November Rain

October's gone already and with November came the rain. Morocco has been experiencing heavy rains the past month in all regions, except dusty little insert-name-of-town-here. It's rained so much that trees, people, cars, houses, gardens, and entire villages have been swept away. I'd noticed a lot of airplane traffic the past few weeks but hadn't really thought about it until one of my students told me that all flights going north had been rerouted south because of the weather. After waiting through a month filled with dusty winds, finally last night we got rain, too. It's still coming down strong today and everybody in my town is smiling and happy the crops will be healthy this year.

I have absolutely no intention of going out there today. Because it hardly ever rains here, the town doesn't need to worry about drainage but when it does rain, giant puddles form on all the streets. There is a really gigantic, deep puddle across the street from my house that is impossible to avoid when going out, so I'll just stay inside instead.

Yesterday I received from very good news. My replacement called to introduce herself and let me know she'll be visiting on Monday for one week. My first reaction was a happy one. I told her host family that she was coming and told the kids at the dar chebab. But, with time, the worrying set in. The little things that annoy me about my site started to pile up and suddenly everything seemed horrible and I started to wonder how anybody could be happy in a dump like this. But, those were all irrational, crazy thoughts that have now passed and I'm back to feeling excited. The host family is very excited to meet her. She'll be staying with my very good friend Kabira and her family.

I can't believe that it was two years ago that I made the journey from the training site to my town for my first visit. I had no idea where my town was or how to get there and somehow I got in a taxi, paid 5 times the amount I should have, and after a eye-opening ride through what I thought was the middle of nowhere, I got dropped off on the side of the road of a little town and the taxi sped off, leaving me standing there alone. Standing alone in the street, I took a deep breath and walked across the street to the closest store and asked the men there in my broken Arabic "Where is the Dar Chebab?"

Well, I've come a long way since that day, thank god. Now, after building a life here over the past two years, I have to figure out some way of disassembling it. I'm starting to realize that it's really over and I'll be honest, it's a little scary. But, unlike the day I arrived, this time I have an entire community supporting me and my departure.

I'll try posting more often over the next few weeks, but I can't guarantee much. Meanwhile, I think today I'll just enjoy the rain and curl up in my blanket and stay warm.