Hello Pen Pals!

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Hello Ms. Burge’s class and all of Holden, Wisconsin! Salamu alaykum!

I have recently begun corresponding with a second grade classroom at Viking Elementary School in Holden. It’s a lot of fun for me and I like having a new audience to tell all my stories to. Writing is fun for me and a good way for me to reflect on the experiences I am having here.

Peace Corps organizes a correspondence exchange through their Coverdell World Wise Schools Program. I put my name in to be matched with a teacher in the States and after a long wait (all last year!) I finally got Ms. Burge’s class.

I want to thank all of them for writing to me on Thanksgiving. Some volunteers got to get together and have an American dinner, but I had too much work and had to stay home. I had dinner home alone that night, but at least I had over a dozen letters from second graders wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving. It’s fun for me to try to explain my life here and makes me realize that even though everything here has become routine, it’s still exciting. Simple little things, like vegetable shopping in the outdoor market, are normal for me now, but when I think about how different it is here than back home I start to see Morocco the way I did in the beginning when everything was new and exciting.

So, welcome second graders to my blog. I know you are going to be reading it some this week. If you have any questions just ask me in your next letter. I am happy to share my Peace Corps experience with all of you!

Peace,
Heather

PS. Today is World AIDS Awareness Day. I have been teaching all week about AIDS in the Dar Shebab (Youth Center) I work in. What have you done?

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Photos

Happy Un-Birthday to me!
This is the birthday cake my friend Rebecca made. She loves to joke about how hard my name is for Moroccans to say and write. They have no problems pronouncing her name.