Monday, August 20, 2012

Ramadan Round Two

Not quite the end of the week as promised, but here nonetheless...

This is what a typical Lftor table looks like...time to break fast!
I survived my last Ramadan here in Toon Town which ended yesterday. Last year I travelled quite a bit, but this year I was in site for all but one week of Ramadan's goodness. While Ramadan is the holy month of fasting, I am convinced that people actually eat twice as much during the month by binge eating at night. I didn't fast,  but I still broke fast with my friends and family.

While the food of Ramadan is delicious; it is full of white flour, fat and oil. The result of this year's Ramadan-I can no longer get most of pants over my thighs. Seriously. I tried my hardest for two years not to put the 'twenty pounds most female volunteers will gain' on and as of mid-service medicals last year I was doing fine, weighing in at the same weight I came into country with. Now, I can't get the jeans I wore this past January on. Which just makes me want to eat more. Leggings it is.

Onto more informative news.

Neddia, my host cousin who lives three and a half hours Northwest of here in Khenifra, had a baby during Ramadan. In good timing as well. Dan and Kristen who used to be volunteers here in Toon Town were back for a visit the day after she had the baby. So along with Mamaksu and Baha we filled a taxi and set off for Khenifra to see the new member of our family.

Who needs the weather channel? Forecast: HOT
Oh. My. God. Khenifra in August equals hell on earth. This was the most uncomfortable week of my service, quite possibly my life. The combination of 120 degrees+, a tiny third story apartment, heaps of guests in and out to see the baby and fasting (no water!!!) was insane. At night we slept in a room with no windows, meaning no air movement. I was in a constant puddle. It was unbearable.

And the poor baby clothed, swaddled and wrapped in two blankets. Words can't describe. At night, Mamaksu and I sat in a tiny space on the roof while she deep-fried 50+ chickens and steamed massive amounts of cous-cous each night for the three-day naming ceremony. On numerous occasions I had to wake Mamaksu who kept falling asleep while sitting on a stool cooking. I am getting hot and irritated just typing about it. This will be a story I will tell for many years to come. So next time you see me, ask.
View from Neddia's living room...Mosque next door and all the men praying on the roof
The roof was turned into a salon for evening naming ceremony dinner's, men and women on separate days of course
Al Fresco Dining at its finest
Turning the roof into a salon meant putting temporary lights up, which they wired into the existing light switches downstairs...power shorted out a lot, leaving Mamaksu to cook for fifty+ people by candlelight.
Talk about a 'one-woman show' can you imagine cooking a three course meal for 50+ people in these conditions?
Chez Mamaksu
Cous Cous anyone?
Working Mamaksu, which all the children knew how to do: "Attainee shwiya iffulusan" whilst batting eyelashes and making pouty face...Give me a little chicken!
More Chicken Thieves
The final product...which may contain: blood, sweat and tears
The baby was tiny and remained nameless for most of my time there. The day before I left he was finally given the name Yaheya (Yah-Hee-Yah). While he is very loved, I felt awful for him. Neddia had a blocked milk duct and rather than telling us she was in pain and going to the doctor she thought it would get better if she let him feed from it. So during our 3.30am dinner, one of the other toddlers calmly announced that the baby had blood all over him.

He had thrown up his body weight in blood which he had been drinking from his sick mother. It was horrifying. There was more blood than baby. And to make things worse, everyone looked over then went back to eating. When they noticed I wasn't eating, they told me not to worry that if something was wrong he would cry and to finish my dinner. Then when they saw the look on my face wasn't going anywhere, they asked Neddia what was going on. It was then that she revealed her breast which was clearly infected. I told her to keep a hot compress on it until the morning and to go straight to the doctors when they opened the next day. She did and was much better by the time I left.

The teeny-tiny Yaheya
Yaheya with his makeup on...
Sleepy baby
After a week of melting (but not away to nothing), I happily returned back to the cool mountains of Toon Town. In an effort to button my pants again, I have been running as usual and also going for long walks. I've included some pictures which show my views during these walks.

Little Lambs
Preparing for winter
Road to Ait Ah Chouli (outer dwar of Toon Town)
Lonely House
Work will resume in September and in whirlwind fashion. My final month of Peace Corps. In an effort two go out strong, I am leading two women's empowerment day camps in mid-September, finishing up the final stages of my spinning wheel grant and training, and bussing 60 children to Midelt so that they can participate in a mini-marathon and get a taste of city life. It's going to be a good month.

My home for the past two years...Toon Town
Next week is my staaj's 'Close of Service Conference' (COS conference), which is a week of debriefings, medical/dental appointments and first steps in preparing for reverse culture shock.
It will be bittersweet. I am looking forward to the change of scenery and change of pace. Ramadan was s-l-o-o-o-w. On the other hand, this will be the last time I see most of the people I came into this country with almost two years ago. Goodbyes are never easy and it is going to be surreal as we reflect on the ups and downs, successes and (many) challenges of the past two years. But of course, most of all I look forward to celebrating with my fellow PCV's....we did it! :)

Much Love,

Miriam xXx

Monday, August 13, 2012

Overdue Hello!

Hello there!

I'm behind on posts, but have no fear I will get you up to speed by the end of the week.

For now here is a quick hello from me and Miss Lamby :-)


Miriam & Lil Lamby xXx