Ok, so I know there are 60ish new volunteers getting ready to join Morocco Peace Corps and I thought I'd post a little about what to bring. This has turned out longer than I expected but I would have really liked to find some pointers before I came. I hope this helps.

My situation: Every site is different and these are my opinions based on my experience. I will give you the data on my site so you have an idea where I am coming from. I am an Environment volunteer living in a site with about 100 houses, and 700-1000 people. I have one of the few hike-in sites, meaning there is NO transportation into my village. Many other volunteers hike because transport is unreliable or crazy early (3am). I have about 5 stores in my village that sell candy, oil, eggs and other basics but if I want produce or milk I have to hike to the nearby town. I have to take a taxi to a city 40k away to have access to internet cafes and wider food selection (cheese, cereal). My electricity is reliable and usually only goes out during severe storms. I also have internet at my house, in the village. Its wireless and uses the cell phone towers but runs at dial-up speeds. My village gets water form a spring that is channeled from 2k away and my host brother brings me water by donkey. The weather is hot and dry in the summer and cool and rainy in the winter. I have one of the southernmost environment sites, with many of my friends living in much colder areas. However, many health volunteers live down south.

Health and Environment Volunteers are typically placed in smaller, more remote sites than Youth Development and Small Business.

Electronics: Nearly all sites have electricity so I would say bring your electronics. 2 volunteers in my region have no electricity but both have computers, BRING YOUR COMPUTER! Not only will you be able to do work on it but you can watch movies and save yourself the cost of a TV & DVD player. Some of you will have access to high speed internet in your house but if you have good cell phone reception you can get the slow type like I have. Cell phone reception varies, but most sites have it (even if its just in one corner of your house). Almost anyone can get satellite TV if you want to pay for it.

Water: Many volunteers have better access to drinking water than I do. But I will also say that some who have running water have gotten parasites because it is poorly treated. I had a water filter and steri pen sent to me because I was tired of using chlorine tabs and boiling my water. I love them and would not come without it but many of my friends are fine. I'd also recommend bringing at least 1 nalogene bottle, 2 is better. I bought a camp shower from a volunteer who has a shower (and a water heater) which is nice to have but not a necessity.

Toiletries: You can buy 2 in 1 shampoo in most places but if you want conditioner you have to go to big cities. I am picky and do not regret bring shampoo and conditioner with me. Cheap razors are also available anywhere but if you are looking for a higher quality, again big cities or bring your own (with replacement blades). I would also recommend some good quality sunblock and face lotion as well as deodorant. Many female volunteers use a deva cup or other product but it wasn't for me. You can purchase o.b. tampons and pads in internet towns. Again, I am particular and don't regret bringing my own. Most everything else you can think of is available to purchase in country. You can buy good quality in big cities and plenty of cheap knock offs in your internet town. I highly recommend bringing 2 travel towels. One big one to use at home and one small one for when you are really traveling.

Now for the big one, the majority of your luggage...Clothing. First let me say, I brought too much. As unlikely as it sounds, you will soon find yourself wearing the same clothes for a week or more. Also, don't bother bringing lots of business clothes like Peace Corps says. One nice outfit (no suit necessary) and a few things that can pass for nice will be plenty.

Hot Weather Clothing: Spend the money to bring a few good quality items. Lightweight pants or long skirts are a must in the heat (jeans are terrible!). I brought 2 pairs of quick dry convertible hiking pants and didn't touch my jeans all summer. Bring a few pair of shorts if you must, but don't plan on wearing them outside your house(male and female). Looser fit on all clothes for girls is best, and capris are questionable. Short sleeves in the south (a few ENV and many Health) for women should be avoided. A few t-shirts or tank tops for lounging in your house or vacation would be enough. Girls, you may be able to swim at your site (may) but in nothing less than long shorts and a shirt. Moroccan girls may swim but women will not so don't plan on getting a nice tan while you are here. I went swimming twice in the hiking pants and quick dry shirts I had.

Cold Weather Clothing: Bring it! I live in a warm site and have been freezing all winter. No houses have central heating, even in the bigger towns. Plenty of volunteers can see their breath inside their houses. Two pair of thermals (otherwise you'll never want to wash them) might be the most important item. Warm socks, a hat, gloves, a sweatshirt, and coat. You will want to wear your winter jacket inside. Even if you are placed in the south you will probably cherish these items when you travel north for trainings and vacations.

Shoes: I had to have shoes sent to me because the ones I brought sucked. You need 1 pair of sandals for showering and short summer walks. 1 pair of hiking sandals (I recommend something with a toe cap)or other heat friendly shoes. 1 pair of winter shoes that will hold up in rain, snow and lots of mud (I got some bogs that I love). 1 pair of hiking/tennis shoes (in my case trail running types are best but others may prefer a hiking shoe). I wouldn't even bother bringing nice shoes if one of the other type can pass for the first few days at staging. If you do bring another pair, slip-on are great because when you visit people you have to take off your shoes before entering most rooms. Most importantly all of these shoes need to be able to withstand alot of abuse. I cannot overstate the importance of good shoes because they are difficult to find in-country.

Other random things that have proved useful: A multi-tool is a must have, I even use mine as a hammer. I have a tarp attached to my mosquito net (PC will provide the net) that has kept my bed dry as my entire house leaked this winter. It also keeps various bugs and dirt from falling onto my bed which has been invaluable for me. Rain gear has been very important this winter, but this winter has had the most rain in most peoples lifetimes. Defiantly bring a sleeping bag. The smaller it packs, the better but you do want something with a little heat value. You will bring it with you when you visit other volunteers and use it as an extra layer of warmth in the winter. Mine is only 45 degree and it has been fine but a warmer one would probably be good. A headlamp is good when the power goes out but if you don't have electricity you will use candles. A hat or visor is a good idea in the summer. Locals will ask if you aren't wearing one and like to tell you that you should wear a hat because the sun is difficult.

Luxury Items: For me this was bedding. I brought two pillows and do not regret it. If I were doing it over again I would also bring a down comforter. You can put them in the vacuum bags and wait to open it until you move into your own house. Other people brought musical instruments, books, dvd's, games, and who knows what else. It is not a waste of space to bring something that will make your life more comfortable and enjoyable. Toss a few shirts to make space for that something that will make you happy.

Gifts: Don't wast alot of space with this one. Small items for kids can be fun but your host family will appreciate produce, tea or sweets more than things they don't need from the states. However, flashlights are a big hit among men and boys in my village, especially head lamps.

Luggage: Bring something small for a day pack and I would also recommend a larger weekend to week long back pack. Bring stuff you can carry because even if your village has transportation, you will most likely have to carry your luggage to your house (up hills and stairs, and probably on dirt paths). But the good news is that you only move in once.

Kitchen: If you like to cook you will want to have your favorite condiments, or treats. I've never been a huge cook but find it very enjoyable here (as do many volunteers). There is nothing like making your favorite meal from home to make you happy. You'll also need measuring cups and spoons as these are not available in country. Most people have these things sent in care packages once they move into their own house though. My favorite care packages are crammed with food.

I guess if I had one thing to say it would be spend the money to bring good quality stuff. If you need more quantity you can buy it here. Everything you bring will get abused so bring stuff that can take it. And if you forget something, you can probably have it sent in a care package or have it brought by friends or family from the states. Happy packing, and see you soon.

Wow, my internet is cooperating for the time being so I will be able to post my own blog.

Guess what?! I leave for my vacation in just over a week and I couldn't be more excited. I will be spending time in Denver and California before ending my trip with a week in London. Hopefully America won't be too overwhelming for me since I have been in Morocco for almost a year now.

So whats been happening in the last month? Truthfully, not much. More rain, and more rain, and a week of sun, and then more rain. Although my host Dad was able to stop some of the leaking, a solid week of rain is just too much. The worst development in the last month has also been falling from the ceiling. There are some type of small maggot/larve things falling from the ceilings all over my house. Yuck! Does anyone remember Brokedown Palace? A cockroach crawls into Kate Beckensdale's ear and I am so paranoid that the same is going to happen to me. So I spend most of the time in my house hiding on my bed because I have a tarp above it. I posted pictures on Flicker if anyone is interested.

The almonds trees have started to bloom and things are really looking beautiful (when its not raining). I happen to think that almond trees are pretty ugly most of the time, but they really do make up for it when they bloom. I think I also posted pictures of that, if not I will.

I had a friend come visit which was nice. We ate candy and popcorn (courtesy of our care packages) and had a fun movie night. The next day I tried to take her the scenic route to the waterfalls only to find that the river was way to big to cross. So we had to climb back up to my village so we could take the normal route. On the way we lost the trail (big surprise) and ended up climbing around in the olive grove. Needless to say we were both exhausted by the time we got back to my house that afternoon.

On the work front... The vetiver I wanted to use in some erosion control projects looks nearly dead, and I will not be able to take clippings from it. But the Environmental Workshop for teachers is still on. After months of waiting the money came through but it may happen while I am on vacation. It has all been organized by a second year Environment Volunteer who needs to wrap up and get ready to leave. Bummer.

My host family must be rolling in cash right now from selling their olive oil because we have had chicken twice and beef twice since I last posted. I eat with them once a week, and we haven't had chicken since this summer and have never had beef (since I've been there). I was starting to wonder if I would be able to tell a difference after so many months of eating goat but it was everything I remembered. I could taste the difference right away.

I guess that's all for now. I think I may post for new volunteers about things I wish I had/hadn't brought. Thanks, for reading and see you soon!

Hi everyone it's Sarah. I come with a new blog post from Kaylyn:

Ok, so I’m terrible at keeping in touch…what’s new? My only excuse is that I can no longer access my blog because my internet is too slow I guess. So I’m sending it to Sarah who will post it for me when she has time.

Hum…Where to start? Winter has been interesting. I quickly realized just how much I appreciate central heat in addition to AC. I know I cried about the heat last summer but the cold is pretty darn miserable too. I don’t know which has been more difficult.

This winter has been the ‘best’ (for the farmers) in 30 years. Meaning, its rained a lot! If you’ve looked at my pictures on flicker you have seen how much my house has leaked which was not fun at all. Thankfully, the only dry spot in my house was above my bed so at least I had a dry place to sleep. Every time we have a few dry, sunny days, my host dad has been adding more dirt to the roof and things are improving.

The cold is prevents things from drying so my house is still wet, and washing laundry involves more strategy than you could imagine (if it hangs in your house for 3 days and doesn’t dry at all things start smelling funky and it needs another wash). Its fun get a view of the village after a week of rain because every house has laundry drying on the roof in the sun. The sun is really incredible…I did an experiment one day in my courtyard and it was 50 F in the shade and 95 F in the sun! Talking to my Dad one night he asked “How do people stay warm there? Especially if its colder in other places?” Mostly you just wear more layers and huddle around the fire. During the day many people will sit outside in the sun because its warmer than inside their houses. My Dad’s reply, “They sun themselves…like reptiles?” Yes they do, thanks for the laugh Dad.

I went to Ashley and Audreys house for Thanksgiving with many other volunteers. We had a traditional meal and way too much food. Matt even bought a turkey in the summer and we had Steven (the turkey) for dinner. There is always one problem when many volunteers get together, not enough pace settings. We ate out of any containers we could find using any utensil we could find. Jeff ate his Thanksgiving meal out of a juicer and Audrey used a spatula, funny sight to see.

Christmas Eve I spent with just two other girls and we cooked some food before I went home Christmas day. I was able to call my Grandparents from my friends house which was great. I do have internet at my house but its slow, so skype works much better on faster connections. New Years I was huddled in bed under my blankets…I never really know what to do if I’m not working.

Early in December I took a trip to Dan’s site to help with a project. A group in Casablanca donated a number of large metal barrels to a local association in his area. They modified the barrels to be used as trash cans where it can also be burned (burnt?). Four households share one trash can, so women don’t have to travel far from their houses, and share responsibility for the burning. When the can is full the trash is burned and buried nearby. Dan and the local Doctor gave a presentation to the members of the association about the program and its benefits. The following day we (volunteers and association members) broke into groups and visited every house in the village to explain the program. It’s a great project using materials available and lead by motivated community members. While I was there is also snowed and you can see a lot of fun pictures on flicker.

Work in my own site is still slow. I was hoping to use the vetiver (I don’t remember if I’ve explained before) on a project to stabilize the ground surrounding the source but it does not look healthy enough. The government will be providing money for the commune to improve the structure of our water source and I will hopefully be able to do additional education and slope stabilizations with other plants at the same time. We also have the a big teachers conference coming up where a few teachers from each area will learn about starting Environmental Clubs and how to train others to do the same.

The olive harvest started in mid-November and they are still making oil. I posted pictures of one of the traditional presses in my village, sorry they are so terrible. My village supposedly has some of the best olive oil around…I’m no judge though since I hate olives. What the heck am I doing here?! If they had the best fruit I would be a much happier camper, but oh well.

I guess that’s all for now. Pretty much covers the last few months. Maybe I’ll post again soon, and try to cover some of the things I know you are all interested in. Food being a major one…let me know if you have other suggestions. Sarah can pass them on to me. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and thanks to all the folks at VUMC who sent cards! Take care.

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post! What have I been up to? Humm... In mentioning the storm I believe I told you that we had no water in the village for 2 days after. Many places along the 2k open channel had filled with sediment but most importantly the structure surrounding the spring had been filled. About a week and a half after the storm there was a meeting with members of the commune (similar to a county), the villagers, and engineers. They hope to improve the structure surrounding the spring so that this does not happen again.

The overall damage by the storm was pretty surprising. Trees of substantial size were washed out and knocked over near the river. The road to the larger city was washed away in numerous locations and still is, weeks later. The whole village worked together to first restore water and then fix our dirt road to the village. In the aftermath of a large storm I am always impressed by the human spirit and kindness. I felt it in Denver after the blizzards of 06' and again here in my village in Morocco. We're really not all that different.

Last week I made a trip to the supermarket and bought some kitchenware along with items like sliced bread and cereal. But otherwise things have been pretty uneventful. I was eating at my host family's house every night during Ramadan but didn't visit them for a week afterwords. When I did go to visit my host mom was sure to hasuma me(shame on you) as she counted the number of days, one by one, since I had been over. I hadn't even come over to get bread, boy was I in trouble!

I guess maybe I'll finally toss in a little about the hike that was....well 2 months ago now. Sorry. Last year the environment volunteers hiked from one volunteers site to another in an effort to find a good path for tourists. This year we did the same hike and added an additional 3 days. In addition to finding a good path for tourists the goal was to make contact with village members to be able to provide additional activities and information. We hiked the original portion in 4 days, and rested at the original end point. The scenery was really amazing but it was a difficult hike. The first day we spent 5 hours waiting for our transit, the second was nearly all ascent, the third nearly all descent and the fourth was mostly in a river. Unfortunately somewhere along the river I twisted my ankle and after much debate decided I shouldn't continue after the 4th day. I posted a number of pictures on flickr and I'll try to post more soon. Overall the hike was a success and we are working on the ecotourism guide now.

My program manager (aka boss) is coming to my site tomorrow and we have our next training session in two weeks. I'll try to get some pictures posted and maybe I'll have new ones after training.

Thanks for the postcards, letters, and packages. I always enjoy them. I guess that all. Take care.

Ok, I know I said I'd talk about moving and the hike but there are a few recent things to note first.

From mid-May until mid-September I would estimate it rained a total of 5 min. And even those few min were only light sprinkles. So you could say I was skeptical when talk of rain started. We had a few cloudy afternoons and some actual rain but nothing to write home about. Until..... two days ago we had a big storm. I mean huge. It was raining so hard you could barely see, or hear anything but the rain for a prolonged period of time. When it slowed for a few min we looked down to the river in the valley and it was enormous! Talk about a flash flood. Then the rain picked up again with the same force. I have plans to make a rain gauge, and I'm bummed I haven't made it yet. I'm sure it was an impressive amount of rain for one evening. If these are the kind of storms we are going to have all winter...I'm in in for another exciting season.

My dad had put a piece of plastic over my courtyard which held surprisingly well, but water leaked in around the courtyard, windows, and a few other parts of the ceiling. However, considering this was the first test of the roof, I think it did pretty well. I posted pictures of my house on flickr (link on the right) if you want to see. Too bad I couldn't get any of the river in action.

By 6am the next morning the entire village (it seemed) had gathered outside my bedroom window to look down at the river and discuss the damage. At least it wasn't the rooster... My host mom told me that the targa (the water supply) was damaged and I shouldn't do laundry because I won't be able to get much water. I think my host brother may have to get water from the spring 2k away and it will be much more difficult. Hopefully it won't be too hard to fix, Nshalla.

This morning I spent time adding a little more to my house. Thanks to everyone who has sent cards, and postcards (and of course packages!). I hope to have the walls full by the time I leave. I also received a new, larger, mosquito net and was able to cut up the old one to make screens for my windows and curtains for my doors. Anything to help keeps the bugs out!

Then it was lunch time. I decided to whip up a little pasta with tomato sauce, nothing fancy or difficult...right? I was almost done just adding a little salt and pepper for good measure, and then I made my biggest cooking blunder ever. I opened the wrong side of the salt and instead of adding a pinch probably ended up with a few tablespoons. Darn! I've never been one to waste food, and even more so here but... this might just be too much. If i was low on sodium...I'm not anymore.

Ok, rewind a bit to moving in. After returning from my trip to Agadir my house was ready to move in. I spent the first day sweeping all the rooms, ceiling and floors, twice. There was a bunch of cement dust in the house and, despite wearing a bandanna over my mouth and nose, it got in my lungs and was sick for the next few days. It was a bummer but I'm fine and am only sweeping dirt out of my house now.

Since there is no transportation into my village I had to hire a van to pick me up in town with all of my large items and drive me all the way into the village. Unfortunately the road stops at the edge of the village and of course my house is as far as you could be from the road. So my host dad and brother, the guys working on the house, my host brothers friends, the donkey, and I paraded all of my new things through the entire village. I didn't have a butagas tank for my stove for the first few weeks, so I ate mostly cereal and pb&j, but no complaints (these were the things I had missed most anyway).

My host family is very proud of the house and my host mom showed it off to everyone in the village for the first few weeks. Should they happened to have missed the moving day parade they could come and get a tour anytime they like. One evening I was on the phone waiting for my host brother to come back when there were suddenly 6 women and their children standing in my kitchen with me. "Umm...I'm gonna have to call you back..." My host mom gave another tour yesterday but they have thankfully slowed down.

I think this is enough for today. Ramadan will be ending tomorrow or Thursday so maybe I'll have some fun stories. I have thankfully started to sleep through the 3am drumming but I will be happy for it to be done anyway. Take care, and enjoy the new pictures!

I have enabled comments again. I disabled it earlier because I had a bit of a scare, but now I can moderate them first. This way you guys can comment and I don't end up with weird comments from strangers that get me in trouble.

Questions? Suggested topics? Am I boring you? Comment away!

Oh, and dont forget to check out the pictures on flicker, I made a link on the right. I'm figuring this out Sarah! There is a limit to the number of pictures I can upload per month but eventually I hope to get them all up.

I wanted to tell everyone about my trip to Agadir last month but first whats been going on now...Not too much, about a week left until Ramadan is over and life will return to normal. Some days I actually sleep through the 3am wake up call which has been a blessing. I met up with some friends who I haven't seen since we left training in Marrakesh last weekend and had a great time. Temperatures are cooling down, as in daytime its only 100 and nights are really pleasant. It got down to 68 in my room this morning! And its started raining. Just a few nights with sprinkles lasting 10 min but considering it didn't rain all summer anything is appreciated.

At the begining of last month I want to Agadir to meet a volunteer who had just come back from his vacation in the states. We (my mom in America and I) had found him through a chat group and he had agreed to bring my computer back to Morocco with him. Yeah! I took the 5am souk bus direct to Agadir and was there by 2p. Really the best transportation experience I've had since our chartered busses to training. The bus only cost 100DH for a 9 hour trip but it ran smooth, had not strange odors, and even had working air! Truly amazing and appreciated.

Agadir looks nothing like other towns I've seen. Buildings are white (not peachy orange) and all cement construction. I took a cab to Marjan, a necessary stop in any major city, and then headed to the hotel. Once checked in I wandered the few blocks to the beach. The breeze was great and for a few min I really enjoyed myself. I thought 'maybe the harassment isn't so bad here because its all tourists.' I don't know who I was kidding but by even thinking it, I completely jinksed myself. Before I knew it things were as I should have expected maybe even worse. Harassment is a serious issue but one that I'd rather not go into further detail about. If you really want to know what its like, email me.

I walked the length of the beach and found a restaurant claiming to be a New York City Diner. The decor looked american enough and although I had pizza hut in mind I figured it was worth a try. The McDonalds hamburger a few weeks prior had not satisfied my burger craving at all. It turns out that the woman who owns the place is from new york and actually makes the hamburger patties. It was pretty freeking good I have to say. Reminded me of the burgers Clarissa makes, hers are still better of course but I think its as close as I can get here. I left happy and full and decided to walk to the other end of the beach enjoying the view and breeze. I inadvertently found myself in the middle of a few soccer games and many ping-pong games (w/o the table) but escaped unharmed. By the time it was getting dark I was exhausted and ready to call it a night. I briefly said hi to the volunteer and we planned to meet the next morning.

After I got all my computer stuff, and a jar of peanut butter!, we headed out for breakfast. Although it was beautiful I had to get back home and headed out for the bus station. This was a much more challenging and expensive trip than I would have imagined but eventually I made it on a bus to Marrakesh. Here is maybe my favorite part of the whole trip.

While my bus the previous day had been plush, the bus I found myself on was more typical. No working air, dirty, old, crowded, ect. There was a french family sitting in the back of the bus who thought that it was just too hot and insisted on opening the only window on the bus (as if it would really make a difference). I happened to be sitting the the aisle seat behind the window and was promptly pelted by wind. Really pelted. But I had my sunglasses on and was willing to take the abuse to appease the french family and be a little cooler myself.

But Moroccans are not ok with wind. Picture this...You are squished in the back of a taxi with 3 other people and its a 110 degrees outside. Not only is there no way to avoid touching the stranger sitting next to you, but you're sweating uncontrollably and everyone smells. Should your window have a handle(rare), you roll it down in hopes that you will survive the journey. If the taxi driver doesn't tell you to roll it up because of the gas millage (never mind the fact that his will remain all the way down the entire trip!) the person next to you will inevitably request that you roll it up because wind is bad. Some think it makes you car sick, others just generally think its bad. It is much better to suffer, windows closed in the 150 degree car. I don't get it.

I digress... back to the bus. So seeing as how the bus is mostly filled with Moroccans, you can imagine that the window is soon shut. A short wile later the French return to open the window. Again I am pelted by wind, and again it is closed. And again. I've accepted the sweltering heat of any travel experience here and thus can find the whole drama quite funny. The french with their exasperated complaints, and the resulting irritation of the Moroccans as soon as they've returned to the back. I don't speak french so I cant explain to the family that they should just give up. I just kept thinking to myself, 'honestly, they paid 6 euros for this ticket. Can you even buy a happy meal for that price? Do you really expect this to be a comfortable experience?' Give me a break. The tourists were surprisingly persistent an this continued the entire ride. I arrived in Marrakesh with my hair a mess but quite amused. I guess since I didn't care about the window either way it was fun watching everyone else freak out. Hey, I gotta get my amusement where I can.

I had some hotel issues when I had to stop the night because it was dark but the trip was an overall success. I now have my computer! There is more good news to follow but I think this is enough for today. I hope you enjoyed my trip as much as I did. Even if you don't think the bus experience is funny. Next time I'll tell you about the hike, and then Moroc Telecom adventures! Then we'll be mostly caught up. Until next time...remember, you get what you pay for, even in Morocco.

Wow! I can't believe it has been a month since my last post! And if I remember, that one wasn't much of a post. So now we're faced with a dilemma...too much to write in one post so where do I begin? I think I'll start with whats going on now, and catch you up later with moving in and the hike.

First of all, I have a Flickr account now so you can view all of my pictures from the last few weeks. Just search my name, you shouldn't have any problems. I'm learning how to organize so bear with me. There also seems to be a limit to the number of pictures I download in a month. In time I hope to get all of my pictures from the past 6 months. Can you believe its been 6 months?!

So whats happening now? Well on the 2nd the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan began. The Muslim calendar is based on the moon and causes Ramadan to be slightly earlier each year (maybe a week), and it will be just short of a calendar month. Through the entire month the faithful fast from sun-up to sun-down(4:30a-7p). NOTHING enters the mouth, including water, cigarettes, gum, ect.

So I was faced with two questions: 1)Do I fast? and 2)If I don't, do I lie and say that I am. From what I have heard, some volunteers fast, and many lie. The first question was easy. No, I will not fast. I could not go all day without water, and if you're going to cheat whats the point? But the second question proved more difficult. If I admit to not fasting could it hurt my reputation and damage my credibility? Now, as some of you may know, when it comes down to it...I'm a terrible lair. I also have the advantage of being the 3rd volunteer in my village. People in general, and my host family in particular, are very understanding of me. So I figured, why not just be honest and if they ask, tell the truth? Out of respect I decided to not eat or drink in public but otherwise I will continue as normal.

After sundown on the 2nd all the children in the village walked with men as they played drums and sang. The following evening, as I was checking my chocolate cake in the oven, my host dad invited me to break fast with the family. Here's a rough translation of the conversation: Leila (thats me) do you want to break fast with us? Now? But I'm making a cake. That's nice, come on. Now? But I'm making a cake. Yes now, hurry. Ok... I'll be right there. As I unplugged my oven and hoped the cake would not be ruined, I saw my dinner plans fade away. A nice omelet with onion, tomato, and green pepper with some potatoes on the side. All topped off by some real heinz ketchup purchased at the super market 2 hours away. But it would have to wait for another day.

At my host familys house I was greeted by the traditional meal:

Bread and olive oil (as always),

dates,

another sweet (cookies or this yummy honey covered stuff),

sometimes an almond cinnamon mixture(could be peanut butter-esk if you added some oil and ground it a little more),

and hirara soup.

During the meal I told my family that I wasn't fasting. The conversation with my host mom went something like this: Ok, but you should come every day to break fast with us, and have dinner. Well, maybe sometimes. No, everyday. And we will have a tagine for dinner. We'll see, nshalla. Everyday you'll come here. My host mom can be more than a little instant, she is always telling me to eat more, eat more, just a little.

And so I ate, bread and soup and everything else until I was sufficiently full. I hung out until about 9 and when I tried to leave I encountered surprisingly fierce resistance. I had to stay and eat dinner. I reminded my host mom that I was not fasting and had already eaten 3 meals, I didn't want another. These facts were irrelevant, all that mattered was that she had food and no one leaves her house with out eating until she is satisfied. In order to leave I had to promise to stay the following night.

I rolled into bed tired and full, ready for a good nights sleep. But then, at 3am the drums from a few nights ago were right outside my window. Druming, and singing; only one person this time but plenty to wake me up. I remembered a conversation I'd had with my brother the night before. In Arabic/Berber the number 3 and 8 sound similar, and when he was telling me that every day they play the drums...I wasn't listening close enough and heard 8 when he was saying 3. On no, everyday!

I arrived at my host family's house that evening to break fast prepared to keep my promise. I ate less at the first meal and settled in, not sure how late dinner would be and afraid it might not be until midnight. Thankfully, tagine was served at 9:30 and I was at home in bed by 10:30. Tired and ready for a good night sleep...until 3am.

Well, you get the idea. My village seems to be unique in this custom. I assume that because my village is much more compact than others this is not an option in other places. Living in this small village during Ramadan is strange, even my internet town was deserted during the day. But I'm working into a routine. I take advantage of the early wake-up call and run before it gets hot. Sometimes I visit my host mom, who is weaving to pass the time, and other days I just read. I have lunch and find ways to pass the remainder of the day. At 7 I eat with my host family, and stay for dinner about every 3 nights. I'm so tired that I'm usually asleep by 10. I wake-up to the drums at 3, the call to prayer at 4:30 and the roosters around 5:30. I'm usually a morning person (when I'm not working late nights) but I hope I don't continue on this schedule after Ramadan. 5:30 is a little early for my liking.

Speaking of bed-times. Its 9 here and I'm beat. I think this post is long enough. There is plenty more to catch-up later. And if anyone in Cali feels like calling me at 8p (your time), I'm up. 8 seems is a nice time to enjoy the drums :)

Until next time (I promise it won't be so long!). Have fun, and I'll talk to you all soon.

Hi all. Im going to keep this one very short because I seem to have caught a cold and am not feeing well. I finally moved into my house this week and am slowly making it my home. I have all the major things but still need alot of small things. But its great to finally be moved in. I should be going on a long hike (nshalla) in a few days so it may be a while before I post again. Hopefully Ill be feeling better by the time we leave.

I hope you are all doing well and I will write more next time.

Im suprised Ive adopted this word into my vocabulary and, as a friend pointed out yesterday, even translating and using in english conversations. Nshalla means 'god willing' and has a wide varriety of uses. Nshalla has many uses... which can be quite handy and also quite irritating. If someone invites you to tea and you dont want to go(for example someone who wants to marry you) simply offer a polite nshalla. If you never find the time to go, it is because god didn't will it. It can be irritating in a work setting however. When tring to discuss a timeline for a project , nshalla isn't as specific as I might like to hear.

Unfortunatly my house isn't done and I have yet to move in as planned. But I did transport all of my large items to the village so I will be ready when the day comes. Hopefully if will be done by Monday, nshalla.

Although I have no fun moving in tales, I did visit a friends site last weekend and it was amazing! I will post pictures in a few weeks, nshalla, but for now you'll have to use your imaginations. Picture Colorado mountains, lush green valles full of produce including apple trees, and a berber village straight from a book. Mud houses with bright blue doors, and white framed windows. Women carrying huge loads of cut grasses on their backs (I have an amazing picture), men working donkeys and horses in traditional...I don't know what to call it actually, seperating the grain from the stalk. Its fun to watch actually. There is a wooden post in the ground and donkeys/horses are tied to the post and each other and as they run around the post they seperate things. I know its a little more complicated and it takes a few days but for our purposes its enough. I dont know what was my favorite part, the incredible star gazing, or the cooler temperatures. I actually needed a jacket! Saturday we took a hike into a gorge and ate next to a waterfall... it was really incredible. People living their lives the same as they were hundreds of years ago. I cant wait to post the pictures! Needless to say, I wasn't ready to leave and return to another hot week at my site. We were back around 115/120 this week and I really am looking forward to the end of summer.

This weekend I am meeting a volunteer who is returing from a vacation in the states with my computer! If anyone coming with the next training group in Sept is reading this blog...bring your computer! I only know of one volunteer without electricity and he has a computer. You will recieve alot of information in electronic form and be expected to do all of your reports on computer. (Reports? Remember you will be a government employee and...yes you will have to write reports) And you can use it to watch movies. Needless to say, I am really excited to get my computer!

Well I guess thats all for today. Hopefully next week I'll be in my own place typing away on my computer. Nshalla

Hi everyone! Im sorry I didnt post last week. Ive been very busy the past two weeks.

There was a festival in the nearby souk town last Monday thru Sunday and I made the hike everyday. I had hoped to set up an environmental education booth but unfortunatly I was unsuccessful. Everyone keeps telling me that it was great I tried so early in my service but its still dissapointing. I did however learn alot from the whole experience and next time I hope to avoid similar problems. The festival itself was a success and the town was filled with tourists. Friends tell me that high tourist season runs from mid july thru aug and it sure appears that way. I was able to play host for a few people who came to visit and was astonished to find 50 or more people swimming where I have never seen anyone. The weather has been hot and humid and its been difficult. I dont really know what to say beyond that.

After a long week at the festival I took a short trip to Marrakesh to relax a bit. The weather was fine (no trees spontaniously catching fire) and depressingly similar to my site. Only depressing because I never iagined Id have to live in this kind of heat. The trip was amazing and just what I needed. We wandered much deeper into the souk maze and found some really great things. Places where artisans are actually making their goods and not just mass produced items for tourists. The souk is still a crazy place though and I was glad to have a friend along, because most of you know how hopelessly lost I can get! We spent the rest of the day in Marjan which is comparable to Wal-mart, and it was amazing! I have been in Morocco for 5 months and in site for 3 and to walk into Marjan was... there are no words. I dont want to give you the wrong idea though. If you went in you would not be at all impressed, but it is so much more than what I now have regular access to. We spent the evening in the square and ate a stall where some of the workers spoke berber and had a great time. The square (Jamal al Finah?) is maddness in general but during tourist season and at night... it cant be described... this is why people come to Marrakesh. The last great experience of Kesh? I had Pizza Hut pizza before catching my taxi home. It tasted just like it should and, again because Ive been in country for 5 months without any comparable pizza, I was in heaven. I guarntee I will be having Pizza Hut any time Im in Kesh.

Last but not least... My house is nearly done and I should be moving in within the week! I am so excited about so many things. This expirence is difficult for many reasons but I know that having my own house will help relieve some pressure. My host family has been amazing, and I couldnt have asked for more, but its time for me have some privacy and space to unpack. Ive been living out of my suitcases for 5 months! I will write all about the new house next week and hopefully be able to post some pictures.

The internet has been very difficult, to say the least, and I will not be able to post any pictures today.

Wish me luck on my move and I will talk to you all soon. I hope you are enjoying your summers!

Wow! It has been quite a week. First off, my host mom has been quite unhappy with me all week because Im not eating anything (as she would have you believe). Truth of the matter is that because I was eating pratically nothing while I was sick my stomach shrank and I cant eat much. I truly am eating until Im full, but its not enough for her. Every meal she tells me I need to eat more and that I didnt eat anything. We had a conversation about me eating bread when I have my own house and when I told her I would only eat a half of loaf a day she was astonished. And then I told her I probably wouldnt make tagine... I think its all too much for her to handel. She cant possible imagine what Im going to eat if its not bread or tagine. Im sure she thinks that Im going to starve when I move out.

This pic is one of the many bridges around the falls, yes I cross them and havent fallen in yet! Big news of the day... I got packages from america!!! Thank you mom, clarissa, and staff pro! I love them. Its like christmas, or I guess more accurately a birthday party. Seriously, amazing to get treats from home, and it really livens up my day. I also made my second major purchase for my house, 2 ponj stands from souk. I guess I should explain a bit, a ponj is the couch equivalent here in Morocco. It is a cushin about 6 feet long. I bought the stands so that I will be higher off the ground and a little more comfortable. It will also keep the ponjs more clean and easier to clean under. The taxi driver told me I paid too much but I wasnt in the mood to bargin and still paid less than new ones in town would cost. Tomorrow Im going to order my bed frame and hopefully everything will be ready to move in a few weeks when my house is done. Since transport to my village is so difficult I have to have anything too large to carry ready on the same day.

The ceiling in my current room...I found a live scorpion in my room this week while I was cleaning... I guess this is something Im going to have to adjust to but it still makes me uneasy. Im also wondering about my lizard roommate. I was having a hard time sleeping one night and heard 2 large things fall from the ceiling. I assumed it was dirt but when I checked in the morning there was nothing and I have had much less dirt falling in general since that night. Im a little concerned for my buddy and more concerened about what made him move out...

And the ceiling in my new house...Most of my week was spent preparing for an upcoming festival that Im going to be participating in and had a few successful days. Its pretty amazing what I consider a productive day here, things just happen differently. It has been a great learning experience and I cant wait to see what next week brings. Ill be sure to take lots of pictures to post. I havent been taking many lately but Ill try hard next week. It should be fun. I hiked to town 4 days this week but am still exaused when I get there. I really need to get in shape, my brother passed me the other day running up the last hardest hill!

This pic is the front door of my house. You can see the pit for the bathroom in the center and the pipe will run from the bathroom just to the left of the door to the pit. After a few more days of waiting work finally got going on my house again. I realized we were waiting for supplies to build the bathroom to be delivered and work got going the next day. They installed the windows and started installing the bathroom. They also installed the front door but found out that the keys they had didnt work. When I left this morning there was no way to get in my house because the door was closed and the windows installed. Humm... Im sure theyll figure it out. When they finish the bathroom they will still need to do the cement and plaster, interior doors, and electricity. Hopefully it will be ready to be checked by peace corps for saftey and Ill be able to move in near the begining of the month. Nshalla (a very common phrase meaning God willing). I spent one entire afternoon thinking about what Ill eat when I have my house. Its the simple things really. Cereal, fruit, raw veggies, a sandwich, and maybe some pasta or stir fry...

On that note, enjoy all you delicious food and amazing selections and think of me. What I would give for a nice summer bbq! Burgers, brats, potato salad, corn on the cob, ribs!!! Oh geeze... Ok guess thats all for now. I might not be posting next week because of the festival. Wish me luck and Ill be posting again soon.

Well, as usuall lets begin this post with the weather. Everyone always likes to talk about the weather. Thankfully it cooled off for much of the week, it was only 105 to 110. I never thought that I would use the word only in relation to any temperature above 80, but I guess 120 has changed me. This is also prooven by the fact that when it got down to 80 in my room the other night I considered getting inside my sleeping bag, like it was chilly. Unfortunatly the past 3 days it has been heating up again and Im not looking forward to the hot breeze that awaits me at home. Everyone keeps telling me that I will be glad come winter because they'll be freezing and I'll be fine... I'm not sure... I think I'm going to miss the snow, but we'll see.

The roof is complete on my house and it looks quite different now. I'm hoping I wont have the same problem with dirt falling from my ceiling because they put two layers of plastic. I think my current room has none. The day they spread the mud on the roof was quite a team effort. I awoke to 20 people in my house eating hirara, a traditional soup, and by lunch the roof was completly covered. Its pretty exciting but there is still alot of work to be done. The rest of the week was spent harvesting almonds and little elso was completed.

My fun of the week came completly unexpected and I unfortunatly have no pictures. But I finally went swimming in one of the pools below the falls! it was amazing. I had gone to town to talk to a few people regarding work and recieved a text message frrm a volunteer who was in town with some friends from america. We explored the falls and they wanted me to join them swimming. I happened to be wearing quick dry pants and shirt so I decided to go for it. It was quite amazing. Since there are so many pools to choose from we had one all to ourselves. The water was cold and refreshing, and I was dry within the hour. Im glad I took the opportunity and think I may do it again soon. I previously did not want to swim alone because I didnt want to be seen bearing so much skin alone. But since swimming in my clothes was so easy I might do that more often. I dont think anyone from my village would have considered what i was wearing indecent.

This is a picture of one the olive gove I walk thru on the path to town. Unfortunatly, I forgot my phone was in my pocket and it came swimming also. I bought the cheepest phone I could find knowing full well that I would likley break it but I didnt expect it to happen so soon. So I didnt have any access to the outside world for 2 days until I made it into town to buy a new one. I guess this is a good opportunity to discuss cell phones in Morocco. First I will say that while I did not expect to have a cell phone during my peace corps service, I absolutly appreciate it and dont know what I would do with out it. Most towns have teleboutiques which are basically buildings with a few payphones, but my village does not have one. We also have no landline telephone access, and without the phone I would be much more isolated. It can be very comforting to send text messages (because they are much cheaper) to other volunteers and know that they are struggling with the same things I am. One thing I do find incrediably interesting is the priority ranking of some items in my village. I know of families who have a cell phone and sattelite dish but no bathroom. This puzzles me, but I guess everyone has their own proprities.

This is a picture of the entrance to the hymam and mosque (I think the dual entrance is unique to my village). In a discussion with the local development association I discovered that some houses do not have bathrooms as a matter of geography. As Ive said before the village is built on the side of the mountain and directly on the bedrock. With no public sewage lines every bathroom here requires a pit (3 meteres I believe) and some houses just have no place to dig. This is obviously a serious issue and I hope we can find a solution to the problem during my time here. I realize this may be the first time I have mentioned work on the blog and this is for two reasons. First, work is slow in the begining because our main focus is to learn the language. Second, work can sometimes be frustrationg and in an effort not to say the wrong thing to offend the wrong people I figure its better to not discuss it. Im sorry. You will probably not hear much about my daily work life but I will be sure to keep you updated on successful projects and activities.

And lastly, my bed with the wonderful mosquito net. Ive been sick most of the week and Im happy to say that I think I may have finally kicked it. I walked a delicate line all week trying to express to my host mother that I couldnt eat her food because I was sick not because I didnt like it, and certainly not because her food is bad. I made a stupid choice and drank unpastureized milk but didnt know how to explain that it was the different bacteria that made me sick. I just kept having to tell her that my body wasnt used to Morocco yet. Im sure she will be happy to have me eating regularly again so she can tell me, 'zed agroam' (more bread).

Guess thats all for this week. Lets hope I luck out and get another cool down and not another heat wave. Talk to you all next week.

Ok, so I've always been a cry baby about heat... I know. However, I think I might be justified in my whining. I put my fancy clock with a temp reading to the test this week. It can record min and max temperature so you can see it later in the day and here is what I found. On the roof of our house (not exactly ambient air temp but close) it was 123F on Tuesday. The lowest max temp was 117F on Saturday. While it may be nearing thoes temperatures in some places around the US I do not have air conditioning to run to. I thought it was hot before, but I was SO wrong. All I can say is that I hope this is some early heat wave that will soon end.

So...I didnt do much this week but try to survive the heat. Since I spent so much time in my house I believe I found the culprate of the falling dirt. I mentioned on a previous post about the massive ammont of dirt that falls from my ceiling and I have finally seen my new roommate. Its a small lizard and I dont mind him aside from all the dirt. I am well aware that I could have worse roommates. In my mind its only the lizard causing all the ruckkas and no other, scarier, bugs.

I got henna again on Monday and I took pictures this time. It starts out as a medium green powder which my mom blends with just enough water to make a goopy consistancy. Many women (maybe most, Im not sure) put the henna in their hair and leave it until the next afternoon when they go the hymmam (public bath). My mom also rubs it over her face, arms and legs. Just enough to even out the skin tone but not give it an orange tint. I wonder if henna is an ingrediant in sunless tanners. When it came to my hands she slops it all over the palm side and to the first nuckle on the top side. I didnt have the blank area witht the spost last time but I think it symbolizes a heart. Then I waited 2 hours for it to dry and scraped it off. The longer you leave it the darker it gets. One woman who came to visit asked if I wanted to put it in my hair... I think that would be a bad idea. They have very dark brown hair and the tint doesnt show, but I imagine it would turn my hair bright orange. I passed on the offer.

The house is now onto the roof. They placed large beams across all of the rooms and then put rocks between them. They then used mud as a kind of mortar to cover the rocks. Yesterday they started weaving together the bamboo which will be placed on the roof. Well I dont think it is actually bamboo but they are def related and for all intensive purposes are the same thing. There is still plently of work to be done and plenty of hot days to come. I commend the guys who are working through this heat. Seriously.

Last topic for today; food. The wheat and barley harvest are finished and we just our first batch of almonds yesterday. The most unfortunate thing about berber food is that I dont like much of it, the major staples. Every meal aside from our tagine meal consists of bread, olives, olive oil, and tea or coffee. So...I eat alot of bread. I know olive oil is supposed to be good for you and this stuff cant be beat. It is as fresh and pure as it comes, but tastes like olives, which I dont like. Ive tried, numerous times but to no avail. The bread is very good and is made fresh by my host mom everyday (with all the mend building the house she makes it several times a day). We have two kinds; a more typical white fluffly round bread, and a slightly more yellow flat bread. For breakfast I have bread, cheese and a yogurt. Lunch is usually a tagine eaten with bread instead of untensils, an evening snack of bread, and I force down a little more bread just before bed to appease my host mom. Our health hand book claims that for an unknown reason female volunteers tend to gain weight while male volunteers loose weight. Humm I wonder why...We eat at a very low table, maybe a foot off the ground, and always communially. We never sit on the ground though, the table is usually about the same height as my knees. When the men are eating in a seprate room (as they always do) my host mom and I put our tagine on the floor. Just some tidbits I thought you all might find interesting. Sorry if it was boring.

One final note concerning the heat. I was told that once it reaches a certain temperature the flys will die. First of all its pretty terrifying that it could get so hot to kill a fly. Secondly, Im secretly waiting for that day. So far I have only noticed an increase. The day I had henna on my hands I think the flies could sense my helplessnes and were unrelenting; buzzing my ears, landing on my face. In an effort to get them off I kept shaking my head wildly, which my mom found funny, and is not a good idea when Im no the verge of dehydration. I often get headaches when Im dehydrated and the shaking did not help matters.

Ok I guess thats all for this week. Hopefully Ill make it through another week of Moroccan summer.

Anyone curious how I celebrated my official birhtday here in morocco??? I saw my first camel spider. It was huge, look them up. The thing was at least as big as my hand... Yeah.... Not too happy about this. I also saw 2 more scorpions on the walk home one night/ They were the little ones that people say are more dangerous.

But the spider....I once again praised my mosqutio net but still had a hard time falling to sleep with images of the giant spider. Yuck, I really don't like spiders.

Ok, so it wasn't that big. I am not allowed to take vactaion for my first three months of service so it was just a weekend trip...but still.

The picture is a little of one of the paths to the next town...its a little steep and can be tough.

I decided to visit with some friends from training in Khenifra for the weekend and had a great time catching up. The only problem was the heat. Summer has rather suddenly hit morocco and the heat is quickly becoming difficult to handel. You will probably have to listen to me complain about this for at least 2 more months...sorry. This might be a good time to discuss a little about transportation in general for me here. I took a grand taxi for the first leg of the trip. Grand taxis are nearly all mercedes from, I would guess, the early 80's. I have no idea where they all came from but there are thousands of them still running in Morocco. The taxis are old and have seen better days but I have yet to break down, so they seem reliable. Grand taxis carry 6 passengers and the driver...thats 4 in the back and 2 in the front seat. It can be terribly uncomfortable at time and I have never wished to be a small and petit so frequently. But alas, Im not... Often there are no handels for the windows and you have to suffer with all windows up, except of course the driver. Many of the mountain roads are curvey and car sickness is common. The sick individual is given a plastic bag and the driver continues, unfased. The boy sitting next to me was sick about half of the ride....

This pic is 'donkey parking' at souk. Every souk has an area and some even charge a fee.

Once I arrived at the midway point I asked for directions to the bus station, found the bus station and paid for a ticket...all in berber thank you very much. I was quite pleases with myself, I have to say. There are two types of busses, and I took a souk bus for the first time. They stop at every town between the two destinations and pick up as many people and livestock as will fit into the bus. There was supprising little chaos, and I arrived at my destination in a respectable time. Unfortunatly, there are no windows on the bus either. By this point it was mid-day and I was roasting. Maybe one day I'll adjust. Aside from waiting at the bus station for 2 hours on the return trip, it was also quite smooth and uneventful. I am happy to have my first major trip alone under my belt.

This is a picture of part of my host familys kitchen. They also have a fridge and a sink that my host mom doesnt use.

This trip also made me realize something. My language is getting to the point where I can fool people into thinking Im much better than I actually am. I can exchange the typical long greeting and when they ask about me knowing berber I can explain that I am learning little by little. At this point they have been convinced and proceed into a rapid fire conversation, and the deer in headlights look returns to my face. If they follow the predicted pattern of where are you from, how do you like it here, how long will you be here, I can struggle along. But if they stray from the path, which they do far too often (why cant everyone follow the script in my book!) I'm soon lost. And then they looked like the confused ones because they were so convinced that I was better. At any rate, its good to know I am improving even if it seems slow.

Almost all of the walls are built to the final height, but there is still alot of work to do on the house. I didnt get many good pictures this week, I dont know whats going on...

Well I guess thats all for now, pray for a cold front to overtake Morocco for the next two months...please.

So I have officially seen my first scorpion in my house, well ever actually. It was big and I dont know what Im going to do when im in my own house. They say (and Ive heard animal planet says the same) that the little ones are worse than the big ones because they are more aggressive. Bit still, this thing must have been 3 inches long!

This is a pic of one of the many olive tree groves. The village has aprox 10 thousand, and most of the olives are pressed for oil. They are a major source of income in the village.

Ive been thinking I should try to include small tidbits about daily life here that maybe Ive adjusted to but you all might still be interested to hear. So I think today is a good opportunity to talk a little about bugs. Ive heard that mud houses are far superior to cinder block because they reglate temperatures much better, but the bug factor is a drawback. Mud house are not as, humm whats the right word, tightly sealed, especially around the roof. So critters are very common. Anyone who has lived with me knows that while I understand the importance of these critters I have never been ok with them in my house. Its all well and good outside but not in my house... Yet another thing I am having to adjust to. I often see lizards, spiders, and millipedes. I have to say I really appreciate the mosiquito net provided by the med unit. First for the mosiquito protection (I had approx 100 bites after the first week) but there is also something exceptionally comfprting sleeping inside my little net. Really, its nice.

This is a picture of the primay school for my village. Its about 2K from the village itself.

Another bug story... My host dad has bees but the first time they told me the bees were in the walls I didnt really believe them. Until I was sitting in my room and heard them. Seriously, the bees are in the walls! The entrance to their hives are outside obviously but there is cardboard covering the holes in the wall where the hives are. I havent seen the harvest yet but I would assume its going to happen through thoes holes inside our house. I guess these arent sealed really well because every night a dying bee flys in my room and tries to fly at the light for, well until i turn off the light. They are loud, slow, and dumb when they are about to die. And its really irritating! Then when I get up the next morning I have to be careful where I step so I dont step on the dead bee.

This is a cool picture...if you look close you can see the moon rising just above the mountains.

This last story relates to both the bugs and mud houses. So...another side effect of living in a mud house is that dirt falls from the ceiling regularly. Ive become pretty accostomed to it but a few nights ago enough was falling to wake me up. I dont know what was on the roof or my ceiling but it was causing quite a stir. When I got up the next morning there was so much dirt I had to sweep my rug even though I had done it the previous afternoon. Luckliy it hasnt happened again in the past several nights. Hopefully it wont.

Work on my house is continuing. There are now three defined rooms doorways and window openings. in the picture the three rooms are on the bottom and far right. The front door is in the middle of the wall on the right and the remaining space will have a bathroom and opean air cortyard. My host dad still says a kitchen too but I dont think there is space, one of the other rooms will become the kitchen. Other materials are accumulating like the front door, windows, large pieces of wood for the roof.

Well I think thats enough for today. If you have anything that youd like me to post about daily life send me or my mom an email. As I said before, I will try to put a little 'day in the life' in my posts from now on. Hopefully you all dont find it too boring.

By the way, its been about 100 all week and they dont even consider June summer. I thought that I would be spared from the intense heat of summer by being in the mountains...apparently I was wrong. Ive been told it can get to 50 celcius...thats 122! Mom, Im melting!

Enjoy your air conditioners.

I hope you like all the pictures. Im learning that which computer I used determines my ability to download them:)

Hello Everyone!

Last night I was trying to think about what I would write on my blog this week and I came up with nothing particually interesting. Either my life is already boring, I'm adjusting to it and it only seems boring, or maybe a little of both.

Last weekend I visited a volunteer near the largest dam in Morocco. Apparently it provides somewhere between 15 and 25 percent of moroccos power. As you might expect there is a resivoir, and some other volunteers went swimming...which is prohibited. I know of one swimmer who got rather ill a few days later...not to say one caused the other...Im just saying.

My week at site was suprising uneventful. I did have an interesting encounter with some french speking tourists (doesnt mean they were french)...but it would probably not be apppropriate to post online. If you want full details, send me an email and I will be happy to elaborate.

Work on my house continues and they now have a portion of all four walls. There are now 5 men working on it everyday and my mother is working hard to feed them all. Building the house is hard work, but feeding them all has proven to be as well. The men eat seperatly from my host mom and myself, and one day she had to make eggs for us because the men ate all the food!

This is a picture of the souk (weekly market) in my internet town. It is far larger than the souk in my nearest town (mine has 2 rows). Vendors travel all around a region from one souk to the next selling produce, furniture, and pretty much anything imaginable. There is also a meat section...Ive acknowledged for sometime that I prefer to remain disconnected from my meat, and the souk experience here has confirmed that. I might be forced to become a vegitarian.

Have a great week and hopefully I'll have a fun new adventure to share next week.

Let me explain... First off all 'bled' is the word communly used in Morocco to refer to extremely rural communities, in the states I may have said 'building in the boonies.'

My village is very small, as I said, and housing is limited. After living with my host family for a little over 2 months I will be allowed to move into my own house. The previous volunteers rented the only avialable 'house' in the village, but the landlord has decided not to rent to Peace Corps anymore. The village is near the waterfalls and frequented by tourists. The landlord, rightfully so, wants to rent for more money to tourist. One of my biggest accomplishments last week was explaining the situation to my host father and asking him to help me look for another house. My host dad understood me (yeah!) and told me he would look. A few days later my host dad was trying to tell me something about a house for me but I couldn't really understand him and I thought he was saying he had found a place. I asked if we could go look at it and he said nshalla, which means god willing. I was a little confused but figured it would work itself out. I would see the place eventually. So the next morning after breakfast my host mom had me look out the window where my host dad and another man were working and told me that they are going to build me a house! My host father couldn't find anything else so they decided to build a place on the other side of the path...for me! I was so suprised.

So.... I will now have the opportunity to watch a house be built in the bled. The 'road' into the village is very bad and basically any builing materials must be brought in by donkey. So cinder blocks are out of the question. My house will be constructed of mud, in the traditional fassion, like all the other houses in the village.

This is a picture of the first segments of wall being built. The first few days was digging and hauling water, by donkey, from the spring to start making mud. Two days ago the action really started. The set up two pieces of wood, that resemble doors, put large rocks in the bottom, and then fill it with mud. Its not soupy mud, really more like wet dirt, and then pound it down. Yesterday they completed 4 segments. I thought this picture was funny because it is so similar to construction sites in the US. One guy working really hard and four guys watching him. The other guys were actually working too, but this is just how it looks in the picture.

On a side note, did you know that there is a place in Morocco called Timbuctoo?! No joke. You can take a desert tour there from Marakesh. Maybe I'll get the opportunity to visit while I'm here.

This is is a picture of my village from the roof of my host families house. Because the village is on the side of the mountian space is pretty tight and there is basically no unused land. In drawing my map of the community there are just a handful of large house areas, which are really several houses. But its very difficult to tell where one house ends and another begins.

Only a few other things worth noting this week. I officially began my tutoring, and am now fluent... not really but hopefully one day. Also, on Sunday I happend to run into some very important people and got invited to have lunch with them. Now I didnt really have much to contribute, since I can't speak arabic (and prob won't since I'm learing berber) but I got to meet them. They invited me to participate in a festival they are planning and even if that doesn't work out I will hopefully have the chance to work with them at another time during my two years here.

Guess thats all for now. I hope you are all doing well and planning thoes summer vacations. Talk to you all in a week.

Well, Ive survived the first week and a half at my site. Thigs are going very well and I have not had any trouble filling my time. My host family is great and very understanding because they hosted the previous volunteer. They dont seem to think Im too strange and have been helpful but not over-protective. This is a picture of the village; there are aprox 100 households and 700 people.

So what have I done? The first night I arrived back at my site alone some kids showed me how to get to my house, even though Ive been there many times before. You all know me and shouldnt be suprised to know I needed help, but I started making a map of the village so hopefully I wont get lost anymore. It is only 100 households but its confusing! This is a picture of one of the many pools to swim in below the falls. You can slide down the one on the left. I'll be taking reservations for my couch starting in Aug if you want to visit. Everyone is welcome!

I went to the nearby town for the weekley market and visited the local authorities. I also had to go to a not so nearby town to process my official ID card. Otherwise I would be illegal on the 4th of June. I have had some successful conversations, and many where I could only say 'I dont know, I dont understand, and I only speak a little berber.' But it will come with time, and tutoring, which I start next week. Aside from that....reading lots of inforamation left by the pervious volunteers, and information that peace corps has given me. Just trying to get some ideas in my head so I can hit the ground running as soon as possible.

I have two important points to make on this post. Number one, well maybe this isnt really a point but something I learned/ decided. I got henna this week, which I had been resisting. I had resisted because I didnt like the traditional berber henna, only the pretty designs. Traditionally the henna is smeared all over the inside palms of you hands and on the top side only on your fingernails. But I have come to a realization. If I want to truly integrate I have to do so on the terms of my village. One volunteer reminded us that 'We are in their house, and we have to follow their rules.' And only if I am truly intergrated in my community will I be able to do my best work and achieve all 3 goals of the peace corps. What makes the peace corps unique is the opportunity to truly integrate into the local community and work with them on their terms. I feel like this is an important turining point and now Im not sure why I was resisting. I think I was afraid to lose me, but I think I can just be a different me. A me who follows the rules of the house Im in, and hopefully be a better me in the end.

Ok enough of that, now on to point two. I love watermelon! When I get my own place, and my little dorm fridge, it will be filled with watermelon all summer. No doubts about that. I will buy one at the market every week and eat it everyday. Its the simple pleasures really. I am also going to learn to cut it with a pearing knife. This is really the only size available here and if the berbers can do it, so can I! To heck with thoes big knives, I dont need it.

Well thats about all for this week. Talk to you all next thursday.

After 12 weeks of training I am now an official volunteer! We had the ceromony this morning at a very nice hotel here in town, the likes of which I have not experienced since the states (ie air conditioning!). The ceromony was short and attented by the Govorner of the Province, a representative from the US Embassy, Peace Corps staff, and many members of our host families. At the end we gave our oath to protect and represent the US constitution, and serve the people of Morocco.

One thing I love about our sector... I have never seen so many people dressed up in nice shirts, ties, and dresses AND wearing sandals. Chocos, tevas, flip-flops; all were fair game. I myself sported my pinstrip suit pants and a buttonup shirt with my reef sandals.

This is a picture of my CBT group with two of the teachers who helped make the environment movie. From the left: Oddssey, Said, Mohammed, Me, Jamal, Jeannie, Logan, and Jake. The movie was so successful the teachers would like us to come back next year to help make another!

Many of you asked how I felt when I was leaving, and the anwser was...'a mix of so many emotions that I cant event begin to explain.' Tomorrow I officially begin this adventure of a lifetime... and I feel strikingly similar. Im excited, Im scared...Im ready, and Im so not ready... Im nervous, but Im confident. Confident that, with support from friends and staff here in Morocco and everyone back home, that I can do this. No one knows what the next two years has in store for me, but theres only one way to find out! It will no doubt be hard (living without running water for 2 years) but I know I will grow immensily, and hopefully I can pass on some of what I learn to everyone back home. The Peace Corps has three goals: provide technical assistance, promote understanding of Americans by other cultures, and promote understanding of other cultures by Americans. Sounds simple enough... here goes!

Wow, sorry its been a while. Lets see what have I been up to?

Before we left for our last CBT the staff arranged a mock wedding to be held at our hotel. Some trainees borrowed traditional dress from host families and we all had a great time. Weddings usually happen in the summer, so we can all expect to attend a few during next few months. This is a picture of the band singing and a few of us dancing. By the end everyone was dancing and one of the hotel staff actually broke his glasses. It was quite a party! I know, I know... apparently you all want to see a picture of me, but I cant take pictures of myself.

We had a fun last week at CBT doing our final project. We gave 20 min environment lessons at the school and then filmed a movie. While I did pass my language test, I am not yet capable of actually giving a lesson in berber. But we had the help of our teacher, other peace corps staff, and a few of the teachers spoke english. We have quite a few pictures but I wont be able to post the movie online for several reasons. I will try to email it to my mom but no guarntees there either. Sorry folks. But it was great fun and we learned alot about working on a project especially with a school. This is a picture of a few of us next to a mural the kids painted the week before for earth day. This is Me, Oddssey, Mustapha, Melika, and Jeannie. I know Wendi and Clarissa, I can hear you both. Well the cafe is closing for lunch. I will try to post again before I leave. Maybe Ill have some picture from swearing in. Until then...

The countdown has begun.... Sites were announced last week and everyone had a chance to visit. Now we are all counting down the days until we can retun and get to work! I can reach my site with one full day travel from most major cities in Morocco, and have easy access to Marakesh. As luck would have it, I was assigned to the same site as I visited for my field trip. The scenery is beautiful and I am excited about the many project possibilities. You are all welcome to visit anytime.

Since I am replacing a volunteer the groundwork has been laid and I can get right to work. The community has worked with two previous volunteers and is well aware of the peace corps and our goals. There are a few projects in the works that I will be finishing in addition to new projects . Peace Coprs Morocco, in an effort to encourage sustainability, tries to follow a three volunteer cycle for communities . The first volunteer introduces the community to the program and really lays the foundation for volunteers to come. The second volunteer works on projects identified by the program and the community, and the third continues more of the same. The third volunteer is also responsible for follow up and evaluation of previous projects. Were they sustainable? Has the community gained and does it continue to grow due to the project? And lmst importantly, will the projects be continued once Peace Corps leaves the village? I am excited to follow two great volunteers and hope to start working on projects right away, with the help of a translator of course.

The language continues to be a challenge, but not an unforeseen one. There is actually a written script for Berber , the name escapes me at the moment, but it is rarely used and not widely known. Because of this, the the language varries greatly between regions, and even between villages. My town is in the area where two recognized dialects intermix and as a result the language is mixed. While I have been learning tamazirt, my village uses many words form the tashlahet dialect. And nearby villages with health volunteers speak tashlahet. I know, probably more information than you all care to know, but now you do!

We have one more week at CBT and about a week at seminar then we are off! We have a big ceromony on May 19th where we swear in an become real volunteers. Up until that point I am simply a trainee. I will be glad to get to my site for many reasons, but the one most obvious to me now.... to get away from the heat! You all know i can gret cranky when hot, and its hot. Very hot.

The computers are especially slow today, so no pictures, sorry. Also, many of you have asked about posting comments on my blog. I turned them off when I got a weird one the first week or so, but i will loook into adjusting the setting. I think I may be able to set it to only recognized email addresses. Sarah, can you look into that for me???? Thanks tech support :-)

Thats all for now. Im going to try and find some shade an a breeze. Talk to you all in about a week. Hope everything is going well back at home!

Hi everyone,

Well, what new adventures did I have this week in Morocco? To be honest not too many. Our local school planned a great Earth Day activity and we were super excited to be involved until we found out that they are celebrating it a week late. Darn! It would have been so much fun, but we can't change our schedule. Instead we visited the local Agriculture Guru on Earth Day and he showed around some of his garden. Our region is well know for growing roses and anything that can be made from rose oil. He seems to be the mliddle man who buys from all of the families in the area and then sells to a larger buyer. This picture is some of the roses drying on his roof. Keep in mind that this picture was taken last weekend and we wont reach the height of the season until the rose festival in the begining of May. The roses here dont look like roses in the states but they have a much stronger scent. It really is amazing. We are hopeful we will be able to go to the Rose Festival during our next homestay.

On the taxi ride back to seminar I was thinking about what to write on my blog and then we nearly hit a group of camels! Yes folks, pictures of camels. My camera was burried but luckliy a gruop member got some good pics and shared them with me. As if that wasnt enough, a few kilometers down the road we almost ran into another group of camels, but this time it was a whole herd, maybe 50. It was pretty amazing. Now I can add camels to my list of animals who have stopped traffic.

My only other exciting news is that final sites are announced tomorrow. I will finally know where I will be living the next two year. We leave for site visit on Saturday and get to actually meet our next homestay families and see our sites. It will be exciting and I will be sure to post pictures when I get back. The best news is that I will finally have a PO blx and will be able to recieve care packages, wink wink.

I hope everyone is doing well. Talk to you soon!