Soba noodles from Aya! Yummy!!!

Lunch with Aya; wishing everyone in Japan a safe and quick recovery.

Happy New Year Japan and China! Mochi is so good!

Sean and soba!

The official Aoufous Basketball Team!

Before the accident...

Huddle-time.

More words from the "coach"...

Aya and the kids coming to support the game.

Sean and Aaron...friends off the court, but enemies on...

Em with Tina and Molly (other voluteers coming to support the game).

Ouch!

Crutches and Morocco don't go very well together...

TP from Holland!!!!!!!!! Saskia & Roel are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now a quick list of everything that is going on in our little world of Aoufous:

In February I joined the Aoufous basketball team and we played our first official game in the National Royal Basketball League of Morocco. In March I retired early due to contract negotiations turning sour and another team trying to pick me up too late after trade cut offs. Ok, actually I landed wrong coming down from a rebound and broke my leg, and for the past two and half weeks I have been on crutches with a hairline fracture to the Fibula, a bruised Tibia and Femur, and several pulled collateral ligaments. Given the extent of all of what I just mentioned, I didn’t snap or tear anything, and hopefully will be back on my feet on the 19th of this month. Please do not feel bad for me though, for I am excellent hands! I plan to return to league play, as a coach, in the middle of May to finish out my contractual obligations. : D

With that being said, Em and I are working on putting together a small project that will hopefully provide a new pair of shoes for every player in the basketball program here in Aoufous (ranging from 6 to 20 years olds). If things go well, we may be able to provide shoes to all of the athletes in the Ait Amira youth development and sports programs. Further information will be provided later if how you would like to participate.

Em also worked diligently to solidify a spot at the latest Peace Corps Artisanal Exposition in Fez. While I made contacts with merchants in Fez in order to establish a new line of product distribution for our Coop. We will have the news on those results later this week.

It’s funny, just when you think you haven’t made an impact on someone, they go and name their kid after you. Tifawt, which is Em’s Moroccan name, was used and given to the new baby girl of the President of our local community development association Ait Amira. Traditionally, Fatima is the name of the first daughter. Tifawt is a very uncommon name, meaning Sunrise. Keep an eye out for Tifawt becoming Morocco’s top ten baby names in the next 5 years or so!

I want to also give a quick shout out to Aya our local Japanese volunteer (JICA). Thank you for coming over and sharing your wonderful Japanese food and sense of humor with us. We are glad that your family is safe back in Japan and wish everyone there good health and safety during these tumultuous times.

To Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bill: Please make sure, no matter how hard the days are, that you give each other a big kiss and hug at the end of the day. We love you and miss you tons!

Special Thanks

I think the axiom goes, “Behind every great man, there is an even greater woman.” And to dive further into that adage, “Behind every Peace Corps husband, especially those that are on crutches and can’t do anything, there is an even more extraordinary wife!”

I would like to give a special thanks to my wonderful wife for taking such great care of me, and getting up and taking care of all the extra difficult things that come along with living in this country and handling it with such grace and confidence.

I love you and thank you so much!

Please enjoy some of our latest pics.

Peace,

Sean

Dear Dad, Five years ago today, you left this world and I still think about you all the time. Right now I am in Morocco serving in the Peace Corps; I am trying to do something as noble and sacrificing as you did, being a teacher all those years. But things aren't working out the way that I was hoping they would. I want to make you proud, I want to serve and help and get my hands dirty, I really want to work hard…but I am having a difficult time finding my place in this country. As always, I feel uncomfortable, like I don't belong. I know you would just tell me to buck-up and get over myself, but today Dad, is the one day I let myself wallow in self-pity and doubt. I allow myself to think about you and all the amazing things you accomplished, how you worked four jobs in Alaska to support a family of eight. How when your dreams of sailing around the world were crushed by a huge storm and bad diesel you picked up and moved on and built a different life. I remember your bulging muscles and how you never stopped working or building. Have I disappointed you by not being strong enough? Complaining and concentrating on the negative instead of just getting over it and staying tough? I miss you so much, even though, sometimes you tell me exactly what I DON'T want to hear, but that I know I should do.I am trying to grow some plants here in Morocco, but apparently, I did not get your green-thumb and no basil or lettuce has shown their little heads. What should I do? I wish you were here to guild me, to help me, to teach me. Why didn't I learn more from you? There are so many things that you know; you are brilliant. Unfortunately, I didn't get that gene either. Yes, I know self-loathing…but you are not here to tell me to get over it and stop crying. I am crying because I want you here to tell me to stop crying and to just figure it out and get going. I am so frustrated; I trying to do good, to help in some way, to contribute, but each and every time I try, there are roadblocks in the way and I don't know how to go around or over them.

If you were alive, I would want you to visit me here, to meet the people that I am trying to serve, to eat their food and drink their tea. And maybe you would look around and tell me that, even touching the lives of a few people, is good enough. I promise I will keep working hard, striving to be a better person and a valuable member of society. I may never build houses with my own bare hands, dig a foundation with a shovel and wheel barrel, teach kids that would otherwise have no direction or support six children, like you, but I will be strong and tough and labor in a way that will help me accomplish my goals.

I love you so much and wish that I could sit by you while you read your Time magazine, make you lunch every day during summer break and pour over math books with you…but those days are gone, now I must cherish the moments we had together and reassure myself that you are, in fact, proud of me.

The baby,

~em

PARIS!!!

Versailles gardens

Macaroons!!! I heart Paris!

To DIE for! The Mont Blanc at Angelinas

It doesn't get much better than this...

Saskia & Roel, aka, the Dutchies!

Marrakesh marathon - check!

Petra, Jordan

Petra, Jordan

Petra, Jordan

Sean's zen moment in the Dead Sea

Emily "bobbing" in the Dead Sea

Mr. Rocky Gatzen in Jarresh, Jordan - ancient Roman ruins

Luxor Temple: Luxor, Egypt

Karnak Temple: Luxor, Egypt

Karate kid - Edfu temple, Egypt

Edfu Temple, Egypt

Edfu Temple, Egypt

The Great Pyramids; Cairo, Egypt

Pyramids!!!

Sean on the big pyramid

Hee Hee.

Jumping over the Great Pyramid!

Christmas package from Holland - Thanks Dutchies!!!

Hannan's Birthday party and New Years!!!

Greetings loved ones and Happy New Year! 2011 has started off with a bang for Sean and I and we hope the momentum will keep us going all year long…first we had a fun New Year's day celebrating the birthday of one of my close friends here in Aoufous. We sung Happy Birthday, American style, and even blow out a candle (that is not her age, the candle was just really big!). Next stop, Egypt with a fun-filled group of amazing people thanks to Pat Crabb and Diana Farrell…we spent the next 12 days traveling through Egypt (thankfully before all the drama) and Jordan, ending with a "swim" or bob in the Dead Sea. Would love to go into details…but just check out the pics! After a fabulous time hangin' with our new homies (they all spoke English – how glorious!!!), Sean and I jetted off (doesn't that make it sound so much more glamorous?) to Paris, via Latvia (I know, I had to look it up on the map too). In Paris our days were spent sipping hot chocolate, loitering in bookshops and spending time with two of Sean's incredible Dutch cousins, Saskia and Roel. What a marvelous time we had, thanks in part to S&R's generosity and perfect English, French and Dutch. "Ik wil ponnekoeken!!!" We can't wait for more fun times ahead! Oh…yeah, and we are still doing the Peace Corps thing…sounds hard, right? Well, we figured, if we have come this far around the world we may as well take advantage! But we are excited for the months that lie ahead, hopefully filled with more learning, growing and enrichment (on our part, of course), although we do hope to impart some small contribution onto the community in which we are now a part. Minus the VERY COLD temps (we sympathize with all of the peeps back home), we are glad to be back in our humble home.

Peace and love to all!

~em

Seansean - what a cutie pie!

Our Christmas tree (thanks to Gramma L - Love you!!!)

Christmas cookies!

Christmas eve dinner...yummy (lentils, disguised as baked beans, mashed potatoes, green beens, rolls and Christmas cookies from Mom Messegee!)

The cutest Christmas apron ever! (thanks Mom!)

We wanted to say "Merry Christmas" to everyone this quite Christmas Eve…as Sean and I sat down to dinner we reflected upon how lucky we are in this giant world (yet, at times it seems so small, doesn't it?). We are so thankful for all the people in our lives and for all those who have helped shape the people we have become…we are so thankful to have good health and the ability to think critically, make our own decisions, and live life the way we feel it should be lived. There are so many people we know here that will never have the opportunity to experience the things that we have been able to see, hear, breath, eat and read. This is a very special Christmas for us because the commercialization has been entirely eliminated and we have gotten down to the real nitty-gritty that is Christmas; reading about the birth of Jesus in the scriptures, listening to Christmas music, enjoying our time together and reflecting upon the true meaning of this wonderful Holiday – which can mean something different to everyone. Compassion, sacrifice, caring, sharing, cookies, spending time with family, feeling a special something that only comes during this time of year…

We love you all and hope that you have a magnificent Christmas this year!

I just wanted to leave you with the following that I came across during one of my many reading sessions – it puts into words some of the feelings I have during this time of year (especially if it is a white Christmas):

Fine old Christmas with the snowy hair and ruddy face had done his duty that year in the noblest fashion, and had set off his rich gifts of warmth and colour with all the heightening contrast of frost and snow.

 Snow lay on the croft and river-bank in undulations softer than the limbs of infancy; it lay with the neatliest finished border on every sloping roof, making the dark-red gables stand out with a new depth of colour; it weighted heavily on the laurels and fir-trees till it fell from them with a shuddering sound; it clothe the rough turnip-field with whiteness and made the sheep look like dark blotches; the gates were all blocked up with the sloping drifts, and here and there a disregarded four-footed beast stood as if petrified 'in unrecumbent sadness;' there was no gleam, no shadow, for the heavens too were one still pale cloud – no sound or motion in anything but the dark river, that flowed and moaned like an unresting sorrow. But old Christmas smiled as he laid this cruel-seeming spell on the out-door world, for he meant to light up home with new brightness, to deepen all the richness of indoor colour, and give a keener edge of delight to the warm fragrance of food: he meant to prepare a sweet imprisonment that would strengthen the primitive fellowship of kindred, and make the sunshine of familiar human faces as welcome as the hidden day-star. His kindness fell but hardly on the homeless – fell but hardly on the homes where the hearth was not very warm, and where the food had little fragrance; where the human faces had no sunshine in them, but rather the leaden, blank-eyed gaze of unexpectant want. But the fine old season meant well; and if he has not learnt the secret how to bless men impartially, it is because his father Time, with ever unrelenting purpose, still hides that secret in his own mighty, slow-beating heart.

 The Mill on the Floss – George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans)

Book Second – Chapter 2 The Christmas Holidays

 Love and Peace to all and to all a good night…

~em & seansean

Goofing around with some of the other lady volunteers - Rabat

Waiting for the rest of the group to get into the picture...

Small Business Development (SBD) volunteers 2009-20011 - what a fantastic group of people!!! Also, here is a link to a great video created by a SBD volunteer that just went home. It demonstrates the diverse group of women that live here in Morocco and what they are trying to do to improve their lives and the lives of their children. http://womensvoicesnow.org/watchfilm/you_can_dream_stories_of_moroccan_women_who_do/

XOXO,~em

Well, we just returned from our Mid-Service-Medicals in Rabat and, besides some parasite friends, we are in good health and have no cavities (which I cannot believe considering we drank 12,000 gallons of hot, sugary, mint tea over the last 15 months). It was great to see other volunteers, swap stories, and realize that we are living in a parallel universe, for the most part. As we were making our way back to our home I had a lot of time to think about the upcoming year, well, really only ten hours or so, and realized that I better get my butt in gear, if I want to save the world and establish world peace…but, yeah, really, eleven months is not that much time. Okay, it is if you think about in terms of how much longer I have to go without milkshakes, but in regards to development, it is nothing. Did I come up with a highly-finite perfectly devised plan? That would be a big NO, remember I live in Morocco, but I did come to better terms with my purpose here…we have made some progress with the date cooperative that we work with and have formed some great relationships, and of course our understanding and compassion for the people of a Muslim nation has greatly increased. So, I will continue to do what I can to volunteer and service the community in which I am now an active member. Sound good?

It has been a while since we provided you with some comic relief, so here is the mistranslated warning label of the month (found on the back of a refrigerator): (trust me, these are not typos)

CAUTION

Before you use the refrigerator, please take off all the packages, including the base and the foam, in order to make it strengthen.

Install a three pins socket separately and make sure to be with the earth wire.

If suddenly, poser off, please wait for at least 5 minutes to re-power it.

Please don't put the poisonous, flammable, and detonable goods and acid, alkali etc in it, such as the gasoline, the alcohol, the binder, and the thinner.

Please don't put too much food in it and let the air out and in.

Don't touch the freezing food with wet hands avoiding of hurt of fingers.

If not use for a long time, please power off.

Don't put the child in the cabinet, to prevent from danger.

This kind of refrigerator offer for the family so please don't use it for other things.

Please tune in next time for a special Merry Christmas blog!

Peace and love to all!!!

~em

Thanksgiving at the Gatzen-Messegee household...Thanks Heather & Brian for the rootbeer, you guys are awesome!

Thanksgiving dinner!

Apple pie...unfortunately, not a la mode :(

There are so many things to be thankful this Thanksgiving that I hardly know where to start…so I figured I would just list a few (not necessarily in order of amount of thankfulness):

A family that is supportive, positive, encouraging and enormously generous and good

Friends who get it, and will be my friends forever, even if I keep taking off on crazy adventures

Freedom of expression (applicable in the US): the ability to wear what I want, hold my husband's hand and speak my opinion without being criticized

Washing machines and the knowledge that someday, somewhere, I will meet one again…and possibly his friend, Mr. Dryer

My legs; as much as I may curse the cellulite that has slithered its way onto my thighs (it couldn't be the copious amounts of chocolate that I have been eating), I am so thankful for strength and energy and mobility

Tortillas. Costco, 40 tortillas, $3.59…I will see you in my dreams tonight…

The most amazing, sweet, delightful, funny, best husband in the whole world. I am eternally grateful for his everything.

Whip cream in a can – one squirt, heaven.

Communication and knowing English; so it hasn't helped me much here but I am thankful for the fact that almost anywhere you go, you can usually find someone who speaks at least a little English…how lucky are we?

Full length mirrors (I might retract this one after, actually seeing my entire body at once someday, but in theory, I am thankful for them and they motivating qualities they have)

The Internet. Skype, email, celebrity gossip, fashion week streaming live from Paris, online banking, blogs, Google, pirating video sites, iTunes, etc, etc, etc. A window to the world…

Music and the way it helps me run for miles

A creative mind and the capacity to feel positive energy through art and design

Cotton. Clean cotton…straight from the dryer, warm, yummy, towels and sheets

The freedom to question conventional wisdom and invoke change

Heaters…especially the elusive, modern thing called central heating

Books, books and more books; how thankful I am to be able to call upon my education and intellect to gain access to a whole new world, life, experience and thought…

Being American and the ability to go almost anywhere on the globe without restriction (now if only I had the fundage…)

High heels and platforms; I really did think I was five foot eleven, bummer.

My bike. If I didn't have it, there would be no way to get from one side of town to the other without drinking a few cups of tea

Wool socks

All of you…reading this…thank you for being you.

Much love to all and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~em

Hi friends and family! I just wanted to share a link to a video that a fellow Peace Corps volunteer created about what we actually do here in Morocco:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RGPyrmv5N8

Hope you enjoy!

Peace and love to all,

~em

Gaudi in all his glory; Barcelon, Spain

Gaudi. nuff said.

Gaudi dreamland...or candyland: Barcelona, Spain

We are not in Morocco anymore, Todo...ahhh...BraTHelona, Spain - Catania! We HEART you BCN!

Duomo in Florence, Italy (and Mr. Gatzen)

The faux David in Florence, Italy (the real thing was amazing!)

The Colliseum, Rome, Italy

My wish came true at the Bernini - Trevi fountain, Rome, Italy!

Nothin' tastes as good as gelato; Momma in Rome, Italy

The ancient city of Pompeii, Italy - beautiful and spooky...

Partners in crime...

Catania, Scicily

The black beach of Santorini; Momma and Em finding treasures

The windmills of Santorini, Greece (shout-out to the Dutchies)!

Santorini, Greece Islands - magical!!!

Santorini, Greece

You have three options: gondola, donkey or hoof-it up the cliffs (we opted for #3)

Beautiful, white sand beach: Agostoli, Greece (it was a good day for a swim)!

I LOVE IT HERE!

View from the wall around old town Dubrovnik, Croatia (Go Croats!)

Square in Dubrovnik, Croatia Pont Rialto - Mom and Em. Venice, Italy! Dubrovnik, Croatia

Doumo - Milano - Amazing!

Shopping in Milano (and jumping for joy!)

Park in Milan!

One word: CHOCOLAT

The sum of our journey!!!

Camel trek!

Mom and Em on the dunes in the Moroccan Dessert Our journey into the dessert...Momma Messegee - Sahara style!

Camel trek in the Moroccan dessert!

A hay truck in Morocco

Mom and Em in Kesh!

Marrakesh train station

Tears of joy at the reunion!

Well, we are back from our most wonderful vacation ever and ready for action. It was so great to see Momma Messegee and relax on the waters of the Mediterranean. I am going to keep this one short and let the pictures do all of the talking. We look forward to a busy winter in Aoufous, Morocco. We will update you on our winter plans, goals, dreams, on the next blog update.

We love you and miss you all so very much! Only 371 days left in country!

And just in case you have forgotten how to jump rope, I wanted to leave you with some wise words from the packaging of our new jump-rope we purchased in Barcelona:

A few tips before starting:

-Never skip barefoot

-Relax anew before starting stretching.

-Start without rope and in music, lightly balancing the flexible body from one foot to the other, so as to take the time to organize your movements.

-Now that you are ready, step 1, The Basic Jump:

-Standing, abdominals contracted. -Make the rope turn above your head. When the rope comes down in front of you jump with both feet. -Jump standing, legs together, so as to distribute the body's weight by associating knees and ankles, heels away from the ground, points barely rising at the passage of the rope, thus limiting efforts and impacts. Hold for three minutes.

-Do not lift the feet too much. A few centimeters to let the rope pass are sufficient.

-Redo for one minute the knee lifting sequence, with and without rope, by breathing in and out to chain with endurance work.

-Repeat the exercise.

Until next time…

-seansean

Lightening!

Lightening storm - view from our deck

Celebrating Lftor with fellow Americans - with Mom Messegee's cinnamon roll recipe!

Typical family room

On our way to a "baby shower" party...with the bread in tow

Birthday parties...a good excuse to hang with other volunteers!

Happy Birthday to fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Tina! (Mina here in Morocco!)

Sean eating the finished product (oops...photos are out of order :)

Folks, it is date season again! (pitting dates for the date bars)

Em making Gramma Lore's world famous date bar recipe (the crust) So, Ramadan is over and, unfortunately, I didn't lose any weight, but there is always next year, right? J We didn't get any shots of the Ramadan "breakfasts" that we were fortunate to consume with various neighbors and friends, but keeping to my true form, I will let you know about the food. So, here we are waiting ALL day to eat…anxiously anticipating the call to prayer or "Allah-Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest)…did you hear it? Has it played yet? We listen through the open window…waiting impatiently…maybe…hmmm, yesterday the call to prayer was at 7:03pm…so, tonight it will be at about, approximately, 6:59am? And then the load speakers blare the classical Arabic, or foshah (sp?), "God (Allah) is the Greatest, God is the Greatest…" and Sean and I take a big gulp of cool water. Ahh…and we make our way over to whoever's house we were lucky enough to be invited, then we eat. Luftor, or breakfast (which is actually eaten around dinner time) consists of some of my favorite Moroccan foods (hence, the no losing weight situation). Pancakes, cookies, cakes, delicious bread stuffed with sautéed veggies, yummy nutty-buttery goodness (I just can't explain this one, but some of the ingredients are: almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, olive oil, sugar…). Also, soup is served called Harrarah. Every household has their own recipe, but it is packed full of chick-peas (hummus beans) all kinds of spices and veggies. Dates are eaten with a creamy, buttermilkish drink that is sometimes flavored with citrus fruit or bananas. And of course copious amounts of mint tea is consumed…hmmmm…I miss Ramadan already!

Speaking of food…Mom Messegee, Sean and I will soon be traveling to Europe, to check out the scenery, but most importantly, to EAT! Watch out Italy, here we come! We are so excited to pick Mom up at the Casablanca airport day-after-tomorrow and give her a tour of Morocco and our humble Aoufous…many pictures to come!

Until next time, peace and love to all…

~em

Late night soccer during Ramadan

Mobile cafe - concessions during "eating hours"

Sean getting schooled in kung-fu by a visiting Japanese volunteer

Kid's day with the Japanese volunteers

The Japanese crew!

Hangin' out with the other volunteers from around Morocco

Sean's 29th Birthday!

The devoted fans for midnight football (aka. soccer)

Team Ait Amira - GO AOUFOUS!

The soccer "field"

Ball hounds!!!

Team El GaraSeason's Greetings!

Yes, many of you may be saying, but Sean Christmas isn't for another 3 ½ months (those of you that celebrate Christmas). I would say that you are correct. And before you go spreading the word that I have officially gone insane, it is the season of Ramadan here in beautiful Morocco. And in Aoufous it's the boo daddy of holidays! Like Christmas back home where we give thanks for the birth of the baby J, and how lucky we all are to have such wonderful families and friends, in Morocco, and many other Islamic countries, this is the time of year in which they give thanks to Allah, family, friends, ask for forgiveness, and rekindle their relationship with God. And as we unofficially begin the holidays after thanksgiving, by playing Christmas music, setting up the tree and partaking in holiday get-togethers, Muslims lock it in officially for a full month by fasting from sunrise to sunset, by thinking purely good thoughts, and giving back to their communities and to those families that are less fortunate. And every night after sunset everyone sits down as a family to break fast, and celebrate their humility towards God and each other.

At first coming into this country almost a full year ago (next week Sep. 10th), we were introduced to Ramadan smack dab in the middle of the holiday. It was crazy and confusing and not that exciting of a holiday celebration. This year we have decided to fast with our fellow community members in order to better understand the holiday. Aside from the challenges of not eating or being able to drink water during the sweltering heat of the summer, and having to push all of my bad thoughts back until the 10th of September (I don't think Em has ever had a single bad thought, ever), our 2010 Ramadan experience has been very enjoyable and rewarding! And in the spirit of Ramadan, we would like say how much we appreciate everyone's support from back home! We have been away for almost a full year now and we miss everyone tons! Until next time… Keep it real.

sean

Sean participating in Hadeuce.

Hadeuce at Fatima's wedding.

Henna

...and more henna! I bride is not complete without it!

Hadeuce at Hadija's wedding (on the roof of her mother's house)

Wedding tent!

One type of "throne" - "Arab" style wedding.

Helping prepare chicken for the following day's festivities

Hadeuce!

Wedding Season in Morocco! Watch out ladies and gents…it is that time of year again, WEDDING SEASON! The chickens have been prepped, the cow's fattened, ready for slaughtering, henna is being mixed, drum leather is being stretched and tightened and everyone's finest is freshly aired. IT IS TIME TO PARTY…and partying is what the Moroccan's in our town do…every night, all night!!!

So, for those of you unfamiliar with Moroccan weddings, let me break down the process t you...step by step, day by day…but please keep in mind, this is how the people in our town celebrate and considering there is a mix of "Arab" Moroccans and "Berber" Moroccans here in Aoufous, other areas might celebrate a bit differently. So here goes…and remember, we have firsthand experience (more than once):

Months prior to wedding:

-Girls and boys are not allowed to "court" or date openly so most relationships exist through text messaging and secretive rendezvous or through family relations (it is not unusual for bride and groom to be related some way to each other – and it is not illegal to marry your cousin.)

-Usually engagements are announced about six months to a year before the wedding and if the family has the means, an engagement "party" is held for the couple.

- The soon-to-be bride and groom are still not allowed to be with each other publicly or privately

So, wedding planning doesn't necessarily exist here in Morocco; yes, certain arrangements need to be made a few weeks before the big days (no, that is not a typo, I mean DAYS because the wedding usually last at least three straight days). This consists of renting a huge outdoor tent, and all the supplies for feeding 300 to 600 guests. No invitations are mailed no "save the dates" are even verbalize, because, to our knowledge, the exact, specific date is not nailed down until about a week prior to the wedding (we know this because as crazy, obsessive, control-freak Americans we always want to know WHEN, WHERE, WHAT TIME, HOW LONG, HOW MUCH, ETC, ETC – this becomes very annoying to Moroccans who, frankly, don't know and don't care). Okay, so, supplies are gathered: mats and rugs for seating, tea tables for eating, huge pots and pans for cooking 100 chickens, goat meat, cow meat, lamb, and couscous, and water jugs (keep in mind there is no alcohol at these fetes). Then word is spread…tell a few people, text your family…and the whole world knows that so-and-sos wedding is at such-in-such tomorrow or the next day.

Day 1Prep time: A lot of the food is prepared for cooking the following days. The bride visits the Hammam and gets all waxed and ready. The groom and the boys goof around (as usual). Family starts to arrive and a more "intimate" gathering celebrates that day and night. The first wedding meal is served at about 12:00 midnight or 1:00am (this is actually, pretty normal Moroccan dinner time – especially in the summer when bedtimes tend to get later and later). On day one, sometimes the wedding takes on a more traditional "Arab" routine and the bride and groom actually unite and the bride goes through multiple wardrobe changes through the night – all through the night and I mean from sun down to sun up!

Day 2 Eating, dancing and singing: A cow or multiple sheep are slaughtered in the early morning, around 5:00am – there is a small "ceremony". Food prep continues. Friends, neighbors, family, everyone and their sister arrives – males and females are separated for the duration of the wedding celebration. Music begins to be played using handheld drums and everyone starts to sing and dance. Tea and cookies are served multiple times throughout the day and "lunch" is served at about 4:00pm – at this point there are hundreds of people singing and dancing both outside and inside the bride's parents' house (the groom is having a whole separate celebration – where ever he may live). On day two the bride is painted with henna – her entire feet up to mid calf and both hands up to her forearms. She sits on a "throne" of pillows and blankets and remains stationary for the duration of the day (allowing her henna to dry completely). At this point she is dressed in a more "Arab" wedding dress – sparkly, flashy with her hair done and five pounds of make-up. Lunch usually consists of chicken in cured lemon and olive sauce (of course eaten with bread) followed by a lamb dish with prunes and apricots (again eaten with bread) and then a big bowl of fruit – mostly melons. All meals during the wedding festival are served "Moroccan Family Style", so ONE big platter is put in the middle of the table and is eaten with bread. Also, there is only one mutual water cup shared among the 10 to 12 people per table. After lunch there is more dancing and singing – some people take a little siesta…preparing for the long night ahead. The boys and men usually visit the mosque, or in Sean's cause, run down to the river for a refreshing dip in the cool water (remember it is 100 plus degrees during this whole thing!!!) Towards evening the presents from the groom's camp arrive and this causes the men and women to unite a bit for a lot of dancing and celebration. The gifts are balanced on top of a few women's heads while they are surrounded by the group. Sometimes the presents are all strung up like laundry (most of the gifts are clothing and linens and none of them are wrapped)…as the sun goes down, the bride retreats to your chamber and removes the dried henna leaving beautiful, temporary markings on her hands and feet. She changes into an all white outfit and the traditional Berber wedding attire which consists of a head-dress that covers her entire face (a ritual is performed after she emerges outside and presents herself to the crowd – only women at this point). After the traditional Berber chanting, the bride resumes her position upon her "throne" that has now been brought outside. Singing and dancing continue…tea and cookies are served again and then Hadeuce begins (I do not know how to spell it – but it is pronounce HAY-DOOS). Hadeuce is the traditional Berber "line" dancing. On one side are the men (about eight to ten) with drums and on the other side are the women (about an equal amount) – they dance towards each other and then away and back and forth, drumming and singing the whole time. Each dance lasts for about 15 minutes and each one has a specific "dialogue". Very fun, but hard to get motivated to participate when the night progresses and it is 4:00am in the morning…oh, I got ahead of myself…so, dinner is served around 1:00am (earlier for the guys, because, of course, they get served prior to the women); dinner is usually couscous followed by a beef dish (if the family has the means to buy and slaughter a cow instead of a sheep) and again melon. More singing and dancing, Hadeuce…etc. This lasts all the way through the night…

Day 3 Bride leaves for Grooms house and the partying continues: In the morning the bride prepares to leave her family and friends and join her new husband where he lives (this might be as close as down the street or as far as across the country). This is a sad time for the bride and her family, saying goodbye and preparing for a new life. Breakfast is served early and as morning progresses family and friends, neighbors and acquaintances gather to send the bride off in style. Here is where the boys start having fun…there is this game they play involving garbage and trying to keep the car from driving away…this can go on for a couple hours and, sorry, the humor doesn't translate. But eventually the car, carrying the bride to her new husband is allowed to drive away. The bride is still cloaked in the veil and won't reveal herself until after the wedding ceremony at the groom's place…so, the party continues…

…but that is where I will end my story…weddings are exhausting. Sitting on your butt, on the ground or cement floor for days, can be exhausting, couple that with trying to communicate and figure out what is going on around you and what you are supposed to do (and realizing, that after 30 minutes of trying VERY HARD to understand the lady that is sitting next to you, she speaks Darija and not Tam…hmmm). I tried to keep it short, but, really, the weddings aren't here…reminds me of the time I went to a Catholic wedding…well, without the whole God thing and the up and down up and down J. Please enjoy the pics and let me know if you have any questions…I tried to give a good account…but I think I am still tired from the two weddings we attended last week (and, not to mention, the side effects of eating chicken that decided to make me sick for the past week)…did I mention I only had a few hours of sleep each day?

Love and peace to all…until next time!

~em

Celebrating the 4th with friends!

"Happy Birthday dear USA, Happy Birthday to you..."

Flags, friends and SALAD! Yum!

Thanks Amy for the awesome 4th of July decorations! You are the best!

Peace!

INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Oh what a wonderful word that word "Independence" is. Oh how it runs throughout our blood stream as Americans. We yearn for it. We strive for it. Heck, we all would have moved out of the house when we turned 16 if we could have. I would have started my own bike company, sailed around the world, soloed Mt. Everest, and ridden in Le Tour de France, all by the time I turned 10 (Not to say that there are not any 10 year olds in American that have accomplished such feats)! And God bless The United States of America for it! We learn to aspire to be great. That we can accomplish anything we put our mind, and hard work towards. We think outside the box, we innovate, we invent, we overcome, and, interestingly enough, TOGETHER we achieve greatness! And it is not because we are greedy westerners. It is because we are independent! We are independent thinkers, and we are FREE to think independently! And it is because our four fathers fought for it, and declared it in writing; it (independence) will forever be ingrained in our American bones.

Out of all the wonderful places that I have travelled in my life, the rights and freedoms that American's are blessed with are truly unique. We are so blessed, in fact, that we would even take an extra long period in our lives to volunteer and live in another nation and culture to help out with whatever we can. That is absurd! Who in their right mind would do that? And that is why many nations, to this day, don't quite understand us, or who we are. For that is the reason that Em and I are hanging out here in this wonderful country!

Man oh man are we lucky!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU…

We sang happy birthday to American! It was beautiful. Our good friend Hamid, and his twins, Hasnah, and Hassan, came over for a couple of hours to partake in the festivities on the 4th of July. 'God Bless America' and the 'Star Spangled Banner' were a little too complicated to teach, so we settled for Happy Birthday. Hamid sang baritone, Hasnah and Hassan sang Tenor and Soprano. Emily, Tina, and I handled back up. It was beautiful!

FOR YOU RACE FANS… On the way to Errachidia this week our bus driver decided to pass, not only one bus, but two buses (AT ONCE!). He attempted said maneuver about two tenths of a mile outside a blind left hand corner. Given the fact that the bus tenant was handing out barf bags on the straight-aways, I had 100% confidence that we would be able to accomplish this trick. Halfway in, after over-taking the first bus, a small van decided to pull out in front of the second bus, on the right hand side of the road. Luckily we had just made it past the second buses' blind spot, and he was able to hit the brakes and allow us to pass before we reached the left hand turn. Now even though I am a man that will preach on his blog about being free to do anything I want because I am an American! There is no way in heck I would have tried to pull a stunt like that off!

Please enjoy the pics!

Until next time…

"Volunteer Advisory Committe" (of which I am secretary - I won't be late to a meeting again - darn those buses!!!) meeting and lunch with the Director of Peace Corps, Aaron Williams (appointed by President Obama).

In-Service-Training in Rabat with our "counterparts", Barhim and Najat; some of the date products on the table - woohoo!!!

Hanging with other volunteers - Adriana & Peggy - good times!

Ice cream...always on the agenda in the big city...Najat and Brahim participating in the fun!

Our roof top terrace in Essaouaria - LOVE THE OCEAN!

Peace Corps Volunteer a'la mode!

Sean decides (after a little convincing) to join the Moroccan boys in some cooling off - he showed them how it is done!

At the fishing dock in Essaouaria - boys will be boys! Sean preparing to dive - front flip - fantastic!

Essaouaria - lovely!!!

Glad to be at the beach!!! LOVE IT!

Sunset behind the ancient city walls and medina...

Souq-ing with my new hat!

One of our uninvited guests...YIKES!

Scorpions, cockroaches and summertime in Morocco. It is officially HOT. Sean just returned from a walk through town (to check to see if the Holland versus Cameroon soccer game was on TV at one of the three cafes in Aoufous – and when I say "café" it means plastic chairs and a table with tea or coffee to drink – and ONLY men are allowed!), the game is not until later, but he observed, and I quote "I saw two people, total". That means, summer is officially in full swing. It is 100 degrees (at least) and the people of Aoufous hibernate during the day and only come out AFTER the sun goes down. One of my theories (one of the many considering I am still talking like a three year old and can hardly ask for water) is that everyone is gearing-up for Ramadan. For those of you who don't know about Ramadan, it is a month long, Islamic "holiday" that consists of fasting during all hours there is light. Allah said: "Every act of man is for him except fasting, it is done for My (Allah's) sake and I will give reward for it. The breath of a faster is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk." Every year Ramadan moves back 11 days; e.g. last year it was from August 21st thru September 20th (approx.). So, this year Ramadan is from August 10th thru September 11th…hmmm…and next year it will run the entire month of August.

What this means to us:

The days are much longer in the summer months, so if we decide to fast, which we plan on doing, we will not be able to eat or drink (even water) from about 4:00AM to 9:00PM everyday (in about 20 years Ramadan will be in the winter! – lucky dogs!) Because we arrived in Morocco during Ramadan, we get to celebrate it three times!Nothing will be going on and everyone that can, will be sleeping or relaxing all day – in their homes – NOTHING will be happening We will not have much going on in terms of "work" Hopefully I will lose some weight Here is a little more detail about Ramadan:

Fasting includes not: eating, drinking, having sex, smoking, wearing make-up, wearing fragrance, chewing gum – all day from first light (before sunrise) to last light (after sunset) There will be A LOT of praying going on – all day, every day

Lyftor – or "breakfast", will break the fasting and will be eaten after the sun goes down at night If you accidently eat or miss a day, it can be made up at the end of Ramadan Pregnant or nursing mother are not advised to participate in fasting, as well as, small children or anyone who is sick

So, that is some of the basic stuff. My theory is that a lot of people are slowly switching their schedules to nights, in preparation for Ramadan and to cope with the heat! We just might be heading that way ourselves!

As you can see from the pictures, Sean and I just got back from some fun travelling here in Morocco (now the beach seems so FAR away L)…we had some Peace Corps training in Rabat and then headed down the Atlantic coast hitting up Essaouaria and Agadir, then over to Taradount and through Agouim. Fun stuff…but the best part was when we returned home (okay, I am being sarcastic here) and found we had MANY uninvited visitors in our home. We had super-scrubbed our place and sealed it up the best we could before we left but, apparently we were just sprucing up the place for our guests; cockroaches and a HUGE scorpion. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a picture of the scorpion with something comparable (like a shoe), after we got it outside (this is not one of those things you just step on to kill), our neighbor beat it with a stick to kill it – and I literally mean beat it with a stick. Yikes. I will forever check my shoes before putting my feet in them; another great reason to only wear flip-flops. Oh, and this might not be the best time to let you all know that you are welcome to come and visit, but you are, and we would love to have you…we will make sure the place is scorpion free first.

Hope everyone is doing well. Big shout out to all the wonderful people that have kept us stocked up on peanut butter and such! Thank you so much for all your love and support!

Peace and love to all,

~em

Random photos from the last couple of weeks (sorry, no shots of the women's workout class - they can't be seen without their scarfs :)! Wiring in our apartment...pretty good for Morocco.

More wiring...our landlord is in town and updating our unit so we on our own electicity bill.

Men's basketball team - "summer jerseys" - nice!

Sean and his b-ball crew!

On the way to the game...15 kids, one van and a 6'4" man...hmmm...

Date palm blossoming and grape vine on our back porch...summer is here!

Annual gathering to give thanks to Allah.

Sean and the cool kids.

MMMMMM...pizza, thanks to Gramma Lore and the cheese and pepporni she sent us - THANK YOU!

Finding purpose in life. There are those moments, ever so fleeting, when you just feel like, maybe, for just a second, you have really found your calling. Maybe for some, who are lucky, this happened a long time ago, or happens often or continues to happen over and over. But for me…the feeling of purpose, true meaning, has only been blessed upon me on rare occasions…and then I think "yes, this is what I am supposed to do". But ultimately, I go head-strong down that path (not looking back, making quick decisions and sticking to them), and realize that I happened upon something else that brings about its own purpose and meaning abandoning the original thought. This, I think, makes me look like an indecisive, gypsy woman. Example: After many months of limited-language "discussions" (really just me staying a noun and a mis-conjugated verb), I have a small, but routine women's exercise class. Our space is small, dirty, and we desperately need a mat for the floor, but we are now meeting three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:00pm to 7:15pm. And, I have found meaning here among the Moroccans. I don't REALLY know what I am doing, but I am loving it. Every time I am scared as heck to get in front of the four to six women (hopefully, increasing as word gets out…), but once the music starts and we begin sweating together out of rhythm, out of cinch and out of breath…I just feel purpose. Okay, it could just be the endorphins kicking in, but I would like to think the feeling of meaning is a bit beyond that. I hope I am not working them too hard. I am sore myself after yesterday's session…but it hurts so good!!!

So, does it make sense? My first thought was, yes, Peace Corps, that could be good, so we apply, we get in, we charge boldly down an uncharted path…and then we happen upon some purpose. It is not what we planned; we are here to help develop small business, right? But instead we find small snippets of fulfillment among unrelated activities; helping teenage boys with their basketball shot and defensive positioning and working out to Lady GaGa with middle-aged, uncoordinated, passionate women. Of course tomorrow brings new challenges, but hopefully new meaning too.

Our love goes out to everyone especially our beloved brother-in-law, who recently lost his incredibly caring mother. Peace and love to all and please know that we are thinking of you and the positive role you play in our lives and the meaning and purpose each and every one of you has in this wonderful world.

~em

Moroccan Architecture - a sampling:

Volubilis; ancient Roman architecture

Moulay Idriss (near Meknes); picture taken from Volubilis ruins

Ancient courtyard and mosiacs; proof of Roman influence on "modern" Moroccan architecture

Ancient Kasbah wall/door leading to center of Takyimt (local ksar near Aoufouss) - oldest ksar in the area.

Men working on new cement house attached to old mud wall; nice scaffolding!!!

Mama Amina making bread in the outdoor clay oven behind our apartment.

Fire is fueled with old date palm branches and fallen sticks/twigs.

Em trying her hand at bread baking.

Mama Amina with the finished product

Yummy, fresh baked bread (the women here make this every day or every-other-day)!!!

It's going to be a hot one folks!

It has been averaging close to the 90's and we just hit May. It is supposed to hover around the mid 40's and close to the 50's during the summer. That is 50 degrees Celsius. I'll let you do the math. If I return to the states 30lbs lighter, it's not because of some great diet or workout routine I've been on. Because of the extreme changes in temperature that happen in the winters and summers here in the Sahara, people have had to adapt to it. The unique architecture here in Morocco is one of the byproducts of this adaption.Moroccan Architecture: A Briefing

The geography of Northern Africa, all the way to the Middle East, consists mainly of rocky plateaus and desert. The Arabs, which have occupied this area for thousands of years, have utilized the rock and dirt that is found in this region to build their homes and villages. Historical structures consisted of thick, sometimes up to 5ft thick, mud/grass walls. Date tree trunks (or available timber) were then used horizontally to make up second floors and roof tops. Taking into consideration the climate, these structures would be built, almost on top of each other, in large permanent encampments called Ksars or Kasbahs (old castle like structures surrounded by other buildings). These original structures would eventually grow to be the great medinas of Fes, Meknes, and Marrakech. The influence of Islam contributed to the simplicity of the design. On the exterior there would be no thrills, no windows to the inside or a lot of color, mainly to protect people from the climate, but also to add privacy. Inside the walls one would find beautiful mosaics and tiled rooms filled with colorful furniture and lavish decoration. It is said that the inside of the home is one's sanctuary from the outside, where only work and business is conducted. You leave to go to work, and you come home to your beautiful get-way.

In Morocco, where, not only the Arabs, but also the Romans, Spanish, and French have occupied, you will find a crazy melting pot of architecture. Now you will find beautiful interiors that have private courtyards (roman influence) with Spanish tiled roofs, and windows open to the outside world (French European influence). The architecture is definitely unique, interesting, mysterious and community oriented.

I have provided a small sampling of some pics that we have taken. I will try and add more as we continue to explore Morocco!

Enjoy!

- Seansean

Yarn in Mellah (old Jewish quarters)...KECH!

Linda and Em, strolling through Mellah...very crowded, very fun!

Spice Market!

Marche Maroc - Go Peace Corps!

Sean and Dan at Marche Maroc...the new mohawk is hard to see, but it is there!

Jalaba bead jewellery (Jalabas are the traditional caftans that Muslims wear).

All these items are hand carved from FALLEN boxwood, juniper and oak branches/trees...all the proceeds go to planting new trees (they just did a planting in March). Yeah! Happy Earth Day!

Hand-woven, wool carpets.

Jalaba fabric; hand spun wool. The warp is silk...VERY NICE, VERY EXPENSIVE!

Paper made from trash...LOVE IT!

So cute!

Djemaa L fnaa...the famous Marrakech square - CRAZY at night...monkeys, snake charmers, you name it!

Lunch at Earth Cafe (Vegan/Vegaterian)...SOOOOO good! Highly recommend...although, you need a guide to find it (good thing you know one - me!)!!!

Ahhhhhh Marrakech…what a wild and crazy city! Last week Sean and I had the pleasure of participating in "Marche Maroc", a craft fair hosted by Peace Corps' Small Business Development volunteers and partially funded by USaid, which was held in the fabulous city of Marrakech. HELLO ICE CREAM and the magical wonders of modern food establishments…well, and, the craft fair was pretty great too…but let's get down to the nitty-gritty! Can you say sushi!?! Pizza!?! Shwarma!?! (okay, that one much be a little trickier, but it is ohhh, so good!). Well, we worked, walked, said "la" about a hundred times (be prepared to be hassled and treated like a tourist in Kech, even if you speak, some, of the language), and had ice cream everyday of our stay (I am not going to say how many dayS we were there J)!

The craft fair was comprised of artisans from all over the country; each artisan group is currently working with one of the many SBD volunteers and handmade/created all the items that were for sale at the fair. Products range from Argan Oil, hand-picked dried herbs, to elaborate carpets, to hand woven jalaba fabric (luscious, hand-spun wool)…there was even jalaba bead jewelry and dolls wearing traditional jalaba outfits (so cute! – I am putting in an order!)…take a look at the pics, and see what you like…I know people!On a side note…

It is funny how quickly you adapt…example:

We arrive at our hotel (Peace Corps standard – maybe half a star?); I ask to look at our room (I suggest always doing this before handing over any money or information)…I go up two flights of stairs, unevenly spaced, not even enough head room to stand up, see the bathroom at the top of the stairs – GOOD! I think, I won't have to go down stairs to pee! – proceed to room 28 – NICE, yes, a lock that works (no door handle, just a lock, but a working lock!), I push open the door…OUR VERY OWN SINK? AND IT WORKS! SWEET!...I take a good look around (this takes about 2.5 seconds because or room is basically a full size bed and a SINK!..there is room enough for me to walk next to ONE side of the bed – turning side ways!)…okay, I don't see any bugs in the bed…check…YES, this place is good…ants on the floor, okay, I can deal, but NO ANTS IN THE BED…PERFECT, we'll take it!!! OH, but wait…there is even a shower…granted is on the first floor (technically floor zero, since we are on the second, which is actually the third…but whatever…). BONUS. Sign us up!

Later on during the weekend another volunteer and I were talking about how good the hotel was…and she said "…yeah, and there weren't even any bugs in the bed!"…ahhhhh…my point exactly!

Well…we hope you all are planning on visiting sometime in the future…don't worry…we won't expect you to adapt too quickly J!

Love and Peace to all! Have a wonderful Earth Day!

~em

Sean goofin' with the kids (he fit right in)!

DANCE PARTY!!!

Yeah for Spring Camp!!! Halla'!!!

Art class 101...the color wheel.

Sean and I and our Step Crew!!! Who let the dogs out!?! Apple bottom jeans....boots with the fur!!!!

A+ star student!

English word search...who knew they could be so intense?

...another dance party (drums and horns included)!

Em schoolin' the girls on the court (NOT!) :)

Just a small part of the crew...PEACE!

...I promise this was not staged...Peace Corps all the way...

The cool kids!

Art class!

Watch out kids...

Spring Camp!!! Wow. 100 teenagers, nine volunteers, seven days, four languages and one too many Moroccan-drumming dance parties…it is good to be home, but what an amazing experience. Sean and I are back to the desert oasis after a whirlwind traveling extravaganza and a week long, early morning singing, late night game playing, intensive English immersion Spring Break camp. Needless to say, when we got home we showered, got into bed and didn't get up for a day and a half…life is certainly good.

Every spring the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports "co-sponsors" a Spring Break English Immersion Camp in conjunction with the Peace Corps. In the past Youth Development (YD) volunteers were the only Peace Corps volunteers that could participate in the camps, but this year, the offer was extended to all volunteers across all sectors [Environment, Health, and Small Business Development (SBD)], so Sean and I gladly signed up and taught marketing, art and geography to the kids at the camp. Our experience was incredible…we came out alive, intact and with an entirely new appreciation for anyone who works with large groups of teenagers (especially boys)! Even though we were not able to always communicate effectively due to our lack of Darija, the universal language of fun, sports and dancing transcended the challenge of a shared language fluency and we connected on multiple levels; thank you Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Flo Rida, Michael Jordan, and who ever made up the silly Banana song.So instead of going into detail, please enjoy the pictures and know that kids are kids all around the world, Muslim or not, girl or boy, short or tall, they all have insecurities, cell phones, cliques, great smiles and amazing rhythm! Thank you Oujda!!!

Peace and love to all!

~em

Our lettuce and carrot guy at the souq. 1 Durham gets you a LOT of lettuce (and it was just picked that day or the day before)!!!

Little boy picking onions at the souq.

Sean at the souq trying to convert Rihals (an old currency) into Durhams...

Chicks at the souq...tempting...but not this time...

Breakfast for visiting volunteers; Mom's cinnamon roll recipe (thanks for sending the brown sugar Mom!)

Sean and Em getting chewed out for NOT coming over for tea at these ladies' houses...next time, INSHALLAH! Or six months out (whichever way you want to look at it).

Perspective Perspective defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

2 a : the interrelation in which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed; also

point of view

b : the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance; e.g. urge you to maintain your perspective and to view your own task in a larger framework — W. J. Cohen 3 a : a visible scene; especially

: one giving a distinctive impression of distance :

vista

b : a mental view or prospect; e.g. gain a broader perspective on the situation

Every step we take as we travel through life, literally and figuratively, we lay ground to our vision of the world. 99% of the time our vision of the world is based on our own experiences, even though our parents try and guide us based on the lessons and perspectives they have learned through life. We like to repeat things, you know, just to make sure. But every once in a while we see something, or hear something, or witness something that changes or enhances our perspective, even if we are not directly impacted by the situation or event. Well it is our job as Peace Corps volunteers to share with you our experiences here in Morocco so perhaps you as the readers can lay a little bit more ground to your vision of the world without having to sacrifice 2 years of your life back home in order to do it.

I want to share with you a powerful video that Em and I received from our country director. Then I will end this perspective craziness with an overly optimistic view of a Peace Corps that will always ring true in my life from here on out.

http://www.filantronomics.org/2009/10/i-dare-you-powerful-campaign-by-nike.html

Now before joining the Peace Corps I would have thought that you could only have two views after watching a video like that: a positive view, or a negative view. Here comes the joke:

There are people in this world that look at the glass half filled with water and think that it is half empty. There are some people that look at that glass and think that it is half full. A Peace Corps volunteer looks at the glass and thinks, "I could take shower with that half glass of water!"

Tune in next time for Moroccan Architecture

Date palms...starting to produce!

Visitors to the crib...the bed fits 6 easily!

Step one to yogurt making...heat the milk.

Fresh milk from a local coop.

Making yogurt.

Heating the yogurt overnight with a hot water bottle and small heater...YUM! Turned out delicious!!!

Sean on the back porch...hammin' it up for the camera!

Laundry - Moroccan style!

Yeah for sunny laundry days!

Bonjour!!! The contradictions that are our life right now…we have internet in our home, but most people "commute" on donkeys. We are beginning to discover how many juxtapositions there are here in Morocco. For example, yesterday we went for a walk to show some fellow volunteers our town (they stopped over for the night on their way to the sand dunes in Merzouga), and we walked to a section of town that was one of the first settlements in the area. The buildings there are about 1500 years old…but right behind a crumbling, decaying building is a huge cell phone tower. Very interesting. Also, we have discovered (not a recent revelation, but one that has perplexed us) that there is no verb for LOVE in Tam. There is like and like a lot, but these are not verbs that you would use to describe your feelings for someone; actually, feelings aren't really expressed very often. In a country that is 99.9% "religious", I would have thought that love would be central to religion, but, then again, I am learning so much about how Islam is contradictory to my previous concept of religion (I think Sean will elaborate on this more later). But, I am glad to have internet and be connected to the world again…so, please feel free to email, Skype or chat with us anytime!Misquotation of the week:

"The product is used very conveniently and is safe have the feature of anti-frequency and beautiful shape. It is widely used in home research institute, hospital, hotel, laboratory etc." Love and Peace to all!!!

~em

What is left of the Roman's occupation of Northern Morocco (outside of Meknes).

Roman mosaics...almost 2000 years old (one of the 12 labors of Hercules)...amazing

An ancient Roman city, built 224 AD

Sean & Em and the Romans...

Meknes - you just can't get away from American movies in the big cities...

Ahhh, McDonalds...Moroccan style (Meknes)!

Celebrating the last night of training in Azrou with traditional Berber dancers.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!!!

ICE CREAM!!!

Life in Morocco has been surreal the last few weeks. We stayed in a very nice hotel in a big city with a bunch of other American volunteers. We actually had conversations, expressed our thoughts and feelings, discussed life, business and all manner of things. Wow. Language is so crucial in the dissemination of information, yet my brain is having difficulty learning, retaining and recalling…so here is part of the problem:

We live in an area that doesn't exclusively speak Tamazight; almost everyone we know speaks Darija (Moroccan Arabic)

The Tamazight that IS spoken at our site is a different dialect than the one we were taught during training

There is absolutely no reinforcement of Tamazight via TV, radio, music, etc.

Tam is not a written language (it does have an ancient script but is not used) so there is no way of writing it besides transcription (the use of the roman alphabet with a few added symbols)

Tam is not technically a language, it is a dialect and it is not taught in schools so none of the young people speak it

Primarily ONLY older women speak Tam

French is taught in all the schools as the official second language

ALL official persons (police, leaders, etc) ONLY speak Darija and French

There are no official study materials or learning aids to help with Tam

In the center of town only Darija and French is used

We cannot find a tutor that speaks both English and Tam

Traveling out of our site is difficult because very few people speak Tam in larger cities, especially up North and along the coast

Okay, so don't take me wrong, I knew there are challenges to every site and every Peace Corps experience, but Sean and I are still trying to figure out the best solution to our language conundrum. We could try to learn Darija in addition to working on Tam, we could switch from Tam to Darija, or we can concentrate on French (a language we can actually use after Peace Corps). The reason that Peace Corps has volunteers learn the dialect languages (there are two other besides Tam), is so we can integrate into the communities better, perhaps even gain respect instantly when using a local dialect, but for us, unfortunately, or site is not 100% Tam speaking, in fact, it is only about 40%. Another interesting fact is that everyone understands Darija and some French (most likely because there are TVs in every home streaming Darija and French ONLY), even if they don't dominantly speak it; plus all young people speak Darija and French, but Tam might be spoken in the home with their elders. Okay. So, we have decided to concentrate on learning French. It would be awesome to speak and understand all three, but then I think I would just end up knowing all of the languages at a mediocre level; I want to be able to COMMUNICATE! Well, there you have it…from now on all of our blog post will be in French. Haha, just kidding…

And…for the most important part of the blog…let's talk about FOOD! In my previous post I talked about a Belgium mousse place that we were frequenting during our training, well, we discussed with the Chef about commissioning a special order of ice cream for our whole training crew (20 people) and he said YES! So, we took a survey and it was decided that we wanted chocolate/raspberry and vanilla/caramel ice cream…we put in our order and collected 30 Durhams from each participant and voila!!! FRESH, HOMEMADE ICE CREAM, IN WINTER, IN THE MIDDLE OF MOROCCO! Needless to say, it was fantastic and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. Man, we are all such food-heads!

Mistranslation of the week:

General "Instruction Manual" Quartz Heater:

"If soft power line damage, in order to its maintenance department to replace a similar sector professionals."

"This appliance is not intended for use by persons (including children) with reduced physical, sensory or mental capabilities, or lack of experience and knowledge, unless they have been given supervision or instruction concerning use of the appliance by a person responsible for their safety."

Hope everyone is doing well! Love and Peace to all,

~em

Peace Corps volunteers and the Electic Slide...good times.

On the way to Azrou: sledding and LOTS of snow.

Carpets, carpets and more carpets...

This is what happens when Peace Corps volunteers are put-up in a nice hotel with WIFI.

Emily's Blog Update: February 7, 2010 Hi family and friends! Sean and I are currently in Azrou (about 5 hours North from our site), enjoying our two week long stay in a VERY nice hotel for some Peace Corps training. Ahhh the joys of Western-style toilets, hot showers and WIFI. It is very interesting getting together with a large group of volunteers; we all seem to have talking and conversation throw-up…being away from other English speakers for two and a half months tends to lead to this condition. We are staying in a glorious hotel, eating good food and participating in thought-provoking discussions and presentations. We all have unique experiences and stories, our sites vary from very urban to extremely rural, but all-in-all we seem to be going through very similar difficulties and challenges. Namely, language and the inability to communicate thoughts, feelings and opinions and the fact that we are all being treated like five year olds because that is the level the majority of us are talking at. So, a very important lesson is being learned, or reinforced: just because someone may not be able to speak efficiently, or even at all, doesn't mean that they are dumb or otherwise lacking the ability to THINK. I knew this going into my service, but each time I am discarded as being inadequate, I remind myself, that someday I will be in the reverse position, whether it be with someone who might be physically or mentally disabled, or with a foreigner; I need to have patience and treat everyone, regardless of speaking ability, with love and respect and COMPASSION.

So, reading through some of my previous blog posts and recent emails, I realized that I am obsessed with food. Sean and I constantly talk and think about food, and obviously, I write about it all the time…my Mom said it is not a bad thing…but I am hoping that everyone reading the blog can bear with my obsession. Umm, so, here I go talking about food again: we have found the most delightful Belgium "café" that serves the best mousse I have ever had in my life. One of the advantages of being in a bigger city is the variety of food and folks that can be found…the Chef's name is Edward and he is from Belgium; he used to work at the International University in Ifrane (which is a town about 20 Kilometers from Azrou); he just opened up his café and has a women working for him called Jay. Jay is an orphan that was raised in a nearby orphanage that was run by two American missionaries; she speaks perfect English (including colloquial phrases, etc) and also speaks French and Darija. So, Edward makes his fabulous mousse fresh every day, with flavors ranging from pistachio to banana-cherry to vanilla-caramel. It is amazing. Apparently, he makes ice cream in the summer, so I am sure Sean and I will be making a special trip to Azrou next summer…stay tuned.

Speaking of ice cream, next time we are in the States for the Super Bowl…we are going to have a "Scooper-Bowl" party…as in LOTS and LOTS of ice cream!

Peace and Love to all! ~em

BTW: in case you don't know and were planning on sending anything to us our "zip code" as been updated; our address is:

BP 41 Aoufous, 52053 Errachidia, Morocco

Kids' Day - January 24th, 2010: 80 kids, 5 adults and 2 Americans!

Sean and Azziz - and their official "Ait Amira" backstage passes...

Niema and Emily - with official passes too...

Lunch time! Sardine sandwiches and apple soda...YEAH!

Sean, and the rest of the kids...

Emily’s Blog Update January 31, 2010: Wow. One month of 2010 already gone. And I am officially one year older…which makes me, what, 25 or 26, I just can’t keep track of the years (it must be my old age). Thank you to everyone that sent me birthday wishes…I have to say it was a pretty darn good birthday. Sean and I tracked down some REAL, I repeat, REAL, mozzarella cheese and we made pizza! Hallelujah! It was fantastic; Sean whipped up some of his mean-spaghetti sauce, I tossed the dough, threw on some CHEESE, fresh tomatoes and basil, put it in the good ole’ oven and gobbled it up! So, the funny thing about the cheese…on our mission to find some formage, we stumbled upon the mozzarella; Sean was rummaging around in a cooler in the back of this tahanout (kind of like a store but much smaller and you aren’t really allowed to go behind the counter – it is like a store front and you just go up and ask for what you want – in TAM or Darija or French…sometimes resorting to just pointing and charades)…okay, so Sean was rummaging around (with the permission of the store owner – we think) and found this hunk of mozzarella under random yogurts, milk, etc (did I mention perishable items are kept in coolers, but that the coolers are never plugged in? – let’s hope they are in the summer…) and he asked the guy how much for a 1/2 kilo? Well, he wouldn’t sell us the cheese buy the kilo (or ½ kilo), we had to buy the whole package, 2 ½ kilos worth…fine with us, but it was 250 DHs!!!!!!!! Just to help you understand a price comparison, we pay 700 DHs a month for our 2 bedroom, 1000 square feet apartment (with water and electricity included); you can travel to Rabat and back for less than 250 DHs; our water heater was 1000 DHs (it was made in France and heats our water every day and has a digital thermometer, wiring, working parts, etc). So, basically, I got cheese for my birthday this year….and Green Apple Mentos (thanks Boo!) Also, thanks to Mom, Kristin and Bob and Sean’s parents…for my birthday “cake” we made brownies with marshmallows and crushed Mint M&Ms melted on top!!! DELICIOUS!!! I am not going to tell you how quickly we ate the ENTIRE pan…it was my birthday… I would like to say “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” to everyone from us right now…we are trying to remember birthdays and give a shout out when we can, but if you don’t hear from us on your birthday, please know that we are thinking of you and hope that we can celebrate with you in the future!!! Peace and love to all, ~em PS. Sorry we have not been consistent with our posts lately…we have been having some serious internet issues. Hopefully, Inshallah, we will be getting a better internet connection soon. We love hearing from all of you and encourage you to comment on our blog or email us…even if it is just to tell us what you did or ate today (we can eat-vicariously through you)! J

Team Aoufous!

First league game against Errachidia (Team Aoufous lost but Sean was still all smiles)!

The basketball court in Aoufous!

Olive Oil

The olive grinder

Olive oil and water mixture

Pressing the ground olive "patties"

Olive oil!

Mule grinding the olives

Piles of olives (by family)

Sean’s Blog Entry 1-17-2010 Happy New Year! And sorry for the delay. We have had technical difficulties with our internet, but we are now in a larger city called Azrou for a two week training. We have a couple of blog updates that we will be adding over the next couple of days in order to catch with ourselves. Inchallah, we will correct our internet situation when we return to Aoufous towards the end of February. Now I know you may be thinking that I am repeating myself or I am just really behind the times. But in fact, we have actually celebrated three new years, this year. Not including the Chinese New Year. On December 18th 2009 we celebrated the Islamic new year of 1431 (which is based on a lunar calendar). On January 1st we celebrated the solar new year of 2010. And last Friday, on Emily’s birthday, we celebrated the Berber new year of 2928! 10 Steps to making Olive Oil The process of creating olive is quite cumbersome, so I figured I would some it up in 10 steps accompanied by some pics… 1. S Grow Tree. Harvest by whack 3. Carry by donkey 4. Crush by mule 5. Stuff crushed olives into sacks made of woven date tree leaves 6. Smash by really old heavy iron thing 7. Add boiling water to mix in order to clean oil 8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 as many times as you would like 9. Skim oil off the top 10. Enjoy! Basketball! Team Aoufous! You may or may not know, but I am playing on the official Aoufous Basketball squad. Dad you would be proud. We played our first exhibition game and I started. We got our butts kicked… and it was a blast! I will try and update everyone with our up and coming schedule. We actually get to travel around the Errachidia region. We play in six different towns and cities. Some indoors, some out (like our local court. please see pics). I am working with the team to develop a couple of offenses for the team, and skill development programs for the local children. If, for whatever reason, my small business project never gets up and running, this will be a great outlet for facilitating a developmental exchange. I plan on gearing my programs towards team (community) building, sportsmanship, goal setting, risk taking and learning from failure. Talk to you soon! Sean

Emily & Sean on New Year's Day 2010; Merzouga, Morocco!

"Deposit: Cool dry have no the sunlight to shoot the place,and use the empress namely cover tight."

Direct quote from the Super Glue box (see blog post for more mistranslations!)

Emily's hands painted with henna by her friend Fatima:

Emily and Najit - olive harvesting.

If you can't get the chips to come to you....make them yourself!!! :) Sean's mean guacamole and hummus made from scratch (including the tahini!)...not a bad 1st lunch in our new home!

Emily’s Blog Update: January 7th, 2010

Okay, so what are we actually doing here???

Well, the objective of Peace Corps is comprised of three goals:

1. To help the people of other countries in meeting their needs for trained personnel.

2. To help promote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served.

3. To help promote a better understanding of other people on the part of the American people.

As you can see, two of the three goals are strictly focused on a cultural exchange. In theory, by writing and posting this blog, we are fulfilling one of the Peace Corps’ goals and thus…working, doing our job and helping facilitate a cultural interaction and understanding (hopefully!). But, on the “Small Business Development” side of things, goal one (please note that the goals are not necessarily ranked in order of importance), is focused on the transfer of skills from us, to Moroccans. Sean and I have been designated as small business developers because of our previous work experience and education and our responsibility in Morocco is to try to establish a SUSTAINABLE set of skills within the artisan community utilizing our talents, abilities and creativity. Some volunteers are able to transfer an abundance of skills and thus propel specific artisan groups into sustainable productivity and growth, while others do what they can to help and diligently try to make a small, positive “difference”. Ultimately, it is up to the Moroccans to decide if the skills the volunteer is trying to transfer is useful to them or not, and if they want to continue utilizing the skill in a sustainable manner. Peace Corps is a “grass-roots” volunteer organization as opposed to many NGOs and non-profits that provide substantial funding and the interjection of cash into projects; which of course are highly effective when combating issues such as water treatment, AIDs, etc. In Peace Corps land, man-power is king, and we come equipped only with the bag on our backs, the skills in our head and passion in our pockets (so please, don’t ask us for money because we don’t have any).

So, Sean and I are working with active community members to identify local artisan groups that might benefit from our assistance and alternative prospective, as well as, the skills that we may be able to transfer. Fortunately, we have integrated quickly into our community and have already started “working” with a highly organized association. Also, I have recently discovered a date (as in the fruit) jamming cooperative that also makes syrup and date “bars”, that is in desperate need of branding and marketing assistance (why are these products not in stores???)……..so, watch out Luna bar, because I plan on helping Moroccans “Save the World One Tinni at a Time” (Tinni means date in the Berber dialect!) I don’t particularly like dates, but these date bars are frickin’ fantastic; all natural, chocked full of gooey goodness and yummy (I may need taste-testers in the near future).

Some of you have asked what we do on a day-to-day basis…so, here is a “typical” day (it seems we are just as busy here as we were in the States…hmmm…):

- Get up around 7:30am to 8:30am depending on how late we went to bed the previous night

- Go for a run…about three to five miles depending upon time, weather, motivation, etc

- Eat breakfast – usually, a fruit smoothie with yogurt, bananas, peanut butter (thank you Mom)

- Then, depending upon the day, we go to souq to buy fresh produce or run errands…now here is where things get tricky…

- When we go outside of our house, when we start walking, we usually run into people we know or who know us (we definitely, don’t blend into the crowd)…and we greet them, chat for a minute, might get invited into their house for tea…etc…

- We usually, have a few items on our to-do list; get copies of some paperwork for Peace Corps Headquarter, get an envelope and stamp, go to the post office (praying there will be a package waiting for us)…but even the simplest errand can turn into a two hour ordeal…LANGUAGE!

- On our way back to the house to make lunch we usually run into friends or acquaintances that are sitting outside the “cafes” along the main road. These are unavoidable situations and we usually, don’t make it back to our crib until it is time to start making lunch…

- If we are lucky we are invited to lunch…which can consist of multiple courses, beginning and ending with tea…sometimes lunch can last an hour….sometimes two…but it is usually delicious!

- Again, depending on the day, we usually have little time between lunch and when we have planned on meeting someone to participate in something or take pictures, or before Sean has basketball practice (he is now a member of the local basketball league).

- Then the sun goes down and we try to make it back to our house around 6:30pm-ish; but sometimes we are invited to say for tea and then dinner at a “friend’s” house.

- This would be a good time to mention that the majority of Moroccans eat “dinner” between 9:00pm and 11:00pm…it might be because of prayer time but we haven’t quite figured out why that eat so late…maybe a Spanish influence???

- When we finally make it back to our home, we try to get some reading, studying or writing done…maybe watch a movie or hopefully, talk to some folks back home.

But not every day goes as planned. The key is to not plan too much and things just seems to fall into place. Take today for example…we just happened to drop into a friend’s house, he invited us to stay for lunch and then he said we had a meeting to go to after lunch. It was a critical meeting that had been previously planned for Monday, but the date was changed (unbeknownst to us) and if we hadn’t dropped by our friend’s house we probably would have missed it…the meeting was with all the leaders of the association we are working with and it lasted from 3:00pm to 7:30pm…good thing we didn’t have anything else planned.

********Mistranslated Quote of the week*********

Periodically, Sean and I find mistranslated instructions, descriptions, etc on packaging, papers, emails, etc…we wanted to share these with you for your laughing pleasure (this one is dedicated to Nathan Baumgardener).

Taken off a super glue box (best read with a Shakespearian accent): (and, no, there are no typos from me)

“Carefully don’t let the glue drop into the eye, if immodesty contact, can flush of seek the doctor to handle with water.”

“The attention not lets the glue the contact the skins.”

“1 use, will first two the water of coalescence things vamish rust the dust clearance is clean, and combine to beat to whet neat fit together the position. Because of its have no to fill the characteristic of the crevice.”

“2 break the mouth of a bottle with pinprick, and lightly extrude a little amount glue even draw the cloth a the thing is superficial, fleetness with another a thing coalescence stick positive, bring pressure roughy 10 seconds, immediately glue to match.”

“3 if have to glue to connect not good, must afresh separate, and remove the gumlayer, repetition above operation.”

Ahhh……that is probably what I sound like when I try to speak…but not quite as eloquent! Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did…more to come!

Love and peace to all!~emPS: We are trying to post a new blog every week around Thursday or Friday...we had technical difficulties this week...but please continue to tune in! Thanks!

2010's first sunrise! Seen from a camel ride into the Sahara Desert - cold, but utterly amazing (that is Emily in the front and some other volunteers following behind)

The last sunset of 2009 - Merzouga, Morocco (gateway to the Sahara)

Sand dunes and Sean being crazy...the last day of 2009 - Yipee!

On our way to the desert - Sean was very excited about the Land Rover situation! (Current Peace Corps volunteers from our stage)

"Peace is our Business, and Business is Good!"

Land Rover Defenders! Our caravan to the desert...

This little baby means HOT WATER! New Years Eve we moved into our new place...and took a HOT SHOWER!

Scrapping the floors with a razor blade...darn those very messy painters, but thank goodness for our beautiful apartment!

Our bedroom (that is an electric heater on the floor!!!) Now all we need is all the stuff to put into it...

Emily’s Blog Update: January 1, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wow. Here is to a whole new decade…

Resolution one: Learn how to talk

Resolution two: Talk

Resolution three: Actually be able to communicate

Those are my current resolutions…and of course to stop eating so much bread!

As most of you know, Sean and I have goals from here until the next century…but little by little (imirH s mirH) we are checking things off our list as we continue this journey we call life. We are currently living out one of our goals or “resolutions”, thanks to the family and friends who have inspired and helped us along the way. Thank you.

What did we do the last decade?????? (collectively):

· Got hitched

· Climbed a few very tall mountains

· Moved more than 15 times

· Ran some marathons

· Paid for and completed college – twice

· Worked in a bank and a bank and a bank and a bank and Ruby’s diner on the pier

· Bought a loft but flew the coop

· Traveled half way around the world a few times

· Beat on some drums and strummed some strings

· Owned a VW, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Audi, Jeep, Land Rover and five bicycles (still have two bikes)

· Signed up for a two year gig with for the U.S. Government

· Loved. Grieved. Cried. Laughed. Lost some weight, gained it back. Learned a lot. Slept. Ran on the beach. Sat in traffic. Listened to music. Danced. Texted. Blogged. Read. Dreamed. Hoped.

· LIVED!

We hope you enjoy the pictures and that the New Year brings a renewed sense of whatever it is you need to live life to the fullest!

Love and Peace to all…

~emP.S. We have a guest room/living room now (just needs to be furnished)...but it can sleep a whole family, so please visit if you can (did I mention we have HOT WATER?)

Our 2009 Christmas Card(s)! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Sean’s Blog entry 12-23-09

DIRECTION?

I think when we all imagine the direction we would like to go, we think forward, whether it is in a car, in a plane, in a train, or, of course, in life. It is our natural inclination to move forward. To progress as we get older and zayd (add) more worldly experiences to our library of wisdom. Some of us know exactly what we want, and go for it, sometimes passing up open doors as we cruise right by them. Some of us wait for the doors to open, and sometimes they never do.

Culturally (sweeping general assumption), we Americans tend to think of ourselves as go-getters, that we create our own destinies, and that our futures are our personal responsibility. Whether religious or not, it is our founding fathers and every major historical event that has shaped our American conscience. On the other side of the Atlantic, just seven hours away from JFK, the cultural paradigm is quite different. Given I have only been here for a little over three months, I have observed behaviors that I am not accustomed to back home (hence the whole reason we are here).

Allah tends to be a key player in the lives of people in Morocco. According to a national study, 98% off all Moroccans are Muslim. Morocco is also ranked the 10th largest Muslim population in the world (Indonesia is number 1 for those that are interested). Whether someone is devoted to Islam or not, the culture of Islam is still ingrained in the minds and lives of people in Morocco. There is a saying in Morocco that we have come to be quite accustomed to, “Inch-Allah” (in-shaw-law), “if god wills it”. We have come to find out that most people don’t really plan ahead. Most religious holidays are officially announced the night before they will actually celebrate the holiday. Until it is announced, no one knows when the holiday will actually begin, granted this could be part of the fun of it. It seems as if people veer towards the philosophy of waiting for doors to open. The great thing is when finally asked for help, or given a task, everyone stops what they are working on (which a lot of cases is hanging out and drinking tea), and will help until the task has been accomplished. As if the door is swung open and the big opportunity has arrived! And when they say they will finish something, they will make sure they finish whatever it is, even if it is on Moroccan time (see later blogs regarding Moroccan time). It is quite fascinating.

There is a common theme that holds true on both sides of the Atlantic. Those that are honest, work hard, love their families, as well as, help their communities grow, tend to be the most successful. And by that I mean, happy, well respected, and appreciated, inch-Allah (see how nicely that just roles off the tongue). I have been thinking a lot about these concepts as I design plans for helping out in this new community of ours. I also think of where I come from, and what I stand for. Have you ever just stepped back and asked yourself, “What do I stand for? What are the motivating factors in my life that keep me going? Do I have any?” Regardless of whether or not someone follows the belief that God will guide them and show them what doors to open and go through, or the belief that they are the only person responsible for their well being and future, or whether they believe that they are responsible for their own destiny and that God willing, with a little hard work, they will accomplish their goals, I tend to believe that when presented with the opportunity to do good, and to be good, most humans will take advantage of that chance. And as I ponder what I stand for, for the next couple of years (about 23 months or so) I will be trying to side with what is good. And I will let all of you define that word.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, and “May all of your Christmases be White” like ours…

With keeping with the spirit of the holidays, and the topic at hand, I wanted to dive a little deeper in regards to season’s greetings. I am writing this blog entry in a country that actually, for the most part, believes in Jesus. They know of him, his good work, and when he was born. But it is really no big deal. Jesus was a good man who preached the good word, but was not exactly the son of Allah. Therefore Friday is just another Friday. A Friday which instead of hanging out with all of our lovely families and singing songs, eating wonderfully baked goods and opening presents, we will be painting the walls of our new apartment, white. And loving everyone minute of it!

FAMILY

Emily and I both have been thinking an awful lot about how wonderful our families and friends our back home. Not being home for the holidays even amplifies those feelings. So I want to give a huge shout out to everyone! We think about how lucky we are right now to be on this wonderful adventure and how we could not have accomplished it without the help of everyone who reads this blog. From our friends understanding why we couldn’t hang out with them all the time because we were trying to save money to go abroad, to our parents doing whatever they can to support us before we left and while we are gone, to all of our siblings (yes I am claiming all of Emily’s as my own) sending us packages, watching the Bubba D and collecting our mail. And of course I can’t forget our bosses and colleagues supporting our decisions and wishing us the best of luck. We have truly come to really appreciate how wonderful we had it back home. And perhaps that is one of the lessons of Peace Corps. I want to challenge everyone for the next 23 months. Don’t just ‘take this time’ of year to reflect on all of the wonderful people that you have in your lives, but continue that reflection on a daily basis for the next 23 months. Even after a good argument with a sibling, significant other, or colleague. Be thankful you have that sibling, significant other, and colleague to argue with. Take the next 23 months to think what you can do to do good. How you can be better. Not just for yourself, but for your family, your friends, your community, and whatever else you feel you need to be good for. I will be. We will be. And just remember we are so very thankful for all of your goodness! We will do our best to share it with the people of Morocco (no matter how frustrated we get), because it isn’t just two of us sharing this cultural exchange, it is everyone back home who has helped and supported us and is still supporting us along the way.

We love you and miss you all! Merry Christmas and Happy New year! We hope you dig the Christmas Card Emily made!

-seansean

The "funeral" outside our host family's house.

Emily bingeing on goodies sent from home! (Please keep them comin' because at this rate...they won't last very long)!

More indulging...ohhh, sweet, sweet Snickers bars, gum and butterscotch discs!!!

A local kids' event discussing the "Childern's Law" established by the United Nations.

Mr. Roboto, Moroccan style!

Emily’s Blog Update 12-18-09:

Ahhh…house hunting, in a foreign country, without being able to speak the language, where there is no newspaper or “classifieds” (not that we can read Arabic anyways), during the school season when housing is limited, in a smaller town that doesn’t have apartments or “For Rent” signs (not that we could read these either) and with many places that either share space with farm animals or cohabitate…very interesting and challenging…but WE DID IT! So, if you can, try to picture this…two Americans who don’t speak Moroccan-Arabic (Darija) (we learned TAM but now we live in a place that mainly speaks Darija) being referred to a guy, by a guy, who knows a guy, who may or may not know of a place that may or may not be vacant and then walking with a guy to the place knocking on doors, trying to find a key to the place that is presumably vacant. And then, trying to explain that we need to rent a place for two years starting January 1st and that we only have a certain budget, and that no, we do not want to share it with anyone, or any-THING. If I had only taken pictures of some of the place we saw…one place was above the shop where everyone brings their wheat to be grinded into flour; needless to say it was not very peaceful and there were multiple cockroaches the size of small mice (which I am sure there were those too) scurrying around as we entered – NO THANKS! Yikes. Then we were shown a place that was so big I wouldn’t know what to do with myself; some of the guys that helped us were joking that we could put up a basketball hoop in one of the “bedrooms”…the toilet room was as small as a hall-closet and outside…hmmmm…I know that this is the Peace Corps, but considering the nice places here, we didn’t want to settle. So, after only one whole week of searching we finally found a place to live, comfortably…and it is NICE! Very nice! We just need to do a super scrub job, a little painting and we will finally have a home. Well, we need to get STUFF first! The funniest part was the rental process once we finally found the place.

Step One: Look at the place

Step Two: Drink tea and eat lunch with owner

Step Three: Agree on rent amountStep Four: Get key (same day)

Step Five: Move in

Pretty straight forward once we tracked down the place. And, just to warn you all…it is nice and we will have a quest room!!!

Pictures coming soon…

On a heavier note…our neighbor passed away last night. Sean and I had just started falling asleep when we heard load crying coming from the house next to us. It was late at night and I first thought it was a domestic dispute…but actually, an older woman had died. So, the crying, chanting and wailing continued all night long and in the morning arrangements had already been made to prepare the body for burial. Right now there are at least 200 people who have congregated around the deceased’s home…cous-cous is being made in huge batches, people continue to sing and more and more people are arriving. Not to make light of the situation, but it looks like everyone is waiting for a parade; lining the streets and eating peanuts. Interesting. From what we have discerned, death is sad, but a decision Allah makes and thus the person is now in an enlightened state with their maker. There are tears, but for a lot of people it seems to be an excuse to gather, socialize, eat and catch up on the latest gossip. For a lot of women here, engaging in activities outside of the home is not very common and events like funerals and holidays, give them an excuse to escape their kitchens, housework and daily routines. Rest In Peace.

Just want to say a big “Thank You” to all the peeps that have sent us goodies from home…the packages mean so much to us and yes, we could survive without them, but life is so much sweeter when you can quench some of your sugar and salt cravings! Big props to Mom Messegee for sending Christmas cookies – which arrived unharmed and delicious! Thank you all so much and we encourage anyone who wants to spread some joy across the world to send us anything, including letters, emails or text messages (we receive them at no charge! ).

Love and Peace to all!

~em

Our Cell number: 011.212.6.42.31.83.76 (from the US)

OLIVES! FALLING FROM THE TREES!

Emily and Momma Bidda picking olives (off the ground) for olive oil.

Sean in a date tree...most of the dates are gone now; it is officially winter and the pomegranate trees are changing colors. I can't wait for spring...in March!

Momma Bidda's hands...tough as leather!!!

One of our host family's four "orchard/garden/farm" sites. Date, olive and pomergranate trees; grass, radishes various donkey "food".

Emily and host mom picking olives.

Momma Bidda.

Emily’s Blog Update: 12-10-09

The Big D and an eleven hour bus ride:

Okay, so I probably shouldn’t be blogging about this (sorry Mom), it is not very lady-like of me but I just thought it might bring comfort to others out there who have suffered through similar situations; you are not alone.

On Monday, Sean and I woke up early to catch a taxi to the nearest “bigger” city. It was 5:15am (bus departure was scheduled for 8:00am), cold, dark and my stomach was complaining about something, but not rioting yet. I had a meeting scheduled in Rabat on Tuesday morning at Peace Corps headquarters (HQ – don’t forget about the acronyms) and it takes about nine hours via bus to reach Rabat (this is FROM the bigger city TO Rabat – more concerning that later)… so, as we travel along in our “souq” bus my stomach progressively gets worse; complaining about the smell of diesel exhaust, body odor, random foods being consumed and each time we stop at the major cities along the route more people get on along with more smells; cigarette smoke, babies with unchanged diapers, etc. We arrived in Rabat around 5:00pm to find our hotel booked, cold chills have set in about 6 hours earlier and there has definitely been somethin’ a’brewin’ all day… so, after an additional mile walk to the “sister” hotel, an initial taxi ride or 45 minutes, a 9 hour bus ride, another 20 minute taxi ride, we find ourselves at the “Grand” hotel, which turns out not to be so grand, ONE SHARED TOILET PER FLOOR. Yes, I know it is the Peace Corps and it is not like I was expecting a hot shower in our room, but sometimes a bathroom is such a precious thing…the relief my body needed all day was painful and shared with all my neighbors...all night long and the following day and night…

A few more note worthy thoughts (if you desire to keep reading):

-You may think that there could not possibly be anything left in you, but there is, there is always more.

-While you might feel like you are dying at the moment…it will pass in about two days, maybe three, okay, maybe a week, but someday, in the not too distant future, you will feel better.

-You can make it!

-One Durham is a small price to pay to use the facilities, no matter how nasty.

- Always, always, always keep toilet paper handy…and if you are really efficient, baby wipes too!

-Sometimes you just have to make do… (let your imagination run wild here)

-Sensitive husbands are the best people in the world and you will thank the heavens for their support, comfort, trips to the store for water and random items you think may not pass through you in less than ten minutes.

-Buses departing from Rabat take at least three hours LONGER than those traveling TO Rabat

- Souq buses are just that; every stop that is made, people get on trying to sell you stuff. Some stay on the bus until the next stop explaining in detail the “magical” powers of their miracle potions, while referencing God every other word, and most of the stuff they are selling smells funny...and, come to think of it, a lot like Icee Hot.

Knock on wood, this has been my first visit from the Big D, granted it was while we were traveling, by bus (with no bathroom aboard)…but I have been very lucky to be so healthy (hopefully, I am not jinxing myself here). From our first day here I have been drinking the tape water and eating everything that has been put in front of me…I was getting over confident that I have a stomach of steel (not to be confused with abs of steel…I think I have abs of bread right now). I guess I just needed some humility. We could all use a little more of that in our lives; nothing like the feeling you’re going to crap yourself to make you feel unassuming. Of course not being able to communicate efficiently and talking like a four year old can instill a lot of humility too… in the future, I will opt for the second method.

On a lighter note…

Sean and I received our first package today!!! Thank you Mom Messegee!!! Just wanted to let you all know that it was fully intact, all items were safely delivered and it was not opened by customs, just stamped that it had been checked (maybe x-ray???). The package was sent USPS International/Domestic Priority Mail – Medium, Flat Rate Box and was sent on November 18th, 2009 and was received today, December 10, 2009 – that is including Thanksgiving and Lied here (one of the biggest Holidays that lasts three to five days, still not sure about the exact number of days). Well, just some information if anyone feels the need to send a package...(thank you so much to those who have or have even thought about it!). Mom Messegee wins a free stay here in Morocco for being the first one!!! J Okay, that goes for anyone… but bring your own TP if you are planning on coming!

Thanks for reading!

Peace and love to all…

~em

This is what sheep meat wrapped in the stomach of the sheep looks like, hanging to "dry"...and, yes, this is the same line we hang our clothes on...

The stairwell to our room...ahhh, nothing like two dead sheep to wake you up in the morning and wish you "sweet dreams" at night! I don't think they are USDA approved.

Em & Sean celebrating the Holiday in Style!

The view outside our room: dates, dates, dates!

Sean’s Blog Entry 02.12.09

THE KING

The king drove through our little town of Aoufous last week. And just as I thought, the king drives a Range Rover. A Black Range Rover LSE, Fully loaded, with license plates that read, “I’m the King of Morocco, please remain at least 100m behind my Range.” (All in Arabic Script of course, which I am now fluent in. Just kidding.) The neat thing was that he actually was driving the Range Rover with his family in the car with him; his wife, the Princess Salma, and their two kids. I thought, wow, they really trust the people of Morocco to allow for the King to drive his own car. But then, after the 10 mile long military brigade (in front and back), the emergency evac vehicles, the miles of entourage, the police standing and guarding the road every 100 yards from Erfoud all the way to Errachidia (about 100 miles), and last but not least, the 4 black hawk military helicopters hovering overhead, I realized the level of trust. True story. I also realized that it costs a lot of money for the king to go for a quaint Saturday drive with the family. It was neat to see everyone out and about celebrating the fact the king was actually passing through town.

I can’t wait to meet him in person.

LEid

Pronounced Lah-aid, was the religious holiday we just experienced. It started on Saturday after Thanksgiving, so it sort of felt as if everyone was getting ready for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately they were not, and we had an egg, and Smiling Cow cheese sandwich for lunch.

The importance of LEid is to celebrate one’s devotion towards Allah (that’s God for all of you non believers). So in order to prove that devotion, everyone and their little sister sacrifices a sheep. What I mean by sacrifice is that they bring a live sheep (in our family’s case, there were two sheep) into the back yard of the house, and a travelling butcher comes around and slaughters the sucker right in the back yard. And I thought everyone in the US buying turkeys on Thanksgiving was crazy. Nothing like the sacrifice of a large 200lb animal to kill one’s appetite for meat. I have decided to become a vegetarian for the next 23 months (unless I see a McDonalds). Aside from the sacrificial aspects of LEid, people go around to the homes of family and friends and drink tea, eat cookies and cake and show off their new duds that they bought for the celebration. That was a lot of fun! I would highly suggest that during the next month up until Christmas, you go out and say hi, visit, and hang out with your friends and family and reminisce about how much you love and appreciate the other’s company and relationship.

Being in Morocco has reminded us of how truly wonderful a life we had back home.

COOKIES

A Funny Story. Before LEid our host family was preparing for the festivities much like we do back home, cleaning the house, shopping for new gifts and making cookies for guests. Well I think I pulled a holiday faux- pas. Back home when Emily bakes cookies and pies and cakes, I get to steal the left-over’s and eat all the goodies as she bakes them for friend and events. It is part of what we do, and why I am so lucky to have a baker for a wife. Well, that is not how it works here. We were allocated one cookie each after the batches upon batches were done (yes I can use done in this context). After the cookies had been made, they were stored in Tupperware above the fridge. Given my sense of tradition, I took a small handful of no more than four bite size cookies for a walk that Emily and I were going on. Well, I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar, and now the family hides the cookies in their bedroom up high were I can’t reach them (Keep in mind they tallest woman in the family is about 4’5”). They give me a dirty look every time the let us have one or two cookies that are now rationed to us at, every other day intervals.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, and may you eat many fine baked goods!

Emily - aka Tifouyt - in an old part of town.

Our host family's sheep.

Sean with food on his back to feed the sheep he will be slaughtering on Saturday for the Holiday! (only women are suppossed to carry sack like this so he was laughed at a lot! :)

Emily’s Blog Entry: November 24, 2009

We are adjusting rapidly to our new home and have found some similarities between the Host Country Nationals (HCNs) and the people of our homeland…

- The workplace (if one exists) is used primarily for checking email and socializing with co-workers

- Boys argue over points scored and calls made during basketball games

- Everyone loves chocolate and sweets (especially the women)

- The post office is crowded during the Holidays (Eidl Kabir occurs around Thanksgiving) and so are all modes of transportation

- Everyone loves Obama (okay, maybe that isn’t always true in the States)

- If you are hungry or need a quick meal – eat an egg and some bread

- Everyone has a cell phone

But there are some major differences too (of course this is not a fully inclusive list):

- Dogs are not treated with respect and are regarded as all being “bad, nasty and dirty” (not ALL of them are)

- Most homes are composed of multi-generational families and this is a good thing

- Days revolve around food and mealtimes; school children get two hours for lunch and most businesses are closed from 12:30 to 2:30 in the afternoon

- Women do ALL the housework, everyday – all day

- There is no central heating or heaters, only layers and layers of clothing

- Everyone prays five times a day

- The sun causes colds/headaches/fevers/toothaches/all manner of aches (the sun is best to be avoided at all times)

- Dates (as in the edible “fruit”) heals everything (see above)

- Only God controls your destiny

- Someone always knows a guy that knows a guy that can help you

- Sardines from a can are considers “fish” and a delicacy (because they are expensive)

- Bikes are used to get from one place to another faster than walking, not for “fun”

Just a few observations I have made so far. Sean and I are trying our bests to learn the language and integrate into our community. We have already started developing “assets” here, as we like to call them, and making friends. Our work will begin to evolve as we get to know more people and can start to effectively communicate – INSHALLAH!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving…eat a lot of HAM and turkey for us and remember that we are so lucky to be Americans and that we have the freedom to travel anywhere we want in the world (which is not the cause for Moroccans – Visas are hard to get if you are from a Muslim country).

Love and Peace to all!

~em

Ahhh...our new home!

A view above our "desert oasis"!

Sean in an old medina close to where our host mom houses her animals (donkey, rabbits, goats, sheep).

Emily and our host sister, Hiara, baking bread. (Oven behind Emily and Sean behind camera)

Emily’s Blog Entry: November 18, 2009

We have finally arrived! Thank you sweet Allah for placing us in this gorgeous desert oasis! Sean and I are so excited to final start creating a home for ourselves here in Morocco. We will be living with our host family for the next month and a half and then finally begin fending for ourselves (I love you host family, but I am gaining weight from all the food I am forced to eat…okay, not forced, but darn these Moroccans for making such good bread!). This morning I helped my host sister, Hiara, bake bread in a mud/clay “oven” using dried date, or “tinni”, branches to fuel the fire (please see pic). One of the breads she made was filled with chopped carrots, peppers, onions and herbs; a sort of calzone, minus the cheese of course…ohhhh, heaven on earth(minus the onions of course). We proceeded to eat it moments after it was baked. Ohhhh, the smell of fresh baked bread, anyone who knows, knows, if you know what I mean. Thank you Mother for all your amazing baked goods…although, I am suffering now being reminded of them!

The first morning in our new home, I was awakened by the sounds of sweet birds perching and singing on our window sill (we have TWO windows in our new room, which I have dubbed “The Honeymoon Suite” due to its rooftop location, ample space, light bulb – WITH switch, that works, and a bed made from two twin “mattresses”, with no lumps –just one big crack down the middle) and for a moment I thought I was dreaming…we are so lucky to be in such an amazing place! At dinner this evening, from what I could meagerly translate, I was told that most of the birds have flown away for the winter and will be returning in the spring to make nests and lay their eggs; apparently this place becomes even more lovely (of course check in with me this summer when the temperature is above 100°F).

Well, for now I am going to enjoy everything that I can here, waking up with birds (however few), taking a bucket bath when I can access some warm water, and eating fresh baked bread with local olive oil (did I mention that olives fall from trees as you walk by?)and peppermint tea (freshly picked from the garden). Hey, there is hard stuff to deal with too…but I will save that for another day or perhaps another blog.

Peace and love to all…

~em

PS. Sean and I finally have a permanent mailing address! Please let me know if you would like to have it, we are discouraged to post whereabouts and address information on blogs. We would love to get some mail (it is nice to check the mail when you know there won’t be any bills in it).

Sean & Emily at "Swearing In"

Sean giving his speech! The US-Moroccan Ambassador.

The IN-Famous banana bread (see other post)!

We are now offical volunteers!!! Sean gave the following speech in Tamizirght, in front of the Ambassador, the PC Country Director and the rest of the Volunteers!

Swearing-in Speech

November 8, 2009

Reflections on the way life used to be:

A long time ago in a far away land, across a great ocean, there lived a boy. This boy had a dream to visit an exotic, foreign, beautiful place, called Morocco. He dreamt of living among the nationals, drinking mint tea and somehow, no matter how minuet, serving others and transferring his knowledge to anyone who would be willing to except it. In September of 2009 his dream began to come true…

The boy is now beginning to change, to adapt, becoming more aware of himself and his distinct position in the world. This place of wonder and amazement is starting to affect him; his perceptions, his behaviors, his knowledge and experiences are multiplying each day he lives among the gracious people of Morocco. And each day the dream becomes a reality...

Now, instead of waking up to the sound of an alarm clock, the crow of roasters wakes the sleeping boy…

Instead of navigating traffic on the way to work, the boy walks among small school children who shout the occasional bonjour or sbaH Heer.

For lunch, instead of driving through a convenient fast food joint, the boy joyfully breaks fresh, baked bread and munches on just-picked fruit.

Instead of simple heys and hellos, the boy now greets his friends, neighbors, and random passer-bys with wishes of peace, good fortune and numerous God related phrases.

He buys his fresh, un-genetically altered fruit and veggies from the local, weekly Souq, instead of picking them from perfectly, formed piles in the supermarket after they have traveled thousands of miles to get there.

The boy now speaks with his hands more than his mouth and has digressed to remedial sentence formation because of his limited vocabulary.

Days are spent learning and preparing for the next adventure instead of routines, day-timers and calculated movements.

Now the boy sleeps next to a room housing sheep and rabbits, with thick, wool blankets to keep him warm and instead of dreaming about a far off land, he now dreams of cheese, peanut butter and pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and bacon!

“A dream worth having is a dream worth pursuing” – Dr. Horsch – Founder of Audi Automotive Group

November 2nd, 2009

Emily’s Blog Entry:

So, I missed my favorite holiday on November 1st – HALF-PRICE CANDY DAY! But we were able to celebrate Halloween in style with 40 kids at a local “boarding school”. We bought about 2 Kilos of candy, found a pumkinish-squash and made masks for all the kids using colored paper and yarn we bought at the souk! I have to say, it was a pretty fun party. We played pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey (thanks to Sean’s awesome artistic ability), which is very ironic since Ait Mhmed is essentially a donkey parking lot on Saturdays (I am not exaggerating…check out our previous pics). We sang songs, danced, ate popcorn, drank soda and managed to communicate the purpose of Halloween, which, honestly, we all didn’t really know…except that it is fun and a time to get a lot of free candy and dress up like someone or something else!!!

We have been in “Community Based Training”, CBT, (hey, it is the Federal Government, so there are a lot of acronyms) with two other “Peace Corps Trainees”, PCVs; we started out as five, but one lady decided to ET (Early Terminate) – I wasn’t kidding about the acronyms J. So, we have gotten to know two other trainees very well and thankful we get along great…but our time together is soon CTAE (Coming To An End Jhee-hee) and we only have one week left here in Ait Mhmed. Our FS (Final Site) . The spelling is debatable depending on which map you are looking at, but from what we have read it is a beautiful place and is actually an OASIS! No kidding…a Palm Tree Oasis! And yes, everyone is invited…but I would be leery of traveling there in the summer months given the fact that we are not too far from the Sahara.

We are expected to arrive in Aoufouss (our home for the next two years) on November 14th or 15th and are hoping to set up a postal address right away. What that means is that we can finally start receiving mail and packages…you know the actually physical stuff, tangible, personable and on occasion, edible (HINT-HINT)!!!

Inshallah, until next time. Peace and love to all!

~em

BLOG ENTRY #2 October 29th 2009

Hello again,

Things are going great! It has been only three and half weeks since I last wrote and I am already fluent in four languages—I mean I can kind of speak one dialect using four different languages; which means I can speak to locals, but I don’t understand a darn thing they are saying to me.

Speaking of other languages…

Canadians

It is interesting how you begin to appreciate how other people feel the more time you spend outside your home and in the place of others. Every time I walk through Ait Mhmed, or down the streets of Azilal the kids, and many young adults yell, “bonjour”! As if I look like a French tourist. Do I look like a French tourist? How dear they assume that I am French! This is ridiculous! I’m a (inject course word here) AMERICAN!

Then I got to thinking. I had an epiphany! And now I have empathy. Now I know how the Canadians feel every time they leave Canada. Now I understand why every Canadian I have ever met has, in some way or fashion, attached the Canadian flag to everything they own and were wearing at the time. I feel for you dear Canadian friend. And I am here if you need a shoulder to attach a Canadian flag to.

Nickel & Pennies

We are one week from completing our Pre Service Training in Ait Mhmed. We have found out where we are going to be living for the next couple of years, and we are incredibly excited! But I know when we leave “The Mhmed” I will be left with a bitter sweet taste in my mouth. The sweet taste is all of the wonderful people that we have met and will hopefully be able to come back and visit and hang out with next year. We are thrilled to actually have a conversation with them that exceeds a fourth grade vocabulary. But the bitter leads me to think about the even more bitter taste that may be left in mouths of those that live in Ait Mhmed. To sum it up, I feel it is like displaying all of the wonderful things the Peace Corps can offer the people of Ait Mhmed, and then giving them nickel for their time, and taking four pennies back. We have been blessed by being able use facilities in town to learn the local language and cultural differences. The local artisans have been wonderful to allow us to practice some of the problem solving tools and techniques that we will be using to help the people of the towns we will be living in for the next 25 months. I just hope the people we have worked with can take something positive away from are experiences together. I know I will.

Trik Trak is not the same as Kit Kat

Last but not least, a Trik Trak is not the same as a Kit Kat. They may have similar fonts. They may have similar packaging. They may even have similar engineered candy bar construction, as so innocently shown on the outside of the packaging. But lets get something strait right here and right now—one is very Trik! If it doesn’t say Kit Kat, it is not a Kit Kat. And that is why, even as I wrote this blog entry in word, Trik Trak had two squiggly red lines lying beneath the letters. Even Microsoft knows they’re fake! Trik Trak is the anti chocolate. If anyone knows the 1-800, 24 hour customer service number to please send it my direction. I’m pretty sure there was one on the side of package, I just couldn’t read it. It was written in Arabic script and I won’t be fluent with that until next week.

“The content of this web site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.” Emily’s blog entry: October 6, 2009 …if there is one thing our Peace Corps service has taught me so far it is this: ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR MOM! The day before Sean and I were leaving the U.S. we were in REI with my Mom. We were picking up an adapter that we had ordered online and doing some last minute browsing for a travel bag; as we casually passed by the sock section, my Mom says something to the effect of: “You packed some wool socks, right?” Of course, me, being an anti-sock person (yes, I know I have been living in the mountains of Colorado for the last four years) says: “I don’t like socks.” Fast forward two weeks later….. …Sean and I arrive in Ait Mhmed, a small dWar (town) in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, it is evening and the sun is setting. The rocky, muddy road is covered with trash and debris, various animal parts, a dirty diaper or two and a cold, dark haze has crept into town. We make our way up a steep hillside, large rocks lead us to the concrete house that we will call home for the next two months. The next day is colder and rainy and I keep thinking to myself “Why didn’t I listen to my Mom!?!” Oh, the things I would or wouldn’t have packed if I could go back and do it all over again!!! Wool socks – YES! Nice flats – NO! (these were on our packing list provided by Peace Corps, by the way! Darn those people!!!) Fiber Bars – YES! Any and every kind of junk food – YES!!!! Trail runners, rubber boots, sweaters, wool socks (did I mention that already?), beanie, skittles, m&ms, ice cream (doesn’t pack easily, but, what I would give for a Oreo milkshake right now – my left hand, maybe even the whole arm???). And, yes, I have already used the yoga mat I packed on a few occasions, so – YES, keep! So, here we are and it is great! Of course there are a few comfort items I wish I had (did I mention wool socks?), but the best thing about this experience, is that Sean and I get to share it together…and really, as long as we have each other, we can get through anything, Inshallah!!! …until the next time we can make it to a town that has internet access!!! Peace and love to all! ~em Emily Blog Entry: 10-18-09 It is interesting how many times you can wear the same thing over and over, if you know that you are going to have to hand wash it in a bucket of cold water, leaning over, scrubbing furiously, when you finally decide it is too dirty to wear again. The experience of living in a semi-developed place is an experiment in conservation, patience and resourcefulness. Thankfully we have the ability to improvise! Yesterday was souk day; people from all the surrounding communities gather in Ait Mhmed (a “souk” town) for a farmers-flea-agricultural “market”. Teams of trucks and donkeys arrive on Friday evening to start setting up and by early Saturday morning the “town” is abuzz with the commotion of a population that has more than quadrupled (including at least 100 donkeys!). Men sell goods ranging from Chinese-imported plastic buckets (for bathing, laundry, etc) to finely ground cumin, to unidentifiable cuts of meat (freshly butchered). The atmosphere is crazy, stinky and a bit intimidating…but Sean and I are now able to successfully navigate the cramped spaces between the tents, buy bananas (which are so good, by-the-way), cinnamon (100 grams worth is a lot!) and just-this-minute popped corn!!! I have to admit, the popcorn guy knows me now and adds extra salt to my overstuffed bag of corn – so delicious (and only 2 DHs, which is about $0.25)!!! Lhumdullah!!! We happened upon a quasi-Krispie Crème (minus the assembly line and icing) and for 2 DHs we bought five donuts, which we brought home, mixed up some cinnamon-sugar (both of with were purchased that morning) and enjoyed a fattening and fulfilling mid-morning snack! An interesting side-note…the donut guy strung the donuts with a piece of thick “grass” and tied a knot with the ends, conveniently allowing us to carry the freshly fried donuts without touching them, so cool (no packaging required)! After our “shopping spree” Sean and I proceeded to make banana bread…or a variation of the sort…we baked it in the tiny “oven” that our host family has; the butane tank about six inches away the oven with a hose piping in the gas to the oven, which sits on the floor. We were able to procure some “bulk” chocolate (expensive, but ohhh so good), which we melted (by placing the pan with the chocolate on top of the oven – the perfect double boiler!), chopped some walnuts (another miraculous find at the souk) which we sprinkled on the top of the chocolate which was drizzled on top of the bread. I have to admit, it was a little piece of heaven! We sat down and ate it with our host family and, of course, also sipped mint tea! Another lesson learned: savor life’s small bits of sweetness…worry about cavities later! Love and peace to all! ~em BLOG ENTRY #1 October 4TH 2009 One of the three main goals of the Peace Corps is to share, teach, and help other Americans have a better understanding of the people and places we serve as volunteers. I would like to make sure that everyone knows that all of what I say in this blog are my own opinions and not those of the Peace Corps. _________________________________________________________________________________ I will be sharing with everyone my thoughts, my sense of humor, my experiences and interactions that take place, as well as what I have learned about the people of this wonderful place they call LMgHreb (or Maroc if you are French, and yes LMgHreb has four consonants in a row)! It is now October, and we have been in Morocco for almost a month now. Exactly one month ago I was finishing grad school and living the life of a banker, putting every five star meal I could consume on my expense card (Peter, I’m sorry about that one really, really, big bill that I forgot to mention). I flew on airplanes that had televisions and lighting systems that worked, and everyone spoke English. I lived in a country that ate meals at proper times, like breakfast time, and lunch time, and dinner time. I had a working shower then, as well as a western-style toilet. It is funny now looking back and listening to people complain about moving back into the dorms at grad school (for only two weeks). Oh, how times have changed for me. I will try and keep this short and concise so as not to take up too much of your time. I would like to think of myself as someone that didn’t take things for granted and that truly appreciated everything that I had, and was given. Things like: running water, electricity, infrastructure, the produce aisle, the (already slaughtered and prepared for you) meat section, a toilet that flushes by itself, domesticated animals, a little concept called “to each his own” and privacy, English, and once again a shower. Just to name a few. I could explain why my attitude and set of values have changed (or I should say increased drastically), but I would prefer to let you speculate. I would rather let your imaginations run free, just like mine did as I was preparing to live in Morocco. To start, Morocco is a little bit bigger then California, and has very similar geographical features as well. Just tip California over to the right and shake it really hard and you will get something similar to Morocco. The place is absolutely gorgeous! I have to make myself stop taking pictures because I would end up with fifty of the same picture. Wow! We are in Africa! All of the locals that we have been working with say it is a very diverse place. I am slowly starting to understand what they mean. Every place we have been is completely different from the previous one, and every place is positioned differently on the development spectrum. I have to remember that Morocco is still a developing nation and that everywhere and everything we have experienced up to this point has confirmed, or not quite confirmed why we are here. We have yet to scratch the surface, and anxious to get going! I am just very lucky that I get to do this with my beautiful wife, and that we have such a great support network back home. Until next time… I woke up this morning remembering how one of my best friends had reacted on the phone when I told him we were planning on joining the Peace Corps. I remember him saying, “Are you F$@*!n crazy?! That $$IT is hard core!” I don’t want to give out any names, but Jason you were absolutely correct. And from now on I will have an even greater appreciation for your honesty.

A room of apples Em in the kitchen with our host mom

Sean with the butane gas for cooking/the unpleasant side of Ait Mhmed _ trash

Em doing laundry, yes that is in the bathroom and the "toliet" is behind her; not great for someone who is 6'4"

So, Sean and I wrote a post before we got to this cyber cafe, but the file will not open on this computer...now I am typing on a French keyboard and it is not easy...will try to update later, INSHALLAH!

Our host family!

We have arrived in Morocco and thus far, have been treated like kings and queens...an arrival straight from a classic Hollywood movie. Landing on the tarmack and gingerly making our way down the stairs in the open air. Salam melikum! Greetings of peace and prosperity floating in the air (along with the smell of eggs and garbage...but who cares, we have arrive in what will be our home for the next two years). Tomorrow we will be traveling to Ait Mhmed...no internet access but running water!!!

Love to all!!! Bsalam!

So, we are here in Philly...our parents were worried about us going overseas but, Philly at night, seems a bit more scary than the prospect of being in a Muslim country where we don't know how to speak the language.

We spent most of the day in "Orientation" meeting the other 61 volunteers; what an amazing group of vivacious, educated, talented individuals. Unfortunately, when we get to Morocco we will be split into smaller and smaller groups for training and then fully dissipated by the time we are permanently placed. Of course we still don't know where that will be yet. "Flexibility and patience"

Tonight is our last night in the U.S. for the next 27 months...I am going to take a long, HOT shower tomorrow morning and eat my last piece of bacon for breakfast (pork is not readily available in the Kingdom).

Peace.

~em

We are off to Philly and then to the Kingdom of Morocco. Thank you for all the love and support! As our journey progresses, we will continue to update our blog so check back soon.

~ m'a ssalama ~ "Goodbye, with peace"

We are going to Morocco!!! September 7th we fly to Philly and then depart to JFK on September 9th for Casablanca, Morocco! We will be there for 27 months serving as "Small Business Developers" in the Peace Corps. Now all we need to do is learn Arabic...

Jim and I ran in the Cleveland Marathon in May...congrats to Jim who did an amazing job for his first marathon...26.2 miles. The course was awesome and I was pleasently surprised at how cool Cleveland is and how awesome the houses are there. Sean and I then took GreyHound to NYC! That was experience in itself...people who want to be off the grid and under the radar ride the bus...very interesting people!!! Melanie was gracious enough to let us crash at her place eventhough she was 9 months pregnant! She is so awesome and a true independent and strong woman!

Okay...so this blog is definitely a work in progress, but I wanted to get it up and running so I could practice blogging in the world of blogispheria. Just a few disclaimers if you will be frequenting this site, and hopefully you will, if I get a grasp on what I am doing:

First of all, I am not a good speller...if you can not decipher a word, try sounding-it-out and it should phonetically come to you.

Secondly, I can be very sarcastic, so don't take everything literally.

Thirdly, I can be technically in-ept so please be patient.

Hope you check back soon...hopefully Sean and I will have some exciting news...

~em