Blogs from Morocco, Africa - page 245

This town feels more like southern Europe than Africa and our seminar site is practically a resort. Except for the paperwork, meeting and tight schedules, this doesn’t feel much like Peace Corps. It is nice to see everybody again and hear about their experiences in their homestays. There is a very wide range of families who have taken us in. Some are very modern and have washing machines and toilet paper like mine, some have over ten people in the house and only one spigot for water. Some have to boil their tap water. After talking to everybody though, it’s obvious that all the families are very nice, though can sometimes be almost too accommodating. A big topic of discussion was Moroccan hospitality and how it can get to the point of being overwhelming. Guests and ... read more

Teaching is going very well. Since Sefrou is a training site for us and not our final community, we can focus more on what we’re learning than what the students are learning. Of course, we do our best at teaching and take it very seriously. It’s not a one-way parasitic relationship: they’re getting free English classes out of the deal. It’s not like my student teaching either, since the Dar Shebab is not a school. Classes are in the evenings, since most kids get out of school around 6pm. Dinner usually isn’t until 9 or even 10 pm, so we have time to teach a couple hour long classes before we go home to our host families. The Dar Shebab is run by the government’s Ministry of Youth & Sports and is a bit like a ... read more

Sefrou is a wonderful town, and my host family is even better! While I’m in Sefrou I’ll be staying with Malika (which means Queen) and her daughters Assma and Aisha. Malika’s husband is a farmer and works out in the country. I haven’t met him and I wouldn’t be surprised if I never do. It’s a women’s house and it’s a lot of fun. During training we got a lot of information about how gender relations are different here, but we didn’t get any prepping on how different relations are intra-gender. The women here are very close and I joke with the other Volunteers that I’m living in a harem. Our first day here we arrived late morning and went to the Dar Shebab (Youth Center) where our host families picked us up. Both my sisters ... read more

I have to post my group photo because they really have become my family here. Like I said earlier; training is a lot like summer camp. From the bottom; left to right: Mark from Texas; me; Meredith from Maryland who sings-plays the guitar-is a kickboxing instructor; Amanda and John - one of our married couples; Matt who always wins at rummy; (second row) Amina - the LCF who is with me in my CBT site; Cara from South Dakota; Nedda and Michael - the other married couple- they will be in CBT with me; Rachel - a real PCV; Lena who already speaks Arabic and is my roommate in Fès; Arturo from SoCal; Abdullah who works for PC; Abdelghani who is in charge of the YD (youth development) sector of PC and has a very funny ... read more

PICTURES From Marakech, enjoy Salaams... read more