This morning, this email was sent to those who donated to the glasses project and included their email address: “Dear Friends, “If you’re receiving this email, it’s because you recently gave to the United States Peace Corps Partnership Program Grant to support my “glasses project,” titled “Eyewear for Moroccan Youth,” and I wanted to write [...]
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On multiple occasions now, I’ve had volunteers say to me that they are amazed as they come to the end of their Peace Corps service at how good they are at reading people. Or, I’ll be standing around with a female volunteer, and some guy starts talking to us, and she just gives me this [...]
My life has been turned upside down lately trying to figure out where I’m going to live. I’ve never liked house-hunting or the stress that comes with knowing you have an eviction date. But if that’s bad in America, it’s ten times the stress in Morocco, navigating everything in a different language and never guaranteed [...]
I am posting this to briefly update you regarding the glasses project. It is just $260 shy of being funded. If you have not had a chance to donate and want to, this could be your only chance. Just click the picture, enter a number, and hit donate: Also, my friend Caity Connolly recently wrote a [...]
When I landed in Dallas, the whirlwind of the past few weeks hit me pretty hard, and I had this moment when the plane took off to Madrid where I just sort of thought to myself, “Was I just in America? Is that what this place is?” All that time I spent overseas, and much [...]
There’s a few things I wanted to say about the glasses project after having been home and having a chance to explain it to some of you. The biggest thing is this: I do not know who has or hasn’t donated to the project. Once the project is funded, Peace Corps will – theoretically – [...]
I thought this was worth sharing, since WordPress sent this my way recently. The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,400 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it [...]
(Reverse) culture shock is a whole different animal from what you might expect. It can actually be really funny. I mean, for me, it was most apparent looking for a lighter to light the stove. Or how I just exclaimed, “America” over and over after using Glad Press’n Seal Multi-Purpose wrap. Isn’t that stuff wonderful? [...]
It’s good to be warm and clean and with family and friends. Merry Christmas to everyone. Expect a new blog update sometime next week, and in the meantime, please do not forget to donate this year to the glasses project.
This year for Christmas, instead of spending lots and lots of money on things people want, I implore you to throw out just a little change on a need that can make a real difference in a student’s life. Help students in my community and in the south of Morocco see the blackboard in school, [...]
Christmas is a time for good news. And I’ve got a lot I think I could share lately. I could tell you about going to check out my new house in the olive orchard (yes, I got evicted, in case you missed the last post), only to help my new landlord put a foosball [...]
If it hasn’t been obvious, life in Morocco has been somewhat worrisome lately. I’ve had a few days where I thought to myself that vacation in America couldn’t get here soon enough and a few other days where the idea of going home to America scared me to death, too. Some worries I’ve shared. [...]
I know a lot of Americans (family members included) who sometimes say that if you’re not from America, you don’t really have a right to criticize or speak badly of America. Of immigrants who aren’t American citizens, I hear it said, “If you don’t like it here, then go home, but don’t stay here and [...]
Just thought I’d share a picture of our slaughtered turkey (bibi dbHna). It was “bring your own dish” at “shuksgiving,” shuks being short for “shukran” or “thanks.” This guy above weighed in at 40 lbs or so and fed almost twenty people for two days. He was, of course, lovingly named Bob (giving him [...]
In one of my English classes this week, I took some time before beginning the lesson to describe Thanksgiving. I talked about the pilgrimage from Europe and the struggle to yield enough food for the winter; I talked about the friendships made with the local natives and how sharing was essentially what kept everyone alive. [...]
That’s right, folks, in exactly one month from today, I’ll be slowly making my way to Casablanca to get on a plane to Madrid to get on a plane to Dallas to get on a plane to Memphis. And three days later, on December 19, I’ll be home. Until January 6. There’s lots of you [...]
Went back to Fes. This time, it was because I was the sole white guy invited to participate in a “diversity panel.” Who knew white people, with our Starbucks Coffee and moleskin notebooks, could be diverse? Especially us white males. You’d think because we’re the pinnacle of patriarchy, the privileged majority, that we should have [...]
The Mid-service crisis is far from over. My landlord came by, and I showed him my broken faucet and asked if it was possible to get it fixed. He then told me, or I thought he told me, that he’d come by later, and I could pay him for rent then. That’s what I heard, [...]
I feel like lately, I’ve been hearing lots of people talk about Peace Corps as though the two-year service is akin to a condensed version of your life. You show up in a strange place where you relearn to eat, sleep, talk, etc. As you grow as a volunteer and have real work, you start [...]
A seven hour train ride from Marrakesh, and I was pulling into Fes just before the sun set. My train was almost empty. I guess it’s just not the time of year for Moroccans to be traveling. The passenger car itself was this strange shade of emerald, and even the curtains blocking the view of [...]
I will have to wait until next week or so before I can give you all the wonderful stories about my first vacation outside of Morocco, but in the meantime, you can feast on the eye candy of a wonderful trip abroad to Oporto, Portugal. This link here will get you directly to the photos [...]
So, I’m at this taxi stand, and there’s a guy with two sheep sitting nearby, and I just keep thinking, “Please God, please tell me he’s not gonna try to put those two sheep in the back seat of my taxi.” I end up waiting for, like, two hours, and the four people waiting with [...]
Took another trip to Fes. I won’t bore you with details, because this trip was mostly meetings on how to fill out volunteer survey forms, safety and medical information, you know, the usual. I will say, though, that part of the time was spent reviewing our project ideas. You guys probably all know about the [...]
One of the first cities in Morocco I ever had the chance to visit was Fes. For the first three months I lived here, Fes was sort of a central location in my life before I knew my final site, and with every trip there, I got to know the city a little bit better. [...]
First things first, CNN is, as part of the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps, running a short video of a volunteer living south of me here in Morocco about his efforts at organizing a youth baseball team. Can there be anything more American? Watching the video with music in the background makes what we’re doing [...]
I posted this earlier on my vlog. I usually try not to post the same thing in both places, but this one in particular has been a long time coming, and I think it merits being posted twice. Enjoy! - I am certainly no Julia Child (thank goodness) or a Moroccan mother of eight (again, l-hamdulilah), [...]
I spend a lot of time on my blog talking about the so-called Arab World, which really just describes countries where Arabic is the chief language. That makes sense, because I live in a community where Arabic is spoken almost exclusively outside of the home, and I rarely encounter anything else. But Morocco isn’t exactly [...]
For anyone who ever wanted to know what a Peace Corps Volunteer really does – this is it. Or rather, this is the best of what we can do, I believe. Last week, together with Caity Connolly, Avery Schmidt, Ori Pleban, and Adam Eldehan (who came all the way from Essaouira to help us out), [...]
Hey folks. There are new photos on Flickr, so check them out. In December, I’ll be moving all photos to a new photo storage site, but until then, I’m sticking with Flickr because it’s more convenient. There is also a new video up on the vlog worth viewing. That’s all. Just wanted to make you [...]
Well, today marks one year of living in beautiful Morocco. After the plane touched down, what I remember most is being wide awake on the bus heading for our training site. The countryside was a geography I’d never really seen, some cross between knolls and desert, between palm trees and olive groves. The buildings were [...]
Here it is, the new layout. I’m mighty proud of how good it looks. Hope you guys like it as well. The header is a picture of the map on my wall, along with pink lines showing where I’ve been. Next week, keep an eye out for a blog about our most recent and very [...]
I remember sitting in my desk laughing at the television when all planes were diverted to Canada. Someone in the class busted out with a joke, “Yeah, screw Canada,” and we all started laughing desperate to find something to keep us from crying. Mrs. Hardin, our senior English teacher who deserved more love than she [...]
Came across three good articles this morning after sleeping for fifteen hours last night. I guess getting ready for my upcoming HIV/STI education project has really made me tired. At any rate, I felt these three articles deserved to be shared beyond Facebook. 1. Chain Envy. CNN discusses the difficulty of moving away from a [...]
Don’t be alarmed if you noticed little changes happening here or there as I start tweaking the blog for the September 15 “Year In-Country” renovation. You might see pictures changing for the header or even new layouts. Nothing is permanent until it’s fully unveiled on the 15th! Contact me if you have any suggestions or [...]
M’brouk l-3id, or essentially, happy holiday. A month ago, when Ramadan first started, I posted on Facebook, “Ramadan Kareem,” which means that Ramadan is generous. A friend commented back on my post, “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,” who is the retired Lakers basketball player and hopefully equally known for his role in the movie Airplane! as co-pilot Roger [...]
This morning as the sun was coming up, I watched the Middle Atlas Mountains change from an almost navy blue to splotches of rusted red and green where the rosemary on the mountain’s edge became more visible in the sunlight. There’s just something majestic about staring at a distant mountain in the sunrise. It’s so far away [...]
Let’s keep this short and sweet. As many of you know, I recently put out a request for a renewal of my Flickr Pro Account. My friend, Maria Mayo, who has recently been published on the Huffington Post’s Religion page, purchased a Flickr Pro account for me; however, Flickr overcharged her (two extra times) and then [...]
In only a week and a half or so, Ramadan will be over. It’s gotten hotter, unbearably hotter, and I’m always a little hungry, always a little thirsty, and probably more irritable than I’ve ever been. Something tells me I’m not alone in this. I was talking with Caity and Avery about that, about how [...]
So, my Flickr Pro account expires in just four days, and I’m not too bashful to ask for money as a poor Peace Corps Volunteer. Without the Pro account, I’m drastically limited to the number of pictures I can upload, and most of my current albums will disappear. So, if you’ve got $24.95 and like [...]
This time last year, I was spending many waking hours sitting around in my parent’s living room, newly homeless, and staring at two large backpacks ready to leave for Morocco. I was still a month away from staging in Philadelphia, but I was ready to go; I was ready for a big change in my [...]
It’s hot. I mean, that’s probably a bit of an understatement – where is it not hot right now, right? And to be honest, I don’t even have many bragging rights. You’d think living in the desert in Africa in August would just be awful (and in some ways, it is), but with temperatures [...]
Let’s engage in a thoughtful exercise for a moment. Say the Ku Klux Klan, a self-prescribed “Christian” organization, was continuing consistent attacks on African Americans or other minorities today. Despite their best efforts to use the Bible as a source of justification for their misdeeds, Americans far and wide would condemn their actions. Moreover, everything [...]
In America, when we hear about orphans, we immediately conjure up images of little orphan Annie fighting the evil Miss Hannigan with rich ole’ Daddy Warbucks on her side. It’s a hard-knock life, after all. My guess is that you’d think, in a developing country, that stereotype would be even worse, but I’m not sure [...]
I guess when I think of “summer camp,” there are sort of grandiose images that pop into my head with s’mores and campfires, long hikes through the woods, boat rides and swimming pools, lots of hard work, laughter, and love. But the El Jadida Summer English Immersion Camp I worked through Peace Corps didn’t quite [...]
I’ve had a lot of moments lately (and I can’t help but think that several volunteers experience similar moments) where I sit back and think, “What am I doing, really doing, in the Peace Corps?” I mean, I’d say I’ve laid a lot of that out in previous posts, answers to those questions, that is [...]
My Google Voice phone number (if you know it, you know it) has been compromised. The person who has access to the number is harassing people who send messages to the number, as well as making threats. I suggest not using the Google Voice number until I can resolve this issue with Google. My apologies. [...]
I could care less for reality television, especially the Real Housewives of New York (seriously), but in case you hadn’t heard, the “real housewives” recently made a trip to Morocco. Then, about a week after hearing that nonsense, I heard that there is a new television show akin the Amazing Race that’s currently filming in [...]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
I had wanted to write something witty or philosophical, something deep to think about, but the more I thought about it, the more I decided to keep it simple instead. So, I wanted to give my friends back home a heads up on what’s happening with me these next few months, and hopefully later, I’ll [...]
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