Thanksgiving

Happy Happy Happy Belated Thanksgiving!
The other day I finally retrieved my luggage from the CTM station. It took me four trips to the station before success. My site mate told me there’s no point in trying to do more than one errand a day. Anyways, I dug out my calendar. The last thing written was my flight information from Boston to Philly. That was just yesterday but so long ago. Now I'm sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). I've made my way to my site. I watched a community cry as the previous volunteer said goodbye. And I'm already sweating, jogging and laughing with these women. Did this all really happen? How am I here? Wow. (Photos of Swearing In. Top: Welcome new PCVs. Bottom: Morocco Country Director, me, and Program and Training Manager.)

...Of course the next question is what do I do now?! I don't understand what being a PCV actually means. But for now, I'm asking a million questions. I'm stumbling to speak clearly in Darija. I'm doing anything that comes my way, including waking up at 6am to jog with the women. I’m balling up couscous with my hands each Friday. I’m binging in clementines. And I'm learning how to breathe.

In the meantime, enjoy my ode to Thanksgiving. I can’t believe it’s been a year since the Halfway House hosted Thanksgiving dinner. That was of my favorite days in CP.

I’m thankful for the constant stream of emails and love from home.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY IT MAKES ME. So keep telling me about your lives in the motherland. Period.

I'm thankful for my fellow trainees.
During the first week of training, I remember talking to the Country Director’s wife (a former PCV which goes by the acronym RPCV, meaning Returned Peace Corps Volunteer). She mentioned how she’s much closer with Peace Corps friends than college. And I said to myself, “Umm… that’s because you don’t have the college friends I have… or my loves from high school.” Now of course you guys are irreplaceable. But I’m so grateful to trained with such amazing people. Those who went through PST ’08 share something special. (Photo of Rabat roommates: Kate, me and Lynn.)

I’m thankful for the PCVs in my neighborhood.
This past Saturday I celebrated Thanksgiving in Tiznit! That made my week/weekend. It couldn’t have been more wonderful. Candles were lit around the courtyard and room. We had two bookshelves full of food. PCVs brought their guitars. We stayed up late singing, laughing, talking. I have another great community with those in my providence.

I'm thankful for Moroccan trees that know what's up with fall.
During the last week of training, we were given a couple days to learn as we pleased. A group of us decided to hike in a nearby town. We walked up a hillside and along a little spring. We also explored an abandoned TB hospital. I bet you're jealous. How many people get to say they played in an abandoned TB hospital? And then jumped in a pile of fall leaves? Well, now you know that someone. hahaaa. (Photo ofMike in front of the TB hospital.)

**On a side note: according to my fellow trainee, the TB hospital was abandoned after the French colonists left. UNSUSTAINBLE DEVELOPMENT!! Where was the skills/resource transfer?! What about capacity building?! Maybe probably did NOT know about community maps. They probably didn’t start this project with PACA tools. Hahaha. Ok. Enough.**

I'm thankful to have found many "sympathetic interpolators" here in Morocco.
Every PCT has to take a Language Proficiency exam. Each language proficiency level (i.e. Novice High, Intermediate Low, Intermediate Mid, etc) has a hilarious description. One level's description goes along the lines of this: you can only be understood by "sympathetic interpolators," who are patient and accustomed to foreign speakers. One states that you can’t even be understood by the most patient person. (FYI- I did well! But I know the real test is here and now- trying to make a community understand what the heck I want to say.) Anyways, you would never guess how excited people get when they hear a funny-looking Chinese girl speaking their language. It turns heads. Suddenly people have questions for me and want to help me out! Awesome, right? I’m happy to find sympathetic interpolators almost everywhere.

I'm thankful for space saving plastic bags. Without them, I could have never shoved so much crap into my bags.

I'm thankful for shared chocolate mousse.

I’m thankful my host family has a cow, turkey, sheep, goats and chickens.
In case you were wondering, I’m integrating well into this farm family. The other day, the cow licked the side of my pants. That’s real love. And the goats and sheep didn’t turn around and run from me as they did the first day. I’ve yet to love on the turkey and chickens. They’re a tricky bunch.

I'm thankful for Moroccan red wine, especially when combined with song and guitar.

I'm thankful for anyone who loves to play with their shadow and understands the fun of shadow fighting.

I'm thankful for songs without words. Sometimes words are the last thing I want to hear.

I'm thankful that shared laughter doubles joy. I’m thankful shared tears halve the pain.

I'm thankful for my village and these women. They’re the reason I joined Peace Corps. And I’m thankful for the possibility to make these next two years glorious. It's already been a good week.

Almost a PCV

We're swearing in this Thursday!!! That's when PCTs become PCVs. Sorry I haven't been writing regularly on this blog. Time passes too fast. And I realize that words are inadequate. They cannot capture everything as I'm experiencing Peace Corps. So those are my lame excuses for not writing. But here's an attempt to recount what I've been up to.

Wrapping up CBT
the CBT phase of training has come and gone. I think I already miss the 50 cent and A-kon hits the school's neighbor had on repeat. Winter winds have swept through town. My family has installed their inferno. Actually, they've installed this inferno twice. I guess the first time was a false alarm. The weather hinted coldness but not enough to keep the inferno out. But within that same week, my host family pulled out the inferno again and rearranged the room for the second time. This reminded me of what my brother and I would do as kids. When we shared a room, my brother and I would come up with a new way of rearranging furniture every couple months.

This also means that my host family asked me if I was cold at least six times a day- when I wake up, while i eat breakfast, just before I leave for school, when I come home from school, during dinner and before I snuggle into bed. I've repeatedly explained that in America, I grew up in the north. Typically, there is snow on the ground from late November until February. I like the cold. Winter is my favorite season. But all that was to no avail. I think they're particularly nervous since I walk around the house barefoot.

In this CBT Phase, everyone in my group implemented small projects. They all fed into Cynthia's project of creating a website. Go look up our new website: http://www.afcmaroc.org/. It's a glimpse of the amazing Artisana I was able to work with. P.S. that's my beautiful back on the left-hand corner during a hike to the cedar forests. We hiked nearly 30 km that day!

My project was an attempt to capture product uniqueness. Moroccans originally wove carpets to tell a story. AFC does not explicitly convey this notion to the consumer. No record exists for the names and meanings behind motifs and designs used in their carpets. Thus, I set out to label, name and organize the motifs used. The idea behind my project was far too ambitious for the limited timeframe we had in CBT. Furthermore, the knowledge behind these carpets did not pass down with the knowledge of weaving. More often than not, weavers knew how to weave designs but did not know the name or meaning. More interestingly, different women called the same motifs different things. Some motifs- such as bananas and boats, came as a surprise since these do not represent Itzer/the region. While the anthropologist in me would love to dive into the history of this, it's more important to sit all the weavers down and have them name their designs and motifs. Taking commission orders would be such a big step for the association. Dispite these obsticles, I was able to make a catalogue of designs. I've handed off my notes and photos to the current PCV in Itzer. And I'm happy to have transferred computer cataloguing skills to an AFC member. A good resource to make this project sustainable!


CBT ended with a community farewell party. I helped make pizzas and apple crisp. Our cook made bastilla, an incredibly delicious mix of philo dough, chicken, almonds, eggs, cilantro, cinnamon and sugar. Moroccans love their sweets. We also had two big cakes! No one left hungry. It was great having all the wonderful host families and Artisana members gather around for dinner. And there was dancing! We had a great cross-cultural experience trading greatest dance moves. Life is better when done with a dance step.

Saying goodbye to my host family took even longer. My host mother and sister started crying. And I cry when other people are crying. It made me realise the different cultural conditioning we have. In the States, I'm never with everyone I love. To a certain extent, I can pick up house, leave and still be happy. With my family, whose lived in this town for generations, people don't come and go. They stay. Inshallah I will get to break bread and drink tea with them again.

Site Visit
Coming back from CBT, we only had two days in Azrou for seminar. There was a wonderful rumble of excitement the night staff announced our sites. It felt like Christmas morning. Though I had a million questions running through my mind, it was exciting to have a name and a location of "home." My site is about an hour from Agadir. Even though I'd like to travel the world, for these next two years my heart will be in this little town an hour from Agadir.

Going on site visit means I've already traveled a good bit around Morocco. I've stopped in Meknes, Marrakesh and Agadir before making it to my future home. I'll be chasing beach sunsets for the next two years. The artisan cooperative I'll be working with crochets, knits and embroiders. They're products have evolved over the years. They've made tunics, pillow cases, bracelets, handbands and soap bags. I'll be the third PCV in this site. Previous volunteers have already built a solid foundation for this netti but still is more work to be done. Know that I'm in the right place, coming in at the right time. Talking to the previous volunteer, I could almost see myself and the women two years from now. (Photo of me, Leslie- former PCV and President of the Association.)

Life is good. There are still a million little things which make me smile each day. That hasn't changed.