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Published: February 19th 2013
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February 10, 2013:
We apologize for the time it has taken to get blogs up lately, but there are forces in place preventing it, i.e. bad internet, along with an extreme training schedule that requires us to be in boot camp from 8:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. We are not talking Monday through Friday, either! Sunday through Saturday folks! We will be lucky enough to have a couple of hours off this Sunday afternoon, but we must travel to the Fes grocery store (Moroccan Walmart) to gather the makings for the dinner we promised to prepare for our family. That's a whole other story. So first, let’s back track a little.
On the afternoon of February 9, we were released from our obligations in Ain Chigag and given free reign until the following Sunday at 2 p.m. So we booked a hotel right outside of town. We were ready for our planned trip, but before we left, we had to go through a “language progress check” with our teacher. Although to us it is amazing what we have learned so much in such a short time, the expectations of our teacher are extremely high. It is what it is,
but for anyone who intends to enter PC service, it is extremely intense. (from Ann: I, for one, have had to let go of the need to be the best, and I assure you that I am NOT!). With the ugly truth of our progress revealed to us by this check, we licked our wounds and trudged on.
Next stop… Riad Kras de Fes!!! We were psyched and we packed our back-packs with lightning speed and took the main road right out of town on foot!!! We decided to walk to our destination because after all, that’s what Peace Corps people do, right? Yea… when they are 20 years old!!! We forgot how much two computers and sleep-over clothes can weigh, but we remembered after a mile or so! However, don’t get too excited, the hotel was only two kilometers away, and luckily, the google map information was correct. THANKS GOOGLE!!! We actually picked the hotel down the road not only for convenience, but also because it had great reviews and photos. The occasion was two-fold: (1) it was our first free night to leave our site and (2) Sunday was our anniversary. Please see the photos we took.
They brought us tea!!! (And bisqwi)
Notice the VERY cool teapot handle cover... it's a man!!! Everything we expected and more was presented. We had a beautiful room, a large bathtub with endless hot water, a huge shower, two sinks and comfortable bed with comfortable pillows. When we arrived the staff brought us hot tea, dates and almonds while we relaxed before lunch.
Our view was gorgeous and the weather was beautiful so we were able to open the windows. Ahhhhhh…….. We ate lunch shortly after we were settled and had taken our tea in our room. Lunch was a gorgeous potato frittata and huge fresh salad. The restaurant is on the first floor of the hotel and it has a beautiful view of its gardens through glass doors. There was a bar in the restaurant, but as tempting as it was to have a drink after all of this time in Morocco, we abstained. Yes, it is true, we have had nothing alcoholic since arriving in Morocco. For reasons made known below, we are really glad that we abstained on this trip.
The hotel website stated that the hotel staff was multi-lingual. However, the staff who checked us in spoke only Darija. Later, we met a man who was a manager who spoke
perfect French and English. His name is Sidi Mohammad or SiMo for short. SiMo is a very popular nickname here. As it turns out, SiMo is from Ain Cheggag and knew all about the dar chebab and Peace Corps. (as we said above, if we had imbibed, our town-folk would have known, and our reputations may have been jeopardized). He was really kind and friendly and welcomed us warmly. We are hoping to meet up with him for coffee or a meal sometime.
After a couple of baths and showers later (note the word “couple”, not just one), along with a really good night’s sleep in a wonderful room and a very pleasant breakfast, we packed our back-packs and trekked back down the main road to our home. We saw many sights along the way. Some things that we saw, in another setting, might make you think, “How odd.” However, here, they just seemed right. Nostalgia of this time will include walking on the path with donkey poop, smelling farm smells, along with exhaust and good smelling plants. Donkeys passed on the pathway carrying the owner’s bounty and often times the owner as well.
When we arrived back
in Ain Cheggag, we dropped off our bags at the house and headed to the dar chebab. There we met our group members who were meeting with local associations. Associations are merely groups who form on their own for some purpose. The purpose could be anything, and mostly they are for socializing (this can give an excuse for gatherings of males and females at the same time and place, which is otherwise shameful). The meeting was intended to give us more resources for reaching the local youth and inspiring them to come to our classes. We were also planning a gathering for a community survey of sorts to identify you who may participate with us and the interests they may have. This gathering at the dar chabab, we are calling a “day of interest” and we will have “voting” to decide the activities that will ultimately be offered there.
Next week a PC Volunteer, with significant experience in country, will be coming to share her experiences and provide training for us. This training will involve camps, clubs and activities. It will be a nice compliment to the training we have already received. Still, our personal boot camp will continue
for a while with no days off. Let us say, in all honesty, that we are not looking forward to having ZERO downtime. Hang with us as we push through this rough road as we will be forced to joke our way through it! There is a Moroccan saying: Every rose has its thorn…..wait, isn’t that a Bon Jovi song?
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Diana Farhat
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Great Adventure!
Ann and Clay: I finally got Elise to remember to send me your link to your blog. Instead of working, like I should be, I sat and got caught up on your adventures. I'm so proud of you! Arabic is a very difficult language to learn but I have confidence that you two can do it! Keep writing, keep learning and teaching and know we are thinking about you! Salaam Alaykum!