I’m just being melodramatic, it isn’t dysentery, it’s more like the ultimate colon cleanse once a week or so. Eh, it keeps me young, I’m sure.
Well it has been yet another highly adventurous month so another fairly long blog, be brave dear readers. I have learned that, as far as packages go, smaller gets to me faster. My parents sent me a box with my dresses so I can survive the summer in comfort and a few days later they sent an envelope of pens (the pens here are very sad indeed) I have the pens but I’m still waiting on the dresses; I’m sure they will get here soon it’s just a matter of patience.
In other news I have finally found a house to rent and moved in, glorious saints be praised! It’s a two room smallish duplex (I was so shocked they have those here, but yes my friends I live in a Moroccan duplex) Of course it’s made out of mud brick, thank heavens; the only other thing it would have been would be concrete and that’s no good b/c it’s super hot in the summer and super cold in the winter. I really love my house and I’m super lucky b/c I have electricity, running water, and a bathroom all inside my house. Nearly all PCVs have electricity, probably half, at most, have running water, and while it’s rule that we have real bathrooms a lot of the time the bathroom is in a separate building outside the house which is only annoying b/c you have to change out of your PJs and put on real clothes just to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It’s also a pain for female PCVs because it’s shameful for women to have wet hair in public so you have to wear a hat, or towel, or head scarf after washing your hair just to get back to your house. (That’s only the rule in conservative areas so some girls don’t have that annoyance) Also, my landlord’s super nice; before the house only had electricity so he but a bathroom and water in the house so I’d be more comfortable. Wahoo.
Moving in was really wonderful b/c the fabulous PCV I replaced, let’s call her Ariel, had a whole bunch of stuff that I bought off of her using the allowance I was given during training. She didn’t have a ton of stuff for most of the house (not that I need it, just ponjes (those are the pads we sit on instead of chairs and couches) but she had lots of kitchen supplies, so all I needed to buy w/ my settling in allowance was a set of drawers and a mattress. The PC gives us a decent amount of money b/c some ppl don’t replace PCVs so they have to buy everything they need for their places. Since I have so much stuff already I used my allowance to buy a laptop so I can do my Peace Corps / Moroccan Gov paper work in a timely and affordable manner. Also, enchallah, I will get internet soon so I will be able to talk to you guys more often. Won’t that be lovely?
As I was unpacking all the stuff Ariel gave me I came across all the teaching supplies she had inherited from the PCV she replaced. WOW! I have everything! Before I had been planning on teaching some sewing and knitting to the women, and having a health class at the school, I’ve also been toying with the possibility of offering first aid classes to anyone interested. Looking through her stuff though, I have fully drawn out lesson plans for English classes and health classes for both women and children and all sorts of women’s health pamphlets. Holy Cow! It’s like I was given everything any teacher could wish to have. I am so excited. Alright, to be honest I’m terrified too b/c I have the vocabulary of a three year old but it isn’t going to get better if I don’t try right?
I recently went off on a very grand adventure to one of our coastal cities called Essouara; there is a huge music festival there every year so the PC Vs in the Health sector work with one of the Moroccan SIDA (AIDs) NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) to have a booth where we can teach Moroccans (and any foreign tourists interested) about SIDA and offer free HIV testing. I didn’t help much b/c I hadn’t been able to make the training; this time I was there more to observe and learn but I’m super excited to came back and be more helpful next year. One of the other new PCVs who organized the new PCVs being able to come at all had the great idea that we possibly set up a blood pressure booth at some event. We also did some recon into that possibility. The festival is called the Gnaoua (sp) Music Festival and it’s huge. I believe both Jimmy Hendricks and Bob Marley played there back in the day. It was on my way to this grand adventure I was able to pick up my computer. There aren’t any buses from my souk town (and consequently my bus station) to Essouara. So I caught a bus to Marrakech (alas, there is no express train but one day I will take the express from Casablanca to Marrakech, mark my words) and had just enough time to buy a cheap laptop and grab some grub from Pizza Hut (OMG they have a Pizza Hut here!) Then I was off on another bus to Esso. Phew let me tell you, travel is exhausting but travelling in a foreign country where you chwia (little/ sort of) speak the language (my dialect is quite different from the coast and most ppl in Kech just speak Arabic and French) leaves you feeling half dead. Still it was a great experience and I’m excited to do it again next year.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Donkies Have Napolian Complexes
Greetings! I know it has been a long time but I did warn before that I might only have the chance to write once a month or so. That is my only excuse.
Here are a couple more cultural differences I think you guys might like.
Donkey is the most common mode of transportqtion in my site. Even the
nice ones are nasty and try to kick you. I think it's because they're
short and have long sticky out ears.
My site is just north of Jerassique Park and south of Tattoine. (Truly, Tattouine is even on the map, look south of Fes)
Morroco is is not the country time forgot, time remembers it well and plays cruel games with it. Half the country follows daylight savings time and half do not. This is not location specific, it depends on the person. My tutor follows it and her mother ( who lives in the same house) does not. My site has solved the problem by not following time at all. They keep time based on a very simple system of the sun and their moods. So largely it amounts to, 'It's tea-time-ish b/c I'm thirsty-ish'
This leads into the concept of Morrocon Time in which you tell people to meet at 2, the punctual few will arrive at 4 and the rest will trickel in over the next hour or so.
I once was a shower daily type, now I bathe twice to three times per week. Mostly b/c a 'bath' involves boiling a kettle of water on the propane stove, putting it in my bucket and adding cold water until it doesn't cook me, and then sitting on my stool to have a bucket bath.
B/c the hot Moroccon sun beats down on the chateau (water tower) all day there is no cold tap water in the summer.
Ramadan begins in early August.
And now, intrepid readers, I shall share annecdotes of my life here in the desert lands of Errachidia.This will be rather scattered b/c I have a months worth of experiences to share with you. Bon Chance!
Looking at the mountains around me everyday I often find myself humming the Indiana Jones Theme because the scenery around me really is just like the Raiders of the Lost Ark (pretty sure that was filmed here so that makes sense)
My site is amazing, I have both electricity and running water but
I'm a million miles from the main road. There a three roads that lead
to my site and all are an hour walk, and two cross the river which is
a trickle now but during rainy season will be unpassable. Actually,
all three of my roads are dirt roads so come rainy season I might be
stuck site side. I told the powers that be that I could not function
as a human or PCV without a bike so they double timed it and my bike
arrived at my site before I did. Really happy to have it but they
didn't take the time to look it over well and I got a semi broken
bike. Bummer.
I told the great-and-mighty-daddy of my plight and he told me that the gear cable
was either too loose or too tight so I fussed and tightened and
loosened and kind of traumatized my family here b/c girls aren't
supposed to do mechanical stuff. In the end they called the neighbor guy over and he made me stop doing that mens-work and worked on the bike for me. I contemplated going all feminist-anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-too, but realized it was much easier to let him do all the work while I sat and handed him the tools.
It would seem my rear derailer is ninty percent kaputz so I was emensly glad when he fixed it to having one rear gear that works. It's the 2nd gear which is a bit tough to use on my offroad road to and from the highway but at least it works.
I spent two days at the sbitar-clinic (where I'm technically based out of) and I have had the revelation that I probably won't be going there very often.
It's not that they aren't kind and welcoming and all; b/c they are
really great. The staff is made up of a female doctor, a female nusr,
and a male nurse. I don't think I'll be going there a lot b/c they
don't need me. I spent both days consolidating the birth control boxes
so that each box has a three month supply in it. Wee. This, on top of
the fact that it's a twenty min bike ride to sbitar from site, my
mokadem has asked my to teach in site, and I have been given my own
classroom at the school all add together to say I will be teaching
health outside of the sbitar. BTW mokadem is the tribal leader, my
mokadem has been very kind and offers his assistance in anything I
need or want.
Oh, that's something else you don't know. My work here is very self
directed. I have no schedules or set places to be and the only people
I am responsible to are the duty officer, I have to tell him where and
why I'm going places so incase of rampaging ninja monkies I can be
found. And I have to write a quarterly report to the PC powers that be
to tell them what I'm doing. Otherwise I'm on my own. I set my work
schedule, I find and make my own work, I set the time table for when I
need to have certain things done. This is the ultimate independent
study project. It's exciting and scary all at once.
I really do feel that in many ways I'm doing an anthropological
study, except I'm also trying to introduce new ideas which is very un
anthy of me. My site is going to be very challenging. I am the first
PCV to be set in my site (other PCVs have come in and taught
toothbrushing and handwashing in the school but I'm the first to live
and work the full two years in site) This means that I'm not living in
anyones shadow so I don't have t overcome a bad image, nor do I have
to live up to anyone; on the flipside, they have no idea why I'm here
and I have to start from the very basics of what the PC is. I see a
lot of projects I can and want to do but before I can do them I have
to learn the language and get to know the people. More importantly I
need them to know and trust me.
The most challenging part about my site is that they have a lot of
needs but no resourses and no idea that life could be different. They
all have tv and dish so they see the outside world but there is a
disconnect between the outside world and their world. Right now,
before I can do any of the projects I want to do I have to get them to
see the importance of education. I've translated the proverb about
giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish and the few people
I've built relationships with so far understood when I told them so
that's a start. Now I just need to get everyone else to see that I'm
here to help them help themselves, not give them stuff. Their thinking
I'm here to give them stuff is definatly the fault of foriegn
visitors. Ppl come in from Europe and hand stuff out to people so
often that now they assume ppl who come to see them are there to give
them stuff. One of my host family's visiting family members has had
this trained into her so well that she walked into my room before she
left and asked me for my sunscreen and was kind of annoyed when I said
no. I don't think she understood when I tried to tell her I couldn't
because she WANTED it so she wouldn't get darker, but I NEED it b/c I
burn and get sick. I don't think they get sunburns so I'm pretty sure
she thinks I was lieing. Later I told my sister that the sun hurts me
and makes me sick if I get to much and she nodded and smiled but I
don't think she knew what I ment. That's OK, in two years I'm sure to
get at least one sunburn, then they'll understand. I think that's all
for now friends, I'm off to meet new people and butcher their
language.
Frogs are everywhere! I think after the plague in Egypt they didn't just vanish, they packed up and moved to Morocco. They are forever getting into the house (I usually have three or four living under my bed) It's comical that they get to my house at all b/c they come from the river and have to cross the road to get to me. It's like Frogger! I don't mind the frogs in my room at all, actually, b/c they eat the flies.
The flies here are dreadfully annoying, they dive bomb you and fly into your mouth as you're talking and they land on my glasses (while I'm wearing them)and leave little fly foot prints on them. What's especially gross is that I have to look at their nasty fly underbellies while they walk on my glasses. I'm being flashed by flies!
I have been promed that by mid -July it usually gets hot enough to kill the flies; 'though I'm not sure if that is good or bad. Rumor has it that July through August it's usually 120 degrees. Yikes! It's been in the mid to upper nines the past couple of weeks; one day it dropped down to the eighties and I was so cold I actually had to pull out a sweater.
Moving on. I feel very much like I'm living in one of those re-enactment settlments. A couple of days ago I was making myself a cup of tea but there was no milk in the fridge so I went into the back and milked a gless from one of the family cows. And a couple of days later I was making biscuits for the family and I needed butter but we were out. Fortunatly the cows had already been milked that morning. I had to pour some milk into a jar and make my own butter so I could make biscuits! Hee hee hee, it's rather fun actually.
On a similar note, I bought a glorious thing at souk a few weeks ago. I am now the proud owner of a lfrwaka and my life is so much easier! What is a lfrwaka you might ask? It is a wash board, and I don't know how anyone servived before their creation. My clothes are cleaner then I think they have ever been (even with a washing machine) and it requires half the time and a billionth the energy to wasdh my clothes. I'm sure, once I know what I'm doing, it will use less soap to; but I can build to that shwea b shwea (little by little)
So I have been absoluty terrible about the picture taking and what not but my friend Milo (I shall refrain from using real names so that should I choose to take artistic liscense no one is angery) is much better about being a shutter bug. Incase you didn't see my mom's comment on my last blog his photo bucket is http://s289.photobucket.com/home/megraves84/recentuploads?view=slideshow.
To take a slightly more serious tone for a bit. My mom raised a concern on one of my phone calls home about Morrocan men. She said that she was reading about how terrible they are on another PCV's blog. While I like to give you guys tales andlists of all the defferences about life her, really the people are very similar to Americans. And, hust like in America, the lound and mean 2% are making the quiet and gentle 98% seem bad.
Yes, I too have experienced sexual harrasment (only from middle and high school aged boys)nothing profain and I have never felt in danger. The two occasions that I found most shocking were the twelve year old boy in one of the large cities who said 'sex sex sex sex sex' as Milo and I walked past.I ignored him. The other was a boy from a high school near my site who told me I was 'always welcome in his room' I laughed in his face. I am also proposed to on a daily if not weekly basis, oh Hashuma! (shame) :P
These are dar and away the minority here, men in Morocco are very respectful and very halpful. At the place where my dirt road and the main road meet is a small community. Once I reach there I can get a taxi or bus to anywhere I need and so I don't need my bike anymore, it going from being vital to being annoying. The parkinglot guard somehow knew this telapathically and gave me the key to a small shed where I can leave my bike once I reached there. No charge, he just told me it was no trouble and he was glad to help.
Because my bike got to site before I did the Powers That Be left it at another PCVs site so I could pick it up at my lesure. The PCV in question had to go to PC HQ around the time I arrived so he left his key with one of his Moroccan friends so he could let me in to get my bike. This guy not only helped me get my bike but then invited me over to his house to meet his family and have tea. After tea he borrowed the PCVs bike so he could escourt me the 17 km bike ride to my house, just so I would not feel lonely.
I went over to a friends house the other day and by the time I got back to the place I leave my bike the sun had gone down enough that seeing the dirt road was difficult. I had forgotten my head lamp at home so the taxi driver who had taken me to the parking lot followed behind me so I could have his head lights to get home and he would not accept money for the kindness. All of these guys just say 'mashi mushkil' (it's nothing)
I usually get to the parking lot at the same time when I am going to my tutor's house so I often get the same taxi driver to the city. Everyone else who rides the taxi is always very excited to talk to a foreigner which is lovely but I often don't understand them. I only speak french and tashleheit and a lot of ppl here speak arabic too. Since this guy knows me he always tells them when they speak arabic 'no, she only knows tashleheit' (I can't tell the difference between the two) He is also able to feild a lot of the questions they have about me wich makes my life easier. For axample, some ppl here don't like the French, he knows who these ppl are and if they get in the cab and give me a dirty look he always says, shes American and she's teaching the kids to be healthy. Then everyone in the cab thinks I'm just wonderful. This guy also charges me half the usual fare to the city.
Oh the terrible terror that is Morrocan men. No, I want to put all your minds at rest, I am very safe here and the people are very kind. I do drink a ton of tea though, good heavens; the usual introduction goes something along the lines of, hello, how are you? Is everything well? are you well in every way you can be well? Are you rested? Have you adjusted? (they ask eachother this too so I'm not actually sure what ae are adjusting too) are you having a fine time? Oh thank God, thank God. What's your name? It's nice to meet you! come in for tea. No? But you must, tea keeps you alive! (I usually accept the tea) And after the first glass I say safee (done) and as they pour me another glass they say you will enjoy another one. tea is usuall three cups (the idea of the first cup is strangers, the second is business, and the third is family is more true then you think)So on the whole, nobody should be fretting about me.
Speaking of family, my entire site is one family, seriously everyone hase the same last name. And I have totally been accepted with open arms. Some ppl already call me xalti (pronounced like the H in Hannuka Halti) it means aunt on the mothers side.
And now I have to head out, hopefully it won't be so long untill my next post. Toodles yo.
Here are a couple more cultural differences I think you guys might like.
Donkey is the most common mode of transportqtion in my site. Even the
nice ones are nasty and try to kick you. I think it's because they're
short and have long sticky out ears.
My site is just north of Jerassique Park and south of Tattoine. (Truly, Tattouine is even on the map, look south of Fes)
Morroco is is not the country time forgot, time remembers it well and plays cruel games with it. Half the country follows daylight savings time and half do not. This is not location specific, it depends on the person. My tutor follows it and her mother ( who lives in the same house) does not. My site has solved the problem by not following time at all. They keep time based on a very simple system of the sun and their moods. So largely it amounts to, 'It's tea-time-ish b/c I'm thirsty-ish'
This leads into the concept of Morrocon Time in which you tell people to meet at 2, the punctual few will arrive at 4 and the rest will trickel in over the next hour or so.
I once was a shower daily type, now I bathe twice to three times per week. Mostly b/c a 'bath' involves boiling a kettle of water on the propane stove, putting it in my bucket and adding cold water until it doesn't cook me, and then sitting on my stool to have a bucket bath.
B/c the hot Moroccon sun beats down on the chateau (water tower) all day there is no cold tap water in the summer.
Ramadan begins in early August.
And now, intrepid readers, I shall share annecdotes of my life here in the desert lands of Errachidia.This will be rather scattered b/c I have a months worth of experiences to share with you. Bon Chance!
Looking at the mountains around me everyday I often find myself humming the Indiana Jones Theme because the scenery around me really is just like the Raiders of the Lost Ark (pretty sure that was filmed here so that makes sense)
My site is amazing, I have both electricity and running water but
I'm a million miles from the main road. There a three roads that lead
to my site and all are an hour walk, and two cross the river which is
a trickle now but during rainy season will be unpassable. Actually,
all three of my roads are dirt roads so come rainy season I might be
stuck site side. I told the powers that be that I could not function
as a human or PCV without a bike so they double timed it and my bike
arrived at my site before I did. Really happy to have it but they
didn't take the time to look it over well and I got a semi broken
bike. Bummer.
I told the great-and-mighty-daddy of my plight and he told me that the gear cable
was either too loose or too tight so I fussed and tightened and
loosened and kind of traumatized my family here b/c girls aren't
supposed to do mechanical stuff. In the end they called the neighbor guy over and he made me stop doing that mens-work and worked on the bike for me. I contemplated going all feminist-anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-too, but realized it was much easier to let him do all the work while I sat and handed him the tools.
It would seem my rear derailer is ninty percent kaputz so I was emensly glad when he fixed it to having one rear gear that works. It's the 2nd gear which is a bit tough to use on my offroad road to and from the highway but at least it works.
I spent two days at the sbitar-clinic (where I'm technically based out of) and I have had the revelation that I probably won't be going there very often.
It's not that they aren't kind and welcoming and all; b/c they are
really great. The staff is made up of a female doctor, a female nusr,
and a male nurse. I don't think I'll be going there a lot b/c they
don't need me. I spent both days consolidating the birth control boxes
so that each box has a three month supply in it. Wee. This, on top of
the fact that it's a twenty min bike ride to sbitar from site, my
mokadem has asked my to teach in site, and I have been given my own
classroom at the school all add together to say I will be teaching
health outside of the sbitar. BTW mokadem is the tribal leader, my
mokadem has been very kind and offers his assistance in anything I
need or want.
Oh, that's something else you don't know. My work here is very self
directed. I have no schedules or set places to be and the only people
I am responsible to are the duty officer, I have to tell him where and
why I'm going places so incase of rampaging ninja monkies I can be
found. And I have to write a quarterly report to the PC powers that be
to tell them what I'm doing. Otherwise I'm on my own. I set my work
schedule, I find and make my own work, I set the time table for when I
need to have certain things done. This is the ultimate independent
study project. It's exciting and scary all at once.
I really do feel that in many ways I'm doing an anthropological
study, except I'm also trying to introduce new ideas which is very un
anthy of me. My site is going to be very challenging. I am the first
PCV to be set in my site (other PCVs have come in and taught
toothbrushing and handwashing in the school but I'm the first to live
and work the full two years in site) This means that I'm not living in
anyones shadow so I don't have t overcome a bad image, nor do I have
to live up to anyone; on the flipside, they have no idea why I'm here
and I have to start from the very basics of what the PC is. I see a
lot of projects I can and want to do but before I can do them I have
to learn the language and get to know the people. More importantly I
need them to know and trust me.
The most challenging part about my site is that they have a lot of
needs but no resourses and no idea that life could be different. They
all have tv and dish so they see the outside world but there is a
disconnect between the outside world and their world. Right now,
before I can do any of the projects I want to do I have to get them to
see the importance of education. I've translated the proverb about
giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish and the few people
I've built relationships with so far understood when I told them so
that's a start. Now I just need to get everyone else to see that I'm
here to help them help themselves, not give them stuff. Their thinking
I'm here to give them stuff is definatly the fault of foriegn
visitors. Ppl come in from Europe and hand stuff out to people so
often that now they assume ppl who come to see them are there to give
them stuff. One of my host family's visiting family members has had
this trained into her so well that she walked into my room before she
left and asked me for my sunscreen and was kind of annoyed when I said
no. I don't think she understood when I tried to tell her I couldn't
because she WANTED it so she wouldn't get darker, but I NEED it b/c I
burn and get sick. I don't think they get sunburns so I'm pretty sure
she thinks I was lieing. Later I told my sister that the sun hurts me
and makes me sick if I get to much and she nodded and smiled but I
don't think she knew what I ment. That's OK, in two years I'm sure to
get at least one sunburn, then they'll understand. I think that's all
for now friends, I'm off to meet new people and butcher their
language.
Frogs are everywhere! I think after the plague in Egypt they didn't just vanish, they packed up and moved to Morocco. They are forever getting into the house (I usually have three or four living under my bed) It's comical that they get to my house at all b/c they come from the river and have to cross the road to get to me. It's like Frogger! I don't mind the frogs in my room at all, actually, b/c they eat the flies.
The flies here are dreadfully annoying, they dive bomb you and fly into your mouth as you're talking and they land on my glasses (while I'm wearing them)and leave little fly foot prints on them. What's especially gross is that I have to look at their nasty fly underbellies while they walk on my glasses. I'm being flashed by flies!
I have been promed that by mid -July it usually gets hot enough to kill the flies; 'though I'm not sure if that is good or bad. Rumor has it that July through August it's usually 120 degrees. Yikes! It's been in the mid to upper nines the past couple of weeks; one day it dropped down to the eighties and I was so cold I actually had to pull out a sweater.
Moving on. I feel very much like I'm living in one of those re-enactment settlments. A couple of days ago I was making myself a cup of tea but there was no milk in the fridge so I went into the back and milked a gless from one of the family cows. And a couple of days later I was making biscuits for the family and I needed butter but we were out. Fortunatly the cows had already been milked that morning. I had to pour some milk into a jar and make my own butter so I could make biscuits! Hee hee hee, it's rather fun actually.
On a similar note, I bought a glorious thing at souk a few weeks ago. I am now the proud owner of a lfrwaka and my life is so much easier! What is a lfrwaka you might ask? It is a wash board, and I don't know how anyone servived before their creation. My clothes are cleaner then I think they have ever been (even with a washing machine) and it requires half the time and a billionth the energy to wasdh my clothes. I'm sure, once I know what I'm doing, it will use less soap to; but I can build to that shwea b shwea (little by little)
So I have been absoluty terrible about the picture taking and what not but my friend Milo (I shall refrain from using real names so that should I choose to take artistic liscense no one is angery) is much better about being a shutter bug. Incase you didn't see my mom's comment on my last blog his photo bucket is http://s289.photobucket.com/home/megraves84/recentuploads?view=slideshow.
To take a slightly more serious tone for a bit. My mom raised a concern on one of my phone calls home about Morrocan men. She said that she was reading about how terrible they are on another PCV's blog. While I like to give you guys tales andlists of all the defferences about life her, really the people are very similar to Americans. And, hust like in America, the lound and mean 2% are making the quiet and gentle 98% seem bad.
Yes, I too have experienced sexual harrasment (only from middle and high school aged boys)nothing profain and I have never felt in danger. The two occasions that I found most shocking were the twelve year old boy in one of the large cities who said 'sex sex sex sex sex' as Milo and I walked past.I ignored him. The other was a boy from a high school near my site who told me I was 'always welcome in his room' I laughed in his face. I am also proposed to on a daily if not weekly basis, oh Hashuma! (shame) :P
These are dar and away the minority here, men in Morocco are very respectful and very halpful. At the place where my dirt road and the main road meet is a small community. Once I reach there I can get a taxi or bus to anywhere I need and so I don't need my bike anymore, it going from being vital to being annoying. The parkinglot guard somehow knew this telapathically and gave me the key to a small shed where I can leave my bike once I reached there. No charge, he just told me it was no trouble and he was glad to help.
Because my bike got to site before I did the Powers That Be left it at another PCVs site so I could pick it up at my lesure. The PCV in question had to go to PC HQ around the time I arrived so he left his key with one of his Moroccan friends so he could let me in to get my bike. This guy not only helped me get my bike but then invited me over to his house to meet his family and have tea. After tea he borrowed the PCVs bike so he could escourt me the 17 km bike ride to my house, just so I would not feel lonely.
I went over to a friends house the other day and by the time I got back to the place I leave my bike the sun had gone down enough that seeing the dirt road was difficult. I had forgotten my head lamp at home so the taxi driver who had taken me to the parking lot followed behind me so I could have his head lights to get home and he would not accept money for the kindness. All of these guys just say 'mashi mushkil' (it's nothing)
I usually get to the parking lot at the same time when I am going to my tutor's house so I often get the same taxi driver to the city. Everyone else who rides the taxi is always very excited to talk to a foreigner which is lovely but I often don't understand them. I only speak french and tashleheit and a lot of ppl here speak arabic too. Since this guy knows me he always tells them when they speak arabic 'no, she only knows tashleheit' (I can't tell the difference between the two) He is also able to feild a lot of the questions they have about me wich makes my life easier. For axample, some ppl here don't like the French, he knows who these ppl are and if they get in the cab and give me a dirty look he always says, shes American and she's teaching the kids to be healthy. Then everyone in the cab thinks I'm just wonderful. This guy also charges me half the usual fare to the city.
Oh the terrible terror that is Morrocan men. No, I want to put all your minds at rest, I am very safe here and the people are very kind. I do drink a ton of tea though, good heavens; the usual introduction goes something along the lines of, hello, how are you? Is everything well? are you well in every way you can be well? Are you rested? Have you adjusted? (they ask eachother this too so I'm not actually sure what ae are adjusting too) are you having a fine time? Oh thank God, thank God. What's your name? It's nice to meet you! come in for tea. No? But you must, tea keeps you alive! (I usually accept the tea) And after the first glass I say safee (done) and as they pour me another glass they say you will enjoy another one. tea is usuall three cups (the idea of the first cup is strangers, the second is business, and the third is family is more true then you think)So on the whole, nobody should be fretting about me.
Speaking of family, my entire site is one family, seriously everyone hase the same last name. And I have totally been accepted with open arms. Some ppl already call me xalti (pronounced like the H in Hannuka Halti) it means aunt on the mothers side.
And now I have to head out, hopefully it won't be so long untill my next post. Toodles yo.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
It's Officially Official
I am now a fully fledged Peace Corps Volunteer. Today, after 63 days of constant language, culture, and basic-here-to-for-un-needed life skills training, I swore in to the United States Peace Corps. And the US Ambassador came to give us our oath; yes my friends, I'm kind of a big deal. I even had my picture taken with him, he and his wife are lovely people.
Now that I am officially a PCV I leave for my site again tomorrow but now it's for good; I don't know how often I will be qble to find a cyber in the next three months so I might not have a lot of posts until July of August. However, eventually I am going to get a small notebook type computer so after Ramadan you guys will probably hear more from me. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I had wanted to let you guys in on some of the big cultural differences here. I find them rather amusing.
1: Tide is the all powerful cleaner here. It removes tough stains from shirts, keeps the dishes sparkling clean, and some people have even been know to wash head wounds with it. That is one health concern I will be addressing.
2: Men hold hands with other men but they do not talk to women in public; parties are rather like 8th grade dances with the men on one side of the room and women on the other.
3: All parts of the body must be covered in public, this is true for men and women. But belching is completely normal wherever you may be.
4: During the month of Ramadan- they use a lunar calader so it is a deifferent time every year- everything stops and people just leave their cranky selves at home. My vote is that this is for the best.
Just some things I've noticed I'll make notes on more of them and post them as I can.
One last item of business; my mailing address has changed. Now that I have a final site I have a PO Box in mu souk town. I'm going to delete the other address so people don't try to send stuff there instead. Don't worry, anything that has been sent will be forwarded to me for the next couple of months. Although now I can get packages, dad seems to be having trouble with the US Postal system so you might see if Fed Ex or UPS is better. As far as needs I wish to impose on my dear friends to send me; books, any genre, any topic, any style. There aren't english books here so I need them from you guys. Also pictures of you guys would be nice, not to mention cheaper to send since those can be put into envelopes.
So from now on send all mail to:
Erika Pullen
BP 126
Rich 52400
Province D'Errichidia, Maroc
BP stands for Boite Postal which is French for PO Box, and to whom it may concern this is not anywhere near my home so it isn't a saftey breach to post this online.
I think that's all for now friends.
Now that I am officially a PCV I leave for my site again tomorrow but now it's for good; I don't know how often I will be qble to find a cyber in the next three months so I might not have a lot of posts until July of August. However, eventually I am going to get a small notebook type computer so after Ramadan you guys will probably hear more from me. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I had wanted to let you guys in on some of the big cultural differences here. I find them rather amusing.
1: Tide is the all powerful cleaner here. It removes tough stains from shirts, keeps the dishes sparkling clean, and some people have even been know to wash head wounds with it. That is one health concern I will be addressing.
2: Men hold hands with other men but they do not talk to women in public; parties are rather like 8th grade dances with the men on one side of the room and women on the other.
3: All parts of the body must be covered in public, this is true for men and women. But belching is completely normal wherever you may be.
4: During the month of Ramadan- they use a lunar calader so it is a deifferent time every year- everything stops and people just leave their cranky selves at home. My vote is that this is for the best.
Just some things I've noticed I'll make notes on more of them and post them as I can.
One last item of business; my mailing address has changed. Now that I have a final site I have a PO Box in mu souk town. I'm going to delete the other address so people don't try to send stuff there instead. Don't worry, anything that has been sent will be forwarded to me for the next couple of months. Although now I can get packages, dad seems to be having trouble with the US Postal system so you might see if Fed Ex or UPS is better. As far as needs I wish to impose on my dear friends to send me; books, any genre, any topic, any style. There aren't english books here so I need them from you guys. Also pictures of you guys would be nice, not to mention cheaper to send since those can be put into envelopes.
So from now on send all mail to:
Erika Pullen
BP 126
Rich 52400
Province D'Errichidia, Maroc
BP stands for Boite Postal which is French for PO Box, and to whom it may concern this is not anywhere near my home so it isn't a saftey breach to post this online.
I think that's all for now friends.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
It's just like home... only not
Sorry for the delay but not to worry I am still alive and everything is freaking awesome! So my site, hmm how to describe it... imagine Moab meets Glennwood Springs. It's totally desert surrounded by sandstone mountains; and I have a natural hot spring that's just a thirty minute bike ride from my place. My life is so hard, kind of like being on a two yaer working vacation.
I can't tell you exactly where I am for security stuff but I'm nearish a city called Rich. I will be working in the thirteen surrounding daours, too. I don't have a sbitar (clinic) in my site. The sbitar is a thirty to forty-five minute walk from my daour which makes it really inconvenient for the majority of my daours. So it seems that my next two years will be teaching people preventative healthy and basic first aid so they won't have to rely on the sbitar for everything. Also, my province (pop quiz, who remembers the name?) has a lot of PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) in it b/c it's in a part of the country that gets very little attention from the Moroccan gov. (Something about an assasination attempt on the previous king.) Having so many PCVs nearby means that we all work together to help each other with projects. I have two PCVs within a fifteen km radius of me so that's really nice.
I recieved a very warm welcome from my whole community, including the local officials. I told everyoine I will be working with the sbitar and the school and they told me they would help me in anyway they could. I could not possibly have asked for a better site or better people. Although I'm going to have to work a lot on my french b/c the big city authorities, and teachers I will be working with don't speak the Berber language I learned. They only speak Darija (Moraccan Arabic) and French. I already know the basics of French so I'm going to work on that rather than starting all over with Arabic.
There was one surprise though, I mean I should have logically realized if there is one animal the other would be here too. We have camel spiders, but don't worry there mostly small here, they don't get Iraq Camel Spider size. So far I've only encountered tiny ones about the size of a cupcake, although the other PCVs in the area tell me they can get as big as the scorpions. Oh yeah! We have scorpions too; guess who doesn't walk around barefoot. Me! And I've grown very fond of the vigorous shake I give all my clothes before putting them on, it's kind of thereputic really.
We had our final language test to see if I've learned Tamazirte well enough to be on my own in Moracco and I not only passed the test but I aced it. I absolutly had to make Novice High to pass-that's roughly what you're at after two school years of education. I scored Intermediate Low so I learned roughly three years worth of language skills in two months. Yes my friends, I have overcome my language learning block and become a linguist. HUZZAH!
One last thing, I know I'm rambling. I want to play a game with you guys, I have a funny-blister-story and I want to know if any of you can beat mine. Here in Marocco we don't have laundromats or washing machines, we do all of our laundry by hand. Well this requires finding your own method and style. In my first to learn my method I gave my self a blister... on the top side of my finger. So, I want to know if anyone has a sillier blister than a laundry blister?
I can't tell you exactly where I am for security stuff but I'm nearish a city called Rich. I will be working in the thirteen surrounding daours, too. I don't have a sbitar (clinic) in my site. The sbitar is a thirty to forty-five minute walk from my daour which makes it really inconvenient for the majority of my daours. So it seems that my next two years will be teaching people preventative healthy and basic first aid so they won't have to rely on the sbitar for everything. Also, my province (pop quiz, who remembers the name?) has a lot of PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) in it b/c it's in a part of the country that gets very little attention from the Moroccan gov. (Something about an assasination attempt on the previous king.) Having so many PCVs nearby means that we all work together to help each other with projects. I have two PCVs within a fifteen km radius of me so that's really nice.
I recieved a very warm welcome from my whole community, including the local officials. I told everyoine I will be working with the sbitar and the school and they told me they would help me in anyway they could. I could not possibly have asked for a better site or better people. Although I'm going to have to work a lot on my french b/c the big city authorities, and teachers I will be working with don't speak the Berber language I learned. They only speak Darija (Moraccan Arabic) and French. I already know the basics of French so I'm going to work on that rather than starting all over with Arabic.
There was one surprise though, I mean I should have logically realized if there is one animal the other would be here too. We have camel spiders, but don't worry there mostly small here, they don't get Iraq Camel Spider size. So far I've only encountered tiny ones about the size of a cupcake, although the other PCVs in the area tell me they can get as big as the scorpions. Oh yeah! We have scorpions too; guess who doesn't walk around barefoot. Me! And I've grown very fond of the vigorous shake I give all my clothes before putting them on, it's kind of thereputic really.
We had our final language test to see if I've learned Tamazirte well enough to be on my own in Moracco and I not only passed the test but I aced it. I absolutly had to make Novice High to pass-that's roughly what you're at after two school years of education. I scored Intermediate Low so I learned roughly three years worth of language skills in two months. Yes my friends, I have overcome my language learning block and become a linguist. HUZZAH!
One last thing, I know I'm rambling. I want to play a game with you guys, I have a funny-blister-story and I want to know if any of you can beat mine. Here in Marocco we don't have laundromats or washing machines, we do all of our laundry by hand. Well this requires finding your own method and style. In my first to learn my method I gave my self a blister... on the top side of my finger. So, I want to know if anyone has a sillier blister than a laundry blister?
Friday, April 16, 2010
Just a short one
So I spent all my time putting like three pics up on mu photobucket account, I hope it works. My photobucket.com account is called Pullen_photos I think you guys can use the name to look at my pics. There aren't a lot b/c it takes forever to upload them but it's more then none. So I know my official site, I'm in the Errichidia Province and it's the eastern side of the mountains so I'm super dessert but high altitude. I think that means it's going to be like Colorado. I don't know anything more about my douar (remeber that word?) I'm going there tomorrow for a week so hopefuly I'll have more to tell you guys later. Wish me luck!
I'm super excited, I feel like I'm doing exactly what I've always been meant to do. Just thought I'de check in and let you all know I'm still in love with Morocco.
I'm super excited, I feel like I'm doing exactly what I've always been meant to do. Just thought I'de check in and let you all know I'm still in love with Morocco.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Have Pocket Hanky, Can Do Anything
Quick note on comments. Totally spaced on Em's comment from two posts ago, yeah Turia and Tarie are terrifyingly similar I deffinatly thought my world had all come together at once when my Morrocan name sounded like my Elvish name and leant almost the same thing as my brother's name... do doo do doo imagine, if you will...
I've read a great many adventure books in my time and you know what? Towels are useless to take everywhere with you b/c they're bulky and ppl stare. But pocket hankerchiefs set you up on a higher branch of the evolutionary scale. They travel well, are reusable, and can do everything a towel can do but dry faster. Tolkien is smarter than Adams, sorry to break the hearts of the masses but it must be done for the good of all.
We have a free weekend this week, that means that from sat afternoon until sundown today (sun) I can leave Azrou and go anywhere within the province of Ouarzazate. For my map friends, you going to need a really detailed map to find me. Quick note about Morocco, sorry non-map-reader friedns, there is real Morocco and then there is the Western Sahara, this is the skinnier, southern part of the map. You will only hear about the adventures of Turia in real Morocco b/c Western Sahara is a disputed area (like Kashmere) and it isn't safe for westernes. I like my pretty littlke head attached to my pretty little body (I know it's a weird quirck) so I'm staying north of the quasi border. That said, Ouarzazate is in the south eastern part of real Morocco, in the Mid Atlas region (those are the mountains). OK, so n your map find the big city of Ouarazate, go north east a bit. I don't know how far but it's a two hour drive to El Klaa M'Gouda (where I come for internet etc) then follow the road north a jump, if my bitty duoar (village) is on the map you'll be looking for Tabernashte, Azrou, or Tazrout. These are neighboring duoars and they're each made up of about thirty houses. Don' be distracted by the larger Azrou that's on most maps and is closer to the sea. That's a big city and it isn't me.
Back to talking about me and adventures, yay, me!So I decided to go on a mini vacation to a duoar I'de heard about that's north of Azrou called Boutaghrar ( pronounced boo tak errar)and I thought it would be fun to walk there. So I set out after class yesterday and start walking, it's so beautiful here. The almond trees and the roses are both in bloom right now and as I was walking along I could smell honysuckel somewhere in the fields. My life is just so hard. Well that was lovley and when I got into the next village over (Tabernasht) everyone was super friendly and greeted me; people get super excited here when foreigners speak the native language in stead of French or Arabic. Btw, I can' remember if I've told you guys; I'm learning Tamazirt, it's one of the local dialects spoken by the mountain berbers. Yup, I'm cool. Also, greeting ppl doesn't just mean sharing hellos here. It means stopping to say hi, ask how they are, and what they're doing. Even though we don't know each other, and you will be invited in for tea at least half the time. It's just they way of things, I hope you guys are ready for tea and cookies when I come home, it's going to be the way of things.:) Anyway, as I greated on person in particular he asked where I was going and I said Boutaghrar, he said really? So I askzd how far it was and he said twenty five kilometers, at this point I've walked one. Hmm I think to myself, maybe I'll grab the next transit (taxi) that comes by. So I start walking again and it's still just lovely. After another kilo or so I laeve the river vally and the road starts winding through the desert. Side note before anyone worries uneccassarily, I live. Sorry to spoil the ending :) Really though, I knew I had a treck ahead of me so I bought two liters of water before leaving Azrou and I had my pocket pink pocket hanky. The only reason I wanted to mention the desert treck is to tell you about how beautiful it is. The Atlas Mountains were made the same way the Rockies were and the are I'm in has a lot of sandstone, it's looks so much like the Colorado Utah border it was amazing. Ofcourse the random piles fo camel droppings would remind me of where I was but it was cool anyway.
My feet had just started to hurt and I had just stopped having fun, after about three kilometers when the transit showed up, yay! So I went the rest of the way in style, ant the whole ride cost about a buck and a half. When I got into Boutaghrar I was the only person there so the hotel owner made me tea and we sat and had tea together; I tried to talk to him but I was tired and my tam skills run and hide when I get tired so I excused myself for a nap. After my nap the Bulotel (hotel owner) took me to tea at his friends house (don't fret, this is very normal) and we sat and I asked about the few things I could think of, one of which was if they have a sbitar (health clinic. They said yes and asked why I asked and I told them when I was done with my trainig I was going to work for the minister of health in a sbitar. After tea I went back to the hotel and had a lovely evening with the bulotels whole family; they insisted I join them b:c I was the only hotel guest and they didn't want me to be lonley. This morning I caught a trznsit here to Klaa, it was pretty uneventful comparitivly. Well, that's life here, I'm off to the market for a coffee and some fruit. All my love!
I've read a great many adventure books in my time and you know what? Towels are useless to take everywhere with you b/c they're bulky and ppl stare. But pocket hankerchiefs set you up on a higher branch of the evolutionary scale. They travel well, are reusable, and can do everything a towel can do but dry faster. Tolkien is smarter than Adams, sorry to break the hearts of the masses but it must be done for the good of all.
We have a free weekend this week, that means that from sat afternoon until sundown today (sun) I can leave Azrou and go anywhere within the province of Ouarzazate. For my map friends, you going to need a really detailed map to find me. Quick note about Morocco, sorry non-map-reader friedns, there is real Morocco and then there is the Western Sahara, this is the skinnier, southern part of the map. You will only hear about the adventures of Turia in real Morocco b/c Western Sahara is a disputed area (like Kashmere) and it isn't safe for westernes. I like my pretty littlke head attached to my pretty little body (I know it's a weird quirck) so I'm staying north of the quasi border. That said, Ouarzazate is in the south eastern part of real Morocco, in the Mid Atlas region (those are the mountains). OK, so n your map find the big city of Ouarazate, go north east a bit. I don't know how far but it's a two hour drive to El Klaa M'Gouda (where I come for internet etc) then follow the road north a jump, if my bitty duoar (village) is on the map you'll be looking for Tabernashte, Azrou, or Tazrout. These are neighboring duoars and they're each made up of about thirty houses. Don' be distracted by the larger Azrou that's on most maps and is closer to the sea. That's a big city and it isn't me.
Back to talking about me and adventures, yay, me!So I decided to go on a mini vacation to a duoar I'de heard about that's north of Azrou called Boutaghrar ( pronounced boo tak errar)and I thought it would be fun to walk there. So I set out after class yesterday and start walking, it's so beautiful here. The almond trees and the roses are both in bloom right now and as I was walking along I could smell honysuckel somewhere in the fields. My life is just so hard. Well that was lovley and when I got into the next village over (Tabernasht) everyone was super friendly and greeted me; people get super excited here when foreigners speak the native language in stead of French or Arabic. Btw, I can' remember if I've told you guys; I'm learning Tamazirt, it's one of the local dialects spoken by the mountain berbers. Yup, I'm cool. Also, greeting ppl doesn't just mean sharing hellos here. It means stopping to say hi, ask how they are, and what they're doing. Even though we don't know each other, and you will be invited in for tea at least half the time. It's just they way of things, I hope you guys are ready for tea and cookies when I come home, it's going to be the way of things.:) Anyway, as I greated on person in particular he asked where I was going and I said Boutaghrar, he said really? So I askzd how far it was and he said twenty five kilometers, at this point I've walked one. Hmm I think to myself, maybe I'll grab the next transit (taxi) that comes by. So I start walking again and it's still just lovely. After another kilo or so I laeve the river vally and the road starts winding through the desert. Side note before anyone worries uneccassarily, I live. Sorry to spoil the ending :) Really though, I knew I had a treck ahead of me so I bought two liters of water before leaving Azrou and I had my pocket pink pocket hanky. The only reason I wanted to mention the desert treck is to tell you about how beautiful it is. The Atlas Mountains were made the same way the Rockies were and the are I'm in has a lot of sandstone, it's looks so much like the Colorado Utah border it was amazing. Ofcourse the random piles fo camel droppings would remind me of where I was but it was cool anyway.
My feet had just started to hurt and I had just stopped having fun, after about three kilometers when the transit showed up, yay! So I went the rest of the way in style, ant the whole ride cost about a buck and a half. When I got into Boutaghrar I was the only person there so the hotel owner made me tea and we sat and had tea together; I tried to talk to him but I was tired and my tam skills run and hide when I get tired so I excused myself for a nap. After my nap the Bulotel (hotel owner) took me to tea at his friends house (don't fret, this is very normal) and we sat and I asked about the few things I could think of, one of which was if they have a sbitar (health clinic. They said yes and asked why I asked and I told them when I was done with my trainig I was going to work for the minister of health in a sbitar. After tea I went back to the hotel and had a lovely evening with the bulotels whole family; they insisted I join them b:c I was the only hotel guest and they didn't want me to be lonley. This morning I caught a trznsit here to Klaa, it was pretty uneventful comparitivly. Well, that's life here, I'm off to the market for a coffee and some fruit. All my love!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Life...and Stuff
So I just want to give a quick shout out to everyone who gave me stuff at any point in my life before I left. It is so wonderful having little reminders here and there of people who love me and know what I'm saying most of the time. I have pictures from Jessi in my journal and notebooks that I get to see all the time; and there are a ton of songs on my Ipod that were gifts or suggestions from Daryl and Ashley. But one thing I use constanatly is a handkerchief Orion gave me years ago that I doubt he even remembers giving me. Thank you everyone so much, it's really nice to have those things whenever I feel homesick. Also, thank you Daryl for the b-day message, it was really touching. It's amazing the number of reminders I find of all of you through out the day. Different situations where I'll have to stop and think, now if I were (friend's name) I would totally know the answer to this.
Although I am finding myself feeling more and more self-confident. Just now I used three different languages to find a store that sold what I wanted, help some American tourists, and borrow a pen from a frenchman. I don' t care if this sounds cocky, I'm talented.
I was thinking about it I havn't really told you guys about my everyday life here, just anecdotes. I'm living with a family that's one mom and dad who are really nice, two sister-in-laws. One's 23, pregnant, and moody; the other is 19 and as sweet as the day is long. I also have a nine yearold sister who couldn't care less about my presence. I suppose that's better than not wanting me around or annoying me, right? This is just for another month for training until I go to my real site. I'll find out my real site in a week or so; I'm nervous and excited. On the whole my language skills are growing rather quickly, I' m surprised, languages have always been hard for me. yay! Well, I have to dash, we're in Ouarzazate now but we're headed back to Azrou in 45. Love you all!
Although I am finding myself feeling more and more self-confident. Just now I used three different languages to find a store that sold what I wanted, help some American tourists, and borrow a pen from a frenchman. I don' t care if this sounds cocky, I'm talented.
I was thinking about it I havn't really told you guys about my everyday life here, just anecdotes. I'm living with a family that's one mom and dad who are really nice, two sister-in-laws. One's 23, pregnant, and moody; the other is 19 and as sweet as the day is long. I also have a nine yearold sister who couldn't care less about my presence. I suppose that's better than not wanting me around or annoying me, right? This is just for another month for training until I go to my real site. I'll find out my real site in a week or so; I'm nervous and excited. On the whole my language skills are growing rather quickly, I' m surprised, languages have always been hard for me. yay! Well, I have to dash, we're in Ouarzazate now but we're headed back to Azrou in 45. Love you all!
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