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| Only in Morocco :) |
I'm back in site now, resting up and getting back into routine after another crazy month...
Gerald's Parents Visit
Before I headed to Fes for Marche Maroc, Gerald's Mom-Theresa and her husband Peter came to my site for the weekend. They thoroughly enjoyed getting to see all the wonders of life at the base of the High Atlas mountains! My host family cooked 'wedding chickens' and Sheria for us on the day of their arrival. Wedding chickens are roast chicken with a lemon spice marinade and lots of olives. Sheria is a dish of another sort-it's pasta (think angel hair, cut into 1 inch strips) and is served in a communal dish topped with powdered sugar, raisins and peanuts, interesting mix right?! On Sunday, we got up and had a breakfast of different Moroccan breads and cakes from the only 'bakery' in town and then headed to souk. Peter had a camera strapped around his neck, which enticed all the children to follow him around as they all wanted their picture taken. Theresa bought a bundle of scarfs, as gifts for friends back in England, which I haggled relentlessly for! On Sunday evening, both my site mates, along with Eric's girlfriend, and Moses came over for a home cooked Honduran meal, compliments of Theresa. She made 'melt in your mouth' steak fajitas, refried beans, and salsa and it was devoured and appreciated by all of us! They headed back to Fes on Monday morning, via a private taxi, which we prearranged for them.
I must give props to their spontaneous nature...not only did they come to Morocco on the fly, but while in Fes they met a young man named Omar, who took them all around, very happily, not expecting a dime in return-he just wanted to practice his English. In the end, they ended up canceling their hotel reservations for the last portion of their stay in Fes, as Omar's family insisted that they stay in their home! They even traveled a couple hours outside of Fes, past Taza, for an overnight trip, to visit the Uncle of the family, who lives on a farm in a village full of waterfalls. Wow! I met Omar on their last day and was extended an open invite, "anytime I'm in Fes, I musn't stay in a hotel, I must come stay with them". Talk about hospitality!
Marche Maroc Fes
Was a success, we sold the same amount as we did in Marrakesh, keeping our numbers steady. The only not so great part of the weekend, was that Rebha packed for cold weather and therefore was stuck in a heavy wool jellaba for the whole weekend in extremely hot weather. I did offer her some of my lighter clothes, Rebha found the idea of her wearing my 'western' clothes very funny and politely declined. Ah, well. Rebha gave a speech on the opening day to all the other artisans and I received an e-mail a few days after from my program manager, Mina, commending our Co-op, Rebha's understanding of sustainability and willingness to speak in public (which is huge for these ladies). It was great to get together with all the other volunteers and enjoy 'city life' for a brief moment too!
Spring Camp in Khenifra
Boy-oh-Boy, Me-oh-My, I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I volunteered to help the Youth Development volunteers out with Spring Camp! It was intense. I arrived in the afternoon on Monday, straight from Fes, so I was already exhausted from the busy weekend in the heat. From the moment I arrived at the Dar Fataat, I was on the Ministry of Youths schedule. Myself, along with three other volunteers and a handful of Moroccan staff, were with 50 kids for the next 4 days, 24/7, and I mean 24/7. Wake-up calls were at 7.30A.M. and no sympathy was spared. Drums and music blasting from 8am until 'lights out' at 11.30 P.M..
I taught English, every morning to 13 intermediate level kids. This was the most enjoyable part of the week for me, as I had my own (nice and quiet) classroom and was 'in-charge' of the schedule for those few hours each day. Each day had a different theme; culture, geography, environment, and health. I had the most fun with 'health' as we went through the names of body parts and then I taught them, 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' and 'The Hokey Pokey' which all the kids seemed to enjoy.
The afternoons were a mix of Moroccan and American 'clubs', during which we played lots of games and did lots of very silly dances. And then after dinner each night was a disco and more games...I was knackered out early every evening! As the kids had to be under constant supervision by all of us, there was pretty much zero down-time the whole week.
On Thursday, we took a field trip 24K outside of Khenifra to a small beautiful village in the countryside. With all the rolling green hills, wild flowers, and lots of pretty nature. I felt like I was frolicking, that's right frolicking through fields in 'The Sound of Music' with the Von Trapp children :) To get there 50 of us crowded into two small transit vans-it was like that old Volkswagen commercial, where they try to see how many people fit in one car-a mess of bodies! I am working on getting the name of the village, but we hiked to a 'palace' which is still under construction and owned by a 'rich-man' from Khenifra and also to a pretty waterfall. It was 39C all week-and there were no shower facilities for us or the children...as you can imagine we were a pretty smelly group by the end of the week. :P
I couldn't have been happier when Saturday finally came. We (the volunteers) headed to Marcia's (where I went for Christmas) for an afternoon of well deserved R&R. I arrived back in site on Sunday around lunch time, went straight to souk to get my weekly veg and fruit, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing.
What Time is it?!
So Morocco decided to adopt 'Summer Time' the weekend before last. We all put our clocks forward while we were in Fes and this 'New Time' will last until July 31st. But get this--only big cities and government buildings follow the 'New Time'. So, when I got back to site, I had to put my clock back, but when I went to the post office yesterday at 3.30 P.M. old time, I found it was closed as they follow 'New Time'. Way to make things confusing huh?! So for the next few months whenever a time is set to do something, I have to be sure to clarify whether that's 'New Time' or 'Old Time'...Tujdidt Ta3ssa3t mid Taqdimt Ta3ssa3t?!
Upcoming Escapades...
The Rose Festival
Rebha and I are heading to Kelaat Mgouna (down South) in the beginning of May for the Rose Festival. This area of Morocco is famous for its rose products and the Rose Festival happens annually and is pretty well known to tourists. This will be the first time my Co-op has attended and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it's a success. My point behind taking Rebha there is to let her get to know artisans from the area so that she can make contacts and attend the festival in the years to come. As this isn't a Peace Corps sponsored event, I think it is a good shot at getting her/the Co-op into a sustainable event. Marisa, my good friend from CBT, lives in the area and her artisans have been kind enough to offer for Rebha to stay with them (I'll stay with Marisa). So the only costs will be food and transport, which is good news for the Co-op.
Trip to England
I'm headed to England in mid-May for a very quick trip. I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing all my family, friends and Gerald, of course. I can't tell you how excited I am to eat all kinds of food while I am there :) Gerald is taking me to Gaucho (yum yum yum) in Richmond-upon-Thames for lunch one afternoon and I am super excited about that as I've never been to Richmond before. I'm hoping to see Hampton Court Palace while we are there.
Funnily enough, Moses (the health volunteer from the next village over) asked me to write him up an itinerary for his upcoming trip to London, which I agreed to do, but first asked when he was going...turns out we are both booked on the same flight!
Well, I suppose that's about it for now. Hope you enjoyed reading this and the pictures below...for more pictures go to my FaceBook page!
Lots of Love xXx
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| Moroccan Double Decker Bus :) |
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| The Hills are Alive...with the Sound of Music...literally! |
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| Dinner Time |
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| Ladies Night |
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| Marche Maroc Fes-Rebha & Fatima & Our Carpets |
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| Certificate Time |
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| English Class at Spring Camp |
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| Teaching Head-Shoulders-Knees-and-Toes |
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| English Class |
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| Spring Camp Field Trip |
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| Moooooooooooooooooo! |
