Training...is it over yet?

It is Monday, February 14, Happy Valentine’s Day!  I am already getting ready to pack up for a trip up north for Post Pre-Service Training.  This means I have been in site 3 months!!  I am heading back up to the city Azrou, where I had Hub, close to the village I trained in.  Yes, I am going back to see my host family there and I cannot wait! I am excited to see everyone there and what the village looks like with snow…yes I will finally see snow this winter, possibly! I has been snowing there…don’t know what it will be like when I get there, but there will at least be snow on the mountain tops.  I feel like I just got back from out of town, but this month has been busy, and yes a lot has happened from my last post.  So I got to see the Super Bowl!! I am so glad the Steelers didn’t win! But I was even more excited to see live football.  The site we were going to stream it got blocked, but another volunteer is a computer guru and found the site…it was worth the work to see the game!  I may have said this before but one lesson I learned here is when you are invited somewhere…GO.  I went down out of the mountain with my counterpart and another woman of the association one day last week.  I did not know where I was going, just knew it was the “place” of the youth, something about culture, and “ahaydus/ahawaych” (traditional dancing.)  We ended up going to the culture center where the youth where going to show their talents.  It was basically a recognition/awards show.  Yes it was a real auditorium, in a newly built building and there was a presenter with microphones.  When we walked up to the place all the adolescence, mostly boys, where waiting outside to get in.  The best of the best were going to be there…such as government officials, Chief of Police, presidents of associations.  So everyone wanted to be in attendance and they all were waiting to get through the gate.  Unfortunately there was not enough room for everyone but many made it in.  No, I was not prepared for this, I had on my usual for when I come out of the mountain, jeans and a jacket…but at least I had jeans on.  I know that sounds weird…but it was the first time I felt conscious this close to home.  There were un-veiled women wearing heels, men driving up in their own cars, a woman with a stroller, women with real jewelry on…everything I am not used to around my village!  Anyways, we did not have to wait outside the gates; we were invited by the manager of one of the youth bands performing.  Yes I said band…they had an electric guitar, wood guitar, and an electric keyboard…I was so surprised.  It is an actual band and when they performed the entire audience, which was a lot of adolescence, erupted into excitement.  They were really good.  The show started with a young boy singing a verse of the Koran, local traditional dancers were there, and there was a hip hop artist.  No, I did not understand the hip-hop artist, because it was Moroccan Arabic, but he was good.  I did not know all this was going on in my region!  The band gave me their CD and I love it…plus they sing in Tashelheit so it helps me with the language.  The hip hop is in Arabic, but the beats are still awesome, hip-hop with an Arabic twist.  I have some websites I want to give you all to see the traditional dancing of my region and the hip-hop artist.  I do not know if the band has a website, I will find out and let you know. This was all new to me…I felt “honored” to be there.  It was interesting sitting next to my 2 Berber women, who know nothing but the traditional music, listening to hip-hop and a band.  They didn’t react much, just enjoyed the liveliness of the audience and me…I was quite shocked, honestly!  All I have heard music-wise since I got here is the traditional Berber, some Arabic, singing of the verses of the Koran and a little bit of “American” music from last year.  So to hear this stuff and it is Moroccan artist, I was really excited!!  After all this excitement, in the past few days, tourist started to come through my village and Morocco in general.  Tourist season is beginning!  I gave a girl from Japan, who speaks English, a private tour of my village and we went to my association…she ended up buying two bottles of rose water and a rug.  I was quite proud, plus it gave me some ideas for my work with the women, as far as marketing their product!  Our building is up on a hill, so tourists don’t want to walk up there, especially after they have walked through the valley of fields.  I will figure out a solution!

OK, now I am here in Azrou at training and I got to walk through snow! No, I did not make a snow angel but that just may not happen this year!  I got to stop and see my dear friend Annemarie in her site.  She is NE of Midelt on the north side of my mountain range, High Atlas.  She lives at the base of the mountain and the road goes for miles out into the middle of nowhere, then bam there is her village!  I love it.  Then we all went up north to a fellow volunteer’s house halfway between Fes and Taza.  She is Chinese-American so she had us all come for a Chinese New Year dinner and it was amazing! She made fresh potstickers, hot pot and many other authentic Chinese foods.  No, all the food is not available here in Morocco, certain spices and seasonings had to be sent from her family.  So that made it that much better! That was a good time and then we all came here to Azrou. Training has been ok, just a bit much sitting in chairs from 8-6 trying to stay awake.  I feel like I am in school again, trying to pay attention and not getting too distracted!  My fellow SBD PCV’s and I all presented our sites for each other which were entertaining at the beginning of the week.  My site was quite a hit!  They loved the pics and many confirmed that I live the farthest away from modernization.  Many other PCV’s have sites like mine, however the Small Business Development sector tends to have more developed/larger sites. But not I and I love it that way!   I took my language test and went up 2 levels, which is quite an accomplishment, if I could say so myself.  Not to brag, I just needed that re-enforcement of my language, since all I have heard that past 3 months is how I don’t know.  But anyways I am looking forward to seeing my original host family this coming weekend.  Also, I almost forgot to mention how I had a meeting last week, before I came to training, with my women about what they want from me.  I had my tutor come up because when my women get together and have someone to listen to them they get going and I cannot understand that much language, yet!  The meeting went well, but of course my counterpart’s son showed up and interfered, nothing unusual.  My tutor asked her to tell him to leave because it should only be the women, but she said to let him stay.  Finally, my tutor had enough of his distraction and made him leave.  He just continued saying they don’t know anything, they need me in there.  This is a pure example of life in general for women in Morocco, especially more conservative women.  All the men do is try to speak and/or act for them and get them all rowd up every time we have a meeting, but my tutor handled the situation and the meeting turned out to be positive and successful!  Their main ideas for me are to help them set up their association to be more attractive to tourists, possible signage down out of the mountain on the main road, and marketing with hotels in the region.  They also want me to get their Arabic teacher back because all my women are illiterate with the exception of a few.  When I said set-up the association that means hang the rugs on walls, because they are all folded on a table and get their rose water on display, they are all tucked back in a storage room.  I am excited to get back to site and start working on some projects.  I have some pictures of their products and how they do the natural dyes to post.  Also, I checked the websites I mentioned before and found out the band does not have internet exposure, I think I am going to help them with that. The website for the traditional dancing is in French and I could not find a video, but check it out to see how and where I am living…ahwach-tizouite.org.  The hip-hop artist has a few songs on it, my favorite is #3…mc-medaz-km.skyblog.com.  I am also going to post some pics of the event.  Otherwise life is well…I may check in before I leave training this week if anything exciting happens.  Peace!

On the left is Ayisha and the right is Moohou, my counterpart/president of association.  We are at the talent show and as soon as they saw people with cameras, they asked me where mine was...good thing I brought it.

Hip-hop artist

My new favorite band

So this is the traditional dancing of my region...the man in the middle leading is drumming and jumping up and down all at once...he's got talent.

Just to give you an idea of how they dance and move. I know this doesn't show much but I don't know how to explain it. Atleast you can see the dress.

So these are the youth of my village...showcasing their talents to be the next nationally known group of traditional dancers in our region!

This the rug of the girl that I took to the workshop.  That green is the color match from the dye we did at the workshop.  The rug design is common in the Ouarzazate region, but it is not our traditional design.

This is a rug full of the Berber alphabet. 

Ok so this is my favorite and least favorite rug.  This is a prime example of why I am here...quality and product development.  This rug has almost all natural dyes, from the fields of my village, besides the maroon which is on the bottom right hand corner. If you see the top is finished with the weave of orange and red, which are not in the rug.  Also, the lines are not even, but this is all potential work for me.  Also, that brown wool is camel wool...thought you all would be interested in that. Again, there is so much potential for them, I just need to enlighten them on new oppurtunities and possibilities, inshallah!

This is all natural wool, very finely spun. Beautiful, light and simple for shipping or carrying home in baggage.  I think I can work with this for tourists!

Another example of tying in the wool with a random color that is not in the rug...I have already got some of them to understand this concept. Just minor details they don't pay attention to, they are more interested in completing a rug...just part of the culture.

So this is what my women love to do, the "shag" rug!  They know what they are doing I just need to expose them to color theory and product quality. Again, they have the skill, they look past details that matter for sale, especially to tourists.

Here is my host mom, Kbira, and our rose water...1/3 of the shelves of it, along with a vat full of it.  I plan on helping them with the local competition of watered down rose water...because ours is pure!

These are our natural dyes, and my host mom.  Everything is from the fields in my village...walnut leaves, quince, pomegranate skins, onion skins, henna, roots called tabuyia found in the vicinity of rose roots, almond shells, coffee grounds.  Beautiful, huh?!?

This is the tabuyia, roots dug up from around the rose bushes.  I don't know exactly what this is in English...just know it is found near rose bushes, but it is not the roots of the roses.  I will figure it out.  They were starting a fresh batch of dyes the day I was leaving for training so I have not seen the finished product yet.  This takes hours alone...boiling water, putting in the dye agent, then letting the wool soak in the dye.

My host mom, again.  They are confined to these little pots to dye in so it takes that much longer...hopefully we can figure out a solution.

My counterpart, Moohou, and a lady of the vllage weaving.  I think her name is Leila, but she goes by the Berberized version and I always forget it.  In Morocco, you have to have a Muslim name by law, but alot of Berber's have their own version they go by.

All wool...many natural dyes, but I don't think all.   I love the color combination...they may be done when I get back...can't wait to see it.

My women in action!

Back to life...back to reality

It is just too cold at night here to be updating daily as I said I was going to try.  Mashi Mushkil, no problem, I still have some stories for you all since I got back to site.  Wow, being away from site for a week, speaking nothing but English and being in “modern” society can provide quite a shock when you step back into reality!  While I was waiting for the taxi to fill up for my first ride back up the mountain, the driver, who lives in my village, was talking to other boys about how I know Tashleheit, but all I know is the word for water and bread.  He also asked me how much I paid for the stuff in my bags.  Everyone always ask how much stuff is and I always say I forget or I don’t know it was a gift. But goodness I couldn’t even get up the mountain before he started nagging me.  I just love it though because when they think I don’t know they talk more and it is entertaining sometimes.  The point of that comment was to add that my taxi broke down about 7 minutes into the ride and I just wanted to say “that’s what you get for talking about me.”  However, it was rather cold waiting for another ride because the sun had gone down by then.  Also, side note, I said Tashleheit and before I have called the language Tamazight.  Well they are both the same, just different regions have different names for it…at the end of the day it is all the Berber language, with different dialects village to village.  On Wednesday, I went back down to town for souk with 2 ladies from my association but ended up losing them because the one mumbles when she speaks and I can never understand her.  However, had I stayed with them, who knows what I would be eating this week.  Also, I found strawberries, and I don’t know if I would have seen them with the women! Yesterday, Thursday, I traveled with my neighbor girl over to one of the villages across the river and on the way we saw the natural spring…it is so beautiful!  It is definitely like stepping back in time a little over there.  She even commented about how they live like the cave people when we were walking through the streets.  I don’t know if this was before or after we passed the little boy squatting in the middle of the street.  At first I didn’t know what he was doing but then I saw a fresh pile of poo next to him…he must of thought he was done and then had to go back down for more.  I mean it is not much different than my village. When I walk through the fields I see plenty of human feces and even some older compounds do not come equipped with a “bitlama,” hole in the ground.  I am glad I went along for the trip it is beautiful over there and I can’t wait to explore some more.  Today, Friday, I had Velveeta Shells and Cheese for lunch and an egg sandwich with Peanut Butter for breakfast…Thank you Dad!  I must say I never really ate boxed mac n cheese before I came, in fact I think I threw some away when I was moving out of my apartment in Cincinnati, but I have been craving it since I got here. Today I sat there and almost ate the whole pan; I had to force myself to put it back in the kitchen, knowing I would be sick later if I didn’t.  These small comforts are needed to remind me of home and I indulged!! I let some neighbors try the peanut butter and they were all hesitant but as soon as their tongue hit the spoon their eyes lit up!  In general many Moroccans won’t eat what they are not accustomed to, so I was not surprised many were scared to try.  I think that is all for now…I am going to read for a few then lay down for the night…it is getting cold and I need to get under the covers! 

It was a success

So I am already off track with my updates because I have been so busy! When I got back home from my last blog post, 2 Saturday s ago, I found out another girl Samira wanted to go to the workshop.  I ended up having 2 women going, so my association was well represented.  We made it to the workshop smoothly and the ladies learned a lot, I think.  They were more excited that the teacher was from the delegation than learning.  Having any kind of contact with anyone from the delegation makes them feel special and important.  The teacher focused on the process of making a carpet from choosing the wool, dying it, setting up the loom, and weaving patterns while stressing all the quality points within.  The women know how to do all of these things; however, they do not pay attention to detail which makes their output products non-desirable for sale or even not up to quality standards set by the delegate.  My counterpart thought I was attending to learn along with them but this was a good way to prove that I am not here to weave, by her seeing that this workshop was put together by a volunteer just like me.  Yet, I paid attention to better understand the processes so one day I can convey the quality factors in making “sellable” rugs to my women.   My credibility is not quite there with them.  This is why integration has been my main focus since I got to site; to build relationships and trust.  Also, I am hoping that the ladies I took retained information to influence the others.  The girl Samira came over on Sunday, 2 days after she returned, and told me to come over so she could show me something.  To my surprise she had dyed some wool the same color as we did at the workshop and said she did it that color because that is the color tourist like! I was so excited, this means she was paying attention and she is really interested in weaving to sell, not just for her own home.  Now I am hoping to gather the women to have her show them the combination for the dye and have them all do it together.  I think the women will pay more attention if one of their own is showing them new techniques.  The village we visited was great; the women were so friendly and exceptional hosts.  We ate 5 times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks with tea, Moroccans can’t live without tea every 2-3 hours) and each setting was so delicious…dangerously good!  After I returned to site I already had to leave Tuesday to head to Rabat for the dentist and I am on the train now from Rabat back down to Marrakesh.  I don’t mind though because I took an amazing shower this morning and it was hot the whole time!!  Just as I got everything out of my system on my last post things have been coming around.  The workshop was a success, the women have a better idea about why I am here, I got a hot shower, and had a lot of internet access to skype my family!  Here are some pics from the workshop…I tried to post a video of the ahaydus, traditional singing and dancing, but it didn’t work, sorry.  Bslama!

P.S. Little did I know I was not on the train to Marrakesh...somehow I got on the wrong train.  However, I am finally in Marrakesh and when we switched trains we met a guy from London traveling down to Namibia by ground along the coast of Africa.  He also somehow missed the train we were supposed to be on...weird.  This is only the third time in my life I have traveled by train but I thought I had them figured out.  But anyways, this guy is going to Namibia with the Great Freedom Movement, a group of spiritual people that are training how to live off of energy and they are going to meet the Rainbow Warrior tribe there...pretty interesting.  We gave hime some assistance to get through Morocco, so hopefully he makes it there safe.  I keep saying we because a fellow PCV from Ouarzazate had to go to dentist as well, so we traveled together.  Also, one more story...this is why I want to continue with my daily updates so you all don't miss the good stuff.  On my way down the mountain for my trip to Rabat I had to leave really early to catch the 7:30am bus.  Well if you catch an early transit out of the mountain you are usually on it with the people that live high up in the mountain because there only way out is really early...these are usually people that don't come out of the mountain much and are much farther away from "modern civilization."  Anyways, I thought I heard a baaa, then I heard it again for sure...sure enough I was riding down with a sheep under one of the seats in a transit van.  They gotta do what they gotta do and sometimes there is no other way! Enjoy the pics...

Here is the teacher giving lectures.  He didn't spend much time lecturing because women just weren't interested.  But it was necessary to explain what they were going to be doing in the hands on areas.  You can see wool in the basket on the left and those ping pong paddle looking acessories are the brushes for the wool.  They are not easy to use...quite an arm work out!

Here they are preparing the color mixture for dying the wool.

Adding the water...I thought this picture was cool looking...do you like my counterpart's groovy bathrobe outfit in the backround.  Trust me they brought there sunday's best to come to this workshop...literally.

Here is a girl from the hosting village pounding a clear crystal which will be used to activate the dye. I don't know what it is called in English yet, just Berber...and right now I forget that.

There is the wool waiting to be put in the dye as he is stirring the dye so it is thoroughly mixed.

Here is just there contraption of powders to make the according color.

The wool is being stirred to get a good mix.

Here they are removing the wool.  Notice the steam...the water has to be a certain temperature for the wool to dye correctly.

I finally got a picture with my counterpart, Moohou!!!

Here they are preparing the first steps of the loom.  They post sticks in the ground the desired length of the rug and walk around them as much as the desired width of the rug... this is called the eed...it is the part of the rug that comes out at the ends and is tied to start and finsih the rug.

Here is the eed set to desired width and length being put on the loom ends.

That is Samira, one of my girls, on the far left, the president of the Association of the hosting village, Khadija, and my counterpart Moohou on far right.  They are tying the eed tight to asure an even and tight weave.

I just love my counterpart!

Here they are finalizing the loom setup.  They re-use everything...see the old sandals being used to brace the loom.

This woman is cranking the loom pulling it tight for a nice weave.

This is the part that actually creates the weave.  There is string on each side and the front string is tied to be behind the back string to create the weave.

This is the finalized color being put in the sun to dry.

This is a wonderful contraption used to cut the wool evenly to make shag rugs.  I am hoping to introduce this to my women because they cut as they go and it makes the shag way uneven...and they use a dull knife so it is rather fuzzy and unattractive.

This is Samira working a rug that was already started at the association we visited.

Here are the women working on the demo rug.

Here are my women...these are common rugs styles of the south...however, ours do not resemble this. One day I will get you all some pictures of our styles.

Here are all the ladies that attended the workshop!

The workshop would not be complete without the certificates at the end.  These are my women!

Just to show you an idea of how we ate...this is just snack!!!

  Here is some ahaydus before dinner one night...they were quite the entertainers!

Trying something new

As I was on my transit ride back home, after my last blog, I was thinking of how my last two entries have not been so positive and/or informative.  I am going to try and keep a daily journal on my computer and post that so you all have a better idea of daily life.  When I go to the cyber I am usually rushed and just brush through what I have been doing or vent slightly because I don’t have any other outlets.  Anyways, I want to make it very clear that I am extremely happy here.  My home is amazing, the people are amazing and life here is amazing.  However, I must admit that this is probably the most challenging part of my time, hopefully, here in Morocco.  I say this because I have been planted in a small village all alone where no one speaks English, well; one younger boy does that is away at school 6 days a week.  When I say away, I mean away.  The adolescents that actually are still in school through high school, board there, because it is usually too far away to transit them in and out of the mountains every day.  I have already asked him if he would be willing to help me when my tutor goes back to work with the next group of volunteers coming in, in March. To add to that side thought, there is an elementary school in my village but once the youth gets to 6^th grade they go to a school a few villages away, still in the mountains.  Once they reach high school they go to the bigger towns.  This can be looked at positively because at least there is an option, however many kids “exit”, that is the way they put it, school because it is not local or they can’t afford to go to high school.   I know I change subjects a lot, but some topics just need explanations.  But anyways back to my life here.  I have been put here in a totally “foreign” place, not knowing a lot of the language and expected to survive, which is a challenge that I wanted.  It just can be mentally and emotionally draining some days.  Such is expected and only natural. It is not supposed to be easy.  Heck, if life were easy it wouldn’t be worth living, right?  People day in and out tell me I don’t know, yet have not offered to help or even slow down when they speak. However, I have all kinds of love here and every day I am reminded why I am happy to be here.  Yet, there are always those people, no matter where you go, that want to “control” you, tell you how to do things, tell you “you don’t know,” don’t understand why you are here.  In time this will all slow down.  Also, I have still yet to break all the women’s hearts when I finally tell them I am not here to weave.  The volunteer before me was an artist so she took on a different role than me.  This is actually good because now I am here with different ideas, but every day I am haggled about when I am going to start weaving.  Although, finally, last night I was back at my host family’s house having dinner and before dinner I was talking with my aunts in the traditional kitchen, as the couscous was simmering.  We were talking about how my tutor may come up and help me have an assessment meeting with the women about why I am here and what they want from me.  I started to explain about how I can help with marketing, quality, business ideas and I am not like the previous volunteer, which I have explained to some before.  But when I started to say how volunteers aren’t here to weave my one aunt interrupted me by saying “I know you all aren’t here to weave you are here to work.”  Let me tell you a ton of bricks came off my back!!  I just said thank you, thank you, thank you…now tell the rest of them that, just jokingly.  The other 2 thought my reaction was hilarious! They understand where I am coming from…they are a few of the women I really trust and have opened up to already.  These things are not unexpected and I know it is just cultural.  All these people treat me as I am their child, which is ok, they mean no harm, but sometimes enough is enough.  Each day I am meeting more and more people and things are coming around slowly.  Enough of that, now you all understand a little of what I am dealing with, back to my daily life.  Here is a little side story to illustrate common life here.  When I go to town I usually spend all day until right before dark.  Well so does everyone else, so the transit vans are so full, to the point where you are lucky to have a seat or half of one. Yesterday, souk day, I had about three bags from souk and I am one of the last ones on the already too full bus. Luckily, there was a seat next to a holy, innocent, little old man.  They call these older men that have been to pilgrimage (Mecca), LHaj. They are treated with the upmost respect by everyone.  But anyways, the way up the mountain can be a bumpy curvy ride and at one curve the man accidentally leaned into my breast and I think it scared the bjeebees out of him.  He held onto the railing the rest of the ride.  I felt so bad for him, but just an example of how packed these transit vans are, some things cannot be avoided.  When the van reached my village I noticed all the women of the association sitting outside the building so I dropped my stuff in the house and hurried to the association, because if they are all there, something is happening.  Which I knew they were expecting the president of another local association to come in order to do some paperwork and handle some “problems” concerning looms that 2 women have taken to their homes to use at their leisure, that belong to the association.   I got there just in time when the man arrived and we had a “meeting”, which turned into a chance for all the women to argue and vent.  It was quite interesting and I was glad to be there to understand what is going on within my association and more of what is going in my village as a whole.  This was a huge deal for the village, even men came up to the association and were looking in the door and windows, and some even came in for a closer look.  So it was dark by the time this whole ordeal was done and that is why I was at my host family’s house last night. No one will let me walk home after dark.  I need to work on that one, but I am afraid of stray dogs anyway, especially these ones.  So this morning, as I was sitting having breakfast drinking this amazing coffee, basically coffee made with milk, I miss it so much. I don’t even drink coffee but theirs is so good.  Also eating the fresh olive oil and fresh baked bread I asked my mom where I can buy the local olive oil and she told me to ask my tutor to get it for me.  He is from her town where there are a lot of Lmessirts.  These are basically where they produce fresh olive oil.  Then, little did I know, she invited me to go to her village with her for the day, and I was able to see how they make the olive oil, bring some back with me, and I met her family.  I tell ya, everyday is something new and unexpected.  So, I thought these Lmessirts were separate buildings on their own where men go to work every day but they are within the family compounds and her uncle operates one.  Next time I will go equipped with my camera to have pictures for you all.  Here is my best illustration.  Basically, the olives are put into a huge pit like contraption with a grinder.  Wow, this is hard to describe.  The grinder is attached to a mule and the mule walks in circles around the pit to make the grinder go, which mashes the olives. Yes, they switch out the mules.  Then they gather the mashed olives in these flattened straw “baskets” and stack the baskets atop each other.  Then a machine slowly pushes down on these “baskets” squeezing all the oil out into a tank, where the oil is then filtered and you have fresh olive oil.  I hope that is easy to understand.  Plus, I am slowly forgetting English so certain words just aren’t at the top of my head anymore.  After the Lmessirt and lunch at her brother’s house, which is the house she grew up in, we went to a gathering like “calling hours”.  I guess that was why she was going to her village, but I did not know this.  That was interesting, the way the men and women gather separately and the men chant/sing verses of the Koran.  It was pretty intense.  I felt a little awkward, because I had never met any of these people and they were all in mourning but it was worth it…meeting new people and experiencing something new. Then it was back to our village and here I am.  Also, to add one more story of life here in Morocco.  So, all the taxi/transit drivers know me and where I live, even if I have never spoken to them.  As soon as I walk up someone will say climb in and the name of my village/area, and I don’t even know them.  This is just fine, sometimes it is better to be known then unknown, because they all look out for me and help me, especially when I was bringing everything up for my house.  Well today one finally asked me for my name and I told him Sara, my Moroccan name. So when the transit was pulling off he said “Bye Sokayna” and everyone around was like her name is Sokayna, he said ”Ya, she told me her name.” I didn’t correct him and my host mom could barely hold her laugh in as we pulled off.  I told her no problem, I like it like that.  Now consider, I am one of only 3 “foreigners” going up and down this mountain on public transit that I know of.  The other 2 are fellow volunteers.  Also, there is only one stand to catch taxis up my mountain range.  Yes, they are used to tourist but they would never use public transport, so I am basically their only source of entertainment.  Plus, they wouldn’t dare communicate with a local, veiled woman in public that is not related to them.  I can’t wait to see how this pans out when they find out my name is not Sokayna. Signing out on this Thursday night, the 13^th of January, 2011.  I am going to study some words for my talk tomorrow about our upcoming workshop.  I didn’t get to talk to my counterpart about it last night because of all the excitement with the meeting. Ok so it is Saturday, I am in town today to check the bus schedule and I went to the Hammam...boy did I need that!  However I forgot my gel and my hair is going crazy!  As of right now only my counterpart is going to the workshop with me but that is ok.  Maybe when I return to site I will have another woman  going.  This is a free trip away for these women and a chance for them to meet new people as well as see women they already know.  However, alot of the women of the association either have children or they are the "chore" person of the house so they can not leave for a whole week.  I thouht for sure that I would have women fighting over the other spot but instead I am begging for another to go.  It would be really beneficial for them as well.  When I say chore person, I meant they are the one that does the cooking, cleaning, handles the livestock and goes out to the fields daily to get firewood or pick plants for dinner.  Usually this is a daughter or a still unmarried women of the family still living within the quarters of her own family.  Once a woman is married she moves into the quarters of her husband.  So life is good, as of now I am leaving tomorrow for Taznacht which is about an hour south of Ouarzazate and will return on the following Saturday.  I will be sure to take pictures and let you all know how things go at the workshop.  I am really excited to see how this works out.  Plus it will be a good time with my counterpart and I to meet new people and see new places.

I have my own home

So I just want to check in because I haven’t been around for a while.  Time in town has been filled getting things for my new home so I don’t have time to stop by the internet.  Yes, I got the place my heart was set on and everything is coming together, little by little.  Last week I was in town almost every day getting things for my house.  I can only get so much each trip because everything has to taken up by transit van into the mountain.  But most importantly, on Saturday, I got a bed!  It is just a firm piece of foam but it is full size and I sleep so good!  Actually it is dangerous to have a bed, because now I have true refuge when I have a bad day and I just want to be alone.  Not to say I have many bad days but when you are living in a world where no one speaks your language, you still don't understand them, they don't understand you and you are always around people....you need some "alone" time.  Hopefully I will be able to get my house all cleaned up and settled soon so I can get you all some pictures.  I met my delegate on Friday.  He is basically the delegate for my province in the Artisana for Traditional Handicrafts, which is who oversees my association.  I gave him my resume and he explained what he would like to see me do with my association.  His ideas for me is to teach them English, turn the association into a co-op and up there quality of products.  I was honestly surprised about the English, which I was planning on doing, but that was his number one order.  I will do as he and the women want, however as long as it is sustainable when my time is done.  I also hope to empower them, teach them basic math, and how to keep their own records.  Turning them into a co-op doesn't do much but make them for profit, rather than not-for-profit.  I need to read up more to understand the Morrocan laws on this, however, that is what was explained to me by a fellow volunteer.  My days have been good.  I started washing clothes in the river which is so much easier than by bucket, however the walk back up the hill is no joke! Not to mention the women repeatedly telling me how to wash my clothes! After the fifth time explaining that you should let your clothes soak before scrubbing, I had to give them some assertiveness and then they apologized and finally changed the subject. Yes, I know it is not good for the eco-system, all the women do it anyway and I do not use that much soap.  If anyone is interested you can send me eco-friendly soap. The earth and I would greatly appreciate it!  I am heading home now from visiting souk.  Wow, my first time shopping alone in souk the vendors were eating me up with the prices.  Most of the time I just walked away. I am going to try and go every week so I am known there, because souk is and should be the best price for anything and everything.  I am supposed to be going to a workshop next week with 2 of my women for a whole week on product quality, pricing, etc. It is being done by a fellow volunteer.  I hope it all works out because one of the women sounds as if she is not going.  I will let you all know.  This will be a huge accomplishment, especially this early in site.  I am actually going to my counterpart's house tonight to discuss this, so wish me luck. Until next time...peace!

Merry Christmas from afar

Merry Christmas to all.  I am spending the day in my souk town at the cyber cafe waiting for my family to get up and on skype.  Hopefully I will get to see my grandma today!!  It is a beautiful sunny day a little chilly but no snow!  This past week has been great! Got to see some work by the women of my association.  I watched the process of setting up a loom from beginning to end.  Asked a few questions and enjoyed my time with the ladies.  I spend alot of time with my counterpart, the president of the association, and this week she showed me how she brushes out the wool and then spins it.  I attempted each and they look so easy, but they just make it look easy...boy I was entertainment for the crowd.  I set up my house check for next week so if all is clear I move in to my own place next weekend...yippee!!  I must say I enjoy living with a host family but I need to regain control of my hygiene and food!  The women have been doing the final touches in the fields for winter like collecting the last of the almonds, olives and walnuts from the trees.  I took a hike with my little sidekick, Miriam.  We hiked up the mountain behind the house.  Let me tell you she was moving up that mountain but coming down wasn't easy because it is steep and filled with rocks.  Yes, you all know I am a clutz and fell about 3 times! She made sure to tell everyone when we got back how I kept falling, but she fell too, lol!  I took some pictures from atop to show you all a birds-eye view of my village.  I went to souk this week and got 2 big blankets and a real western pillow to sleep on! My host dad took me to souk to get the best deal, which wow he really did help me with the price.  They would have ate me up had I gone by myself and they still probably will when I return for more, unless I go to the same guy.  However, it was fun going with my hostdad to souk.  I attended the stand he must usually go to for all the veggies and he just kept telling my to zayd (continue) and tsh (eat) the oranges.  I took him up on that because the local oranges are so good!  All I ever hear is zayd, tsh!  At each my meal in homestay I am told to zayd, tsh...I alwas have to remind them that I am full, they still insist.  My mom usually is the one to say it, but she has been gone this week so my sister took over. Sometimes I tell them to zayd or tsh back and they get a kick out of it.  The hospitality of Moroccans is beyond belief!  Everytime I go into the living room (shanbray), which is usually at night before dinner, my host brothers are instructed to get me a pillow to put between me and the wall and a blanket because it is asslmid (cold). As far as the rest of my household items...week by week I plan to get the big stuff from souk.  It is a pain getting it up to site but mashi muskil (no worries!) Well here are the pictures...Happy Holidays to all!

 Hello!

So that is my homestay house/compound second from the left.  I wanted to show you all what I meant by compounds. Also this is the beginning/bottom of my village.

This is the center of my village.  I will hopefully soon be living in the area towards the right edge of pic. 

This pic overlaps but that is the end/top of my village.

And these are the fields that are the livelihood of my village.  It is how the families make a living along with there livestock.  The trees are just branches now but come spring the roses, fruit and nut trees will be in full bloom and I can not wait to see it!

Here is Miriam...I let the cat out of the sack...she knows I have a camera and she always ask about it. She is the grandaughter of my counterpart.

Yes I look crazy but it is the third week without my hair being washed and probably five days without a bucket bath...again I am excited to live on my own for that main reason! Plus there is no Hammam in my village I have to go to Kelaa which is not easy carrying my bucket and stool on an always filled transit van.  However, the woman of my village make a homemade hammam out of a peice of tarp outside in the sun, I may try that out next week.  A hammam is the public bath houses found in Morocco.  They are nice and relaxing, well depending if they are crowded.  They consist of three rooms, hot/steamy, hot, warm. You start in the steam one until you can't stand it anymore and then work your way back to the beginning when your done.  Each visit consist of about 2 hours...it is a social gathering, literally!

So that is my counterpart, Moohou.  She didn't want a picture but wanted me to take one of her prized new calf.  She is so awesome.  I'll get you all a pic when she is "dressed and prepared." Pics are big events for these women because they are a very rare ocassion as to no one has a camera in the village, and many rarely ever leave the village.

This is out front of my house....wow what a view!  That is my hostdad's sister Zara and their other sister's son Rachid.

That is my hostdad's other sister, Fatima, I don't think she ever had any children...she didn't want the picture but Miriam was picture happy so I thought I would show you all.  These sisters in the pictures still live in the home of the brother. In Morocco, this is usually because they have never been married or they lost their husbands.

That is Khadija, the mother of Miriam, and we are at the place of my counterpart. Again, you can see we are outside and Miriam is taking the picture from the entrance of the izgri (traditional kitchen).

This is the traditional kitchen.  That is couscous (sksu) being prepared for dinner and the other oven (affran) is where they make fresh bread every morning, which is dangerously good with zit or fresh made butter!