A long overdue update

It has been too long since I have posted a proper post and I am extremely sorry for that...however it has been a lesson learned regarding my access (or lack of access to internet). Athough I originally expected to have internet access every week, it has not turned out that way. To make a very long story short, I have gone almost two months without a proper update and I will try to make up for that now.

Just a few days ago (September 3) marked my 6 month mark in country. I have been in Morocco for 6 months and have been a Peace Corps Volunteer (officially for 4 months). With that said, I have endured many challenges.I have spotted and killed more scorpions then I would have ever liked to. I have been told endless times "You know nothing" (the universal Moroccan phrase which means...your Tamazirght is terrible!) I have misinterpreted sentences countless amounts of times (which sometimes puts me on the wrong side of town or talking to the wrong person (who usually turns out to be the right person for something else). ...And I have spent many nights in my house wondering why I chose to live in a big house, in middle of Morocco-where close to no one speaks English- when I could be at home enjoying the comfort of my home and family/friends in the States...

But then a small boy will come and knock on my door and ask me to come play with him. Or I will run into one of my neighbors by the river and we'll wash our clothes, side by side, for hours at a time (because...believe me...it takes hours). Or someone will ask me about myself or about my family....and those are the moments that make everything. There have been alot of challenges over the past six months...everything from bed bugs, scorpions, sickness, language barrier, frustrations of having to create my own workplan AND find people who can help me create/implement it in a culturally sensitive way....but at the end of the day, the positives ALWAYS outweigh the positives. I find myself getting sad (teary sometimes), not because I'm homesick, because I will never be able to fully share this wonderful experience with the people that I love so much.

So, what have I been doing over the past two months? Well, that's a loaded question. July was quite the month for me. It began with an unexpected trip to Rabat (the capitol) due to some medical concerns. July 1st marked my first night in my new home. I was extremely excited to finally be settled in (I had a fridge, a new stove,my bed, drawers, dressers-everything...well...everything rural Morocco style). It felt wonderful to have my own space where I could walk around in capris and tshirts and not have to worry if someone saw me bearing my knees or my elbows. I finally had a safe space. My house still needed a fair amount of decorating...but that would come in the future. However, after a lovely evening in the fields with some of the women, I noticed a rash on my hands and feet. I didn't think much of it....until it began to spread. I will say that being in Peace Corps had made me listen to my body more than I ever have had to do before in my life. We have constant access to medical staff (via phone) and a wonderful health center in Rabat. So after day three of the rash (at this point, my whole body is this rash) I start to wonder if it was really just an allergic reaction to the plant in the field (as I mentioned before). After keeping in contact with the Peace Corps medical staff over teh next few days and some failed attemps at medicine....it was time for me to make my first big trek through Morocco. I was to travel from my mountain top site (in Southern Morocco) to the northern (-ish) Coast of Morocco. So, I woke up at 3:30am to begin a very FULL day of travelling. After an early morning tranzit ride down the mountain, a quick sprint to catch a suok bus (a run down, but still operating, coach bus service) to Marrakech, another frantic taxi ride to catch the 1 o'clock train, and a VERY HOT train ride to Rabat...I arrived around 6:30 (13 hours later) in Rabat. Had I been 5 minutes later during any part of my trip...I would have missed a connection and would have had to spend the night somewhere. Sidenote: Peace Corps volunteers are not allowed to travel during the night-country policy so I have to make it within 30 minutes after sunset, whereever I'm going.

It was the most exciting transport that I had ever done. Not because I was frantically rushing around, meeting new people, and experience EVERYTHING (buses, trains, McDonalds, air conditioning and non-airconditioning train cars, the beautiful mountains of the High Atlas Range (minus the snow I saw when I first entered country) the barren land between Marrakech and Casablanca, the ocean (my first sight of it since I came to Morocco), and finally...the city of Rabat. OH...and all of my interactions were not only taking place in Tamazirght/Tashlaheit (the language spoken at my site)...but now I had to peice together the little bit of Moroccan Arabic that I knew. Reminder: Moroccan arabic is the universal language of Morocco. Classical arabic (pronounced:foo-sh-hah) is sometimes taught in schools...but all tevelesion shows (well most of them) and news casts are in Moroccan Arabic (pronounced: Dar-e-jah). While some people in my site now Darija...it is at a very basic level (usually acquired from the schooling that they had as children). Therefore, I speak to my community in a Berber language, which is common in mountain areas, and I do not have formal training in Darija...you will soon see why this is a problem.

Luckily, the adrenaline from my travel and constantly trying to figure out where and what everything is masked any pain and uncomfort that I had from my "mystery condition". However, as soon as I settled into my hotel...it all came back (ten fold)...I was beat from a day of exhausting, I was in a foreign city, and I was alone. All I could do was sleep.

The next day I went to the Peace Corps office to meet with medical staff. What I thought would be a quick visit to get some medicine and some medical advice...turned into blood tests and more tests ...and (long story short) I was in Rabat for a full week. The very thorough medical staff sent me to several specialists to determine the reason for my high levels of enzymes in my liver and my oddly low blood pressure. Finally, after a sonogram and a round of giardia medication (a precaution), I was told to spend a couple of days in Rabat (rest) and to come back after the weekend to see if my levels were better. The LAST thing I wanted to do was to stay in a foreign city...how was I suposse to rest? There was so much I needed to do back in my community (I was thinking "I'm already behind with my language and my should-be projects)...but slowely but surely I met other Peace Corps volunteers who were in Rabat and we were able to spend more and more time together. I enjoyed some lovely meals (italian, sushi, good ol' fashion hamburgers, etc.) and as I regained my strength, I was able to get out more and start to enjoy the city. I took long walks on the beach, watch the final game of the world cup on big screen tvs (the first time I have seen a tv larger than my head, while in Morocco) and explore some of the historical sites that Rabat holds (such as history and art museums...as well as light houses, kasbahs-former forts and much more).

By the time I came back to the Peace Corps doctors on that Monday, I was relaxed and alot less stressed. Luckily, the tests were looking better and they said that it was time for me to finally head back to site (which was muscia to my ears). They never did find out what the cause of my symptoms were, but they suspected it was a virus that hitter me alot harder than I would have expected. They told me to return in a month to make sure that all of my levels are back to normal. In the meantime, I was headed back to site. Unlike my journey to Rabat...even if I was to wake up early...there is not way that I could make it back tomy site in one day. So I took it slowely..train by train, bus to bus, taxi to tranzit and finally back to site. I felt refreshed and well fed by the time I got back to site.

The next two weeks were full of me trying to play catch up with what was going on in community. There were still so many questions that I wanted to ask before I headed off to my training (which marked my 3 month mark as a PCV) and had to finish a report for Peace Corps. So, I stayed in site and hunkered down. I did alot of decorating and reached out to my neighbors to learn more about the people who live right around the corner (or in my case...right around the other side of the sheep barn.

At the end of July, it was time for me to head to Ouarzazate, the capitol of the Ouarzazate Province for a two week training. Up until this point, all of our trainings were meant to prepare us (language-wise and technically) on how to gather information that we would need from our community and how to begin to integrate into my community. Now, it was time for us to learn how to work with our communities to implement projects, once we had finished identifying the needs and the available resources. So, we spent 8 or 9 hours a day talking about midwifes, maternal health workshops, HIV/STI prevention and how to present it in an appropriate way, how to train youth to train their peers about health issues, how to work with associations/communes, how to arrange festivals and other outreach events, how to build wells, how to identify safe and un-safe drinking sources, and of course ...how to do health education in schools (the universal peace corps project for health volunteers). It was alot and it was hot too...luckily, at the beginning and end of each day, there was time for me to swim some laps in the wonderful 25 meter pool at the hotel and to simply lounge and enjoy the sun. So after two weeks of alot of pool time and even more training...i was ready to go back to site and hunker down.

But then...there was Ramadan. One of the most important holidays in the Muslim religion is the month-long sunrise to sunset fasting called Ramadan. It is a time of reflection, alms-giving, feeling solidarity with the poor, and suffering (the no food and no water during the day part). This year (because it goes by the Islmaic calendar) it fell during the month of August (and some of September). Life still goes on during Ramadan...but days are shortened (for workers), people don't spend as much time outside, and all of the social activities that would hapen during the day...well they happen betweeen 7pm and 4am. I decided that I would fast this year (for an undetermined amount of time) and it was a great experience. Every night I would wait for the call to prayer that marked the end of fasting (pronounced: l-mg-er-rib) and I would eat till my little stomach couldn't take anymore. I'd usually eat again around 10pm and then I would sleep. Then I would wake up at 3am to prepare the final meal before fasting (pronounced: sh-oar)and wait for the call to prayer that signals the beginning of fasting for the day. It was quite an experience. I had more down time during the day and did more relaxed things with my community (like opening walnuts or just hanging around cooking). I also set out to make banana bread for all of the familys I was close with (I think they liked it?), but I stopped fasting when it was time to attend a regional meeting (where all of the PCVs in my area got together to discuss future collaborations and projects). Right after the regional meeting, it was time for me to head back to Rabat for a check up...but this time I was going back in style.

I decided to take a short side trip to Casablanca (instead of overnighting in Marrakech...which is about the half way point for the usually two day trip). Casablance was great. I was able to tour the largest mosque in Africa where over 100,000 people pray during the nights (all at once!) inside and outside of the mosque. They use thousands of speakers to broadcast the call to prayer. This was quite the occassion because most mosques are only open to Muslims and non-believers are not allowed to enter, yet alone to tour. But this was quite the treat..the mosque cost over 800 million dollars (U.S. dollars) and is massive. Its amazing and beautiful and spectacular all at the same time. Also, I was able to visit the famous Rick's cafe, from the movie Casablanca (it was a must see). It was possible the best (non-Moroccan) meal that I have had in country to date.

Luckily, the appointment went great and I was able to leave Rabat the day after I arrived. It was a wonderful trip out of site, but now that Ramadan is coming to an end...I have alot of stuff that I need to prepare for because nce Ramadan ends...it's school time, which hopefully means health classes and some more projects with the children and young adults in my community. So there is alot to look forward to in the coming month. I also will be doing some maternal health outreach at an upcoming "wedding festival" a few hours from my site. I'll be sure to tell you more (later) about why they call it that...but you can guess for now. I also will be taking my new companion (a beatiful black and white kitten, who was rescued by a nearby PCV from some kids) to my site today. So I look forward to welcoming him to our home.

Alot has happened, but there's so much to look forward to...hopefully I can be much better about sharing this all with you!