This will be my finale log update for this blog site. I am planning on starting a new blog soon to let any of my fellow readers keep up with what is going on with my life now that I am state side again. When I create this new blog, I will write the URL on this blog so you all can connect to it.

I want to end this blog experience with warm wishes and positive karma to all my readers and those who have supported me through my Moroccan Adventure ☺ I hope your life will be filled with opportunities, happiness, and volunteering (gatta represent). Please, go out within your own community and give back in any way shape or form. It is up to us to make the changes needed to improve the world in which we live in. Honor it and respect it.

I am officially working full time (seasonally) as a Visitor Services Associate at the Denver Botanic Gardens! This is amazing news for me. It is a great first step for me in this town into the non-profit world here in Denver, it is seasonal with a possibility for permanent or recommendations to other non-profits within Denver itself, and due to it being seasonal, I can keep looking around for something when the end of summer hits. It is just nice to know that after 27 plus months, I will be making money again to pay of debt and to build up a life again here in the USA. Readjusting has had its difficult moments, but I am feeling pretty good about life, my future plans, and what living in Denver will bring these next 10 months. I miss Morocco more than words can describe, but I know that I will return soon, hopefully before graduate school begins to see my family who I talk to once a month on skype and dear friends back in Skoura and Kehmisset. I feel blessed at this moment in my life. I have finished my life changing Peace Corps experience, I have seen over 8 countries while in service and afterwards, saw a little bit of my own home country, found a new place to call home, and got a job and apartment within the first week of living in my new city.

Here is the link to check out where I will be working starting Feb. 25, 2010:

http://www.botanicgardens.org/

I am moving to Denver! Yes, the one city I wanted to move to that i mentioned in the previous post is becoming a reality! I have found a cheap apartment blocks from the Capitol Building near all the fun events, museums, and stores that I am interested in. I also got an interview the day after I fly into Denver. Wish me luck!

Back in Michigan and trying to figure out what to do next. Out of all the places I have visited these past two plus months, I think I have an idea of where I want to go ☺ I do not want to say just yet, but I have a good feeling about this city and we shall see how the job and apartment hunting go for me ;) Now it is time to hang out with my mom, dad, little sestra, grandpa, and friends while I start applying like crazy to every non-profit/museum job I can get a hold of.

Well I finally made it to my last COS trip destination and what a way to end it. New Years Eve in Boston was the perfect way to bring in 2011. I got to see my old high school friend, Jenny, and hang out with her boyfriend and his friends for NYE. We spent the evening eating home made food and ended the night at a local bar listening to a 1970’s cover band. On New Years Day we spent it at a lovely café where we had a delicious brunch and got to grab a quick coffee at a local coffee shop before heading back to Jenny’s part of town. The Museum of fine art was crazy cool visit. They had an intense collection of Colonial American Art. That was a real treat. I hope to see Jenny more often once I finally settle down somewhere in the USA and show her the hospitality she so graciously bestowed upon me while in Boston. She showed me around to all the important parts of Boston including the Freedom Trail, the Boston Marathon marker, and some historic graveyards and buildings. Boston has such a rich history, it was hard to say goodbye.

I was welcomed with loving arms by my close friend, Amber, at the airport in D.C. It has been over a year since I saw her and she has been one busy lady with beginning graduate school and moving to the east coast to follow her dream. I am one proud friend ☺ I got to stay a week with her and her wonderful roomies, make an awesome Mexican Christmas Fiesta, and Christmas parties! It was not a dull time at all.

I got to spend time with a RPCV from my staj, John Wayne at his families Chinese restaurant and what yummy food! The Smithsonian museums were amazing in D.C. along with all the national monuments and buildings within my nations capitol. I got to spend a whole day just walking around enjoying the atmosphere.

My MICHIGAN pit stop for a week was perfect!

I have been on the go traveling since November 12, 2010.. now being December 12, 2010.. I think it is time to pit stop, drop off some clothes and items, and see my family finally before I hit the road to the east coast for Christmas and NYE. I got to catch up with mom, dad, sister, and Emily, and g-pa. It finally felt like I was home. After 27 months plus traveling, it was nice to be HOME. December 22 though, I hit the road to Washington D.C. to see some good pals of mine who have been chilling on the “east side” since I began Peace Corps. I have never been out east so I am thrilled to see them and my nations capitol! Let’s just hope the weather will play nice. It has been one crazy month of bad winter weather across the USA.

I cannot forget to mention I got to chill with my GR pals for a few days as well. It made my week a little bit more brighter with spending some time with them :)

Denver was my couple day pit stop before heading back to Michigan to drop off some luggage and head east for Christmas. I got to spend some much need quality time with my favorite Denver people, Melissa and Matt. They hosted me a night before they headed off on their fun weekend in Vaile and then I spent the rest of my time with my friend, Craig, from Grand Rapids and got to enjoy sushi, good company, and a Christmas party along with a viewing of a classic movie with the Peanuts Gang!

By staying a few days in Denver, it reminded me how much I love this town, the people in it, and the weather. It was sunny and in the 50’s in mid December. The cost of living is cheap and there is so much art and culture out here that I can not stop walking around this town and enjoying what I keep finding around every corner. It is going to be hard to leave Denver, but I sorely miss Michigan and my family. I cannot wait to see my hometown! Michigan here I come.

Portland is The Emerald City for sure! While I was there for a short time, it sure was green and rainy and I would not of had it any other way ☺ I was picked up by my KCAD buddy, Sam, and we went right over to house just long enough to drop my things off and then we were off to see the city! We spent our time eating at Voodoo Doughnut, checking out the local eateries, funky thrift stores with odd yet awesome pickings, and meeting all of her crazy cool friends at a yummy dinner party and bar hang out. I cannot wait to return on a sunny warm day in Portland and go on a much needed bike ride around the city like the locals do :)

After my long 23-hour flight, I landed in LAX and passed out to catch up on some much needed sleep. When I woke up, I realized that I was really in sunny California with my two awesome aunts Joan and Shirley ☺ We hung out for a whole week together checking out the California coast, The Getty, along with eating some yummy food and getting a little primp with hair and nails. Humdullah!

I got to also spend a day with my dear friend, Naomi and catch up with her and what she was doing now that she just moved in California. Once I sadly bid farewell to my aunts, I headed up north to Santa Rosa to spend some much needed quality time with one of my favorite people, Mr. Myhkeal! He showed me around where the famous Peanuts animator lived including a much-needed wine tasting adventure ☺ it was amazing!

Once I had my fill of Santa Rosa, I got on the next boat to the Golden Gate City where my old Quizno’s buddy, Amanda C now lives. She was such a great host! She showed me everything from the Golden Gate Bridge to the best place in town for pizza to the coolest little museum of vintage old games! It was so delightful! I got to meet her future husband and hear about their plans for their up and coming wedding. I am very excited for the two of them.

It has always been a dream of mine to check out the northern part of California and I was able to do so in good ole San Fran ☺ Maybe next visit I will try to get further north and check out those massive red woods, but not in late November early December weather. Too cold! Before heading to Portland, California has gotten me a little more up to date in the world via new phone, clothes, FOOD I have missed for two years, and catching up with old friends.

Turkey.. oh Turkey... I am so happy I got to visit and experience your capital, Istanbul. What a true treat and fun time. Istanbul is a real city to go in visit to see an authentic mix of where the East meets the West.

Maggie and I had a blast hanging out with our coolest CS Maggie, Sondra, and Yunis! They were so welcoming, helpful, and they put on the yummiest Thanksgiving for all the Ex-Pat friends in Istanbul and fellow CS like Maggie and myself, these two guys from AZ.

The bars were a lot of fun to go to in downtown Istanbul and had pretty cheap drinks. One bar had a Quiz Bowl Night going on and I took part in that interesting event. The highlights of Istanbul were for sure the architecture, people, and the boat ride from the west to the east side of this old and historic city. The Blue Mosque, Haja Sophia, Toksim Square, and the awesome one of a kind watercolor I bought at a unique art gallery down the street from the Blue Mosque will be memories and treasures I will never forget, ever.

It was nice to say goodbye to this part of the world before I board my next plane, which will be taking me to LAX! I will officially be back on American soil for a while ☺ I just wanted to say best of luck to my travel buddy, Maggie, who starts her India/Europe journey after I leave to the USA on the 26th of November. She is a great friend, fun travel buddy, and is one of the most honest people in my life. I hope to see her soon in AZ. When I come to bug her in the spring/summer ☺

Maggie and I are now on our little COS Adventure and our first stop is Cairo, Egypt! What a beautiful and unique city it is. Christians, Muslims, tourist all mixed in together in this museum filled city with wonderful architecture and history. The Pyramids were breathtaking, the sphinx was HUGE, and the food was Oh My Allah Great! Sorry Morocco, but Egypt’s food kicks your foods butt☺ the people of Egypt are super nice, helpful, and sweet.

Luxor was the other city I got to visit and while I was there I saw The Valley of The Kings, Queens, and other little ancient treasures! I wished I had more time to see more of these two cities. A fun highlight would be having yummy coffee at the Winter Palace in Luxor

and Sailing at sunset on The Nile. What an amazing site to have experienced. Everyone should go to Egypt!

HUMDULLAH! After 27 months of service, I am done! What a rewarding feeling I have coming over me. It is hard to describe. It is a mixture of excitement because I am ready to go on vacation and see the world and start my life back up in the America. I am nervous because I am not sure what the next step will bring, but hopefully the traveling will clear my head and show me the next step. The last emotion is sadness because I am leaving my Moroccan family, dear friends, and my wonderful students and I am not sure when or if I will ever see them again. All of them are welcome to America if they get the chance to visit, but that is a pretty expensive ticket, but Mahurbikum dima klushi men Skoura u Kehmisset ☺ I know that one day, hopefully in the next 5 years I will be back in Morocco visiting my family and hopefully a few students and friends if they are in town.

I am currently in Rabat planning my COS trip with Maggie, my travel buddy for Egypt and Turkey. It is almost done! So excited that all this planning is actually going to happen. I am looking forward to meeting my couch surfing hosts and all the sites listed on our “Must See” list.

The hardest part of leaving thus far has been saying goodbye to my host family. I have grown very close with them and had a hard time saying goodbye without it becoming a total water-works show. They know I will return and promise to keep in touch, but at this moment, I am sad about leaving them and Morocco, the place I have called home for over two years. I will also be missing my PC crew very much. After 27 months together they have become close to my heart and a support system I feel I can count on even after COS. They are all amazing, loving, and passionate people. I wish nothing but great success and happiness in their lives after Peace Corps, truly.

The last night all of my PC friends and I were together we had a nice dinner and yummy McDonalds sundae ☺ Tomorrow we say goodbye, sign that little red book and stamp it to officially be done with PC. That is when we al will start to leave and live our own lives again. I hope to keep in touch with most of them, def. a couple of people for sure, but what a interesting time now in all our lives… everything is changing and nothing will be the same as it is tonight starting tomorrow morning. Best of luck to all my fellow PCVs and Moroccan friends and family. Goodbye Morocco, hello world/fate.

I have been so on the go that I have not written what I have been up to since November, so in the next few blogs are the entries I made months ago and now will post. ENJOY!

It finally happened! I got my Morocco tattoo! Every country that I have lived in I have gotten a tattoo or has a cultural heritage symbolism for me. One in Italy while study abroad in the summer 2005. A Croatian tattoo in honor of my heritage and the close bond I have with my wonderful sister, and now I have the khmissa, the Moroccan version of the hand of Katima. It is beautiful. I took over two hours and it was the most painful tattoo to date, but it was worth it :)

I do not have a photo of it totally healed, but above is my tattoo artist, Ziki, showing off his talents on my upper back. SHUKRAN SIDI!

With the money that my mother's church donated towards my dar chabab to denefit the kids that come to the building, I used their money to buy the supplies needed to create this world map. My wonderful mudir, Khalid, donated the canvas and white paint from his studio (yes, he is an artist! awesome) to put towards making this map.

It took a couple weeks and some very dedicated Moroccan youth, landlord, and site-mate, the map is now done!

Enjoy the photos and I want to thank my mother's church again for donating their money to something that brought many students together to create something that will last years and affect the youth that come to the dar chabab to further their education and curiosity about the world around them. God bless your parents :)

** Local kids helping out with the map**

** The map SLOWLY coming together :) brush stroke after brush stroke**

** Thanks to Abdou and Lisa for their hours of labor and love towards this project**

**Thanks also to Marissa and Faye, my fellow YD staj-mates. They were amazing and so helpful! this project could not of been done without their help**

What a trip! By far one of my top 5 mini Moroccan vacations. Once COS conference was over and things settled down, I went on my finale vacation here inMorocco as a PCV. One of my close friends in Peace Corps and a friend from Khemisset came along with me on this littleadventure. We had a car so we really got to see a lot of all three of these cities. We began with just wanting to see Tanger, but once we had a car, we decided to make the most of the time we had and see the other two cities too.

> ChefchaoenTanger>

Tanger is by far my favorite northern Moroccan cities. It had the perfect mix of Spanish, Arab, and Africa blends in culture and architecture. I got to walk around the city for a while, visit the famous American Legation, and got to chill at the cafe where they filmed The Borne Supremacy.Once we got our fill of Tanger, we hit the road to Tetouan for a quick coffee break before arriving to Chefchaoen.

The Tetouan souq was HUGE! I almost got lost. There was a beautiful palace that was right in the middle of town. Tetouan was one of the most Spanish/European influenced towns of the north. The architecture of the townmade me feel like I was in southern Spain walking around the main streets. Also being spoken to in Spanish the whole time was wonderful. I'd rather be "Hola"ed than"Bonjour"ed any day.

Once we left Tetouan, we hit the road to our finale destination, Chefchaouen!! Located in the Rif Mountains. This town is famous for the color blue that is used throughout the city and the location within the Rif Mountains is one of the most breath-taking locations in Morocco. Check out this link for more on this information on this city: http://wikitravel.org/en/Chefchaouen

If anyone decides to visit Morocco, you have to check out Ozt, Tanger, Wester Sahara, and Chefchouen for sure.

Chefchaouen stairs>

I love Morocco. I truly do. The majority of the people here are some of the most kind and welcoming people I have ever met, but at times, the men in this country take it upon themselves to remind you the ranking in this culture really is in gender issues. I understand that they think this is a compliment and that out of 100 women ONE will think this will work on them and enjoy these kind of comments, but the 99 others do not. I took this comic from a fellow PCV's blog and wanted to share with you that joining Peace Corps was one of the best things I have ever done, but also, one of the hardest experience I have ever been through. AGAIN, I remind you that not all Moroccan men do this and I do not see every Moroccan man in this light, but since moving from a small rural village to an urban town filled with foreign women married to Moroccan men, it is hard to even walk to the local haunt to buy milk without some daily harassment. I just want to share another side of my Peace Corps experience. Both the good and the not so good.

link: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/09/02/women-and-street-harassment/

Close Of Service (COS) Conference is DoNe! Last week was one filled with LONG meetings to help my staj "reintegrate" into American life again, getting my teeth checked out along with my finale physical and the many trips to the lab to drop off samples of bowel movements and blood. Also I cannot forget to add the usual unemployment protests and enjoyable walks from Rabatville to Agdal. Honestly, it is not a truly authentic stay in the capitol of Morocco without at least a couple protest going on outside of the Parliament Building which was located across the street from the hotel all the volunteers were staying at last week. I had meetings with David, the Country Director along with my programing staff YD lovingly calls "A-Team." It was nice to be able to share my experiences and recommendations from these past 2 years+ of my PCV life.

It was good to see SBD together again with YD chilling at HQ. Catching up over drinks at non-Moroccan food restaurants was great! I got to sit down with a lot of other people in my staj that I never had the time to get to know as well as I wanted. That was a blessing. After the COS conference, it was nice to see that most of my fellow staj-mates are in the same boat as I am with what the future holds for us once we sign that little red book on November 12th. When I was able to talk to other PCVs and listen to the RPCVs (retired peace corps volunteers) talk about what they went through, it took some of the stress off of me and reminded me that I need to be patient with myself and that things will work out.. also this traveling bug I have is something that will always be with me. We shall see how long I stay state-side until I start getting antsy again:) well that is all for today! Hope all is well in your world and keep a look out for my next entry which should be up by the end of this week, Inch Allah.

I’m shamelessly stealing this from other shameless blog thieves. I don’t know who deserves the credit, but I’m pretty amused.If you ever wanted to understand what I go through as female Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco check out this clip from Beauty and the Beast. What Belle experiences in this clip is my life in a nutshell here in Morocco:

Popout1. She reads books, and people think that’s odd. It’s especially odd because she carries them around with her all the time.

2. People scream “Bonjour!” at her from windowsills and alleyways.

3. She lives in a “little town…a quiet village.”

4. Everyday is “like the one before.” (also see: “Every morning [is] just the same since the morning that [she] came to this poor provincial town.

5. She sees the baker first thing in the morning with the “same old bread and rolls to sell.”

6. Minute 1:00 – She excitedly recounts to someone an important story (in her mind), and is politely dismissed because the story has nothing to do with the number or price of produce that day.

7. Minute 1:07 – People in town start talking about her behind her back. She doesn’t notice — it’s almost as if they’re speaking another language and she’s happily strolling through town, oblivious to their comments…just smiling at them the whole time.

8. Minute 1:20 – She hitches a ride on a horse/donkey cart. This is a common occurrence in Peace Corps (though I can only comfortably speak to my experiences in Morocco). Sometimes there’s no other transportation available, and hitch on a donkey cart, you must.

9. Minute 1:24 – People are greeting each other, not only saying hello, but asking about their families. Although their greetings here do not extend into the 30-second long salutation that we experience in the bled, I’m sure it would if the song had been longer if American audiences were judged patient enough to sit through that kind of thing.

10. Minute 1:30 – There is an exasperated woman with multiple babies in her arms.

11. Exasperated woman wants 6 eggs, but that’s “too expensive.” Six eggs would also be deemed preventively expensive in many places here as well.

12. Minute 1:35 – Belle says, “There must be more than this provincial life!” She’s complaining again. She didn’t say, “I miss peanut butter and Mexican food,” but that’s pretty much what she meant. Again, note the complaining. Peace Corps Volunteers are EXPERT complainers.

13. Bookstore owner is a cute little goat-looking man. Those are found in abundance in Morocco.

14. Minute 1:50- Belle climbs the ladder in the bookstore and swings it to the other side of the bookshelf. In a Barnes and Noble, this would prompt screaming store attendants, wary of a possible lawsuit when you fall. In Morocco (and in Belle’s world), no problem. If you fall, Allah willed it.

15. Minute 2:00 – Belle goes on and on about how much she loves something, which basically requires the nice goat-man to give it to her. You often see this in Morocco.

16. Minute 2:02 – Men staring at her and trying to get her attention.

17. Minute 2:10 – Belle pats a random child’s head. This is considered creepy in America, but in Morocco, PCVs are encourages to pat, hold, and feed random children.

18. Minute 2:21 – Belle sits in the town center next to the fountain, (like Morocco – except their fountain works) surrounded by sheep.

19. …then Belle starts to talk to the sheep. Many a PCV talk to their pets, because they sometimes understand English better than the townspeople (or so they think).

20. Also, at the same moment, you see a woman washing her clothes in the public water source. Hopefully she’s not using Tide and exposing us all to dangerous levels of phosphates.

21. Minute 3:00- Townsfolk say they think she’s beautiful because she’s fair. Moroccans often say this about light-skinned Americans. Belle, on the other hand, probably fancies a nice tan (and could probably use one, too).

22. Minute 3:20 – Gaston wears tight Euro-trash pants and shirt, and obviously thinks more of himself than he should. Reminds me of a few select 20-something boys in Morocco.

23. Minute 3:35-4:00 – Gaston wants to marry the foreign girl because he thinks she’s pretty.

24. Minute 4:45 – Townsfolk joyfully remark how Belle doesn’t “quite” fit in (even if she has been there for almost 2 years!).

25. Minute 4:55 – Everyone is staring at her.And finally, (26) she’s singing a Disney song!

It is that time of the year :) Berry Picking 2010 in Ain Inlueh, which is a town about 4 hours away from Kheimsset. This little village that is located on the side of the Middle Atlas Mountains is one of the most peaceful and breath taking areas up north. I got to spend some quality time with some SBD volunteers, eat some yummy food, and pick a ton of black berries that were FREEto take! In Ain Inlueh, not many Moroccans eat black berries or know that you can cook and make these berries into jam so the group I went with to berry pick just went along the sides of the roads and into peoples yards (asking the home owners first) picking away for hours. I did not realize how relaxing it was to berry pick and why I have not done this more often back in the states at my grandfather's bushes back home. I am planning on helping him out next season back in Michigan for sure now that I am a pro-berry picker now :) Bring it on thorns.. I am ready!

Here is a picture of the town of Ain Inleuh and a couple of my Peace Corps friends that I went berry picking with. This town was very welcoming and an awesome town to work-out in. The steps to get from the top of town where we all stayed with a volunteer to the souq and closest haunt guy for bread would leave you out of breath and sweaty. It was an intense workout that I loved! I woke up early one morning just to go up and down those steps to work up a sweat, but I think the women who were cleaning outside and watching me go up and down where saying " Why is this white girl going up and down these steps so much?" It is because I love to work-out, to be challenged, and also have the local people have something to talk about :)

The photo above shows how proud I am with my water bottle full of freshly picked black berries!

I was happy to of gone on this berry picking adventure with my friends to this town. Now that I have only 46 days left as a Peace Corps volunteer, I am trying to enjoy any last minute cities I have yet to visit along trying to prepare for graduate school, career hunting back in the USA, and shipping items back home from Morocco all the while starting up my finale project in site and preparing things for the new volunteer that will be replacing me. A lot needs to be done. wish me luck!It was nice to leave site, but now it is time to get some Close Of Service (COS) things together. Time is running out!

AFTER TWO YEARS OF HARD WORK AND FUN ART RELATED WORK, THE ART RESOURCE MANUAL THAT WE LOVINGLY CALL, A.R.M. IS DONE!

It is a 153 page art manual for all Peace Corps Volunteers in Morocco to use to help them with anything from art club/class lesson plans, local suppliers, museums, galleries, to how to say "yarn," or certain materials in Daija, FusHa, and Tam that are not given in our PC Darija/Tam language manual. I am very proud of this manual and it could not of been done with out the help of my good friend and fellow artist, Lisa Payne. Lisa, you are amazing! Thanks for listening to my crazy idea for A.R.M. and helping me make this crazy idea come alive and become an actual manual. This manual makes my experience as a Peace Corps the "cheery on top" of my service. A.R.M. reminded me how much I love art, miss it, how much I am looking forward to the next step in my life after Peace Corps, which is, Inch Allah, interning, working, or volunteering at a museum or historical society to start my dream of one day working in collections/archives. I am ready for the next step and this manual is an example of my dedication to art and how important it is to have art in my life along with the rest of the world, or at least Peace Corps world. Now after Living in Morocco for 2 years, I have come to realize the lack of creativity the students I work with have in this country. It is all academic, nothing to do with the arts, and I am happy that for the two years I have been here in Morocco, I can leave knowing that the students I worked with and helped got a creative injection of the arts. If it was from doing 50 English drawing flash cards, family trees, paper doll races to art battles, life drawing, mural painting, etc. I know that they are looking at life differently now or at least can draw a darn good tree, remember the English vocabulary I taught them (visual learning is powerful tool), and can paint like a pro now :) It has been officially two years today since I left the USA and came to this country, and even through the ups and downs I have had, good and bad, when I think of my time here I spent as a volunteer, friend, and family member, it warms my heart to know that I made an impression upon my students, community, family and friends. I would not of had such fond memories with out them in my life while in Morocco, and it will be a very sad day on November 13th when I officially leave Morocco to start my Close Of Service Adventure to Egypt and Turkey because I will be leaving good friends, new life long family, and a country that always welcomed me with open arms. I know that I will return to Morocco. I promise that.

Yes. I have returned from a month long adventure/summer camp fest and man am I tried! Since July 20th, I have been on the road traveling, meeting new people, seeing new places, and working my last summer camp as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

(Image: with my host brothers, Ayoub and Yassine, after a tearful goodbye to new friends the last night of camp) As soon as I landed back in Fez, Morocco, I caught a train to Meknes and then a taxi back to my site where I had only 24 hours to unpack, wash clothes, pay bills, re-pack, and hit the road for another 5 hours to get to El Jadida for my last summer camp as a PCV! It was a fun camp with some great first and second year volunteers. The Moroccan access students were super helpful this year due to the amount of beginner students I had to take on and little issues that came up between staff and the kids at camp. It was a productive and very chill camp until Ramadan hit. When Ramadan began, that was when tempers were shortened due to fasting, which is totally understandable. Not being able to eat or drink from 6am until 7:30pm while at a camp, running around, and doing activities; that is not a good and healthy combo. It was rough and most of the kids, volunteers, and Moroccan staffers got sick, but we pull through and ended the last camp of the summer on a positive note. I was able to bring my two host brothers, Yassine and Ayoub, to camp with me and they enjoyed themselves to the point that they were sad to leave and tearing up when saying goodbye to new friends that they made while at camp. The highlights of camp: Going to the beach and watching the students do Tug-of-War One kid got pushed in between two pillars by a Moroccan staffer and it took 3 PCV’s (yes, i was one of the 3) and 5 minutes of pushing and pulling to get him out Fasting highs and lows PCV boy band being created and performed "I Want It That Way" at spectacular Being voted most beautiful American volunteer/teacher at camp.. sukran ya'll :) PCV’s getting together and performing the song “Shout” My beginner kids picking out American names for class Halloween haunted house The song “ I Love Dogs” classic Being artsy all camp. I miss doing that. Now that I am back in site, still fighting off whatever kind of cold/sickness I have had for over a week or so now, I am getting ready to finish the Art Resource Manual that my site mate and I have been working hard at for 2 years now. It should be ready by the time the new YD and SBD group comes in on September 15th! I am still in shock with how fast time has flown by. I cannot believe that in about 3 weeks, there will be a new group that has come to replace my staj, and that there is one person in that group that will be taking over my position at the dar chabab in Khemisset. I am excited for what these next couple of months will bring! On top of all of this, I am applying for jobs back home in the museum world in ANY state that is hiring. If you know of any museum hiring or taking interns, please send the information my way. I am happy that I got to take part in Peace Corps, experience an Islamic country and the Moroccan culture, but I am eager to head home, start my life back up, and work towards my graduate school dream in Museum Studies or Conservation. Well the Imane at the mosques are doing their calls so it is time for me to get some work done before Liftor begins. Hope all is well in your world. Peace N Love.

DOBRO JUTRO! in English, GOOD MORNING! (Image: Zagreb) I started my journey in Germany where I stayed for a couple of days while waiting for my connecting flight to Croatia. I was happy to be back in Europe and in my favorite country with the best beer in the world J The highlight to my German layover was being able to walk around the countryside for a couple of hours and taking in the view of the lush green landscape. I was just walking around, jamming out to my ipod, and taking in the atmosphere that is Germany. It almost made me feel like I was back home in Michigan. (Image: Germany)

Once in Croatia, I traveled for 9 days to: Pula: Yummy food and a good city to walk around in Rijeka: Awesome farmers market and port Zadar: The Sun Salutation and Sea Organ. GOOGLE this! Zagreb: The capital and now one of my top 10 favorite cities and got a great haircut in, Humdullah! Đurđevacv: where I met my long lost family from my grandfather Presecan heritage. This was my highlight of my Croatia trip. Croatia.. aka… one of the coolest countries I have visited! The people are kind and super excited to see Americans. Some people who met me said that I was the first American they have ever met before. CRAZY! So to all you Americans out there, go check out Croatia! You will be pleasantly surprised how cheap things are, how welcoming the people are, and the scenery is worth traveling for, trust me on this. Also in Croatia, everyone knows English so it is super easy to get around Croatia and communicate with the Croatians. The food there was amazing, but very buttery and rich. I could not eat a whole meal due to this, but I did leave full from every place I ate at. Honestly, I was just happy to NOT be eating Moroccan like food for 11 days, whoo! By far my favorite dish was squash deep-fried in batter at my relative’s house in the countryside. I am not a deep fried kind of girl, but wow, when I ate that with some yogurt/sour cream on top… DELIGHT! The beaches in Croatia are crystal clear, white, and the sea is so blue that even in the Rijeka Port, I could see hundreds of fishes swimming around looking for food. I have never seen such clean and clear water before. I mean nothing can beat Lake Michigan and the beaches there, but the Croatian coast can give Lake Michigan a run for its money. (Image: Rijeka)

As I mentioned earlier, the highlight to my little Croatian adventure was finally meeting my relatives near the city where my grandfather was born. I met Tihana, Martina, and their family in a beautiful small town called Đurđevacv. I have never met such welcoming and happy people before. Their mother was always smiling and offering me food left and right until I could not move from my seat due to how overly stuffed I was from lunch. Their father was calling up all the family he could remember and asking about my grandfather and was sharing the baptismal certificate I brought to see if he could get any answers for me. He was very cheerful man, and helpful with looking into my grandfather’s certificate for me. I actually found out that my grandfather was from the village about 10 km down the road from them called Kolstar, that my great grandmother, Klara, her family was from around this area, and I found out how to say my last name correctly in Croatian J I am looking into changing my last name so it will sound like it should because it sounds beautiful in Croatian.

(image: Zagreb) It was a sad moment when I had to leave Croatia so I could make it back in time to do summer camp in El Jadida, but I know that is was not a “good bye”; it was more like a “see you soon” kind of vibe. I hope to return again soon and visit my relatives longer in the countryside, check out the capital again, and see some of Croatia’s famous National Parks, and go more east and south within this beautiful and inspiring country. HVALA!! vidimo se !

The Art Resource Manual is almost finished! Lisa and I have started the layout and putting information that was submitted by PCVs along with our own research for this manual. I am so excited to finish A.R.M. once I return from summer camp in mid August. Our due date for this manual is the first week of September, when the new PCVs come into Morocco to start their training to replace me and my staj! WOW, I can not believe it is almost time to meet those who will be replacing me and my staj I came in with. These past 23 months have just flown by! In a blink of an eye I will find myself stamping and signing that little red book to officially become an RPCV (retired peace corps volunteer).

I just returned from my very hot, but wonderful time back down in the orginial site, Skoura, to see my old site-mate, April, and my host family in the Bled. The trip was great and being able to catch up with old family and friends in the Skoura area was wonderful. When I at souq and walking around in the Bled, people remembered me and came up welcoming me back to Skoura with open arms and a lot of hugs. It was a heart warming. The only bummer to the trip was that I feel asleep in front of a fan when I first got into Ouarzazate and, as always, I got a head cold that lasted most of my vacation down south. I think I am the only person that gets a head cold from a fan in the face. Even though I was sick most of my vacation, I still had a blast just chilling in April’s site, seeing her women and the products they have been making, and spending some quality time with my host family, but now I am back in site preparing for my next and finale vacation as a PCV in Morocco. I will be heading to CROATIA on Saturday July 24th and will return in early August just in time to make it to El Jadida for the last English summer camp. Starting on the 24th until the middle of August, I will be out of site and off seeing the world, well at least a little portion of it. I can not wait to make it to Croatia and see the country where my grandfather came from, and my family on my father’s side . I have contacted a couple of possible “cousins” in Croatia and hope to see them at some point throughout my journey. Well, I must be off to finish up some last minute plans for Croatia. Hope all is well back state side or where ever you all are reading my blog. Peace N Love.

Happy 4th of July, everyone back in the good ole USA (I know kinda late). I got to spend my last 4th of July in Moroco in my new site with my fellow Khemisset region-mates. We spent the whole day cooking, grilling, baking, and chilling on my roof listening to some American music. The weather was wonderful, the company was great, and even some Moroccans came along to enjoy this American holiday and awesome spread J I was happy to of spent some time with my new region-mates and celebrate a little bit of America with them on this day. Happy Birthday USA!!!!

Well when thought it was a smart idea for me to start my mountain climbing career in Morocco on Mt. Jebel Toubkal, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I mean, I have hiked a lot while in the states, but not a mountain, and nothing like what I experienced while getting to the peak of Mt. Jebel Toubkal. The peak is almost 14, 00 feet above sea level. The clmib up was nothing I could of prepared myself for and my body was in a little bit of pain afterwards, but WOW, all the photos, all the beauty that I saw going up, at the peack, and climbing (more like scooting down) Mt. Jebel Toubkal was worth all the mental and physical ups and downs I experienced, and I would do it again in a heart beat just to experience that all over again.

I went on this trek with a couple of PCVs in my staj, but my true trekking partner was my girl, Marrisa, one of my roomies while in PST, and now my hiking soul mate for life. We started out trek at 6:00am and what should of taken a pro climber maybe 4 hours to go up and back down to base camp to do, with two newbies trying to hike this mountain like all the pros… it took a bit longer than expected. Let’s just say that Marrisa and I started at 6am and everyone from the base camp hostel that left after us, even climbers leaving at 3 in the afternoon, beat us down the mountain. When Marissa and I finally got down the mountain back to base camp, we found everyone at the hostel outside cheering us into camp. Kind of embarssing and supportive at the same time.

Even though I was not prepared for this journey, I am so happy that I pushed myself and made it to the peak and back down. When returning back to the states, I hope to keep up with more intense climbing, but next time around, I think I will work my way up to a Mt. Jebel Toubkal level instead of going head first into something like that again.

Here are some fun facts about Mt. Jebel Toubkal, if you are intested J

* Highest mountain peak in North Africa, 2nd highest after Mount Kilaminjaro in all of Africa* Takes 3.5 hours by mule to get from base camp to the village of Imlil where everyone starts off their trek to Toubkal, so just think about that on foot. * Mount Jebel Toubkal is one of those freaking mountains that you do not see any sign of the peak until WAY into your trek. Every time I thought I was near the peak, there was another set of mountains OR valley OR cliff you have to climb up before you see a light at the end of this hiking tunnel. check out this website for further information on this mountain:http://www.addictedtotravel.com/travel-guides/places-to-visit/jebel-toubkal_morocco-travel-guide

Well on the 12th of this month marked all my fellow staj-mates official 6 month countdown to finishing up our service in Peace Corps, Morocco. I can not believe that 21 months have already past, and that there are only 6 more months of work to be done! This means my last summer camp, my last Ramadan, and my last summer/fall here in Morocco. I am both excited to be almost done, but sad to realize that in 6 months, I shall have to say goodbye to the life that I have made for myself here these last (almost) 2 years. I mean I am almost ready/prepared to do so since my site change, but there is a difference between leaving a site and leaving a country. I have to keep in mind that 6 months is still a long time, but from all the RPCVs (Retired Peace Corps Volunteers) I have spoken to, time flies by in a blind of an eye your last 6 months, and then you are signing that pretty red book and officially becoming an RPCV. My goals for the next 6 months are a bit different than my other staj-mates due to the new situation I am in by being a new YD volunteer in Khemisset so late in the YD game, but I am looking forward to what these next/last 6 months of my service will be bringing me. I hope to start up a world map project, to do some sort of SIDA activities, start up an art class along with a couple hours dedicated towards English classes, and maybe some Yoga/Pilate's classes, if the students are interested:) But most importantly I am wanting to prepare as much as I can for the PCV that will be replacing me since he/she will have the time to really get things started in this site. I am just laying down the ground work, getting to know the community, and giving this town an idea of what a YD volunteer is/does, and hopefully I will be as helpful as can be with whoever is going to be taking over this site in November. Bring on the last 6 months! I am ready and very excited to see what will be going on!!!!

It is official. After two weeks of being homeless, and Peace Corps working as hard as they could to find a proper site for me, I have a new site for the rest of my service in Khemisset. My new site is in northern Morocco, located 80 km from the capital, Rabat, and about an hour away from Meknes. It is nothing like Skoura.Skoura was beautiful in its own dessert like way with palm trees, kasbahs, donkeys, mountains, and welcoming people. Khemisset is green, has horses, a lot of farm land, and forests! Its weekly souq is as big as my old sites "downtown" area. The medina is huge, it has week long veggie souq, two main square areas, cafes at every corner, and even a tennis court/rec. area including a swimming pool. Khemisset is known for their horses and you see them on every street either working as a taxi service around the city or hulling local produce to souq. I went from a very rural area to a very urban area, which is something that I need to get used to. Even with Ouarzazate 45 km away from me back in the south, Khemisset is almost as big, and even more busier than Oz. I am Khemisset's first Youth Development volunteer, but I am not the first PCV in Khemisset. I have an awesome site-mate and best pal, Lisa, that has been here her whole service. She sworn in with me 21 months ago, but works in a different sector of Peace Corps. Her job is to work with the local artisans in Khemisset. There are other PCVs in the region and I look forward to meeting them all and hopefully collaborating with them and Lisa throughout the rest of my service. The new dar chabab that I will be working in is HUGE! seriously, HUGE! It has a theatre, three huge classrooms with many windows (very open space), a long hallway that connects to the other part of the dar chabab where there is room for computers, a music room, and art room. It has been under construction for 7 months now because it is becoming what we call here in Morocco, a model dar chabab. This means that this building is the ideal dar chabab that the Ministry of Youth and Sports (the ministry is the reason why YD works in Morocco, PC YD works under this umbrella of the ministry). It is colorful, has a small courtyard, open, and with plenty of space for big projects and events. I got to meet my new moudir and delegate and they are very welcoming and open to ideas, which is perfect. My moudir and I seem like we will work well together. He is on personal leave because he is putting together his very own art exhibition that will be going on over the summer in Tanger! His work is impressive and I am thrilled to have a real counterpart that is my moudir, and someone who is also passionate about the arts. Since there has not been any kind of real activities inside the dar chabab in some time, and starting next month the BIG high school exam happens and school will be over for the summer (starting June 10th), which means the dar chabab will be closed until after Ramadan (end of August). This means that I will be focusing in on helping the students in the dar chabab with homework, doing activities/some clubs, and just getting to know them since I have less than a month before the students disappear for their summer fun. After Ramadan though, it is going to be super busy and exciting at the dar chabab in Khemisset,:) I will be honest that only having 6 months left before I COS (humdullah), I am being challenged with the short time i have left. To integrate into a community, it takes about 6 months, then the real work begins. I only have time to integrate, then I am finished with my service. Though that is going to be a challenge, I am taking this new site by the "horns" or maybe I should be "hooves" :) and getting this dar chabab up and running again. I am going to focus on letting the local youth get to know the me, gain their trust, do some classes and activities, and research/prepare this site for the PCV that will be replacing me in November. That is my amazing game plan and I have my work cut out for me, but I am excited about it. I can not get into detail over why I was site changed, and I would like to leave that in the past, but I can at least say this, I am finally in a site that I feel happy and healthy to be working in. Skoura will always be home to me in Morocco. My family and friends are there, but I am ready for the next task at hand, which is Khemisset and the youth here. To learn more about my new home, check out these websites. Just copy and paste them onto your URL. EnJoY.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/316584/Khemissethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khemisset

HEY EVERYONE! I am just writing to keep you posted on what is going on with me here in Morocco. Currently I am writing from a nice hotel in Rabat that I have been staying in for a week now. This hotel is currently my new home until the meeting on Friday with the whole Peace Corps staff about where I am going to be living these last 6 months and what I will be doing. It has been a little bit on the stressful side, but I know that things will work out. Also it has been nice to be in Rabat and catch up on things and focus on my life here in Morocco and what I want to do before I COS. I will keep you posted on what is going on when I find out more information. I might be going to El Jadida or another city... we shall see where fate and the Peace Corps staff takes me :)

It is official, starting Thursday, April 29th, I will be leaving my home for the past 17 months and heading to start work in a city called El Jadida. This is something that came as a shock to me when I was told this on Tuesday while finishing my warden meeting in Rabat.

Here is an image map of Morocco (left). Once you find Ouarzazate in the south-eastern part of the map, look up to the north-west coastline and find El Jadida... that is where I will be staying for my last 6 months of my Peace Corps service. It is beautiful and a big tourist/ Moroccan vacation hot spot. The only annoying part is traveling almost 15 hours from my site in Ouarzazate to El Jadida with all my things! EK!

Starting May 1, 2010 I will be working in EL Jadida with an NGO program called SOS Village. This NGO works with orphaned children. I will be setting up activities, classes, and other programs in El Jadida for these 90 children who range in age from 1-14. Here is SOS Villages website on the El Jadida location I will be working in :) * Copy and paste the link below to access this website*

http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/Where-we-help/Africa/Morocco/El-Jadida/Pages/default.aspx

If you want to learn more about SOS Village, just check out the whole website. It is a very interesting NGO program, and it is making a difference all over the world.

El Jadida is know for its beautiful beach scene and historic Portuguese architecture.. also check out the wiki page on El Jadida!*copy and paste the link below*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Jadida

This website has some great photos of El Jadida as well!

Even though I am not happy to be leaving such great friends, family, and students behind in Skoura; I am happy to have a fresh start these last 6 months and taking part in a pilot program that Peace Corps is asking me to do with SOS Village. I will be returning to Skoura regularly (or if funds allow.. about 400 dh one way! 50 USD which is A LOT of my allowance) and keeping in touch with my host family and friends.

I hope that everyone in Skoura knows how much I care about them and how much I will be missing them and that I shall return. I promise.

Got to get back to packing! Only able to take what I need, which is kinda hard to do in only a couple of days. Wish me luck!

Hugs!

images are from these websites:http://www.natureculture.org/wiki/images/8/8d/Carte-eljadida-1-.jpghttp://www.escapethecity.co.uk/wp-content/gallery/El-Jadida/IMGP4917.JPG

HEY everyone out there in cyber space! I am writing to tell all my friends and family that at this moment I am asking everyone to put on hold any letters or packages you are wanting to send to me. I am having postal issues (nothing serious like stealing) and until further notice, please wait on anything you want to send to me to Morocco and I will keep you posted on when you can start sending me cool things :) MISS YOU ALL!

I FINALLY MADE IT DOWN TO THE WESTERN SAHARA! and it was one of the most memorbale moments in my Peace Corps service in Morocco. I left spring camp and headed down to Merzuga where my Western Sahara camel adventure began! A group of people came along with me on this little adventure. We started at a hotel at the edge of the desert, went by camel for two hours to our camping site where I stayed overnight under the stars, saw a shooting star through clouds, and woke up to the moon slowly disappearing into the sunrise. I walked to the top of the largest san dune that I was camping next to. The view from the top was breathtaking and with how the wind was blowing the sand around me and the dunes; I can not put into words how amazing nature can create such wonderful works of beauty just by breathing :) After a very fun trek up the dunes I headed back to camp, ate breakfast, and got back on my camel to head back to the hotel to finish out this awesome desert trek adventure. Whoever comes to Morocco has to do this trip! One of the best times I have ever had! camels+desert+good friends= awesome time!

I spent one wonderful week up north in the small in the middle of no where town called Missour. It is about 70 km from Midelt and about a 11 hour drive north-east from my site here in Skoura. I got to teach a group of 16 kids in a beginner English class at Spring Camp Missour. My class was great and very excited about being in my class and at camp. It was a long week, but totally worth the hard work :) I have never worked with such appreciative and happy kids before at a camp. It got me excited about what great things can be done during this coming Summer camps in El Jadida! Now I am back in my site and back to work. Cross your fingers that these last 9 weeks will go well and that my last summer here in Morocco is a memorable one.

Last weekend two of my BAC students and myself put together a power point presentation and open discussion at the local library about sustainable development internationally and locally. There were speakers from different associations, the BAC students spoke English very well, and I even had a few minutes to talk about Peace Corps, my job, and how the local community could help with sustainability within Skoura, itself. We had a wonderful turn out and what was even more impressive was that the whole presentation was in English. I was very proud of my BAC students. It was refreshing to be able to meet new people from associations I have never heard of in my site, and now I have more places to go and volunteer at!Now I am heading to Spring camp in Missour! I am so excited to travel and meet new students and hang out with some old PCV pals of mine that I have not seen in months! until next blog, Baslama.

The British came to Skoura High School for a random last minute cross cultural morning presentation with the first and second year BAC students in my site. There were about 20 British students and teachers that came to the high school to participate in some cross cultural activities and English speaking.The BAC students prepared two presentations; one on the city of Skoura, and the second on the Moroccan educational system, all in English. The British group that visited us was part of a Geography Class, so the information that was given to them by the BAC students was helpful for the visiting students.After the presentations we then showed the British students and teachers the high school grounds, showed them the English classrooms, and ended the morning with tea and one last cross cultural activity. At the end of the morning activities both Moroccan and British students were exchanging emails so they could keep in touch. It was just a short morning meeting with those students from East London, but it has left a lasting impact and possible new friendships formed here in Skoura.I was so proud of the BAC students for using their English, interacting with the visiting students, and being open and very friendly towards them. I could see all of them enjoying their conversations and the new friendships they were forming.

Well Since early this morning I have been stuck inside my house to escape the on going rain fall hitting my site today. I was woken up by dripping noises and then it hit me, a HUGE drop of water from my ceiling got me on my left eye waking me up at 5:00 in the morning. I turned on my bedroom light to find my who bedroom ceiling soaked and around the wall edges water dripping onto my books, clothes, picture, and bed. I went to check out the rest of my house to find every room, except the kitchen, to be dripping a lot of rain water and paint peeling from the ceiling due to the rain and pieces were coming off with the water. After I figured out how many spots were dripping, I went into my kitchen and took all my pots and pans out and did "Oliver Twist" style collecting of all the water falling from my ceiling. It took about a half hour to get enough pans, pots, and old clothes to collect the water, but it worked. I woke up later to still find it raining, and as I write this blog I can still hear the rain hitting my door, roof, and windows at nine at night. During the day when I had a moment during downpour periods, I went outside to see the damage. There were rivers everywhere! Living in the south where it NEVER rains and to get the most that I have ever seen these 16 months I have been here in just one day, there were a lot of new rivers popping up due to not enough top soil around here to deal with this much rain. Even though it was depressing and raining all day, the small moments I had to go outside and look around from my roof top area was beautiful when looking at the High Atlas Mountains. They looked like they were almost totally covered in snow! It was an amazing site to see. The clouds were moving fast and were so saturated with rain water that the clouds did a wonderful contrast between the bright color of the white snow on the mountains to the dark clouds moving around, above, and in-between the peaks. I tried to stay as long as I could to take in that memorable view, but sadly the downpours were too consistant for me to stay longer than five minutes outside. Though it was a very LONG and boring day; in a way it was the most relaxed and content I have felt since arriving back to Skoura from America. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and that it will be nice enough to go outside for a walk or something. I hope my site-mate is dealing with all the rain in her mud house! I was planning on visiting her today, but with the rain and the 3 river-beds (that are usually dry all year) now filled with water up to my knees from what the locals were saying; I sadly could not venture out her way. Maybe tomorrow? Inch Allah. The photo in this blog is what happens when it rains down south , even if just for a half hour at times.**Image from: http://www.globosapiens.net/data/gallery/mo/pictures_468/morocco--taroudannt--71372.jpg ***

I have finally made it back home to my cold concrete house in Skoura and I could not be happier! I enjoyed my time back in Michigan, and am glad that my medical issues have been figured out, but I will admit I had an overwhelming feeling of being home when I got off the plane from JFK and walked onto Moroccan soil. Seeing other PCV's and staff was also a nice way to ease into things back here as well. The train ride down to Kech and the bus to Ozt were not that much fun, but traveling in Morocco is never really a blast when it takes 12 hours to get home. I got in on Monday morning, went to souq, had lunch with my host family who were really happy to see me (my host mom would not stop hugging me),and hung out with my site-mate the rest of the night and watched "I Love You, Man." I am excited to see what will happen here in Skoura these last 9 months I have of Peace Corps service. Coming back from my medical hold has given me a fresh look at things and I hope I can do some more positive things in my site before I head out on November 12, 2010. It is official! My staj got our COS (close of service) date! Super Excited! I have been talking to the teachers in the site and they have some great ideas on clubs/classes at the Dar Chabab and I can not wait to see what will be going on once the kids, teachers, and myself make up a schedule for the next two months. It is crazy how fast time has flown by. I have been in Peace Corps, Morocco for almost 16 months and the next 9 months go as listed:Late March into early April - spring camp.April through May- BAC study time.June- BAC exam and summer break! Also summer camps begin.July through August- summer camps.September through October- slowing down class hours to prepare for departure.November 12, 2010- COSing, Inch Allah. There are some other things through out those 9 months that are not listed BUT I am just excited to see it written out and how much I have to look forward to before I am done. I hope to go on one more vacation in June or early July to Croatia to see family :) but still things are up in the air. Well off to clean up my apartment and air it out as well. While I was gone a HUGE rain storm that lasted two days went through my site, which is really really rare, and I have a lot of cleaning up to do. At least the water did not flood my house out this time! Even though I live on the roof does not mean that I am safe from flooding.(image from http://www.greece-map.net/africa/maps/morocco-map.gif)

Well I was packed up and ready to hit the road to Chicago on the 8th of January, but Peace Corps Washington D.C. called me up and said "wait!" Come to find out that whatever my dentist sent Peace Corps D.C. was what stopped me from leaving to back to Morocco. I will not get into details other than I need to get a crown (finally after 6 + months of waiting) but there might be more issues beyond that. We shall see how these next couple weeks pan out for me in the dental world. Cross your fingers for me because dentist and I do not mix well.. ek. I hope that my host family knows that I will be back, along with my landlord. It would be bad to come back to my house to see it rented out to another person..hah. I am already missing my site and my kids, along with my good friends in Skoura . I will stay positive that things will work out. I mean it is another week or two with my family, friends, and when I return to my site, I will have one new awesome crowned tooth ! image can be found at this site :http://www.trcabc.com/resources/kids-corner/preventing-childhood-tooth-decay/

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL! I have been state-side for the past couple weeks celebrating Christmas with the family, New Years with my good friends up in Grand Rapids, and doing some doctor appointments and chilling at my family's house before hitting the road again to Morocco where I officially have 10 months left before I am done! crazy how time is flying by! One minute I am freaking the crap out of my parents at 1:00 am surprising them with coming home for the holidays, then I am up in Grand Rapids brining in the new year with old friends, and now I am two days away from flying to London to get back to Marrakech, Morocco. I got to catch up with all my relatives, have lunch withgrandpa :) and buy some supplies that I know are not in Morocco.I spent about 6 days in Grand Rapids seeing old college friends, professors, ex co-workers, and good pals while celebrating New Years Eve, one awesome drag show performance, and a memorable Billy's 80's Night there. It was refreshing to catch up and see how life is going for my friends back in Grand Rapids. Now that it is almost time to go back to Skoura I am sad and happy at the same time. I am sad because I do miss my family and friends and also living in a house with central heating, and having toilet paper in every bathroom I enter has been amazing. I feel spoiled. I am also very happy to come back because I miss my friends back in my site, fellow PCV's in Morocco, my kids, and I really want to finish up my last 10 months left in country! I am over the hump! There is a light at the end of this PC tunnel and I can finally see it. Do not get me wrong, I have LOVED my time here in Morocco and can not wait to see what these last 10 months will bring, but I am ready for the next chapter of my life to begin once I COS in November :) Inchallah.I just wanted to end this post by saying THANK YOU to my parents for housing me, to my friends up in Grand Rapids for chilling, and special thanks to my sister, Monika. If it was not for her, I would not of been able to make it home and see all of you. She is one of the most beautiful, amazing, strong women I have ever met in my life, and I am proud to call her my sister:) LOVE YOU!

My week here in Rabat has been a memorable one. Being able to eat non-Moroccan food, hanging out with other PCVs that I have not seen since summer camp, and getting my teeth cleaned for the first time in 16 months has been amazing, but what happened last night topped all of this. Last night all the PCVs in my staj got as dressed up as a PCV could get and had dinner at the American Ambassador to Morocco's house in Rabat for some delicious soup and open bar : ) We got to eat off of Presidential seal plates and ate REAL cheese and Christmas tree shaped sugar cookies! It was wonderful. Once most of us were done stuffing our faces in free yummy food, a group of us went to the Rabat Theatre where we got to watch the Rabat Symphony do Beethoven's 1st through 5th symphony. I was moved by hearing those movements. It was almost overwhelming being in that theatre and listening to the master works of Beethoven's genius. To add to the music the ticket only cost 50 Dirham, which equal about 7.00 USD. Not a bad deal, right:) It has been a wonderful past 6 days here and hearing such support from my programing staff , and the kind words the Ambassador said to us last night has given me even more positive energy to go back to my site and keep working with my kids and my community in any way I can. I can not put into words what I have experienced here these past 15 months so you all will truly understand what I have done and have been through; it is something that I hope everyone can experience in their own way, OR through joining Peace Corps. This has really become the hardest job that I will ever love.

I just returned from a meeting with my programing manager and assistant manager to talk about the progress of my work these past 15 months and all the drama and hard events that I have had to deal with at my site that involve my moudir and I quote "Hillary, you have made water from sand." That was a HUGE compliment! he said that all the personal issues that I have been through at my site with my moudir and all the negative energy that was coming from that man towards me never stopped me from giving up and ultimately I motivated my kids enough that they took control of their Dar Chabab and stood up for themselves against the moudir enough that they are now the kids finally have their building back and have more of a say in what happens there, and the teachers are allowed in to help me and the kids now. Hearing all of this from my programing staff hit me out of nowhere. They told me that I have only been here 15 months and I have already hit my objective and I still have so much more time to grow from that into other things. I was not expecting such a pat on the back; it still has not settled in yet all of this, but I left that meeting with the biggest smile on my face. I feel like I am doing something beyond what I ever thought I could of done for my kids and my community in Skoura just by helping them find their voice, and I still have 11 more months to go! I can not wait to see what else I can do and what my kids will do. Today I realized how much I love my job here. Thanks A-Team for making me realize how strong of a person I am and how much I have done and am going to be doing while I am here.

found this link the other day and thought I would share it with you all. After reading this article you can experience what I go through everyday in Morocco whenever I leave my site and travel. Just copy and paste the link below. ENJOY :)

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/99459

This past weekend was my finale L3id Kibir as a Peace Corps Volunteer! A year from now I will be done with my service and traveling around a little bit before heading back to Michigan, inchallah. I do respect this important Islamic holiday, but I will admit being a non-meat eater, I am not a fan of meeting what everyone will be eating for lunch two hours prior; it is just not my style. Give me the frozen food section any day or Farmer's Market where it is already killed and ready to grill up. I do not eat meat other than chicken, and I have yet to buy any chicken for myself since arriving to Morocco almost 15 months ago! I am very proud of that:) I know that L3id Kibir is all about Abraham sacrificing a sheep instead of his only son, Issac, but is it too much to ask for people not to kill things on my roof next to my apartment door? I will respect the traditions in this country, but I am not too big on watching them kill the sheep, so I just chill with the wives who will cook up that huge sheep after the men are all done chopping it up into pieces. Other than that, my holiday weekend was uneventful, and it was great. It is nice to have a long weekend to oneself to just relax, sleep in, and enjoy nothing. Just studying for the GRE exam I have in February and catching up with the latest movies I got from Rabat last weekend. I wanted to soak in as much nothingness as I could before next weekend begins. Starting the 5th of December until the 12th I will be in Rabat for Mid-Service Medical, which I hear is like a very LONG week of scavanger-hunt like doctor appointments and meetings in Morocco's Capital city. Once the week of running around Rabat is over, I head back to mysite for only 4 days to clean up, teacher maybe one class, and pack up for my Christmas vacation to LONDON!I am super excited about heading out of Morocco and going to an Angelo-speaking country for the first time in 15 months! woohoo! I am excited yet a little nervous about making my flights and being in a Western culture again, but I am looking forward to wherever my travels take me :) I just need to buy some warmer clothing for the snow in London! I actually get to see and walk through snow, inchallah! Hope all is well back in the states, miss you all! I will write all about my London travels with pictures after my return in January!

images from: http://blogimg0.ifrance.com/00/02/66/157424.jpg and http://c2.api.ning.com/files/uKrEuqEi9wur5o724Mymik8hRj*HWtUwch5TStI80DytcKwH7Pp*hGJOnr161kbPySIr*5vyEV7XOhdTyit1bY6KYaCCgq8k/london.jpg

I just wanted to send out a HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my loved ones back home in Michigan and throughout the USA. I miss you all very much and am thankful for you all being in my life and supporting me through everything I try to do. HUGS! and eat some turkey for me :)

image from: http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/south_dakota_politics/images/thanksgiving_word_searchhtm_txt_turkeywi.gif

It saddens my heart to write that fellow PCV, staj-mate (my YD training group), and friend, So-Youn, has suddenly passed away from an illness in Marrakech last night. My thoughts are with her family and friends as we all try to understand and morn for the loss of a great woman, PCV, and all around funny person. I will always remember that she loved life, reading, writing, and her friends dearly. Though I was not very close with her, when I did the pottery workshop at her site about a month ago this time, I got to know her better and see why so many people love being around her. The picture above is the last picture I had with her (she is the last person on the right side). It was at the pottery workshop she put together. This picture shows the aftermath of So-Youn's crazy spa idea and a bunch of girls who have not had a spa day in 13 months:) This photo captures the fun we all had with her. I will never forget this moment. She will never be forgotten. Never. R.I.P.

This past weekend was a blast! April and I headed out to celebrate her 25th birthday!!! We went on a 48 hour adventure to eat some non-Moroccan food and relax for a bit before heading back to our sites to work. We were on a mission to find a Mexican place to eat, but sadly it was closed. Though our mission was to eat Mexican food, we did find a really nice Indian place were we ate until our tummies were full:) It was an enjoyable time. The funniest part was when our good friend and tutor, Tony ( aka Abdullah) came along to eat Indian food for the first time. The look on his face when he took his first bite of chicken curry was priceless. Happy Birthday April!

http://www.knoxvillebusiness.com/images/delicious-indian-food.gif---> image from this site.

From October 16th until the 20th I had the pleasure of leaving my site and head down to the Zagora region to take part in a pottery workshop with the local potters who make the nationally known "green pottery" in Morocco. A group of about 11 PCVs got together for this 6 day workshop and learned everything from throwing our own pieces to painting and varnishing pieces and even how to henna pottery! It was a really exciting workshop and I learned a lot that I could possibly do at my own Dar Chabab if I have the funding to do so. It was great to be able to do something art related for once while being here in Morocco. It was very refreshing to do this workshop and make some neatlooking pieces of pottery to send home as Christmas gifts :) Morocco is still amazing me even after being here for over 13 months. Bring on the last 13 months!Other than the pottery workshop, nothing much is going on at the moment. Work started this month and it has been a bit stressful due to moudir issues, but I am taking is slowly and still enjoying the company of my kids and the teachers that are starting to volunteer their time at the Dar Chabab! My goal is to have the Dar Chabab totally under the control of the teachers and kids a year from now. To start working on sustainability so when I leave a year from now, the community of Skoura will be doing all classes and activities in the Dar Chabab.

Wish me luck because this is going to be one long process, but worth trying to see if it will happen.

it happened a few days ago and i have been so busy that i am finally getting around to saying it! so here it is all! MABRK L3ID!