As it has recently been brough to my attention it has been
months since I last updated my blog. I believe this is because I have settled
into the “norm” of my life in morocco, and as a result forget that you all
aren’t over here with me and as a result have no idea what’s going on with my
life.
In the past three months I have experienced another Ramadan
(filled with breaking fast with my host family and friends here in site as well
as making my own delicious smoothies and lots and lots of figs) . I also got to
visit my host family in fez again, scored intermedieate mid on my Arabic
language skills, crocheted like a mad woman , worked 2 separate camps, made a
pretty basket bag, attended my close of service conference, and just generally
hung out, finished the lord of the rings books, ate good food, cooked some new
food and watched a few good movies and tv shows.
My service is winding down. At my count I only have 43 days
left in morocco or something in that ballpark. I officially fly out of morocco
on the morning of November 14th and I ‘ve already started assembling
my baggage, and considering what will and wont try and get crammed into my bag
to come back home with me, and what will stay to be hopefully enjoyed by
another volunteer.
I want to do a list post in the near future about things
that I love and will miss about morocco, as well as things I’m looking forward
to when I return home. But this Is not that post. I want to put some thought
into that one, and this post is mostly just to let you all know that I am still
alive and update you a little bit about my life.
The summer was hot- 101 degrees in my house every day for 2
weeks hot. I put my travel clock/thermometer in the sun for 5 minutes and it
jumped up to 112 degrees, so to say the least I was quite warm. I took lots of
naps. I covered myself with wet sheets, and slept restlessly. Ramadan was an
enjoyable time (despite the heat) and I was able to spend time both alone and
with people in my community. After breaking fast one night with a friend I got
accidentally moroccoed and ended up cleaning a friends house for several hours
with a large group of women. I didn’t realize that was what I was going to be
doing, and it was muggy work pushing water from the roof to the garage, but it
was with some wonderful people and it was actually surprisingly fun, and I got cous cous
after…. Anything can be made better with cous cous. (something I am seriously
going to miss when I leave, and before you say it, the cous cous available in
the states isn’t the same)
Ramadan was also my time of yoga (which because of travels
and camps has fallen out of habit) I loved doing yoga everyday in my
courtyard and even got to see some shooting stars while holding triangle. I am
really excited to build on my practice, and I figure 5 weeks on of yoga, 5
weeks off (now more like 7 oops) and when I get back home I can go to yoga
classes as well.
I also got to attend a friends wedding over here- it was fun. Moroccan/Berber weddings are really interesting and filled with traditions and practices I still don't really understand, and no one seems to be able to explain fully. But I got to
wear my jlaba’s got some henna done and did a lot of floor sitting. After 10
hours or so of sitting on the ground my body felt like it had been sent through
the dryer with rocks in it, but it recovered , and as it was only my second ,
and probably , last wedding in morocco I still had a lot of fun.
It’s weird being so close to the end. I’m calling this my “shiny”
period, and as my friend sarah has said, nostalgia is a powerful thing. This close
to the end it’s easy to forget all the times I felt insignificant, useless,
full of doubt and wondering what I was even doing here. I’m at a point where
things that might have annoyed me 5 months ago are just morocco being morocco and I’m enjoying
them for what they are (oh… you don’t know when the vacation is for your
biggest holiday because you don’t actually know what day that holiday is yet
that is 13 or so days away… oh… morocco… ha ha….. the time is changing, oh
just kidding it’s not… daylight savings is totally arbitrary… oh morocco. Etc etc)
so that’s kind of fun. It’s ridiculous that 2 years is almost over, and I guess
I’m older and wiser but who knows if that’s actually true. Peace corps says that it is "the hardest job you'll ever love" and I don’t know how I feel about
that saying- but I will say that I have loved my time in morocco, and I’m going
to miss it mightily. At this moment I’m not really ready to leave, but I am also ready to be home.
2 years feels simultaneously an eternity and a blink- but I think
the timing is perfect. The sine wave that is the emotional roller coaster of
this journey is definitely ending at the top of the hill, where I can look back
fondly on the peaks and valleys of these last 27 some months.
Sorry for the radio silence, and enjoy some random pictures from
the last few months! And look forward to another post in the nearer future.
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| making my basket bag at the girls craft camp |
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| the view from the roof (ie my bedroom) at the leadership camp |
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| a picture from last year, teaching the alphabet in my mumu |
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| doing yoga with the girls at the craft camp |
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| the 28 remaining pcvs at our cos conference, we are an attractive bunch |
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| metal and mosque |
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| look at that view |
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| i ended up singing with the band at a bar in rabat. i disappointed because I don't know any bob marley songs.... but it was still fun |
