him, "My sons are doing well and my daughter is my pride." At first I didn't understand what he had said but then he repeated it and I caught the last word. It was then that I truly felt that Mesiti had accepted me as his daughter. Those first few months were challenging and difficult but having Mesiti as my host dad made them much more enjoyable and I enjoyed visiting a few times during my service. Happy Father's Day Mesiti!!!

My second unofficial host dad in Albania was a huge reason why I was so successful during my two years. I saw Nikolla almost every day during my time in Lezhe. Sometimes it would be for a coffee in the afternoon, usually we had lunch together and a few times it was just to warm up in front of his space heater at his pharmacy during the cold winter months. As soon as I would see Nikolla, he would get a huge smile on his face which would make me smile. Whenever I needed information or help, Nikolla would introduce me to the right person or help me himself if he could. Nikolla also had two sons around my age as well and we always joked that I was his daughter with his American mistress. People in town would refer to me as Nikolla's daughter. Even his sons would call me "sis". I loved being invited to all the family functions and being part of their life stories. Nikolla helped show me real Albanian culture at it's finest and I in return liked introducing Nikolla to all my visitors. We spent many afternoons teaching people to dance or showing people around town. I still talk to Nikolla through his wife on Facebook some days and I'm anxious to go back and visit. Happy Father's Day Nikolla!!!

Nikolla and me on my 23rd Birthday

My second host family in Morocco introduced me to L'Ichem. I was intimidated at first by L'Ichem because he was a moqqadem or a local mayor. My intimidation turned out to be unnecessary because L'Ichem already had three daughters and was more than willing to welcome a fourth into his house. His eldest had already married and I guess I was a type of replacement. Because of his job, L'Ichem wasn't home a lot. He left early in the morning, came home for lunch, went back to work, came home for tea, then went out again until dinner. The times when he was home he would always ask me how things were going and if he could help me with anything. He was also patient and understood my baby Darija very well. One day, the King was coming to a town nearby so everyone in my town traveled over by the bus load. Everything went well on the way there and as we waited for the King to drive by. On the bus on the way back, a boy was saying inappropriate things towards myself and another girl on the bus. My host dad was so angry with him, he kicked him off the bus on the side of the street in the middle of nowhere!! Needless to say he had my back. It was nice to know he was just as protective of me as his was of his own daughters. I still see L'Ichem a lot on the street and I've been back to the house for tea and he is still just as nice as ever. Happy Father's Day L'Ichem!!!

As is tradition, I have saved the best for last. My very own 100% biological father is my favorite Dad of all time. He has been there for me over the past 24 years and has let me do many things that some dad's never would of. Some of my favorite memories include, putting barrettes into his hair when I was little, going to the beach in the summer, Girl Scout Father Daughter Dance in Elementary school, walking away embarrassed from him doing "I'm too sexy" in a public area, and going to Chicago for a day of fun, just to name a few. I may be too big now to stand on your feet when we dance but I'll always be your little girl. I love you so much and I can't wait to see you when I come home. Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

Dad feeding me when I was just a itty bitty baby.

I may be grown up now but I'm still his little girl.

So for all of you still reading, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call your father's and let them know how important they are for you. For those of you far away from your dad, send an email, get on skype, send a message somehow to let them know you're thinking about them. Many of us wouldn't be who we are today if it wasn't for our dad's.

Special Olympics is a well known organization operating in many countries around the world. Not only does Special Olympics (S.O.) help educate people on disabilities but they also provide medical services to their athletes. Free medical care for athletes is a big deal in many countries where S.O. operates. The mentality in many places is that a child with a handicap is shame on the family and they are kept hidden in their house for their entire life. These forgotten children are never offered the opportunities to learn, to play or to live a life. S.O. is reaching out to the people with this mentality in developing countries and really starting to make a difference in thousands of lives. When I received an email from my program manager a few weeks ago saying that PC Morocco and Special Olympics Morocco had finally signed a MOU (memorandum of understanding), I was excited to be able to help at any upcoming event. This past week I had the fortune of helping at a regional meet in Tangiers.

Even after working several other S.O. events, I was surprised by the talents and skills that the athletes in Tangiers had. I was assigned to help with the gymnastics athletes. There were only 6 doing gymnastics so it went fast. The athletes were asked to do a few somersaults and cartwheels and one was able to do a few other tricks at the end. One little boy just wanted to do somersaults all day. He would get to the end of the mat and just keep going, realize he was off the mat, turn around and keep going. When we finished gymnastics, I floated around to the other events at our location to watch. There was ping-pong, weight lifting, badminton and bocce ball. Tennis and track and field events were held at another location.

Overall the event was amazing. I was very surprised by how helpful the staff from the different centers were. They understood their athletes and were able to help entertain them during the down time. The athletes were also very well behaved and we were not chasing after them all day bringing them back to their events. For it being one of the first S.O. events in Morocco, it went way smoother than I thought it would. I look forward to helping at more events and watching as the program grows here.

For those of you back home who are waiting to leave for your Peace Corps journey, I highly recommend looking into S.O. events in your area. S.O. is starting to operate in many PC countries and it would only be to your benefit to have a little experience with the organization before heading to your future site. For those of you back home who have a little extra time on your hands, I also recommend you look into volunteering with S.O. It is a great cause and highly rewarding. With that said, below are pictures from the event. Enjoy!

One of the teams.

Tangier team in traditional dress.

TEAM PEACE CORPS!

The little boy who wanted nothing more than to somersault until he could somersault no more.

One of the weight lifters

Awards Ceremony

In the south of Morocco, especially the Souss and Sahara regions, you will find women do not dress with the more common jellaba or caftan. Instead, they wear what is known as a lizar. What is a lizar you might ask?? Well, a lizar is basically a sheet. It is approximately 3 meters long and about 1.5 meters wide. If you are interested in making your own lizar creation to wear around, you can buy any fabric with those dimensions and follow the below steps. At first, lizar wrapping is challenging and you may find yourself fighting to get out of the fabric but keep with it and in no time you can be a lizar wrapping pro!!

Step 1: Take your lizar fabric and unfold it completely so that it lies like a runner behind you and it will be easiest to wrap yourself.

Step 2: Take one end of the fabric and hold it under one armpit and then grab behind you for more fabric to wrap yourself once.

Step 3: Tie the fabric over your chest and tuck the ends in so that it doesn't stick out later. This step can be confusing. To tie the fabric, start with the end you started with. Next, grab a little of the fabric that touches the first end by your armpit. Tie into a knot as you would ribbon still on a spool.

Step 4: Take the long side of fabric and pull it up over your head, not pulling it too tight so that your arm will have room to move after the following steps. A good test is to pull the fabric taunt over your head and arms with your elbows bent. This will prevent you from pulling the fabric too tight and allow your arm to move around for the last steps.

Step 5: Take an inch or so of fabric that you just pulled over your head and fold it under to prevent it from slipping during the day.

Step 6: Now you should take the piece of fabric that you left loose over one arm and bring it towards your chin while bringing the long piece towards your chin as well. To keep the short end of fabric tight under your chin, bring the long piece of fabric tightly over it. At this stage you may want to use one hand to keep the two ends tight under your chin.

Step 7: Using the hand from the same side as the long piece of fabric, wrap it behind and over your head.

Step 8: To finish the look, throw the remaining long piece of fabric over your shoulder and drape over your chest.

Step 9: Both arms should now be free to move around as normal. If one arm is stuck, go back to step 4 and try again.

CONGRATULATIONS!! You have wrapped a lizar! You are now ready to visit the south of Morocco and blend in (a little bit anyways). There is another way to wrap a lizar, however it is much more complicated. Small steps friends. Small steps. Hope you enjoyed this Morocco how to and look out for the next installment of Morocco how to: Cooking Tajine!!

"Anyone can be a mother but it takes someone special to be a mommy". It's true that anyone can give birth but it takes someone special to raise a child. I have been blessed with an amazing mom and several other incredible host mothers. As Mother's Day approaches, I want to take a moment to salute my favorite "mothers" from around the world. The following women have helped me to adjust to new cultures, helped me to learn their language, fed me, supported me and given me a place to sleep whenever I needed. Without these women, the past few years of my life would have been very challenging and not nearly as much fun!

In Albania, my first host mom was a woman named Vuschje. I still remember meeting her. We were driven to our site and dropped of individually at our host families houses. I watched as my four other site mates were dropped off and I continued to worry in the back seat of the furgon (minivan). Was she going to like me? Would I be able to understand her? Would she be nice? What was the house going to be like? Finally the driver pulled up to an apartment building and helped me grab my bags. We walked up to the middle door on the first floor and he rang the bell. "Mos u merzit!" Don't worry, he told me. A petite woman answered the door with a broom in her hand, "Pershendetje!" Hello! Her smile immediately put me at ease and I felt relaxed walking into their small apartment. My language teacher stayed with me as we got a tour of the apartment and then after making sure I would be ok, left. We were alone. I went for my photo album and grabbed the Albanian dictionary I had just received. We spent the next hour or so going through pictures talking about who was in the pictures. Vuschje was patient as I flipped through the dictionary trying to find the word for "mother", "father", "brother", "cousin", "friend" etc... That first afternoon was perfect. Vuschje was my best friend during those first three months. I would come home from language class and work on homework and she would sit next to me helping with pronunciation. She even learned some English helping me. I tried to stay in touch with her after moving to Lezhe but I was only fortunate to see her a few more times during my service. Without Vuschje those first few months would have been horrible and I might not have stayed. Happy Mother's Day Vuschje!

My second host mother in Albania was an unoffical one but just as important to my time in Albania. Her name was Dile and she had worked for Peace Corps in the past. She had also worked as an English teacher. When I first met her, we talked mostly in English. By the end of my two years, she would only speak to me in Albanian. Dile helped me to gain the trust of the Roma and Gypsy community. Through Dile, I worked with Youth Parliment, a Women's Club, the Roma population and various other activities. She was also there for me when I needed a day off and would take me to the beach to relax and drink coffee. Dile accepted me into her family with open arms and I can't think of a day when I didn't spend time with her or her husband. I have amazing memories of my time in Albania and at least half of them include Dile. Happy Mother's Day Dile!

My first host mom in Morocco, Fatima, was an amazing woman. We first met at my language teachers house when she came to pick me up. Before we were introduced, I had been given a sheet with my host families information on it. I knew that my host mom was a cook and I was excited! When we were finally introduced we gave each other a big hug, I looked at her and said, "I'm so happy you're a cook because I want to gain weight!" My language teacher translated and man was she happy! She started fattening me up as soon as she got me home. For the next two and a half months, we would bond over food. She would tell me that I don't eat enough and then I would say I eat too much and then she would push more meat into my triangle. It was a game to the two of us and I enjoyed every minute of it. Fatima was a widow and had two children of her own and her best friends daughter lived with us too. She would leave at least one a week to cater a wedding or a big event and when she would come back she would have a duffel bag of extra meat. I found out that she even owned the small apartment we lived in. Her independence and success amazed me. Fatima helped me understand a lot about Moroccan culture during those first months and I am so happy I had her to help me. Happy Mother's Day Fatima!

My second host mom in Morocco, also a Fatima, has been a great help. I am the sixth volunteer they have hosted so they know how it works. While I was living with them, if I was in my room they would never disturb me. She would only come get me if they were about to eat and I wasn't in the living room. Fatima is another incredible example of a successful Moroccan women. She is the president of an association that holds classes for illiterate women, children, and youth in general. I first went to the association on a Sunday which is when youth from all over come to sing and play music for a few hours. The amazing part about this is that it is run by the older youth. Fatima holds a high amount of respect in the community and as such has helped me gain the trust of the community and introduced me to several important people. My first few projects in site have been with her association and there are several more in the works. I haven't gone to visit as much as I should but that is going to change. We are going to start having kaskarut (afternoon tea) together at least once a week. Fatima I really appreciate all the help you've given me and I am so happy you're my host mom. Happy Mother's Day Fatima!

No Mother's Day post would be complete without giving a shout-out to my own fabulous mother. Mom, I know you're reading this and I just want to say I love you. You are the best mom a girl could ask for. You've always supported me and been my personal cheering section. I still remember calling you after I had my interview for PC and you asked how long it was for. I believe you said three months?? Well Mom, I know its been slightly longer than three months but I couldn't have made it this long without all the cards, care packages, Skype dates and random e-mails. Mom, you really are the best and you will always be my mommy :) Happy Mother's Day!

A few months ago, my friend from high school, who is teaching English in Spain, posted that she wanted to go on vacation over her Spring break. I immediately jumped at the chance to also travel during that time and asked where she was going. When she responded with Prague and Budapest I was positive I needed to go as well. Turned out our travel dates were the same and we found tickets to meet in Prague, travel to Budapest and we would finish in Rome. It was my first vacation since arriving in Morocco seven months ago and it was absolutely wonderful.

PRAGUE

I arrived in Prague and had a few days to myself before my friend Amanda joined me. Since I wanted to explore Prague with Amanda I decided to explore the outskirts of Prague until she arrived. One day I also left the city to see Karlstejn Castle which was a cute little city about 30 minutes outside of Prague.

Once Amanda arrived in Prague we set out to see all the sights. The historic old town was beautiful and we were lucky enough to have an amazing tour guide for our walking tour. The city was also decked out for Easter and we enjoyed all the delicious food that was to be found in the Easter Markets. We spent an afternoon walking around Prague Castle which has amazing views of the entire city of Prague. The Castle grounds are extensive and its not a castle per-say as much as city enclosed by a wall. Charles Bridge was also fun to walk around, listening to music groups perform, watch artists draw caricatures and enjoy the overall atmosphere. We sat down at a cafe just off Charles Bridge and enjoyed some wine as we waited for the sun to set and see the city lit up at night. Prague is an amazing city and I definitely recommend it to others for a travel destination.

Budapest

I was most excited about traveling to Budapest as my grandmother was Hungarian. I was not let down one bit. Budapest is split into two cities by the river Danube. One side is Buda and is hilly and has excellent views of Pest. Pest is flat and is home to churches, thermal bath houses, city markets and lots of history. When we arrived we walked over to the Buda side and walked up to the top of Gellart Hill. Not only is Gellart Hill a fun place to walk around but it has phenomenal views of Pest. Our first morning we did a walking tour and explored more of Pest and the UNESCO world heritage site of the Buda Castle district. One of the coolest things I saw was a lock statue. It was a gate around a tree with hundreds of different locks on it. The story is this, when you find your true love, you should buy a lock and engrave your true loves initials along with your own onto it. Then you put it onto the gate and throw the key away into the Danube river. There were a few combination locks which our guide said were for those who have short romances. There were also a few huge locks with lots of little locks on it which she explained were for those who had many loves. I thought it was awesome. I really enjoyed learning more about Hungary's history and culture.

In the afternoon, we decided to further explore the culture by visiting a thermal bath house and spent a few hours enjoying the 20+ different pools available. It was a little piece of heaven for me. After the bath house, we met up with a very distant cousin of mine (a friend of someone my mom met who happens to have the same last name as my grandmother) who took us to the Citadel so we could see Budapest at night from above. It was absolutely breathtaking. Our final day we went to Margaret Island and enjoyed relaxing a bit in the park.

Rome

We were in Rome at a very exciting time as it was Easter weekend. We weren't sure how much we would be able to see but our first day was long and we saw over 20 attractions. Our first stop was the Colosseum and Palatine Hill/the Roman Forum. The line to get in was wrapping around the Colosseum and for a split second we didn't think we would get in. Lucky for us we were approached by a guide asking if we wanted to join a tour group. We jumped at the chance to be able to go in so a little later we were in the historic Colosseum. The Colosseum has been through a lot and because of that it is mostly restored and not much is still original. However, it is still a must-see while in Rome. Our next stop was Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Again, it is such an experience to walk through the remains of buildings that have been around for so many thousands of years. We could have spent hours walking the grounds but we still had a lot to see!

We weaved up and down streets for the rest of day walking to see different churches, archeological sites, fountains, piazzas and buildings. By the end of our first day we had seen most of the south western corner of Rome. Our second day was Easter Sunday and what else do you do on Easter Sunday in Rome but go to St. Peter's Square? That's what we did and by some miracle, we actually ended up in the square. We heard the Pope's address, we saw the hundreds of people watching from outside the square and in, and we enjoyed being a part of it. Afterwards, we found a small little restaurant and enjoyed a delicious Easter lunch. The rest of the day we spent weaving up and down streets again seeing some more of the sights like the Spanish Steps. Even though it was Easter, there was so much to see and do! For my short two and a half days in Rome I feel like I really was able to see it and experience all that the city had to offer.

This vacation was exactly what I needed. Right before leaving I was having trouble with my main job being teaching English. I am not a teacher and I do not really enjoy teaching enough for that to be my only job here. When I returned, I found out that I will have the opportunity to help out with Special Olympics at the end of the month, my AIDS awareness grant will be getting underway soon and I have a few other small things to keep me busy. I feel rejuvenated and refreshed and am ready to get back to work. So with that said, bring it on Morocco. Show me what you got. I'm ready.

THE BEST

-Gorgeous weather and going to the beach everyday

-Being able to enjoy the weather by not being quite so covered yet still culturally sensitive

-Amazing food all week (except for the coffee)

-My English class (especially learning "head and shoulders" and directions!)

-Helping the youth explore their talents

-Meeting some great youth with huge potential

-Watching as some of the shy girls broke out of their shell

-Holding an "egg drop" competition and seeing how creative the campers became

-Impromptu dance parties!!

-Explaining English jokes to Moroccans (Why is 6 afraid of 7?? Because 7 ate 9! haha!)

-Talent Show on the final night

-Hanging out with three other awesome PCV ladies

-Photo shoots!

-Private bathroom with western toilet

THE WORST

-Killing cockroaches at 1am :(

-Moroccan staff encouraging bad behavior

-Having one boy only speak French to me during an English placement test :(

-the coffee

-being woken up by someone pounding on the door every morning

Overall I would say camp was a huge success. The campers were happy during camp and they were all sad when it was time to leave all their new friends. Moroccan staff were not the most useful but at least they were there and did most of what was expected of them. I would give camp a 7.5 out of 10!

When you think of Africa, what are the first things that come to mind?? Probably things like hot, lions, elephants, giraffes, huts, monkeys, mosquitoes, dancing, drums, tea, and poor people. Most of these things apply to all of Africa. Morocco, known as the cold African country with the hot sun, is hot, there are animals (more sheep, goats, donkeys and camels than anything else), lots of drums and dancing, and of course tea. One thing that you might think of when you think of Africa is AIDS but it's not that big of a problem in Morocco. However, in the south, particularly the Souss area, there is the highest number of people living with AIDS.

One day, my mudir, or director, told me he had put together a skit on AIDS awareness. I stayed after class and the kids presented it to me. Even though I didn't understand everything they were saying (it's in both Darija and Fussha), I could see that they had already put a lot of time and energy into the skit. I told my mudir that I liked it but wanted to know what they were saying. He told the kids "again!" and as they acted it out he explained to me what was happening in baby Darija. Here's the general idea; the skit is about how it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you can get AIDS. It is up to you to educate yourself and your friends and family on how to stay protected.

After we watched the skit a 2nd time, my mudir told me he wanted to travel around the Souss and present the skit to 10 different dar chebab's (youth centers). He asked me if there was a way I could help find money for transportation and some supplies. I talked to my program director and told him about the idea and he was very interested. Turns out there is a grant just for AIDS/HIV projects. He sent me the materials and I sat down with my mudir and we wrote the grant. Thanks to my tutor/interpretor, Ahmed, we were able to write down the general information in one day. I spent some time fixing the language and putting it into the proper format and sent it back to PC. I cleverly named the project "Acting Out Awareness".

I found out that I will be getting the money so the project is a GO! This will be my first big project in site and I'm super happy about it because I know that my mudir and students are 100% engaged in completing it. As it stands right now, we will travel to 9 dar chebab's (we will do a performance at our own as well to make 10), present the skit, have a Q & A session, and we will paint a wall mural at each dar chbab with the participants as a reminder of what they learn and the importance of AIDS education. As my mother pointed out, "you'll be leaving your mark." Yes I will. Hopefully this will only be the first mark of many more to come.

Today I am off to Agadir for an English immersion Spring camp. It should be fun and I'm excited to see what kind of activities the Moroccan staff have planned. I'll be coming back to site in about a week and then will have a day or two to rest up and then it's off for my PBR vacation (Prague, Budapest and Rome)!!! I'm going to be a busy girl these next few months!!

This.Is.Africa. A few weeks ago I re-watched the movie "Blood Diamond". If you haven't seen it, make an effort to watch it. The movie itself is amazing. Anyway, there is a line that they use frequently and it is "TIA" or "this is Africa". I personally love it and now use it a lot in my daily life. I want to share with all of you some of the more memorable "TIA" moments.

Transportation. One of the most confusing and sometimes irritating thing that you have to deal with on a daily basis. Let's say you go to the bus station (or bus stop) and know that a bus is supposed to leave at 11:00. When you get there you find out there is no bus at 11:00 and the next one is at 3:30. You wait around until 3:30 and still no bus. You ask again if the bus is coming. You're told yes the bus is coming but is late. You wait and wait and wait and finally the bus shows up at 5:00 but it takes an hour long break so the driver can eat dinner and drink tea before finally leaving at 6:00. Then you get on the bus to find out that there are some chickens a few seats in front of you. As you're about to pull away from the bus station (or bus stop) a man runs up with 3 sheep and you watch as he and the bus driver put them in the luggage compartment under the bus. This time you successfully leave the bus station (or bus stop) and along the way to your destination you make frequent stops picking people up at random spots along the road and dropping people off in what seems like the middle of nowhere. The entire time you think to yourself "TIA".

In Morocco, grand taxis are another common form of transportation. A grand taxi is an old Mercedes Benz so you think, "Ok, I'll be traveling with 4 other people." This logic is wrong. A grand taxi will leave when there are two people sitting in the front (with the driver) and 4 people in the back. This can be fine when the 4 people in the back are nice and small and don't have hips to speak of. However, usually you will be in the back with three other large and very hippy Berber women. When it's a short taxi ride it's kinda nice to be squished in the back but on the longer taxi rides it becomes very uncomfortable. When in the front, if you are next to the driver you also have to deal with the stick every time he shifts. No matter what the case is when you bump along with the grand taxi, you would be right to think, "TIA".

Culture. This is where "TIA" can be used in the best possible meaning. When you are invited to someone's house and you are served the biggest meatiest piece of meat. You'll be offered the best seat and you will not be required to lift a finger. Do you need a refill on your tea? No problem, you can drink as much tea as you like. Take more bread! Eat, eat, eat!! As a visitor you will be pampered and treated with more respect then you ever think you will get. TIA.

Many countries in Africa have a very relaxed and what Americans would consider a slow-paced culture. If you ask for directions somewhere, they will probably know where you need to go but wouldn't you first like to drink some tea?? You may have a business meeting and before you start, drink some tea together and talk about your families. After your business is finished, have some more tea. Workers in the fields have to work under a very hot sun so it's common to see they laying under a nice big tree at midday. Class may start at 5 and go until 7. You may finally start class around 5:30 and when you finish your students will stick around to chat or they will ask you to keep teaching. Time is a guideline but not a code. Things will start when they start and end when they end. TIA.

Landscape. It's amazing how many different landscapes you can drive through in one day. If you start in the lush mountainous region by the afternoon you can be in the flat desert. Or you may continue on through the flat desert and come upon a hilly desert filled with small oasises. Maybe as your driving along you will notice a change in the animals you see as well. In the mountains you will see more sheep and goats whereas in the desert you will see goats and camels. For awhile you may think you're hallucinating but no, there really are goats in the trees! Keep your eyes open or you'll miss the change from one region to the next. TIA.

Food. When you go to the market and buy all your vegetables for a week for less than $5 you may think you calculated wrong but no, you really did only spend $4. When you want to buy a chicken you go to the butcher. The butcher then proceeds to grad an alive chicken and cuts its head off and then hands it to you in a plastic bag. Another normal thing to see daily is the hanging bodies of several different types of animals along with heads, feet and *cough* other body parts at the butcher counter. The eggs you buy will have bird poop on them and maybe some feathers. You know it's all fresh at least. TIA.

There are so many things that I see or watch happen that I can't do anything but think to myself "TIA". It is my new mantra and for those of you who are also in Africa, I encourage you to use it. Not only does it make me remember where I am but it makes me grateful for this experience. TIA people, TIA.

There have been several large events in the world as of late that have grabbed the world's attention. Even so, I doubt that many people really can understand the impact that these events have had on millions of people's lives. For most people in America, you cannot imagine what would become of your daily life if all of a sudden every time you walked out on the street there was a deadly protest going on. With the exception of California, can you even begin to think about the aftermath of a 9.0 earthquake? What about a nuclear explosion? Even with these large events at the top of every major media publication, there are so many other things that happen on a daily basis to a large number of people that I doubt many people would be prepared for. With that said I would like to question what you would do given a certain circumstance.

Circumstance #1

You are fisherman in a small village in Africa. To your name you have, a small hut, a small boat, a fish net, a sharp knife and your health. Now imagine that one day your net is torn by a neighbor's hungry goat. That net is your livelihood. Without the net you cannot fish and without fish you do not eat nor do you earn any money. What would you do???

Circumstance #2

You are a farmer in a small mountainous town in Eastern Europe. In your possession you have, a house, a donkey, two chickens, 1/2 acre of land, a shovel, a spade and a wheelbarrow. What would you do if one summer there is no rain?? The closest water source is a well a mile away. You do not have an advanced irrigation system to use. All you have are your tools and yourself. How will you ensure that your crop survives enabling you to eat for another year??

Circumstance #3

You are a scavenger in a small impoverished nation. The more you can collect means more food for you and your family. Currently your system of collecting means gathering as much as you can in your arms, transporting it to your house and then going out again. One day, another scavenger comes along and has a donkey cart. He starts collecting four times as much as you do in a day and you see your profits slowly dwindle. How will you change your system so that you can still provide for your family??

Circumstance #4

You are a teenager in America. One day the power goes out you cannot watch t.v., call your friends, or check your email. What would you do all day???

One reason why I wanted to join PC was to gain a new perspective in life. My life in Chicago was hectic and even though I thrived on that pace there was never time to just relax. So many Americans don't appreciate the little things in life. For example, a readily available public and national transportation system. When you need to go from city to city, you know what type of transportation you can take, when it is available and what the cost is. If something runs 10 minutes late, it's the end of the world! Try living in a country where you never know what type of transportation you will need to take to get to your destination, waiting around all day for it to leave because there is no set time table and paying a different price every time. This is life for numerous residents in third world countries.

The first goal of PC is to train men and women in interested countries. I believe that part of this training is awareness. Awareness is a two-way street. If so many people are looking at ways to change and improve their cultures then why can't America take a look at other cultures and see the possibilities?? So these are my questions to you. Take a minute and think about the above scenarios. Would you be ready to handle any one of those situations?? What would you do if one of them happened to you??

Well this past week has been another one of those weeks. Good days, productive days, painful days and lounging around days. Just a typical week in the life of a PCV.

This past weekend in Agadir I attended a Women's Wellness Conference hosted by several second year health volunteers. Even though I wasn't able to bring any women from my site this time because of time conflicts, I feel as though I learned a lot. I feel as though the women really gained a lot of useful information and skills over the 2 days. Some of the sessions included leadership, health, community planning and beauty. The event itself was a training of trainers. Now, hopefully, the women will take everything they learned back to their communities. In a few months, we will try to bring everyone together to discuss what they were able to do in their communities. Through the event I have also learned of an amazing organization in Agadir who I hope to work with in the future.

On Sunday I stayed in Agadir for a night of fun with a few other volunteers before heading up to Rabat to have my last wisdom tooth removed. Of course it started to rain like crazy on Saturday so traveling was not easy. My bus to Marrakech was delayed so I only had time to pick up a few snacks for the train to Rabat. Luckily the rain stopped long enough for me to walk from the train station in Rabat to the hotel. Tuesday morning I walked over to the dentist (in the rain) and waited for my name to be called. Now for those of you who know me, you know what happened when I had the other 3 wisdom teeth removed. A quick note for those of you who do not, they were removed in Thailand under local anesthesia and it wasn't pretty. Back to this tooth. The dentist gave me more local anesthesia and after only about 5 minutes picked up the scalpel to which I screamed and said, "WAIT! I can still feel everything!" He assured me it would be fine. He began the procedure and he was right. I didn't feel anything. I could hear everything though which was worse. For those of you who don't know what bone crunching sounds like, be thankful. It took about 35 minutes for him to pry my tooth out. It wasn't so bad but I was in tears none-the-less. He stitched me up and sent me on my way.

I left the dentist office and thankfully it had stopped raining again. I made it back to the hotel and after sending my parents a quick email telling them I was still alive, crashed for the day. I was able to get down some ice cream in the evening but that was about it. I had to wait about 6 hours for PC to get me my meds so the one dose of codeine I had wasn't enough. I was in so much pain by the time my meds got to me. PC called the hotel and told them to bring me some ice (twice) but I never got any. The next morning I woke up and my face was more swollen then after the procedure. The pain was a bit better though. In the afternoon I made it to the PC office to fill out paperwork and schedule to have my stitches taken out. They also graciously gave me ice to bring the swelling down a little.

On Thursday, a full 42 hours after my tooth was pulled, I was on the road back to my site. The full day of travel was not great but it could have been much much much worse. I left Rabat about 9 in the morning and finally walked in my door at about 8:15pm. Needless to say, I crashed again last night. The swelling has gone down and the pain is getting better little by little. I will head up to Rabat next Tuesday to have the stitches taken out.

Another memorable week in my PC service. I am going to try my hardest to forget the sound of the dentist breaking into my jaw to get my tooth out but other than that, not too bad. Here's hoping I'm all healed by the middle of next week! Oh and I guess my 6 month anniversary of arriving in Morocco came and went but all the same, Congrats to everyone in my staaj for making it 6 months!!

Every so often as a PCV, you experience a moment that makes you proud to be a PCV. Sometimes that moment is an activity that you've worked on for months and sometimes its a student finally showing he/she understands something you taught him/her. These moments can be frequent or far and few between. When you have one of these moments, you can't help but smile and think of how happy you are that you joined PC. I had a moment that did just that yesterday.

My site-mate, Beth, had been planning a trip to the beach with her D.C. Since we are trying to get our D.C's to do things together, she invited me and my kids. After class on Saturday I told them that if they wanted to come to the beach that they were welcome to go with me. Six of my kids were very excited and said that they would love to go. Sunday morning I woke excited for a day at the beach and a chance to get to know a few of my kids better.

Around 7:40, my kids and I met up at the taxi stand to drive over to Beth's D.C. Now even though we decided to leave at 8, we left at about 8:30 (within Moroccan time standards). The walk to the beach is fairly long, approximately 7 km. We only took one break once we reached the bird park. About 10:30 we arrived at the beach and the fun began. A few kids started to play soccer right away and a few sat down to rest a bit after our long walk. Being one of the ones who sat down first, we were talking and as we looked around the beach realized the high tide washed up a lot of trash. My tutor, being the amazing motivated person he is, said "hey why don't we clean up the trash?" I wanted to cry I was so happy.

We went around telling all the kids we were going to clean up the beach and without telling them they had to help, they all joined us! We cleaned a good section of beach. Maybe about half a mile. The two men who had been initially cleaning the trash were very happy with our help. Cleaning up all that trash at the recommendation of a Moroccan, with the help of Moroccan youth, without them being told to, was one of those moments where I stopped and thought, "These kids are going to do great things". At the same time, I thought about how happy I am that I can help them in any way. It was a moment that made me truly happy to be here working with youth.

The beach clean-up lasted for about 45 minutes and then it was time for more fun. We played soccer, ultimate frisbee and volleyball. In true competition style, we had a Beth's D.C. vs. Leslie's D.C. volleyball game and ultimate frisbee game. Now I stick to the fact that we lost because we only had 6 players next to Beth's 15. Next time Beth!! It was great to interact with the kids in an informal setting and see their true personalities come out. Two of my shy boys really took charge during the games. I look forward to going to the beach with them again.

Yesterday was a day that reminds me of why I'm here and why I wanted to do PC a second time. Somedays are really tough. You question what impact you can have on your community and what skills you can pass on to others. Then there are days like yesterday, when you remember why you're here and can't imagine leaving. Days like yesterday can't be planned. They are spontaneous and happen when someone you know decides to surprise you. The longer I am a PCV, the more frequently they seem to come. Inshallah this means that my last year they will happen everyday!

It's hard to believe that in about 2 weeks a new group of bright eyed and energetic volunteers will arrive in Morocco. Just about six months ago I was sitting in my room thinking, "Hmm, maybe I should pack." I waited until the last minute to get stuff together for PC Morocco and I know that's not how many of the new volunteers are preparing so here is a packing list that will have you prepared for the next two years. Just to keep in mind as you read this list, I am a female volunteer living in the south of Morocco in a small conservative town.

Let's start with the basics. PC allots you two bags which is also what the airline will allow. Do not worry about dimensions but do keep in mind weight. Neither piece of luggage should weigh more than 50 pounds. If it does, YOU will be required to pay the airline fee. Here in PC Morocco, you are only allowed to take one bag to your host family during PST. The other bag will be kept at your HUB site (don't worry it will be in a locked room and it will be safe). You will be able to access the 2nd bag when you are at HUB (every 2 weeks or so) but as you pack try to get what you will need for the first 3 months into one bag. Here are my suggestions:

LUGGAGE

-Large suitcase with wheels. This is where you should put most of your heavier or bulkier items. I suggest packing this to the whole 50 pound limit. I would also recommend packing this bag to be the one you leave at HUB. Things that you are bringing that you will not need right away should be packed into this bag.

-Hiking backpack. If you don't have one, it is worth the investment. Not only is it easier to travel with a hiking backpack (not all roads are paved!) it will prevent you from packing too much. Even though it can weigh up to 50 pounds, remember you will have to carry it across the country so don't over pack it.

-Regular backpack. This will work as your carry-on on the plane and will be useful for one to two night trips in country. Also extremely useful when carrying things back and forth between your CBT and HUB.

-Shoulder bag. For us girls, a larger "mom" type purse is great. Not only are you able to stuff it full of travel essentials, you can practically live out of it for a day or two if you need to. I recommend a purse with a lot of pockets and zippers. Pockets to keep everything organized and zippers to prevent theft.

Clothing

-Business casual. Don't bring too many business casual clothes. Most people work in jeans and t-shirts. Bring a nice outfit for when you arrive in country and something for swearing-in. This outfit will only be worn for the few and far between "special" occasions you have. Remember that what you bring you will be washing by hand (most likely).

-Jackets. Morocco is extremely cold in some areas. I recommend packing a heavy one and also a lighter one. I brought a Columbia with a zipper out fleece. Fleece is perfect for the cold desert nights.

-Sweaters. Keep in mind you don't know if you will spend the next two years in the mountains or the desert so I would recommend bringing at least one sweater. You'll wear it no matter where you end up.

-Lightweight cardigans. Ladies, these are crucial!! I only brought one lightweight cardigan and I live in it! Many women end up in conservative towns where they need to cover their arms and back. For those who end up in the hot south in a conservative town, they will save you in the summer. I recommend at least two basic cardigans that you can wear with just about any shirt you bring. The longer the better.

-Long sleeved shirts. These are great. Bring a few that are heavy and a few light ones. Just keep in mind the length. Make sure they cover your back when you sit down.

-Short-sleeved shirts. Not only are these great to sleep in and work out in, but they are great to layer with a cardigan or a long sleeved shirt. Don't bring anything too fancy as you will most likely will be hand washing and the strong Moroccan sun will fade the colors quickly.

-Tank top. Perfect for layering in the winter or great to pair with a cardigan in the summer. You will also live in them when you are alone in your house.

-Cute top. Just because you're a PCV doesn't mean you won't want to look cute when you travel or when you meet up with other PCV's in one of the larger cities.

-Pants. Jeans are the best followed by khakis. Bring good quality ones because you will be walking a lot and, again, hand washing really takes its toll on clothes after a few months. PCV's also go through weight loss and weight gain every few months.

-Leggings. Bring a pair or two to wear around the house or under a skirt that is a little too short to be appropriate.

-Skirts. Be very careful about the skirts you pack. Shorter ones you will not be able to wear often but will be great when you travel. Longer loose skirts are great for those hot summer days when the thought of wearing jeans makes you sweat more.

-Dresses. Same advice as for skirts. Bring longer, flowy dresses. Don't forget a fun dress that you can wear when you're in one of the larger cities or traveling.

-Lounge wear. Bring a pair of sweatpants for in the winter and some shorts to wear around the house. Girls, you will most likely not be able to wear shorts outside but you will still want to bring at least one pair.

-Bathing suit. Remember you are coming to a conservative Muslim country but you will have the opportunity to go swimming both in country and when you travel. Ladies, you will most likely need to wear a t-shirt over your bathing suit when you go swimming in Morocco.

-Belt. One that you can wear with anything. Ladies, weight will change on a weekly basis. Guys tend to lose weight during the first few months and girls tend to gain during the first few months. Keep that in mind when you're packing pants as well.

-Underwear. Ladies, leave the lacy underthings at home. They won't last long if you end up needed to hand wash or if you have a washing machine. Everyone will also see your underwear when you hang them out to dry so try to keep it PG.

-Socks. You will want some normal pairs and a pair or two of thick ones for the cold nights.

-Scarves. A great way to keep your neck warm. Many women end up in sights where they need to wear their hair up and a scarf will ensure your neck stays warm if your hair can't. Also a great way to cover your chest if one of your shirts is a little revealing.

-Gloves. One fingerless pair will be your best friend on those cold nights when you're trying to type up a report or a lesson. They also are handy while cooking.

-Hat. Morocco has a lot of sun. If you sunburn easily, make sure to bring one. A heavy winter hat will also come in handy.

Footwear

-Tennis shoes. You will be walking a lot! Also great for when it's raining or you're going on a hike.

-Plastic flip-flops. Perfect for showering or wearing around the house.

-Sandals. I recommend a pair of Keene's or Teva's. Also perfect for those long hikes you'll be taking.

-Dress shoes. One pair is plenty. Morocco will destroy nice shoes fast so don't bring a pair you want to keep. You will only really need these for special occasions or when you're out on the town.

-Boots. They do take up room so my suggestion is to buy one pair of nice hiking boots to use as both tennis shoes and boots.

-Everyday shoes. Everyone has their own preference. I walk around everyday in a pair of Rainbow flip flops. Just remember that it is dusty here and white shoes do not do well.

Personal Items

-Shampoo, soap, Q-tips, lotion, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, toothpaste etc. I suggest buying a travel size bottle of all these items. It will be enough to get you through the first few days and you can buy all these items in country. Many name brands you may like from America you can find here. Save yourself the room and just bring some small ones to start with.

-Razors. Bring one or two. You can buy razors here but if you have sensitive skin, I recommend bringing your own supply. Most of the ones you will find here are the cheap disposables.

-Face Wash. Not many brands are available here and its expensive.

-Makeup. You won't wear it that often but it can be hard to find good quality makeup in country. If you have a favorite, bring it with you.

-SPF face lotion. Peace Corps will provide you with sunscreen but if you have fair skin or extremely sensitive skin, you may want to bring your own higher SPF face lotion.

-Hand sanitizer. This will save your life on a daily basis. I recommend the small bottles you can buy at Bath & Body Works. Also get the handy holder that you can attach to your purse or backpack.

-Tampons. Everyone has their own preference again. You won't find tampons often in country but if you are ok with pads, just bring a few. Another option is the Diva cup but not everyone likes it so if you are going to bring it, make sure you try it at home first.

-Chapstick. Bring your favorite. Peace Corps will provide you with a stick of chapstick but after that you are on your own.

-Deodorant. The most common type in Morocco is roll-on so if you are ok with that only bring a stick. If you need a heavy duty deodorant make sure to bring a supply for 2 years because you won't find that here.

-Mani/Pedi tools. A small kit if you want them but you can buy them all here. Don't bother bringing polish as you can buy it here but you probably won't wear it too often.

-Towel. I recommend bringing a small camping towel. Not only will it be easier to pack but you can buy a regular towel in country.

Miscellaneous

-Sleeping bag. You will definitely want to bring one! Great for when visiting other PCV's and for those extremely cold nights.

-Small Duffel. Pack an empty one into one of your bags. PC gives you tons of books during training and expects you to find room for them. The duffel will be the space you need.

-Travel alarm clock. I usually just use the alarm on my phone but if you need the extra push to get up in the morning, I would bring a battery operated one.

-Water bottle. Bring a durable one because it will get beat up over your time here.

-Camera. Make it clear from the beginning that no one is to use it without your permission!

-Swiss Army Knife or similar product. Useful on a daily basis.

-Umbrella. A small sturdy one (Totes is a good brand). The ones you can buy here will break in a day.

-Laptop. This will be your best friend for the next two years. Make sure to install good anti-virus protection.

-Flash drive and external hard drive. The flash drive is handy and the external you'll need to store movies and tv shows that you download to pass time.

-A durable folder. You'll get a lot of papers during PST and you need someplace to put them all.

-Luggage locks. Bring two, one for each bag. You'll need them. Trust me.

-Keychain flashlight. It will save your life on many occasions.

-Adapter. There are some bulky ones out there that are too heavy and fall out of the wall so spend the extra money and get a good one. You'll be thankful you did.

-Duct tape. You'll be glad you brought it.

-Favorite spices. I brought taco seasoning, cinnamon and Mrs. Dash. Other ones you want you can have shipped later.

-Markers. I brought some sharpies which are great when making posters and also some crayola markers for art projects with host family siblings.

-Flashlight. Power goes out every once in awhile so it comes in handy.

-Jewelry and sunglasses. Nothing to flashy but some to keep you happy.

-Map of Morocco. Be careful if it shows the Sahara separately, Moroccans will get into a heated argument with you over it.

-Batteries. Easily purchased in Morocco but just a few to get you through the first few months.

-Pictures. Your host family will want to know about you and your family so pictures are a great way to break the ice on the first night. Ladies, be careful not to bring too many of you with many different boys. It is not common for girls to have multiple guy friends.

-Ziplock bags. Assorted sizes.

-Playing cards. They are great to help pass time and you Moroccan youth will love to play too.

-Bananagrams. This is a great way to make sure you don't forget your English and its a fun game to play with Moroccan youth and other PCV's!

-iPod. You have many long trips ahead of you and you will want your music. Also great for those days you just don't want to talk to anybody when you're walking around.

-Gifts for host families. Some ideas: postcards of your city in America, a calendar, coloring books, picture frames, table runner, American candy, bring something to cook for them, lotion, candles etc...

If There's Room Left,,,

-Small sewing kit. Things will tear, buttons will fall off, just some essentials to keep your clothes in decent shape.

-Traveler's Guide to Morocco. You are here to work, but you're going to have time to play too!

-Screwdriver for glasses. You don't want to have to buy new ones every time yours fall apart.

-Reusable tote bags. Great for carrying around groceries. Also a great way to show Moroccans they don't need a plastic bag for every item they purchase.

-Journal. You're about to embark on an amazing journey. You're going to want to document.

-Frisbee. Great game to play with Moroccan kids.

-Oven mitt. You won't find them here and you don't want to keep replacing burnt hand towels.

-Mailing envelopes. The envelope quality is low over here and you're going to want to keep in touch with family and friends.

-Pillowcase. You can find them here but they are not easy to find.

-Measuring cups and spoons. If you plan on cooking over here, its all in metric and you won't find measuring cups and spoons easily. I brought collapsible silicon measuring cups and magnetic measuring spoons.

-Silicone muffin pan. I like cooking and muffin pans are as one Moroccan put it, "crazy technology".

-Address book. Or some type of thing to keep everyone's addresses so you can keep in touch.

-Loofah. You can buy an equivalent here but its nice to have one to get you started.

-Movies. If you have any favorites, bring them with. I suggest downloading them and bringing them on an external but if that's not possible, bring the DVD's.

-Cookbook. If you have any favorite recipes, I suggest typing them into a Word Doc to save yourself the room.

Leave at Home

-Dressy clothes. As I said earlier, you only need one or two dressy outfits. Everything else leave at home.

General medical supplies. Peace Corps will supply you with all the general supplies. Bring 3 months worth of your prescription drugs and then PC will supply you with those as well.

-Books. Don't bring too many as there is a PC library and PCV's share books. I recommend bringing a Kindle or a Nook. It's great to have hundreds of books at your fingertips and much easier to travel with.

-Kitchen tools. Except for the ones I mentioned above, leave them at home. You can buy almost everything else here. Including coffee presses and coffee makers.

-Cookbook. As I stated before, type up your favorites. PC will also give you a PCV cookbook which is great.

-Sleeping pad. You're in the Peace Corps!! We all have back problems but that's what massages are for.

-Dictionary. Peace Corps will give you one.

-Sheets. You can buy them here and you won't need them for awhile.

-CDs and DVDs. Put everything onto your computer or an external. You'll save tons of room.

-Hairdryer or straightener. Buy them here so you don't have to worry about power conversion.

-Slippers. You can get them here for cheap.

Well I hope this helps all of you out there that are about to arrive in Morocco. Don't stress too much about packing. You'll pack things you don't need and you'll forget things that you wanted to bring. Care packages are always something to look forward too and the flat rate boxes can be sent to Morocco!! Just keep in mind, everything you bring you're going to have to carry around - a lot. It seems daunting to have to pack for 2 years in 2 bags but its not so bad. Soon enough you'll be used to wearing the same thing for three days and showering every other day or once a week. My advice, don't spend so much time packing. Spend your time with friends and family. You'll do just fine with whatever ends up making it into your bags.

See you guys in Morocco!!!

Check out the link below to see the Presidential Proclamation issued by President Obama. I am very honored that I have been able to be a part of this amazing organization. We ARE making a difference, even if we may not see it during our service.

http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/28/presidential-proclamation-50th-anniversary-peace-corps

There are several other milestones approaching in my Peace Corps service. On March 18th, it will mark 3 years since I first landed in Albania and began this whole adventure. March 16th marks 6 months for me in Morocco. I still remember when I first landed in Albania. As we were making our descent, I looked out the window and saw a donkey on the side of the runway. I remember thinking, "Where the heck am I?!" Little did I know little things like that were the reason I loved Albania so much. When we landed in Morocco I was blown away by how big the airport was. Next to Tirana, it was huge! Then there were the drives from the airports to the hub sites. I stayed awake for most of the drive in Albania but I fell asleep on the bus in Morocco. My beginnings seem like they were only yesterday and then I think about what it must have been like for the first group of PCV's to leave for their countries. So much has happened since PC was first started and there is still so much to do!

Congratulations to everyone who has served, is serving or will serve with PC. You have done/are doing/will do great things!!

Every Peace Corps experience is different. No two volunteers will do the same things or take back the same experiences or feeling of their host country. Even one volunteer who does two services will have two completely different experiences. There is no way to determine how your experience will go but there are things that can influence how good of a service it will be. This past week at post pre-service training (PPST) I though about several of the factors that influenced my first service and are now shaping my second.

Language. One of my biggest fears when I arrived in Albania was language. PC puts all its volunteers through extensive language training. At the end of PST in Albania I was confident with where my language skills were. At site, not many people spoke English so most work was done in Albanian. My friends and I talked in Albanian and they are the ones who taught me slang and different dialects. At the end of my service in Albania, I was close to fluent.

Here in Morocco, I also had extensive language training. It is different here though because they teach us in transliteration. Meaning, I was only taught how to speak in Darija. I was not taught how to read and write Arabic script. This is also because Darija is a spoken language. When Moroccans write they use Fussah or classical Arabic. At the end of training however, I again felt fairly confident with my language skills. I have almost been in country for 6 months now and I feel as though my Darija has improved slightly but the main problem is that most people in my site speak another language; Tashalheet. Tashalheet is a Berber language. I have started to learn it but I am not even conversational yet. It will take time and I have high hopes that my language will be just as good at the end of my service here as it was in Albania.

There is a saying that I like to say to myself sometimes as a motivator; speak to a man in your language and touch his head. Speak to a man in his language and touch his heart. I truly believe that in order for me to make a positive impact on my community I should speak to them in Tashalheet. Tashalheet and Darija are much more difficult than Albanian but I have full confidence that in another six months I will be having full length conversations with people in taxis and on the bus. I am really looking forward to it.

Appearance Another key factor in how your service in PC goes. In Albania, I was able to blend in as an Albanian. When I was able to speak the language well, that also helped. Many people would start conversations with me in Albania and would not know that I was American until I asked them to repeat a word I didn't understand. Being able to blend into my community also lowered the amount of harassment I received. After the first few weeks in site, everyone knew who I was and what I was doing in their town. The joke was that I was the celebrity of Lezha.

Here in Morocco, there is not a chance that I will ever be mistaken for Moroccan. My skin is too light and my eyes are too green. Even if I wrapped my head or wore a lizar, people would know by looking at my freckles and green eyes that I do not come from around here. At this point, my language isn't good enough for me to pretend that I am from here either. For this reason, I get a lot of unwanted attention. Boys love to yell out "bonjour!" or blow kisses to me as I walk by. I would love to say it is because I am the most beautiful girl they have ever seen but the truth is that that is how they act around foreign women. In my town it is not as common. People are starting to get to know me and I have a tutor who likes to confront people who give me any problems. While traveling this past week, I was reminded of the fact that I am an outsider. Morocco is not my home even though my site is starting to feel like it.

Flexibility. One of the most useful characteristics for a volunteer to have is flexibility. Plans change fast for volunteers whether it is a project they are working on, cultural differences or just the weather. In Albania, it took me awhile to adjust to 'Albanian time'. Here in Morocco, people run on 'Moroccan time' which is very similar to 'Albanian time'. I have seen how hard it has been to adjust for some of my fellow volunteers and it reminds me of the trouble I had in Albania. I remember several times going to a meeting at a cafe on time and waiting for 30 minutes for the other person, or people, to arrive. I am going to start a new rule with my students, if you're 10 minutes late, you're not coming to class. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cultural differences are huge between American culture and most countries where PCV's serve. Some differences that are the most challenging are, waiting until the last minute to finish a project or not finishing a project until after the due date. Due dates are always being moved around. The new d.c. in my site has been finished for a year and a half and it sits unused. Just today, I found out it is finally going to open this week. Only a year and a half behind schedule, whoo hoo!! Things like this are the norm here and being able to 'just go with the flow' has been an incredibly valuable skill to have. In Albania, I was at the end of my string several times because of deadlines not being met or due dates being moved back. I'm not sure how I'll handle re-integrating into the American workplace but I'll worry about that later.

Weather can be a big factor on how your PC experience goes. If you're from Wisconsin where you are used to frigid winters and mild summers, being sent to live in the desert for two years can be extremely challenging. Especially when you're required to be fully covered in the 120+ heat. Same goes for people who are used to hot weather and are placed in the mountains where it doesn't get much hotter than 70 on a good summer day. Another factor is rain. In America nothing closes because of a little rain. Only when we have floods are things interrupted. Outside America, a little rain can be devastating. Things might close because there isn't a full roof or the roof leaks or the power goes out when it rains. There are so many things that the weather can have an impact on and your PC experience is definitely one of them.

These are just three of the variables that I have found have made my two experiences different up to this point. There are many other reasons why they are different, politics, religion, culture, location just to name a few. Talking to my fellow PCV's at PPST reminded me of a lot of the reasons why everyone has such different experiences in PC. Another key factor is this, your PC experience is what YOU make it. If you want it to be a great experience that you will never forget, you will make sure that it is. PC has been great for me and I loved my experience in Albania and am now truly starting to appreciate my time here in Morocco. The YD program manager said this, "Don't look at challenges as a problem but instead as an opportunity." The variables I mentioned are just that, challenges that are waiting to be opportunities.

Bucket baths can be very enjoyable if taken properly. As I was describing them to a friend back home, it became apparent that not everyone knows how to take a bucket bath let alone what a bucket bath is. I will now explain what a bucket bath is and how one should properly take one.

Introducing Layla's Moroccan How To!

Moroccan How to #1: Bucket Baths

What is is? A bucket bath is a system of cleaning ones self (or rinsing the first layer of dirt and grime off) when a shower is not present. It involves heating a kettle of water and pouring it over ones self.

Materials needed: Large bucket, small bucket(preferably one with a handle) or cup, small stool, kettle, water, shampoo, soap

Use as Needed: razor, washcloth, brush, conditioner, lotion, towel

Step 1: Heat a kettle of water. The amount of water you heat will depend on preference. For the extremely cold days, I recommend two kettles. For warmer days, one should be sufficient.

Step 2: Pour heated water into a large bucket.

Step 3: Fill rest of bucket with tap water (unheated) or well water (purified) until it reaches a comfortable temperature.

Step 4: Begin by sitting on small stool and using small bucket or cup to wet hair and body.

Step 5: Shampoo hair and soap body. This is where you may want to use the razor and washcloth. To reach all those hard to get spots, standing up will be necessary.

Step 6: Rinse using small bucket or cup.

Step 7: If needed, condition hair.

Step 8: Rinse using small bucket or cup.

Step 9: Remaining water in large bucket can be used at your discretion. I like to pour it over my head because then I feel like I'm taking a shower.

Step 10: Towel dry or if no towel is present, air dry. Use lotion and brush as necessary.

You're done!

I hope this 'how to' has clarified what a bucket bath is and how to enjoy one. Next time on Layla's Moroccan How to: how to wrap a lizar. If you've enjoyed this 'how to', let me know and stay tuned for more!

Not having a television and a meteorologist to tell me what weather would be like, I was unprepared for the weather I would be facing when I left my apartment the other day. I had heard from other people that the weather had become disastrous back home in America. Where I am, I knew that it wouldn't be the same as what my friends and family were preparing for but I had a feeling it would be bad. I prepared for the worst and I braced myself for whatever laid outside my door.

This is what I walked out into.......

No one could have prepared me for this type of bombardment of sun! If I had known I would have put on sunblock! I would have worn lighter clothes! Instead, I ended up walking around, picking up color every second, waiting for the breeze to cool me down just a little and wishing I had brought my water bottle. It was horrible. Where was the meteorologist to tell me that it would be this sunny?? Why didn't he warn me it would be this hot?? Meteorologists of the world, you have failed me. It has been like this now for a long time. I ask you, when will I get a reprieve?

This weather has been so bad that other people in my town have started referring to it as a sunpocalypse. It's the beginning of the end. I only hope that all of you, my friends and family, are doing well and are staying inside where you are safe from the pounding sun.