So this blog is going to written through pictures. I have some pictures from the souk (market) that is every Sunday. It is where you go to buy your vegetables, clothes, house appliances and as you can see goats! It is Morocco's Walmart! The best of this picture is that only one goat is on a leash being dragged...I am assuming he is scaring the rest with this tactic so they follow.
Also, you can buy sheep. And actually sheep is very good...alot of time it is cooked in a pressure cooker and it taste like beef stew. It is usually topped with vegetables, that are steamed to death, dates, olives, prunes. There are many variations but it is always very full of flavor...not too mention the extreme amount of spices that are always added.
So here is a typical vendor at souk...he seems to have nuts and garlic and I think I see some small apples and peppers down there. They all are hollering out their prices trying to get your attention.
Here is a man selling garlic and lemons...but notice how they wheigh the product. Everything is sold in kilos which converts to 2.2 pounds. Which is ideal for people buying for their families as they are naturally feeding many in one home here. However, I anticipate buying quarter kilos and smaller when I get on my own.
There we are practicing our language buying our food for the school. School is where we eat the best because we eat more vegetables and to mention they are usually raw rather than steamed to the point of having no more nutrients. That is our cook all the way to the right, she is the expert selector.
Check out those FRESH bananas...they are picked the morning of or day before and driven miles to the various souks. Check out the bunch leaning on the van they are still on the branch. Talk about fresh, delicious, completely natural and organic.
So this is the souk bus. It brings all the people from the surrounding villages to souk. My family and I stand out and wait...we could wait for 10 minutes or an hour it just depends on timing. We usually get a taxi back as the ones in the pictures, my mom does not want to wait for the bus back with all her food. Also notice that this huge bus manuevers in a very small area and turns around. To the right of the picture there are many people as well as many more taxis. This is the taxi stand. In my new site I am 16 Kilos away from Souk...mashi mushkil (no problem/no worries) I am excited!
This should be a crime...look at these hidious shoes I found at souk with the symbol of Lebron James' shoe line!
There we are after souk taking a break for tea at the cafe. Those are 2 fellow trainees in my CBT site, AnneMarie and Jeff, and the one in the white hat is a local from our village that we saw at souk. It is not a norm for women to sit at a cafe but our souk town is bigger and being foreigners makes is more acceptable. But you will never see local woman sitting at cafes unless it is huge cities like Rabat, Casablance, Fes and Marrakesh. However, the current King has been been changing the gender roles for women and their have been movements. One simple example of this is people are creating cafes only for women.
There is my family again!! Wow I am going to miss them when I say goodbye. I will be 12 hours away from them in my permanent site. However, I will get back to visit, I hope...nshallah (G willing). When I get back form my site visit I only have 2 more weeks with them.
I just love this picture...Adam and Sabah! As you may have noticed Adam in the last pic reaching for the camera, it is hard to get a good pic of him because he always wants the camera.
So there we are on the roof having class. It is awesome and it feels much better than in the house. However, by the time lunch comes around you have to get shade because that sun gets hot!
So this is my dad and his mom, and once again Adam trying to get the camera. So a few weeks back I walked with my dad and my sister to her house for dinner. It was 9 o'clock and we walked through fields to get to her house about 20 minutes later. But on the way we had a scare by a dog, well I should say I had a scare because it didn't faze them. This dog must have been a guard dog because it was bigger then the street dogs and it let us pass and then came charging from behind and I was a step behind so I screamed. But is was just trying to scare us, it definitely followed and growled until we were far enough away. However, its growl was very intimidating! I was watching my back the rest of the way even though it was pitch black. Actually it was an awesome walk because it was so dark and all you could see was all the stars in the sky and the shadow of the mountains. One more thing about my visit there. We had dinner and let me tell you what Moroccans love their sugar. After dinner their was a bowl of sugar set in front of me and I thought what am I supposed to do with this. Next, out came a plate full of noodles with crushed peanuts atop and then you top your section with as much sugar as you want. That was a shocker for me to see just bowls of sugar at first, but then out came the communal plate of dessert.
So that is my other host sister Hakima that I finally got to meet. She got married about a year ago to a man in the military and she lives in Rabat. So it was nice to meet her and she gave me and Sabah Henna. It was a great night, alot of family was over and we had cous cous for dinner.
So we are at Hub to find out our permanent sites which I am leaving soon for our visit. Last night we had a mock wedding and out of no where we hear drums and many other instruments. This is traditional how the men perform outside while the bride prepares. This looks different from my other wedding pictures because we are in a different region. Each region has different music traditons. In my training village they only use drums.
So now they are inside and the bride is soon to enter.
Wow there they are. These are fellow trainees. As you see the women wear elaborate white wedding dresses as we do. My site mate for training and I were going to be the bride and groom because they say we act like a married couple...but I am glad because had I been the bride I would not have been able to leave the hotel and get my Snickers bar...boy I have been craving one for weeks and I can't get them near my training site. Actually me and my fellow site trainee, Sam, are only 16K away in our permanent sites so that is great because we have alot of fun. His site is actually where I have to travel for an ATM, Souk or Internet!
I just wanted you all to see those long instruments they are awesome. A mix of all these instruments sound amazing, not to mention that the men also sing. It kind of sounds like a yodel but much better because you can tell what they are saying, if you understand Darija, Moroccan Arabic.
So there the bride is getting Henna which is traditional. Also, notice she has on a different dress, which is normal especially in larger villages or in families with more money.
So a few notes... I found out my home will be in the Ouarzazate region of Morocco...that is the most I can say on here!! Also, dad I spelled it wrong for you...it is an O rather than a Q. I am so excited...it is in the middle of mountains, there is a river that runs by my village which is created from springs at the top of mountains, mud houses, and I hear there are nomads living in caves nearby. Wow it is awesome and I am so excited...I wanted to be in a small village in the south and I am. I will be working with a weaving association and and they also make rose water and hope to start making rose soap. I am ready and the trip there has to be split up in two days because we are not to travel after dark. I am really excited...I can't wait to let you all know next weekend about my site. Also, another note about my last few weeks...we visited a naming ceremony which is common in Morocco...it is as important as a wedding. This occurs on the 7th day after birth and the name of the baby is announced. And of course they feed you.... by slaughtering a sheep, which goes along with the religion. They do not name the baby until the slaughtering of the sheep on the 7th day. OK I think this is enough for now...I have so much going on I can't wait to let you all know about my new home...I will be back at Hub next weekend! Bslama!
So this blog is going to written through pictures. I have some pictures from the souk (market) that is every Sunday. It is where you go to buy your vegetables, clothes, house appliances and as you can see goats! It is Morocco's Walmart! The best of this picture is that only one goat is on a leash being dragged...I am assuming he is scaring the rest with this tactic so they follow.
Also, you can buy sheep. And actually sheep is very good...alot of time it is cooked in a pressure cooker and it taste like beef stew. It is usually topped with vegetables, that are steamed to death, dates, olives, prunes. There are many variations but it is always very full of flavor...not too mention the extreme amount of spices that are always added.
So here is a typical vendor at souk...he seems to have nuts and garlic and I think I see some small apples and peppers down there. They all are hollering out their prices trying to get your attention.
Here is a man selling garlic and lemons...but notice how they wheigh the product. Everything is sold in kilos which converts to 2.2 pounds. Which is ideal for people buying for their families as they are naturally feeding many in one home here. However, I anticipate buying quarter kilos and smaller when I get on my own.
There we are practicing our language buying our food for the school. School is where we eat the best because we eat more vegetables and to mention they are usually raw rather than steamed to the point of having no more nutrients. That is our cook all the way to the right, she is the expert selector.
Check out those FRESH bananas...they are picked the morning of or day before and driven miles to the various souks. Check out the bunch leaning on the van they are still on the branch. Talk about fresh, delicious, completely natural and organic.
So this is the souk bus. It brings all the people from the surrounding villages to souk. My family and I stand out and wait...we could wait for 10 minutes or an hour it just depends on timing. We usually get a taxi back as the ones in the pictures, my mom does not want to wait for the bus back with all her food. Also notice that this huge bus manuevers in a very small area and turns around. To the right of the picture there are many people as well as many more taxis. This is the taxi stand. In my new site I am 16 Kilos away from Souk...mashi mushkil (no problem/no worries) I am excited!
This should be a crime...look at these hidious shoes I found at souk with the symbol of Lebron James' shoe line!
There we are after souk taking a break for tea at the cafe. Those are 2 fellow trainees in my CBT site, AnneMarie and Jeff, and the one in the white hat is a local from our village that we saw at souk. It is not a norm for women to sit at a cafe but our souk town is bigger and being foreigners makes is more acceptable. But you will never see local woman sitting at cafes unless it is huge cities like Rabat, Casablance, Fes and Marrakesh. However, the current King has been been changing the gender roles for women and their have been movements. One simple example of this is people are creating cafes only for women.
There is my family again!! Wow I am going to miss them when I say goodbye. I will be 12 hours away from them in my permanent site. However, I will get back to visit, I hope...nshallah (G willing). When I get back form my site visit I only have 2 more weeks with them.
I just love this picture...Adam and Sabah! As you may have noticed Adam in the last pic reaching for the camera, it is hard to get a good pic of him because he always wants the camera.
So there we are on the roof having class. It is awesome and it feels much better than in the house. However, by the time lunch comes around you have to get shade because that sun gets hot!
So this is my dad and his mom, and once again Adam trying to get the camera. So a few weeks back I walked with my dad and my sister to her house for dinner. It was 9 o'clock and we walked through fields to get to her house about 20 minutes later. But on the way we had a scare by a dog, well I should say I had a scare because it didn't faze them. This dog must have been a guard dog because it was bigger then the street dogs and it let us pass and then came charging from behind and I was a step behind so I screamed. But is was just trying to scare us, it definitely followed and growled until we were far enough away. However, its growl was very intimidating! I was watching my back the rest of the way even though it was pitch black. Actually it was an awesome walk because it was so dark and all you could see was all the stars in the sky and the shadow of the mountains. One more thing about my visit there. We had dinner and let me tell you what Moroccans love their sugar. After dinner their was a bowl of sugar set in front of me and I thought what am I supposed to do with this. Next, out came a plate full of noodles with crushed peanuts atop and then you top your section with as much sugar as you want. That was a shocker for me to see just bowls of sugar at first, but then out came the communal plate of dessert.
So that is my other host sister Hakima that I finally got to meet. She got married about a year ago to a man in the military and she lives in Rabat. So it was nice to meet her and she gave me and Sabah Henna. It was a great night, alot of family was over and we had cous cous for dinner. 
So we are at Hub to find out our permanent sites which I am leaving soon for our visit. Last night we had a mock wedding and out of no where we hear drums and many other instruments. This is traditional how the men perform outside while the bride prepares. This looks different from my other wedding pictures because we are in a different region. Each region has different music traditons. In my training village they only use drums.
So now they are inside and the bride is soon to enter.
Wow there they are. These are fellow trainees. As you see the women wear elaborate white wedding dresses as we do. My site mate for training and I were going to be the bride and groom because they say we act like a married couple...but I am glad because had I been the bride I would not have been able to leave the hotel and get my Snickers bar...boy I have been craving one for weeks and I can't get them near my training site. Actually me and my fellow site trainee, Sam, are only 16K away in our permanent sites so that is great because we have alot of fun. His site is actually where I have to travel for an ATM, Souk or Internet! 
I just wanted you all to see those long instruments they are awesome. A mix of all these instruments sound amazing, not to mention that the men also sing. It kind of sounds like a yodel but much better because you can tell what they are saying, if you understand Darija, Moroccan Arabic.
So there the bride is getting Henna which is traditional. Also, notice she has on a different dress, which is normal especially in larger villages or in families with more money. 
Love it!!! Did u get an address yet?? Miss u!! : )
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