18 Days!

Just gotta get this out first - I'll be home in 18 days!!

Now for the update. Since my last post, I've been a busy busy bee with all my English teaching. Today is one of my busier days: the morning is open, but this afternoon I play with the toddlers at the Neddi Niswi (women's center) for an hour (we played duck, duck, grey duck last week and they loved it!) then teach English to the women, then lead women's exercise at the Dar Chebab (youth center), and lastly run over to the Dar Talib and Dar Taliba (House of Boys and House of Girls) and teach English or fun activities for an hour. Phew!

The Dar Talib and Dar Taliba are similar to boarding schools, except the kids only live and eat there and attend school in town. The kids who stay there, are usually from villages very far away with no transportation, so they stay at the center during the week and return home for the weekend. The Dar Talib is home to 69 boys, ages 11-20. I always have fun there, but they can get kind of wild. It's hard to teach them English because they are all at different learning levels, so I usually lead some kind of game or activity. Their favorite game is "heads up, seven up" which we renamed "Good Morning." The Dar Taliba, on the other hand, is home to only 31 girls, and much more calmer and manageable. The girls are younger than the boys, ages 11-16, because around 15-16 girls begin dropping out of school. This is due to a lot of societal pressures, like helping around the house, getting a job, getting married, or sometimes because the education of girls is valued less than boys. One thing I have noticed about the girls, is that there is a definite hierarchy to the group. Where the boys just kind of mill around, playing or laughing, the girls seem to each have their position in the group. There are the older girls who are like mothers and protectors for the younger girls. And the younger girls hardly ever talk out of fear of being laughed at by the older girls. The older girls are actually a bit scary to me because they are very bossy and take-charge kind of people. Sometimes during the middle of a game, the alpha female will yell at me "NEW GAME." I usually don't stand for that kind of behavior though, and have asked her if she knew what the world "rude" meant. But, on the whole, the girls are very well-behaved and fun to teach.

After finishing up at the Dar Talib or Taliba its usually too late for a girl to be out alone at night, so a very nice man walks me home. He lives with the girls at the Dar Taliba and is probably around 60 years old. He is a bit unusual for Moroccans, because he has a pet dog. I can't remember the dog's name, but its something like Oscar. As we slowly walk to my house, the dog follows us and we talk about, what else, dogs. He seems convinced that American dogs are much more beautiful than Moroccan dogs, and I agree. The dogs here are are wild and I don't blame Moroccans for being so frightened of them. They run around in packs of twenty, looking for food and I would never want to be caught in their path, especially at night. When I first moved into my house, I would wake up in the middle of the night to the sounds of dogs fighting over the contents of my trash can. The next morning, all my trash, and I mean ALL my trash, would be scattered all over the road. Embarrassing. So, I learned to only take my trash out at the exact time the trash man comes. Also, I have seen people rummaging through my trash as well...so I figure the fewer animals and humans to come in contact with my garbage, the better.

It's been cooling down lately and at first it was a welcome change from the smoldering heat of summer. But, now, it's just too darn cold. I have been wearing long underwear and scarves INSIDE my house to keep warm. Also, making a lot of soup and tea. I have to wonder if it's really that cold or if I've just acclimated to the Moroccan climate. I remember being cold during my homestay a year ago and it was a bit ridiculous then because I was a guest in somebody's home and couldn't just walk around in layers of clothes with hats and scarves. But, now, in the comfort of my own home, I can do whatever I like! Wear blankets! Have tea whenever I want, not just at tea-time! Lay in bed!

Anyway, I hope the Minnesota winter isn't too much of a shock! I'll be home December 16-31. Any friends interested in getting a burrito or a margarita, let me know! I hope to make it back to Jane Addams School for a night, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

On Sunday, I celebrated Thanksgiving with a group of fellow volunteers. Since the actual holiday falls on a Thursday and is (duh) not celebrated in Morocco, we had to meet on the weekend. I woke up early in my town, got ready, and left by 8 am. I traveled about 2 1/2 hours by taxi to my friend Mandy's house and helped out in the kitchen. I worked on the garlic mashed potatoes, while others pitched in on the salad, green beans, stuffing, and the turkey. The turkey was purchased by Mandy from her host family. They delivered it to her, dead, but not as you buy yours from the supermarket. After spending a night alone with the dead bird, Mandy requested her family help her out a bit. They chopped off its head and feet and de-feathered it for her. Mandy had a pile of feathers in her kitchen when we arrived and we all festively wore them (after a good washing with bleach).

Mandy put the turkey in her tiny little electric oven around noon and basted it with chicken broth. We decided not to stuff the turkey with the stuffing because Chase is a vegetarian, so we made the stuffing later. Since there was only one oven, the pies and dinner rolls were made the day before and the stuffing was made last. I brought lemon bars that went with the pumpkin pie and chocolate pie. Everyone helped out in the kitchen and those who didn't, did the dishes later.

We ate dinner around 5 or 5:30 and after digesting for a while, we all went up to the roof for the ceremonial "tossing of turkey carcass over the roof." Everyone had been drinking wine so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Gavin heaved the carcass over the roof as we all watched. The pack of stray dogs in town must have ate well that night.

Returning downstairs, I pulled out my "pin the tail on the turkey" game and we sat around discussing the rules. With twelve people and only ten tails, we had to make a tough decision. Some of us thought it a good idea to vote two people out of the game, Survivor style. But, others thought it best if we all partnered up. In the end, we made two extra tails so everyone had a chance to play. We set up one room for the game and announced the rules. "Blindfolded. Five spins. NO SHAKING. Audience in the "gallery" may shout out directions to player, but wrong directions may be given, so think about who you trust." The first player was the hostess, Mandy, who went the wrong way down a hallway and ended up losing the game. We all had a really good time playing that game.

We also played card games and Mafia. Mafia is where you pass out cards and depending on which card you receive, you have to play out a certain character. There is Mafia, who "kill" people in the game, the Sheriff, who investigates, and the Doctor who can save lives. All the others are townspeople who are trying to win the game before the Mafia kill them all off.

All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving and I am thankful I was able to celebrate the holiday with such a fun group of volunteers. We had good food and good company. I will be thinking of you all back home on Thursday as I am leading my women's group in exercise and teaching English.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and check out my new photos. See you all in less than a month!