Okay, so I know this is totally invasive, but I could not help snapping a few photos of the ladies in my village as they were walking home. In these photos you can see the style of clothing worn by village women in the Souss. The very colorful one-piece garment is called an ‘Amelhoff’. You can also see the long white headscarf, or ‘zif’ worn by the married women. In many of the villages in Tiznit and Sidi Ifni, women wear these long white headscarves (which actually touch the ground!) but in my village it’s sort of a right of passage garment which is only worn by married women. I love the Amelhoff because it allows conservative women the best of both worlds: the baggy shapeless garment allows them modesty. They can be covered from head to toe with only their eyes showing, but the bold colors, patterns and the ability to wrap and tie it in different ways allows a bit of self expression. In the first picture you can see a group of men in the top left corner hanging out on what my boss calls ‘the wall of walo’; the place in every village where groups of men hang out all day.

My dinner last night. She looked so cute and perfect wrapped up in that tiny bowl and topped with a sprig of Basil that I just had to take a picture.

So the previous renters left me with this giant thing in my living room. It’s really nice, but I have no use for it. I’ve been to a few Moroccan homes with structures like this one, and in addition to the ohsocoveted television/ DVD player, they always have dishes in it, which I find strange and impractical. The problem was that every time my host family would come over, being nice and trying to help me decorate, they would start putting my dishes in here and after they’d leave I’d always have to move them back into the kitchen. After the 3rd time I could not take it anymore, so I decided to start filling this thing with, (what else?) random things, so it would look like I was using it. I put some going away cards, random postcards and a few other things and now I actually really love the way it’s starting to look. And last, but not least: My beautiful bue tables, which I painted yesterday

What a crazy two days it’s been. My airport goodbyes were really hard; very emotional. I was crying for a least ½ of the plane ride. When I arrived in Philadelphia there were two other pc volunteers on my plane. One of them has family here in the city so I got a ride to the hotel which was amazing because I have 140 lbs of luggage and he had a chivalrous cousin who insisted on carrying my bags. All of the West Coasters flew in a day early, so there were a ton of volunteers at the hotel. Everyone had just left their families and friends, so it was really nice to be with people who knew exactly what I was feeling; the nerves, the sadness, the loss; they understood. On a side note, we have so many North Westerners here! It seems like Colorado, California, Oregon and Washington are well represented in this group. Last night a group of us went out for Philly cheese steaks. There are shops on every corner, but we went to a really famous old school one where the sandwiches come with cheese wiz!

Today I did some sightseeing with some of my new friends. We saw a bunch of the historic sites here in the old part oh Philadelphia. I would love to elaborate, but there is so much more to write about and I am using my roommate’s computer. I had an H1N1 shot today, 7 hours of training/ orientation, icebreakers, and the likes. I learned that I have to take my nose ring out, which will be so strange for me because I’ve had it for 8 years. We signed our official registration forms and are now official Peace Corps Trainees. Before today we were “Invitees”, so yea! Very exciting. We received our Per Diams and had an amazing last dinner at a local steak house. Anyway, I love all the people I am going to be working with for the next two years. I also like my bosses and I am exciting to go to morocco TOMORROW!!! We’re going to be bouncing around all of these cool cities. Still sad, but very excited. My next post will probably be from my training site in Morocco.

What a crazy two days it’s been. My airport goodbyes were really hard; very emotional. I was crying for a least ½ of the plane ride. When I arrived in Philadelphia there were two other pc volunteers on my plane. One of them has family here in the city so I got a ride to the hotel which was amazing because I have 140 lbs of luggage and he had a chivalrous cousin who insisted on carrying my bags. All of the west coasters flew in a day early, so there were a ton of volunteers at the hotel. Everyone had just left their families and friends, so it was really nice to be with people who knew exactly what I was feeling; the nerves, the sadness, the loss; they understood. On a side note, we have so many North Westerners here! It seems like Colorado, California, Oregon and Washington are well represented in this group. Last night a group of us went out for Philly cheese steaks. There are shops on every corner, but we went to a really famous old school one where the sandwiches come with cheese wiz!

Today I did some sightseeing with some of my new friends. We saw a bunch of the historic sites here in the old part oh Philadelphia. I would love to elaborate, but there is so much more to write about and I am using my roommate’s computer. I had an H1N1 shot today, 7 hours of training/ orientation, icebreakers, and the likes. I learned that I have to take my nose ring out, which will be so strange for me because I’ve had it for 8 years. We singed our official registration forms and are now official Peace Corps Trainees. Before today we were “Invitees”, so yea! Very exciting. We received our Per Diams and had an amazing last dinner at a local steak house. Pictures to follow. Anyway, I love all the people I am going to be working with for the next two years. I also like my bosses and I am exciting to go to morocco TOMORROW!!! We’re going to be bouncing around all of these cool cities. Still sad, but very excited. My next post will probably be from my training site in Morocco.

So I had an extra day form the time I wrote this to my once a week trip to Tiznit and subsequently the cyber café, so I thought I write a little addendum and not to worry this one is full of good news. I feel very productive with the exception of not going to the spitar today. First, adopting the Moroccan (at least in my village) answer to mold growth on the ceiling, painted my ceilings a lovely white. Paint is really expensive here 380DHS for a small can and the quality is pretty bad. But it was worth it and I had a great time dancing around my house in my painted ridden clothes and singing (I mean, attempting to sing) Leona Lewis ballads into a wet paint brush. My cement apartment has tall ceilings and a major echo, so I must admit that it didn’t sound too bad. And that’s one of the benefits to living alone; never do I have to worry about a roommate walking in on one of my performances!

Oh and yes, I have gotten may invites to breakfast from my fellow villagers. Last night I went over to my host family’s house with gifts of delicious dates, homemade jam, pictures and toys for the little boy. I got 3 invites along the way. I stayed at their house until they ate their 4AM meal just before sunrise. I have to admit that I, for some time, resented this ohsospecial holiday that does not allow people to eat or drink, but I had a lot of fun last night and finally began to appreciate, at least to some degree, the specialness of this holiday. Even at 3AM people were out in the streets talking and playing music from their houses. Also, I am so happy to announce that my herb garden is alive and well! Before I left I brought my pre germinated plants (cilantro, parsley, mint and basil) to my host family’s house and asked if they would water them for me. I was a bit distraught at their response of, in challah which literally means ‘G-d willing’. I was really hoping for a ‘Yes! It would be my pleasure/ you can count on me’ kind of response, but nope in challah was all I had to go on. Now in order to understand why I was nervous, you must know that in challah is like a yes and a no. You can say it when you want to, or will do something, but you can also use it when you don’t want to do something and just want to end the conversation. So I really had no idea whether or not they’d be alive when I came back. If I returned home to dead twigs, it could be like, ‘Well I guess G-d didn’t will me to water your plants’ or something to that effect. But alas, they are alive and well. The mint looks even better than it did when I had left it! I know I couldn’t wait to move out, but I really do love my host family, especially now that I have a bit more freedom.

I visited the post office today, sent 3 postcards, and was so happy to see that I had received quite a bit of mail: A copy of Peace Works, 3 letters and a stack of magazines from an old friend who is working as a fashion assistant for The LA Times Magazine. He also sent me a little paper saying “Someone in LA loves you!” I love you to B! While I’ve been pretty good (and I’m using that term loosely) about writing to people, I really want to write more letters. It feels so nice to get a handwritten, or even a typed letter. Yes it’s slower and more expensive, but there is indeed something special and slightly romantic about receiving a letter. So, I am going to try to write more letters and send more postcards. Lastly, my brother is coming to visit sometime in late September. He is a taking a vacation to Egypt, Spain and finally morocco. He invited me to join him in his adventures and I so wish that I could! He is, after all, my favorite travel buddy. So planning our itinerary has kept my mind occupied. Will it be mountains, beach, or a camel trek through the desert? I also have to think about how I will present him to my village. He is a white as they come; complete with blonde hair and blue eyes. My village will undoubtedly find the idea that my mother was with 2 different men (GASP) shameful. And in a collectivist society, her actions reflect on me. I’m not ashamed of with of them, but I do have to gain my villagers trust. And they must see me in a positive light. My other option is to say he is a friend or coworker, but if I say that he is not my brother, they will undoubtedly think that I am sleeping with him. So, I’m not sure what to do. I’m considering not even bringing him to my village. It’s quite out of the way, but I think that he wants to see where I live. We’ll see. Anyhow, I love you all, but I’m dying to get into my new magazines.

Oh, and I started a youtube account. Actually I didnt start it; its Pauls, but I could not start one here for some reason. Anyway, Ive uploaded a few videos for you all. I apoligize, the sound is terrible on most of them, but enjoy!

Until next time!

Hi friends! We have a lot to catch up on. My first, most exciting, but not the good kind, news is that I broke my wrist. I had a bad fall back in June. I tripped on a piece of garbage, fell into a pile of garbage, specifically diapers, and broke it. I didn’t realize it at first, but after a while it started to really bother me. I noticed a big bump on my hand which, as it turns out, is my bone popping out because the ligaments are torn, stretched, or something. On the bright side, it allowed me a free trip to Rabat. The Peace Corps office is zween and it was nice to see all of my bosses in their natural element. The medical staff was very friendly and helpful. They had a big white SUV and a translator take me to my appointment and I felt super important. Unfortunately, and just like in the US, I hardly got a word in with the doctor, but that’s normal. Another awesome thing to come out of breaking my wrist was going to the coveted American Club. PCVs have been raving about the o-so-amazing American Club since I’ve been here and I was so excited to finally go. It’s a restaurant attached to the American embassy in Rabat and it serves American food and drinks. Going there almost felt like being in Washington DC; big SUVS rolling around and guarded buildings surrounded by gates where you need special papers to get in. at any rate, I have to admit that I was a big disillusioned. The wait staff was as bored and annoyed by our presence as any other Moroccan restaurant and the food was shwiya. Well, not too bad, but I was expecting to be dazzled. I had a fajita with real cheddar and a root beer float; two things you’ll never find in Morocco. The girl I was with, another sick PCV, got a barbeque chicken sandwich and an American beer. Oh, I almost forgot, we both got onion rings and they were served with real, delicious, ranch dressing! I have a follow-up appointment in Sept and in addition to riding in an actual car that’s not stuffed with people, or livestock, I’m excited to get another rootbeer float! In other news, Ramadan started last Thursday. For those of you who are not familiar. This marks the month in the Islamic calendar when the Koran was revealed to Mohamed. Today, that means 40 days of fasting. No food or water from sunup to sundown. On the plus side, the food eaten during Ramadan is very sweet and delicious. On the downside, its 120/ 48 degrees and everyone is grumpy. On the bright side, things run very slowly during this time which I am hoping to use to study for GRE’s, study Tash, make lesson plans, translate documents, and read the wonderful books that the librarian sent me. First on the list (after I finish reading the fantastic b-day book from Paul!) is The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Also, I just returned from an amazing trip. It was a wonderful relaxing work/ vacation. I saw all of the other PCVs in my stage and I also saw some of the most amazing cities in Morocco. I also felt very inspired by the training’s presentations. Current volunteers came and spoke about current and past projects that have been successful. Unfortunately, somewhere between here and Rabat, I lost that excited feeling. I’ve been home for 2 days now and it’s been a tough adjustment. I’m feeling super lonely and I didn’t leave the house on the first day. I didn’t get any break-the-fast invites today which makes me kind of sad and so I’m left to eat lentils out of my cat mug in my boiling hot kitchen. All the older PCVs were telling me that you’ll get a ton of invites and end up going to a new house everyday, but I’ve only gotten 1 invite so far and it was from an unmarried man! I didn’t even buy food at souq because I was planning on getting stuffed at other people’s houses. My novelty status has definitely worn off! I miss home and I can’t stop myself from thinking about the terrible things, like (excuse me mom) if someone from my family dies while I’m here how horrible that would be, or the question of why; ‘Why am I doing this?’ The fact that I may be wasting my time and that of the Peace Corps, all the fun my friends are having and my ex gallivanting around the city with beautiful girls. Is this normal? Gawd I hope so! I need to snap out of this Whoa Is Me mindset. Let me leave things on a more positive note…these lentils are delish, so enjoying them alone is not so bad! Enjoy the pictures. Souq in Fez Catching up! Suksu/ Couscous with chickpeas, lamb and raisons The adorably lazy souq cats of Essa Essa Our hotel in Ouarzazate My first 3 months of service My favorite thing about Ouarzazate Our hotel in Kesh. Very inspiring and only 50DHS/ night Camel head at Souq Fez; Bab Bojlood

With the US ambassador to Morocco and his wife.The going away partyThe poster that we gave to the mdrassa in our CBT site

Some of the men of my village. Okay so I know the hoods are looking a little deflated, but it was really windy when I took this picture. My village really does have the pointiest hoods in all of Morocco!

This is hat happens when i try to update my blog. I asked a women where I could find the nearest cyber cafe and instead of taking me to one, she took me to her house, made me sit in front of the TV and put henna on me. Swearing inMy stage. Such professionals!Our silent Rave dance patry! Wikipedia it!My new shoes! Everyone in my village has them.

Traditional clothing and jewelry from my the Souss region. You would not believe it, but everyone and the party, a naming ceremony, was wearing pretty much the exact same outfit!

First things first: I saw two herds of camels the other day! It was really cool and the baby camels were so cute. Also, my ipod is back!!! Thank Gawd. It’s a 2 hour trip each way to Tiznit and I don’t know how I’d bear it without the music. I tried reading once, but those shwiya mountain roads coupled with the tiny text of a book made me a little queasy. The trick with my iPod is to not let the battery run out. If I let the battery run out and then try to charge it, a sad face pops up and its imut for a few days. Like my laptop, my ipod is only 5 years old, but that’s like 1,000,000 in electronic years and the batteries are so shot that I have to use them carefully and in moderation. It’s sort of a blessing and a curse; if I had sweet electronics and if my site had internet access, I might get sucked in. It would be great to stay connected with friends, family and everything going on back home, but perhaps my lack of connection will speed up the process of integration as I will undoubtedly be spending more time with my community and less time absorbed in what’s going on back home. At any rate, I must admit that I am jealous of all the volunteers with those tiny modern notebooks, iTouches and iPhones. They are so easy to carry around and they pick up wireless signals whenever we’re in the city. If I’m not totally poor when I return home, Ill treat myself to an iPhone and a new laptop.

Anyway, my last few blog entries disappeared from my flash drive which is no doubt full of viruses from sketchy cyber cafes (I always look for the cheapest ones). It’s truly a shame because I was on such a roll! I am trying to remember what I had written about, but alas my memory has failed me; so I’ll briefly fill you in and talk about what’s happening now. And anyway, it’s probably a good thing that those posts were erased. I have the tendency to write only when I am frustrated and so most of the posts carried a negative tone. Indeed, I have felt frustrated. Cultural adjustment is hard, the language is difficult, finding the delicate balance between being me and being the person my community wants me to be is also difficult; and of course, I am feeling homesick for a sense of familiarity. Part of me wants to post raw and candid accounts of my experience thus far, like the ones in my journal, but I also need to be mindful of the impact of whatever I put on my blog. It is, after all, the “World Wide Web” and I don’t want to give a bad impression of Morocco, I don’t want to scare any potential volunteers away and I don’t want to violate the Peace Corps’ communication policy. I have considered making this site password protected, but I want it to also be a resource for prospective volunteers. I remember blogs being very helpful/ insightful when I was in the process of applying. So we’ll see. It’s just another balance that Ill eventually find inchallah.

In other news, our going away party was a success. There were about 100 people, mostly women. We only knew about ½ of the people there, but I think that’s the way it goes here and now that I think about it, I’ve shown up to a bunch of parties in the villages without having known the hosts. There was also a great deal of singing and dancing. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough food since we had only planned on hosting about 30 people. At the following hub in Oz people talked about their going away parties and the stories I heard made our party seem so small. Many groups slaughtered a goat or a sheep. One group slaughtered a goat and rented a band to play music. There was even talk that the roof of the house might collapse because there were so many people. That hub was really fun; the best one. Normally hub would only be 2 days max, but this time it was 4 days long. And our hotel was sweet. It had wireless and was located in the heart of the main square; close to all the shops and restaurants. When I Skyped Paul from the stoop of the hotel, he said that it looked like a postcard. The only thing our hotel was lacking was a swimming pool to escape the intense heat. My room was beautiful; always filled with friends sitting on our beds or on the floor and it had a balcony overlooking the square. I have to say that I really love my friends in this group. Yes, there are some unpleasant people here. That’s to be expected in a group of 70, but for the most part everyone is really cool. The sad thing is that I am really far away from my closest friends here. Most of my friends are Tamazirt speakers and so their sites are located in and around the High Atlas while I am in the deeeeeeeeeep south, near the Western Sahara, or simply ‘Southern Morocco’ depending upon who you ask. It would take about two days of intense travel to get to some of these sites. Luckily though, I am close to my friend Anna and to another friend Christina. Anna was in my CBT group. Our moms have a lot on common and my mom is moving to the same city as her mom. We are hoping to set them up on a “mom date” soon inchallah. Anyway, our wonderful Hub concluded with a Swearing in Ceremony. I don’t have much to say about that; except that I met the US ambassador to Morocco and talked to his wife for a fair amount of time. A bunch of us went out that night. It was the first time I had gone to a nightclub in Morocco. It was a very strange experience. Let me just say, nightclubs in the US are not the same as ‘nightclubs’ in Morocco. The next day was very sad. My bus was one of the last to leave so I watched as the hotel slowly emptied. First our staff and then province by province I watched all of my friends leave; their arms heavy with hawaijj. I really wanted to hold it in, but I wound up crying when my Tam friends left and again when Anna and Christina left.

So now I am in my village, by myself and with no set schedule. It feels very strange and, at times, very lonely. This village is very different from my old village. The weather is different, the language is still Tash, but very different from the language that I learned and many of the cultural norms are different. It’s more conservative than what I am used to. My adjustment to the new language will come imik s imik but other things, like (as a women, or girl as I am considered because I am not married) not going out alone or covering my hair as to remain modest. Those kinds of things will take longer. And although I may “accept” these norms, I am not sure how I will adjust my behavior. One example occurred yesterday. Tired of getting stared at by my fellow villagers, I stepped out of the house wearing a head scarf. It made my host family so happy and the intimidating stares did decrease, but I must admit that I felt slightly defeated.

Another interesting thing about my village is the clothing. Although I got pretty much the opposite of everything I asked for in terms of site preference, I did ask for a place where people wear ‘cool/ exotic’ clothing and my program manager delivered. The people here wear traditional clothing. It’s like stepping out of a time machine. The men wear the traditional tejalibit with, I think, the pointiest hoods in all of morocco. They also wear the sweet man purses or ‘murses’ as I like to call them. Like the women, they wrap their faces entirely with a scarf and when it’s cold they wear capes! It’s amazing because the tejalibit looks like a wizard robe and the cape is the cherry on top to a fantastic wizardy outfit! I love it. Because these guys have their entire faces wrapped in a scarf, thick kohl eyeliner and they are usually prone to staring at me I was, at first, very afraid of them, but the more I see and talk to them, the more I like them. They may look tough and scary, but when you talk to them they are all jokes and smiles.

Last but certainly not least, I found a house!!! Its pretty shwiya in terms of beauty and modern conveniences, but (and don’t get me wrong, I love my host fam) I am looking forward to having my own space, to cooking my own meals, to….well I could go on forever. Let’s just say I am excited. July 1st is the day!

I have a few more things I’d like to talk about, but I need to get some face time in the community. Tigminisiwin, until next time.

Today is our last full day in our CBT site. It’s bittersweet. We are all excited to not have to wake up early for Tash class, but I think that we will miss each other as well as the people of amerzgan. Going to our new cites is like starting over, except without a cultural informant and a support group. I think it is also going to be strange not having the structure of CBT. Tomorrow we go back to OZ and have a few days of technical session and finally graduation!!! Finally I’m going to be an official PCV (Peace Corps volunteer) and not a PCT (Peace Corps trainee) I am pretty proud of myself, 1 because I passed my super hard language exam. I’m somewhere in Intermediate-low (woo-hooo) and second because I’ve completed what many PCVs say is the hardest part of the whole two years. I think the first 6 months at site are going to be my most challenging, but I am happy to have finished CBT.

Tonight we are having a going away party at my house. I am avoiding leaving my room because I need to pack and I know the moment I step out of my room my family is going to put makeup on me and they want me to wear my host moms super heavy wedding dress even though its like 1,000,000 degrees. All of the host families are dressing us up tonight. It’s really sweet, but sometimes it feels like living in a fishbowl when we do things like this. I will also have to find a strategy to get out of having henna done tonight. Don’t get me wrong; I love it and I think its pretty, but I can’t sit for hours getting it done and afterward waiting for it to dry. I’m exhausted from cramming for the LPI. Okay, time to venture outside of my safe spot, but before I forget, my family was really sweet today and gave me a going away present. It’s a framed Ajnewi AKA the sweet daggers that they make in this province in some of the villages in the mountains. I love it and can’t wait to hang it up in my new house (in two more months)! In other news, my ipod died again, but I am hoping that it will again surprise me and come back to life in a few days. I don’t know what I would do without my before bed music listening sessions.

Tiffany in Ifni

Where to begin? It’s been a very full week. Last week we had hub again, but this time it was different. CBT is almost over and after our 2 day hub we had site announcements and actual site visits. All 70 of us are scattered about the country (with the exception of some Northern areas apparently because they produce Hashish). I have to say that I am very sad to be so far away from the friends I’ve made during CBT and hub. While this does give me an opportunity to make friends with some of the people I didn’t get to know during CBT, my closest friends, who will be days away from me, remind me so much of my friends back home in Seattle. It seems crazy because Morocco is about the size of California, but because of the infrastructure, roads and the steep mountain ranges that dominate many parts of the country, traveling even short distances can take a long time. My site is in what used to be considered the Tiznit province. Now it’s considered the province of Ifni and I am, to my knowledge, the only PCV in this province. Hopefully the Peace Corps will still consider it Tiznit because we have periods during PST and holidays where we are not allowed to leave our province and would hate not being able to visit other volunteers, but we’ll see. So the day after site announcements my group, the 6 Tiznit people, took a 7AM taxi from OZ to Agadir. It was a long, hot and cramped ride. On the way we stopped at a grocery store called Marjane. It was amazing! After being in the village for so long, it was great to visit an actual grocery store. It looked just like an American grocery store and it had things that I have not seen since I left the states. I marveled at the aisles of candy and cheese and I stocked up on Doritos and Kinder Buenos. When we got to Agadir we left the taxi stand and walked down to the beach and ate at McDonald’s. Okay, so before you judge our restaurant choice let me clarify: I stay away from junk food in the states. I never eat at McDonald’s and I don’t crave soda, but here junk food really is comfort food. I’m stressed out. Everything in my life is completely different, the language, the food, the clothing, the entire culture and when I see McDonald’s or I drink a Coke, and it tastes exactly the same as it does in the states. The act of eating McDonald’s/ Doritos and/ or drinking a soda is nostalgic and oddly comforting. After I (practically) inhaled my ‘Big n Tasty’ I felt extremely sick. Luckily I don’t go anywhere without a box of Pepto and some aspirin. After a dose of my daily medicine, I felt better, but not well enough to eat dinner. We continued on to Tiznit where we met up with the current PCVs in the province. One of the girls we met writes a blog that I started reading several months before coming to morocco, so meeting her was almost like meeting a celebrity. She is a rock star volunteer. During her service, she recognized a need in her community for a place for women to meet outside the home, so she built a women’s center. Within the center, the community works on women’s literacy and other important activities. Last Thursday was the grand opening ceremony. I was unable to go, but her village is relatively close to mine, so I hope to see it in person soon. The girls in Tiznit seem to be very active within their communities and within the Peace Corps itself, so we have big shoes to fill. We spent the night in Tiznit. And the next day I took a taxi to my final site. I was accompanied by two current PCVs. One lives in Tafraoute and the other just outside of Tiznit. I was so happy to have two people going with me. The whole host family experience is awkward in itself, but it really helps to have two other people who know exactly what you’re going through and because they’ve been here for over a year, their language is fairly strong. Seeing my village for the first time was a surreal experience. I stepped out of the cab, looked around and thought, “Wow, this is where ill be living and working for the next two years.” The town is really nice. It’s the center of the community and consists of 15 small villages. My host family is really nice. There are 4 girls and 1 adorable boy. My host father works in the commune which is the office for local government, so he got me an in with my Caid and other local officials. My host mother is also really nice. She has family in France, so although my community is really really conservative, she is a bit more open and seems to understand and respect the differences between western culture and Moroccan culture. I spent the rest of the week not knowing what to do with my time. CBT is crazy busy. We have class from 8AM-5:30PM. We usually study/ hang out with villagers and CBT mates from 5:30PM until dinnertime which is around 10PM and then go to bed. In site, my days were open and I didn’t know what to do. Women don’t seem to leave the house and if they do they are completely covered and surrounded by other women, so it felt really strange to go out. It was also strange because I was completely alone. We were given a questionnaire that we had to complete, so that gave me some direction and structure, but I finished it in 1 hour and was once again feeling lost. I did take walks, I met local officials, I visited the school and I spent a few hours hanging out at the local s-sbitar. Even so, I was left with so much free time and spend a great deal of my site visit watching soap operas with my host mother. I like my new family and my new community, but I could not wait for the week to be over. I also can’t wait to get my own house. I can’t wait to live out of something other than a suitcase and, most importantly, I can’t wait to have my own personal space. On Thursday I left my village on a souq bus headed to Tiznit. On my way I saw goats in Argon trees!!! (Check out the goats in a tree video that I posted before leaving for Philadelphia) In Tiznit, I met up with a few other volunteers. We continued on to Agadir. On the way I saw even more goats in trees! It was also nice to stay the night in a bigger city and also to cut nearly 4 hours out of the overall trip. In Agadir we met a group of tourists; an American, 2 Dutch people and an Australian. We hung out with them and spent the evening eating what the Australian called ‘Mackers’ IE ‘Big Macs’ on the beach. The next day we took a bus to OZ. We left at 9AM and didn’t get to OZ until about 6PM. That evening was fun. We were exhausted from long treks, but we were excited to see each other. We swapped site visit stories and swam in the hotel pool until midnight. The next day we were given the task to speak in front of the entire group and list 5 things we liked about our site, the challenges and a funny/ awkward story. I’ll end this post with the points I gave for that assignment. Until next time.

Things I like about my community

1. My site is beautiful. It lies within a valley surrounded by mountains in between Tiznit and Tafraoute. It’s also surrounded by Argon trees, almond and olive trees.

2. The clothes in my region are really cool. The men wear Jelubas almost exclusively. Their hoods are extra pointy, so they look like wizards! They also wrap their heads in scarves. Sometimes only their eyes are showing. The women only show their eyes in public. They wear what’s called an “Amelhoff” picture a Burka, but instead of several pieces of fabric, its one long piece. The Amelhoff is cool because although it’s very conservative, the women seem to express themselves though their choice of fabric. They are always brightly colored and flashy. I really like the tie-dyed styles. The married women in my community all wear white head scarves that are long and cover half their body. They also carry their babies and their grass in sacks on their heads.

3. My host family is very friendly and its nice having lots of kids because they are fun and they make great Tash teachers.

4. The s-spitar is clean and relatively modern in comparison to other rural Moroccan s-spitars. My counterparts at the s-s-spitar are wonderful. They seem dedicated to their jobs and eager to work with me. This was not the case for a lot of other PCTs nor was it the case in my CBT site, so I feel extremely lucky.

5. I really like several of the volunteers in the Tiznit province, so I am excited to work with them and to get to know them better.

Challenges

1. My region has a great deal of scorpions and camel spiders. We also have snakes, wild dogs and wild pigs. All of which are very dangerous and I am not looking forward to future encounters with them. Scorpions are a big problem in my community and according to a nurse at my local s-spitar many children die in the summer as a result of scorpion stings.

2. My site is big. I live in the center which alone is very large, but I am also going to be working in the surrounding villages. It’s a large area to cover and I’ll have to travel long distances between villages.

3. Language is a constant challenge. Several officials in the village speak Arabic and sometimes French. I speak Tash and English, so communicating is like a game of charades. It’s also challenging because many of the villagers only speak Tash and they are unable to communicate to the officials who are representing them. And while my Tash is improving, it’s not where I’d like it to be at this point.

4. Location is a challenge. My site is located in the Souss and so visiting my friends in the north and getting to the Peace Corps headquarters in Rabat will mean two long and difficult days of traveling.

Awkward story: One day during my site visit I was in my room organizing papers and my host Mom comes in and says that my host Dad wants me to come to the commune. I was not sure why, so I rushed over and was pulled into a large meeting consisting of community officials and officials from the surround villages. Nearly all men, there were about 30 people there. The entire thing was being conducted in Arabic, so I picked up about 1 out of every 10 words. In other words, I had no idea what was going on. Slowly with my 1/10 understanding, I realized that the meeting was about health. Shortly after, I realized that the meeting had to do with my presence in the community. At this point I am so accustomed to stares that I didn’t pick up that the stares were because the meeting was partly about me. When the presenter motioned me to speak, my knees were shaking and I robotically spurted out a memorized introduction about myself and the Peace Corps, which had probably already been covered in the 2 hour long presentation. I keep thinking that I don’t know how Ill use this particular experience in the future, but it definitely thickened my skin, and that has to count for something.

Where to begin? It’s been a very full week. Last week we had hub again, but this time it was different. CBT is almost over and after our 2 day hub we had site announcements and actual site visits. All 70 of us are scattered about the country (with the exception of some Northern areas apparently because they produce Hashish). I have to say that I am very sad to be so far away from the friends I’ve made during CBT and hub. While this does give me an opportunity to make friends with some of the people I didn’t get to know during CBT, my closest friends, who will be days away from me, remind me so much of my friends back home in Seattle. It seems crazy because Morocco is about the size of California, but because of the infrastructure, roads and the steep mountain ranges that dominate many parts of the country, traveling even short distances can take a long time. My site is in what used to be considered the Tiznit province. Now it’s considered the province of Ifni and I am, to my knowledge, the only PCV in this province. Hopefully the Peace Corps will still consider it Tiznit because we have periods during PST and holidays where we are not allowed to leave our province and would hate not being able to visit other volunteers, but we’ll see. So the day after site announcements my group, the 6 Tiznit people, took a 7AM taxi from OZ to Agadir. It was a long, hot and cramped ride. On the way we stopped at a grocery store called Marjane. It was amazing! After being in the village for so long, it was great to visit an actual grocery store. It looked just like an American grocery store and it had things that I have not seen since I left the states. I marveled at the aisles of candy and cheese and I stocked up on Doritos and Kinder Buenos. When we got to Agadir we left the taxi stand and walked down to the beach and ate at McDonald’s. Okay, so before you judge our restaurant choice let me clarify: I stay away from junk food in the states. I never eat at McDonald’s and I don’t crave soda, but here junk food really is comfort food. I’m stressed out. Everything in my life is completely different, the language, the food, the clothing, the entire culture and when I see McDonald’s or I drink a Coke, and it tastes exactly the same as it does in the states. The act of eating McDonald’s/ Doritos and/ or drinking a soda is nostalgic and oddly comforting. After I (practically) inhaled my ‘Big n Tasty’ I felt extremely sick. Luckily I don’t go anywhere without a box of Pepto and some aspirin. After a dose of my daily medicine, I felt better, but not well enough to eat dinner. We continued on to Tiznit where we met up with the current PCVs in the province. One of the girls we met writes a blog that I started reading several months before coming to morocco, so meeting her was almost like meeting a celebrity. She is a rock star volunteer. During her service, she recognized a need in her community for a place for women to meet outside the home, so she built a women’s center. Within the center, the community works on women’s literacy and other important activities. Last Thursday was the grand opening ceremony. I was unable to go, but her village is relatively close to mine, so I hope to see it in person soon. The girls in Tiznit seem to be very active within their communities and within the Peace Corps itself, so we have big shoes to fill. We spent the night in Tiznit. And the next day I took a taxi to my final site. I was accompanied by two current PCVs. One lives in Tafraoute and the other just outside of Tiznit. I was so happy to have two people going with me. The whole host family experience is awkward in itself, but it really helps to have two other people who know exactly what you’re going through and because they’ve been here for over a year, their language is fairly strong. Seeing my village for the first time was a surreal experience. I stepped out of the cab, looked around and thought, “Wow, this is where ill be living and working for the next two years.” The town is really nice. It’s the center of the community and consists of 15 small villages. My host family is really nice. There are 4 girls and 1 adorable boy. My host father works in the commune which is the office for local government, so he got me an in with my Caid and other local officials. My host mother is also really nice. She has family in France, so although my community is really really conservative, she is a bit more open and seems to understand and respect the differences between western culture and Moroccan culture. I spent the rest of the week not knowing what to do with my time. CBT is crazy busy. We have class from 8AM-5:30PM. We usually study/ hang out with villagers and CBT mates from 5:30PM until dinnertime which is around 10PM and then go to bed. In site, my days were open and I didn’t know what to do. Women don’t seem to leave the house and if they do they are completely covered and surrounded by other women, so it felt really strange to go out. It was also strange because I was completely alone. We were given a questionnaire that we had to complete, so that gave me some direction and structure, but I finished it in 1 hour and was once again feeling lost. I did take walks, I met local officials, I visited the school and I spent a few hours hanging out at the local s-sbitar. Even so, I was left with so much free time and spend a great deal of my site visit watching soap operas with my host mother. I like my new family and my new community, but I could not wait for the week to be over. I also can’t wait to get my own house. I can’t wait to live out of something other than a suitcase and, most importantly, I can’t wait to have my own personal space. On Thursday I left my village on a souq bus headed to Tiznit. On my way I saw goats in Argon trees!!! (Check out the goats in a tree video that I posted before leaving for Philadelphia) In Tiznit, I met up with a few other volunteers. We continued on to Agadir. On the way I saw even more goats in trees! It was also nice to stay the night in a bigger city and also to cut nearly 4 hours out of the overall trip. In Agadir we met a group of tourists; an American, 2 Dutch people and an Australian. We hung out with them and spent the evening eating what the Australian called ‘Mackers’ IE ‘Big Macs’ on the beach. The next day we took a bus to OZ. We left at 9AM and didn’t get to OZ until about 6PM. That evening was fun. We were exhausted from long treks, but we were excited to see each other. We swapped site visit stories and swam in the hotel pool until midnight. The next day we were given the task to speak in front of the entire group and list 5 things we liked about our site, the challenges and a funny/ awkward story. I’ll end this post with the points I gave for that assignment. Until next time.

Things I like about my community1. My site is beautiful. It lies within a valley surrounded by mountains in between Tiznit and Tafraoute. It’s also surrounded by Argon trees, almond and olive trees.

2. The clothes in my region are really cool. The men wear Jelubas almost exclusively. Their hoods are extra pointy, so they look like wizards! They also wrap their heads in scarves. Sometimes only their eyes are showing. The women only show their eyes in public. They wear what’s called an “Amelhoff” picture a Burka, but instead of several pieces of fabric, its one long piece. The Amelhoff is cool because although it’s very conservative, the women seem to express themselves though their choice of fabric. They are always brightly colored and flashy. I really like the tie-dyed styles. The married women in my community all wear white head scarves that are long and cover half their body. They also carry their babies and their grass in sacks on their heads.

3. My host family is very friendly and its nice having lots of kids because they are fun and they make great Tash teachers.

4. The s-spitar is clean and relatively modern in comparison to other rural Moroccan s-spitars. My counterparts at the s-s-spitar are wonderful. They seem dedicated to their jobs and eager to work with me. This was not the case for a lot of other PCTs nor was it the case in my CBT site, so I feel extremely lucky.

5. I really like several of the volunteers in the Tiznit province, so I am excited to work with them and to get to know them better.

Challenges1. My region has a great deal of scorpions and camel spiders. We also have snakes, wild dogs and wild pigs. All of which are very dangerous and I am not looking forward to future encounters with them. Scorpions are a big problem in my community and according to a nurse at my local s-spitar many children die in the summer as a result of scorpion stings.

2. My site is big. I live in the center which alone is very large, but I am also going to be working in the surrounding villages. It’s a large area to cover and I’ll have to travel long distances between villages.

3. Language is a constant challenge. Several officials in the village speak Arabic and sometimes French. I speak Tash and English, so communicating is like a game of charades. It’s also challenging because many of the villagers only speak Tash and they are unable to communicate to the officials who are representing them. And while my Tash is improving, it’s not where I’d like it to be at this point.

4. Location is a challenge. My site is located in the Souss and so visiting my friends in the north and getting to the Peace Corps headquarters in Rabat will mean two long and difficult days of traveling.

Awkward story: One day during my site visit I was in my room organizing papers and my host Mom comes in and says that my host Dad wants me to come to the commune. I was not sure why, so I rushed over and was pulled into a large meeting consisting of community officials and officials from the surround villages. Nearly all men, there were about 30 people there. The entire thing was being conducted in Arabic, so I picked up about 1 out of every 10 words. In other words, I had no idea what was going on. Slowly with my 1/10 understanding, I realized that the meeting was about health. Shortly after, I realized that the meeting had to do with my presence in the community. At this point I am so accustomed to stares that I didn’t pick up that the stares were because the meeting was partly about me. When the presenter motioned me to speak, my knees were shaking and I robotically spurted out a memorized introduction about myself and the Peace Corps, which had probably already been covered in the 2 hour long presentation. I keep thinking that I don’t know how Ill use this particular experience in the future, but it definitely thickened my skin, and that has to count for something.

Today was one of those really fun and motivating days, full of new experiences. After school, I walked with my CBT mates, Tarek (Erik), Samar (Samantha) and Najart (Bjai). We walked from our village to a really deserty area a few miles out. The sun was setting and the view was beautiful. On the way we met up with two kids, Abdualbas and Nassim. Nassim is 7 and somehow related to me and Abdulbas is somewhere in the tweens and the son of one of the restaurant owners. We can’t go anywhere without an entourage of kids and random villagers following us, but it’s always a really good opportunity to practice our language skills. It was really nice to walk and to get some exercise. We eat so much food here, a lot of it is very heavy and sugary, so it felt great to finally walk and run a bit. Hopefully it doesn’t become the latest gossip. I know it seems extreme, but we’re in a small, conservative, religious area and people love to gossip. Take this example: one day my CBT mates and I ate at Najarts host family’s house. Before any of us returned to our own host families the entire village was talking about what we ate. Hannan (Anna) returned home to a large platter of eggs and her family saying “We heard that you like eggs. You ate a lot of them at Najart’s.” After our walk we visited our teacher at Timbuktu, Abdualbas’ dad’s Café. After that, I walked home with Nassim. As I was walking into the compound, my host mom and Nassim’s mother walked out, took my hand and (literally) pulled me out to the road. She asked me if I wanted to go somewhere with them and I thought that they were asking me to come to the hammam. I was really excited because even though there are a bunch of other things I needed to do, I really wanted/ needed to take a hammam. As it turns out, and this is a common theme in my life these days, I misunderstood her. We were actually going to a place called “Tigmin n Tinshena” which means “House of (something).” I don’t know the definition of the word “Tinshena.” So we get there, and it’s a HUGE party of women in this super nice, super huge house. It must have been nearly all of the women in our village. I didn’t know most of them, but they knew my name. They were all very friendly and excited, not only to meet a foreigner, but one who speaks Tashlheet. It was very motivating because I am so used to my host family comparing me to others in my CBT group or saying that I need to learn faster, and these women were excited even just to hear me say basic greetings. So as it turns out, the house is a place where women go to have their babies. It’s not connected to the health clinic and there are no doctors, only midwives. The party was for a woman who had given birth 4 days ago. I got to meet the babygirl who was absolutely adorable. We drank tea, my 7th cup of the day, ate suksu, for the second time that day, and like any Moroccan women’s gathering; we tied our scarves around our waists and danced into the night. So here I am writing this. It’s really late and I have a ton of homework and studying to do. My ipod imut safie (is dead and really finished this time). I have yet to shower and I still need to pack for a mini vacation that I’m taking in Boulmane Du Dades tomorrow. But I am really glad that I got to meet and hang out with all of the women. It was a great experience. My lesson of the month has been to relax and go with the flow.

Hello everyone! This post is long overdo! After Marrakech, we drove over the Atlas Mts down to Ouarzazate for training. We stayed in Ouarzazate for a few days before splitting off into groups of 5-6 for our cbt (community based training) sites where we will be during training. My site is a beautiful little village with palm trees, fields and mud houses. It’s really nice and I like my villagers. Our village has a school for grades 1-3, 4 thanuts (shops) and most importantly, a health clinic, access to water and electricity, which is on and off. Unfortunately we don’t have access to internet in my site, but that’s usually the case and there’s a bright side: I spend more time practicing my language with community members and my CBT mates and less time on the computer. We have language/ culture school everyday from 8AM-5:30PM. In the evening we spend time with our host families. It’s really intense because it’s LANGUAGE LANGUAGE LANGUAGE (Tashleheet to be specific) all the time, especially at home, but it’s an effective/ efficient system and I feel as though I am learning a lot really fast. Things are tough. I am struggling to master the Turkish toilets, I really miss all of my friends and family back home, I cant communicate my thoughts, especially more complex ones to host country nationals and I my stomach has a love hate relationship with the food/ spices. But I am having a great time and I am very happy to be here. Today I had a language test which went very well and next wee I have an interview that will help the PC determine my final site here in morocco! Wish me luck! Talk to you all next time I’m in the big city!

Hello from Morocco. I’ve landed safely and have already fallen in love with the country, more specifically the food. Yes, I realize that I am in the honeymoon phase of readjustment, but I still love it.

From Philadelphia, our staging site, we drove to JFK in NYC. It’s been a few years since my last trip to New York and it was so nice to see that big beautiful skyline again. I have to admit that I almost teared up! When we arrived at JKF it was a sight to see. Each of us, 71 to be exact, had about 80+ lbs of luggage. Needless to say people were staring. Goodbyes were even harder this time because I was not sure how limited my communication would be upon arrival in country. The funny thing was, no announcement was made to turn our cell phones off of to buckle up. Normally flight attendants prematurely sweeping the cabin, making you turn your phone off, seats/ tray tables up, and so on. But this time, I am texting away and all of a sudden we start driving really fast. We were in the air before I even had time to turn my phone off. Welcome to Morocco! We took a red eye and I had a good sleep/nap on the plane, thanks to Joe, my roommate and fellow volunteer, who so kindly offered gave up his window seat. 7+ hours later we could see the North African coast. The waves looked amazing and the land was a beautiful shade of green. All of our bags arrived safely, which is apparently unheard of with pc groups, so yea for us! We finally met all of our in-country officers; IE our go to people for anything we need during our service. Ill elaborate later. They are friendly and very helpful. After being hassled by a few men, and some children, insisting on helping us with our luggage, we finally reached our buses, which were to take us from Casablanca to Marrakech. It was a beautiful drive. Everything is so green this time of year. It was also very exciting because we kept seeing shepherds! They were like old school biblical shepherds. They had the old-school garb and they even had staffs! We also saw people riding horse buggies and people riding on top of buses. Our hotel is very nice. We have a shower and the water isn’t super cold. We have a kitchen and a cool Moroccan style living room. Oh and we have a refrigerator that is actually cold! It’s great. Our meals and snacks have been delicious so far and I am looking forward to dinner. Tomorrow we are driving over the Atlas Mountains to a city called Ouaarzazate (pronounced or-za-zat). Apparently it’s the ‘gateway to the Sahara.’ Very exciting.

So, family and friends, I wish I could write to all of you, but unfortunately our schedule is jam packed, but I want you all to now that I love you and am thinking about you guys. I wish you could all be here to experience this, but you’re all in my heart. So, in a way, you’re all here with me! I want to send a special shout out to my sweetheart First, Last! Our facebook status would read ‘it’s complicated’, but I love you and more importantly, you’re my BEST BEST friend! So many funny things I can’t wait to share! Take care everyone and Ill write again soon!

What a crazy two days it’s been. My airport goodbyes were really hard; very emotional. I was crying for a least ½ of the plane ride. When I arrived in Philadelphia there were two other pc volunteers on my plane. One of them has family here in the city so I got a ride to the hotel which was amazing because I have 140 lbs of luggage and he had a chivalrous cousin who insisted on carrying my bags. All of the West Coasters flew in a day early, so there were a ton of volunteers at the hotel. Everyone had just left their families and friends, so it was really nice to be with people who knew exactly what I was feeling; the nerves, the sadness, the loss; they understood. On a side note, we have so many North Westerners here! It seems like Colorado, California, Oregon and Washington are well represented in this group. Last night a group of us went out for Philly cheese steaks. There are shops on every corner, but we went to a really famous old school one where the sandwiches come with cheese wiz!

Today I did some sightseeing with some of my new friends. We saw a bunch of the historic sites here in the old part oh Philadelphia. I would love to elaborate, but there is so much more to write about and I am using my roommate’s computer. I had an H1N1 shot today, 7 hours of training/ orientation, icebreakers, and the likes. I learned that I have to take my nose ring out, which will be so strange for me because I’ve had it for 8 years. We signed our official registration forms and are now official Peace Corps Trainees. Before today we were “Invitees”, so yea! Very exciting. We received our Per Diams and had an amazing last dinner at a local steak house. Anyway, I love all the people I am going to be working with for the next two years. I also like my bosses and I am exciting to go to morocco TOMORROW!!! We’re going to be bouncing around all of these cool cities. Still sad, but very excited. My next post will probably be from my training site in Morocco.

Today was a great day, I didn't have to use my AK...just kidding. Today WAS a great day; I finally finished packing (which was insane...more about that later), spent the day with family and with my love, Paul. Everyone was in great spirits and we enjoyed a great lunch/ dinner at the lovely Agua Verde. The sun was setting, the view was amazing, great service, grumpy waiter. Anyway, I just wanted to do a last post from Seattle. Enjoy this video of tree climbing goats in Morocco! Hopefully Ill run into some!

Paul has got me totally hooked on reading my horoscope in The Stranger http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Home

Today mine said:

Gemini (May 21-June 20th): “One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time,” wrote French author Andre Gide. I’m guessing that 2009 was a time when you embarked on such a search, Gemini-a half blind, groping exploration that asked you to leave the past behind without knowing where the future lay. By now, though, I suspect you have sighted the shore of your new frontier. If you haven’t yet, it will happen soon.

WOW!!! Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

And only 18 days left in Seattle…EEEk!

On a lighter note, I’ve been surfing YouTube (my usual procrastination technique) looking at peace corps Morocco videos, which, I must admit, is getting me excited, although, I can’t shake the sads (leaving, my family, Paul, Seattle Hebrew Academy and so on).

At any rate, check out these videos. This dancing guy is actually from Seattle! The first time I saw this video was in Hungary. The front desk peeps at my hostel were watching it and I said, “Wow look, he is from Seattle. That’s my home town” and they were like, “Oh I love Chicago!!!” Haha, but this guy is my hero and check out his sweet moves! He’s obviously been taking lessons!

I don’t know if it’s the song or simply the awesomeness of the video, but I always get the chills when watching this second one. Check out his YouTube page. He has a bunch of cool videos on there.

The last one is a video posted by a former volunteer, I think. I fell in love with this video because of the cheeky me maw dancing in the beginning! I also love the colorful rugs and wall hangings!

Okay... I think a first post is well overdue. This past weekend we (Paul (my boyfriend from college), john (his roommate + a friend of mine from college) and Kristen (John's girlfriend, Nic's cousin + a friend of mine)) went to Idaho to visit Nicolaas Derycuterasjakl. Nic is a friend of mine from college and we loved together during his senior year. Nic was born in Washington State and I was born in Idaho, but now it seems that we've switched! Anyway, we went to idaho to visit him since he is basically one of the coolest and funniest people you'll ever meet and because I wont see him for 2 whole years (unless he can convince his uber-conservative parents to let him come visit me and I don't think thats going to happen). So we drove 9 hours to Idaho, which was not so bad and visited his family's house and their dairy farm, so fun! The next day we drove to his 'cabin' which was not a cabin at all, but a super nice house, complete with the indisputable magic of a ‘ski-in, ski-out’ backyard trail. And of course, the 'cabin' was located on an immaculately groomed, breathtakingly beautiful piste (sign). The place is called Tamarak resort (http://www.tamarackidaho.com/winter_adventure/index.php) super cool place, but currently closed because of (dun dun dun.....'the economy'). Anyway, because the resort is closed, we drove 1/2 hour to another place called Brundage Mountain Resort where I spent the day getting ice burns while watching my fellow skiers carve elegant turns in the snow. Such a blast. That evening we celebrated Paul's birthday, among other things, with a Sponge Bob pinata! We didn't have a baseball bat so we decided to use a hammer (great idea, right?) but the hammer seemed a little scary so we decided then to use a ski pole. A much better plan though we still wound up with a broken window. The next day we went sledding on the totally empty resort. We walked up the runs and sled down them, so much fun!!! then we hung out on the lift chairs and make a snow...man (LMAF for those of you who were there). I flew out that day while the peeps i came with drove (suckas!!!), but (and this is really the whole point of this drawn out post) saying 'goodbye' to NIc was so hard. We have a super silly relationship that hardly ever crosses the lines into serious conversation and so it was such an awkward moment to cry in front of him, but i just couldn't help it. I cant believe I am not going to see my friend for two years. The weekend was so fun. we made great memories, but this whole leaving for 2 years thing is slowly but surly creeping up on me. I leave in 24 days and am totally dreading all of the emotional phone call and tearful hugs that lie ahead. Wish me luck...I am going to need it.

'The dairy'

Sweet view

Another sweet view

On the Mt

Pinata time!!!

Giant Icicles