On the road AGAIN!!! (Rabat to Ain Cheggag)

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January 21-23, 2013

We hope you enjoyed the photos from Rabat -- we sure enjoyed sharing them! (And taking them too!!!)

We have to say that training (except for the sitting down for a long time part) is really comprehensive and useful, and appropriately entertaining. We really look forward to mealtimes at the hotel and we hope that we do not appear to be getting any more robust in our photos. LOL!

What can we say about the thought of moving into a village where we are complete strangers in every possible way, but hope not only to be accepted, but have people desire to be around and learn from us? (And of course, us from them.) Let us add to that thought, the fact that we presently cannot communicate at all with those we hope to be our partners and students. Finally, we will need to get and keep the attention of youth and easily distracted teens. Certainly, a great challenge lies ahead, but having spent this time together thus far, we really feel that our attributes will complement each other. As they say, stay calm and carry on (thanks, Elise, for always bringing this to our attention).

We like to say please out loud in Daraji (phonetic “eh-feck”). Water is phonetically le-ma. You may wonder why we post the phonetic version of these words. An interesting fact is that there is no written Morrocan Arabic language (in other words, Darija is NOT written) - - the written language used in Morocco is Arabic script (which we have not begun to learn, but it certainly looks beautiful). Simply put, we are learning a language which is spoken but not written. Contemplate that one! Comment to us and let us know what you would like to know how to say in Moroccan Arabic and we promise to do our very best to let you know! Did you know that the Quran was first chanted/spoken before it was written?

The U.S. Ambassador of Morocco and his wife came to speak to us yesterday and it was really awesome. They really made us feel so important to the goals of assisting in the development of Moroccan youth. Unfortunately, when they came in, Clay turned on the camera and the battery died. If you really want to see him, google it. The bottom line is, people are really excited that we are here!!

Tonight we are preparing to move to our 8 week training site, so we will be getting into the thick of things and living with a host family in a community. We can’t wait to share our photos and the excitement to come. We have much anticipation about what our host family will be like and how it will feel to be thrust into our new world. Forging ahead, we will update you soon…….

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Comments

[Elise]

Exciting!
It is so exciting watching you guys go through this process. I know you love learning new things, and have no doubt that you will master the language and culture in no time! I also have no doubt of your capabilities to capture a young audience, especially Clay. Yes, do keep calm and carry on, everything will fall into place in due time. Miss you much!

[Clay and Ann]

Calming and carrying
E, miss you too! We will try to make you proud!

[robin]

Hi guys!!! Love staying in touch via photos and blog. Feels like I am there with you but I'm here with a toilet and toilet paper!!! Is it cold there? It looks like everyone is dressed warmly. Miss you both.

[Clay and Ann]

Cold?
RL: From super cold to the upper 60's. Some days so cold our teeth chatter during class. I'm glad you are enjoying our blog!

[Pattie D]

On the road again!
Thoroughly enjoying your adventure, and learning new things at the same time. Cannot begin to imagine what it must be like, to go live in a new place with people you do not know, and not knowing the language. Now that is what I call an adventure!!!!! I don't know, if I could do it, but I am impressed and proud that you can. Things I would like to know in Arabic are: I love you, Good morning, hello, cat, dog, book, peace, goodbye, hot, cold, mother, father, children, teenager, happy, and movie. I will probably think of more, but I don't want to give you overload!!!!! You have enough to do and learn!!! Enjoy your time there, and soak it all up. I cannot wait to hear more!

[Clay and Ann]

Words?
Baba = father Mama = mother Hello -- no real equivalent, use salam (peace) phoentic beh-nat is daughters, cah-moon is cumin, mill-Ha is salt, one is wah-head, ten is ahsh-rah. Husband, you just say "my man" (ah-na rah-jull) Most words are just consonant sounds strung together so writing phonetics is very challenging.