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Published: September 21st 2005
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Mosque
This mosque is very close to our hostel and we hear the prayers five times a day, every day. The early one usually doesn't wake me up, but today at 5:30am I heard it. I wish I could show all of you how pretty the script is. Perhaps I'll just have to take a picture of some of my homework to show off. I can't remember the last time I had fun with homework, or was so proud of it.
We worked on numbers today and I have to say some of the words make us all laugh because of the similarities with random English words. For example, "elf" is a thousand. "Dweeb" is doctor and "dork" means your turn. Besides Dareeja (moroccan arabic) classes we have lots of sessions about basic things like preparing food and water safely, health stuff, teaching methods and cross cultural issues.
Today I thought it would be okay for me to wear a tank top around in the hostel / training center as long as I didn't go out on the street. I would have put another shirt on if I was going out - but I was told by one of the moroccan teachers (a woman) that I was dressed inappropriately. I went and got another shirt, but this is going to take some getting used to. The trainers also stress how important our reputation is and how
Catherine Hanging Laundry
I really love how Moroccans utilize their roof space. It's a great place to hang out, read, do laundry, watch life in the street below. Catherine is from Rhode Island and was a film / movie artist before she joined Peace Corps. much everything we do reflects on Peace Corps.
On the flip side, Peace Corps has been in Morocco for so long (since 1963) that a lot of people have heard of it. One of the PC doctors (PCMO) told me that he's from a small village in the far south east of the country and the first time he ever heard English or saw a guitar was the PCV that worked in his town. He says he still remembers some of the songs she would play for them on her guitar.
I've been learning more about the role we're expected to play here, working at a Car Shabab. Technically my boss is the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports, even though my living allowance is supplied by US taxes though the US federal government. Actually, your tax money is going to pay for me to use this computer in another half hour. It costs 10 Dirhams per hour in the cafe I'm at now. The exchange rate fluctuates between 8 and 9 Dirhams to the US dollar.
So, working for the Ministry I have the freedom to do anything I think would benefit my community's youth and sports. It's all
Arkia
Language class is usually twice a day for 2 hours each time. We're in groups of 5 and every two days the teachers rotate. Arkia is my second teacher and definately my cutest teacher ever! very vague, but the Peace Corps puts us in the Dar Shabab so we can establish ourselves in the community. We start out teaching English, and if the community likes that we can continue, if there's something else that the community wants, we figure out how to make it happen. In all cases we're supposed to work in conjunction with a Moroccan counterpart, mostly to transfer our skills to them, but also to integrate us more into the community. The more I learn about what different volunteers are doing in their communities the more I think that I will only be limited by my creativity and the desires of the community. Anything I can think of should be possible if the people are into it.
On that happy, idealistic Peace Corps-ish note, I'm going to leave you for today.
Peace be with you,
Heather
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