Hi and Bye

Hello Everyone!

Well, the Griswolds came and went and the past two days I've been busy getting myself ready for summer camp. I'll leave tomorrow morning at 5:30 am inchallah. Packing was trickier this year because I'm not only packing for a month of camp, but I'm packing for a Moroccan wedding, a week in the Sahara, and a week in Rabat. Camp packing includes summer clothes I don't get to wear in my site, like tank tops. I also am lugging along a suitcase full of balls, games, and other odds and ends for the kids. After camp I'm attending a fellow PCV's wedding. He met his Moroccan wife at the summer camp two years ago and now they're getting married. His family is coming over from America and it should be a fun wedding. After the wedding, I'm heading out to one area of the country I have yet to visit: the southeast. I want to do a camel trek before I leave Morocco. Then, I'll head to Rabat for a week of what we call the "close of service conference." All the volunteers who I met two years ago in Philadelphia will gather again to talk about our experiences here and prepare ourselves for finishing our service. Then, back to my site and Ramadan will begin. This will be my THIRD Ramadan in country.

So, back to other things I need to catch you all up on...

The Griswold vacation was a blast and I had such a fun time showing mom and dad around the country. The best part was parading them around my town. We did a lot of that. Parading to the Dar Chebab, parading to the souk, parading to the farm, parading to the village. We also did a lot of eating at family and friend's homes, which made my job as hostess a breeze! They'd be so stuffed so full of food I never had to make them dinner! But, they did keep me busy with their errand requests of bananas, bottled water, and toilet paper. As I don't have a tv, dad found another way to keep himself entertained. People-watching. He'd sit on my balcony and gawk at the people passing by and their various modes of transportation and they'd gawk back.

Mom and I got a few good laughs while in Marrakech. Dad bought a big wide-brimmed hat to wear because it was so hot and when he put it on we instantly thought he looked like "the man in the yellow hat" from Curious George. Funnier yet, just as we pulled out to take a picture of dad with his hat, holding his bananas, a big gust of wind picked up and swept his hat off his head and sent him running. He chased his hat as mom and I laughed and Moroccans stared.

While I think Marrakech was dad's favorite city because of its county fair-like atmosphere, I think mom preferred Essaouira. I was proud of mom for drinking the orange juice in every city we visited. Dad, on the other hand, had a strange and strict diet he made himself follow. No glasses. He'd drink directly out of the bottle or can. No ice. No orange juice. But he allowed himself limitless bananas and bread, lots and lots of bread.

In Rabat mom and dad impressed me their partying skills. They kept up just fine with us younger folk and provided endless entertainment and conversation. Rabat was a fun time for me because I got to see my friends and I'm not gonna lie, going to TGIFriday was the best dining experience of the year for me (excluding the time I ate real American food in America of course).

Today was probably around 115 degrees, give or take. It was HOT. Maybe the hottest day of my life. I'm not sure. I feels hotter than last year, but was it just the same and I just forgot how miserable it is? Anyway, today was hot and as an added bonus, the water stopped working. So, luckily I finished all my laundry and showering this morning. If I could I would leave now. I just want to get out of here! With the heat, came plenty of ants and cockroaches and some weird insect bites all over my body. I ate two popsicles today. I ate one and enjoyed it so much and went right back out and bought a second one. So, I guess tonight I will clean up my house a little, hope the water comes back, and pray the electricity doesn't go out.

I'm not sure how often I'll be checking my email or updating my blog for the next month and a half, but I will try and send you updates as much as I can! I'm going to coordinate with mom and dad to get some pictures of their trip online. Have a great summer and Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!