“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” -Shunryu Suzuki Today is the 10th day of the Islamic New Year and a very special day in the Moroccan calendar. Last night I saw young men and boys gathered around giant bonfires on the edges of town, a common tradition for this holiday. At one they were even jumping over the biggest part of the fire - I have been told this is an important part of the celebration in Iran but that it’s fairly rare here. I was also warned by several people to watch out for kids throwing water at me. I didn’t see any water guns or water throwing, though people assured me that on L’ashura kids are supposed to splash passersby. It wasn’t exactly a ... read more

“It is as hard to see one’s self as to look backwards without turning around” -Thoreau I took a little escape to Marrakech today to see some of the volunteers. My big plan for the day was to check out prices on things I needed for my future house and see if they are cheaper in the city or in my little town (cheaper in town). I came away triumphant with Tabasco (I can’t tell you how much I have craved the taste!), soy sauce and sesame oil for me and a can opener for Maryam. It was a treat to hang out with the other volunteers too. I really needed to relax and do a little venting. I have been a bit stressed out lately because finding a place to move into has not been ... read more

L-Eide Adha is every vegetarian's favorite Islamic holiday. -Sarcastic Peace Corps Volunteer L-Eide Adha is the most important holiday in the Islamic calandar, and a very big deal in Morocco. It is the reason we drove across Morocco to visit family. It is why we spent the week before baking cookies and making all sorts of mouthwatering little pastries with honey and peanuts and such. It is why I got to meet Hichem and Maryam's extended families and stay in the center of Errachidia at Hichem's mother's house. It is why I drank unnumerable glasses of tea and sat around for days making polite conversation with people I had never met before. It is why the roads were crowded with travelers, the trains raised their prices and buses were booked. It is also why I watched ... read more

Optimism Clearing blue sky, A promise in bare branches. In winter, there are sunny days. In adulthood, childhood can return. - 365 Tao: Daily Meditations We left Kelaat Sraghna at the crack of 1pm in the rain. Hichem had suggested the night before that I get everything ready so we could leave by 9am. But this is Morocco and time is fluid. Actually, the real reason we left much later than we had planned was that Maryam & Hichem's poor little '85 Golf had been waiting to see the mechanic for quite some time, and the mechanic apparently wasn't able to get to it any sooner. Perhaps his time is more fluid than ours, or more likely, with everybody travelling for the big holiday of l-eide, he was busy. Either way, we got out on the ... read more

Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them. -Ann Landers If Casablanca is the White City and Marrakech is the Red City, then Kelaa is the Pink City. There is a lot of construction here, so many buildings are still cement gray, but the ones that are finished are all a Santa Fe shade of salmony pink. I generally walk everywhere in town, though the place is big enough to have petit taxis. The Kelaa variety are blue, but they’re still the same little Golfs and Unos that every bigger town has. I usually only take them if I’m carrying something really heavy like a box of books or furniture. It’s 5 dirhams a trip, no matter how far you’re going, except at night when the fare raises to 7. ... read more