As long as you have strong eggnog, pumpkin pie, Bing Crosby and a tree it can feel like Christmas in any country. -Anonymous PCV I had an absolutely wonderful Christmas weekend in Tazert, a small Berber village not far east of Marrakech. It was very small and very Berber, and in Darija doesn’t even merit the name of village; they call it a ‘duwar’ and as far as I can tell that means something like the French ‘hameau’. At any rate, it was very different from Kelaa. Luckily it’s not far from Kelaa though. I did have to take three different grand taxis to get there, but each ride was very short and with all the fares put together it cost me just under two American dollars. Grand taxis are the old Mercedes, usually very ... read more

Opportunities correspond with almost mathematical accuracy to the ability to use them. -Lilian Whiting I changed host families after about a week in Kelaa, but hopefully this is it for the moving until I get my own place now. This new family is really only a young couple, but they are so wonderful; I couldn’t ask for anything more. I feel very lucky to be living with them. The wife, Maryam, is not much older than me and we get along great. She actually used to work for Peace Corps as an LCF, “Language and Cultural Facilitator” in Federalese. We were talking about the US government the other day, and how much it’s involved in Peace Corps and I told her than when she worked for PC her paycheck was actually US citizens’ tax money, ... read more

Kelaât Sraghna I woke up early and left the hotel while the PCTs I was sharing a room with were all still asleep. I had called Khadija, the woman I’m going to be living with for the next two months, the day before and told here I’d try to get to Kelaâ by about ten in the morning. a note on pronunciation: I think the K should be a Q, because the sound is pronounced far back in the throat, not like an English K, but somebody had transcribed the script using a K on all maps and signs, so I guess I’m stuck with a K. However, if I pronounce it with what I think the K sound is, nobody has any idea what I’m trying to say. Also, the last letter in Kelaâ is ... read more

One of the things that most of the CBT groups do before they leave their site is to throw a party for the families they’ve been staying with. We were going to have it at my house, but since somebody close to the family had died it would have been Hashuma. I actually heard that the small “party” we had for Asmae was considered hashuma by several neighbors, and I hope Asmae doesn’t let them get to her. So, we had the party at Nada and Michael’s house, which was next door to mine. We ordered all sorts of food made, from millefeuille and msimin (also called millewi) to sheet cakes and little pita breads stuffed with pizza makings. I popped popcorn and helped make the mint tea. I’m very excited that they have popcorn here, ... read more

"You have to accept whatever comes, and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to offer." - Eleanor Roosevelt I doubt Eleanor could have imagined some of the situations I've been meeting with my best lately, but her advice still works. My camera has decided it doesn't like computers anymore, so I can't upload photos until I figure out another way to get them off the camera. On the bright side, I got to travel to Fès on Sunday with Asmae and spent the night there with her at her aunt's house. It was almost creepy how much her aunt reminded me of my mom's sisters. If my grandmother had had another daughter, she could have looked just like Asmae's aunt. I would post a photo to prove it ... read more