new town

hello all. im going to keep this short for many reasons 1) im at a cyber and ive been here for a while and 2) said cyber uses a french keyboard and the going is slow in terms of my typing.

im sad that i do not have the capability right now to show you all my new town because it is beautiful. after a lovely thanksgiving with fellow peace corps volunteers i made my way to my small town that is decently off the beaten path. i feel like i can really breathe here. the stars are beautiful and they should be seeing as im over 2.5 hours from any major city. My town is rimmed by plateaus and mountains that make me think of arizona; very canyon like. I feel like being in fez had me yearning for the "real morocco" and i think this is definitely it. most of the houses here are packed dirt and im lucky enough to live in a kasbah (otherwise known as a castle). my host family is very nice and very helpful. they also have 2 month old kittens and even though i am normally adverse to cats ive fallen for the little guy cat who ive secretly named vache the french word for cow (bc hes black and white im so clever right?)
alright. thats all for now. hopefully i can find my thumb drive so i can write this before hand and just copy and paste, but it is currently mia. refer to my previous blog post about my new address.

oh! addendum to the mail situation. when you mail things take them out of their original packging if they are vluable, i will get taxed on things when they show up so if you send electronics or expensive things put them in different boxes and never claim that the box is worth more then 10 dollars. also keep in mind im in  small town so word gets around and people will more likely then not know what i get in my packages. ive heard putting lacey underwer or tampons on the top of the box means ppl will be less likely to pilfer through it; but you never know. its been takind between 2-4 weeks for things to get here, so keep that in mind as well. im an excellent pen pal and id love to get stuff from home!!!

real live peace corps volunteer.

Hello all!!! Today I finally got to be sworn in as a real live peace corps volunteer! it's great. I got to hold my right hand up and swear an oath and i was told I was a soldier for the USA. very exciting.

Tomorrow i start the voyage to my new home! I start on the train from rabat-marakesh then I stay the night in marakesh with my two region mates, mimi and sairah. after then i travel over the high atlas mountains by bus. I'm so excited to see the mountains of Morocco! It should be an interesting voyage, I might have to invest in some Dramamine. After a couple hours we should arrive in ourzazate! which is known for the amount of movies that are filmed there. If you've seen the movie babel- that's where it was shot, and that's my region! woot! Then my region mates that are already established in their sites are throwing a thanksgiving party! and it works out time wise that we can stop along the way before we get to our home site. I am very excited about having an thanksgiving party with the people i will be closest to geographically for the next two years. I am thankful (get it!) that it worked out so well, and i love thanksgiving so that's even better. After thanksgiving i have to go get my luggage a couple hours south in a city called zagora then i'm not entirely sure how to get to my home town from there. some combination of taxi's and inshallah's (god willing's). My stuff seems to have multiplied since i arrived here so my once modest looking two bags feels more like an unbearable weight. I cannot wait to get established somewhere and not deal with carting my life around on wheels or on my back.

speaking of which this voyage brings me to something i've been realizing lately. Once i get to my city, it will be the longest i will have been somewhere since college. and even then, in college you leave and go back every couple of months. this is the first time i'm actually LIVING somewhere. up until this point (since high school) i've been either going or coming, never staying. I've never had a regular coffee shop or a regular restaurant or known the neighbors, let alone worked or integrated into a community. the adventure i'm about to embark on is both daunting and exciting.

I HAVE A NEW ADDRESS!!!!

"name'' / maison des jeunes - casbah ait atta / n'kob -zagora province / 


Morocco / africa


Huzzah! that means all of you that i know have been DYING to send me care packages can now do so. here's something important about care packages though. Do not value anything at over 10 dollars on the customs sheet or i will be stacked with custom fees. more often then not packages will be opened, and if customs thinks my package is intended for resale they will also charge me, so if you send me swanky presents take them out of their original packaging and if you send something like electronics or something brand new and expensive then put it in a different box (tampon boxes are especially effective). the mail here seems to be pretty consistent and generally takes 2-4 weeks to arrive based on the letters i've received so far.

I have a small wish list, though it will probably change between now and when I get my own place.

at this point I have a wish list- this is a loose wish list, and feel free to use your creativity, but this is just things i thought of. honestly i have a lot of stuff here and this is just extra on top of what i already have.

-febreeze (this would be fantastic, imagine watching all your clothes by hand)
-toms/natural deodorant
-moisturizer  (the moisturizer here sucks and is expensive)
- Mix CDS! please i love getting new music
-pictures of you, pictures of life. anything to remind me of home, i realize that now that we all do digital pictures i don't have a lot of physical pictures of anyone and i don't know what my internet access will be like.
-anything to decorate my house with- you be the judge.
-essential oils! ( i would love these bzzef bzzef bzzef (a lot x3) they're multi purpose and I can use them for deodorant, perfume etc)
-mac and cheese
-cheddar cheese (dont send in the summer)
-velveeta
-junk food (specificaly cheese flavored items (notice a pattern, and remember that time i was a vegan), and honey bbq flavored items . my favorites are doritoes (cooler ranch) sun chips, munchies, honey bbq, ruffles)
-zip lock bags
-spices- specifically NOT cumin or pepper or salt or ginger but things like curry powder, garlic powder, italian seasonings, any mixed spices, curry paste, maybe some tasty hot sauce (ciracha, tobasco, something not too spicy with a good taste).
-condiments and premixed sauces, ketchup, bbq sauce, sweet and sour, anything really i love sauces! i'm looking forward to having a fridge filled with condiments.
-tupperware containers
-measuring cups
-kitchen supplies (veggie peelers, nice knives,  french press etc etc)
-sweet and sour sauce and sweet chilie sauce (to make guacamole specifically)
-PENS and School supplies! omg i would love your forever for pens. specifically sharpie pens and rsvp fine point black and then there's also my love for pilot pens. so nice black pens or colorful pens. no just blue pens. i hate blue pens. also just to preface i don't particularly need notebooks (unless it's a graph paper moleskin or graph paper anything) i'm in the world of graph paper and i'm
- Books of any kind (i'll have a lot of time so i'd love to have some extra stuff to read, and when i leave the upcoming peace corps volunteers will love the contributions to the library)
- Magazines (specifically outside or naturey type ones, national geographic, time, but i'm not picky i'll take anything whatsoever- because even though i'd like to think i don't like those gossip mags, we all do... let's be honest )
-lipton pasta and rice bags, think college. yummy. instant alfredo pasta? yes please
-luna bars and cliff bars
-granola bars
-dark chocolate, they don't have it here
-peanut butter (specifically crunchy and organic or almond butter or anything like that)
-snacks of any kind.
-capri cotton yoga pants (walmart works)
-black underwer or bike shorts
- also if anyone has a comfy oversized tshirt and baggy pants or big workout clothes that would be good to work out in that would be great. I didn't really bring anything that is culturally appropriate to work out in outside. as you all know women here cover up head to toe, so if i want to be known as the crazy american who walks and runs outside then i'd rather be the culturally appropriate crazy american walking and running outside.
-any cardigans. girls, if you are looking for a way to get rid of long sleeve cardigans do not give them to goodwill. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give them to me. especially if they're long (past the butt) and lightweight. remember ladies i need to wear longs sleeves all the time, even when it's 120 degrees mid summer
-anything good for kids or kids books- any games, books, classroom supplies anything whatsoever.

but most of all i would just love and cherish letters- i understand shipping things is expensive- so whatever ya'll can do. I love getting letters and my life will totally slow down once i get to site and I love writing letters. i make no garuntee that they will be coherent or not rambly, but I will write you back. and let's be honest people, who doesn't enjoy getting mail? duh.

so yes. please send me mail. or emails if you don't have time. i love hearing from people, even if your life is mundane, find the joy in the small stuff and then tell me about it.

so yes. there's my current wish list. i hope you are all well and i will probably be off the grid for a little while specifically because of travel and being in a new place. I cannot wait to be in my new home, even though it's a little intimidating, i'm sure i can handle it, but this is definitely a new challenge.

i'm so excited to embark on this new adventure and i cannot wait to see this country, even if it is from the window of a bus or a train.

l3id kbir Pictures.

Hey guys, here's the pictures to go along with that post. I thought they warranted their own post. 

whaat... oh hai. i'm a sheep. you're going to eat me. 

the family admiring their sheep. 

It's crowded in here! 

once there was one, now there is three. 

the unhappy sheep being dragged up the stairs first thing in the am. 

capturing his last moments. 

the deed is done. 

that's one dead sheep. 

all the kids watching the whole thing. also notice how our sheep is half on the ground. it was too big and broke the rope and flopped onto the roof. awesome. 

three stages of sheep. those buckets contain parts. my host dad has the next in line and the guy is gutting ours. 

just a couple of sheep, hanging in our living room window.  

what i ate for breakfast! ie delicious cookies. my host mom is an incredible cook. 

just a fire in the living room... no bigs. 

sheep brain

different stuff from the sheep. 

sheep head and feet in our bathroom now. 

getting the sheep chopped up for storage is a family event. 

i've been watching too much dexter, but that's all i could think about as the sheep was cut up into it's edible parts. 

my host brother helping out. 

L3id Kbir

Alright guys:

It’s officially the end of an era. This week has been a week of first:

I went to the public bath for the first time. While it was a little odd to get the “massage” from the Hamam worker (read: being scrubbed vigorously by a complete stranger both of us wearing nothing but underwear), I did actually really enjoy the experience as a whole. I was a little nervous at first because I’m not totally accustomed to being undressed, nevermind undressed around total strangers. I think it’s an interesting cultural difference that clearly no one was worried about being naked in the Hamam but they cover up outside almost head to toe, but in America we are not all comfortable with nudity but we are totally ok with mini skirts and tight boob shirts. I felt a little uncomfortable at first, but by the end of it I was definitely enjoying myself. The fact that I couldn’t wear my glasses helped a lot. Because I couldn’t make out people’s faces, I couldn’t tell if anyone was looking at me or what they looked like. It also felt good to be hot and clean; I haven’t felt that clean in a long while. The most fun part was the moment where my host mom pulled out some mandarines and she, my 2 yo host sister and I ate mandarines in the public bath.

 As you all know this week was the very important holiday of Eid Al-Adha (as mentioned in my last post and wikipedia linked) . Long story short it celebrates the moment where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son to God, and God intervened and gave him a sheep to sacrifice instead. Any Moroccan family that can afford it buys and slaughters a sheep, it's a huge holiday (akin to the american importance of christmas i've been told). Having a sheep is very important, some families here sell their appliances prior to the holiday in order to afford a sheep for their family. It's a big deal. Now this holiday involves mostly things I have never done before. I’ll give you all a little run down of my day…. I was planning on sleeping in a little bit, but I was awoken by my family and left my room just in time to follow our huge sheep (ram) up the stairs. He was not pleased. The guy who killed our sheep was just finishing up the first sheep of the day when we got up to the roof. I’m not going to lie the whole thing was pretty intense, and something I never though I would either see or be comfortable seeing. I’m not going to lie it was pretty fascinating. In Morocco they don’t waste any part of the animal so most of the morning was spent first gutting then cleaning the whole of this poor animals insides. Did I mentions Moroccan's don't waste any part of the animal? All of it is eaten. So.... 

Ok… I expect some surprise on this one. ….

I ate meat. Not just meat. Heart (which wasn’t bad). And a little liver (which was gross), Brain (which was too mushy), Sheep face (way gross), stomach (too fatty) and finally sheep leg I think (which was delicious I am guilty to admit)

Ok… I know… ok… but here’s the thing- earlier this week I was mowing down on some rice and chickpeas in some tasty sauce with some indescribable looking meat in the middle (pretty normal here) and My host mom goes “do you know what this is?” I nod my head no and she goes “You really want me to tell you” I did and she informed me it was cows feet. Now kids. As soon as I was sitting there supping on the sauce of the feet of my favorite animal I realized the jig was up. I will tell you I did not intentionally eat any of the cow’s feet- but 6 of 1 half dozen of the other what’s the difference between the sauce and the meat. I’ve been wrestling with that concept before and I decided it was time. (cue “dun dun dun” music). Later that night my host mom made some ground turkey and tomatoes and onions and garlic sauté and I had some of the turkey. I am guilty to admit that I thought it was delicious. Now friends- especially those who have harassed me about the deliciousness of meat- I know meat is delicious, I knew meat was delicious, but don’t expect me to go on some meat extravaganza and find me double fisting a leg of turkey, and a bacon burger and some hot dogs on the grill….When I signed up to do the Peace Corps I told them several times I would be willing to eat meat while I was abroad in order to integrate. I’m very lucky that my family has been incredibly accommodating to my vegetarianism and I’ll admit I use the term vegetarian here loosely for the way I’ve been eating (see cow feet sauce as an example). But there have always been a lot of reasons why I didn’t eat meat and things I had always told myself would make an exception.

This holiday is the most important in Morocco and it hinges on the consumption of meat- wouldn’t I be missing out on the holiday if I didn’t at least try?

I always said it’s important for me to know how the animal lived and died. Our sheep hung out in our bathroom for 2 days, I saw it’s food and I’m pretty sure a family member raised the sheep- Moroccans tend not to have the most gentle and caring relationship with animals but I don’t think this sheep was raised like the sheep in meat farms are raised in the states. I also said I want to know how it died. Well…. I saw it die. I documented it last moments I saw it take its last breath (side note, kind of creepy, it took a little longer to die then I had expected and it stared at me the whole time- I’m working hard on this whole situation to not let my overwhelming catholic guilty chime in.) So there’s that.

Also, as they say When in Rome… I don’t expect to carry over this meat eating stuff once I’m back stateside. Food is such a huge part of any culture and community and I also don’t plan on going meatatarian here in Morocco, but I think it is important to taste and experience important dishes.

 Also how many of you have watched Indiana Jones where there's the scene where they open up the monkey brain, and at first you're like... ewww... gross.. then I always wonder.... what does monkey brain taste like? There's a part of me that likes the idea of once in a lifetime opportunities and seeing as I won't feel obliged to eat meat once I get my own house I decided to seize the opportunity to try something new in a safe setting. 

Also something else I never expected to do was having a grill right in the living room- fire flaring up next to the lunch table. Huzzah.

Things that have been in my bathroom this week:

3 sheep

bucket of sheep heads and sheep feet.

Pictures of some sort will follow. I will warn you they are probably not for the faint hearted, because there will be photographed sheep death and sheep parts. 

bad at this

hello all! I am really bad at this! but still to be fair, i still don't really have internet in my house and I'm not motivated enough to go to the cyber cafe. The one I walked into was kind of sketch.

This week they announced our sites. I'm attempting THIS LINK to google maps that shows you where i am. It's a small city of 2,000 people called N'koub/Nekoub/nkoub There's a whole bunch of different ways to spell it. I'm very excited to get there! We swear in nov 17th so I should be arriving in site somewhere around the 21st or the 22nd I'm excited. I'm in the southwest of the country and it seems like there's a lot of different stuff I can do. I'm sandwiched between the High Atlas Mountains and the Sahara- so it will get hot!  The one thing I'm nervous about is the fact that, as you all know, I have been spending the past few weeks learning a wonderful language called Dirija. N'koub is city where the community speaks a native dialect called Tashlheet, in case any of you were wondering- it is indeed a whole new language. Morocco has a huge variety of languages and native populations more commonly known as Berbers or Amazight (amazight is more PC). Tashlheet is a dialect of the Amazight community- The script is just recently standardized and I'm hopeful I can learn how to speak both Dirija and Tashlheet. I know Peace Corps put me there (inshallah (god wiling) ) because I'm doing well in Dirija (?) or because I do have an aptitude for languages (ishallah)- So if the Peace Corps has confidence in me, I'll have confidence in me too. I'm very thankful Peace Corps gives us money for a tutor, hopefully I can find a good teacher to guide me along in my continued language learning once I arrive in my new home.

Other than that coming up this week is a very important Muslim holiday called Eid Al-Adha (link to the wikipedia article.) As a vegetararian i'm a little concerned seeing as it is pivotal upon the slaughtering and consumption of a sheep. should be interesting. Expect a post on that next week.

Lately life is comprised of what has become habitual here (which I often remind myself was not habitual several months ago). I go to language classes, walk up my crowded street filled with fruit and vegetable vendors and find my way to my host families house where we watch tv in Egyptian or turkish arabic and the occasional American movie. I had a great experience last weekend where there was a movie on the Moroccan channel that was in Dirija with French subtitles- seeing as I speak french I was able to understand the movie as it went along, and I was even able to pick up a word here or there in Dirija. I loved it most because for the first time we all were sitting in the living room watching tv and laughing at the same jokes and the same moments. Much unlike the experience of us watching Blades of Glory together, where for an hour I laughed and I think my host family was very confused.  I don't think Will Farrel translates all that well.  My favorite part about the movie was that there were several scenes where there were 2 french people and 2 moroccan women, with no language in common. I'll put the paraphrased dialogue and scene here

french lady: Is there any more chicken?
Moroccan ladies: what is she saying?
French lady: IS THERE... ANY. MORE. CHICKEN???
Moroccan ladies: Let's just laugh and pretend we understand *hahahhaha*
French lady: Why are they laughing?
French Dude: I think maybe they don't understand, maybe try acting it out?
French lady: IS THERE.... ANY *moves arms wildly indicating MORE* * then she proceeds to cluck and walk like a chicken*
Moroccan ladies: What is she doing? I guess we should join in... she seems to be sharing this with us

and next thing you know everyone is standing up around the table clucking and dancing like chickens. I feel like anyone who's been in a place where they didn't speak the language may have had an experience  like that. In Belgium I remember answering a questions I didn't understand with either a "Yes" then receiving a confused face and then saying "No".  I feel like sometimes us PCV's  in an attempt to communicate with our community here in Morocco live in a constant game of charades in an attempt to understand each other and for all we know we've confused the lights out of our host country nationals and we are all proverbially clucking like chickens around the dinner table. (I'm thankful and also not thankful that my host family speaks incredible french so we've had a lot more luck having effective and substantial amounts of communication). I look forward to my new experience with not only my ability of  Dirija, but a whole new language coming down the road! whew.

I find I have to take my experience here day by day in a lot of ways, because all that is coming can be both overwhelming and daunting.

I will leave you all with some pictures from my activities/experiences in the past few weeks.

what?!?!? you're going to eat me? baaaaa....

cafe or qhawa- of which i drink a lot. 

my host family eating bourbush or snails. my host family loved them

haddou- my lovely language teacher. he made a sound like : "meeeeeeh" in a high pitched tone. He's great. 

the view from moulay yacoub

us girls overlooking moulay yacoub 

yay! i'm in morocco! yay I'm in moulay yacoub. My friend said I look like patrick from sponge bob.

rachel drew a representation of our class. shannon is nn3s or sleeping, gary is saying "oh! is this dirija?" kathy is saying "shnu?! shnu?!" or "what?!what?!" Haddou is saying "Sm3!" or "LISTEN!" I am singing and Rachel is saying "ooo! kitty!" I would say this is a very realistic representation of my classroom experience. 

Me and some kids eating the pumpkin we carved for our Halloween party. 

Oh! Hello Donkey.