Brother and neighbors

My host brother Yosshine.


Hassan (11) and Oumayma (7), the children of my neighbor Meddi, who is a professor in Oujda and is returning next week to begin the school year. Like elsewhere, children here are ornery. And they love to make fun of me; laughing at my strange behavior, attempting to teach me dirty words, and imitating my arabic.

I think there’s a difference between these city kids, Hassan and Oumayma, and those in my village. Besides a father whose a professor and living in a city of half a million, they attend a private school, where teachers don’t use the rote memorization used in public schools, but encourage critical thinking and problem solving. The result is that in general, these children have more self confidence.

I’ve read that educational reform in the Arab world is being led by the United Arab Emirates. Arab scholar Muhammad Boneb from Qatar call this a change from monologue to dialogue learning. “Our Arab culture has been raised on monologue. Hey listen, but don’t talk. Today, we have to give children the opportunity to talk.”

Blair speech in L.A.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair made the following remarks several weeks ago in the midst of the Lebanon/Israel crisis.

“..We must commit ourselves to a complete renaissance of our strategy to defeat those that threaten us. There is an arc of extremism now stretching across the Middle East and touching, with increasing definition, countries far outside that region. To defeat it will need an alliance of moderation, that paints a different future in which Muslim, Jew and Christian; Arab and Western; wealthy and developing nations can make progress in peace and harmony with each other. My argument to you today is this: we will not win the battle against this global extremism unless we win it at the level of values as much as force, unless we show we are even-handed, fair and just in our application of those values to the world...

Unless we re-appraise our strategy, unless we revitalise the broader global agenda on poverty, climate change, trade, and in respect of the Middle East, bend every sinew of our will to making peace between Israel and Palestine, we will not win. And this is a battle we must win.”

Find the rest at http://www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page9948.asp. I think this is a good speech, maybe a Winston Churchill “Iron Curtain” speech of our time. All we need know is a Truman to deliver.

I’m reading an old biography on Leo Tolstoy by author Isaiah Berlin titled “The Hedgehog and the Fox.” He writes “there is a line among the fragments of the Greek poet Archilochus which says: ‘the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.’” Berlin divides leaders, thinkers, and others into two categories; the hedgehog, who tries to integrate all of his experiences and thoughts into a single, overarching concept of life and the fox, who as he puts it, have ideas about the world "without seeking to fit them into, or exclude them from, any one unchanging, all-embracing, sometimes self-contradictory and incomplete, at times fanatical, unitary inner vision."

Berlin summarizes that the famous Russian author was a fox that wanted to be a hedgehog in his latter years. I think Tony Blair is a fox too. He’s showed himself to be steadfast and ethical, not insular or sanctimonious. Now, if Blair is the fox of modern times, who is the hedgehog?

Back at site

Work at my site is picking up. Next month, en shalla, I’ll start teaching English at the women’s center in the evening. I’m looking forward to this and getting my lesson plans ready. Alphabet, numbers, then reflexive and transitive verbs. Also, I’ve been interviewing people, specifically farmers about their land management practices; what is public/private, how is water allocated, what’s the crop calendar, are chemicals used (no), etc. This is done in effort to establish the communities needs and strengths. Learning the language and culture makes this an incremental process.

The project that is my white whale, by which I mean I’ll be chasing it down for probably the next two years in hope’s of completing it before I leave is wastewater management. The main association that I’ll be working with this on has a large grant from the Ministry of the Environment and they want me to help them find a way to take their wastewater, clean it biologically (not chemically), and release it into the river. Peace Corps Morocco has done projects like this elsewhere, so the information and examples are available and I have an idea what the end product is, its just getting there. Like the language and cultural, this is incremental process.

My research in my natural reserve, SIBE Lalla Shafia, and on my ecological resource book is on standby. I need transportation (4x4- kat kat) into the SIBE from the forest department and flora/fauna books from them and PC to properly identify species in my site. I have photos with the names of most species thanks to the help of my uncle, the herb doctor, but need to double check. Often I feel like what I could accomplish in a day back home takes a week here.

Since I got back on Monday, there’s been no water at my outside tap or at one of the communal one’s 200 yards away. Therefore, I’ve had to schlep my water jugs 2 km to the closest spring at my site. It’s not a great inconvenience, it just means I use less water and bathe in the river. For some of my neighbors at a higher elevation that don’t have running water because of a lack of water pressure, this is the norm. Children or donkeys carry water jugs to communal taps, the springs, or the river. I’d be more concerned about this water issue if I wasn’t surrounded by it.

August is almost over, but the wedding celebrations that epitomize the month are still widespread. Last week, I went to a wedding that started at 10 PM. Dinner was at 11 PM and I left by midnight, but the wedding continued until 6 AM. Last night, I attended the first evening of an 8 day wedding. The father of the groom is the zoeat of my community, which means that he is the tribal leader of the area and a descendant of the prophet Mohammed. His position was once political, economic, and social, but now only remains the previous. My relationship with him should be unique, he’s unofficially the most important man in the community. A full explanation deserves its own post later. Of note, he has invited the whole commune (6 towns) to the weddings- about 5,000 people. Last night, I sat amongst 500 plus men in 5 tents listening to music and watching them dance. The women were inside a nearby house. I don’t know there number. Gender separation is interesting. For example, at the swimming pool on Sundays, 200 men will be wading in a 25 meter pool, while the women will be in an enclosed room where there is a 5 meter pool.

So, Moroccan weddings are marathon events. Lots of dancing, music is played very loud, and participants often sit in the berber squat for hours. In the cities, they drive around, blaring their horns with passengers hanging out the windows. And this joyriding can continue all night, making sleep difficult.

“Many things end with acceptance not understanding.”

A quixotic journey

This last weekend Josh, Graham, my friend Matt from Khenifra and myself went to Cap des Trois Fourches, located on the tip of a peninsula 30 kilometers past the Spanish province of Mellila. It was one of my best experiences in Morocco so far. It was a quixotic journey.

We headed north last Saturday. The road to the coastal city of Nador was uneventful, which is perhaps an indicator of sorts of our cultural assimilation. In the city streets or on the highway here, taxi drivers speed with reckless abandon, making wild passes and dangerous turns that would normally make one crawl up their seat, but is now yawned upon. They are professionals. In fact, we often complain about the opposite, when our carrier drives two slow or when he fails to make a pass.

From Nador, we traveled 30 km on a windy road that hugs the coast and cuts through numerous small fishing towns, where small blue row boats carry men past the coves out into sea. Upon reaching our destination, a military lighthouse that resembled a monastery, we handed over our passports, identified ourselves and chatted up a half dozen soldiers. The lighthouse exists there to thwart contraband from coming and leaving Morocco.

We found our camping spot in a cove near the lighthouse. Anxious to swim, we jumped in the clear, cool green water with schools of fish swimming amongst the numerous reefs. Without goggles and swimming like a bear (they perform the backstroke in water, right), I didn’t see the jellyfish or kindilou lbahr (candle of the sea). I was stung once on the shoulder and still have the scar (hope its permanent). After that, we got out of the water, saw that the tide had brought in many jellies, and decided to snorkel elsewhere.

After lunch, we hiked to the other side of the lighthouse, where locals were swimming at a small beach. Of greater interest, we saw several boys jumping off a cliff probably 35 feet high. As is typical with males in a group, once together you start thinking with one brain. We all climbed up the cliff and jumped off. It wasn’t until right after I made the leap that I began to think, “maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Too late for that; we yelled “Yallah” (Oh my god!) and enjoyed the free fall. Like the whole trip, this deserves seconds.

We swam and laid around the rest of the afternoon, taking turns snorkeling with our new purchase, a spear-gun. It’s amazing that just when I think I’m gaining a grasp on the world, that its strangeness and size are diminishing, an underwater ecosystem reveals itself. I say that with some naivety because I’m from centerville, but also with an appreciation for a place where humanity’s thick, crude hands have left less of a mark.

“Nature’s beauty still outshines the treasures of human invention.”

With respect for nature, we still hunted like Captain Ahab. The fish were too small and quick, with suitable fish being too deep- we need fins and a weight belt to dive down quickly for them. Graham and Josh, however, did manage to catch a couple. After I fired one time, the spear slipped off the string and I had to dive 20 feet to retrieve it where I also found a conch, but we tossed this back after the first night because of its foul smell. Catching little the first day, we were left with food rations of rice, bananas, some bread, and hot sauce. I’d like to say we could have starved, but we had a lot of rice. However, the octupi caught the following day did diversify our spread and sweetened the trip.

On the way back, we stopped at a friends house in Berkane. After showering and while the others were doing the same, I went down to the corner store to get some powder milk, hot sauce, and soy sauce; the necessities. . As I walking back, I met a man on the street that spoke some English. He said: “Hey my friend, how are you?” Good. “Why don’t you go back to Europe.” I was taken back a little because I was unprepared andthis is uncommon. After I passed him I thought I should have rebutted, “but I’m not European, I’m from America.” Now is probably not the best time for that though.

The worlds a mixed bag, not as simple as good versus evil, but its often the paradox of humanity that just when ugliness occurs, something nice, sometimes beautiful happens to lift you up and restore your faith.

Later, as we were saying goodbye to Matt at the train station in Oujda, we started ‘spinning the yarn’ (I hear some people are nostalgic for that phrase) with a porter that Graham and I have befriended. He’s a friendly, elderly gentleman that has worked at the station for over 20 years. As the train pulled in and our conversation curbed, he turned to us and said “I like Americans. You are nice and all of you speak arabic.” We believe he’s only spoke with the 5 PCV’s that have been through Oujda.

“To avoid cynicism, one must learn to recognize human error and accept it as a constant variable.”

Taza girls

Two neighbors of a PCV near Taza.

"I’ve often thought there ought to be a manual to hand to kids, telling them what kind of planet they’re on. Why they don’t fall off it, how much time they’ve probably got here, how to avoid poison ivy, and so on. I tried to write one once. It was called ‘Welcome to Earth’. But I got stuck on explaining why we don’t fall off the planet. Gravity is just a word. It doesn’t explain anything. If I could get past gravity, I’d tell them how we reproduce, how long we’ve been here, apparently, and a little bit about evolution. And one thing I would really like to tell them about is cultural relativity. I didn’t learn until I was in college about other cultures, and I should have learned that in first grade. A first grader should understand that his or her culture isn t a rational invention and that there are thousands of other cultures and they all work pretty well; that all cultures function on faith rather than truth; that there are lots of alternatives to our own society. Cultural relativity is defensible and attractive. It’s also a source of hope. It means we don’t have to continue this way if we don’t like it." -Kurt Vonnegut

A fisherman's life

Photo from near Essaouira taken by Lindsey Ludwig.

“I am within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald

Josh hearts dragons

Josh getting ready to go spearfishing. We walked probably 5 km to find this somewhat isolated place away from the thousands on the beaches of Saida. Well worth it.

Here's Jacques Cousteau elated before spearfishing. About a minute after this photo, he lost his speargun and water had begun to enter his goggles. Points for effort. The french we know along the coast use spearguns, not a tent pole.

A lackluster holiday

Sunday was Throne Day in Morocco, the national holiday celebrating the 7th anniversary of the King's enthronement. I was in Jerada getting some work done with Graham. Red and green moroccan flags representing national pride ran up and down the streets, but there were no major events except one large gathering at the cultural center. I asked a local friend how the celebration was; he replied that it was subdued this year because of the recent events in Lebanon and Israel. And he was right, the recent conflict has been heavy on many peoples minds here.

Al Jazeera coverage of the continuing conflict has replaced World Cup finales played early this month in every cafe I visit. At the risk of being misunderstood or reprimanded, I won’t talk about the conflict, but will discuss one aspect of the news coverage here that has been interesting. Al Jazeera operating out of Qatar is the largest TV news station out of the middle east and the main operator. They are disliked by governments in their region and around the world for their uncensored coverage; they show much of the death and despair of war. Unaccustomed to graphic programming of injury and death of current conflict on both sides to women, children, and men, I can only say its a harrowing scene.

To close this matter, I’d like to say that although the Moroccan populace might not agree with many decisions made by the American government, they have made the distinction between this entity and individuals like myself. On the whole, I’ve been treated very well here and now feel at home. So kudos to that; prejudice doesn’t require any work, but tolerance is a strength of character that does not come easy.

On a lighter note, I now believe that my site is becoming a water theme park. Down by the river and amongst the swimming pool in a town of maybe 1000 people, two dozen temporary bamboo cafes are in full bloom, selling basically the same stuff, but independent all the same. It’s the middle of the main tourist season now, with people streaming down from Oujda and Jerada. On Sunday’s, as many as 400 visitors will come. They come with their families to swim (the women that do so are fully clothed) and converse in the cafes. Of notice, in the last week someone has constructed a made for Africa safari featuring a life-size giraffe, elephant, rhino, and horse amongst the waterfalls that flow into the river. We’re only missing Ronald McDonald, although I did see him in Fez at their McD’s two months ago when I had the McArab sandwich.

As part of an increasing workload, one of my first projects has been to survey the local, undeveloped SIBE (natural park). After I finish later, I’ll present a management proposal to the parks department. This SIBE is not a high priority for the department, but it is a project they asked to be completed. I’ve only been there once in their 4x4 (kat kat) and have walked it a little. Mostly helfa grass, some pistach trees (like pistachio), lizards, scorpions, and some birds. Of interest, I’ve heard from locals that there are also vipers and wild boars. I question the vipers (they and cobras exist in the south), but not the boars. Farmers have told me they trap boars because they’ll destroy crops. This peeked my interest; what do you do with the boar after you’ve killed it? Eating pork is forbidden in Islam and it would be a major faux pas for me to have a barbecue in the front yard, but its been a nice joke over the last 2 weeks when some have asked when I’m going to have a house warming party. Of interest, the word in classic arabic for pig is Khanzear, which is also the same word for cancer. I’ve been told that you can get pork in the Spanish province of Melilla, 2.5 hours away.

I’m not cooking pork chops in my kitchen, but I am beginning to use my propane stove and oven. In one of my last experiences with propane several years ago, my roommate Frank singed all of his arm hair, eyebrows, and head hair. En shalla, things will be better here. So far, I’ve made mashed potatoes, rice and beans, tacos, and tuna surprise (I wouldn’t call it a casserole). I suspect I’ll be eating a lot of rice and beans. PC gave us a thick cookbook and in addition to calisthenics and running, I think cooking will be a great stress reducer.

A continuing stress is the money situation. The moroccan currency is the dirham (dhm), but they can also refer to the price of an item in franks (formerly French), ryals (Saudia Arabia), and duros (I haven’t figured this one out yet). And sometimes we get it in Euros. Most of the times its in franks, like a coke is 400 franks, 4 dhms, or .45 dollars. Or that’s 80 ryals. Here’s a story from a month ago to illuminate the point. Josh, Graham, and I needed a taxi from Saida to an isolated beach 24 km away. We argued at one taxi stand, but couldn’t get him lower than 200 dhms. We left and later found another driver willing to take us for 35 dhms. We asked him several times, “in dirham.” He agreed and as we passed the taxi stand where we got the higher quote, we regretfully said those cursed words, “who’s the sucker now.” It was a beautiful, scenic drive. We chatted up the driver and as we pulled to a stop, I gave the driver his money and we began to exit. “Yes, where’s the rest.” I told him the price we had heard. “No, it’s 35 alif,” which is 3500 franks or 350 dhms. People rarely refer to the currency they’re calculating by, but we never heard him say alif (thousand). We argued for the next hour and a half as the sun set. He called us crazy, we told him he was crazy, he said you must think I’m crazy, and in the end we gave him 250 dhms and left, flailing are arms in the air and cussing as if it was a bad call in a Chiefs-Broncos game. We’re still sour at that guy, but its a growing pain that we’ve learned from.

Using 4 different currencies is in my opinion a holdover from colonialism and a byproduct of Morocco’s diversity. Many of the people I meet at souk that can’t make the calculation from franks to dirhams were probably born before France left and its now just ingrained. I can’t get too mad for I do the samething; when I buy something I make the conversion to dollars. Another problem is that illiteracy rate is 39%, which is an improvement since King Muhammad VI came to the throne and introduced reading programs across the country. Related to diversity, Morocco is a place where the middle east meets the west, where capitalism meets traditional values, and where 5 languages are spoken. I commend Morocco for being able to bridge this divide for the most part. It’s a challenging situation and I’ll leave it for another day. I do wonder how much the language divide hinders development.

Even after our exploits at Saida, the three of us have decided to return there for a week on Thursday. At a large Artisan Fair, we will be manning an environmental booth explaining among other things, the cultivation of helfa grass, which is abundant in the northeast and is used for making craft products. We should be camping somewhere on the beach. Josh has just bought a snorkel set and has constructed a bamboo spear. He thinks he’s going to spear fish like the frenchies. It will be fun and I’ll try to spin the yarn next week. Take care.

P.S. To my lovely grandmothers, I have received your numerous letters. Thanks for the b-day cards too. The question is, have you received my letters? I’ve sent ‘em. Keep writing.

Human nature is kif kif

In "The Incconents Abroad," Mark Twain says "for better or worse, "human nature is very much the same all over the world." And this is a typical guy thing. 3 weeks ago and 4 miles outside of my site, a couple of us met 3 sheperds in the middle of nowhere, built a fire, cooked something, and talked. No women, a big fire where you burn something, and man talk. That's global.

Morning work in the Taza kasbah

This is common throughout the country; when Moroccans work, they enjoy doing it in close proximity to others. They could work in solitude, but enjoy the company. When did we get away from this?

Peace Corps Mars

Here's a photo of my new house that I'll be squating in for the next two years. While behind me in this photo is an oasis, this is the rockiest terrain I've seen so far in country. A nice place; has two bedrooms, a living room (my bike/hand ball room- although my mother warned me just last week about playing games inside), two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a terrace. The terrace is the nice feature now. With a little shade and wind, reading or thinking can be pleasant there during midday. The current temperature here is probably 90-100 F, comparable to home (I only got 1). Down south, in places like Ouarazate and Tata it can reach 140 F. A friend told me at his site yesterday it was 115 F in the shade. I responded by sending photos of my river and pool. No, I didn't do that. I pity him. Its a different type of service there.

I haven't posted in 2 weeks and I have a lot of catching up to do as well as I need to send emails to several people. Sorry, I have the time, I've just been busy with other things like cleaning out my Red Roach Inn (literally). Hopefully, by this Wed., before I go up north for a week at an Artisans fair, I can catch up. To write a good email or blog, I have to do it at home with some coffee and music. The cyber cafe's here function often as Skype call centers, which is distracting.

P.S. I've been listening to alot of podcasts off ITunes. It's free, easy, and they have a large selection. My favorites are NPR: Koppel on the News, BBC Documentary Archive, Big Ideas, ESPN:PTI, and TedTalks(video). Drop me a line if you find anything I might be interested in.

Development goals for site

FYI. I finished some initial planning for projects to be preformed in the next 2 years at my site. For those that inquire about my activities over the next two year, here’s a tentative outline. Listed are starting dates until next summer.

July 06 / Ecological Survey of SIBE Lalla Shafia (#3 Priority)
August 06 / Begin working on Community Ecological Resource Book
Sept 06 / Begin Community English Classes
Oct 06 / Begin Wastewater Management Project (#1 priority)
Nov 06 / Regional Environmental Education Workshop
Fall 06 / Medicinal Project with USAID
Winter 06 / Website for Community Ecotourism (#2 Priority)
Fall-Winter 06 / Begin Environmental Education Programs in School
Spring 07 / Tree Planting
Summer 07 / Swim Lessons

This list willl change. Hopefully, I can work on all these projects, although other priorities will emerge and some projects will undoubtedly fail.

Weddings and Berber dancing

While a close friend was getting married in the middle of the U-S-A, 6 PM CT, I was at a summer festival at my site (11 PM GST). This is how the night concluded, with traditional dancing performed by locals next to the river and the German version of a laser light show. Four germans performed last night. The other dozen along with some Londoners will perform in a circus today. After Graham saw it in Jerada two days ago, he says it pales in comparison to the Shriners circus that my grandfather helped with for so many years.

Congratulations Jay. (pictured with his and wife Sonia's daughter Leah).

Mr. Caffeine Comeback

I’ve been on a caffeine roller-coaster for the last 5 months. It's been all jagged and kicks you around like that ride made out of pallet wood at Worlds of Fun, The Timberwolf. Tea at least five times a day, mixed in sometimes with a couple cokes (my moroccan champagne). My energy level fluctuates so much from my glucose intake that I’m afraid I’d be diabetic if I continued this way for several more years. Of interest, the diabetes rate in Morocco has jumped since better testing has been implemented. Here’s a breakdown of my daily schedule while I’m still living with a host family.

8:00 Breakfast and tea
8:30 Environment work in site (generally just talking with local residents)
10:00 Tea
10:30 Work on preparations for regional EE workshop in August
12:30 Lunch and tea
1:00 Nap
2:00 Study arabic
4:00 Tea
4:30 Study arabic
7:00 World Cup soccer, tea, and popcorn
10:00 Dinner and tea
11:00 Bedtime

On the previous, nap-time fluctuates. In many places, the streets are barren between the hours of noon to 2 or 3 because of the afternoon siesta. I wish we could incorporate this in America.
With soccer throughout the month of June, I was busy drinking tea and chowing on popcorn and peanuts (although I will always prefer the arabic word cow-cow). And sometimes, there were as many as 3 games in a day, which led to more gluttony at my neighbors house.

Related, I have to tell you about how moroccans have accessed the World Cup. Everyone that I have seen and all that I can imagine besides the rich bypass paying for the games by getting the password for unlocking the games off the internet from internet sites like “Pirate Booty.” Like imitation clothes or pirated CDs and DVDs, this exists in Morocco because of its poverty. Without these alternatives, many moroccans would have to go without.
Returning to my tea intake, its about lunchtime and I’m zapped. I need more sugar.

P.S. With the World Cup final between Italy and France tonight, I’m cheering for Italy. I’m acrimonious towards the France government right now; their colonization of Morocco until 1956 did bring some modernity towards Morocco, but their gains from exploiting the state were more then the costs. I’ll detail the exploits of the coal mining town of Jerada in a later post, its just too long for here. The short story is the same as others in the world; they came, they exploited the natural resources and filled their pockets, and left.

Moreover, I’m disgusted by the manner in which I see many European tourists acting here, insensitive towards culture norms like dress and cultural behavior. As one college professor told me before traveling, “When you’re abroad, act like your an ambassador. Everything you do reflects on your country.”

To clarify, I’m not lumping together French and other Europeans that travel to Morocco as callous individuals. Furthermore, americans have their own problems abroad; the term ugly american comes from our travel exploits. I have met some wonderful individuals. It’s very easy to be cynical in a developing country where development is so slow. They didn’t tell me when I signed up that one of my main responsibilities while I’m here is not to become jaded.

Nice trunks Yosshine

Here's my brother Yosshine being led by his brother and sister to the watering hole where we swim and and I shampoo my hair. At least 5 times a day I get asked by the neighborhoold kids to go to this swimming hole, which I documented in an earlier entry, and it is for the most part a daily affair, particularly in this heat. What a blessing to have several water sources this summer. Later, I'll document the heat wave that will surely hit us in the coming months. Oh, a/c my frosty friend, where have you gone?

Never without a hanut

In my site, I have half a dozen hanuts to chose from, a convenience store that meets the needs of town residents when souk (weekly market) has passed or when somethings needed in a pinch. This hanut owner is my coke dealer. He feeds my addiction. A bottle of coca-cola is 4 dhm or 50 cents. On the environment, I’m pleased with how soda pop is distributed in Morocco. You buy a glass bottle, the same as what we once had in the states, you drink your beverage at site, then leave behind your bottle, will it be recycled later (cleaned and relabeled) and used again. Although the amount of plastic you can buy is ever increasing, I hope this continues to be a mainstay here. It just makes sense.

Before the storm

I've decided my favorite place before a storm is in a wheat field. Everything seems to slow down while the wind blows across the wheat, the wildlife quiets, people hustle to their houses, the rain begins slowly, and everything falls between chaos and calm.

Farm animals

My mother expresssed concern about the scorpion photo I posted previously, in accordance with the bylaws of motherhood, so I wanted to warn her before her trip over next year about other wildlife I’ve seen in the area. Here’re some photos. Don’t worry Mother, but pack your boots.

Sunset at Saida

Another reason to vacation in Morocco, the beach at the town of Saida. And its just 2 hours away, due north. Its supposed to have one of the best beach locations in the Mediterranean.

Scorpion

This scorpions stinger on its back end had just been hit before I took this photo by my host mother with a shoe. You can see the pus running out. It was found probably about 20 ft from our house. After killing it, mom then scoured the bedrooms of the house for an hour with a flashlight looking for others.

My summer bathing hole

My site has alot of water. Here's one swimming hole that children use to swim in; measures probably 30 x 10 x 1.5 meters. I've been bathing here, swimsuit included, the last couple weeks and will probably continue. The water flows from one of two rivers in my site. Spring water also joins this river along its way through an irrigation system. So, this pool has multiple uses; for recreation, bathing, and irrigation. Next week, I'll try to post a photo of this irrigation system, which is impressive and began throughout much of Morocco during Roman rule.

Sheperding along the coast

A photo I took after we left an isolated beach on the Med of a woman tending her flock. There were other sheperds and farmers and the area, and several times during our 3 km walk back to a main rd, we stopped to take it in. I'm reminded of the words of the author Kurt Vonnegut in one of his novels, talking about the need to stop in life sometimes and verbalize your good fortune; "If this isn't living, what is."

Camping on the Mediterranean

Graham and Josh, who are in the same area as me- it has several names; east Morocco, the Orienatal, or the Oujda provence. Both are from Maryland, are a lot of fun, and will get me into trouble.

Recess time

My 4 yr old neighbor Anes on the left with two other girls. Theyre in an area between the womens center (netti) and the preschool (madrassa). Check my photos; Ive posted more pictures.

The best way to travel

Mosque in Marrakesh

Settling in

Home sweet home. I’m now at my permanent site in eastern Morocco. After my first week, everything is going well, although I’ve had my share of cultural adjustments to make; many bug bites from unknown assailants (bed bugs, chiggers, mosquitos, etc), language difficulties as well as learning a different moroccan arabic dialect, and incorporating myself into a large family (10).

The cultural adjustments I’m making right now are curable with time and patience, which I’m trying to take in large doses. When put in the proper perspective though, the situation I am faced with is a wonderful experience. The community, people, and cultural of my moroccan site are fascinating to say the least, and community members have been very respective to my arrival as well as very helpful. My main contact outside of my host family is and will be with men from a successful community association. They are very active and perhaps don’t need my assistance, but I will work on programs and grant writing with them. Other projects that I hope to be informing you about more over the next two years include; english classes, swim lessons or a camp, soccer field or basketball goal, bird and plant surveys, and a couple websites. Currently, the association is acquiring grant money to build a toilet facility near a frequent swimming hole and to refurbish two old buildings as tourist motels.

Other things...well there’s a list and should come out over the next couple weeks, but its just two much for one post. A few include: 1) Moroccans love American music, but the pride they have for their own song and dance overrides everything. 2) Satellite TV’s are in abundance, but are watched less. Once you get the whole package (around $300), you get free service, compliments of the govt. 3) The bamboo cafes are going up at my site. Around 10-15 are put up in the Summer and taken down after the tourist season. I have yet to figure out whose running these. I believe local farmers and craftsmen. I look forward to sitting by the river drinking cafe and stumbling with my arabic in a couple weeks. 4) My 3 year old host brother Yosshine is the cutest, only to be in competition with 30 kids that attend the pre-school I visited the other day. 5) Next to the preschool is the womens center, where I sat in on a beginning arabic class packed with women the other afternoon. Although most of these women are middle aged, they have a real desire to learn. And they more than I do. 6) As I told my mother earlier this week on the phone, moroccan roosters crow all day long. They’re not as well behaved as roosters in the states. 7) Someone please send me a kayak. The river at my site has risen significantly because of heavy rains, producing nice rapids. Minus the kayak, I’ll probably use an inner tube. 8) My family wants me to cook a traditional american meal next week. I’m thinking hamburgers with boy scout potatoes or tacos.

This weekend we’re going to the Mediterranean beach Saieda, about 3 hours away. Graham and I will meet up with Josh and were planning to swim, bbq, and maybe go spear fishing.

P.S. Here’s the name of my post, waxxa in Arabic. This is actually the correct phonetic spelling, not wakha. I got wakha from a arabic book before I came over. Their both pronounced the same.. wA-Ha.
واخا

Here's Yosshine racing around with handlebars a couple days ago.

Isn't environmental ed lovely

My mother requested a photo of Graham, my site mate for the next 2 yrs. "I want to put a face to a name; you know how I worry and it would make me feel better." Empathetic to my mothers concern, heres a photo taken after we had completed an environmental ed session in a local school at our CBT site. We will be 24 km apart, seperated by a 7 dhm taxi ride on a flat road. We get along well, and he reminds me of many of my old friends.

Also, I wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to my 4 yr old niece Elizabeth. I hope its a great day and I expect the family (grandmothers especially) to take proper care of you.

Snails and orange juice

Here’s a photo taken of Marrakesh’s main tourist square, which is empty during the day but is occupied by vendors at night. Most sell a fish meal, but you can also get other things like tajin, couscous, and other things. Two other things that I’ve heard are mainstays in this area are snail vendors, who sell this snail soup that I’d probably never try, and secondly, orange juice stands that sell you oj shots. These guys will call you out from 50 yards, tell you their price (3 Dhms), and then if you choose, you can keep your distance and try to haggle them down.

Heading to site

Donkeys are better than dogs. Safi.

Ahh.. my equivalent of finals is over and I just have a couple days before going to site. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but not much as happened outside of the normal routine. It’s too rigid in fact and I can’t wait to get to site where I’ll have the ability to dictate my own day. Also, I’ve been living out of my backpacks for the last 3 months and it will be nice to be more sedentary. And the spanish beaches on the Mediterranean (just 3 hours away) are calling.

I leave for site on Tues morning by bus, will probably stay in Marrekesh that night, then will travel by train and stay in Fez the following night before heading to site. I’m not a fan of Marrekesh; its all touristed-out with flying monkeys and snake charmers and it becomes an old routine fast. Also, like Ouarazate, it reaches temperatures of 140 F deg in the summer. My largest cities that I’ll spend considerable time in over the next two years are Fez and Oujda, which is something I’m pleased with. From what I’ve seen, Oujda is rather utilitarian; has all the amenities you need without being fancy and minus the tourists. This is nice. Population is 1/2 million and its known for being a major blackmarket capital for technology, etc from Algeria, Spain, and elsewhere. Fez is Morocco’s major college town, although its also a UNESCO site and is popular with tourist. It also has great leather products, and has an old casbah thats world famous.

My next post will probably be from my site, enshalla (”God willing”).

Hard work never goes unrewarded

A photo from a friend of Moroccans building a well. In my opinion, Moroccans are some of the hardest workers around. Many work early to late, seven days a week. Then its common to eat dinner at 10 or later. That's a long day.

Be patient if you've checked my blog over the last couple wks and haven't seen anything. Things have been winding down in training, and I will have the next 2 yrs on my own schedule in 3 days..can't wait. Also, the internet is a little slooow over here.

Soccer

This is a photo of my sites swimming hole in the summer that I have received from another volunteer. I’ve been told that a few hundred come every day during the summer.

Site visit in East Morocco

This last week I visited my field site; the place where I’ll be permanently for the next 2 yrs. It’s a community of around 500 people in Eastern Morocco. It’s a beautiful community with a large water reserve, a large river outlining the community (approx 20 ft wide and 6 ft deep at its greatest points), and two springs which are used for irrigation.

Agriculture is the primary staple of the community, with wheat being the primary crop. They also have fruit trees and wild herbs that grow amongst their crops. I’ve included some photos. In addition to agriculture, the community maintains itself by residents commuting and working in a town 20k away and by Moroccans from the surrounding area coming in the summer to swim. In the summer, the temperature can get above 100 F, and I’ve been told that as many as 200 tourists will come daily to swim in the river. In response to this, locals set up bamboo cafes that sell food, drink, etc. After the tourist season is over, the bamboo will be taken down and burned.

The infrastructure of the community includes 4 mosques, 10 general stores, a water tower (important), a school (through junior high; those wishing to attend high school have to travel to Jerada), a womens center, a youth center, and the kied’s office. The kied is comparable to a mayor, but often of a larger area that includes several villages. The community does have more features which I will divulge later, but that was my consensus in the quick survey that I conducted.

My host family that I will be living with for two months starting May 25 was very welcoming and accommodating. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer situation. My family includes brothers Yassine (2), Mohamed (11), Youssef (19), Hachim (22) and Nasrdine (25); sisters Safa (7) and Fatim (15); and mother Halima and Hammada. My host father is a farmer, and from what I know he drives a tractor around in surrounding communities helping with the harvest. They also have their own fields that they care for, along with assisting in the care of an extensive family network of farm land that includes uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents.

One of my main roles in the community will include working with the local mens association, which is very active and already has several projects that they want me to implement. In the beginning, they want me to teach english twice a week along with swimming lessons once it warms up. During that time, hopefully my language will progress steadily and I can begin working on other projects: establishing funding to help build and maintain a git (hotel), getting funding for a toilet facility for tourists down by the river, planting trees, teaching environmental education, surveying the local wildlife, and managing projects along with the Eaux de Forest (forest dept) in a protected ecological area next to my site. I also work closely with Graham, another volunteer who will be located nearby, and I’m sure he will do vice versa. We’ve become good friends, we work well together, and I believe they put us close together because of this. He has a construction management background, so will be able to be put that to good use. In all, I know that many of the projects I try or hope to implement will fall through. Maybe the best I can hope for is a 50% success rate (and that might be pushing it), but I’m motivated to get to work.

These next two weeks are like my finals weeks, very busy. It should correspond with finals in the states. Anyways, I'll try to keep it updated and send out emails, but fair warning. Salam.

Here's a photo of my youngest host brother, Yassine.

House building

Here's how a house is built in most places in rural Morocco. Although some use concrete, which is expensive just like it is in the states, the traditional way is to build the dirt house. At the risk of overgeneralizing and misinforming my audience, I'll describe the process as the following.

1. You stake your claim to land in the community by birthright. If you were born in the community, you can build whereever you want as long as its approved by a town council. If your an outsider, you have to pay for the land. In the photo, you'll notice these piles of rocks. These are people staking their claim to land. The piles of rocks (which cost about 100 dHm to get delivered) represent future houses or territorial boundaries. When asked, I was told that they're 15 new houses being built within the next year. That's in a village of 40 households.

2. In our village, where there's a house, there's a ditch beside it where the dirt was taken from and used to build the walls (often 12 inches thick) of the house and their perimeter.

3. A crew of 4-5 guys build a house. One gathers the soil, 2 more walk a relay where the soil is shoveled in a bucket, placed on top of their head and then taken to a guy who stands on top of the wall (shown in its beginning stage in the photo). The job of the last guy is to stomp the soil down with an instrument that resembles a lightweight, wide surfaced mallet.

4. Houses are often 10-12 ft high, with their exterior walls being 6-8 ft. Concrete is often used as their floorbase in the interior and elsewhere as needed. The ceilings are wood covered with dirt or something else I haven't figured out yet. Under the wood and dirt of most ceilings is bamboo (which grows very fast), which looks very nice.

5. In all, these dirt houses are cheap, well made, and are environmentally appropriate. For the last month, I've been amazed at how rural Moroccans make the most of their available resources.


(Im pictured in the photo with Mohammad, the owner of the house where we have daily language classes. The wooden gate he's standing in will be filled and packed a little at a time, then moved. After the bottom level is completed, it will be raised and the bottom will be overlaid. This outerwall should be just around 7-8 ft high.

A Hard Day's Work

Here's a potter in our community collecting dirt that will become pots, cookstoves, etc. First, he collects from this area outside the community, a place where his father and grandfather also collected from. Then, he or his father (who is around 70) have to break the dirt into fine pieces and remove any rock. He has said this is the hardest part of his job; the preperation of the materials. Third, he has to add water and then makes it into his desired product. After talking with him and witnessing him work, I validate that he works very hard, with little in return. As the only breadwinner in a family of 11, he takes his pots to souk (weekly market) and makes litte.

When asked what would help him the most, his response is that if his van could be fixed (which broke down 10 yrs ago), he could take his products to a souk in Ouarzate, 40 km away where he could collect 5x the price. It's a sad situtation, although after visiting their family you realize that they're in economic poverty, but wealthy because of their high spirits and close family. Knowing this potter for the last 2 months, I would also say he's one of the most positive people I've ever met.

Harvesting Wheat

The beginning of the Spring crop harvest has begun in Morocco. For the most part, I've been told that families cut their wheat or other crop, and then men with threshing machines come around to the villages (similar to America at the beginning of the 20th century) and thresh the wheat. Otherwise, I've heard in some areas, they use 5-6 donkeys lined together around a pole and march them around in a circle over the wheat. On the previous, my facts could be incorrect and I look forward to seeing this in the future.

4th Week in Community Training

L to R: Abdulahad, Sfia, Fatiha, Lmkki, Me, and Brahim

This last week was my fourth week of community training. It was a good week with several events happening. I had a language eval which I did well on, had a party with the family where they invited around 30 relatives, got some henna on my hand (which I found out later is a female thing), and generally had a good time. I’ve posted some photos.

The big news of the week was my site announcement, where I found out where I’ll be living for the next two years. It’s a town of 5000 in the Jerada province, which is about 30 km from the Algerian border in northeast Morocco. I’m excited; this a nice site and I’ve heard great things about it. This includes the fact that it has a large river running by it, has a strong association, has electric and water, and is 3 hours from a very nice beach on the Mediterranean. 20 km from me is Graham, who I’ve been rooming with at our hotel we use as a base in Ouarazate and who is also in my language group during community training. We get along well; he’s a smart guy, is from Baltimore, and has a background in economics. Another guy I get along with is Josh, who will be our next closest volunteer, is about 100 km away. All three of us will probably be working on some projects together and will also be learning some Algerian Arabic in addition to Moroccan Arabic. Also, our sites are about 3 hrs away from the Mediterranean, and a great beach community called Saidi. From there, its another few hours to the port city of Melilla, where ferry’s can take you to Europe.

I leave tomorrow for my first site visit. From Oz, it will take three days to get their, we’ll stay for three days, and then will take three to come back. Will probably stay the night in Rabat and also in Fez or Oujada, neither of which I’ve seen. I look forward to getting out of the Ouarzate region, where I’ve been for 2 months and seeing the rest of Morocco. I’ll tell you all about when I return.
Like I said earlier, I feel good about my language progress. I think I’m about 30% fluency right now, which can get me around Morocco for the most part. After a year, I hope to be around 80% in Darija, and then switch to classical Arabic and/or French. Peace Corps pays for my use of a tutor, which is real nice.

Well this is a good point to stop, and I’ve had some stories that I haven’t included in my last couple posts, but I’ll try to play catch up starting next weekend. Ill have some free time to sit around this week and write something poetic.

Pulling Weeds

Hui Says

Moroccan Party Style

How Boys Play - Rock Throwing

While we were milling around after lunch, I started throwing rocks with some small boys (age 5-7). We drop kicked rocks and skipped rocks on top of other rocks. Then I put my nalgene water bottle on a small rock peak similar to the one in the photo for target practice. Five minutes later, 25 village children are throwing rocks at the bottle, continuing for 30 mins until Melanie, the volunteer living their began to get worried that they might hit one another.

From my experience so far, Moroccan children, specifically Berbers, are tough and agile. With many villages having only a few soccer balls and lots of rocks, throwing rocks at one another is common. Most of them can throw as far as someone twice their age too. There are only boys in this photo because after they were asked to stop throwing rocks by a local man, the girls were the only ones to really listen.

How Girls Play - Elbow Tag

I went to a Berber village on Sun with some other volunteers. We planted approximately 700 olive trees as part of a training exercise. The trees were provided by PC, while the community of 400 was responsible for our food and entertainment. When we arrived at 9 AM, we had tea with something I can only describe as mushy rice with butter. After, we planted trees till 1:30, then ate tajin for lunch, had an hour break, then were provided entertainment which included village men playing drums and singing. Two hours after lunch, we had our second meal, coucous. I've decided that Moroccans like to feed me like my grandmothers- till your stuffed and then they'll offer you more. I'll post a photo later of the drumming which included hand drums (like tambourines) and a big bass made from animal skins. These men had great voices, but were probably outdone by the women who performed later but which we did not witness because some of them were not married.

Check out "my photos" link. I posted a photo of a berber man who we thought looks and has the same mannerisms as Sean Connery. When we talked with him, we heard a little of the scottish draw too- "I thought Christmas came only once a year."

Junabir Tree

I thought this was an argan, a tree species that is disappearing in Morocco because of its wide use. These trees are also somewhat reminiscent of joshua trees, the desert species found in California. It's a junabir though; they grow in the mts regions while the argan is found on the coasts. For me, it's an Ansel Adams photo.

Field Trip to Berber Village

I spent the last week in a small mountain village in the Ouarazate province on a field trip. Two of us stayed with a couple volunteers in a dirt floor house with no electricity and water. What the village lacked in amenities it made up in landscape. Surrounded by mountains colored with red clay, locals were farming mostly wheat in the widest valley areas while fruit trees like fig, apple, and apricot outlined the community and extended into the mts cracks. I was told that the wheat should be ready to harvest in late May, early June.

The site also had an abundance of amasythe (sp), the purple quartz popular in jewelry. We were told that groups of tourists in 5-6 SUVs arrive once a week at the site, have drink and food at a locals house/cafe, then are driven across the village and dumped off in close proximity to the rock reserve. On one of last days I observed this; their arrival, their rock collection, and then their departure. The community is not currently compensated for the harvesting of this natural resource, but that is one project that the community PCV is working on.

Also of interest in the village is the fear of cameras. I tried only once to take a picture; a woman was throwing rocks at a dog outside her house, noticed I had a camera pointed in her direction, then sprinted to safety behind a wall. I felt bad and have learned (or already knew) that I should have prefaced my action by asking for her permission. I don’t know if this general cultural norm in Morocco, a dislike of having your picture taken, has a greater cultural significance or if it’s as as simple as a privacy matter. In any case, I probably will take few people photos until I am able to establish trust in a community.

Overall, I’ve found that the people in small communities like the one I visited are some of the nicest people around. They are not outgoing, but are polite, helpful, and friendly.

Next Tues or Wed is the lunar holiday Aid Mawlid an Nabbaoui. This is an Islamic holiday, of which I believe there are two more Aid’s (Aid al Fitr, Aid al Adha) throughout the year. We will celebrate part of this holiday with our host families on Tues when we go back to site.

Tea and Tajin

This week at community training was easier than the last. I’m making some language progress (swih b swih - little by little) and I am more comfortable in my site and amongst my family. I’m eating a lot of tajin, which is like a potluck that is fired over a small wood burning stove or budagas tank (propane) for about an hour. Tajin is like America’s steak and potatoes served in a glazed pyramid shaped pot; it’s the staple of the country. Right now, my consecutive number of tajin meals (not counting breakfast) stands at 5. This occurred two weeks ago when we first arrived at site. We got it at the hotel before leaving, once more while in transit, and three more times at my site.

The 2nd staple of a Moroccans diet might be couscous, which unlike the tajin, I don’t care for because its bland. It’s served in the same pot as tajin, and combines small pieces of rice, veggies, and meat. With both meals, the meat and potatoes are at the bottom because they take longer to cook. From what I know, the veggies are added later. For drink, I don’t know how they stave off dehydration. There is no drink served with meals, except mint tea with breakfast (which is normally just bread) and buttermilk with couscous. So far, I’ve refused nothing at the table, although the buttermilk requires an iron stomach. Also dinner in Morocco can be anywhere between 9-11 PM. In my host family, we eat at 10, then I go to bed at 10:30. Often, I can just feel dinner converting into fat while I lie in bed.

If tajin is the staple meal of Morocco, mint tea is their water. Since I got here, I’ve been drinking tea for breakfast, morning break (10 AM), afternoon break (4 PM), in the evening (7 PM), and sometimes as a nightcap. Tea drinking is also the social icebreaker; we’ve already gotten numerous invites, which the culture makes hard to refuse. In the cities, moroccans with a little English will call tea “berber whiskey.” The first night with my host family, I called it this, they just picked up on “whiskey,” and my host brother Brahim let me know that alcohol was a shuma (something that is socially condemned, although not illegal) in Morocco and in Islam. Also on tea, if a normal kettle of chinese tea with local mint is around 32 oz, Moroccans like to put in about 10 oz or more than 1 cup of sugar. It’s like juiced up Kool-Aid or I’ve been told southern tea.

This last Thursday we went to the souk (weekly market) in Tourbadour, a community of a couple thousand. The souk is seperated into a vegetable/fruits section and then pottery, clothes, rugs, cheap tech gadgets, etc are intermixed. There is also the open meat market and a livestock area, where sheep can be bought for 200 dhm or a donkey for around 2000 dhm I think. The dhm/dollar exchange is 1/8.9.

P.S. There are definetly two things you can get from Morocco: cavities and patience. I tried posting a photo with this post, but gave up after 30 mins. I have posted some photos to my flickr account under "My Photos." These seem to upload quicker.