It was indeed a very Merry Christmas and I have every intention of making it a very happy (and productive and memorable) new year.
My Christmas started off with an early wake up call so that I could have ample time to travel to suok, by foot (since there is a whole in the tube of my front bicycle tire and I have yet gained enough energy and confindence to fix it). But before I headed out, I opened my presents and cards to find an amazing “Twas the Night Before Christmas record-a-book” narrated by tow of my favorite people in the world (Leeann and Erin). With the turn of each page, I was reminded of the many Christmas memories I’ve had with family and friends. After, indulging in a bit of Christmas music…I set out to go to suok.
I had a tight schedule if I was going to buy all the last minute items I needed to make cous cous, tagine, chocolate chip cookies, tea, etc. So I left the house at 9:45 to head to souk. It has been a while since I’ve gone to souk, without the help of my Peace Corps issued bicycle. I found myself stopping to take more pictures (something that I have done very little of in the last six months) and having time to greet more people than usual. It was a friendly reminder that the convenience of a bicycle eliminates most of the small talk/conversations that would have occurred if I happened to be walking in the same direction as someone else and we became walking buddies for a bit. Although yesterday I was crunched for time, so I didn’t have time to stop by the river to say hello to the women who were washing their carpets and clothes.
When I arrived a suok, I got right down to business. My list included:
ü Bread (for the tajine dish)
ü A tajine dish (since I have failed to buy one to date, I usually eat tajines at other people’s houses)
ü Sugar (for the Moroccan tea)
ü A serving tray (for the tea glasses and tea kettle)\
ü 2kilos of chicken (from the butcher) Sidenote: I couldn’t find my usually “chicken guy” who butchers the chicken in the morning and then brings it to souk-so its fresh-so I had to use a new guy who failed to take out the insides of the chicken, which left me praying that I didn’t burst the gall bladder as I chopped away at the chicken)
ü A 10 durham cell phone recharge card
ü ½ kilo of oranges (for dessert)
There were a few other items I wanted (white flour, vanilla sugar, brown sugar, etc.) but I either forgot about them or they weren’t available at suok. Half way through my shopping adventures, I met up with a teacher and a friend, who is an anthropologist from the states, at a coffee shop, to say one final goodbye. The anthropologist has been a huge help, in teaching me more about the region and introducing me to families, but she has also opened her home to me when I go into the nearest town. I’m sad to see her go, but I have been so thankful for the times that I have been able to spend with her and her family. The farewell was even sweeter, when I found out that the teacher (who was also the anthropologists field assistant) offered to tutor me in Tashlaheit. After 8 months on the mountain top, I’ve finally found someone local, within an hour walking distance, that can help me with my language. This is a huge relief because I had preveiously been traveling to the nearest suok town (which is 1.5 hours away-with limited transport times, leaving at 6am in the morning and returning at 2pm the same day) to fit in tutoring once a week.
After our farewell tea and finishing a few more errands. I was off to head back home. The next couple of hours seem to have flown by. But in them, I decided that I didn’t have the time (or the stove space) to make both a tajine and cous cous (which takes 3 hours to cook to completion) and make tea. So I decided to make one big tajine and Moroccan tea (to be accompanied by the banana bread and carrot cake that the girls and I baked the night before). After 3.5 hours of cooking, trying to remember how my host mother makes tajine, supervising al the kids that came in and out of my house to color with markers (which I forgot would stain their hands…opps…good thing I had color pencils too), breaking up several sibling slapping sessions, setting up the “Moroccan room”, and then waiting waiting waiting for my guest to come. We finally started serving tea at 3pm. The carrot cake and banana bread was a hit and my first batch of tea was amazing. One of the girls (Samira) had five cups. The next batch was far too sweet (I guess I learned from my host dad who adds several grams of sugar to his batchs of tea). Then came the main dish…and if I do say so myself, it was delicious. There was enough food for everyone (although I could have added more chicken) and everyone enjoyed it. It tasted “Moroccan”, therefore I was pleased. It gave me the confidence to know that I CAN make Moroccan food that people like and I can host meals at my house. The last lunch party that I had for one of my neighbors, we made cous cous. It was delicious, but it was also primarily made by my neighbor and I simply “assisted”. With 2011, I’m ready to invite more people over for tea and meals. I think this will be one more small step in my continous integration into the community.
Afterwards (around 4pm), I invited everyone into the living room to see the Christmas decorations and to read/translate “Twas the Night before Christmas” to the kids. They really got a kick out of hearing the voices of Leeann and Erin read them the story. After that, I delivered the rest of the banana bread and carrot cake to some neighbors and friends. They all seemed happy, except for one neighbor that quickly pointed out that the bottom of the banana bread was burnt….oh well, if I learned anything in 2010-I’ve learned that I can’t please everyone.
Today is Sunday and it feels great knowing that I’ve had a full, productive week (where I’ve accomplished personal, professional, and cultural goals). Today will be full of back work…filling out Peace Corps forms, cleaning the house from yesterday, reading, and possibly a trip to a friends house (if I really feel motivated) for some henna). Knowing that, I am fully enjoying the relaxation of Sunday and the lack of a schedule. Some weeks, I feel like everyday is a Sunday…therefore, when Sunday does roll around, I can’t truly relax, knowing that I didn’t accomplish everything I wanted to that week. Nonetheless, tomorrow begins a new week (and I’ll begin it with a trip into Ouarzazate to get my cat neutered). I’ll also be meeting one of the new PCVs (Peace Corps volunteers) in the region. There are a lot of errands to run, but I welcome the change of pace (at least for 24 hours), although I’m not looking forward to the 5am wake up call to catch the tranzit (hopefully I can find a tranzit that will come at 7am-best case scenario). We’ll see…
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