Getting Ready!

Last weekend I left camp and did a little sight-seeing on my way back home. I traveled through Essaouira, another coastal town between Casablanca and Agadir. I think Essaouira is my favorite city in Morocco. The city has a truly unique feeling to it, unlike any other Moroccan city. It's a port city, so there are old ramparts to go exploring around with a great view of the Purples Isles. While looking at the islands, I talked to a Moroccan man who was selling his paintings. I actually remembered the word for island and he told me about the islands. One of them has an old prison and mosque He also said the island was conquered by both the Phoenicians and Portuguese. Nowadays, it is home to a large falcon population. I was really surprised by how much of this conversation I understood.

I also enjoyed strolling through the souk area. The majority of the city is contained within its ancient medina walls. It is kind of cool to think about a time when people only lived within the walls, a time when people were fighting and protecting their land from the conquest of outsiders. The souk had some fabulous shopping opportunities. Because Essaouira is home to one of the world's largest music festivals, Gnawa, there is a huge artistic influence and tons of great little shops. I bought a new shirt, tote bag, and pair of Amazigh (berber) earrings.

Supposedly, there is an excellent fish market, but because of my poor little volunteer budget, I had to stick to the common man's food. One night while eating a falafel sandwich, the electricity in the medina went out. I was eating with three other volunteers and we sat there for a while in the dark, but then we realized that the chances of the lights coming back on were slim. We were imagining the souk would be very dangerous in complete darkness: people ransacking the shops, stealing pastries from the bakery, pickpocketing, etc. So, we came up with a plan: we would all walk in a line, holding on to the person's shoulders in front of us. If any stranger tried touching us, we would just punch our arms into the darkness. "Just punch!" So, we paid for our sandwiches and headed out into the darkness. What we found was a slightly less chaotic than we imagined, but still a functioning dark souk. So, the "just punch" idea went out the window. However, I guess the darkness gave Moroccan men more confidence, because I was verbally harassed more than usual.

I spent two days in Essaouira, then traveled by souk bus (big mistake!) to Agadir. I traveled with my friend Chase. Our first mistake was deciding to travel by souk bus, the second mistake was the seats we chose to sit in. On the sunny side of the bus, I was constantly battling with the curtain, wanting to see the fantastic views we were passing, but not wanting to die from the heat. Along the way, the bus pulled over for a lunch break. It was a little town up in the mountains that probably never sees any tourists (as most tourists are smarter than us and do not choose to travel by souk bus-the problem with these buses are that they stop at every town along the way to drop off and pick up people.) and stepping off the bus we found the closest hanut (store) to buy some cold beverages. We were greeted by a small group of teenage boys who were very interested in talking to us. We talked with them a bit, got a marriage proposal from the Mulhanut (store owner), and when it was time to get back on the bus, the boys asked if they could take a picture with us. We laughed and posed with them alongside the road, "Peace and Love!" we said as we all held up peace symbols and the letter "L". The boys asked some random guy to take our picture but this man had obviously never used a camera before in his life. He just pointed it in any old direction, not even aware of the viewfinder, and took pictures of the sky, our feet, and the road. We said our goodbyes and then were surprised to find the boys follow us onto the bus! It turns out they were leaving their town to travel down to Agadir for vacation. It was fun watching them on the bus because they were so excited as we passed everything and taking pictures.

I've been back in my site now for five days. My house was very dusty and hot when I walked inside. Since I got back, I've been cleaning, washing clothes, and rearranging furniture. I want my house to look the best it ever has because in just three days I will be hosting my first guest from America! My sister Megan will be coming for a long visit! We will spend some time in my town, see "the sites," meaning my house, Dar Chebab, my host family's house, the farm, and maybe the souk. Then, we will embark on a long journey north. Our itinerary will take us from the steamy south to the coastal beauty of the Mediterranean. I will make sure Megan takes plenty (and I mean hundreds) of pictures to share with you all when she gets back! Thanks Megan, you'll be doing half of my job educating the good people of the United States about Morocco and its people!

So, next time I post it will be September, so stay tuned!
Thanks to everyone for their continuing support!
Jenny