Visit From PC Bulgaria

So the past few days have been a lot of fun. It all started with a random email entitled “RPCV’s
in Morocco”. It was from two returned Peace Corps volunteers, Tim and Andrew, who have recently finished their service in Bulgaria. In this email they explained that they were conducting a post PC project, which involved traveling across the world and conducting work similar to that which is conducted by the Peace Corps. Furthermore, they explained that their partner in Morocco had fallen through and that they were in search of a way to make use of their time while here. I told them to come on through, and that they were more than welcome to present in the Dar Chebab. That they did, and I was pleased to find out that they are both in fact very cool and very serious about their project. While they were here I introduced them to my community, explored with them like a tourist, exchanged similarities and differences from PC Morocco to PC Bulgaria(which forced me to convince myself that I'm better off here, living an alchohol free, celebate lifestyle), and conducted one hell of a discussion with my students on stereotypes. This was also a great opportunity for me to gain some confidence in my Moroccan Arabic, as being around people who don’t speak a word of it made me feel much more skilled than I actually am (teaching English has the same effect of my English confidence at times).

About 25 people showed up for this discussion, and on time (first time that has ever happened). I arranged for there to be translators, as I assumed many audience members would not be able to understand English or Bulgarian. We began the discussion with a simple statement of “all women are good cooks”, and asked the audience weather they agreed or disagreed with this statement. The majority of participants caught on quickly, which allowed us to promptly illicit heavier stereotypes from them, such as “all American’s are rich and selfish”, and “all Muslim’s are terrorists”. It worked out amazingly well, and was relieving in a sense, considering that these were things that I have always wanted to talk about but needed the proper setting to do so. I do feel lucky that I was assigned a site where there are many educated and seemingly open minded youth who are eager to participate in such discussions.

Having Tim and Andrew here for a few days also allowed me to explore activities that I would probably not have pursued if it were not for their presence, such as Tae Kwon Do lessons on my roof (Andrew is a 3rd degree Black Belt) or a trip to the Hammam which is right around the corner from my house. As for the Hamman, it is essentially a Moroccan bath house which has three bathing rooms, each of which has a different temperature. There is also water offered in three different temperatures (cold, warm, and burning lava hot). The hottest of these rooms, which one might nickname “the chamber of fire water”, is where the majority of the skin scrubbing and soaping takes place. There are Moroccans there are available to lend a helping hand with the peeling of “dead” skin. I figured that might be something to save for when I’m a bit more integrated.

For more information on Tim and Andrew and their project, you can visit their website at www.supercross08.com . I am actually now on their partner page for my courageous contribution to their work.

So it looks like I broke my blog promise. It has been about 3 weeks since my last entry, and by no means have I been updating it more frequently as I said I would. Sorry, to all my fans out there. Maybe I’ll just stop making promises.

Life has been a little slow recently, but good. Over the past few weeks I have been able attack my soon to be apartment full force with cleaning supplies, and have bought some furniture so its about time to move out of the host families place. Despite my cleaning efforts however, yesterday my Turkish toilet went insane and sewage began to come up through the drain in my shower, leaving my bathroom resembling a broken outdoor latrine. On a good note, I was able to practice my Darija with a local plumber. I hadn’t had much plumbing vocabulary practice prior to this event.

I have been able to get out on several bike rides and hikes, which have been therapeutic. The day before Christmas I hiked the Todra Gorge with a fellow PCV, and last weekend I went on a bike ride through the Dades gorge. Both of these places are close to me and beautiful. Hiking through the Mid-Atlas mountains reminds me a lot of hiking through the Rocky’s in CO, yet in CO there are no nomads, donkeys, and randoms sheep herds that you might run into while hiking. It’s interesting to hike 10 miles into what seems like the middle of nowhere and find a wardrobes’ worth of clothing laid out and drying on a rock, along with a make-shift lean-to with a donkey tied to it. To me the most fascinating thing about the nomads is that they seem to move themselves, along with everything they own everyday. There are days when I barley leave my apartment.

Today there will actually be the celebration of another Moroccan holiday called Ashura. The 10th of January is officially Islamic New Year. Magic, good, and evil is practiced on the Ashura day and on the preceding night which is said to favor witches. People gather and wear masks and costumes and speak in disguised voices the night before, which is apparently today (even though today is the 18th). On Ashura eve, “the bonfire night” fires are built throughout the town and people sing and dance around them. In addition, there are water rites attributed to this holiday, and it is said that you can freely soak someone with water on the morning of it. So from the sounds of it, it seems like a Moroccan Halloween without candy, but water, and in the coldest time of year. Today there will be a festival for this near my site, so I will have to go and see for myself, and perhaps wear my raincoat.

As for teaching, it continues to go well. I recently got a camcorder (thanks parents!), so my next big perceived activity will be making a documentary video with my students about life in Tinejdad. They are all very excited about this idea, as am I. Part of me has always secretly wanted to make documentary videos, and I can’t think of a better place to start than right here.

That’s it for today. Hopefully the next few weeks will be more eventful so I will have more interesting things to write about. Until then…

Leid Kbir!

After experiencing Leid Kbir, I would have to say that I have now encountered what I believe to be the most extreme cross cultural integration event that I may experience during my entire stint here in Morocco. To elaborate on this Muslim holiday from my last entry, it is actually kind of like Christmas. Just instead of a pine tree, every family gets a sheep...and instead of setting it up in their living room and decorating it, they take it to their back yard and slaughter it. And instead of receiving presents, family members gather around to receive their portions of mystery meat.

What I mean by the Christmas comparison is that the feeling of loving thy family, getting together and celebrating is very much the same. The medium to get there is just a bit different. Its actually kind of admirable...every participating family seems to know exactly what their doing while slaughtering and preparing the animal. I don't know of one member in my entire family, extended included, who would have the slightest clue as to what to do with a sheep, dead or alive. I was asked if for Thanksgiving we gather around and watch as the turkey is slaughtered...and I felt stab of laziness as I replied that, well, no, most families I know of, including my own, buy a pre-killed, pre-skinned turkey. Perhaps after another year of watching some good ol fashioned slaughterins I'll be able to step up to the plate, butcher knife in one hand, live turkey head in the other.

I was also lucky enough to be in a large family, which required both a cow and a sheep to feed sufficiently. The first slaughtering came about a bit unexpectedly...2 days before the official beginning of Lied. I was on my way out the door for my tutoring session, and was told that I had to cut the session an hour short in order to catch the show. This was communicated to me by my host sister saying I had to be back for the (drags her finger across her neck with a big smile across her face). And boy am I glad I made it back in time. The whole family was there, many of whom had just arrived that day to make the occasion. My mom made tea and cookies, and we watched family butchers go to work as if we were watching the superbowl. I couldn't resist posting the pictures of this that I was encouraged to take, so I apologize to those of you with weak stomachs. Anyways, whats there not to love? It's the circle of life, and we are at the top of the food chain! Hoorah!

As for the food, its actually been delicious thus far. For the past 3 days I have eaten nothing but meat kabobs, mixed with tasty spices and bread. However, I may be speaking preemptivley since I have yet to eat any liver, eyes, or testicles. There is plenty of sheep left, and we are just now getting to the last of the cow, so for those of you who are reading this on the edge of your seats, I shall keep you posted. Happy Holidays!

So I have now been on Tinjdad for about 3 weeks. An interesting thing has happened to my perception of time since being here thus far. While in PST time seemed to slow down substantially, time has now seemed to have sped up, and the past 3 weeks have really flown by. Perhaps because I am now much more relaxed and on my own schedule. Interesting how time changes. Anyway, I have had a great first 3 weeks here, and would say the integration process is going quite smoothly. I am now teaching English on a regular basis and am loving it. My students are great...most of them at least have an English foundation from which I can build upon easily. For example, my "beginner" class speaks better English than I speak Moroccan Arabic. This is much easier and fun (and better for a teachers mental stability) than spending hours going over the alphabet and numbers until you sound like Rainman. I also have activities every Saturday, which thus far have been girls basketball. In order for girls to have a chance to play any sport here without any male interference there must be some kind of facilitator to regulate. That’s where I come in. Hopefully I can couch better than I play, and we can win some games in our region. The Tinjdad girls have played a neighboring town, Golmima, several times in the past few months have lost by a long shot every time. If anyone reading this has any plays they’d like to pass my way that would be awesome.

I have met a good amount of useful people in the area, including 4 English teachers who have been extremely helpful in getting me situated. I am now getting tutored by two teachers, which I think is good since it allows me to practice with people different accents. Once I get into the swing of things a bit more, I will begin teaching English in the Neddy Neswi, which is like a Dar Chebeb for women. I also plan on doing some work with theatre and music. My students are very interested in all aspects of American culture, one of them being music, yet have never heard Jimi Hendrix so it seems like we have a lot to cover. On the note of cultural exchange, I have begun a pen pal exchange program with the students in my Dar Chebab and my cousin Ali's class of 8th graders in the states. I am really excited about this...it seems like a great way for the students in both countries to learn about each others cultures, without us teachers having to do all that much.

Last week my host brother took me to the museum of Tinjdad, which is incredible. The main thing that’s incredible about it is, well, its a museum in my Peace Corps site! Here I was crossing my fingers on running water and electricity, and I get all that and a museum on top of it. Sweet. It gives a detailed account of the history of Tinjdad and the surrounding region. It has tons of artifacts, some of which date back nearly a thousand years. It also has lots of artwork from my host brother Rachid, who, as I mentioned in a previous entry, is a well recognized artist in the area. To top it all off it has narratives in English! It is probably the only thing in English in the entire town. It is attached to a hotel, which has got to be one of the coolest hotels I have ever seen. Most of the rooms are different from one another, yet each has a classy desert vibe. The prices are decent too. I highly recommend it to anyone passing through.

So what else...Leid Kbir is right around the corner. For those of you who don't know (which is probably most of you reading this), Leid Kbir is the Muslim holiday in which every family slaughters 1 or more sheep and proceeds to eat every last part of its body throughout the course of a few weeks. This includes everything from the eyes, to the testicles, to the skin on the face. The slaughtering conveniently lands about a week before Christmas, so when my family is back at home eating their Christmas ham, I will be here eating my Leid Kbir sheep testicles. Tis the Season! I shall definitely has further updates on that as it occurs.

That’s all I got for now. Until next time...