Long time overdue, I know, but patience is a virtue :)
Gerald's Visit...
...Was great! It's been six months since we said goodbye at Heathrow and it was so nice to finally see each other. He had a safe flight into Fes, where I met him at the airport. We stayed the night in Fes and headed to my site first thing the next day. While here, he got a real good taste of Moroccan culture :)
From the gender roles side of things, we went to a cafe one evening, with my sitemate Eric, to watch the Arsenal vs. Barcelona match. As I've mentioned before, women don't go to cafes in my town, no matter what time of day. I go for a coffee during the day on occasion, but in the company of other male volunteers. The football game was on at 8pm, and the cafe was absolutely packed (they love Barcelona here). It was certainly strange being the only female in the crowded building, but we sat with some of the boys from the Herria, who I have helped teach, and they were very polite. I'm sure it caused some murmur among the older men in the community, but I think they are getting used to seeing me there during the day and don't think too much of it. N'Shalla
The next day, he got to see the women's world. It was actually the day of my site visit so my Program Manager, Mina came for the afternoon. I had pre-arranged a 'tea-party' for the occasion. Mina came to my house first, where Gerald sat in on our meeting, which was basically about how things are going and what my projects are and how I plan to work over the next two years. After the meeting, we went to Laila Fatima's house for the 'tea-party'/Co-op meeting. I made pumpkin cake, which was a huge hit, even Gerald gave me props for how good it was :) All 12 women showed up, along with my counterpart, Rebha. We drank tea, ate cake, talked about the good work the ladies have been doing with the carpets, made a video clip for Peace Corps 50th Anniversary, and discussed possible product line expansion in to bags. A good time was had by all, even Gerald, the only guy in the room full of Berber women. Mina also said it was a great site visit and she really appreciated the tea-party. Oh and she also brought my mountain bike to me, which is super exciting! Once the weather gets warmer, I'll be taking lots of bike rides out of town, for some great photos!
That same evening, we had Eric and Dan over for dinner, which Gerald prepared. He whipped up some mesquite fried chicken (which he got to watch being killed, plucked, and bagged up for us at the chicken hanut), savory rice, and a delish salad (we bought lettuce while we were in Fes, so this was a luxury dish) :) Gerald cooked for me the whole time he was here, which was much appreciated!
I'd arranged for my host family to cook a meal for us as well. Gerald requested to be able to watch Mamaksu and Hayat cook, which they were more than happy to do. We went the day before and bought all of the food they requested and then he observed in the kitchen the next day. They made a dish called Rifassa, it's my favorite here. In a nutshell, it's chicken and lentils over shredded, fried bread (think thin flaky fried deliciousness topped with lemon chicken and spiced lentils). There are endless amounts of spices in it, but they also boil mustard seed for the sauce, which is a dominating flavor. Yum. Gerald said he enjoyed it...It was served in a communal dish and we ate with forks, but the three women dove in with their hands, which put him off a little bit. Hessna, the pharmacist who organizes the aerobics classes, came to dinner as well, so he got to meet her, which was nice.
On Thursday, we took a trip over to Boumia, where Souk was taking place. Gerald thought souk was absolute madness and loved it. Eric, took him to the Hemam in the evening, which he thoroughly enjoyed! He said if he lived here he would go every single day-I let him know that as a female it's not so soothing as it's a room-full of naked women and screaming kids, who don't want to be scrubbed! I try to go early and get out quick, before they all show up after lunch! He also enjoyed the craziness of the taxi's here in Morocco.
We went back to Fes for the weekend, which was absolutely brilliant. We made no plans other than to get lost in the medina and eat yummy food. Walking through the medina, which is only accessible via foot or motorbike, is like taking a giant leap back in time. All your senses come to play and it is truly an amazing experience. The highlight for me was the Tannery's. From inside a shop (full of leather) you get to look down on the men working. The process is wild-Gerald had watched a program on the Tannery's in Fes before he came, so he knew everything that was going on and explained it to me as we were watching them work. Did you know they soften the leather via pigeon poop?! When you enter the shop you are handed a sprig of fresh mint-the odor from the dyes and pigeon dropping-wash are very strong, so they give you mint to hold under your nose while you look on. The men are standing in this mixture and also the dyes all day long, it's crazy.
We both loved Fes and are looking forward to many trips back over the next two years!
It was a sad goodbye at the airport, but I am going to England in May, so not too long between visits...
So now I am back in site, preparing for the next Marche Maroc, which happens to be in Fes next week! Peace Corps got funding to pay for two women from the Co-op to attend, so Rebha, Fatima and I will be enjoying Fes together next week. Hopefully, we sell lots of carpets!!! N'Shalla :)
I will go straight from Fes to Khenifra, to help out with the Youth Development sectors Spring Camp. That's a week of English Immersion Camp for kids all over Morocco. There are 30 camps in total. For the Khenifra camp, there will be 4 PC Volunteers and about 100 kids aged 14-17. I'm just a little scared...lol.
Oh! And this weekend, Gerald's parents are coming to visit!!! They enjoyed hearing about his trip and the pictures sooo much that they booked a trip immediately, lol. Crazy, I know :) But, they are seasoned travelers and have been to many developing countries so this is totally their 'cup of tea' if you will. They got to Fes on the 20th and are staying til the 3rd of April. They will come to my site this weekend and spend two nights here. I've arranged for my host family to cook again, this time a tagine. At first, I was a little apprehensive about asking them to cook again so soon, I felt like they might think I was exploiting them, which is not my intention. But, as soon as they heard his parents were coming, they insisted they 'cook the food of Morocco' for them. In fact, they wanted to cook all the meals! They love visitors :)
I'm excited because the timing allows them to see Fes, my site and life here, as well as a Marche Maroc, which will be taking place (and our Co-op will be attending) in Fes while they are here! They'll be able to see all of the Co-op's that SBD volunteers work with from everywhere in Morocco, and all the Co-op's products! Pretty cool stuff.
Well, that's it for now, will be writing all about the next adventures soon, promise!
xXx
Gerald's Visit...
...Was great! It's been six months since we said goodbye at Heathrow and it was so nice to finally see each other. He had a safe flight into Fes, where I met him at the airport. We stayed the night in Fes and headed to my site first thing the next day. While here, he got a real good taste of Moroccan culture :)
From the gender roles side of things, we went to a cafe one evening, with my sitemate Eric, to watch the Arsenal vs. Barcelona match. As I've mentioned before, women don't go to cafes in my town, no matter what time of day. I go for a coffee during the day on occasion, but in the company of other male volunteers. The football game was on at 8pm, and the cafe was absolutely packed (they love Barcelona here). It was certainly strange being the only female in the crowded building, but we sat with some of the boys from the Herria, who I have helped teach, and they were very polite. I'm sure it caused some murmur among the older men in the community, but I think they are getting used to seeing me there during the day and don't think too much of it. N'Shalla
The next day, he got to see the women's world. It was actually the day of my site visit so my Program Manager, Mina came for the afternoon. I had pre-arranged a 'tea-party' for the occasion. Mina came to my house first, where Gerald sat in on our meeting, which was basically about how things are going and what my projects are and how I plan to work over the next two years. After the meeting, we went to Laila Fatima's house for the 'tea-party'/Co-op meeting. I made pumpkin cake, which was a huge hit, even Gerald gave me props for how good it was :) All 12 women showed up, along with my counterpart, Rebha. We drank tea, ate cake, talked about the good work the ladies have been doing with the carpets, made a video clip for Peace Corps 50th Anniversary, and discussed possible product line expansion in to bags. A good time was had by all, even Gerald, the only guy in the room full of Berber women. Mina also said it was a great site visit and she really appreciated the tea-party. Oh and she also brought my mountain bike to me, which is super exciting! Once the weather gets warmer, I'll be taking lots of bike rides out of town, for some great photos!
That same evening, we had Eric and Dan over for dinner, which Gerald prepared. He whipped up some mesquite fried chicken (which he got to watch being killed, plucked, and bagged up for us at the chicken hanut), savory rice, and a delish salad (we bought lettuce while we were in Fes, so this was a luxury dish) :) Gerald cooked for me the whole time he was here, which was much appreciated!
I'd arranged for my host family to cook a meal for us as well. Gerald requested to be able to watch Mamaksu and Hayat cook, which they were more than happy to do. We went the day before and bought all of the food they requested and then he observed in the kitchen the next day. They made a dish called Rifassa, it's my favorite here. In a nutshell, it's chicken and lentils over shredded, fried bread (think thin flaky fried deliciousness topped with lemon chicken and spiced lentils). There are endless amounts of spices in it, but they also boil mustard seed for the sauce, which is a dominating flavor. Yum. Gerald said he enjoyed it...It was served in a communal dish and we ate with forks, but the three women dove in with their hands, which put him off a little bit. Hessna, the pharmacist who organizes the aerobics classes, came to dinner as well, so he got to meet her, which was nice.
On Thursday, we took a trip over to Boumia, where Souk was taking place. Gerald thought souk was absolute madness and loved it. Eric, took him to the Hemam in the evening, which he thoroughly enjoyed! He said if he lived here he would go every single day-I let him know that as a female it's not so soothing as it's a room-full of naked women and screaming kids, who don't want to be scrubbed! I try to go early and get out quick, before they all show up after lunch! He also enjoyed the craziness of the taxi's here in Morocco.
We went back to Fes for the weekend, which was absolutely brilliant. We made no plans other than to get lost in the medina and eat yummy food. Walking through the medina, which is only accessible via foot or motorbike, is like taking a giant leap back in time. All your senses come to play and it is truly an amazing experience. The highlight for me was the Tannery's. From inside a shop (full of leather) you get to look down on the men working. The process is wild-Gerald had watched a program on the Tannery's in Fes before he came, so he knew everything that was going on and explained it to me as we were watching them work. Did you know they soften the leather via pigeon poop?! When you enter the shop you are handed a sprig of fresh mint-the odor from the dyes and pigeon dropping-wash are very strong, so they give you mint to hold under your nose while you look on. The men are standing in this mixture and also the dyes all day long, it's crazy.
We both loved Fes and are looking forward to many trips back over the next two years!
It was a sad goodbye at the airport, but I am going to England in May, so not too long between visits...
So now I am back in site, preparing for the next Marche Maroc, which happens to be in Fes next week! Peace Corps got funding to pay for two women from the Co-op to attend, so Rebha, Fatima and I will be enjoying Fes together next week. Hopefully, we sell lots of carpets!!! N'Shalla :)
I will go straight from Fes to Khenifra, to help out with the Youth Development sectors Spring Camp. That's a week of English Immersion Camp for kids all over Morocco. There are 30 camps in total. For the Khenifra camp, there will be 4 PC Volunteers and about 100 kids aged 14-17. I'm just a little scared...lol.
Oh! And this weekend, Gerald's parents are coming to visit!!! They enjoyed hearing about his trip and the pictures sooo much that they booked a trip immediately, lol. Crazy, I know :) But, they are seasoned travelers and have been to many developing countries so this is totally their 'cup of tea' if you will. They got to Fes on the 20th and are staying til the 3rd of April. They will come to my site this weekend and spend two nights here. I've arranged for my host family to cook again, this time a tagine. At first, I was a little apprehensive about asking them to cook again so soon, I felt like they might think I was exploiting them, which is not my intention. But, as soon as they heard his parents were coming, they insisted they 'cook the food of Morocco' for them. In fact, they wanted to cook all the meals! They love visitors :)
I'm excited because the timing allows them to see Fes, my site and life here, as well as a Marche Maroc, which will be taking place (and our Co-op will be attending) in Fes while they are here! They'll be able to see all of the Co-op's that SBD volunteers work with from everywhere in Morocco, and all the Co-op's products! Pretty cool stuff.
Well, that's it for now, will be writing all about the next adventures soon, promise!
xXx
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| Bab Boujloud Fes |
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| Me and Jerry in site |
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| Jerry in site |
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| Co-op Meeting/Tea Party |
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| Fes by night |
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| Fes Medina |
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| Tannery |
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| Tannery |
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| Isilmin or 'Fish' |
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| Spice Hanut |
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| Pick your Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner |
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| Bab Boujloud |
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| Lunch overlooking Bab Boujloud |
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| MooN |
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| Softball Game in Midelt |
