24 September 2006
Right now I am sitting in my new bedroom above the home of my new host family. I have my own room on top of the roof and believe it or not, it is right next to the sheep. As I look out my tiny window, I can see them in their pen. I am also within clear range of their constant bleating, which has stopped because I think they might be sleeping now. The house is very nice and I think I am very lucky to have my own private bedroom and it seems I have my own bathroom as well, but it has a Turkish toilet and I don’t plan on showering tomorrow because my host mom’s instructions on how to use “l-douche” were in Arabic and involved pointing at this air duct as well as a gas can in a little box. There are four pictures hanging on the walls: two of the father of the household, one of the King of Morocco and his baby son, and the other of two babies dressed up very formally sitting on a fancy gold chair. Also on the roof is a separate apartment where my language teacher is living. This is both great and weird. It’s great because she literally lives two steps away and probably will eat most her meals with my family. It’s weird because she’s right there and I will be seeing her all the time!
My host mom introduced herself to me as Mama, so since I’m not sure what her real name is, I’ve been calling her Mama and she seems to be really happy whenever I do. Mama and I watched tv in the salon for probably six hours today…sometimes trying to talk, but mostly Mama napped on the couch. I have also met my host sister-in-law whose name is Samiya and her son Walid. Walid is four years old and adorable. He’s my little buddy now ever since we played cards this afternoon. We made up a game similar to slap jack, except we were using a Moroccan deck of cards so we hit the ones and yelled “Wahid!” (Wahid means one) He loved it and after a while the game just became slamming the cards as hard as possible on the table and laughing.
Oh, and my new name here is Jamila. Mama and Samiya had a hard time saying my name (every time they tried it sounded a lot like Jelly) so they changed it to something easier! They also told me Jamila means beautiful in Arabic. Sometimes when we have problems communicating (basically all the time) they look at me and say “Smitk Jamila!” and we laugh. (“Your name is Jamila!”)
Today was also the first day of Ramadan, which is the holiest month of the year for Muslims. During Ramadan, Muslims fast during the day, which means no food, water, gum, cigarettes or sex until the sun sets. I kind of fasted today. When I woke up I ate a piece of bread and around 5 pm I ate a few cookies that I found in my purse. We broke the fast around 6:30 and had the sweetest meal ever. It consisted of mint tea, mesumen (which are like pancakes, but much bigger and flatter and tasting nothing like a pancake), sugary dates, bread dipped in honey, and this sugary dessert that was like dough pretzels, kind of. I guess after fasting all day the first thing you want to eat is something that tastes really really good. After breakfast, my language teacher Fatima and I walked to another PC volunteer’s house. Floyd wasn’t there because he was out at a cafe with his host brother, but we visited with his host parents and sisters. One of the sisters was getting henna done on her hands and I was invited back to get henna on my hands sometime soon. I am really excited about this!
So, after visiting with the family for about two hours, Fatima and I walked back to our house. I watched tv (The Last Samurai dubbed in French) with Mama, Ba (my host dad), and Samiya until it was time for dinner. We ate dinner around 10:30 and had some kind of beef stew with vegetables that was really tasty. Keep in mind, there is no silverware here, so everything is eaten with your hands. Usually I will break off pieces of bread to scoop up vegetables or pieces of meat. Also, I can only use my right hand to eat, because it is culturally and religiously unclean to use the left hand while eating. Surprisingly, I am doing okay with this.
After dinner I said my first real sentence of the day “Jamila brigt nes” which means “Jenny needs sleep,” and walked up to bed. Mama asked if I wanted to wake up at 4:00 am to eat the last meal of the night before sunrise. I decided that sleep sounded like a better idea, but I think tomorrow night I will try waking up early just to see what happens at this last meal.
Tomorrow is another big day. My training group of 5 volunteers begins our training at the Dar Chebab. The Dar Chebab literally means the House of Youth and is where we will have our language and culture classes and next week we will begin teaching the youth there. I have to walk all but twenty seconds to get to the Dar Chebab, as it is right across the street. Very convenient.
So far, all the Moroccans I have met have been so incredibly nice. I feel very welcome here and every person has been very patient with my lack of language skills, especially my host family. This town seems very safe and today I met the gendarmes (police) who will be looking out for me while I’m here. But, I’m not too worried about this town, because I have noticed all the households let their children run free in the streets without supervision.
So, I hope this message finds all of you well and I will write more soon! Remember, I’d love to get mail!
Love,
Jenny
Monday, September 25, 2006
The T.T.
This little acronym has become all too familiar to us PC volunteers since arriving in l-Mgrib. The turkish toilet. Picture a small hole in the ground with two small grooves on either side for your feet. That’s about all there is to it. To use the T.T. you have to squat over the hole and pretty much hope for the best. I’ve had some pretty ridiculous episodes on that thing! To flush you fill a bucket of water from the tap on the wall and pour it down the hole. To wipe, you just splash some of the water on yourself and you’re ready to go! Megan, thank god for all that hand sanitizer I brought along! As I’ve found out, you can never have enough of that stuff here. Also, I have decided to save my cherished stash of Kleenexes for the really dire times. Oh, and I almost forgot the best part. The T.T. here at my host family’s house has this rock with a handle that you put in the hole when you’re done. Kind of gross to touch, but much appreciated when considering the smell that sometimes wafts out.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Immouzer
19 September 2006
Hello everyone!
So much has happened since I posted last. I am now in the town of Immouzer for training. We are learning the language Darija, which is the Moroccan dialect of Arabic. I have learned basic greetings, numbers, and a few other helpful phrases. My friends and I enjoy trying out what we’ve learned on the locals in town. We have become friends with the local Bolhanut (shopowner) where we buy bottled water, Coca, and regretfully, candy bars.
We are all adjusting to the food here. Most of us have been sick at some point, so we all are in this together! Where I am staying, there are nine girls sharing one flush toilet and two Turkish toilets. There is no escaping the sights, sounds, and smells of sickness. There is also a major scarcity of toilet paper here. The training group split up into two groups yesterday and the girls had a demonstration by the Moroccan women on how to use the Turkish toilet. The previous day I had tried the toilet and the results were hilarious. Now, I am getting better, but it will take some practice before I master it.
Back to the food: there is some food here that I have really liked. We had couscous our first day in Immouzer and it was very delicious. There was a tasty soup the other night that had rice and vegetables in it, that is traditionally served during Ramadan. Of course, there’s been food that immediately you realize was a big mistake as you run for the Turkish toilet. We were all delighted to see the mini pizzas the other day, but the combination of tuna and olives didn’t go over so well. Last night was the most exciting by far. Chicken nuggets. Why? I’m not sure, but I gobbled down five of them.
Communicating with people back home has really been a problem for everyone here. We are in training all day until 6:00 pm. At this point we have free time, but we have an 8:00 curfew, so it is a busy time trying to run errands and visit the cyber café. Some of the volunteers have bought cell phones and so they have an easier time talking with their families back home. I have not bought one yet, but I plan to as soon as I can. Most of the volunteers have not actually spoken with their families yet, me included. Hopefully, by this weekend, I will have a cell phone and you all with have the number.
This weekend we will break off into language learning communities and leave Immouzer to begin our homestay with a Moroccan family. We will be in small groups of 5-6 volunteers and each group will drive with their Language Coach to their new village. We will stay there for I think nine days and then all the groups will come back to Immouzer for more technical training. Until our swearing in ceremony at the end of November, our time will be broken up into language learning/homestay and technical training in Immouzer. I am anxious to see who will be in my small group.
Today we were given our third shot total, and second shot in the Rabies series. There are a lot of stray dogs and cats around here with that glazed over look in their eyes, so I’m willing and happy to have this vaccination. I think by the end of training I will have had nine shots total. This morning we have had self-directed learning while the doctor administered the shots and after lunch we will begin more language learning. Actually, looking at the clock, I think it is almost time for lunch! So, with that, I hope you all are doing well and I must mention this again, please don’t be shy and send me an email or letter!
Love,
Jenny
Hello everyone!
So much has happened since I posted last. I am now in the town of Immouzer for training. We are learning the language Darija, which is the Moroccan dialect of Arabic. I have learned basic greetings, numbers, and a few other helpful phrases. My friends and I enjoy trying out what we’ve learned on the locals in town. We have become friends with the local Bolhanut (shopowner) where we buy bottled water, Coca, and regretfully, candy bars.
We are all adjusting to the food here. Most of us have been sick at some point, so we all are in this together! Where I am staying, there are nine girls sharing one flush toilet and two Turkish toilets. There is no escaping the sights, sounds, and smells of sickness. There is also a major scarcity of toilet paper here. The training group split up into two groups yesterday and the girls had a demonstration by the Moroccan women on how to use the Turkish toilet. The previous day I had tried the toilet and the results were hilarious. Now, I am getting better, but it will take some practice before I master it.
Back to the food: there is some food here that I have really liked. We had couscous our first day in Immouzer and it was very delicious. There was a tasty soup the other night that had rice and vegetables in it, that is traditionally served during Ramadan. Of course, there’s been food that immediately you realize was a big mistake as you run for the Turkish toilet. We were all delighted to see the mini pizzas the other day, but the combination of tuna and olives didn’t go over so well. Last night was the most exciting by far. Chicken nuggets. Why? I’m not sure, but I gobbled down five of them.
Communicating with people back home has really been a problem for everyone here. We are in training all day until 6:00 pm. At this point we have free time, but we have an 8:00 curfew, so it is a busy time trying to run errands and visit the cyber café. Some of the volunteers have bought cell phones and so they have an easier time talking with their families back home. I have not bought one yet, but I plan to as soon as I can. Most of the volunteers have not actually spoken with their families yet, me included. Hopefully, by this weekend, I will have a cell phone and you all with have the number.
This weekend we will break off into language learning communities and leave Immouzer to begin our homestay with a Moroccan family. We will be in small groups of 5-6 volunteers and each group will drive with their Language Coach to their new village. We will stay there for I think nine days and then all the groups will come back to Immouzer for more technical training. Until our swearing in ceremony at the end of November, our time will be broken up into language learning/homestay and technical training in Immouzer. I am anxious to see who will be in my small group.
Today we were given our third shot total, and second shot in the Rabies series. There are a lot of stray dogs and cats around here with that glazed over look in their eyes, so I’m willing and happy to have this vaccination. I think by the end of training I will have had nine shots total. This morning we have had self-directed learning while the doctor administered the shots and after lunch we will begin more language learning. Actually, looking at the clock, I think it is almost time for lunch! So, with that, I hope you all are doing well and I must mention this again, please don’t be shy and send me an email or letter!
Love,
Jenny
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Hello from Rabat!
12 September 2006
Dear Family & Friends,
I made it! I am writing you from Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. I think at this point I have been awake for over 43 hours (including the short 30 minute nap I took before dinner). Yesterday morning I awoke early in Philadelphia to prepare for the big trip to Morocco. Peace Corps had planned on leaving Philly by noon, but due to some misunderstanding, the buses did not arrive until 1:30pm. No big deal, as we had ample time to get to JFK airport in NYC. However, we did not foresee the major delay along the turnpike en route to New York. Lucky for us we had a very back road savvy bus driver who got us to the airport with only 45 minutes until boarding time. Somehow, all 56 of us volunteers made it through security in time and we were on our way.
The plane ride was uneventful as it was very boring and I could not sleep, but fortunately it was only a six hour flight. We arrived in Casablanca at 7:00 am, Morocco time and began our second day of travel. The funniest sight had to have been all 56 of us Americans, each with a luggage cart, wheeling our way through the airport. Many heads were turning! Next, we loaded everybody’s belongings into a very large double-decker coach bus. Because there was not room for the entirety of the group, some of us got to ride in a mini van on our way to Rabat. It was a great way of seeing the Moroccan countryside. I couldn’t believe how many people were just out walking around in the middle of nowhere! It’s the desert and far from any city, and there were people, sometimes families, walking not along roads, but just out there. Also, a lot of donkeys, wild dogs, and sheep scattered the rural landscape.
Once we got to Rabat we quickly settled ourselves into our rooms and made our way downstairs for our welcome session. We met almost the entire Morocco Peace Corps staff and got some information about the program here in general, safety, and communicating with people at home. It was a little rough because all of us were sleep-deprived, but somehow we all made it through the day! We had a nice meal on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking one of the city’s mosques. While eating, the muezzin, the person who calls the Muslims to prayer at the appropriate times, called out to the city and at that moment I thought to myself, yes, I am in Morocco.
I am meeting so many wonderful people and I couldn’t be happier to know I will be spending the next two years side by side these amazing, dedicated individuals. I already have pinpointed a few people who have really clicked with me. I am wishing and hoping that at least one of them ends up in my small training group (5-6 people). It really makes a difference knowing that there will be a group of peers experiencing the same things I will be going through. Already, we are starting to become a very close-knit group. We have traveled so far, we are all a little anxious to begin living with our host families this Friday, and along with that, try and communicate with them with the language we will be learning at the same time. Wow! We sure are being pushed to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible.
So, with that, I have some medical paperwork to complete tonight before training begins again in the early morning. Tomorrow I will get to meet the US Ambassador for Morocco. He is a very close friend to President George W. Bush, but as I have been told, he is different than other Ambassadors because he really does care about this country and especially the Peace Corps. So, with a big day ahead of me, I will say goodnight and take care! I am in good hands here, so try not to worry!
Love,
Jenny
Dear Family & Friends,
I made it! I am writing you from Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. I think at this point I have been awake for over 43 hours (including the short 30 minute nap I took before dinner). Yesterday morning I awoke early in Philadelphia to prepare for the big trip to Morocco. Peace Corps had planned on leaving Philly by noon, but due to some misunderstanding, the buses did not arrive until 1:30pm. No big deal, as we had ample time to get to JFK airport in NYC. However, we did not foresee the major delay along the turnpike en route to New York. Lucky for us we had a very back road savvy bus driver who got us to the airport with only 45 minutes until boarding time. Somehow, all 56 of us volunteers made it through security in time and we were on our way.
The plane ride was uneventful as it was very boring and I could not sleep, but fortunately it was only a six hour flight. We arrived in Casablanca at 7:00 am, Morocco time and began our second day of travel. The funniest sight had to have been all 56 of us Americans, each with a luggage cart, wheeling our way through the airport. Many heads were turning! Next, we loaded everybody’s belongings into a very large double-decker coach bus. Because there was not room for the entirety of the group, some of us got to ride in a mini van on our way to Rabat. It was a great way of seeing the Moroccan countryside. I couldn’t believe how many people were just out walking around in the middle of nowhere! It’s the desert and far from any city, and there were people, sometimes families, walking not along roads, but just out there. Also, a lot of donkeys, wild dogs, and sheep scattered the rural landscape.
Once we got to Rabat we quickly settled ourselves into our rooms and made our way downstairs for our welcome session. We met almost the entire Morocco Peace Corps staff and got some information about the program here in general, safety, and communicating with people at home. It was a little rough because all of us were sleep-deprived, but somehow we all made it through the day! We had a nice meal on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking one of the city’s mosques. While eating, the muezzin, the person who calls the Muslims to prayer at the appropriate times, called out to the city and at that moment I thought to myself, yes, I am in Morocco.
I am meeting so many wonderful people and I couldn’t be happier to know I will be spending the next two years side by side these amazing, dedicated individuals. I already have pinpointed a few people who have really clicked with me. I am wishing and hoping that at least one of them ends up in my small training group (5-6 people). It really makes a difference knowing that there will be a group of peers experiencing the same things I will be going through. Already, we are starting to become a very close-knit group. We have traveled so far, we are all a little anxious to begin living with our host families this Friday, and along with that, try and communicate with them with the language we will be learning at the same time. Wow! We sure are being pushed to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible.
So, with that, I have some medical paperwork to complete tonight before training begins again in the early morning. Tomorrow I will get to meet the US Ambassador for Morocco. He is a very close friend to President George W. Bush, but as I have been told, he is different than other Ambassadors because he really does care about this country and especially the Peace Corps. So, with a big day ahead of me, I will say goodnight and take care! I am in good hands here, so try not to worry!
Love,
Jenny
Friday, September 01, 2006
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