So the Journey Begins....

He Proposed!!

2012-01-21T06:38:00.000-06:00

It's that moment that so many girls dream of their whole lives. The moment that that one special guys gets down on one knee, takes her left hand, looks her in the eyes and tells her he can't live without her. The proposal. For most people, this happens once maybe twice in a lifetime. For girls serving in many PC countries, this is a common occurrence. This is my story of proposals received while serving as a PCV.

It first started in Albania. Not long after arriving in Albania, my host family and other people in the community started mentioning their single sons, cousins, nephews and brothers. Almost every other female PCV in Albania also noticed this increased level of attention within their community. It wasn't long before the 'proposals' started coming in. I started collecting pieces of paper that would be handed to me with phone numbers on them. Sometimes while I was sitting in my office, random men would come looking for me to see if I wanted to go for coffee. "Do I know you?" I would ask and they would reply something like, "Yes, I'm *insert name here*'s cousins wifes brother-in-laws nephew." When PCV's got together it would always be a fun topic to compare recent proposals.

Since arriving in Morocco, I have received even more proposals. The proposals I have received here have seen a little more serious than those in Albania. One man tried to set me up with his son for about two weeks before I had my tutor step in on my behalf and tell him that I was not interested. Another man tried to convince me to teach him English as an initial reason for meeting me. The most current one, is actually the son of the man who tried to get me to meet his son. He showed up for my adult English class and not knowing who he was, I let him attend. Last night after class (which was not his class but my advanced one), he gave me a book. I told him I did not want it because it was in script and I can't really read script. He said no just keep it until next week. He left and I looked inside the book and there was an envelope. Inside the envelope was the following note:

Now how can a girl say no to a proposal like this? It reminds me junior high when people would send a note saying "Would you go out with me? Circle one: YES NO".

Since most girls will only have one or two proposals in their life, I feel pretty special that I have been proposed to more times than I would like to think about. However, I don't think this will be on the one I'll be accepting. I'm still holding out for the guy that actually speaks the same language as me (fluently), already has US citizenship, has seen me outside of class or other group activities and doesn't live at home with his parents. Maybe I'm being too picky but I figure I still have time to be picky. I haven't hit 30 yet where I have to start talking to my friends who promised me if we were both single at 30 we'd get married.

If any of you ladies reading this have other excellent PC proposal stories, let me hear them! I love a good proposal story before bedtime :)

The Next Big Step

2012-01-20T05:06:00.000-06:00

For almost four years now, my life has been Peace Corps. What does that mean? It means that I never know what the day will hold for me. It means that you have to be flexible and 'go with the flow'. It means that you have to learn to laugh at yourself and be prepared to be the center of stares and whispers. It means that you are out of your element but learn to fit into other peoples. I have not known what my day would be like, let alone my week, month or year. I will be finishing my service with PC this year and that means change. Finally, I know what that change will be.

I was accepted into Alverno's Adult Education and Organizational Development graduate program! I will be coming home in time to do all the 'grown-up' things that I have been putting off all these years. I will have to find a job, an apartment, sign a phone contract, pay for health insurance, car insurance and think about my future by opening up an IRA, just to name a few. Not to mention I'll have to adjust to having a set schedule again. It's overwhelming and entirely exciting!

When I was getting close to finishing my service in Albania, I wasn't sure yet what I wanted to do with myself so I signed up for 2 more years. When I arrived in Morocco, I was pretty sure that what I wanted to do was social work. I still love helping people but what I think I love more is helping people help themselves. One of the expressions that you hear a lot when working on sustainable projects is "it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish". By earning my MA I will be able to do just that.

I am so happy that I finally know what my next big step will be after PC. I still have seven or so months here in Morocco and I have many things planned for that time. Grad school is something that I've known I wanted to do for awhile but it took me awhile to find the right program. This is my next big step. This will be my next adventure. This will be the start to my 'real world' life and I can't wait!

Christmas Traditions and New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-03T06:32:00.000-06:00

When I think of Christmas, I think of midnight church services, Christmas ham, unwrapping presents in turns, and watching movies all day in my pajamas. For the past few years, my Christmases have been different and there hasn't been anything traditional about them. This year however, several other PCV's and myself got together and tried to celebrate by doing our favorite Christmas traditions. The successes:

-Christmas pj exchange

-stockings filled with little goodies

-ornament exchange

-Christmas tree(s)

-cinnamon rolls and coffee

-A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Muppet Christmas and other holiday favorites

-staying in PJ's all day long

-tree of shame

-Christmas morning picture on the stairs

-general snacking throughout the day

-Christmas decorations everywhere!

Unfortunately there was no Christmas ham or midnight church service but I feel that we accomplished all the traditions that we could with the resources we had. It was a great Christmas and it was sad to leave Essaouria when it was all done but we'll always have the memories!

Christmas morning picture on the stairs!

New Year's Eve was also a big success. A few of us girls got together in Agadir and got all glamed up for our big night out. We started right with dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant where we were treated to a free bottle of champagne. There was a small incident outside the restaurant that had us a little worried for awhile but our Moroccan friends came to the rescue and made sure that we had a great night! At midnight we were on the beach watching the fireworks and calling friends and family back home. Afterwards we headed to a club where we danced the rest of the night away. It was a great night and a great start to 2012.

This is the start of my final year in Peace Corps (for now at least). So many great things have happened during my time with Peace Corps and I have many more still planed for this year. I look forward to going home for awhile and being with family and friends and hopefully starting grad school this fall. The idea of living in America again is a little overwhelming. I'll have to find an apartment, look for a job and wait in lines because I won't be the foreigner anymore. Even with all that I feel that this is my year. I think a lot of good things are going to happen. It started off great and the momentum has continued up till now. Fingers crossed that everything works out the way I hope it will!!

I hope everyone has had a great holiday season and may the new year bring you all happiness, health and good fortune!!

Ghosts of Christmases Past

2011-12-20T04:18:00.000-06:00

Christmas is just 5 days away!! I have been getting into the Christmas spirit since, well, Thanksgiving. This will be my fourth Christmas as a PCV, celebrating away from family and friends. I was looking back at my past PC Christmases and thought I would just post a few pictures. I hope that everyone has been enjoying the holiday season and no matter where you are for Christmas, remember that Christmas will come without packages and strings (to quote one of my favorite Christmas time movies). Merry Christmas to everyone!

My first PC Christmas I spent in Bangkok, having my wisdom teethe removed.
2008

My 2nd PC Christmas I spent with friends in Lezha.
2009

My 3rd PC Christmas I spent with the R, A and X part of team RELAX!
2010

I will be spending this Christmas in Essaouria with some of my favorite girls :)

A picture from my 2nd Christmas ever. What a cutie I was!!

One of my favorite Christmas time memories. My parents and I right before Christmas 2004. I can't wait to spend Christmas with them again next year.

Morocco How To #4: Travel

2011-12-13T07:17:00.000-06:00

As it approaches the holiday season in America most of you will be traveling for one reason or another. I thought I would give you an idea of how travel is done in Morocco. This will give you an insight of what it is like for both Moroccans and PCV's. This will only cover grand taxi travel and souq bus travel. There are also regular buses but that just seems to easy to have to explain it. That two hour drive you have to make to see family will seem like nothing after this!

How to Part A: Grand Taxi Travel
#1: Find a spot on the road or walk to the nearest taxi station and wait for a taxi to pass by or fill up. Remember that in a grand taxi two people sit in the front with the driver and four people sit in the back.
#2: Strategically place yourself in the taxi. For a woman this means, put yourself so that you are next to a window or next to other women. Keep in mind that the worst seat is the middle seat in the front.
#3: Depending on the size of the other people traveling with you you may be required to put your arm up on the backseat, lean forward or sit on your side. The elderly are less likely to make room for you to fit and don't underestimate the hips on that Berber woman!! Secret tip: sit down and don't be afraid to hold your ground. Otherwise you may end up incredibly uncomfortable.
#4: For long distance grand taxi travel, be prepared to shuffle around frequently as body parts go numb or other passengers move. Don't be scared to fall asleep on your neighbors shoulder because if you don't do it first, they might beat you to it!
#5: For those traveling with large bags or packages, do not be surprised if your bag or packages shares space in the trunk with livestock. They are well trained and most likely will not eat through the fabric of your backpack or go to the bathroom on it. Also, don't forget your bag or package as the taxi most likely will speed off once they see you walk away.
#6: For grand taxi's that travel a short distance but handle a heavy traffic of people, be ready to get out and get back in frequently. As listed in step #3, don't be afraid to claim a spot. Even if it requires you to get out and back in every few seconds, you'll be happy you're not in the middle of the two men who look a little too friendly.
#7: There is no starting and stopping etiquette. For example, if someone requests a stop close to yours do not feel obligated to get off as well. Go ahead and make him drive the extra 3 feet before asking the driver to stop again. No one will judge you.
#8: Paying. If you are leaving from a larger taxi station, there will usually be a guy in charge of collecting money. Most times you do not pay until you reach your destination. If you do not know the cost, agree on one before getting into the taxi. Some taxis will even have a list of charges on the dashboard. Do not hesitate to argue if the price does not seem right.
Congrats! You have survived your grand taxi ride!

How to Part B: Souq Bus Travel
#1: Walk to your nearest bus station, stop or a good looking spot on the road.

If walking to a bus station, tell the men calling out names of towns where you want to go and they will walk you to a bus and handle the money to get you a ticket. Be prepared to wait up to two hours as the bus fills up.
If walking to a bus stop, wave down the bus as it approaches. You are not guaranteed a seat and you may be standing for awhile if it is a busy bus route. Even if you do not have a seat, you are still required to pay.
If waiting on the side of the road, be prepared to wait for awhile until a bus passes that is going where you want to go and stops for you to get on.

#2: Seats are not assigned so look for a seat that is not in the sun, has a curtain to close in case you end up in the sun, is strategically located next to a window that opens or has a working air conditioner vent. Also check for broken foot and arm rests, broken seats that are always in recline or that the bottom may slip forward every time the bus is required to stop.

#3: Traveling with a buddy is recommended but not always possible. When traveling alone, look to sit next to a friendly woman or a respectable looking older man. Stay away from teenagers, people eating sunflower seeds or crumbly food, all too friendly young men and families with babies. For women traveling solo on souq buses, one way to avoid awkward conversations with the all too friendly young men, wear a fake wedding ring. Make sure that when you talk about your 'husband' you give him a solid Muslim name like Mohammed otherwise they will tell you that you need to marry a good Muslim man.

#4: For those traveling with larger bags or packages, you will need to put them under the bus. Usually you will be charged a 5 dirham fee for this service. Make sure to check on your bag on longer stops or as you're waiting for a bus to leave a station. Try to keep valuables with you on the bus. As with grand taxis, do not be surprised to see livestock traveling under the bus with the luggage.

#5: On longer souq bus routes, there will be longer food stops and other stops. However, you can never tell when those stops will be made so come prepared with snacks. There are no bathrooms on the bus so control your liquid intake. Plastic bags are readily available for those who get car sick.

#6: If not traveling to the final bus destination, be careful to pay attention to where you are. Names of the stops are not called out and it is easy to miss your stop if you fall asleep on the bus. People are willing to wake you up if you tell them where you are going and also able to help if it is your first time traveling to the destination.

#7: Souq bus travel is usually loud from multiple people talking on the phone, different sources of music, small children crying, unusually loud bus engines and different forms of body noises. Bring an ipod or something to help drown the noise out. Also extremely helpful if you sit next to someone who wants to talk the whole way and you just can't talk in Darija another minute.

#8: The last thing to remember when traveling by souq bus is that tickets are bought before getting on the bus or immediately after getting on for those joining the adventure after the initial station. There are ticket windows at the stations where you will get the correct amount. The men who are calling out the names of towns do not always work for the company that you end up on and do not always give the right price. If it seems sketchy, don't be afraid to ask someone else.

Congrats! You have survived your souq bus travel!!

I hope this helps you readers to understand what it is like for us when we travel. Even though some of the places we go look extremely close on the map, it may take a long time to get there. Travel in Morocco can be long and tiring but it is all part of the adventure. Day trips sometimes mean, four hours to get there, an hour there and then four hours to get back. Makes that two hour drive seem like a piece of cake doesn't it? Hope you all have a great holiday season and safe travels to those of you traveling to be with family and friends!!!

12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-10T04:25:00.000-06:00

On the first day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, a pomegranate tree!!
On the second day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!
On the third day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!
On the fourth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the fifth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the sixth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the seventh day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the eight day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the ninth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the tenth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, ten donkeys mating, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the eleventh day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, eleven roosters crowing, ten donkeys mating, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!
On the twelfth day of Christmas a Moroccan gave to me, twelve children drumming, eleven roosters crowing, ten donkeys mating, nine taxis speeding, eight cups of mint tea, seven plates of couscous, six goats a-climbing, five cenitimes, four ram feet, three stray cats, two toy pigeons and a pomegranate tree!!

My Thanks in Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T05:02:00.000-06:00

When you think of Thanksgiving do you think of all the good food there is to eat or do you think of the people you'll eat the food with? Do you think of the football games on t.v. or do you think about how lucky you are to be able to afford a t.v., electricity and cable? Do you think about all the leftovers or the fact that you do not have to worry about what you will eat for the next few days?? Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all that you have in your life. With each passing year that I'm away from my family during the holidays, the importance of them becomes clearer to me. This year I have so many things to be thankful for.

Our Thanksgiving feast; roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, string beans, Moroccan squash, cranberries and biscuits!

I'm thankful for; family and friends, PC and PCV's, a working computer, internet, my camera, external hard drive that entertains for hours, a house with no holes in the walls, real pillows, big coffee cups, American coffee, popcorn and cheesy popcorn topping, a dar chbab complete with amazing mudir, hard working students and enough electric sockets for all the new computers, living close to the ocean, camels on the beach, living close to a big city where I can let my hair down, being able to buy soy sauce and granola, people who understand sarcasm, the ability to laugh at situations that are frustrating, friendship scarves and necklaces, random phone calls from America, skype dates, care packages and letters, the #17 bus, Tuesday souq where I can buy a week of fruits and vegetables for under $4, big bakery where I can walk behind the counter, my nook, working headphones, unlimited free meds from PC, the phone plan, utorrent, media file exchanges, goats in trees, camel herds outside my town, sunny days with a gentle wind, little kids that say 'hello', lightweight cardigans, movie nights, power and water 24/7 (usually), Fannie Fan McFanster, clothes that have survived Albania and Morocco, friendly people in Inzegane, homemade holiday decorations, sitemates, being able to sleep through the first call to prayer, msm and hrira, tie-dyed lizars, windows that are open in grand taxis, air conditioned buses, McDonalds in the Marrakech train station, online news sources, people who don't laugh at my baby Darija or Tashalheet, international sign language and pictures of all the wonderful people in my life!

I'm thankful for the company and food I had this year on Thanksgiving!

Last but not least, I'm thankful for you!! Thanks for following me during this adventure and sending your support. I hope that you had an amazing Thanksgiving and have just as many (if not more!) things to be thankful for. Now it's time to break out the Christmas decorations and play all my favorite Christmas music. This is indeed the most wonderful time of the year :)

A is for America

2011-11-16T08:12:00.000-06:00

A is for America, and all the conveniences that you find there
M is for movies and bowling and being able to go out all day long
E is for everything. You can buy everything in America!
R is for relatives and friends who help you celebrate the important things like birthdays, baptisms, and holidays.
I is for information technology. You can find whatever you need online. Weird, huh?
C is for coffee, big, enormous, steaming cups of coffee, and cooking pork products at all times of the day
A is for America, my favorite country in the world.

About a week ago, I returned from a two week visit home. It was absolutely wonderful. America did not disappoint. I had a great time catching up with family and friends, going out, dressing up, eating all sorts of marvelous foods, and just generally enjoying myself. It made me realize that I'm starting to get to that point where I'm ready to be home for good. I said starting to realize people! I'm not coming home tomorrow or next month, but I am starting to look forward to going home after I finish this service.

Life in America is still pretty much the same as I remember it. Sure there are a lot of new crazy contraptions out there but I'll figure them out some day (electric cigarettes; who knew?!). I can still go to a store and find an entire aisle of just bread. I can still go and have breakfast at 2 am or 5pm or anytime I feel like it. Americans still drink coffee by the gallon. America is just as amazing as I remember.

While I was home, my aunt threw me an early Thanksgiving dinner with all the classic dishes. It made me realize how lucky I am to have a family to support me through all of my adventures. I am very thankful for all that they've done for me over these past 3+ years with the PC. All the care packages and cards and skype dates have helped me make it this far. I am so lucky that they are and always will be my family.

There's so much more I could say about my trip home but I'll keep it short today. Overall, great trip home and America is still awesome. 'Nuff said :)

Another Reason Why I Love My Job

2011-11-13T04:26:00.000-06:00

Just before I was about to leave for my trip to America, my kids at the dar chbab threw me an early birthday party. One of my counterparts arranged for me to get henna in the morning before the party in the afternoon. I had promised to bring brownies to the party and since I wasn't sure who else was bringing anything I was baking right up until my sitemate, Beth and I left to walk up to the dar chbab. This is Morocco however and when there is a party, there are treats!

I shouldn't say I was surprised at the amount of treats that they brought but it made me feel really good that they took the time to bring things. There were two cakes, numerous sodas and they even brought me presents! I really hadn't even thought about if they would bring me presents or not. I was really surprised at their generosity but then again it's Morocco and I should have known better. After we sang happy birthday and I blew out the candles, I cut the cake and we all dug in. Everything was so delicious!

After eating and digesting for a little bit, I opened the presents. There was a candle holder, a framed piece of art and a really cute 6 piece coffee cup and saucer set. We had gone shopping about a week earlier for a present for the mudir and they didn't want to talk about what to get me then but they had been secretly asking my opinion on things that they thought I might like. They know how much I love coffee so they decided on the coffee cups. I still can't get over the fact that they bought me presents at all.... the cakes themselves were present enough!

One of my cakes!!

It's little moments like this where I really love my job. I can tell that I'm making connections with people in the community. Two of PC's main goals is cultural exchange between Americans and host country nationals and I know that those goals are my favorite to work on. In a community like this, it's hard not to love! Just another reason why I do what I do :)

Break a Leg!

2011-11-10T10:46:00.000-06:00

Just over two weeks ago, the Acting Out Awareness group had their first official performance in Inzegane, a town about an hour north. After months of rehearsals, changes in props and finally finishing the set, they were really ready to take on their first live audience. We met up just after 8am to pack up the van and head up where we were greeted by the mudir and an assistant and treated to a Moroccan breakfast. The Inzegane dar chbab staff seemed to be very interested in what we were doing and they were also eager to share what programs they have to offer their youth. I was impressed with the information available at the dar chbab about AIDS.

Opening scene.... the little guy is the AIDS virus

There were already about 20 kids hanging out at the dar chbab when we arrived but not more than five minutes after we pulled up another 20 kids came running up. As we were setting up and talking to the staff there, kids kept popping their heads into the room to see what we were up to. I noticed several of them point at me and go "That's an American!" I know what my part in this whole project is and if I can help out more just by being the American that every one comes to see and look at, fine by me. By the time we were ready to start there were close to 60 kids in the room.

Captive audience

The performance went perfectly except for one small flaw at the end. There are these six boxes that they turn around to spell out an awareness slogan and they flipped the boxes around out of order. A small mistake that they realized and fixed by the end. As I was watching the kids in the audience watch them, I could tell that they were fully engaged in the performance and that they were getting the message. They even got a standing ovation at the end! No Moroccan activity is complete without dancing so there was a little dancing and a few games after we finished to fully round up the activity. We also had a discussion with several members of a theater group at the Inzegane dar chbab to discuss how we could do joint projects in the future. Everyone seemed pleased at the idea of working together and sharing resources.

Defeating the AIDS virus

This was just the first performance out of eight. I think it went very well and the kids in the group were pleased with their performance. It will be interesting to see how they improve over the next seven performances and see how many people will end up hearing their message. These kids impress me every day by their dedication to this project. I'm just happy that I can be a part of it. The next six weekends will be the other performances most likely. With that said, break a leg guys!

Some of the participants

Morocco How To #3: Tajine

2011-09-27T07:50:00.000-05:00

Tajine, a traditional food of Morocco, is actually not a food but the type of pot that you cook the food in. A tajine is a clay pot that is flat on the bottom with slightly raised edges and a triangle shaped cover. Traditionally it is cooked over coals but you can also cook it over a flame on a stove top. There are both clay and metal tajines but I would recommend the clay tajine as would most Moroccans you might talk to. There are many different things you can cook in a tajine but I will only give you the how to for one. The following how to is on how to make a traditional chicken tajine.

#1: Gather your ingredients and clean them. You will need, a tajine, oil, 2 big onions, 4 big tomatoes, salt, a chicken (cleaned, cut and sectioned), 1/4 kilo olives, and cilantro.
#2: In the tajine, pour enough oil to completely cover the bottom.
#3: Cut the onions into small sections. Size is up to your personal preference.
#4: Cut the tomatoes into small sections. Size is up to your personal preference.
#5: Sprinkle salt over the top and cook until the onions are slightly brown.
#6: Place chicken into the tajine so that it is spread out into one layer.
#7: Pour a little more oil over the chicken and let it simmer for a few minutes.
#8: Cut cilantro over the top of the chicken. Cover the tajine and let it cook for a about 10 minutes.
#9: Uncover the tajine and turn the chicken over. Add a little more oil and the olives and recover the chicken.
#10: Let the tajine cook until the chicken is tender and cooked all the way through.
#11: Serve hot and eat with bread. No silverware allowed!

This is approximately what your tajine will look like when it's done

Hope you will find this helpful and delicious! Keep your eyes open for the next Moroccan how to!

One Year.... and Going Strong!

2011-09-15T06:04:00.001-05:00

One year ago today I landed in Morocco with about 60 other Americans. As we traveled by bus from the Casablanca Airport to Mehdiya, I remember looking out the window and thinking "Can I do this?" My first impressions of the country was that it was brown, fairly clean, the roads were flat and straight, it was hot, and it was NOT Albania. As most of you know, I absolutely fell in love with Albania. I was at home in Lezha with my friends and Albanian family, my freedom to do almost anything and was comfortable with the things I had in my life. Here I was in Morocco about to start from scratch. What the heck did I get myself into??!!

Over the past year, there have been things I have struggled with, am still struggling with and things that I have done that I am proud of. There have been good days and bad days. There are things here that I like a lot and things here that I don't really care for. My job is not what I expected it to be but it is evolving and becoming more like what I want it to be for my second year. I still have no idea what projects will actually finish before I leave and what projects will still only be ideas. I DO know that I have made an impact on my community and that they will remember me after I'm gone and for that reason, I know I've been a successful volunteer.

So on this anniversary of my arrival in Morocco, I wanted to list out some things that I've done and some things that I still want to do. These lists are by no means complete but they are a good representation of my first year here.

Things I have Done

-PST, PPST and IST!! (pre-service training, post pre-service training and in-service training)

-One academic year of English classes with two of my students graduating high school

-Spring Camp in Agadir with 40 kids

-Summer Camp in El Jadida with 80 kids

-Month long day camp at my youth center with about 200 kids between 3 sessions

-World Map Project

-Coordinated the SOS Village in Agadir and worked at one of the summer sessions

-Volunteered at Special Olympics

-Co-lead workshops on English and Customer Service at Marche Maroc Essaouria

-Won a VAST grant for an AIDS awareness campaign put together by the youth at my dar chbab

-Helped at a PCV led Women's Wellness Conference

-Helped to redesign and improve PST for the new group that arrived in country YESTERDAY! (welcome new group!)

-Learned some basic Tashalheet

-Improved my Darija

-Made Moroccan friends in my community

-Learned how to wrap a lizar

-Learned how to make mint tea and tajine

-Traveled around to multiple areas of Morocco without getting lost, injured or pick-pocketed

-Learned how to live as a meat loving vegetarian

-Successfully stayed single (even with all the marriage proposals)

-Survived having a wisdom tooth pulled in country

-Killed my first cockroach

-Successfully integrated well enough into my town so that I no longer get "Bonjour"-ed!

-Learned how to make tortilla's and alfredo sauce (literally learned yesterday so I could put it on today's list)

-Survived the Moroccan summer

-Survived my first Ramadan!

Things I Still Have to Do

-Finish my AID's awareness campaign with my dar chbab

-Start a girl's sports club

-Start a Health Club/Environment Club

-Become conversational in Tashalheet

-Help a friend find funding and start a tourism project for our town

-Learn how to make msmn

-Learn some basic French

-Complete a 2nd year of English classes at the dar chbab

-Work at spring camp, summer camp and day camp next year

-Continue coordinating for SOS Village in Agadir

-And anything else that comes up!!

My service in Morocco is nothing like what my service was in Albania. It's not better. It's not worse. It's just different. Morocco is growing on me more and more as the days pass. I'm starting to feel more at home here. Time has been passing quickly and it's hard to believe it's been a year already. If my second year in Morocco is anything like my second year in Albania, it's going to fly by. I'm excited to see what I can accomplish in my remaining time here and anxious for all my new projects to start. It's been a good first year Morocco, let's keep up the good work!

Ramadan Kareem!

2011-08-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

August is over half-way done at this point and so is my first Ramadan. Ramadan, for those of you who don't know, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which lasts for 29 or 30 days. Since the Islamic calendar is based on the moon, the dates change every year. During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and yes, sex, during daylight hours. It is a time for Muslims to reflect on their spirituality, their humility, patience and submissiveness to God, or Allah. Ramadan is one of the most important holidays to Muslims as it celebrates the first time that a verse of the Qur'an was read to the prophet Mohammed. The following has been my experience with Ramadan so far and my plans for the rest of the month.

The first day of Ramadan fell on August 2nd. I was at summer camp at El Jadida and experienced it along with about 80 Moroccan youth, 16 other Americans and several Moroccan counselors. We went to bed as usual on August 1st but around 4am, those of us preparing to fast woke up to eat a small meal of bread with cheese, yogurt, orange juice and fruit. This was to prepare us for the day as we would not be eating again until around 7:30pm. We went back to bed and woke up around 10. Our day with the campers started at 12:45 and you could tell it wasn't easy for anyone. The campers were tired, quiet, and lethargic. For myself, I found it became hardest around 3pm. That's when I first became hungry and started getting a head ache. I couldn't believe I still had to wait another 4 1/2 hours until break fast. I didn't know if I would make it. I had a break and decided to take a power nap. My power nap got me through it and I ran to the food hall along with everyone else when the bell sounded that it was time to break fast.

My first break fast was exciting, delicious and painful. For those of you who have ever fasted, you know how delicious food tastes again once you eat. You're so hungry and everything just tastes twice as good as usual. You also inhale your food which is where the pain came in. For all of us first timers, we overdid it and left feeling over full. How could we resist the spread of soup, bread, cheese, msmn, hard boiled eggs, jam, orange juice, dates and sweets?? We vowed after that the second day we would eat slower so as to not leave in so much pain. The second day was easier. I didn't feel hungry until right before break fast and at break fast, I paced myself so I didn't overdue it. I also started staying up until 4 in the morning so that I could eat my last meal before going to bed. It worked out well and I felt good during those days of Ramadan at camp.

Since leaving camp, I have continued to fast. I had to stop for a few days because I got sick. The Qur'an states that young children, the elderly, pregnant women, sick people and travelers going farther than 60km do not need to fast. It has been an enjoyable experience and not as hard as I thought it would be. It has been hard to refrain from drinking water during the day, and I have slipped on occasion, but overall I think I have done well. I have found it easier to fast when there are other people with me also fasting. It's so easy to cheat when you're by yourself! I am back in Rabat to help out with a focus group so these next few days should be easy fasting days. I am going to continue fasting for the entire month as long as I am not hindered from doing so (ex: sickness).

For those of you who are still confused about Ramadan, think about it like the Islamic equivalent of Lent. During Lent, you give up something for 40 days. For Ramadan, Muslims all give up the same thing for 30 days. It can be hard but then challenges make successes that much sweeter, don't they?? Many people have asked why I am fasting. I am not Muslim. I am fasting because I am living in a Muslim culture where my neighbors and friends are fasting. I wanted to experience what they do every year. This might be one of my only chances to truly experience Ramadan as it should be. Even if I wasn't fasting, my life here would have had to change. Business hours are different for Ramadan. Things sold in stores change during Ramadan. Transportation has become more scarce in my town. Life continues late into the night now. This is my first Ramadan and I have been mentally preparing for it since I arrived in this country eleven months ago. It is here and I am enjoying it more than I thought I could. The bell signaling break fast is about to go off so I will end here so that I can get ready to go and eat. Ramadan kareem everyone!!

Summer Camp in El Jadida

2011-08-12T07:06:00.000-05:00

Summer time in Morocco. The thermometer reads much higher than you would ever like to see it. Juicy melons cost mere pennies. Laundry dries in an hour or two instead of all day. Beaches are crowded with different groups of campers. Youth Development PCV's take their turns working at summer camp in El Jadida. This is summer time in Morocco.

After having had a few days to rest and recuperate, I am now ready to describe my experience at summer camp. As some of you may know, I was partially dreading camp because of stories I've heard from years past. I was also excited about it because it was camp. Who doesn't love camp?! I arrived a few days late because I needed to finish up a few things in site but arrived at the same time as the campers so I didn't miss much. We started off right away with get to know you games and general shenanigans.

Campers were given a language proficiency test when they arrived at camp and then were divided into English classes, clubs and teams. The teams they were put on were able to gain and lose points throughout camp for good behavior, bad behavior, helpfulness, attendance, participation and winning challenges. Clubs varied from arts and crafts to dance to games to creative writing to theater. English classes were from beginner up through advanced. Every day they would line up for announcements and songs and then go to English class, followed by an activity, lunch, another activity, club time, snack, an activity, dinner and then more activities at night. At least for the first few days before Ramadan but we'll talk about that later.

The beautiful schedule

Some of the activities included a fashion show, team competition of talent, a trivia game, a talent show, a presentation from an astronaut, workshops, field trip to neighboring Azemmour and going to the beach. The fashion show, as you can imagine, contained some true fashion, some out there fashion and some just plain old, "what were you thinking?!" fashion. We had four categories, modern, hip-hop, crazy and traditional. I am happy to say that one of my girls, Zora won 1st place in the hip-hop category.

Some of the team captains showing their team pride on fashion show night

The team competition of talent went well with some skits, songs, physical demonstrations of strength and team cheers. There were two trivia games; one was more like jeopardy and the other required teams to search for the clues based on the number of spaces they had moved on a game board. The astronaut who came to camp (no she wasn't wearing a flight suit....) was an American astronaut brought to Morocco by the American embassy to promote girls to follow science studies. We had several different workshops on leadership, environment and gender. The trips to the beach were enjoyed by all and one day we even went swimming in an indoor pool! I was just as happy as the campers that day.

Ben, Beth, Donniell, astronaut, me and Rachel

The day before Ramadan was supposed to start (we'll talk about that later), we went on a field trip to Azemmour, a town about 30 minutes away. The trip started out slightly chaotic since we did not know what to do and we were in a small market filled with lots of other people. Once we started moving it was much better. The old town of Azemmour has murals painted all over its walls. The murals are new but beautiful and colorful. There is also a wonderful park next to the river where we sat for awhile. We also were able to go into a section of the old town where we could climb the outer wall of the city and take some amazing pictures of the town. It was a really cool old town in the sense that it was old and touristy but not completely taken care of. There were buildings in need of repair and doors that you can tell are the first ones from when the city was first built. I liked the mix of traditional with modern. We returned to camp just in time for dinner and found out that Ramadan would not start until August 2nd.

Looking at the "new" through the "old"

One of our night time activities during Ramadan was Halloween. The kids were encouraged to wear costumes (most of them just dressed up) or get their faces painted. The PCV's put together a haunted house which I heard scared most of the campers. There was also bobbing for apples, face painting and we showed them the movie Hocus Pocus. It was a great way for the campers to enjoy one of the best American holidays. On our last night at camp we had the talent show. Campers were able to dazzle us with their singing, dancing, drumming, acting, poems, and overall thoughts of camp. We also celebrated everyone who had a birthday during camp that night. There was delicious cake to follow our dinner outside.

My girl drumming her heart out!

I don't want to get into too much detail about Ramadan as that will be a future blog post but I'll give you some basics. Ramadan started on August 2nd. Those of us who were fasting, woke up around 4am to eat a quick snack before the first call to prayer and fasting began for the day. We continued on with our normal schedule, only a few hours pushed back, and broke fast around 7:30. Breaking fast is an amazing experience but like I said that will be in a later blog post.

Camp ended on the 5th and as the campers left so did many of the PCV's. About 5 of us ended up going into Rabat for medical reasons after but we've all recovered, hamdullah. There is talk of redesigning summer camp so we'll see what happens but I hope next year will be just as much fun as this year. Either way, next year I'm only going to look forward to camp, not dread it. And for those PCV's out there who didn't like camp, I ask you, what's not to love about camp??!!!

World Map Project

2011-08-11T07:40:00.000-05:00

During my dar chbab's day camp last month, we had one day where we started painting the outside walls. My mudir is a painter and I knew it would only be a matter of time before we started adding color to the otherwise bland new dar chbab. Along with some supplies donated from the American School in Rabat, my mudir donated some of his own paints so that this project was possible. The world map is something I've wanted to do since getting to site so I proposed we start it while we had a large number of kids to help. My mudir agreed and we set a few kids out to start painting the backdrop.

One of the students outlining the countries in black

The world map is a Peace Corps initiative to create a better cultural exchange between host country nationals (HCN's) and the global community. It's exactly what it sounds like. PCV's go into their communities and paint a world map with their community partners. In my case, the world map was done with the campers at the day camp and the counselors. We started it on the day that we were doing murals and finished it the day before I left for summer camp. In total we worked on it four days. The first day we just painted the backdrop. The second day we traced out the grid. Tracing out the grid takes the longest and is the most important. If you make the squares uneven, your map will be too. You can also use a projector and trace it but not everyone has a projector (I didn't). The third day we traced out the countries. Make sure that older kids do this as some of the countries are oddly shaped and it's harder for the smaller children to follow the outline. On the final day we painted in the countries, outlined them in black and wrote in the country names.

Tracing out the grid. Yes that's a broomstick we're using.

This is a simple project to do in site and doesn't require to many materials or money. Usually this project can be funded entirely by a community with about $50 depending on the cost of paint. Our world map did not cost the community one cent because of the paint donated by the American school. The kids had so much fun painting and guessing the names of the countries. My hope is to use the map to talk about different cultures and use it for future English lessons. My mudir is very happy with the final product as were several other community members who watched its progression.

This is before the country names were written in

For any PCV's out there looking for a simple summer time project, I recommend the world map. Gather up a few kids, find a blank wall or some sidewalk and get your pencils sharpened. This was a fun project for my community and me. Now I know even after I'm gone, they will remember me when they see the map. I've left my mark.

Go Bananas!

2011-08-10T07:17:00.000-05:00

Over the month of July, my dar chbab held a month long day camp. In total it was three 10-day sessions, with about 80 kids in each. Over the course of the month, we played games, sports, did arts and crafts, went on excursions, ate amazing food, had dance parties and painted the outside walls of the dar chbab (to be described in a later blog post). Before the day camp started I was stressing out about how long the days were and being able to speak to the kids who mostly only know Tashalheet, however it was the best thing I've done in site to date.

One of the arts and crafts activities

The first few days were tough since I went from working a few hours a week to working 12 hours a day. After my body adjusted, it was actually exciting to get up and go to the dar chbab every morning. As soon as I walked through the gate I would be tackled by little girls who wanted to greet me by kissing my cheeks or by little boys who wanted to shake my hand. It felt so good to be welcomed by that by people who didn't always understand me. Since these were littler kids not all of them have learned Darija yet. I only know simple commands in Tashalheet. A lot of times it would be them asking me long questions and me responding with "ur snH" (I don't know). They would laugh, I would smile and we would move on. I ended up learning a bit more Tashalheet from the kids throughout the camp and I taught them some English.

Marching the kids to our spot on the beach

One of the things that most impressed me from the camp was hygiene. All the kids would wash their hands before eating and brush their teeth after. It was so cute to watch them get out their little toothbrushes and toothpaste and go to town in the courtyard. One day there was a group of doctors who came to camp and they did a teeth brushing demonstration. What made this hygiene even more impressive was we did not have water until the last week of camp. We had a water reserve which they would have to get water from first before washing their hands or teeth. On our excursions we would bring multiple jugs of water as well so that they would still be able to do both as well.

Brushy brushy brushy!!

Each session we would go on 2 excursions. The first one to an area between the neighborhoods filled with trees. The second one to the beach. The day we went to the trees was always very pleasant. Not only did we have lots of shade but it was a very relaxed day. The kids would play different games in the morning and after we ate lunch we would do a big group activity. The beach was a little more stressful just because of crowd control but still fun. The kids would do activities in the sand and we would take them in the water in small groups. One day we went it was a little chilly but the kids still had a great time. My favorite part of the excursions was the way we traveled. We would get 3 trucks and all the kids would be standing up in the trailer singing and clapping the whole way there. Needless to say, we made a scene true Moroccan style.

Taking one of the groups in to swim

Something else that we did each session was a more traditional activity. The kids would all bring their best traditional clothes and of course, I was dressed up too. One time we did a re-enactment of two tribes fighting over a water well. Another time we did a scavenger hunt type activity where the counselors each played a role and the kids would have to do an activity with each. These activities were always fun to watch and helped me understand a lot more about Moroccan culture.

After one of our dance parties

There were of course the traditional sports, arts and crafts and songs as well. The camp favorite was "bananas". If you don't know it, it goes like this: Bananas of the world unite!! Peel banana, peel, peel banana! Jump banana, jump, jump banana! Go bananas, go, go bananas!! Overall the camp was a huge success. One day there was even a delegation from Rabat who came to see the camp. They were impressed with the staff and the activities we were doing with the kids. I did not get to see the end of day camp since I had to leave for summer camp but I hope that the time I spent at day camp will help my future projects in site. That is day camp in a nutshell. It was amazing, wonderful, inspiring, and exhausting. All in all an excellent chapter to my Peace Corps experience in Morocco.

On our way back from the beach!

Marche Maroc Essaouria

2011-07-10T15:10:00.000-05:00

This past week I was fortunate enough to participate in an amazing craft fair put on by several SBD volunteers in Essaouria called Marche Maroc. It brought together artisans from around Morocco to one place for them to sell their products, participate in workshops and network. I was brought in as one of four YD volunteers to lead a customer service workshop with a little English mixed in. The first day of the craft fair, the governor of Essaouria stopped by to see the event. The artisans proudly showed their handiwork and were able to discuss how their specialty items were made. Overall, I was very impressed by the fair and the work that the SBD volunteers had put into it. Congrats to all the participants on a job well done!

One of the artisans preparing her booth on opening day

An artisan from Taourdant talking to the governor of Essaouria

One artisans craft; jellaba button necklaces!

The governor of Essaouria talking to a PCV about his artisans work

The artisans along with some PCV's

Celebrating America's Birthday

2011-07-09T13:05:00.000-05:00

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays in America and this year I celebrated in true American fashion; lounging on the beach with a campfire and hot dogs. In years past when I have been away from America on this, one of its truly festive holidays, I have felt homesick and longed for all that the 4th has to offer in America. This year I felt like I celebrated as much as possible with what I had to work with. It was a truly amazing celebration in honor of my favorite nations' birthday.

On the 3rd, I spent the day at a more secluded beach with students from my dar chbab. For them it was an end of the school year party but we managed to celebrate one of my students' birthdays as well as Americas'. We rented a little room where we ate breakfast, lunch and kaskerut (afternoon tea). I was impressed with the cooking skills of the boys but gave them a hard time while they were cooking which they took in good fun :)

It was a little chilly in the morning but we still had fun wandering the rocks and playing with crabs and borrowing fishing rods from some of the older men. Sadly we did not catch any fish but we had a good time being splashed by the waves. It warmed up in the afternoon and the boys took turns wrestling one down to the ground and then throwing them into the ocean. No trip to the beach is complete with some frisbee which my students really enjoy. We were able to have some snacks before being picked up by our transport and heading back into town.

Later that night I headed over to Beth's and we officially kicked off our raging 4th of July party! It was so crazy we needed to have a guest book in order to keep track of who attended. Unfortunately, I'm joking. We had only two guests but we still had an amazing time. On the 4th, we headed over to the beach. We arranged to rent a tent for the night. After dropping off our things we headed down to a part of the beach with less Moroccans so that we could be a little more Hshuma (shameful). After an enjoyable afternoon of frolicking in the ocean, building sand castles, playing frisbee, napping and running to move our things from the high tide we headed back to our tent to start making dinner.

My patriotic look...... thanks for the t-shirt Mom!

We decided that since dinner would take awhile to cook we went into town to grab a snack. When we got back, the manager of the camp and the kitchen staff helped us to wrangle up some wood for our campfire. Dinner was roasted potatoes, green peppers, carrots and hot dogs!! Of course we sang some of our favorite patriotic songs and wore all our red, white and blue to show our pride. We even had patriotic temporary tattoos. And no 4th of July campfire is complete without............. marshmallows!!! Delicious :D The only thing that would have made it better would have been fireworks but you have to take what you can get, right? Overall, I think it was my favorite 4th of July away from America.

4th of July cheers next to the campfire

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th as well. Happy birthday America!!

School's Out for the Summer!!

2011-06-25T04:09:00.000-05:00

Summer. As a kid, you long for the days of summer when you can sleep in, play outside all day, go to the beach, do all the things you can't do when you're stuck inside at school all day. Summer time has arrived in Morocco and instead of me looking forward to travel plans and sleeping 14 hours a day, I have a busy schedule for the next 2 months. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about it and happy that I won't spend my days sweating inside my house. I'll be outside running after kids, teaching silly games and songs and sweating through every piece of clothing I own.

My first project is my VAST grant, Acting Out Awareness. The theater group at my dar chbab and I will be traveling around to different dar chbab's presenting our AIDS awareness skit and then doing a wall mural at each as a long lasting reminder of what they learned. The start date has been pushed back because of getting money late, exams for the kids and dar chbab's being closed but it will be done this summer!! Now that the exams are done, the kids are back at rehearsals and getting geared up to get this show on the road!

My second project will be working at the Agadir SOS village. For those of you who don't know what an SOS village is, it is an orphanage where kids live with a "mom". These "mom's" come from the community and live with the kids. They live in this family unit and do everything together. They cook together, learn together, play together and live in the same house. It's an amazing model and I'm really excited to work with them. There will be several camps over the course of the summer but I will be working mainly as a coordinator between the SOS village and other volunteers. I have a training this week and then will go and meet with the director and see what they need so I can start setting things up.

Another big plan for the summer is a month long day camp here in site. There will be 100 kids who will meet at the dar chbab every morning at 8 for one whole month. About 15 adults/older students will be in charge of leading them in games, arts and crafts, songs, lessons, day trips etc. I'm slightly stressed about this one because it is EVERY DAY for a month from 8am until 6pm but I actually will only be there for the first 20 days because then I will leave for.....

SUMMER CAMP in El Jadida!!! Along with about 17 other volunteers and approximately 80 kids, we will have a two week session with English lessons, going to the beach, games, sports etc. I've heard many good things about summer camp in the past so I'm very excited about going. The only problem I foresee is that our session has 5 days during Ramadan. This means that we will sleep in until 11 or so and then stay at the beach without food or water until we break fast after the last call to prayer. We will stay up until 1am or so after that playing sports. Some people have said it works out well and others have said it's not too good. We'll see how it goes.

As for Ramadan, I plan on trying to fast for the first week to see if I can do it. If I can do it without dying, I will continue to do it. I'm looking forward to breaking fast for the first time. I'm not so excited about not being able to drink water. If anything, I might bend the rules a little and sneak water during the day. I'm sure it will be ok. Muslims have been doing this for hundreds of years without too much difficulty so I should be able to do it for a few weeks right? I'll let you all know how it goes.

Anyway, those are most of my plans for what's turning out to be a ridiculously hot summer. I hope everyone reading this is enjoying their summer up to this point (especially those of you with a/c!). Keep your eyes open for updates and pictures that will be coming soon!

A Look at my Dad(s)

2011-06-19T13:47:00.000-05:00

Most people spend their lives only knowing one father. Some people will know two. I am luckier than most because I have four. This Father's Day I want to take a look at these four men who have made an impact on my life and thank them for all they have done for me.

My third day in Albania, I walked into a small apartment in the town of Cerrik and was welcomed by my host mother, Vushje. Later that night I met my host father, Mesiti. Mesiti had two sons who were around my age and I wasn't sure how he would feel about becoming a host dad to a 21 year old American girl. To my luck, he greeted me with a big smile and a firm handshake. Over the next three months, Mesiti became my protector, my teacher and my Albanian dad. Even though I would pretend to be frustrated when he corrected all my grammar mistakes, I secretly loved that he pushed me to be better than I was. We went for walks every night with my host mom and he would teach me vocabulary using our walks as a teaching tool. I looked forward to those walks and showing him what I had learned that day in class or using words he had taught me the day before. One night we visited a family friend and the man was asking Mesiti about his two sons. Mesiti answered him, "My sons are doing well and my daughter is my pride." At first I didn't understand what he had said but then he repeated it and I caught the last word. It was then that I truly felt that Mesiti had accepted me as his daughter. Those first few months were challenging and difficult but having Mesiti as my host dad made them much more enjoyable and I enjoyed visiting a few times during my service. Happy Father's Day Mesiti!!!

My second unofficial host dad in Albania was a huge reason why I was so successful during my two years. I saw Nikolla almost every day during my time in Lezhe. Sometimes it would be for a coffee in the afternoon, usually we had lunch together and a few times it was just to warm up in front of his space heater at his pharmacy during the cold winter months. As soon as I would see Nikolla, he would get a huge smile on his face which would make me smile. Whenever I needed information or help, Nikolla would introduce me to the right person or help me himself if he could. Nikolla also had two sons around my age as well and we always joked that I was his daughter with his American mistress. People in town would refer to me as Nikolla's daughter. Even his sons would call me "sis". I loved being invited to all the family functions and being part of their life stories. Nikolla helped show me real Albanian culture at it's finest and I in return liked introducing Nikolla to all my visitors. We spent many afternoons teaching people to dance or showing people around town. I still talk to Nikolla through his wife on Facebook some days and I'm anxious to go back and visit. Happy Father's Day Nikolla!!!

Nikolla and me on my 23rd Birthday

My second host family in Morocco introduced me to L'Ichem. I was intimidated at first by L'Ichem because he was a moqqadem or a local mayor. My intimidation turned out to be unnecessary because L'Ichem already had three daughters and was more than willing to welcome a fourth into his house. His eldest had already married and I guess I was a type of replacement. Because of his job, L'Ichem wasn't home a lot. He left early in the morning, came home for lunch, went back to work, came home for tea, then went out again until dinner. The times when he was home he would always ask me how things were going and if he could help me with anything. He was also patient and understood my baby Darija very well. One day, the King was coming to a town nearby so everyone in my town traveled over by the bus load. Everything went well on the way there and as we waited for the King to drive by. On the bus on the way back, a boy was saying inappropriate things towards myself and another girl on the bus. My host dad was so angry with him, he kicked him off the bus on the side of the street in the middle of nowhere!! Needless to say he had my back. It was nice to know he was just as protective of me as his was of his own daughters. I still see L'Ichem a lot on the street and I've been back to the house for tea and he is still just as nice as ever. Happy Father's Day L'Ichem!!!

As is tradition, I have saved the best for last. My very own 100% biological father is my favorite Dad of all time. He has been there for me over the past 24 years and has let me do many things that some dad's never would of. Some of my favorite memories include, putting barrettes into his hair when I was little, going to the beach in the summer, Girl Scout Father Daughter Dance in Elementary school, walking away embarrassed from him doing "I'm too sexy" in a public area, and going to Chicago for a day of fun, just to name a few. I may be too big now to stand on your feet when we dance but I'll always be your little girl. I love you so much and I can't wait to see you when I come home. Happy Father's Day Dad!!!

Dad feeding me when I was just a itty bitty baby.

I may be grown up now but I'm still his little girl.

So for all of you still reading, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call your father's and let them know how important they are for you. For those of you far away from your dad, send an email, get on skype, send a message somehow to let them know you're thinking about them. Many of us wouldn't be who we are today if it wasn't for our dad's.

Special Olympics Morocco

2011-05-28T04:30:00.000-05:00

Special Olympics is a well known organization operating in many countries around the world. Not only does Special Olympics (S.O.) help educate people on disabilities but they also provide medical services to their athletes. Free medical care for athletes is a big deal in many countries where S.O. operates. The mentality in many places is that a child with a handicap is shame on the family and they are kept hidden in their house for their entire life. These forgotten children are never offered the opportunities to learn, to play or to live a life. S.O. is reaching out to the people with this mentality in developing countries and really starting to make a difference in thousands of lives. When I received an email from my program manager a few weeks ago saying that PC Morocco and Special Olympics Morocco had finally signed a MOU (memorandum of understanding), I was excited to be able to help at any upcoming event. This past week I had the fortune of helping at a regional meet in Tangiers.

Even after working several other S.O. events, I was surprised by the talents and skills that the athletes in Tangiers had. I was assigned to help with the gymnastics athletes. There were only 6 doing gymnastics so it went fast. The athletes were asked to do a few somersaults and cartwheels and one was able to do a few other tricks at the end. One little boy just wanted to do somersaults all day. He would get to the end of the mat and just keep going, realize he was off the mat, turn around and keep going. When we finished gymnastics, I floated around to the other events at our location to watch. There was ping-pong, weight lifting, badminton and bocce ball. Tennis and track and field events were held at another location.

Overall the event was amazing. I was very surprised by how helpful the staff from the different centers were. They understood their athletes and were able to help entertain them during the down time. The athletes were also very well behaved and we were not chasing after them all day bringing them back to their events. For it being one of the first S.O. events in Morocco, it went way smoother than I thought it would. I look forward to helping at more events and watching as the program grows here.

For those of you back home who are waiting to leave for your Peace Corps journey, I highly recommend looking into S.O. events in your area. S.O. is starting to operate in many PC countries and it would only be to your benefit to have a little experience with the organization before heading to your future site. For those of you back home who have a little extra time on your hands, I also recommend you look into volunteering with S.O. It is a great cause and highly rewarding. With that said, below are pictures from the event. Enjoy!

One of the teams.

Tangier team in traditional dress.

TEAM PEACE CORPS!

The little boy who wanted nothing more than to somersault until he could somersault no more.

One of the weight lifters

Awards Ceremony

Morocco How To #2: Lizars

2011-05-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

In the south of Morocco, especially the Souss and Sahara regions, you will find women do not dress with the more common jellaba or caftan. Instead, they wear what is known as a lizar. What is a lizar you might ask?? Well, a lizar is basically a sheet. It is approximately 3 meters long and about 1.5 meters wide. If you are interested in making your own lizar creation to wear around, you can buy any fabric with those dimensions and follow the below steps. At first, lizar wrapping is challenging and you may find yourself fighting to get out of the fabric but keep with it and in no time you can be a lizar wrapping pro!!

Step 1: Take your lizar fabric and unfold it completely so that it lies like a runner behind you and it will be easiest to wrap yourself.

Step 2: Take one end of the fabric and hold it under one armpit and then grab behind you for more fabric to wrap yourself once.

Step 3: Tie the fabric over your chest and tuck the ends in so that it doesn't stick out later. This step can be confusing. To tie the fabric, start with the end you started with. Next, grab a little of the fabric that touches the first end by your armpit. Tie into a knot as you would ribbon still on a spool.

Step 4: Take the long side of fabric and pull it up over your head, not pulling it too tight so that your arm will have room to move after the following steps. A good test is to pull the fabric taunt over your head and arms with your elbows bent. This will prevent you from pulling the fabric too tight and allow your arm to move around for the last steps.

Step 5: Take an inch or so of fabric that you just pulled over your head and fold it under to prevent it from slipping during the day.

Step 6: Now you should take the piece of fabric that you left loose over one arm and bring it towards your chin while bringing the long piece towards your chin as well. To keep the short end of fabric tight under your chin, bring the long piece of fabric tightly over it. At this stage you may want to use one hand to keep the two ends tight under your chin.

Step 7: Using the hand from the same side as the long piece of fabric, wrap it behind and over your head.

Step 8: To finish the look, throw the remaining long piece of fabric over your shoulder and drape over your chest.

Step 9: Both arms should now be free to move around as normal. If one arm is stuck, go back to step 4 and try again.

CONGRATULATIONS!! You have wrapped a lizar! You are now ready to visit the south of Morocco and blend in (a little bit anyways). There is another way to wrap a lizar, however it is much more complicated. Small steps friends. Small steps. Hope you enjoyed this Morocco how to and look out for the next installment of Morocco how to: Cooking Tajine!!

Happy Mother's Day to All My Mothers!

2011-05-06T07:28:00.000-05:00

"Anyone can be a mother but it takes someone special to be a mommy". It's true that anyone can give birth but it takes someone special to raise a child. I have been blessed with an amazing mom and several other incredible host mothers. As Mother's Day approaches, I want to take a moment to salute my favorite "mothers" from around the world. The following women have helped me to adjust to new cultures, helped me to learn their language, fed me, supported me and given me a place to sleep whenever I needed. Without these women, the past few years of my life would have been very challenging and not nearly as much fun!

In Albania, my first host mom was a woman named Vuschje. I still remember meeting her. We were driven to our site and dropped of individually at our host families houses. I watched as my four other site mates were dropped off and I continued to worry in the back seat of the furgon (minivan). Was she going to like me? Would I be able to understand her? Would she be nice? What was the house going to be like? Finally the driver pulled up to an apartment building and helped me grab my bags. We walked up to the middle door on the first floor and he rang the bell. "Mos u merzit!" Don't worry, he told me. A petite woman answered the door with a broom in her hand, "Pershendetje!" Hello! Her smile immediately put me at ease and I felt relaxed walking into their small apartment. My language teacher stayed with me as we got a tour of the apartment and then after making sure I would be ok, left. We were alone. I went for my photo album and grabbed the Albanian dictionary I had just received. We spent the next hour or so going through pictures talking about who was in the pictures. Vuschje was patient as I flipped through the dictionary trying to find the word for "mother", "father", "brother", "cousin", "friend" etc... That first afternoon was perfect. Vuschje was my best friend during those first three months. I would come home from language class and work on homework and she would sit next to me helping with pronunciation. She even learned some English helping me. I tried to stay in touch with her after moving to Lezhe but I was only fortunate to see her a few more times during my service. Without Vuschje those first few months would have been horrible and I might not have stayed. Happy Mother's Day Vuschje!

My second host mother in Albania was an unoffical one but just as important to my time in Albania. Her name was Dile and she had worked for Peace Corps in the past. She had also worked as an English teacher. When I first met her, we talked mostly in English. By the end of my two years, she would only speak to me in Albanian. Dile helped me to gain the trust of the Roma and Gypsy community. Through Dile, I worked with Youth Parliment, a Women's Club, the Roma population and various other activities. She was also there for me when I needed a day off and would take me to the beach to relax and drink coffee. Dile accepted me into her family with open arms and I can't think of a day when I didn't spend time with her or her husband. I have amazing memories of my time in Albania and at least half of them include Dile. Happy Mother's Day Dile!

My first host mom in Morocco, Fatima, was an amazing woman. We first met at my language teachers house when she came to pick me up. Before we were introduced, I had been given a sheet with my host families information on it. I knew that my host mom was a cook and I was excited! When we were finally introduced we gave each other a big hug, I looked at her and said, "I'm so happy you're a cook because I want to gain weight!" My language teacher translated and man was she happy! She started fattening me up as soon as she got me home. For the next two and a half months, we would bond over food. She would tell me that I don't eat enough and then I would say I eat too much and then she would push more meat into my triangle. It was a game to the two of us and I enjoyed every minute of it. Fatima was a widow and had two children of her own and her best friends daughter lived with us too. She would leave at least one a week to cater a wedding or a big event and when she would come back she would have a duffel bag of extra meat. I found out that she even owned the small apartment we lived in. Her independence and success amazed me. Fatima helped me understand a lot about Moroccan culture during those first months and I am so happy I had her to help me. Happy Mother's Day Fatima!

My second host mom in Morocco, also a Fatima, has been a great help. I am the sixth volunteer they have hosted so they know how it works. While I was living with them, if I was in my room they would never disturb me. She would only come get me if they were about to eat and I wasn't in the living room. Fatima is another incredible example of a successful Moroccan women. She is the president of an association that holds classes for illiterate women, children, and youth in general. I first went to the association on a Sunday which is when youth from all over come to sing and play music for a few hours. The amazing part about this is that it is run by the older youth. Fatima holds a high amount of respect in the community and as such has helped me gain the trust of the community and introduced me to several important people. My first few projects in site have been with her association and there are several more in the works. I haven't gone to visit as much as I should but that is going to change. We are going to start having kaskarut (afternoon tea) together at least once a week. Fatima I really appreciate all the help you've given me and I am so happy you're my host mom. Happy Mother's Day Fatima!

No Mother's Day post would be complete without giving a shout-out to my own fabulous mother. Mom, I know you're reading this and I just want to say I love you. You are the best mom a girl could ask for. You've always supported me and been my personal cheering section. I still remember calling you after I had my interview for PC and you asked how long it was for. I believe you said three months?? Well Mom, I know its been slightly longer than three months but I couldn't have made it this long without all the cards, care packages, Skype dates and random e-mails. Mom, you really are the best and you will always be my mommy :) Happy Mother's Day!

Reunion in Europe

2011-05-03T06:45:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, my friend from high school, who is teaching English in Spain, posted that she wanted to go on vacation over her Spring break. I immediately jumped at the chance to also travel during that time and asked where she was going. When she responded with Prague and Budapest I was positive I needed to go as well. Turned out our travel dates were the same and we found tickets to meet in Prague, travel to Budapest and we would finish in Rome. It was my first vacation since arriving in Morocco seven months ago and it was absolutely wonderful.

PRAGUE
I arrived in Prague and had a few days to myself before my friend Amanda joined me. Since I wanted to explore Prague with Amanda I decided to explore the outskirts of Prague until she arrived. One day I also left the city to see Karlstejn Castle which was a cute little city about 30 minutes outside of Prague.

Once Amanda arrived in Prague we set out to see all the sights. The historic old town was beautiful and we were lucky enough to have an amazing tour guide for our walking tour. The city was also decked out for Easter and we enjoyed all the delicious food that was to be found in the Easter Markets. We spent an afternoon walking around Prague Castle which has amazing views of the entire city of Prague. The Castle grounds are extensive and its not a castle per-say as much as city enclosed by a wall. Charles Bridge was also fun to walk around, listening to music groups perform, watch artists draw caricatures and enjoy the overall atmosphere. We sat down at a cafe just off Charles Bridge and enjoyed some wine as we waited for the sun to set and see the city lit up at night. Prague is an amazing city and I definitely recommend it to others for a travel destination.

Budapest
I was most excited about traveling to Budapest as my grandmother was Hungarian. I was not let down one bit. Budapest is split into two cities by the river Danube. One side is Buda and is hilly and has excellent views of Pest. Pest is flat and is home to churches, thermal bath houses, city markets and lots of history. When we arrived we walked over to the Buda side and walked up to the top of Gellart Hill. Not only is Gellart Hill a fun place to walk around but it has phenomenal views of Pest. Our first morning we did a walking tour and explored more of Pest and the UNESCO world heritage site of the Buda Castle district. One of the coolest things I saw was a lock statue. It was a gate around a tree with hundreds of different locks on it. The story is this, when you find your true love, you should buy a lock and engrave your true loves initials along with your own onto it. Then you put it onto the gate and throw the key away into the Danube river. There were a few combination locks which our guide said were for those who have short romances. There were also a few huge locks with lots of little locks on it which she explained were for those who had many loves. I thought it was awesome. I really enjoyed learning more about Hungary's history and culture.

In the afternoon, we decided to further explore the culture by visiting a thermal bath house and spent a few hours enjoying the 20+ different pools available. It was a little piece of heaven for me. After the bath house, we met up with a very distant cousin of mine (a friend of someone my mom met who happens to have the same last name as my grandmother) who took us to the Citadel so we could see Budapest at night from above. It was absolutely breathtaking. Our final day we went to Margaret Island and enjoyed relaxing a bit in the park.

Rome
We were in Rome at a very exciting time as it was Easter weekend. We weren't sure how much we would be able to see but our first day was long and we saw over 20 attractions. Our first stop was the Colosseum and Palatine Hill/the Roman Forum. The line to get in was wrapping around the Colosseum and for a split second we didn't think we would get in. Lucky for us we were approached by a guide asking if we wanted to join a tour group. We jumped at the chance to be able to go in so a little later we were in the historic Colosseum. The Colosseum has been through a lot and because of that it is mostly restored and not much is still original. However, it is still a must-see while in Rome. Our next stop was Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Again, it is such an experience to walk through the remains of buildings that have been around for so many thousands of years. We could have spent hours walking the grounds but we still had a lot to see!

We weaved up and down streets for the rest of day walking to see different churches, archeological sites, fountains, piazzas and buildings. By the end of our first day we had seen most of the south western corner of Rome. Our second day was Easter Sunday and what else do you do on Easter Sunday in Rome but go to St. Peter's Square? That's what we did and by some miracle, we actually ended up in the square. We heard the Pope's address, we saw the hundreds of people watching from outside the square and in, and we enjoyed being a part of it. Afterwards, we found a small little restaurant and enjoyed a delicious Easter lunch. The rest of the day we spent weaving up and down streets again seeing some more of the sights like the Spanish Steps. Even though it was Easter, there was so much to see and do! For my short two and a half days in Rome I feel like I really was able to see it and experience all that the city had to offer.

This vacation was exactly what I needed. Right before leaving I was having trouble with my main job being teaching English. I am not a teacher and I do not really enjoy teaching enough for that to be my only job here. When I returned, I found out that I will have the opportunity to help out with Special Olympics at the end of the month, my AIDS awareness grant will be getting underway soon and I have a few other small things to keep me busy. I feel rejuvenated and refreshed and am ready to get back to work. So with that said, bring it on Morocco. Show me what you got. I'm ready.

The Best and Worst of Spring Camp Agadir 2011

2011-04-11T11:55:00.001-05:00

THE BEST

-Gorgeous weather and going to the beach everyday
-Being able to enjoy the weather by not being quite so covered yet still culturally sensitive
-Amazing food all week (except for the coffee)

-My English class (especially learning "head and shoulders" and directions!)
-Helping the youth explore their talents
-Meeting some great youth with huge potential
-Watching as some of the shy girls broke out of their shell

-Holding an "egg drop" competition and seeing how creative the campers became
-Impromptu dance parties!!
-Explaining English jokes to Moroccans (Why is 6 afraid of 7?? Because 7 ate 9! haha!)
-Talent Show on the final night

-Hanging out with three other awesome PCV ladies
-Photo shoots!
-Private bathroom with western toilet

THE WORST
-Killing cockroaches at 1am :(
-Moroccan staff encouraging bad behavior
-Having one boy only speak French to me during an English placement test :(
-the coffee
-being woken up by someone pounding on the door every morning

Overall I would say camp was a huge success. The campers were happy during camp and they were all sad when it was time to leave all their new friends. Moroccan staff were not the most useful but at least they were there and did most of what was expected of them. I would give camp a 7.5 out of 10!

Acting Out Awareness

2011-04-02T05:58:00.000-05:00

When you think of Africa, what are the first things that come to mind?? Probably things like hot, lions, elephants, giraffes, huts, monkeys, mosquitoes, dancing, drums, tea, and poor people. Most of these things apply to all of Africa. Morocco, known as the cold African country with the hot sun, is hot, there are animals (more sheep, goats, donkeys and camels than anything else), lots of drums and dancing, and of course tea. One thing that you might think of when you think of Africa is AIDS but it's not that big of a problem in Morocco. However, in the south, particularly the Souss area, there is the highest number of people living with AIDS.

One day, my mudir, or director, told me he had put together a skit on AIDS awareness. I stayed after class and the kids presented it to me. Even though I didn't understand everything they were saying (it's in both Darija and Fussha), I could see that they had already put a lot of time and energy into the skit. I told my mudir that I liked it but wanted to know what they were saying. He told the kids "again!" and as they acted it out he explained to me what was happening in baby Darija. Here's the general idea; the skit is about how it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you can get AIDS. It is up to you to educate yourself and your friends and family on how to stay protected.

After we watched the skit a 2nd time, my mudir told me he wanted to travel around the Souss and present the skit to 10 different dar chebab's (youth centers). He asked me if there was a way I could help find money for transportation and some supplies. I talked to my program director and told him about the idea and he was very interested. Turns out there is a grant just for AIDS/HIV projects. He sent me the materials and I sat down with my mudir and we wrote the grant. Thanks to my tutor/interpretor, Ahmed, we were able to write down the general information in one day. I spent some time fixing the language and putting it into the proper format and sent it back to PC. I cleverly named the project "Acting Out Awareness".

I found out that I will be getting the money so the project is a GO! This will be my first big project in site and I'm super happy about it because I know that my mudir and students are 100% engaged in completing it. As it stands right now, we will travel to 9 dar chebab's (we will do a performance at our own as well to make 10), present the skit, have a Q & A session, and we will paint a wall mural at each dar chbab with the participants as a reminder of what they learn and the importance of AIDS education. As my mother pointed out, "you'll be leaving your mark." Yes I will. Hopefully this will only be the first mark of many more to come.

Today I am off to Agadir for an English immersion Spring camp. It should be fun and I'm excited to see what kind of activities the Moroccan staff have planned. I'll be coming back to site in about a week and then will have a day or two to rest up and then it's off for my PBR vacation (Prague, Budapest and Rome)!!! I'm going to be a busy girl these next few months!!

TIA

2011-03-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

This.Is.Africa. A few weeks ago I re-watched the movie "Blood Diamond". If you haven't seen it, make an effort to watch it. The movie itself is amazing. Anyway, there is a line that they use frequently and it is "TIA" or "this is Africa". I personally love it and now use it a lot in my daily life. I want to share with all of you some of the more memorable "TIA" moments.

Transportation. One of the most confusing and sometimes irritating thing that you have to deal with on a daily basis. Let's say you go to the bus station (or bus stop) and know that a bus is supposed to leave at 11:00. When you get there you find out there is no bus at 11:00 and the next one is at 3:30. You wait around until 3:30 and still no bus. You ask again if the bus is coming. You're told yes the bus is coming but is late. You wait and wait and wait and finally the bus shows up at 5:00 but it takes an hour long break so the driver can eat dinner and drink tea before finally leaving at 6:00. Then you get on the bus to find out that there are some chickens a few seats in front of you. As you're about to pull away from the bus station (or bus stop) a man runs up with 3 sheep and you watch as he and the bus driver put them in the luggage compartment under the bus. This time you successfully leave the bus station (or bus stop) and along the way to your destination you make frequent stops picking people up at random spots along the road and dropping people off in what seems like the middle of nowhere. The entire time you think to yourself "TIA".

In Morocco, grand taxis are another common form of transportation. A grand taxi is an old Mercedes Benz so you think, "Ok, I'll be traveling with 4 other people." This logic is wrong. A grand taxi will leave when there are two people sitting in the front (with the driver) and 4 people in the back. This can be fine when the 4 people in the back are nice and small and don't have hips to speak of. However, usually you will be in the back with three other large and very hippy Berber women. When it's a short taxi ride it's kinda nice to be squished in the back but on the longer taxi rides it becomes very uncomfortable. When in the front, if you are next to the driver you also have to deal with the stick every time he shifts. No matter what the case is when you bump along with the grand taxi, you would be right to think, "TIA".

Culture. This is where "TIA" can be used in the best possible meaning. When you are invited to someone's house and you are served the biggest meatiest piece of meat. You'll be offered the best seat and you will not be required to lift a finger. Do you need a refill on your tea? No problem, you can drink as much tea as you like. Take more bread! Eat, eat, eat!! As a visitor you will be pampered and treated with more respect then you ever think you will get. TIA.

Many countries in Africa have a very relaxed and what Americans would consider a slow-paced culture. If you ask for directions somewhere, they will probably know where you need to go but wouldn't you first like to drink some tea?? You may have a business meeting and before you start, drink some tea together and talk about your families. After your business is finished, have some more tea. Workers in the fields have to work under a very hot sun so it's common to see they laying under a nice big tree at midday. Class may start at 5 and go until 7. You may finally start class around 5:30 and when you finish your students will stick around to chat or they will ask you to keep teaching. Time is a guideline but not a code. Things will start when they start and end when they end. TIA.

Landscape. It's amazing how many different landscapes you can drive through in one day. If you start in the lush mountainous region by the afternoon you can be in the flat desert. Or you may continue on through the flat desert and come upon a hilly desert filled with small oasises. Maybe as your driving along you will notice a change in the animals you see as well. In the mountains you will see more sheep and goats whereas in the desert you will see goats and camels. For awhile you may think you're hallucinating but no, there really are goats in the trees! Keep your eyes open or you'll miss the change from one region to the next. TIA.

Food. When you go to the market and buy all your vegetables for a week for less than $5 you may think you calculated wrong but no, you really did only spend $4. When you want to buy a chicken you go to the butcher. The butcher then proceeds to grad an alive chicken and cuts its head off and then hands it to you in a plastic bag. Another normal thing to see daily is the hanging bodies of several different types of animals along with heads, feet and *cough* other body parts at the butcher counter. The eggs you buy will have bird poop on them and maybe some feathers. You know it's all fresh at least. TIA.

There are so many things that I see or watch happen that I can't do anything but think to myself "TIA". It is my new mantra and for those of you who are also in Africa, I encourage you to use it. Not only does it make me remember where I am but it makes me grateful for this experience. TIA people, TIA.

What Would You Do If....

2011-03-23T09:06:00.000-05:00

There have been several large events in the world as of late that have grabbed the world's attention. Even so, I doubt that many people really can understand the impact that these events have had on millions of people's lives. For most people in America, you cannot imagine what would become of your daily life if all of a sudden every time you walked out on the street there was a deadly protest going on. With the exception of California, can you even begin to think about the aftermath of a 9.0 earthquake? What about a nuclear explosion? Even with these large events at the top of every major media publication, there are so many other things that happen on a daily basis to a large number of people that I doubt many people would be prepared for. With that said I would like to question what you would do given a certain circumstance.

Circumstance #1
You are fisherman in a small village in Africa. To your name you have, a small hut, a small boat, a fish net, a sharp knife and your health. Now imagine that one day your net is torn by a neighbor's hungry goat. That net is your livelihood. Without the net you cannot fish and without fish you do not eat nor do you earn any money. What would you do???

Circumstance #2
You are a farmer in a small mountainous town in Eastern Europe. In your possession you have, a house, a donkey, two chickens, 1/2 acre of land, a shovel, a spade and a wheelbarrow. What would you do if one summer there is no rain?? The closest water source is a well a mile away. You do not have an advanced irrigation system to use. All you have are your tools and yourself. How will you ensure that your crop survives enabling you to eat for another year??

Circumstance #3
You are a scavenger in a small impoverished nation. The more you can collect means more food for you and your family. Currently your system of collecting means gathering as much as you can in your arms, transporting it to your house and then going out again. One day, another scavenger comes along and has a donkey cart. He starts collecting four times as much as you do in a day and you see your profits slowly dwindle. How will you change your system so that you can still provide for your family??

Circumstance #4
You are a teenager in America. One day the power goes out you cannot watch t.v., call your friends, or check your email. What would you do all day???

One reason why I wanted to join PC was to gain a new perspective in life. My life in Chicago was hectic and even though I thrived on that pace there was never time to just relax. So many Americans don't appreciate the little things in life. For example, a readily available public and national transportation system. When you need to go from city to city, you know what type of transportation you can take, when it is available and what the cost is. If something runs 10 minutes late, it's the end of the world! Try living in a country where you never know what type of transportation you will need to take to get to your destination, waiting around all day for it to leave because there is no set time table and paying a different price every time. This is life for numerous residents in third world countries.

The first goal of PC is to train men and women in interested countries. I believe that part of this training is awareness. Awareness is a two-way street. If so many people are looking at ways to change and improve their cultures then why can't America take a look at other cultures and see the possibilities?? So these are my questions to you. Take a minute and think about the above scenarios. Would you be ready to handle any one of those situations?? What would you do if one of them happened to you??

Girl Power and Wisdom

2011-03-18T14:51:00.000-05:00

Well this past week has been another one of those weeks. Good days, productive days, painful days and lounging around days. Just a typical week in the life of a PCV.

This past weekend in Agadir I attended a Women's Wellness Conference hosted by several second year health volunteers. Even though I wasn't able to bring any women from my site this time because of time conflicts, I feel as though I learned a lot. I feel as though the women really gained a lot of useful information and skills over the 2 days. Some of the sessions included leadership, health, community planning and beauty. The event itself was a training of trainers. Now, hopefully, the women will take everything they learned back to their communities. In a few months, we will try to bring everyone together to discuss what they were able to do in their communities. Through the event I have also learned of an amazing organization in Agadir who I hope to work with in the future.

On Sunday I stayed in Agadir for a night of fun with a few other volunteers before heading up to Rabat to have my last wisdom tooth removed. Of course it started to rain like crazy on Saturday so traveling was not easy. My bus to Marrakech was delayed so I only had time to pick up a few snacks for the train to Rabat. Luckily the rain stopped long enough for me to walk from the train station in Rabat to the hotel. Tuesday morning I walked over to the dentist (in the rain) and waited for my name to be called. Now for those of you who know me, you know what happened when I had the other 3 wisdom teeth removed. A quick note for those of you who do not, they were removed in Thailand under local anesthesia and it wasn't pretty. Back to this tooth. The dentist gave me more local anesthesia and after only about 5 minutes picked up the scalpel to which I screamed and said, "WAIT! I can still feel everything!" He assured me it would be fine. He began the procedure and he was right. I didn't feel anything. I could hear everything though which was worse. For those of you who don't know what bone crunching sounds like, be thankful. It took about 35 minutes for him to pry my tooth out. It wasn't so bad but I was in tears none-the-less. He stitched me up and sent me on my way.

I left the dentist office and thankfully it had stopped raining again. I made it back to the hotel and after sending my parents a quick email telling them I was still alive, crashed for the day. I was able to get down some ice cream in the evening but that was about it. I had to wait about 6 hours for PC to get me my meds so the one dose of codeine I had wasn't enough. I was in so much pain by the time my meds got to me. PC called the hotel and told them to bring me some ice (twice) but I never got any. The next morning I woke up and my face was more swollen then after the procedure. The pain was a bit better though. In the afternoon I made it to the PC office to fill out paperwork and schedule to have my stitches taken out. They also graciously gave me ice to bring the swelling down a little.

On Thursday, a full 42 hours after my tooth was pulled, I was on the road back to my site. The full day of travel was not great but it could have been much much much worse. I left Rabat about 9 in the morning and finally walked in my door at about 8:15pm. Needless to say, I crashed again last night. The swelling has gone down and the pain is getting better little by little. I will head up to Rabat next Tuesday to have the stitches taken out.

Another memorable week in my PC service. I am going to try my hardest to forget the sound of the dentist breaking into my jaw to get my tooth out but other than that, not too bad. Here's hoping I'm all healed by the middle of next week! Oh and I guess my 6 month anniversary of arriving in Morocco came and went but all the same, Congrats to everyone in my staaj for making it 6 months!!

One of Those PCV Moments

2011-03-07T06:11:00.000-06:00

Every so often as a PCV, you experience a moment that makes you proud to be a PCV. Sometimes that moment is an activity that you've worked on for months and sometimes its a student finally showing he/she understands something you taught him/her. These moments can be frequent or far and few between. When you have one of these moments, you can't help but smile and think of how happy you are that you joined PC. I had a moment that did just that yesterday.

My site-mate, Beth, had been planning a trip to the beach with her D.C. Since we are trying to get our D.C's to do things together, she invited me and my kids. After class on Saturday I told them that if they wanted to come to the beach that they were welcome to go with me. Six of my kids were very excited and said that they would love to go. Sunday morning I woke excited for a day at the beach and a chance to get to know a few of my kids better.

Around 7:40, my kids and I met up at the taxi stand to drive over to Beth's D.C. Now even though we decided to leave at 8, we left at about 8:30 (within Moroccan time standards). The walk to the beach is fairly long, approximately 7 km. We only took one break once we reached the bird park. About 10:30 we arrived at the beach and the fun began. A few kids started to play soccer right away and a few sat down to rest a bit after our long walk. Being one of the ones who sat down first, we were talking and as we looked around the beach realized the high tide washed up a lot of trash. My tutor, being the amazing motivated person he is, said "hey why don't we clean up the trash?" I wanted to cry I was so happy.

We went around telling all the kids we were going to clean up the beach and without telling them they had to help, they all joined us! We cleaned a good section of beach. Maybe about half a mile. The two men who had been initially cleaning the trash were very happy with our help. Cleaning up all that trash at the recommendation of a Moroccan, with the help of Moroccan youth, without them being told to, was one of those moments where I stopped and thought, "These kids are going to do great things". At the same time, I thought about how happy I am that I can help them in any way. It was a moment that made me truly happy to be here working with youth.

The beach clean-up lasted for about 45 minutes and then it was time for more fun. We played soccer, ultimate frisbee and volleyball. In true competition style, we had a Beth's D.C. vs. Leslie's D.C. volleyball game and ultimate frisbee game. Now I stick to the fact that we lost because we only had 6 players next to Beth's 15. Next time Beth!! It was great to interact with the kids in an informal setting and see their true personalities come out. Two of my shy boys really took charge during the games. I look forward to going to the beach with them again.

Yesterday was a day that reminds me of why I'm here and why I wanted to do PC a second time. Somedays are really tough. You question what impact you can have on your community and what skills you can pass on to others. Then there are days like yesterday, when you remember why you're here and can't imagine leaving. Days like yesterday can't be planned. They are spontaneous and happen when someone you know decides to surprise you. The longer I am a PCV, the more frequently they seem to come. Inshallah this means that my last year they will happen everyday!

2 Years in 2 Bags: PC Morocco Packing List

2011-03-04T07:32:00.004-06:00

It's hard to believe that in about 2 weeks a new group of bright eyed and energetic volunteers will arrive in Morocco. Just about six months ago I was sitting in my room thinking, "Hmm, maybe I should pack." I waited until the last minute to get stuff together for PC Morocco and I know that's not how many of the new volunteers are preparing so here is a packing list that will have you prepared for the next two years. Just to keep in mind as you read this list, I am a female volunteer living in the south of Morocco in a small conservative town. Also, a big shout out to Beth Cuddy who made the original list!!!

LUGGAGE
Let's start with the basics. PC allots you two bags which is also what the airline will allow. Do not worry about dimensions but do keep in mind weight. Neither piece of luggage should weigh more than 50 pounds. If it does, YOU will be required to pay the airline fee. Here in PC Morocco, you are only allowed to take one bag to your host family during PST. The other bag will be kept at your HUB site (don't worry it will be in a locked room and it will be safe). You will be able to access the 2nd bag when you are at HUB (every 2 weeks or so) but as you pack try to get what you will need for the first 3 months into one bag. Here are my suggestions:
-Large suitcase with wheels. This is where you should put most of your heavier or bulkier items. I suggest packing this to the whole 50 pound limit. I would also recommend packing this bag to be the one you leave at HUB. Things that you are bringing that you will not need right away should be packed into this bag.
-Hiking backpack. If you don't have one, it is worth the investment. Not only is it easier to travel with a hiking backpack (not all roads are paved!) it will prevent you from packing too much. Even though it can weigh up to 50 pounds, remember you will have to carry it across the country so don't over pack it.
-Regular backpack. This will work as your carry-on on the plane and will be useful for one to two night trips in country. Also extremely useful when carrying things back and forth between your CBT and HUB.
-Shoulder bag/Laptop Bag/Briefcase. For us girls, a larger "mom" type purse is great. Not only are you able to stuff it full of travel essentials, you can practically live out of it for a day or two if you need to. I recommend a purse with a lot of pockets and zippers. Pockets to keep everything organized and zippers to prevent theft. The Laptop bag can also work great during your time in Morocco. You'll take your computer most places and if you have a nicer laptop bag, you can fit misc. other items into it. Guys, a briefcase also will help you out during your 2 years here. Just make sure that it has a top closure in case of rain and to prevent theft.

Clothing
Clothing is the hardest thing to pack. You are not sure whether you will end up in the cold mountains or the hot desert. Will you be in a liberal or a conservative town? There are many variables that determine the type of clothing you should pack but as PC does not tell you all these things until you're several weeks in country, let me give you some hints. First off, PC stresses business casual on their packing list but if you ask any serving PCV's, leave it at home! Also, keep in mind you will most likely be hand washing so bring heavy duty clothes that will be able to take the wear and tear. The Moroccan sun is going to fade the colors fast so don't bring any red shirts that you won't wear once they turn pink. Also, ladies, as a general rule, you want your shirts to cover your shoulders, back and butt. I can't stress enough how wonderful the vacuum seal bags are! Make sure to invest in the ones you roll instead of the ones you need a vacuum for. Be careful if you use them to not get carried away. Just because you can fit more stuff in your suitcase when using them doesn't mean you should. For more specific tips, keep reading.
-Business casual. Don't bring too many business casual clothes. Most people work in jeans and t-shirts. Bring a nice outfit for when you arrive in country and something for swearing-in. This outfit will only be worn for the few and far between "special" occasions you have. Remember that what you bring you will be washing by hand (most likely).
-Jackets. Morocco is extremely cold in some areas. I recommend packing a heavy one and also a lighter one. I brought a Columbia with a zipper out fleece. Fleece is perfect for the cold desert nights.
-Sweaters. Keep in mind you don't know if you will spend the next two years in the mountains or the desert so I would recommend bringing at least one sweater. You'll wear it no matter where you end up.
-Lightweight cardigans. Ladies, these are crucial!! I only brought one lightweight cardigan and I live in it! Many women end up in conservative towns where they need to cover their arms and back. For those who end up in the hot south in a conservative town, they will save you in the summer. I recommend at least two basic cardigans that you can wear with just about any shirt you bring. The longer the better.
-Long sleeved shirts. These are great. Bring a few that are heavy and a few light ones. Just keep in mind the length. Make sure they cover your back when you sit down.
-Short-sleeved shirts. Not only are these great to sleep in and work out in, but they are great to layer with a cardigan or a long sleeved shirt. Don't bring anything too fancy as you will most likely will be hand washing and the strong Moroccan sun will fade the colors quickly.
-Tank top. Perfect for layering in the winter or great to pair with a cardigan in the summer. You will also live in them when you are alone in your house.
-Dressy Tops. Just because you're a PCV doesn't mean you won't want to look cute when you travel or when you meet up with other PCV's in one of the larger cities.
-Pants. Jeans are the best followed by khakis. Bring good quality ones because you will be walking a lot and, again, hand washing really takes its toll on clothes after a few months. PCV's also go through weight loss and weight gain every few months.
-Leggings. Bring a pair or two to wear around the house or under a skirt that is a little too short to be appropriate.
-Skirts. Be very careful about the skirts you pack. Shorter ones you will not be able to wear often but will be great when you travel. Longer loose skirts are great for those hot summer days when the thought of wearing jeans makes you sweat more.
-Dresses. Same advice as for skirts. Bring longer, flowy dresses. Don't forget a fun dress that you can wear when you're in one of the larger cities or traveling.
-Lounge wear. Bring a pair of sweatpants for in the winter and some shorts to wear around the house. Girls, you will most likely not be able to wear shorts outside but you will still want to bring at least one pair.
-Bathing suit. Remember you are coming to a conservative Muslim country but you will have the opportunity to go swimming both in country and when you travel. Ladies, you will most likely need to wear a t-shirt over your bathing suit when you go swimming in Morocco.
-Belt. One that you can wear with anything. Ladies, weight will change on a weekly basis. Guys tend to lose weight during the first few months and girls tend to gain during the first few months. Keep that in mind when you're packing pants as well.
-Underwear/Bras. Ladies, leave the lacy underthings at home. They won't last long if you end up needed to hand wash or if you have a washing machine. Everyone will also see your underwear when you hang them out to dry so try to keep it PG.
-Socks. You will want some normal pairs and a pair or two of thick ones for the cold nights.
-Scarves. A great way to keep your neck warm. Many women end up in sights where they need to wear their hair up and a scarf will ensure your neck stays warm if your hair can't. Also a great way to cover your chest if one of your shirts is a little revealing.
-Gloves. One fingerless pair will be your best friend on those cold nights when you're trying to type up a report or a lesson. They also are handy while cooking.
-Hats. Morocco has a lot of sun. If you sunburn easily, make sure to bring one. There will be many opportunities for hikes and long walks and unless you want to keep applying sunscreen, a hat will save your face from everyday sunburn. A heavy winter hat will also come in handy for the cold winter nights. My advice, bring a winter hat that you can sleep in comfortably.

Footwear
This was a challenge for me as I'm a shoeaholic but in the long run you want to bring functional not fashionable. Remember that shoes take up a lot of room and can also add lots of extra pounds to your suitcase. Bring a few pairs that will get you through any situation and leave the cute heels at home.
-Tennis shoes. You will be walking a lot! Also great for when it's raining or you're going on a hike.
-Sandals. I recommend a pair of Keene's or Teva's. Also perfect for those long hikes you'll be taking. Also appropriate for those rainy days.
-Dress shoes. One pair is plenty. Morocco will destroy nice shoes fast so don't bring a pair you want to keep. You will only really need these for special occasions or when you're out on the town.
-Boots. They do take up room so my suggestion is to buy one pair of nice hiking boots to use as both tennis shoes and boots.
-Everyday shoes. Everyone has their own preference. I walk around everyday in a pair of Rainbow flip flops. Just remember that it is dusty here and white shoes do not do well.

Personal Items
Just about anything you want you will be able to buy in country. Many PCV's bring enough shampoo, conditioner, deodorant and toothpaste for 2 years but let me tell you, don't waste the luggage room! Bring some small travel sizes to get you through the first few days and leave the rest behind. You will have time to get anything you need and PC gives you money so you'll be able to buy anything you need. More details below!
-Shampoo, soap, Q-tips, lotion, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, toothpaste etc. I suggest buying a travel size bottle of all these items. It will be enough to get you through the first few days and you can buy all these items in country. Many name brands you may like from America you can find here. Save yourself the room and just bring some small ones to start with.
-Razors. Bring one or two. You can buy razors here but if you have sensitive skin, I recommend bringing your own supply. Most of the ones you will find here are the cheap disposables.
-Face Wash. Not many brands are available here and its expensive. Also, most of them are for normal skin. If you have oily, or dry skin, you will want to make sure you come prepared!-Makeup. You won't wear it that often but it can be hard to find good quality makeup in country. If you have a favorite, bring it with you.
-SPF face lotion. Peace Corps will provide you with sunscreen but if you have fair skin or extremely sensitive skin, you may want to bring your own higher SPF face lotion.
-Hand sanitizer. This will save your life on a daily basis. I recommend the small bottles you can buy at Bath & Body Works. Also get the handy holder that you can attach to your purse or backpack.
-Tampons and Sanitary Pads. Everyone has their own preference again. You won't find tampons often in country but if you are ok with pads, just bring a few. Another option is the Diva cup but not everyone likes it so if you are going to bring it, make sure you try it at home first.
-Chapstick. Bring your favorite. Peace Corps will provide you with a stick of chapstick but after that you are on your own.
-Deodorant. The most common type in Morocco is roll-on so if you are ok with that only bring a stick. If you need a heavy duty deodorant make sure to bring a supply for 2 years because you won't find that here.
-Manicure/Pedicure tools. A small kit if you want them but you can buy them all here. Don't bother bringing polish as you can buy it here but you probably won't wear it too often.
-Towel. I recommend bringing a small camping microfiber towel. Not only will it be easier to pack but you can buy a regular towel in country. Also dries much faster so easier to use when traveling.

Miscellaneous
The following is a list of everything else you may want to bring with you. The closer it is to the top, the more I recommend making room for it!
-Sleeping bag. You will definitely want to bring one! Great for when visiting other PCV's and for those extremely cold nights.
-Small Duffel. Pack an empty one into one of your bags. PC gives you tons of books during training and expects you to find room for them. The duffel will be the space you need.
-Camera. Make it clear from the beginning that no one is to use it without your permission! Also, make sure to insure it as camera damage is almost a guarantee and if you're traveling, theft is always possible.
-Laptop. This will be your best friend for the next two years. Make sure to install good anti-virus protection. If you have an extra battery for it, bring it. You never know how long the power will be out in some situations and batteries tend to go bad here.
-Flash drive and external hard drive. The flash drive is handy and the external you'll need to store movies and tv shows that you download to pass time. Make the investment if you don't already have one!
-iPod. You have many long trips ahead of you and you will want your music. Also great for those days you just don't want to talk to anybody when you're walking around.
-Water bottle. Bring a durable one because it will get beat up over your time here.
-Swiss Army Knife or similar product. Useful on a daily basis. I have the small keychain version which works very well. Just make sure to put it into your checked luggage when traveling or it will be taken away!
-Umbrella. A small sturdy one (Totes is a good brand). The ones you can buy here will break in a day.
-Luggage locks. Bring at least two. You will want to use one on your bag that you leave at HUB and you may want to use one on the bag you leave at your host family. Most people do not have any issues with their host family but just in case.
-Keychain flashlight. It will save your life on many occasions. Many streets are not lit so it makes walking home at night that much safer (look out for that hole!).
-Adapter. There are some bulky ones out there that are too heavy and fall out of the wall so spend the extra money and get a good one. You'll be thankful you did. DO NOT buy the Target brand one. It is the perfect example of big and bulky and will cause you more stress than help you.
-Favorite spices. I brought taco seasoning, cinnamon and Mrs. Dash. Other ones you want you can have shipped later.
-Flashlight. Power goes out every once in awhile so it comes in handy.
-Travel alarm clock. I usually just use the alarm on my phone but if you need the extra push to get up in the morning, I would bring a battery operated one.
-A durable folder or binder. You'll get a lot of papers during PST and you need someplace to put them all.
-Duct tape. You'll be glad you brought it. Moroccan tape is terrible so it really helps when hanging posters.
-Art Supplies. I brought some sharpies which are great when making posters and also some crayola markers. Other suggestions would be colored pencils and crayons.
-Jewelry and sunglasses. Nothing to flashy but some to keep you happy.
-Map of Morocco. Be careful if it shows the Sahara separately, Moroccans will get into a heated argument with you over it.
-Batteries. Easily purchased in Morocco but just a few to get you through the first few months.
-Pictures. Your host family will want to know about you and your family so pictures are a great way to break the ice on the first night. Ladies, be careful not to bring too many of you with many different boys. It is not common for girls to have multiple guy friends.
-Ziplock bags. Assorted sizes. They help when traveling with liquids and when trying to share your homemade American food with Moroccans.
-Playing cards. They are great to help pass time and you Moroccan youth will love to play too.
-Bananagrams. This is a great way to make sure you don't forget your English and its a fun game to play with Moroccan youth and other PCV's!
-Gifts for host families. Some ideas: postcards of your city in America, a calendar, coloring books, picture frames, table runner, American candy, bring something to cook for them, lotion, candles etc...

If There's Room Left,,,
These are things I would only worry about if you still have room left in your luggage (or can spare a few more pounds!). Don't worry if you don't get them in there, you can easily get these things or substitute items in country.
-Small sewing kit. Things will tear, buttons will fall off, just some essentials to keep your clothes in decent shape.
Plastic flip flops. You want these to shower in and they are great for around the house. You can purchase them in country for about $2 so don't worry if they don't fit.
-Slippers. You can get them here for cheap as well.
-Traveler's Guide to Morocco. You are here to work, but you're going to have time to play too!
-Screwdriver for glasses. You don't want to have to buy new ones every time yours fall apart.
-Reusable tote bags. Great for carrying around groceries. Also a great way to show Moroccans they don't need a plastic bag for every item they purchase. You can find them just about anywhere nowadays but I prefer the ones that fold up real small so that I can stick them in my purse until I need them.
-Journal. You're about to embark on an amazing journey. You're going to want to document.
-Frisbee. Great game to play with Moroccan kids.
-Oven mitt. You won't find them here and you don't want to keep replacing burnt hand towels.
-Measuring cups and spoons. If you plan on cooking over here, its all in metric and you won't find measuring cups and spoons easily. I brought collapsible silicon measuring cups and magnetic measuring spoons.
-Silicone muffin pan. I like cooking and muffin pans are as one Moroccan put it, "crazy technology".
-Address book. Or some type of thing to keep everyone's addresses so you can keep in touch.
-Loofah. You can buy an equivalent here but its nice to have one to get you started.
-Movies. If you have any favorites, bring them with. I suggest downloading them and bringing them on an external but if that's not possible, bring the DVD's.
-Cookbook. If you have any favorite recipes, I suggest typing them into a Word Doc to save yourself the room.

Leave at Home
If you have these things in your bags, take them out and put other things in!! You want to make sure you can pack the best things for your next 2 years!
-Dressy clothes. As I said earlier, you only need one or two dressy outfits. Everything else leave at home.
General medical supplies. Peace Corps will supply you with all the general supplies. Bring 3 months worth of your prescription drugs and then PC will supply you with those as well.
-Books. Don't bring too many as there is a PC library and PCV's share books. I recommend bringing a Kindle or a Nook. It's great to have hundreds of books at your fingertips and much easier to travel with.
-Kitchen tools. Except for the ones I mentioned above, leave them at home. You can buy almost everything else here. Including coffee presses and coffee makers.
-Cookbook. As I stated before, type up your favorites. PC will also give you a PCV cookbook which is great.
-Sleeping pad. You're in the Peace Corps!! We all have back problems but that's what massages are for.
-Dictionary. Peace Corps will give you one.
-Sheets. You can buy them here and you won't need them for awhile.
-CDs and DVDs. Put everything onto your computer or an external. You'll save tons of room.
-Hairdryer or straightener. Buy them here so you don't have to worry about power conversion.

Well I hope this helps all of you out there that are about to arrive in Morocco. Don't stress too much about packing. You'll pack things you don't need and you'll forget things that you wanted to bring. Care packages are always something to look forward too and the flat rate boxes can be sent to Morocco!! Just keep in mind, everything you bring you're going to have to carry around - a lot. It seems daunting to have to pack for 2 years in 2 bags but its not so bad. Soon enough you'll be used to wearing the same thing for three days and showering every other day or once a week. My advice, don't spend so much time packing. Spend your time with friends and family. You'll do just fine with whatever ends up making it into your bags.

See you guys in Morocco!!!

Happy Anniversary Peace Corps!!

2011-03-01T11:39:00.001-06:00

Check out the link below to see the Presidential Proclamation issued by President Obama. I am very honored that I have been able to be a part of this amazing organization. We ARE making a difference, even if we may not see it during our service.

http://m.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/02/28/presidential-proclamation-50th-anniversary-peace-corps

There are several other milestones approaching in my Peace Corps service. On March 18th, it will mark 3 years since I first landed in Albania and began this whole adventure. March 16th marks 6 months for me in Morocco. I still remember when I first landed in Albania. As we were making our descent, I looked out the window and saw a donkey on the side of the runway. I remember thinking, "Where the heck am I?!" Little did I know little things like that were the reason I loved Albania so much. When we landed in Morocco I was blown away by how big the airport was. Next to Tirana, it was huge! Then there were the drives from the airports to the hub sites. I stayed awake for most of the drive in Albania but I fell asleep on the bus in Morocco. My beginnings seem like they were only yesterday and then I think about what it must have been like for the first group of PCV's to leave for their countries. So much has happened since PC was first started and there is still so much to do!

Congratulations to everyone who has served, is serving or will serve with PC. You have done/are doing/will do great things!!

Variables

2011-02-27T13:42:00.000-06:00

Every Peace Corps experience is different. No two volunteers will do the same things or take back the same experiences or feeling of their host country. Even one volunteer who does two services will have two completely different experiences. There is no way to determine how your experience will go but there are things that can influence how good of a service it will be. This past week at post pre-service training (PPST) I though about several of the factors that influenced my first service and are now shaping my second.

Language. One of my biggest fears when I arrived in Albania was language. PC puts all its volunteers through extensive language training. At the end of PST in Albania I was confident with where my language skills were. At site, not many people spoke English so most work was done in Albanian. My friends and I talked in Albanian and they are the ones who taught me slang and different dialects. At the end of my service in Albania, I was close to fluent.

Here in Morocco, I also had extensive language training. It is different here though because they teach us in transliteration. Meaning, I was only taught how to speak in Darija. I was not taught how to read and write Arabic script. This is also because Darija is a spoken language. When Moroccans write they use Fussah or classical Arabic. At the end of training however, I again felt fairly confident with my language skills. I have almost been in country for 6 months now and I feel as though my Darija has improved slightly but the main problem is that most people in my site speak another language; Tashalheet. Tashalheet is a Berber language. I have started to learn it but I am not even conversational yet. It will take time and I have high hopes that my language will be just as good at the end of my service here as it was in Albania.

There is a saying that I like to say to myself sometimes as a motivator; speak to a man in your language and touch his head. Speak to a man in his language and touch his heart. I truly believe that in order for me to make a positive impact on my community I should speak to them in Tashalheet. Tashalheet and Darija are much more difficult than Albanian but I have full confidence that in another six months I will be having full length conversations with people in taxis and on the bus. I am really looking forward to it.

Appearance

Another key factor in how your service in PC goes. In Albania, I was able to blend in as an Albanian. When I was able to speak the language well, that also helped. Many people would start conversations with me in Albania and would not know that I was American until I asked them to repeat a word I didn't understand. Being able to blend into my community also lowered the amount of harassment I received. After the first few weeks in site, everyone knew who I was and what I was doing in their town. The joke was that I was the celebrity of Lezha.

Here in Morocco, there is not a chance that I will ever be mistaken for Moroccan. My skin is too light and my eyes are too green. Even if I wrapped my head or wore a lizar, people would know by looking at my freckles and green eyes that I do not come from around here. At this point, my language isn't good enough for me to pretend that I am from here either. For this reason, I get a lot of unwanted attention. Boys love to yell out "bonjour!" or blow kisses to me as I walk by. I would love to say it is because I am the most beautiful girl they have ever seen but the truth is that that is how they act around foreign women. In my town it is not as common. People are starting to get to know me and I have a tutor who likes to confront people who give me any problems. While traveling this past week, I was reminded of the fact that I am an outsider. Morocco is not my home even though my site is starting to feel like it.

Flexibility. One of the most useful characteristics for a volunteer to have is flexibility. Plans change fast for volunteers whether it is a project they are working on, cultural differences or just the weather. In Albania, it took me awhile to adjust to 'Albanian time'. Here in Morocco, people run on 'Moroccan time' which is very similar to 'Albanian time'. I have seen how hard it has been to adjust for some of my fellow volunteers and it reminds me of the trouble I had in Albania. I remember several times going to a meeting at a cafe on time and waiting for 30 minutes for the other person, or people, to arrive. I am going to start a new rule with my students, if you're 10 minutes late, you're not coming to class. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cultural differences are huge between American culture and most countries where PCV's serve. Some differences that are the most challenging are, waiting until the last minute to finish a project or not finishing a project until after the due date. Due dates are always being moved around. The new d.c. in my site has been finished for a year and a half and it sits unused. Just today, I found out it is finally going to open this week. Only a year and a half behind schedule, whoo hoo!! Things like this are the norm here and being able to 'just go with the flow' has been an incredibly valuable skill to have. In Albania, I was at the end of my string several times because of deadlines not being met or due dates being moved back. I'm not sure how I'll handle re-integrating into the American workplace but I'll worry about that later.

Weather can be a big factor on how your PC experience goes. If you're from Wisconsin where you are used to frigid winters and mild summers, being sent to live in the desert for two years can be extremely challenging. Especially when you're required to be fully covered in the 120+ heat. Same goes for people who are used to hot weather and are placed in the mountains where it doesn't get much hotter than 70 on a good summer day. Another factor is rain. In America nothing closes because of a little rain. Only when we have floods are things interrupted. Outside America, a little rain can be devastating. Things might close because there isn't a full roof or the roof leaks or the power goes out when it rains. There are so many things that the weather can have an impact on and your PC experience is definitely one of them.

These are just three of the variables that I have found have made my two experiences different up to this point. There are many other reasons why they are different, politics, religion, culture, location just to name a few. Talking to my fellow PCV's at PPST reminded me of a lot of the reasons why everyone has such different experiences in PC. Another key factor is this, your PC experience is what YOU make it. If you want it to be a great experience that you will never forget, you will make sure that it is. PC has been great for me and I loved my experience in Albania and am now truly starting to appreciate my time here in Morocco. The YD program manager said this, "Don't look at challenges as a problem but instead as an opportunity." The variables I mentioned are just that, challenges that are waiting to be opportunities.

Morocco How To #1: Bucket Baths

2011-02-11T14:03:00.000-06:00

Bucket baths can be very enjoyable if taken properly. As I was describing them to a friend back home, it became apparent that not everyone knows how to take a bucket bath let alone what a bucket bath is. I will now explain what a bucket bath is and how one should properly take one.

Introducing Layla's Moroccan How To!

Moroccan How to #1: Bucket Baths

What is is? A bucket bath is a system of cleaning ones self (or rinsing the first layer of dirt and grime off) when a shower is not present. It involves heating a kettle of water and pouring it over ones self.

Materials needed: Large bucket, small bucket(preferably one with a handle) or cup, small stool, kettle, water, shampoo, soap
Use as Needed: razor, washcloth, brush, conditioner, lotion, towel

Step 1: Heat a kettle of water. The amount of water you heat will depend on preference. For the extremely cold days, I recommend two kettles. For warmer days, one should be sufficient.

Step 2: Pour heated water into a large bucket.

Step 3: Fill rest of bucket with tap water (unheated) or well water (purified) until it reaches a comfortable temperature.

Step 4: Begin by sitting on small stool and using small bucket or cup to wet hair and body.

Step 5: Shampoo hair and soap body. This is where you may want to use the razor and washcloth. To reach all those hard to get spots, standing up will be necessary.

Step 6: Rinse using small bucket or cup.

Step 7: If needed, condition hair.

Step 8: Rinse using small bucket or cup.

Step 9: Remaining water in large bucket can be used at your discretion. I like to pour it over my head because then I feel like I'm taking a shower.

Step 10: Towel dry or if no towel is present, air dry. Use lotion and brush as necessary.

You're done!

I hope this 'how to' has clarified what a bucket bath is and how to enjoy one. Next time on Layla's Moroccan How to: how to wrap a lizar. If you've enjoyed this 'how to', let me know and stay tuned for more!

SUNpocalypse!

2011-02-04T15:05:00.000-06:00

Not having a television and a meteorologist to tell me what weather would be like, I was unprepared for the weather I would be facing when I left my apartment the other day. I had heard from other people that the weather had become disastrous back home in America. Where I am, I knew that it wouldn't be the same as what my friends and family were preparing for but I had a feeling it would be bad. I prepared for the worst and I braced myself for whatever laid outside my door.

This is what I walked out into.......

No one could have prepared me for this type of bombardment of sun! If I had known I would have put on sunblock! I would have worn lighter clothes! Instead, I ended up walking around, picking up color every second, waiting for the breeze to cool me down just a little and wishing I had brought my water bottle. It was horrible. Where was the meteorologist to tell me that it would be this sunny?? Why didn't he warn me it would be this hot?? Meteorologists of the world, you have failed me. It has been like this now for a long time. I ask you, when will I get a reprieve?

This weather has been so bad that other people in my town have started referring to it as a sunpocalypse. It's the beginning of the end. I only hope that all of you, my friends and family, are doing well and are staying inside where you are safe from the pounding sun.

Places Around Town

2011-01-27T12:28:00.000-06:00

Looking at one of the neighborhoods up on the hill through an unfinished wall.

Looking back at some storm clouds.

Fun tree to sit under.

That donkey was totally looking down at me.

Looking back at town.

I can see the ocean!

Meat Lover Living in Vegetarian Heaven

2011-01-21T06:26:00.000-06:00

So many PCV's face a very difficult situation when transitioning from life in the states to their country of service. It's one that not many of them think about or they do think about it and say, "No, that won't be a problem for me." Well, sometimes it just happens and they don't even realize it until one day they are thinking about making a meal and they can't find the meat. That's right. I'm talking about meat lovers becoming vegetarians.

In America, I would never pass up on a piece of meat. Give me sausages, hamburgers, steak or chicken any day and I will gladly eat it. I'm not saying I would go out of my way to make sure that I had meat, I'm just saying I enjoyed eating it when it was around. I enjoyed my fair share of pasta dishes and breakfast entrees that did not include any meat at all. During my homestay with two different Moroccan families, I was never denied meat. In fact, I usually was given more than anyone else as a sign of respect. My first host mom catered weddings and would always bring home a few chickens and any extra meat. My second host mom would always push her portion of meat into my triangle of the tajine. I didn't really think about what would happen when I moved into my own apartment and started cooking for myself again.

For the past 3 weeks, I have been living off of pasta, rice, eggs and vegetables. Everyday I eat a huge salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, green pepper and onions. It is absolutely delicious and filling! I can't go a day without eating eggs. Since I have soy sauce, I enjoy eating rice with stir fried green peppers and zucchini. I've made vegetable soup a few times with chick peas or rice, and its enough to last me a few days. Finish the meal with a little bit of bread on the side, mmmmmmmmmm, so good!

I have yet to go to a butcher in my site. Partly because I'm scared and partly because I don't really miss meat. I've seen one butcher that I might be tempted to try but all the other ones are home to a severe lack of hygiene. I know that I won't die (most likely) from eating meat from any of them but still, it grosses me out slightly. I haven't had a day yet where I'm like, "Beef, it's what's for dinner." The day most likely will come but for now I am enjoying my veggies. So with that said, if anyone has good vegetarian recipes, send them my way!

Co-Founder of Peace Corps, Sargent Shriver Dies

2011-01-20T05:57:00.000-06:00

Back in 1960, a young Sargent Shriver was talking to a Senator from Massachusetts about an idea. An idea to have Americans serve their country by helping those in under developed nations. This idea of an army of peace was first publicly announced at the University of Michigan on October 14th, 1960, during a presidential campaign speech. The Senator was of course, John F. Kennedy who became the 35th President. The Peace Corps was established on March 1st, 1961 and authorized by Congress on September 22nd, 1961. Sargent Shriver served as the first director from 1961 to 1966.

This past Tuesday, Sargent Shriver died at the age of 95. The following is the article published in The New York Times.

R. Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Leader, Dies at 95
By ROBERT D. McFADDEN
R. Sargent Shriver, the Kennedy in-law who became the founding director of the Peace Corps, the architect of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty, a United States ambassador to France and the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1972, died on Tuesday in Bethesda, Md. He was 95.

His family announced his death in a statement.

Mr. Shriver was found to have Alzheimer’s disease in 2003 and on Sunday was admitted to Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, where he died. He had been in hospice care in recent months after his estate in Potomac, Md., was sold last year.

White-haired and elegantly attired, he attended the inauguration of his son-in-law, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as the Republican governor of California in the fall of 2003. Mr. Schwarzenegger is married to Maria Shriver, a former NBC News correspondent.

But in recent years, as his condition deteriorated, Mr. Shriver was seldom seen in public. He emerged in one instance to attend the funeral of his wife of 56 years, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sister of John F. Kennedy; she died in 2009 in Hyannis, Mass., at the age of 88.

As a Kennedy brother-in-law, Mr. Shriver was bound inextricably to one of the nation’s most powerful political dynasties. It was an association with enormous advantages, thrusting him to prominence in a series of seemingly altruistic missions. But it came with handicaps, relegating him to the political background and to a subordinate role in the family history.

“Shriver’s relationship with the Kennedys was complex,” Scott Stossel wrote in “Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver,” a 2004 biography. “They buoyed him up to heights and achievements he would never otherwise have attained — and they held him back, thwarting his political advancement.”

The book, as well as reports in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications, suggested that Mr. Shriver’s hopes to run for governor of Illinois in 1960 and vice president in 1964 and 1968 were abandoned to help promote, or at least not compete with, Kennedy aspirations. Mr. Shriver’s vice-presidential race in 1972, on a ticket with Senator George S. McGovern, and a brief primary run for president in 1976 were crushed by the voters.

Mr. Shriver was never elected to any national office. To political insiders, his calls for public service in the 1960s seemed quixotic at a time when America was caught up in a war in Vietnam, a cold war with the Soviet Union and civil rights struggles and urban riots at home. But when the fogs of war and chaos cleared years later, he was remembered by many as a last vestige of Kennedy-era idealism.

“Sarge came to embody the idea of public service,” President Obama said in a statement.

Mr. Shriver’s impact on American life was significant. On the stage of social change for decades, he brought President Kennedy’s proposal for the Peace Corps to fruition in 1961 and served as the organization’s director until 1966. He tapped into a spirit of volunteerism, and within a few years thousands of young Americans were teaching and working on public health and development projects in poorer countries around the world.

After the president’s assassination in 1963, Mr. Shriver’s decision to remain in the Johnson administration alienated many of the Kennedys, especially Robert, who remained as the United States attorney general for months but whose animus toward his brother’s successor was profound. Mr. Shriver’s responsibilities deepened, however. In 1964, Johnson persuaded him to take on the administration’s war on poverty, a campaign embodied in a vast new bureaucracy, the Office of Economic Opportunity.

From 1965 to 1968, Mr. Shriver, who disdained bureaucracies as wasteful and inefficient, was director of that agency, a post he held simultaneously with his Peace Corps job until 1966. The agency created antipoverty programs like Head Start, the Job Corps, Volunteers in Service to America, the Community Action Program and Legal Services for the Poor. (The Office of Economic Opportunity was dismantled in 1973, but many of its programs survived in other agencies.)

In 1968, Johnson named Mr. Shriver ambassador to France. It was a time of strained relations. President Charles de Gaulle had recognized Communist China, withdrawn French forces from NATO’s integrated military command and denounced American involvement in Indochina. But Mr. Shriver established a working rapport with de Gaulle and was credited with helping to improve relations.

Mr. Shriver returned to the United States in 1970 to work for Democrats in the midterm elections and to reassess his own political prospects. His long-awaited break came two years later when Senator McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee, picked him as his running mate. Mr. McGovern’s first choice, Senator Thomas F. Eagleton, was dropped after revelations that he had received electroshock therapy for depression.

The McGovern-Shriver ticket lost in a landslide to the incumbent Republicans, Richard M. Nixon and Spiro T. Agnew. Four years later, Mr. Shriver ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, pledging a renewal of ethics after the Watergate scandal that drove Nixon from the White House. But Mr. Shriver was knocked out in the primaries and ended his political career.

In later years, he was a rainmaker for an international law firm, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, retiring in 1986. He was also active in the Special Olympics, founded by his wife for mentally disabled athletes, and he continued his work with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, an advocacy organization he founded in Chicago in 1967 as the National Clearinghouse for Legal Services.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded Mr. Shriver the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ten years earlier, President Ronald Reagan conferred the same award on Eunice Shriver. They were the only husband and wife to win the nation’s highest civilian honor individually.

In 2008, PBS broadcast a documentary, “American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver.” A children’s book by Maria Shriver, “What’s Happening to Grandpa?,” was published in 2004, explaining the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. In May 2009, HBO presented a four-part documentary on Alzheimer’s. Ms. Shriver was the executive producer of one segment, “Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?”

Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., known as Sarge from childhood, was born in Westminster, Md., on Nov. 9, 1915, the son of his namesake, a banker, and Hilda Shriver. His forebears, called Schreiber, immigrated from Germany in 1721. One ancestor, David Shriver, was a signer of Maryland’s 1776 Constitution. The Shrivers, like the Kennedys, were Roman Catholics and socially prominent, but not especially affluent.

On scholarships, he attended Canterbury, a Catholic boarding prep school in New Milford, Conn. — John F. Kennedy was briefly a schoolmate — and Yale University, graduating with honors in 1938. He earned a Yale law degree in 1941 and joined the Navy shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor, becoming an officer on battleships and submarines in the Atlantic and the Pacific and winning a Purple Heart for wounds he sustained at Guadalcanal.

After the war, he joined Newsweek as an editor. He met Eunice Kennedy at a dinner party, and she introduced him to her father, Joseph P. Kennedy. In 1946, Joseph Kennedy hired him to help manage his recently acquired Merchandise Mart in Chicago, then the world’s largest commercial building. In Chicago, Mr. Shriver not only turned a profit for the mart but also plunged into Democratic politics.

After a seven-year courtship, Mr. Shriver and Ms. Kennedy were married by Cardinal Francis Spellman at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York in 1953.

In addition to his daughter, Maria, Mr. Shriver’s survivors include four sons, Robert Sargent Shriver III of Santa Monica, Calif.; Timothy, of Chevy Chase, Md.; Mark, of Bethesda, Md.; and Anthony, of Miami; and 19 grandchildren.

Mr. Shriver’s relationships with the Kennedys were widely analyzed by the news media, not least because of his own political potential. He looked like a movie star, with a flashing smile, dark hair going gray and the kind of muscled, breezy athleticism that went with tennis courts and sailboats. Like the Kennedys, he was charming but not self-revealing, a quick study but not reflective. Associates said he could be imperious, but his knightly public image became indelible.

He took root in Chicago. In 1954, he was appointed to the city’s Board of Education, and a year later became its president. In 1955, he also became president of the Catholic Interracial Council, which fought discrimination in housing, education and other aspects of city life. By 1959, he had become so prominent in civic affairs that he was being touted as a Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois in 1960.

Mr. Shriver did nothing to discourage reports that he was considering a run. But with the rest of the Kennedy clan, he joined John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign. As he and other family members acknowledged later, the patriarch, Joseph Kennedy, had told him that a separate Shriver race that year would be a distraction. So he resigned from the Chicago school board and became a campaign coordinator in Wisconsin and West Virginia and a principal contact with minorities.

As the election approached, the campaign learned that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been sentenced in Georgia to four months of hard labor for what amounted to a minor traffic violation. Mr. Shriver suggested that Senator Kennedy call a distraught Coretta Scott King, who was terrified that her husband might be killed in prison. His reassuring call, and another by Robert F. Kennedy to a judge in Georgia that led to Dr. King’s release, helped produce a windfall of black support for Kennedy.

Senator Kennedy broached the idea for a volunteer corps in a speech at the University of Michigan and crystallized it as the Peace Corps in an appearance in San Francisco. Mr. Shriver, who as a young man had guided American students on work-and-learn programs in Europe, seemed a natural to initiate it.

After the inauguration, Mr. Shriver, who scouted talent for the incoming administration — people who came to be known as “the best and the brightest” — was assigned to the task of designing the Peace Corps, which was established by executive order in March 1961.

As director, he laid the foundations for what arguably became the most lasting accomplishment of the Kennedy presidency. As the Peace Corps approaches its 50th anniversary this year, more than 200,000 Americans have served as corps volunteers in 139 countries.

Break mirrors, Mr. Shriver advised graduating students at Yale in 1994. “Yes, indeed,” he said. “Shatter the glass. In our society that is so self-absorbed, begin to look less at yourself and more at each other. Learn more about the face of your neighbor and less about your own.”

Peace Corps is my Security Blanket

2011-01-15T07:34:00.000-06:00

When we're little, we sometimes have something that we don't go anywhere without. A stuffed animal or a blanket. These things help us get through those scary moments. Like when we're going to bed and we're not sure if mom and dad got all the monsters out from under our bed. Well, I'm a little too old to carry either around with me at all times but I don't go anywhere without my cell. PC is always just a phone call away so I guess that makes them my security blanket now. I haven't had to call them to check for monsters under my bed but I guess I'll keep them on speed dial, just in case anything monster like shows up.

There have been several news pieces recently released about the safety of volunteers in the Peace Corps. I have not been able to see all of them since I have limited internet access but I have heard enough about them to know that family and friends may now be concerned for me. This blog will let you know a bit more about how the safety and security department of PC works and how my safety has been during my time with PC. If any of you worry about my safety while I'm serving as a volunteer, hopefully this blog post will put those fears away.

Peace Corps number one concern is for the safety and security of its volunteers. So far in my 2+ years with PC, I have seen that supported with many different activities. In Albania, I was the warden of my region. The warden and alternative warden act as a liaison between PC staff and PCV's in case of an emergency. As a warden, I was called several time to check on the status of events happening in my town or surrounding area. When there were protests in my site, I was called to see if they were peaceful or turning into riots. They would also check to see if any roads were closed because of them or if they were impacting any part of my daily life. Thankfully, the protests never became riots but PC always called to check and make sure that I was safe.

Also as a warden, I was responsible for executing what is known as a communications and consolidation test. The communications test was to ensure that all PCV's in my region had access to a phone line. Not just a cell phone, as we were all issued one when we arrived in country but a landline as well. The consolidation test was to make sure that all PCV's in my region knew the best route to get from their site to mine. When volunteers first move to their site, they are required to fill out a form called the site locator. On this form, PCV's must write down the contact information for the nearest health center, police, a community member who would be able to contact you if for some reason PC can't and the number of someone with a personal car who would be able to drive you somewhere in case of an emergency. PC keeps all these on file and PCV's are required to update them when any information changes. Also on this form, PCV's must draw a map of how to get to their house in case PC ever needed to come and pick you up. This proved useful as in January of 2010 I was consolidated to Tirana because of flooding.

I remember the 2nd of January because I was at a wedding and I kept getting all of these texts from other PCV's asking me if I was staying dry. At first I thought it was just because it had been raining for what seemed like 2 months straight. Later I got a text from another PCV saying he saw the flooding in my site on the news and it looked bad. I didn't think too much about it until the next day. My safety and security manager called me to ask about the situation in my site. I hadn't been outside yet so I looked out my window and told her what I saw. She told me it looked like the flooding was starting to recede based on the reports from the US embassy but to be prepared just in case they decided to pull me out of site. About 4 hours later, my country director called me to tell me they were on their way to get me, to pack a bag and be ready to leave. I called the other PCV's that needed to be ready and we packed our bags and were picked up an hour later by PC land cruisers. The flooding ended up not affecting my site much more that a flooded river but the PCV's to the north of me were lucky they got out when they did. PC made the decision to pull us out because they found out the dam gates had not been tested since the 80's and they weren't sure they would be able to open them. The next day, they opened the dam gates, and the flooding began to recede. We stayed in the capitol for 5 days before returning to site.

As volunteers, we are taken out of our comfort zone and put into situations that not everyone can handle. The most basic example is this; being a foreigner in a small conservative town. In Albania I did not stand out. In fact, most people thought I was Albanian. Here in Morocco, I am definitely different. It doesn't matter how well I learn the language, I will never pass for Moroccan. In my site, people know I am foreign. Everyday I get "bonjour!" or other sayings in French. I also get whistled at and sometimes they will say say sexual things to me. I don't worry about my safety though. That behavior is guys being guys. There are enough people in my site that know who I am and will protect me if anything ever does go wrong. There was a man in my town that I would pass daily and we would have the basic "how are you", "I'm good thanks, how's your family?" conversation. One day he tells me he knows a guy that would be perfect for me. I tell him no thanks, I'm here to work not to find a husband. He brings it up everyday for about a week and goes to the point of telling the guy to wait for me on the street because he know's I'll walk by on my way to work. I tell my tutor about it and 2 minutes later, the entire staff of the dar chbab has him surrounded and is telling him that he is to never talk to me about men again. I've seen him one time since and he didn't go past the basic polite "how are you", "I'm fine thanks, how's your family?". So I might not like all the attention I get in my site but I do not worry about it becoming a problem.

Sometimes volunteers are in places where the unwanted attention becomes too much. They feel threatened and they no longer feel as though it is an issue that can be solved. I know of volunteers who were in a situation like that and PC moved them. Took a little time to get all the logistics worked out but those volunteers were moved as soon as possible to a better site. There are also volunteers who do not want to leave their site. Or they are at a point in their service where moving sites would not be beneficial for them or their future communities. Those volunteers are given the option to leave with the full support of PC staff. When it becomes a matter of safety, PC does not fool around.

I have never in my time with PC felt unsafe. I have had issues for sure, all volunteers do. Never has an issue gone beyond something that I, with help from my friends in community or PC staff have not been able to resolve. When I started having problems with my neighbors at my house in Albania, they helped me to move into a better location. When I was sick beyond the point of being able to get myself to a medical facility, they came and got me. When I needed help in the beginning to explain why I wasn't able to do something that I was being pressured to do, PC stepped in and explained the situation. The first few days in Morocco, we had a huge team of police watching us as we explored the city we were staying in. As of now, I haven't had any issues in Morocco (except the one guy trying to set me up but that was taken care of quickly). I know that if anything does happen, PC will be there to help me. I do not worry for my safety and I will not start worrying for my safety. PC will look out for me. My time with them has done nothing but prove that statement.

So, as you can hopefully all see, you do not need to worry about me. I have the best security blanket to keep me safe from all the scary things that I may see.

A Place to Rest My Head

2011-01-12T11:25:00.012-06:00

A look at my new apartment in Morocco. I don't know how I lucked out twice. I ended up in a very luxurious apartment in Albania and now here I am again in an amazing apartment. I must have done something very good earlier in my life :)

One half of my apartment.

Living room.

Kitchen.

Bedroom.

Hope you enjoyed the tour. I am ready for visitors so let me know when you're coming!

Tales From a Party Bus

2011-01-10T11:30:00.002-06:00

Sometimes you just know when you're going to have a good day. It can be because you wake up feeling refreshed or you have just enough milk to eat with your cereal or maybe you realize the shirt you want to wear isn't dirty. There are many reasons for people to just know that any particular day will be good. Today I knew it was going to be a good day when I was told to board a bus going up to the road where the king would be passing by. Not just any bus though, a party bus.

After about a week or so of people giving me different answers for when the King was going to come, where he was going to be and what exactly was the reason for his trip to the south, I woke up earlier than usual this morning to meet my host mom and her association to go to see the King. I was told to meet at her association at 9, so a few minutes after 9 I walked over. Knowing that there was no way they would leave at 9 I arrived seconds before the kids. Perfect timing, or so I thought. We then sat around for about 30 minutes while some of the kids got permission to miss the rest of the morning classes. Just before 10, we piled into a big van and drove over to the qaida (the building where the Kings' representation in Massa works). It seemed like most of the town was all gathered there. That's when I became very confused.

I knew the King wasn't coming to Mango but everyone was gathered and ready for him to pass by on the main road. I asked my host mom why everyone was there. She told me that everyone was meeting at the qaida and then we would all drive up the road together. I felt like I was back in high school going on a field trip with my entire school. Around 10:15, someone got on a blow horn and told everyone we were heading out. My host mom and I, got into a car to head back to El Kharij and meet our students. We see the van and pull over and at that exact moment, the van drives off. We get back into the same car and head back to the qaida. On the way, we saw my site mate and picked her up. At the qaida, we were directed towards a bus and I immediately became excited.

On the bus were 20 or so kids from my host mom's association with drums and cymbals. Oh yeah, it was the party bus! The entire trip we were singing and clapping and laughing. Moroccans really like to dance and they don't need much room to do it. We arrived at the corner where the King would be passing and after maneuvering the bus into a parking spot, we were directed by no less than 5 people as to where we should stand. We were put at the end of one of the barricades which was a great spot. There weren't too many people and there was a little shade for the kids who wanted to sit down. We ended up waiting for the King to pass for almost an hour. First, there was a fly over by a single helicopter, then there was a motorcade of police motorcycles and numerous shiny black cars before the King's limo and 2 more helicopters passed by.

All I can say is thank goodness this is January. We ended up waiting for the King to turn around and make pass number 2. From 12 - 2:15, we waited in the direct sun with our pictures of the King and Moroccan flags to cool us down. Luckily there were people looking out for myself and my site mate from the numerous boys and men starting at us and talking about us in French. I enjoy it when people I know give people staring at me a hard time. I wish I didn't need people to stand up for me but unfortunately in this society, staring is not rude and is just something I have to deal with. More and more people are becoming used to me in my site so its not as bad there but when I leave site it picks up. Anyways, the King made pass number two and I can safely say he was waving directly at me :D

Back to the party bus. After seeing the King pass by our corner twice, we filled back onto our party bus. The ride back to town was slightly eventful as my host dad ended up kicking a kid off the bus for inappropriate language. I was so happy to call him host dad at that moment. The rest of the trip was passed with more singing and dancing and laughing. It's always a good time on the party bus.

As for everything else, life here in Mango is going very well. I am all moved into my new apartment and am enjoying my independence. My classes are highly attended and I am seeing people on the street that I know more and more. Feels good to be back in the swing of things. My holidays were also very enjoyable and I hope that all of you had a great holiday season and that 2011 is treating you well. Look back soon for another update and more pictures!

Finding My Footing

2010-12-14T12:52:00.004-06:00

When you first get to your site as a PCV, it can be extremely difficult to find your place. Once you swear in, you no longer have someone from PC to hold your hand every step of the way. It is entirely up to you to figure out what to work on and with whom. Now of course, they give you a little push to help in the beginning. When you receive your site placement, they include a partner organization, a supervisor and a brief idea of what type of projects to work on in your site. This by no means is the only place you'll be working or the only type of projects you'll be working on. Many PCV's want to get a running start when they get to site and because they don't really know what to do, they wear themselves out very fast.

I arrived in "Mango" about two weeks ago and during these past two weeks I have been focusing on studying Darija, meeting anyone who comes to my host family's house, and taking the time to get to know anyone who I end up interacting with while they help me apply for my carte de sejour, or help me in the hanut while I'm trying to act out what I'm looking for (it was a sponge). Until yesterday, I felt pretty invisible in site. That is to say, I felt like I walked the streets and only got attention because people recognized I am not Moroccan. Yesterday, however, people actually came up to me on the street to say hi and I knew who they were. Going from not knowing anyone of the street to greeting six people in one day made me feel like I'm starting to make my place in site.

I contribute that mainly to going to my host mom's association the past two Sundays. My host mom (who is awesome) is the president of an association called "Golden Fingers". They teach school age children music every Sunday. The best part of the association in my opinion is that high school and university students run the classes. I was overwhelmed by how responsible and focused the teachers are. My amazement didn't end there though, the kids who attend on Sunday also participate in teaching and leading the songs. There was one girl, I'm guessing she was probably 13, was playing the drum and she got up and lead several songs by herself. I've enjoyed getting to know the teachers and some of the students from the association and look forward to participating in their activities.

A few of the PCV's from my staaj started teaching December 1st and I have yet to start anything yet. However, I met my first group of students last Saturday. They are in their first year of English and I will be co-teaching with a university student. Another group I will start teaching this week is the teachers from my host mom's association. In two days, I went from having no students to having 12. My host mom and several other women who help with the association would also like to learn some English so there's my 3rd class.

My time in site is getting better and better by the day. Beth, my sitemate, and I were invited to Sidi Wassay last Saturday for a seafood lunch on the beach. A French woman who live's in Beth's neighborhood drove us out to the camping site where the man who helped Beth find her apartment worked. We spent four hours on the beach, enjoying the weather, getting to know some new friends and eating a delicious and free lunch. The owner invited us back out for another lunch and told us we can stay there as well. You better believe come summer I will be there a lot!

I think it's safe to say that I am finding my place. I am making friends, finding work and getting a feel for what type of secondary projects would be possible. I'm not waking up in the morning now thinking "what am I going to do today?". When I wake up now its "what should I do first?". I'm reminded of the book "Three Cups of Tea". The author makes a statement which goes something like this, "The first cup of tea, you are a stranger. The second cup, you are a friend. The third cup, you are family." I've been doing my fair share of tea drinking but I'll take another one now please :)

Thanksgiving Day and Lots to be Thankful For

2010-11-25T16:19:00.003-06:00

Today is just another day like most other days in the life of a PCV but today is Thanksgiving and there are many things that I am thankful for. Yesterday I swore in as a PCV so I am thankful I have made it through another intensive and hard PC training. I had my LPI (language proficiency interview) and I received a score of intermediate mid which means I learned enough to swear in. It's also the same level I received when I swore in as a PCV in Albania so that makes me hopeful that my language will be just as good by the time I leave Morocco as when I left Albania, inshallah. I am so happy that I had a wonderful CBT site and sitemates and even though we parted ways today I know that they will be involved in the next 2 years of PC life. I can't thank everyone who participated in training and forget to mention my amazing LCF, Haddou. Without Haddou, training would have been very difficult and not nearly as entertaining.

I am so thankful for the opportunities I have had so far in my life. Serving as a PCV in Albania, now serving as a PCV in Morocco, being surrounded by amazing friends, having the opportunity to learn different languages and cultures first hand, traveling around the world, and having a family who supports me through it all. I wish I was better at telling people how much they mean to me on a more regular basis but I guess you have to start somewhere. So far all of you out there, and you know who you are, thank you for being a part of my life, for influencing my life, for teaching me the important things in life and thank you for supporting me through thick and thin.

Tomorrow I will make it to my final site and start my service. I am excited to get there and start things. There are going to be some long days ahead but I'm ready. There are so many things I have yet to learn but this is why I'm here. I was ready for a new challenge and Morocco has indeed given me challenges. I got this whole PC thing. Two years, no problem. Time to go save the world..... again.

Let's Get this Show on the Road!

2010-11-14T09:28:00.005-06:00

PST is almost over….. again. I think that I have mentioned that PST has not been as bad as I thought it would be the 2nd time around. True it has been draining as the last time was but I have felt better prepared to handle the stress that comes with learning a new language, living in an entirely new culture and living while every move I make is monitored. This time I have known when it was time for me to barricade myself in my room and take a mental break from it all. It may not have been the best move to integrate in my family but it worked well for me and my host family loves me. At least I think so ☺

We returned from site visit last week and met up in Fes before all heading back to our CBT sites. Everyone had a great site visit for the most part. Only a few people had concerns and complaints about their future homes. A huge success since there are so many of us. Everyone is now excited to get to their sites and start working. Roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty so to speak. My site is going to be amazing and I know there will be lots of work to do. Hopefully not long after I get down there, my new dar shbab will open up and I’ll have even more work to keep it all going. The thing I worry about most is how conservative my site is. I will not be able to wear shirts above my elbow if I want to be respected in my town and want to teach any kids at all. It will take some getting used to but it will be fine.

Right now we are still in our CBTs. Here in mine it has been crazy since this last week the king came to open the new dar shbab among other things. We all were supposed to do individual activities this week which has been close to impossible since everyone is too preoccupied standing in the streets to get a glimpse of the king. We made some progress the other day and were able to get a few things done but not all of us have. To add to the craziness, next week is leid kbir – the biggest celebration that Morocco has. We will not have school for two days on account of we will be with our families eating sheep, and visiting the entire neighborhood where there will be more sheep to eat. It will be interesting to see how the whole thing goes. There will be pictures later for sure.

Overall, that is about all. Lots of things are going on but not too much to mention at the moment. Next week we will be leaving our CBT’s and gathering all together for some last minute sessions before swearing in on the 24th in Rabat! It’s so exciting to almost be done with all this and get going. I’m also really excited to see all the PCT’s from the SBD sector. I haven’t seen really any of them since leaving for CBT. It’s going to be a long week but it will all be worth it once I’m a PCV again.

And my new home is......

2010-11-14T09:22:00.002-06:00

I wrote this blog right after site placement and am now posting for your enjoyment....

Site placement day has come and gone. For anyone who has ever gone through site placement day, you know the amount of excitement, anxiety, and fear that every PCT has that day. This site placement day was different from my last one in Albania in several good ways. I had absolutely no clue where I was going to be this time. I didn’t know north, south, mountains, desert, anything! I knew this time that no matter where my site would end up being it was up to me to make it a good site. Sites are what you make them and this time I knew that. I also knew that I had told my program managers, aka the A team, everything that was important to me in order to have a successful service. My life was in their hands so to speak.

On Friday, all of us YD volunteers tried to concentrate on all our sessions through the day to get to our 6pm site announcements. It was a very long day. After some admin and health sessions, we had to sit through committee elections (I’m the 2nd alternative for VAC) and then we had over an hour to kill before our fates would be decided. A group of us decided to walk to McDonalds to kill pre-site announcement jitters. On our walk back, I started getting super excited.

Site announcement was delayed, as it happens in every case, by about an hour. Before they gave us our envelopes with our future homes, they went through some details for our site visits which over half of us would be leaving for the next morning. Finally the moment came to get a simple white envelope with a small strip of paper in it with our names, regions and sites. To draw out the final moment even longer, they handed them out to us instructing us to put them on our heads so that we could all open them together. After what seems life forever, Abdelghanni finally gave the signal to open the envelopes.

Chaos erupted as we all tore open our envelopes and screamed out the names of our final sites. Most of us, myself included, had no idea where their site was but just seeing a name made it real. They put up a map of Morocco with all of our pictures next to our sites after a few minutes and we all ran up to it to figure out where they placed us. Now imagine my surprise when I went up to the board and saw my name, one of two, at a site right next to the Atlantic. How have I been so lucky two times in a row?? I have no idea but I was so happy that I would once again have my body of water for those stressful days. My surprise was well granted because I was told numerous times that volunteers are not placed on the ocean. My new site mate, Beth, is also from Wisconsin. We are definitely the two luckiest trainees in our YD staaj.

Saturday morning we left early for our new site, which for security reasons, I will refer to as Mango. We made it as far as Marrakesh on Saturday and then traveled the rest of the way Sunday. Today is my first full day in Mango and I am so excited to see the town and meet the people. Something I should mention about my town: Darija is not the first language and so I will now have to learn Tashellhet. Most people will speak Darija so at least I will be able to communicate. My host family is super sweet and I’m happy that they will help me integrate once I move down here after swearing-in. There’s a million other things to say about Mango but I will save them for later.

Practice makes Perfect

2010-10-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

A month and a half into training and everything is still going well. This past week we started teaching at our community youth center, or dar shbab. I’ve given two lessons, one to a very advanced group and one to a beginner group. My first lesson went very well. We listened to a story and talked about the moral. Then we did a popcorn story together. One where I gave a sentence, then a student gave another one, then another student gave another one and so on. It went very well and they were able to create a moral for the story. To close, I had them each write their own story and the other students in the class had to come up with what the moral was. Overall, it went very well and I think the students got a lot of it.
My beginner class did not go as well. I decided to teach them animals. To start, I had them do a race to name as many animals in English as they could in 3 minutes. Between the two teams, they named 15 animals. One team had no idea and wrote down the name of members of the group; partially to be funny and partially because they did not understand the exercise. Next, we went over animal vocab. That they got. I tried to challenge them by making similes but that did not go so well. I got answers like “you look like a cat” and “donkey like camel”. Not quite what I was going for but I thought I would try. After that we played animal bingo which went pretty well. I wanted to play a game after where everyone had a piece of paper with an animal on it either in darija (Moroccan Arabic) or English. They would need to find their match but everyone showed their cards instead of keeping it a secret. We did charades instead which did work. The kids were getting into it at the end. Overall, it has been a positive experience up till now and I know some things I will need to work on for my final site.
The dar shbab in general has been great. They have been very helpful for us during our training and making it so that we get the experience needed to be successful volunteers. The kids are also great. The ones we have been working with are very excited to learn English and are actively participating in all our activities. I feel bad that they only have us for a few more weeks. We’re basically a tease to them. They get to work with Americans for two months and then we leave them to find a new way to meet a growing demand for English. Hopefully they can get a volunteer in a year or so.
Other things to mention, this coming Saturday I will find out my permanent site. I’m excited to find out where I will be for the duration of my time here in Morocco and even more excited to start! Going through PST again hasn’t been so bad but it gets frustrating some days hearing the same things that have already been drilled into my head over the past two and a half years. It’s hard going from independent to having every move watched like I’m a teenager again. Next year, I’ll have my independence back and then everything will be wonderful. Just have to keep pushing myself through it. Well, hope everyone is doing well and stay posted for more updates!

So it Begins Again...

2010-10-05T13:25:00.000-05:00

Already two and a half weeks in to my second 27 month service with the Peace Corps in Morocco and there’s lots to tell! I’ll start with a basic overview of what’s happened so far and then I will get into some details. A group of 67 trainees landed in Casablanca on the 15th of September. For the next four days, we were in the ocean side town of Medya. During those four days, we got to know our group, PC staff, and learn about PC Morocco. The high point was definitely going to the beach and playing in the waves. In our staging we have two programs, Youth Development and Small Business Development. I’m in YD with 38 others and there are 29 in SBD. On the 18th, we found out who would be in our CBT (community based training) sites for the duration of training and who our LCF (language and cross cultural facilitator) would be. On the 19th, we left for our CBT sites and met our host families for the first time.
For security reasons, I’m not supposed to post the name of my CBT site so I will just refer to it as Fes since that is our hub site (where all the YD volunteers get together every two weeks). I have five site mates for training; Emily, Abby, Ross, Xavier and Margaret. The other five all live very close to our LCF’s house where we meet Monday through Saturday for language and cross cultural sessions. My family is slightly farther away but is related to Emily’s host family so we see a lot of each other. We have language Monday through Friday from 8:30 until 12:30. Then we have lunch together before doing cross cultural sessions and doing technical training. We go until about 6 each night. Only on Saturday do we finish early at 2. The first two weeks of language have been very intense and my biggest challenge will be pronunciation. It’s only week two so I’m not worried….. yet.
For technical training at this point, we have been going to the dar chabab (youth center) and doing different activities with groups there. We did a community map, seasonal calendar, and a formal interview so far. We were supposed to do daily activities as well but the group we met with were less than cooperative. It happens…. We have one more week of this first stage of technical training and then we begin stage two which is teacher training. A PCV will be coming to our CBT for a week to work with us on how to develop lesson plans, activities to do, etc. We will be very busy until the end of training!
One last note of the technical aspect of training; I will find out my permanent site on October 30th and will be going there for one week October 31st through November 6th. During that time, I will meet with my counterpart, see my host agency, get to know my town a little, and possibly meet my second host family. I will be required to live with a second host family until January 1st.
My host family in my CBT site is pretty awesome. I have a mom, Fatima, a brother, Karim, a sister, Nejwa, and another sister who isn’t really a sister but has lived here since she was 5, Amal. Everyone is very nice to me and Amal speaks some English which is very helpful! The house is very modest. There is a living room, kitchen, bathroom, open space and my bedroom. I feel kinda bad that I have the bedroom to myself and everyone else sleeps in the living room on the couches or on the floor. However, they wanted me to live with them knowing that so I guess I shouldn’t worry. We do have a Turkish toilet and I take shower baths when at home so it’s a bit different. I like my bucket baths though. My bed is more like a table its so hard. I’m getting used to it slowly. Food has been delicious and its always entertaining. Moroccans eat usually eat with their hands/bread rather than silverware. Food is served family style and people take a piece of their bread and dig in. I kinda like it more than eating with silverware but it’s a talent that I will have to develop.
So you can see that life is good so far and I’m adjusting to life here in Morocco. There are a lot of similarities between Albania but I will save those for a later post. Hope everyone is doing well and stay tuned for another update!

First Glimpses of Morocco

2010-10-04T13:17:00.008-05:00

A few pictures to tide everyone over until I can get my blog up. For some reason, they do not have microsoft office in the internet cafe......

Everything is going well though. The language is difficult but I'm learning. Food is good. My host family is awesome and I'm loving it all so far.

Promise to put up new blog soon!

Here We go Again...

2010-09-10T20:16:00.002-05:00

Well two days to go and I'll be off again. I guess that means I should pack. I have all my stuff together I just have to get it into the bags. Tomorrow I guess. It will be a lot easier this time around that's for sure!

Its been a crazy month meeting up with people and getting things taken care of. Everyday I've had a meeting with someone, whether it be a friend, family, old co-workers or potential grad school professor. I've stuffed myself silly with all sorts of delicious American food; cheesecake, sausages, cheese, brownies, mexican, chinese, root beer and chips. It's been delicious but its definitely time to go back to my practically all rice diet.

So to make this short, my travel plans. On Monday, I fly out of Milwaukee to Philly for staging. Basically that means I meet up with the rest of the group and we do intros and do some paperwork. Then on Tuesday, we'll get on buses headed to JFK. We have a direct flight from JFK to Casablanca. Then its 4 days in a hotel to get to know the group, meet PC Morocco staff, start to learn the language and fill out more paperwork. I will be doing PST in a village somewhere around Fes. Sometime in October I should find out my permanent site for the next 2 years.

So I guess this will be my last blog in America and the next one will be from Morocco!! 2 more years?? BRING IT ON!!!

RPCV living in a Invitee world

2010-08-15T09:39:00.005-05:00

As of August 6th I have been an RPCV. What does that mean you may ask?? It means that I have completed my service with Peace Corps Albania and am now back in America. Back in America trying not to offend every one that I meet with my Albanian mannerisms. Back in America being impressed by all the new gadgets that have come out in the past two and a half years that I have missed. Back in America trying to be American.

There's one difference in my situation from most RPCV's. I am only going to be in America for a month. On September 13th I will be leaving for Philadelphia, where I will meet my new training group before we leave for Morocco. It's a little funny for me this time around. I remember when I found out that I was invited to go to Albania. I spent most my time on Facebook asking current volunteers what Albania was like, what should I pack, what should I leave at home, talking to other invitees about what they were packing, what they were leaving at home. There's a group on Facebook for us going to Morocco this September. Reading their posts reminds me of what I went through before heading to Albania.

This time I didn't call the travel agency right after getting the information to book my tickets to Philadelphia. I'm not stressing out over what to pack and what to leave behind. I am not worried about learning the language or fitting into a different culture. I am still extremely excited to go and excited at all the projects that await me, the friends I will make, and the travels I will go on. This time around, I'm not nearly as naive or nervous. I know what to expect in general and I know that I can do it because I already did.

So for the next month I am going to enjoy my time with family and friends. I am going to drink lots of fancy coffees, eat different types of food, see as many movies as possible, take a million pictures and generally enjoy myself. I'm going to keep reading up on current Moroccan volunteers stories but I think I'm going to leave my expectations for my second service here in America and just enjoy the journey.

*****My former sitemates, Jen and Laura, sent me this link to a video they made after saying good-bye to me in Tirana. It's too cute not to share!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNoKlFi7AVM

My bags are Packed, I'm not ready to go...

2010-07-30T11:21:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow I have to move out of my apartment. It would have been fine if the camp was still happening from the 1st to the 5th but now its the 5th until the 9th. Not only does that mean I don't get to go, it also makes me homeless for my last week. Tonight I'm taking pretty much everything down to Nikolla's and then I'll be floating around for my last little bit here.

I am also going down to Cerrik tomorrow to see my host family one last time. It will be good closure. They were a great family and I feel bad that I haven't gone to visit them as much as I probably should.

This last week was Dile's 50th birthday party and my good-bye party was on Monday. Dile's birthday was awesome. We circle danced, drank and ate... the usual as far as Albanian parties go. My going away party was also very nice. A lot of friends, co-workers, and "family" came. The first picture is of my girls that I taught English to and the second is of co-workers from the bashki, Red Cross and the center for children with disabilities.

The 3rd picture is of Dile and Nikolla. They have been awesome to me for these two years. They pretty much have adopted me as their own daughter and treat me as such. I'm gonna miss them and their two boys, Lisenko and Luis. It's going to be so hard to leave Lezha. It still has not set in that I'm going to be leaving this place in a week. I think I say this all the time now-a-days but really, it will be so weird to not have lunch with Nikolla or to say hi to the barbers as I walk by their shop on the way to work or go for 5 coffees in a day. I'm excited to go home and see my family and friends but it will be sad to leave this place where I've made a second home.

Even though it is going to be extremely hard for me to leave Lezha, I will always have the memories. I know that when I come back next summer (inshallah!) for a visit, I will have many people to visit and go to the beach with. For now, I just have to enjoy my final days by going for coffees with all my friends and take lots of pictures!!

It's the Final Countdown!

2010-07-19T03:50:00.006-05:00

Days left in PC Albania: 18
Days until PC Morocco: 56

Ok, so not really the final countdown but it's getting so close! This past week, I went down to Corovode. One of the only cities I had yet to travel to in Albania. It was beautiful and a lot cooler than Lezha! Another PCV, Aida, showed me around her site and we went to the canyons and swam in the river most of one day. It was awesome and probably my last leisure trip outside of Lezha. Now I only have 2 weeks left in Lezha and then 4 days at my summer camp before I head to Tirana to COS. Where does the time go??

Crazy kids jumping off the cliffs - no worries, they lived :)

MMMMMM, watermelon!!

Yes, this car really is parked right in the middle of the road.

Is there such a thing as too much watermelon??

2010-07-05T08:04:00.002-05:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!! Ok, so I'm a day late but internet has been terrible here lately and I haven't been able to use it in my office for a week now. We celebrated on the 3rd here in Lezha with about 15 PCV's and some Albanian friends. It was a great 4th. We grilled hamburgers, ate potato salad, coleslaw, jello, cake and of course watermelon. Watermelon here is dirt cheap and we were expecting more people to come so we bought 10. Yes, 10 watermelons. We ate 2. But they were really good!!

The rest of the party was watching the Spain-Paraguay game and then we headed to Shengjin to camp out for the night. We found fireworks, which is strange because Albanians only use fireworks for New Years Eve. Our fireworks may not have been Rhythm & Booms or the Big Bang like I always enjoy going to in America but it settled my urge to see fireworks on the 4th. It was nice to camp out on the beach but there were so many mosquitoes!! I had one in my sleeping bag down by my feet that would not die! Trying to squish a mosquito in a sleeping bag does not really work for those of you wondering. We all woke up early (around 5) and decided to try to head back to Lezha to get some sleep.

When I woke up again I realized that I lost my phone somewhere. I decided I must have dropped it in the furgon. I went to Nikolla and told him what happened and he drove me to the furgon station to see if we could find it. The furgon that we had come back to Lezha in was not there so we started driving to Shengjin. I saw the furgon about 2 km outside of Lezha and told Nikolla and he did a U-turn in the front of lots of cars and started chasing down the furgon like a mad man. Luckily, the furgon pulled over and I asked if he had found a phone. He said no but said to check where I sat. I went all the way to the back and luckily, there was my phone :) Thank God it was there!! I went back into Nikolla's car and we went to have a nice lunch to celebrate the 4th before returning to Lezha. I spent the rest of the day relaxing/sleeping but it was an enjoyable 4th.

Only one month left......

The dasem I've been waiting for

2010-06-28T07:10:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday was Yllka's wedding. I have been waiting for this wedding for 2 years. As soon as I met Yllka at the counterpart conference during training and found out she wasn't married I told her, "You better get married before I leave!" Now she is married and I have just about one month left in Albania. Good timing Yllka :)

I went all out for the wedding and got my hair done, make up done and bought a sparkly dress so that I looked truly Shqiptare for the occasion. The hairdresser used almost an entire can of hairspray on my hair and I'm gonna be washing it out for the next week or so....

I am gonna miss this girl so much when I leave!

Yllka and Blerim dancing away. It's tradition that when the couple dance together, people throw money at them. Note that Yllka has some money stuck down the front of her dress. Totally normal :)

Just wanted to post a few pics from the wedding. It was absolutely beautiful and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it. Congrats to Yllka and Blerim!!!

50 Days

2010-06-17T05:11:00.002-05:00

The countdown now stands at 50 days. It is extremely weird as I go through my days thinking about how soon I will be saying good-bye to these people who have become a fixture in my days. I'm still trying not to think too much about it but it's getting harder day by day.

I found out that instead of 2 summer camps there will only be one this summer. There are several reasons why. First off, there are still major trust issues between certain community members and the bashki. Especially the Roma have a hard time with letting their children attend the camp for a week. They believe that we may keep their children. The camp that we were planning for July has also proved to be difficult. My counterpart was not going to be able to attend as she is getting married (9 days!!) and will be on her honeymoon. The parents do not know the other people who will be acting as counselors and are therefor afraid to let their children come. So, as it now stands, there are 36 children enrolled for the camp August 1-6th. Hopefully we will be able to fill the last 4 slots but we'll see what happens. I'm sad that I will only be able to go to the first 4 days of the camp since I will be leaving on the 6th and have to go to Tirana on the 5th. I'm just happy that I will be able to see a little bit of the camp.

This week has been really busy. On Tuesday, I was in Tirana doing my COS medical stuff so that it could be sent to Morocco. Yesterday, I was in Shkoder having lunch and coffee with the volunteers up there. Today, the country director and 2 men from PC Washington will be in Lezha to talk to me about the partnership grant I did last year. Tomorrow, I have to go back to Tirana to finish my medical stuff. I have big plans for this weekend by which I mean, I will be at the beach :)

Time to go live it up!

Rruge te mbare Piter!

2010-06-10T04:20:00.005-05:00

It's happened again. Last night, I went over to Peter's house and helped him clean out his house, pack up his things, and take things that needed to get to other people. We actually got through it all really fast. After about 2.5 hours, his bags were packed, all his trash was thrown out, the clothes he was leaving behind had been taken care of and all the things that needed to go to other people had been taken over to my house. While I helped Peter get ready for his departure, it made me sad to think that this was the last time I would see Peter in Lezha.
Peter has been an amazing site mate. He's helped me get through some tough times and he's celebrated the good times with me as well. We had a final dinner together on Wednesday night with the new volunteers here in Lezha, Laura and Jen, and two other volunteers, Chris and Joe. It was great to have one last hoorah all together. I'm really going to miss Peter during my last 1.5 months here in Lezha but I will survive :)

Today is the official COS date of my group and there are several other volunteers leaving today with Peter. A few have left already but the majority of us are still here for awhile. I know I'm not ready to leave quite yet. I will be ready August 6th, but not yet I'm not. It's even odder to think that in about 3 months I will be joining a new group of volunteers to go through this experience all over again.

Congrats G11 on COS'ing!!

Another Day, Another Change in Plans....

2010-05-27T04:53:00.002-05:00

And the plan has changed yet again..... I went to go see where I could live with a family last night and the house was nice. Nothing fancy or great but nice. The problem was that they didn't have a car to bring me back and forth to Lezha everyday, they have a motorcycle. PC is strictly no motorcycles here in Albania. The other problem is that turns out there are some issues at home. It would not be a good situation for me to be in. So now it looks like I will be staying in my place and Laura will have to live with Jen for the summer and then move into my place once I leave. Easier for me but more hassle for her and PC.

Another thing I wanted to say that I kinda thought about a lot last night. I was sitting with Viktoria after we ate dinner (they slaughtered a chicken for me) and she was telling me about her marriage. She went into detail about how violent and abusive her husband has been to her over the years and we were both in tears by the end. I just have no clue how these women put up with it. Almost every married couple I have met have been happy in public eye but behind closed doors its just goes from bad to worse. There are some amazing women here that have to live terrible lives because their husbands suck.

The bigger question I have is, why is it that all the women hope that I will marry an Albanian man if they know it most likely means I would be in an abusive, violent relationship??? I wish there was a place for these women to go to get help, but those types of places do not yet exist here in Albania. Hopefully, their daughters will not be put into the same situation. Only time will tell. The other issue is that it is strictly taboo for these women to bad-mouth their husbands, or leave their husbands. If they do either of these things they are shunned and have no chance of meeting someone new who could make them happy. It's a terrible situation that many women in Albania face but maybe one day it will change. My hearts go out to these women and I'm making it my mission to have as many coffees with them as I can before I leave so that they can at least know true friendship and have a simple pleasure to look forward to in their day.

PC really likes to test your flexibility skills.....

2010-05-26T08:49:00.001-05:00

Last night I got a call from Marsi, the assistant for the COD program. She asked me if it was possible for me to find a host family to move in with for my last 2 months..... by Friday. Well I was totally prepared to share my apartment with Laura for my last 2 months but PC decided it wasn't going to work since it's only a 1 bedroom apartment. So, since I'm so integrated into the community and know the language, it makes sense that I would move into a host family and not Laura.

Well today I wasn't sure exactly how to approach the situation. I knew people who always said they would love to have a volunteer live with them but I wasn't too keen on moving in with most of them. They would be strict with me and for my last 2 months, I don't want strict! So I went to have coffee with Vikotria who owns an awesome small little restaurant here in Lezha. We're just talking about this and that and she says how much she would love to have me live with her. "Really?" I ask, and she starts going off about how there's a room ready for me if I need. "Well, actually I do." I called PC and told them I found a family. The only problem is that they live in Ishull Lezha which is a village just outside Lezha. Luckily, since PC has had so many problems finding housing for this new group, they are more than happy to bend the rules a little for me to make it easier for them.

Tonight I'll go and check out the house. If I like it, I was given permission to move in without PC coming to check it out. It would be really fun to live with them. They have a daughter who is 9 and absolutely adorable and I love Vikotria. Plus it means, awesome homemade meals for my last 2 months! If all goes well tonight, I'll be moving in like 2 days. Guess I should start packing.......

Good-bye's and Hello's

2010-05-25T05:20:00.003-05:00

As I was looking through the contacts on my phone the other day, I realized I needed to delete several numbers. Other volunteers from my group have begun to COS and it's starting to set in that I will be leaving here in about 2 months. If I had decided to just go home instead of going to Morocco for 2 more years, I could be leaving in 2 weeks. I wouldn't be ready to leave in 2 weeks though.

The summer camps are starting to be organized. The first one will be July 5th - July 10th. The second one will be August 1st - August 6th. I will be able to help out at the first one but the second one I will only be able to help out the first day or two since I will be leaving August 6th. I will be going next week to check out the campground and make sure that PC has all the info they need so that if anything happens, we're covered. Yllka and I have begun to discuss who will be attending the camp and what things we will be doing at camp. I'm happy that this year we will be a lot more organized than last year. I feel that Yllka will be ready next year to take on the camp project by herself.

This weekend, the trainees will be swearing in and 2 new volunteers will be coming to Lezha to start their service. There's so many things that I feel like I have to get done before I can leave here even though there's a new volunteer "replacing" me. You can't really say that someone is "replacing" you though because every volunteer works differently from the others. I hope that the new volunteers find their niche and will have a successful service but it really is up to them to find the work and make the connections in the community. Current volunteers can only help so much. I know that when I look back at my service here in Lezha, I will have mostly only good memories. Everyone has a bad day or two during service so I can't say it has all been good but overall it has been an amazing time. I look forward to starting it all over again in Morocco.

The best thing about this time of year in Albania is that there are little things happening all the time and when there's not, there's always the beach! So today, not much going on, time to go have some coffee's and then I'm thinking beach time :)

Bad Things Never Happen One at a Time

2010-05-18T05:36:00.003-05:00

The end of April/beginning of May was not a good time for me. It all started well enough. Bethany and I headed down to Gjirokaster for a night before going over to Corfu for a few days. We had a great time with the Gjiro crew and it was nice weather to be out an about in the town. On Wednesday April 28th, we got up bright and early to catch a bus going to Saranda. Unfortunately, the 7 am bus we thought would take us to Saranda did not exsist so we took an 8 am one instead.

Once we got to Saranda we had to find something going towards the Albania/Greek border. We jumped on a bus going to Butrint and in Butrint, got on a furgon going to Qafe Bote. The furgon ride was something else. The road was very narrow (not uncommon) but also very bumpy. Not to far from the border we were pulled over by some police looking for people without papers. They questioned Bethany and I, but once they saw our American passports, they let us be. Instead, they pulled 3 guys off the furgon and we went on our way. Once we got to Qafe Bote, we had to wait 2 hours for a bus to come on the Greek side to take us to Igoumenitsa, the town where we were going to catch a ferry to Corfu. We met an Albanian boy on the furgon who was also going to Corfu and he helped us get our tickets. On the ferry we encountered a problem, our phones were not working. As we were talking to the boy, we found out he lived up by Sidari which is where our friend's brother, Fation, lived. He offered us a ride up there. We were hoping to stay with a couchsurfer but once we got to Corfu and checked the internet we still hadn't received a reply from her. The boy and his cousin drove us to a few hostels that were closed so in the end he took us up to Sidari. We waited at a restaurant for Fation to show up after work and help us to find a place to spend the night.

Once Fation finally got to the restaurant we were exhausted. He and his friend helped us to find a place that was cheap and nice enough. We dropped off our stuff and met up for dinner. After dinner was drinks and then it was bed time. The next day we got up early to head back into Corfu city to meet up with Bethany's cousin who was on a cruise and was making a port call in Corfu. Unfortunately we got there 3 hours after her ship had docked and couldn't find her anywhere. We decided to go off and look around the town and do some shopping. It was a nice day to wander around the old town and be tourists. We headed back to Sidari on the 8pm bus and ended up meeting more Albanians. A girl sat next to Bethany and after a few minutes asked her if she spoke Albanian. Of course she said yes, and then the girl said, do you know Fation?? Again, yes. The girl goes "I've seen your pictures on facebook!" Turns out she was Fation's girlfriend. What a small world! Anyway, we meet up with Fation again after work for drinks. We went to bed kinda early again. I was planning on leaving Friday morning so that I could get to a birthday party in Corovode by Saturday morning. Well I slept through my alarm and missed the ferry.

When we finally got up, the sun was shining and we decided to spend the day at the beach. First things first though, coffee!! We had coffee on the beach and then layed out to soak up the sun. About 3, we headed in to get some lunch. After ordering, I decided I wanted to go look in one of the stores to buy a skirt. On my way to the store, I stepped on a branch. It hurt like no other! I was like, walk it off Leslie, walk it off. Well once I got in the store and asked for a bandaid, I passed out on a chip display rack. Not pleasant. The store owner called a doctor. He came and checked me out, took me to his clinic for a minute and told me there was something in my foot and it would need surgery to be pulled out. No way, not without PC approval first! I walked back over to Bethany who had no idea what had happened. Filled her in, and after eating got online. I tried to contact our PCMO and CD to ask what to do and of course, no one responded immediately. I had to have anther PCV call the CD to tell him to get online. I spent the next 3 hours talking to them about what to do. We decided I would come back to Albania the next day and they would pick me up and we would go from there.

That night, we convinced Fation to let us stay with him at his house. We went and had some raki with his parents. I went to bed about 1 and Bethany and Fation stayed up drinking. About an hour after they finally went to bed, Bethany started throwing up next to the bed. I waited for her to finish and then tried to clean it up as quietly as possible. Once we woke up about 6am, she was still in bad shape. Everyone else was up and worried about her too. We waited at the door for the 7am bus to take us to the port and it never came. Fation had to drive his dad to work so he ended up driving us to the port after. We barely made it.

Once back in Albania I called the PCMO and told him to meet us in Fier so we didn't have to wait in Saranda all day for him. We got there in the early afternoon and went the rest of the way to Tirana together. After dropping Bethany off, they took me to a clinic to get my foot x-rayed. Nothing showed up. Lowell, the PCMO, decided I would stay with him until we figured out what was wrong with my foot. The next day, May 2nd, I got a call from Joe and he told me I needed to call my mom right away. I called her and found out what I had been dreading - my grandma had died. The rest of the day I was a wreck. I had to stay off my foot as much as possible because of the pain and I couldn't talk to anyone who I really wanted to talk to because they were all in America.

On that Monday, PC drove me up to Lezha to grab some things. When we got back to Tirana, they took me to another clinic to get an ultrasound of my foot. That time they saw what was causing me so much pain. I had a piece of wood, about 5 mm big stuck in my foot. They decided to do surgery then and there to get it out. It wasn't too bad and only took about 30 minutes to find it. Once we got back to Lowell's house I checked my email to see if my mom had booked my ticket to come home. She had, I was leaving the next day at noon.

The flight home wasn't too bad. Even my short connection was made since I got wheeled through the airport since I had just had surgery on my foot. It was so nice to be home and see everyone and have the comforts of home for a few days. Of course a lot had changed but not that much. My grandma's funeral was Friday May 7th. It was in Whiting, Indiana and I think she would be very happy with how it all went. I hadn't seen my grandma in over 2 years but she looked amazing. She didn't look sick at all, which is a lot better than she looked in her last weeks according to my dad. It was very sad to say good-bye to her but I know that she's happy where she is now and isn't suffering anymore.

I came back to Albania on the 14th of May and now after about 3 days of readjusting, I feel at home again. I'm back in my routine and happy to be here. It was weird to be home after so long. Even weirder was that I came back to Albania the day that 3 people from my group COS'ed. Less than 3 months now and I'll be finishing my service here. I can't even think about what life will be like, not living in Lezha. This is my home now and I'm comfortable here. I'll have about 6 weeks in America before leaving for Morocco to do this all over. I'm anxious, excited, and nervous. I know I can do because I have but at the same time its going to be so much different from here. I'm trying not to think about it yet since I still have time here but it's hard to not think about.

Well this turned out WAAAAYYYYY longer than I had expected but I needed to get it out. Hopefully my bad luck lately is over and it's back to only good things. Only time will tell though but my fingers are crossed :)

Thash i themi.......

2010-04-06T05:53:00.004-05:00

Thash i themi is "blah blah blah" in Albanian. There's no one clear subject of this post and I enjoy saying "thash i themi" so there you go. Anyway, a few things to catch everyone up on.

This last Friday, the American Ambassador and German Ambassador came to Lezha to discuss the "Klodi fenominom". For those of you who have no idea what this is, a little background... On the show "Big Brother" this season there is a guy from Lezha who announced a few weeks back that he is gay. There were several protests in Lezha about the fact that he's from Lezha - not that he's gay but from Lezha. Anyway, the protests were followed by threats to him and his family. The American Ambassador has supported him and his family through this whole thing and on Friday came to show his support for Klodi (Klodi by the way is still on the show and has no idea that any of this is going on). So, after the deputy mayor of Lezha gave a welcoming speech and a brief history of the tolerance usually found in Lezha, Klodi's mom spoke, as well as the mayor of the region of Lezha, then the American Ambassador, the German Ambassador then a representative from the ministry in Tirana, and finally the police chief of Lezha.

Overall their messages were very well said and I think it may impact several community members. Community members were given an opportunity to speak their minds as well and most of them had positive things to say. Only one old man was really negative about the whole situation. I was incredibly proud of one of the members of our Youth Parliment, Xhulio. He is a big glimpse of hope in this country and I'm glad he was able to show that to the ambassador.

This weekend I had two trainees come and visit me in Lezha to see what volunteer life is like and to get a little break from training. I met them in Tirana and after an American breakfast we headed into Lezha. The weather was wonderful and we decided to hike up to the castle. Peter and the trainees (Matthew, Terry and Tiffany) all climbed the walls into the castle while I chilled on the outside. It was very amusing for me to get to watch :) That night I made everyone tacos and the trainees got to experience their first Albanian disco! Good times as always. On Sunday, after a delicious french toast breakfast, we went to Shengjin to have a relaxing Easter on the beach. I twisted my ankle so I just watched as they played frisbee. We had an amazing seafood lunch before heading back into Lezha to have a lazy afternoon. Yesterday, we showed them the ropes. We went to Peter's office at the Department of Agriculture and then to the bashkia. After spending time in the social work office, development office, urban planning, foreign affairs, and meeting the mayor we headed off to have a coffee. We are after all introducing them to what life is like for volunteers. For lunch, we went to Ylli and enjoyed some traditional Albanian dishes. Then we enjoyed another lazy afternoon. I taught them all the fun Albanian words to impress their host families and language teachers with :) Last night they had the honor of experiencing Albanian blackouts. My power was flicking on and off every few seconds and then stayed off for an hour or so. We ate mac & cheese by candlelight and then when the power came back on, we decided to watch a movie with the candles on.

Today the trainees left after getting to see the day center for children with handicaps, experiencing the bank after its been closed for a long weekend, and had a coffee with my Lezha dad. Overall, I think they got a good glimpse of what volunteer life really is like here in Albania. I know they enjoyed being able to speak English all the time after being with Albanians most of the time for the past 2 weeks. This weekend I will head down to Elbasan to meet the rest of group 13. I have to figure out who's going to come to Lezha to replace me. So I think that catches you up on this past week. Oh, one last thing....... my hands are pink from Easter eggs! Thash i themi :)

They say you can't live without water.......

2010-04-01T04:25:00.003-05:00

I have not had water in my apartment for 2 days now. Usually it will go out for a few hours and then come back. The longest it was out before was 1 day. Now we're going on 3 so I'm losing my patience. The dishes are piling up in my sink, my laundry is waiting to be rinsed out and hung up to dry, and I need to shower. All I want is like an hour of water and then it can go out again... is that too much to ask?!!

On another utility note, I went to pay for my electricity today and found out that the contract that I have been paying for is for someone else. After about an hour, it was all figured out. I've been paying too much! I knew something was wrong when I got a December bill of 7,ooo leke! Well, after figuring out all that, I paid up for all the months that I lived at this apartment (since September) and still got money back! Whoot whoot! I went to pay for electricity and instead got money back. That's a pretty sweet deal. Hopefully there are no more screw-ups while I'm living there.

This weekend I have two trainees coming to visit me in Lezha. My sitemate, Peter, has another one coming to stay with him. So with all of us together there is bound to be a party one night, Sunday is Easter so something fun for that too, and I think I'll even share my American goodies with them :)

So with all that said, I wanna wish everyone a happy Easter and oh, today is April Fool's so get out there and fool someone!

I Remember that Rainy Day I Came ketu.....

2010-03-19T04:41:00.002-05:00

2 years ago today, 35 crazy kids and myself landed in Albania for the first time. We had had a long journey, we didn't know what to expect, I myself was super excited yet scared at the same time. Then after I had found BOTH my bags on the carousel, I knew that my time in Albania was going to be great. I was the first one through the security doors and onto the bus that would take me to Elbasan to get this whole crazy adventure going.

As I look back at how the past two years have gone, I can't believe how much I have been able to accomplish, how much I have learned and how much there still is to be done. Some of my favorite things so far in Albania have been:
-the summer camp in Gjinar
-the Lezha Women's Club
-working with the Roma community
-helping out at the Red Cross
-volunteering at the Special Olympics in Tirana
-going up to the Lezha castle
-going to the beach everyday in the summer
-being able to debate in Albanian
-drinking coffees daily about two to three times

It will be weird to not be in Albania. Speaking of not being in Albania, I now have my official COS date. It will be August 6th. I will then fly back to America for a little more than a month. Staging for Morocco will be September 15th. 6 months and I'll be a trainee again! We have a group of 51 trainees that just arrived here this past Thursday - welcome group 13!! I will be going through everything all over again, staging, PST, language learning (by which I mean charades), living with a host family (where I will use charades to communicate for the first month or so), learning a new culture (where I will probably offend someone using my charades), and dealing with the stress that comes with doing all that (so many charades! so little time!).

Spring has come to Albania and with that a new energy. The days are getting longer which means, more time for coffee, less time at home! I have lots to do in my final 5 months here. I have two summer camps for the Roma kids in June, and I will have a summer camp in July in Thethi (Hill is getting special permission from the Embassy for me to go to it). My high school English class is putting together their second edition of their newspaper and we will still get out a third one before summer comes. My counterpart is trying to learn as much English as possible from me before the new volunteer comes. I'm doing some Spring cleaning and getting rid of lots of clothes, shoes, books, and misc other items I have in my house that I do not need/want. I am so much more productive in warm weather than in cold!

That's about it for now. Again, welcome to Albania group 13!! Enjoy all the time you have with each other during training, learn as much as you can, take in the culture, and mos u merzit!!

March Madness!!!

2010-03-09T08:46:00.002-06:00

This March has been crazy and it is going to be crazy until April comes!! I don't know what it is about March, but it seems like everyone has their birthday in March. I have already celebrated 4 this month, and there's another 10 or so to go!! Also in a few days the new group of volunteers is going to arrive in Albania and I've been preparing stuff for them to help out with their training. It also means my 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY in Albania is coming up. My project with Yllka is going to be in full swing next week too. See what I mean... CRAZINESS!!!

So let me break it down for you a bit more.... Group 13 volunteers are arriving on the 17th or 18th..... I forget which exactly but they're coming!! It's the biggest group of volunteers to arrive in Albania. I am preparing the tourism sessions for the COD volunteers and helping to do site development in both Lezha and Shengjin. I have also been asked by the language teachers to do some dialect training for the volunteers who will be in or around the Lezha area. We have so many different dialects here it will be nice for them to at least here what kinds of things they will hear. It's definitely different from the standard Albanian that they learn during training.

My 2 year anniversary in Albania is on March 19th. I can't believe that I've been here so long. It doesn't feel like it at all. I will be staying in Albania until Mid-August. Then I will go home for a month leave before heading to Philadelphia to go to staging (again) before taking off for Peace Corps Part II: Morocco!!! I decided just last Friday that I will do the full 2 years again. Now I just have to do some medical stuff and it will be official. YAY!!

My project with Yllka is going to be in full swing next week. We will be doing the first delivery of food packages to families. It will be interesting to see how it all goes. I have my doubts about this project and its sustainability but Yllka and the Light Force director, George, is pretty confident. The summer camps will be fun this summer. I cannot wait to do the summer camps! I also just found out that I might have the opportunity to go to Thethi (a restricted area for volunteers) to do a summer camp that is sponsored by the UN. Our country director is looking to get special permission for me to do it. Hopefully he will let me know more details soon but we'll see.

Yesterday was Women's Day. Youth Parliament sponsored an event for the Roma women to celebrate their history and culture. It was fun to learn more about their traditions and customs. They all had a good time dancing! You put on music and all of them are on their feet dancing! So much fun! I was sad to see that their wasn't as good of a turn out as last years Women's Day event but still happy to see some support from the community.

So as you see, it really is March madness around Lezha right now. I hope that you all are well and if you're about to come to Albania, getting excited!! You are about to start the adventure of your lifetime. Until next time!!
Leslie

COS Conference........ has it seriously been 2 years?

2010-02-26T10:21:00.005-06:00

This past week I have been in Durres for my group's COS conference. The first thing that we were told is that it doesn't just mean close of service but continuation of service as well. This week has been the first time that everyone is our group has been together, along with the Georgia transfers. It was really interesting to look around the room and see the people who are still all here. We only lost a few people over the past two years. Our group is still going strong.

Anyway, the conference itself was a bunch of paperwork, how COS will work and also talks about the future. We all were able to discuss our service here in Albania, the impact we've had and what we will miss most about Albania. Another fun aspect of the conference was to talk about where we are all going after COS and what we will be doing. A lot of people are going back to the US and starting grad school. There are some people who will be traveling around after they finish here. A select few people are even staying in Albania. Other fun parts of the conference were Volunteer Olympics (raki tasting and blind texting were two events), the talent show, getting new movies and tv shows, seeing all the volunteers who I rarely ever see, and singing show tunes while drinking wine :) The group I came here with is amazing and I'm glad I got to spend some time with them again before we all start going our separate ways. I know I will see quite a few of them again but it's always the question of when??

On the last night of the conference I was given very exciting news - Peace Corps Morocco is interested in taking me as a 3rd year extension volunteer!!! I do not know all the details yet about PC Morocco but I think that hearing about on the last day of the COS conference was perfect. I now have to talk to my country director, do more medical stuff and figure out the time line for me leaving Albania, spending a month in America and then leaving for Morocco. It is crazy to think that I only have a few months left!! I really don't feel like I've been here for two years. I still remember the day I arrived in Albania. Oh those were the good ol' days :)

In 2 weeks, group 13 will be arriving in Albania. This group will be the biggest group we have ever gotten in Albania, 52 volunteers! I will be busy during their training helping to find housing and doing presentations to the trainees. Also in a week, my big project with the Roma/Gypsy community will be in full swing. We are giving out the first packages of food and holding meetings with the families to discuss community service projects. There will be lots to do and I will update everyone soon on how everything is going.

I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm!! Spring is almost here!

Back to Normal

2010-01-19T09:31:00.002-06:00

Well, all is well again in Lezha. After 5 days in Tirana, it was decided that it was safe for us to return to Lezha. The dams that were all at critical levels when they pulled us out had been tested. They worked and the water levels went down over the weekend. How happy I was when I saw Lezha from the road!

Even though Lezha is ok, parts of Shkoder and Lezha are flooded. Valipoje, Ishull Lezha and a few other villages remain under water still. The evacuation and now clean up of these areas is underway and I'm impressed at how well the situation went. It could have been a disaster. Luckily, no one died and everyone has a place to stay until its safe for them to go back to their homes. These people however wil have a hard time when they return to their homes. This year, their crops will be much smaller and most of them have lost all their livestock. It will take a long time for most to recover from this months flooding.

On the bright side, it has been sunny all week and not nearly as cold as last year. Hopefully this is a good sign that Spring will come quickly. My life is back to normal as I'm translating materials for a project, teaching English, and planning a vacation in 2 weeks. Peter, my sitemate and I, will go to Istanbul and then return through Bulgaria and Macedonia. I'm super excited for a little break. Plus, I need to get away from certain people in my city who are driving me crazy!! Nothing serious but the normal little things that just get to you over time. I can't believe my COS conference is in a month and COS is only 5 1/2 months away! Seems like just yesterday I was packing to come here.....

Hope you all are staying warm and can't wait to see everyone again!

Relocation

2010-01-08T07:41:00.002-06:00

Hello all,

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable holiday season and that 2010 is off to a great start. I spent Christmas in Lezha with another volunteer and for New Year's I was in Durres. On the 2nd, I went to the wedding of the sister of one of my friends from Lezha. Also on the 2nd, we had heavy rain and flooding in Lezha. Well the rain continued and now I am in Tirana.

On the 3rd, I received a call from the country director asking me what the conditions were like in Lezha. I told him there was some flooding but nothing to severe. On the 6th, I received a call from our safety and security director asking again how the situation was. At this point, Lezha was not really affected by the continuous rains. I told her we were all safe and sound - no worries. Well, yesterday I received another call from her again saying that PC decided to relocate us to Tirana. She told me to pack up a weeks worth of stuff and be ready to come into to Tirana.

My sitemates and I were picked up about 2pm by one of the PC drivers and we came into Tirana. We are all staying with different American families. Today we had a meeting about the situation in Shkoder and Lezha and they have decided to keep us in Tirana until at least Tuesday when the reasses the situation. Again, let me tell you all I am fine and wasn't in any immediate danger in Lezha.

I'll post again when I learn more but hopefully my next post will be when I'm back in Lezha!
Leslie

A Note on Culture

2009-12-18T16:11:00.004-06:00

Today, there have been exactly 3 very interesting things that have happened to me that are great examples of the culture here in Albania. The first thing that I want to mention is the man I say peeing on the high school wall this morning. I had just left my house and was about 100 feet away from this old guy when he unzipped his pants and let it go. Public urination - not cool. Public urination on a high school wall with students all around in front of a window at 10am - hilarious (and at the same time gross)!! When I saw that on my way to work, I knew that it would be a good day.

The second thing I would like to tell everyone about is my trip to the bank. When I was in Bosnia, the ATM took my card and did not give it back. I am still waiting on my replacement so I had to actually go inside. Well I open the door and its packed with people. There usually are people but not more than like 10. I walked to the man at the end of what I considered to be a "line" and asked if he was waiting (the 2 tellers were just standing there). He told me that there was "s'ka leke". Translation, no money. I stood there for a second and then I turned around and walked out of the bank. As I was walking back to work I burst out laughing. It was an absolutely ridiculous concept to me that a bank had no money. Only in Albania. Luckily, when I went back just over an hour later there was money again. Now I know why so many Albanians don't trust their money in the banks.

Tonight, Peter and I came into Tirana to go see The Nutcracker at the Opera House. For $5 we both got tickets. It was fairly good. I haven't seen the ballet in probably 4 or 5 years so my memory from former performances is a little rusty but I enjoyed myself. At intermission I went down and found the musicians. I now have a number of a man who may be able to get me a cello!! Whoo hoo!!! Listening to the orchestra play tonight really has made me want to play again. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to play every once in awhile when I come into Tirana.

So it has been a culture filled day. Every day in Albania is always different and for the most part entertaining. It's days like today when I think "How will I ever readjust to living in America??" I think when I get back I'm gonna be one of those people that even my own family is embarrassed of and they keep me locked up in my room. It's going to take a long time for me to break some of the habits I've picked up here. Here's a list of some of my favorites:
-waving my pointer finger to say "no"
-shaking my head from left to right to say "yes"
-pushing my way to front to be served first
-raising my hand up in the air and clicking while calling out "boy!" to get the waiter's attention
-arriving when I feel like it even if we scheduled a time to meet
-assuming that when I'm with a man he will pay for everything
-inviting people for a "coffee" when I mean any type of beverage
-stopping to say hi to everyone I know and ask them the same question 5 times in a row
-negotiating the price for clothes

Well that's enough about Albanian culture for one day. Christmas is one week away and then New Year's!! If I don't get the chance to post again before then Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's!!

Here's a fun picture depicting culture in Albania. It's the Lezha pigs!!!

With December has come Winter...

2009-12-14T04:36:00.002-06:00

My apologies first off for again slacking on updating this thing. I thought about sitting down several times to write some stuff down but just didn't know what to write. So here come a long list of what's been happening in the 'bania.

The end of October: Halloween was fun. I don't think it was as fun as last year but there were some creative costumes. Joe, Bethany, Kacey and I went as a group. Kacey was 1st base, I was 2nd base, Joe was 3rd and Bethany was a home run! We all made shirts with nicknames on the back and our team name was the "Puntang Klan". A fun spin off of the WuTang Clan and the Albanian word "pune". Anyways, we spray painted handprints on my shirt and my shorts. Joe drew lip marks all over his pants and we kissed Kacey all over. Bethany pulled off the home run quite well I think. Let's see, there was also Willy Wonka with a Chocolate bar, Dumb and Dumber, a panda bear, brown bear and Koala bear, the Albanian flag, and several interesting takes on a turkish toilet. Always funny to see what we can come up with on a PC budget.

November: Obviously, my birthday kicked off the month to a great start. My English girls totally suprised me. One of them texted me saying she needed to meet with me to talk about an assignment. Well when I opened the door later that day, all my girls walked in with cake, cookies and soda! It was awesome. For dinner, Bethany, Peter and Nikolla took me out to dinner at Ylli's. We had the place to ourselves and after we stuffed ourselves silly we danced the night away. It was a great 23rd :)

Thanksgiving was also very memorable. I was invited to eat at the Ambassador's house. Well I was not let down!! There was a huge turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoe casserole, rolls, wine, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, brownies and lemon bars. I ate a little bit of everything and enjoyed every single bite! I don't think I've eaten like that in over a year and a half!! The conversation was pretty entertaining as well. At one point, the Ambassador and I were talking about the Roma and Gypsies in Albania and he invited me to work on a project for the Roma communities in Albania with him and the Ambassador of Switzerland. Whoo hoo!! After dinner, I spent the night at the Elridges. I was able to talk to my parents and Becca!! What a nice end to Thanksgiving.

The next Friday, I left Tirana at 6am with 2 buses of Albanians to go to Bosnia for the weekend. Oh it was an experience all right. The travel agent was a disaster but Ardi was there and tried to hold it together. Bosnia was very beautiful and I hope I can go back maybe and spend some more time there. There are still all the remnants from the war but then its developed so much sometimes you forget that there was a war.

English lessons are still keeping me very busy. I'm still teaching my counterpart and my high school girls but now I am also teaching the inspectors at the port of Shengjin. Yeah, that's interesting. There's only about 8 but they are all older so its going to be a lot harder for them to learn. 2 of them are pretty good though and they are learning. I teach there 2 times a week for an hour. In January I will be teaching the police here in Lezha as well. I'm a community development volunteer, not a teacher!! Oh well, I enjoy the lessons for the most part and teaching the inspectors will help decrease the amount of human trafficing that goes on in Albania.

I'm still torn as to what to do after I finish my service here in June. I'm meeting with Hill and Jan on Wednesday to discuss a 3rd year extension. Whether I will do it here in Albania or somewhere else I have yet to decide. My parents I think will disown me if I do another full 2 year service. I'm kinda thinking that I want to at least do the 3rd year. The economy in America right now doesn't look to appealing. Well I have to figure it out by January so I'll let you all know when I figure it out myself. Just over a week until Christmas! I can't believe how fast my close of service conference is coming up. Feels like I just got here yesterday......

An Overdue Update

2009-10-21T07:58:00.002-05:00

I'm falling behind on updating this thing again! I don't even know really where to start. Let me just talk about some of the hi-lites I guess.....

The biggest excitement here was that my mom came to Albania and we spent 4 days in the north, jumped over to Italy for 4 days and hung out with my aunt Shelley, and then skipped back over to Albania to spend 4 days in the south. It was a great time. I was really happy she got to see where I'm living, the people I see everyday, and got to experience true Albanian hospitality. It was super nice to spend two weeks with her and see my aunt and of course get to Italy finally!!! We were in Bari, Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Livorno. I have lots of awesome pictures and if I remember I will try to post a few.

Other things, I went to the kindergartens here in Lezha and delivered a bag to each one with school supplies that I received from America. I found out that all the things we had set aside for them back in June had accidentally been given away to children at the cultural center. Oh well. They still got a few things so they can't complain.

I'm teaching English full swing. I give Yllka an English lesson for an hour Monday through Friday. She's learning quick and I have no doubt that she will be able to speak English half as well as I speak Albanian by the time I leave. I also began an advanced English course for 10 girls in the 4th year of high school here. They all want to pick English as their major at University next year so I'm going to try to help them as much as possible. We are going to create a newsletter and have a mini book club along with other fun activities. I wrote to an organization today asking them if they could send me books for the girls and they said yes! I'm totally excited. The books should get here in about 2 months. They will be thrilled.

I'm starting to think more and more about what I want to do when I finish here. I found out that Yllka is getting married on June 27th next year and I can't miss that so now I feel that I won't leave until the end of June or early July next year. Then I have no idea what to do. Should I travel around?? Get a job? Go for my Masters?? Do another Peace Corps service?? So much to think about.... luckily I have time. Halloween is in 10 days and my birthday is in 12!!! Whoot whoot!! It's gonna be an awesome 2 weeks :)

Something to Lift Your Spirits

2009-09-04T04:54:00.002-05:00

This morning I met with Yllka and she had a very sad story to tell me. She had met with a woman and her two children earlier and heard that the husband had become very abusive. He has become an alcoholic and abuses the entire family. She made a decision that morning that she needed to leave the house. Yllka, being a social worker told them to meet her later and she would take them to someone who could help. She asked me if I could help. I thought of what I could possibly do and then I remembered I still had some things that had been sent to me from America. I told Yllka I would meet her later and she left.

I quickly grabbed some crayons, markers, pens and a toy for each kid and put it all together in a nice little bag. When I met up with Yllka again she was with the woman and her children. After introductions, I handed over the bags and the mother started to cry. She told me thank you and so did the children. The way those kids faces lit up, I knew I had made their day. Such a small gesture yet it helped a lot.

So now it is only noon yet I have made my small impact on Lezha for the day. It's days like this that I love my job :)

Summer is Almost Gone....

2009-08-21T04:10:00.002-05:00

Ok so it's been awhile since I've posted on here but I've been busy! Where to start. I had a Warden's Conference in Tirana (boring), several meetings for a volunteerism project for youth in northern Albania, my mid service conference in Korca (half-way done!!), beer fest in Korca (at the same time as the mid service conference....coincidence, I think not!), a tubing experience in northeast Albania and to top it all off, house hounting. For more details, continue reading....

So the two Peace Corps events were the Warden training and the Mid Service Conference. The Warden training was to go over what we do in case of an emergency. I had to go to it last year so it was a bore for me to go again this year. There's only 12 of us lucky enough to get to participate in the warden training and let me tell you, we love it! Ok so on to the more exciting of the two, the Mid Service conference (MSC). The best part about this conference was that it marked the beginning of our last year here in Albania. We had sessions on some serious stuff (admin, health, safety etc...) but also on some more fun topics such as "why do we work here?", "photo shop", "working overseas after PC", "sector success stories" and "plans for the 2nd year". It was a great chance to catch up with everyone and see what they are all up to.

My favorite part of the MSC was that Beer Fest happened to be at the same time. Conference during the day, beer fest at night. It was perfect! For those of you who have not had Korca e zeze, you should try it! I was impressed by how large the beer fest was. There were tons of people, tons of beer boths and tons of qofte booths. Yum :) If it hadn't been for beer fest I don't think half of my group would have showed up.

On to the tubing experience. Becca and Dylan, the volunteers in Peshkopi, decided one day that it should be possible to tube from Peshkopi to Kukes. Looking at the map it looks very possible. I was convinced and decided to join them on the adventure. The first day was awesome. We floated down the river all day, stopping once for lunch, and once after our bag with stuff went under. It was peaceful, relaxing and a ton of fun! We pulled over to the side at about 7 and made camp for the night. We found out we had not made it nearly as far as we thought. We kept a positive attitude until it was time to sleep. None of us had a good night. We couldn't get comfortable or warm. We tried to keep the fire going all night but it didn't work so well. At one point we got up and found a big stack of hay, grabbed some and brought it over to the fire to try to make a "bed". That still didn't work too well. By the time the sun was up, we had been up for hours, were tired, cranky and hungry. After sitting there talking about it we decided to try to hitch hike the rest of the way to Kukes. We walked and walked and walked. We stopped several times at people's houses to fill our water bottles but had no luck finding food. We just ate the berries on the side of the road. Finally about 4:30 pm (after walking since 8:30) we saw a car. It picked us up and started driving us to Kukes. 10 minutes later they blew a tire, but they stopped, fixed it right away and we were back on the road. After finally arriving in Kukes we ended up eating 2 dinners, crashing at Jennifer and James' and then heading out early the next morning to get back to site. That was my tubing experience.

The last thing to mention is that after my months of house hunting, I have finally found a new apartment!! I know, I'm totally excited! It's in a brand new building and has lots of great new furniture in it. I'm moving on September 1st. The location is so much better, it's behind the high school and not on top of the hill. So excited to only have to walk up 3 flights of stairs instead of the 127 that I have now!

Well that's it for now. Should have more to post soon and with pictures! Keep your eyes open for new posts and until then, enjoy the last few days of summer!

The Summer Camp Experience

2009-07-13T09:12:00.007-05:00

I've made it back from camp and I'm alive!!! No that wasn't a main concern for me but I feel as though it is an accomplishment. The camp went really well and I'm really happy that we had the chance to do it. We left Monday morning about an hour late but only 5 kids got sick on the bus. The road was fine until we left Elbasan to head up the mountain to Gjinar. That's where the kids got sick. All in all we made it there safe and sound without any problems. The camp site was a lot better than I expected. There were 3 lodges. One was large with 4 bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining hall, some bathrooms with showers, 2 meeting rooms a small chapel and a larger open space that we could all gather. Than the 2 other lodges were cabins that could sleep about 20 each with a bathroom. There was also a volleyball/basketball court and some open spaces for games.

Throughout the week we played all sorts of games. Most of them were group games but a few were individual. Some were games like capture the flag, darts, bowling and soccer but all with modifications for the group. Some of them were really funny to watch :) We went on a hike/picnic on Thursday which was great. We played a game on the hike up and then we found a nice place next to a mountain spring to have lunch. Luckily it didn't rain on us. On Wednesday, Hill, the Albania Peace Corps Director, came down to see how the camp was. He was impressed with the camp grounds, the diversity of the kids and the volunteers at the camp. This made me very happy. On Friday, we gave out a whole bunch of presents that the Red Cross had given us for the kids. It went well but I realized how greedy Albanian children can be ("I don't like this color.", "This is too big", "Can I get what she got?"). I wanted to be like, just take what I give you and be happy!!

On a sad note, this camp exposed me (again) to the bad manners of Albanians. For example, they don't say please and thank you. They talk over each other. They shout at the teacher when they raise their hand to be picked. They are terrible eaters (they don't eat the crust of bread). They don't respect their elders. The boys pick on the girls and this is acceptable.

Overall I was extremely happy with how everything went. When I got home I only needed about 3 days to recover. Thinking and speaking purely in Albanian for a week was exhausting!! Anyways, I have some great pictures and it was a great experience for myself and the kids. Now it's time for the summer to continue!!

Hope everyone is doing well. Miss you all!
Leslie

40 kids + 8 Albanians + me = a successful summer camp??

2009-06-26T07:17:00.002-05:00

Well in 2 days I will be getting on a bus headed for Gjinar in Elbasan with 40 Albanian kids and 8 Albanians. I'm excited that this camp is happening and after all the work we have put into it I hope that it goes well for both my sake, Yllka's sake and of course, the kids. Yesterday we had a meeting with the adults who are going with us. There is Yllka, myself, Ardian (who works with these kids), Marnelda (a school psychologist) and three volunteers coming from Lushnja. Marnelda has never done such a thing as a camp and freaked out slightly when we told her not to bring heels. Ardian seems very excited to be able to go and Yllka is just excited that her project is becoming a reality. Yllka has been very stressed preparing for this camp. We have had many parents who have had issues with us taking their kids for a week. The idea of a summer camp is still somewhat new here. They think that we are taking them and not going to bring them back. This is also complicated in families where there is only one child, the parents are divorced, or one parent is dead. We are taking one of the kids mom's because that is the only way she would let her son go but he really deserves this opportunity so I guess its not too bad. AT our meeting we talked about what the schedule will be like, what the goals are, what we will be eating, the layout of the camp and a few other misc. details. All in all I think we're ready. We just need to finish buying the food.

I have mixed feelings for this camp. On one side I am incredibly excited that its happening and as many people have pointed out, it is probably the largest thing I have done so far for the community. On the other side I'm slightly concerned that the kids are going to form a gang on the bus ride down and be uncontrolable the entire week. I told Yllka about my fears of going on this trip because no one will speak English which means I have to spend an entire week thinking and speaking in Albanian. I told her not to worry if I dissapear for a few minutes at any given time. I just need some time for my mind to rest and I will come back. I'm also slightly sad that I'm missing the 4th of July party but oh well. It comes every year and next year I should be back in the states for it. I'm trying to come up with a way that we can celebrate with the kids at the camp (good way to work on Goal 2 of Peace Corps). I'm thinking the best we may be able to do is have a picnic that day that includes watermelon. Maybe I'll try to get some fireworks or something but I doubt that will actually happen.

The only other thing to mention is that the elections here in Albania for parlament are on the 28th and the town is in a frenzy over them. Posters, flyers and commercials are all over the place. It is safe to say that elections here get just as crazy as in the US. I've been told to stay inside my house on Sunday night as many people may feel the need to shoot guns up in the air in celebration of their candidates winning. Hopefully this is just a rumor. We'll see.

Oh and one more thing, I really need to move out of my house and get someplace new. No chance of me moving before August 1st though. So far no winners. Hopefully when I get back from this camp I will find something.

Well that's really all for now I think. July is going to be a busy month for me as well. I plan on traveling around Albania, I have warden training for a few days in Tirana and also a new project starting with World Vision on volunteerism in youth. Should be a great summer. Keep your fingers crossed that my camp goes well and I return in order to tell you all about it!

Stuck in the Middle

2009-06-01T06:05:00.002-05:00

Well this past week has been a little emotional for me. Let me explain as its not a bad thing its just sorta weird when I think about all that has happened. So to start, this past Wednesday I spent most of the day with Winifred. We had coffee with Bethany and Peter and some Albanians. Then we went to Winifred's house to help her do a final clean, get her stuff to her work, divide up the things she was leaving behind between the three of us, and throw away all the non-important stuff. It was a little crazy. I couldn't believe how much stuff she had! I hope that when I leave in a year I don't have quite so much stuff to deal with. Anyway, it was a little more difficult since she had to gather stuff together to ship to America and then some to send to Iceland where she will be working for a few months. Then she had to pack her bag that she will be traveling around Europe with. So her situation also added to the difficulty of helping her get ready to finish her service. I left her house about 2am Thursday morning. It was sad to say good-bye to her and know that when I came back from Elbasan she wouldn't be in Lezha.

Thursday morning I woke up really early to catch the 6 am bus to Tirana to get to Elbasan for the 10 am swearing in ceremony of the Group 12'ers. I didn't have much sleep but I got up and I got there in time for the start of the ceremony. Watching their ceremony reminded me of our swearing in ceremony a year ago and how excited and anxious I was. Now a year later, I feel at home in Lezha. I have many friends and I feel like I make an impact on the community. After the ceremony I talked to the new volunteers and their excitement was just like my own had been. Sitting there, drinking beer with them, talking about their excitement and fears was just mind boggling for me. I was no longer the new kid and I only have a year to go until I will be leaving Albania. I am in the middle of my service and I can't believe how fast the time is going.

Today, back at work I am super busy. My summer camp is actually going to happen and there is lots of paper work to do. I also am finishing a ton of brochures for USAID to print out for us. I was sitting in the office talking to several co-workers and they were like, "We are so happy that you are finally getting products produced." I decided to not bring up the fact that these things were not really new (except the summer camp). But the talk made me feel good. I have a year under my belt and I know that this next year is gonna fly by. The only problem is now, how am I going to be able to leave this place in a year??

False Alarm! The Project is a GO!

2009-05-27T07:31:00.002-05:00

Ok so after prematurely being disappointed about my project no longer being on the Peace Corps website I learned that it is actually because it is fully funded! I got to tell my counterpart today and other people I work with and it is definitely a good thing. There have been celebratory coffees today and now I am excited for all the work that lays ahead. Hopefully within 2 weeks the money will be in the new bank account I'm opening and then its time to buy stuff. In just under a month I will be on the road with 45 kids on the way to Gjinar! How exciting!

On another exciting note, the trainees swear in tomorrow and begin their 2 years of service. This is just plain crazy to me because that means I have been here over a year already! Only a year left and I will be trying to get rid of stuff, pack stuff up and be heading on to some new destination (which who knows where that will be...). This is just mind boggling for me.

On a sad note, my site mate Winifred is leaving tomorrow to travel around a bit and then off to Iceland for a few months on a project. It will be sad to not have her anymore in Lezha but she will always be here in spirit... Rruge te mbare Winifred!

Well so much for that Idea

2009-05-25T05:17:00.002-05:00

For the past month or so I have been working with my counterpart, Yllka to create a summer camp for children who are from families who live below the poverty line. Up till about 2 weeks ago I thought it would happen. To fund it, we had written a Peace Corps Partnership grant. This basically means that people who I knew back home and reached out to, who felt like donating to this camp, would be the main financers of the project. Today as I went online to check to see how much money we were still waiting for, I was disappointed to find it no longer listed. As we had planned on having this camp at the end of this month I knew that the funding needed to come by early June. Today is Memorial Day so no one is in the office to ask if this means that the project is being stopped because we didn't get the funding we needed or what exactly are our options. If the project is being stopped I am in for one bad conversation with Yllka later. If there are some other options well then maybe there's still hope.

I'm sad that this is just one more project that most likely won't happen but at least I tried. I hope that this will be an eye opener for Yllka. She hasn't been very active in helping me look for funding. Hopefully this will be a learning expereince for her as well. Yes I am American but no I am not rich nor am I conneted to people who have access to hundreds of dollars.

The summer is about to start so with that I have hope for sunny days and more small successes. The new group is swearing in on Thursday. I'm no longer the new kid! Best of luck to them. Just remember that patience is key to being a successful PCV here in Albania. Oh and go for every coffee you can :) Time to go find Yllka and have a chat. I may need a hug later...

I Needed That

2009-05-19T04:10:00.003-05:00

Last week I got back from a vacation that I really needed. Everything was stressing me out a bit here so it felt good to get away. Now I'm back and I'm ready for more!

My vacation started by traveling up to Herceg Novi with an Albanian who I help out here in Lezha. His name is Ardi and he has a transportation company. He had a group of Albanians he was taking to Herceg Novi and he had an extra seat which he offered to me. It worked out great because it was the same day I was leaving for Dubrovnik, Croatia. He dropped me off at the bus station and then I had to wait a while for the bus to arrive but it was smooth sailing from there. I had barely stepped off the bus in Dubrovnik when I was pulled aside by a woman asking if I needed a room for the night. I talked her down from 20€ to 16€. The room was nice enough and there were two Americans traveling around staying there as well. We wandered around that night and again the next day. Dubrovnik is amazing! Expensive but gorgeous. My flight left at 8:30 pm so I headed off to the airport around 6 and waited for the plane to start boarding.

The flight was fine and when we landed in London I hurried through everything so I could finally meet David. I was so excited! He was great. I spent a full week in England with him and we traveled to Thetford, Bury St. Edmonds, Stonehedge, Windsor Castle, London and Lakenheath. All in all it was a great time and I got to see some great stuff. I was sad though because I only charged one of my camera batteries instead of both so I missed out on some great pictures while we were in London doing a double decker bus tour. I really enjoyed meeting David and finally getting to spend time with him. I was sad to leave that Monday but my journey wasn't over yet. I still had to get to Albania from Dubrovnik.

After landing again in Dubrovnik I waited around a bit to try to figure out whether I should stay in Dubrovnik or go straight for Montenegro. Well I found a minivan going to Budva which was perfect because I got an email from Ardi saying he would be there with a group of university students. After meeting up with Ardi, we had some beers and then I got some sleep. The next day the group and I went to Kotor which is by far one of the prettiest cities I have seen in the Balkans. I wish my camera had not been dead! We came back to Budva and relaxed the rest of the day. On Wednesday we left for Albania but made stops at Stephen Island, Tivar and at the Shkoder Castle. I was fed up with the university kids by the time we got to Lezha and I was so happy to be home! Overall it was a great trip and it really was what I needed. I feel refreshed and ready to go. Now only if the internet was working at the bashki......

HELP THE CHILDREN!

2009-04-17T03:53:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone! Well the time has come for all of you who have wanted to help me, to help the children. I have written a Peace Corps Partnership Grant with Yllka, my counterpart. The grant is for a one week summer camp for children whose families live below the poverty line. This camp is an opportunity for them to see another part of their own country and learn about things like leadership, team work, cooperation, respect, self esteem and creativity. Here's how it works; Peace Corps has listed my project on their site (www.peacecorps.gov). Once you go there, click on donations and then search Albania. My project will come up. Read the project description and if you feel compelled to do so, donate! Otherwise, spread the word on to others who may be interested in helping. We are working with a short time frame so the more people who know the better. Please don't let this opportunity pass you by. It's for the kids and how can you say no to their faces???

SUCCESS!!

2009-04-10T01:50:00.003-05:00

I can’t believe how well tonight went. I was slightly dreading the concert because of all the drama that has been happening leading up to this event but tonight I was amazed. Today was the National Day for Roma Communities. I was approached by the president of the association of Roma here in Lezha numerous times asking how I would help with this event. I told him that I had boxes coming from America that had gifts for the Roma children. Well, he at one point thought I said I would give money. That day I had to explain to him that even though I was American, I am poor. I explained to him what my role in the community is and told him that I would be more than happy to help plan the event in any way besides giving money. He did not like my answer but he came back to see me again.
The next problem was that he found out that I was going to distribute the contents of the boxes I got from America at a center that children go to after school. The problem was that both Roma and Gypsie children go there. This was the day for ROMA communities and not GYPSIE communities. He explained how the two cultures are completely different. My response was that both communities are different but they do both reside in the same neighborhood, they marry each other and both are very poor. Why should only one community benefit from the boxes? In the end we decided not to distribute the boxes today but on June 1st, which is the International Day of Children. This way both communities can benefit and there can’t be any argument as to why they both are getting presents.
On to the actual event today. There was a concert arranged for 5pm at the Cultural Palace. It was agreed between the Roma and Gypsie’s that both communities would be represented and participate in the event. I could not believe how well they worked together in under 24 hours after the agreement had been reached to organize all the performers and pull the event off! The stage was all decked out for the event and I had a great time. I’m pretty sure everyone else did too. People were dancing in their seats, in the aisles and at the end, even I was pulled up onto the stage for a little traditional Albanian dancing.

At the beginning of the concert, when they were thanking everyone who helped make the event possible, I was shocked to hear them thank me. It went something like this, “Thank you to the American who is always a friend to the Roma. I’m sorry I forget your name now but know that you have helped us a great amount.” They gave me flowers and they all cheered and clapped for me. I’m not going to lie, I cried. At that moment I realized just how important my role in the community was. I didn’t realize that just by me saying hi to them every day and playing with their kids I made as much of an impact as I have, but now I know.
It’s after a day like today I really love my job. It really is true; Peace Corps is the toughest job I’ll ever love.

This Just Might Work...

2009-03-26T06:55:00.002-05:00

Well after so many things falling apart around me, I think I finally have gotten something together that is going to work. 2 things actually!!! First things first....

On April 8th, I was hoping that we would have a concert in honor of the National Day for Roma Communities. When I found out that they were looking to me to fund this concert, the idea ended. No concert. Well I still have these packages from America and I need to get these supplies to the Roma kids. The new plan is to hold a small party for the Roma kids at the Roma community center on the 8th. We will play some games like bingo and the children will get the stuff that my high school sent to me as prizes. This way the kids still get to have some fun and they get some fun stuff from America. My counterpart, Yllka, is onboard with the plan as is the director for the Roma community center. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this actually will happen. There's only 2 weeks for it to fall through so I'm thinking I can keep it together for 2 weeks.

The next project is a lot bigger. Again my counterpart, Yllka and I want to have a one week summer camp for the Roma children. We will take them to a village outside of Elbasan and play games, do group activities and just let these kids experience what they otherwise would not experience. We have already written the project proposal and I have translated it. After talking today with the country director, looks like we will be able to submit the PC Partnership Grant to get funding. This means that I will have 2 months to get all the money. I'm depending on people from back home to spread the word around to go to the website (when it gets posted) and donate!! I need as much help as I can get so if you're reading this tell your peeps to help out too! This will be a great project if it doesn't end for some mysterious reason. Anyways, I'm really hopeful right now so keep your fingers crossed for me!!

1 Year Down, 15 months to go

2009-03-19T05:03:00.003-05:00

I have been in Albania for one year as of today!! I can't believe how fast the time has been going. The new group of volunteers arrived yesterday. 34 new trainees. I can't wait to meet them. It's hard to believe that I am no longer the "new kid" and that next year at this time I will be close to leaving. The experience here has been everything I thought it would be but so much more. I have learned Albanian, have helped with numerous projects, have built relationships in my community and now feel as though Lezhe is my home. Just walking to work today I had to stop and have conversations with 4 people on the road. I have been so lucky with my placement and service. The continued support from my friends and family back home has also been tremendous and I am so happy that I have them behind me on this adventure. This would be much harder without their continuing support.
On another note, I just got back from Athens, Greece on Tuesday. The bus ride on the way down wasn't as bad as I thought the 14 hours would be. There was an American backpacking through Europe so he kept me company until we all started dozing off. My first day in Athens I walked around A LOT and saw most of the "typical" tourist sites. I stayed with a couchsurfer that night and he showed me around at night and we met up with another couchsurfer for drinks. The conference that I went to Athens for started on Friday and I met up with Dile, an Albanian from Lezha there. The conference was ok but a lot of things didn't apply to us since it was for the European Union and Albania is not a part of the EU (yet...). Anyways, Dile and I slept at a Greek girl's place for the last 3 nights. Sophie was a great host as well and I had fun talking with her. The conference ended on Sunday and there was time for more shopping, sight seeing and eating. I was so happy to eat my authentic greek salad and gyros!! Haha. Dile left early Monday morning but my return bus didn't leave until 8pm. I spent the day with Dile's cousin and his family. They were really nice and showed me around Pireaus (the port of Athens). The trip back to Albania was much longer but I made it back :)
Now I will be busy for awhile helping prepare materials for the new trainees, making materials for my municipality and helping with some smaller projects. Spring is going to fly by and it will be summer before I know it!!
Hugs to everyone!
Leslie

BRR!! It's cold out here!

2009-02-20T06:37:00.003-06:00

Well not much has been going on around these parts. It has turned colder and I'm not enjoying it. Yesterday it actually snowed. And here I was beginning to think that Spring just might be around the corner. Well, hopefully it still is!
I'm having a real hard time getting anything done with any of my projects currently. It's a little frustrating that I have all these great talks with people and they seem motivated to really do some good. A week later, BOOM! No more motivation. I need to come up with a new way of getting people to work with me on these projects. Maybe I need to just break them up into a whole bunch of really small projects so that people will stay motivated till the end. Maybe..
Other than that, I'm hanging in there. I'm a little sad that I didn't get the assistant postition for the new PST starting in March but oh well. I have some other things on my plate so its probably for the better. I will be doing a session on tourism development in Albania so I'm getting things together for that. I can't believe that I have almost been here a year! CRAZY!
Well I have a meeting/party tonight with the Women's Club so that should be fun :) Albanians and their circle dancing is never a dull moment! Tomorrow I might head up to Shkoder for a Carnival party but we'll see what the weather is like.
I hope you are all staying warm!
Leslie

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

2009-01-28T04:04:00.002-06:00

It has been raining every day for the past two weeks and after I thought long and hard about building an ark, it stopped! The sun is out and shining and I plan on doing laundry (which will be very exciting!). Anyways, it's nice to finally have some good weather. It's been a long two weeks.
Another happy thing is that I think I have a masive project about to start. When I was back home in September I gave a presentation to my old high school. One of my former teachers was very excited to be able to do anything for me so they held a drive to collect clothes, shoes and school supplies for me to distribute to the Roma children. Their drive went very well and they collected over 20 boxes of stuff. Then it was on me to figure out how to get the stuff to the kids. After talking to some people in the community we came up with an idea....
We're going to build a new kindergarden! It will be just for the Roma children so that they can preserve their own culture while learning Albanian so that they can really integrate into society and have a brighter future then their parents could've ever hopped for. I am very excited about this!
On April 8th, we plan on having a concert in honor of the National Day for Roma Communities. Roma children will sing and put on a short drama. After the concert they will be given things that were sent her from my old high school. The proceeds from the concert will go towards the new kindergarden. To finance the rest of the project I'm hoping to do a Peace Corps Partnership Grant. Basically 25% of the project funded by my community here in Lezha and the rest coming from people back home.
We still have a lot to talk about and we have to figure it out fast. I know that this will be a great project as long as I can get the support I need from my community here and at home. I'm just hoping the sun stays out to keep my spirits high!
Hugs to you all,
Leslie

Oh the Places You'll Go...

2009-01-06T06:26:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year's!!!! What a few weeks I have had! My time in Bangkok was amazing. Here are some of the hi-lites... I got to Bangkok and after checking in at my hotel it was off to the hospital for my first appointment. Well the dentist ended up removing my lower right wisdom tooth right then and there! It wasn't too bad except I was awake during it and could hear them drilling and the sound of my tooth cracking. Yuck. The next few days I just kinda lounged around to get used to the time and enjoy the comforts of air conditioning and t.v.

On my first Saturday I went on a temple tour and saw the Temple of the Dawn, Wat-Po (home to the reclining Buddha) and the Marble Temple. My favorite was definitly the Temple of the Dawn. It was breathtaking and absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! Wat-Po was beautiful in it's own way. The cool thing about Wat-Po was the line of buckets it had to collect 1 Baht coins that people dropped in for good luck. The Marble Temple was also cool and it is also a school for munks. There was a guy undergoing the ceremony to become a monk while I was there. Definitely cool.

On Sunday I went to some of the sights around downtown. I saw the Victory Monument and walked around the shopping district there. Then I went to Siam Center and was in awe at the stores you could find there. Versace, Gucci, Dolce & Gabanna just to name a few... Way above my per diem amounts. I did however enjoy McDonalds (known as McThai in Thailand).

That Monday I had both of my wisdom teeth on the left removed. Again not a pleasant situation as I was awake and could hear it all happening. The pain lasted a lot longer with those two. I didn't do much at all on Tuesday or Wednesday to prepare for my Christmas excursion on Thursday. I was picked up from my hotel at 6 am and we were off to the floating market. Probably one of the coolest things ever! A must see if you find yourself in Thailand. After that it was off to a snake show, then to a handicraft outlet, then lunch on the River Kwai (gorgeous!), then we stopped at a cemetary, and then it was time for what I had waited for - the Tiger Temple!!! We got there in time to pet the tigers before they were walked back to their enclosures for the night. It was awesome! We made one final stop at the World World II Museum before heading back to the hotel for the night. It was probably the coolest thing I could've done while in Bangkok on Christmas and I will never forget it.

The rest of my time in Bangkok was just wandering around and I left on the 28th. I was happy when I landed in Tirana that there wasn't snow on the ground. It was cold, but there wasn't snow. New Year's Eve I spent in Durres with two other volunteers. It was insane!!! People buy fireworks and just shoot them off where ever they feel like it. We had a blast though.

Now I'm getting back into the swing of things around Lezhe. It feels good to be back here and I'm excited for my projects that I have coming up. If I could change one thing it would be having heat in my house but hey now, that's what being a Peace Corps volunteer is all about right? If anything it's making my skin thicker. Alright time to do some work. I hope you all have had great holidays and a great New Year's!

Hugs to you all!

Leslie

Off to Continent 3!!

2008-12-16T03:51:00.002-06:00

So I am finally leaving later today for BANGKOK to have my wisdom teeth removed!! When Peace Corps told me I thought they were joking about sending me to Bangkok, but I guess they were serious!! I am totally excited to be able to see Asia and finally get rid of these darned wisdom teeth!

Anyways, I am flying Turkish airlines to Istanbull then to Bangkok. I will get there tomorrow about 1 in the afternoon Bangkok time. Right now they have me scheduled to return on the 23rd but that depends on if I get medical clearance. If I don't then I could end up spending Christmas in Bangkok! How exciting would that be!

I hope that everyone is keeping warm and enjoying the holiday season. I will try to post again as soon as I'm back in Albania. Just in case Merry Christmas, Happy Hanakuah, Happy Kwanza and anything else that you may be celebrating!!!

Hugs,
Leslie

Be Thankful!

2008-12-02T05:53:00.003-06:00

I have so many reasons to be thankful this year. I have a house, food, clothes, family, friends, a job and the opportunity to live in another country. It was a little hard to not be with my family and friends this year but I know that they thought of me as I thought of them.
I was very lucky to be paired with a family from the US Embassy for Thanksgiving dinner. I had the best family!! Dave and Cindy Eldrige took Kendra, Bill, Peter and I in along with numerous other Americans, Canadians and some Albanians for the special occasion. There was plenty of delicioius food, great converstaion and heat! I couldn't have been luckier.
My luck continues though as the Eldrige's invited me to stay at their house for the whole weekend. I accepted based on the fact that their house was heated, had a bath tub and Dave is an amazing cook! It turned out to be a great decision and I was sad to leave this past Sunday afternoon.
I am still waiting to hear about my wisdom teeth. I know that they are going to med evac me but its a question of when and where. Hopefully this will all be resolved soon as I am ready to take them out myself with a spoon!!!
Anyways, I want to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and hope that you all have told those people who you are thankful for, just how much they mean to you. Know that if you are reading this you are one of the people I am thankful for :)

Is It Really November??

2008-11-06T05:19:00.002-06:00

So my calender says its November 6th but that can't be right. The weather is still in the 60's and there are flowers in bloom. But then again, my birthday was 4 days ago and there is a new president-elect in America so it must be November.

October was a nice month. The weather stayed warm which was a great treat. I spent some time in Tirana, Durres, Shkoder and Elbasan which was awesome. I didn't get to go to Italy because I decided it was more important for me to stay in Lezhe and plus I wanted to save my money for future trips but that turned out alright. I also didn't go to Macedonia with the Women's Club but that's only because the trip dates got pushed back to November 14th-16th. I got to go to the Elbasan Halloween Party instead though on the 31st which was a blast! People got very creative with their costumes and it was great to see everyone. I was the Energizer Bunny. You know why?? 'cause I keep going and going and going..... hahahaha

My birthday was low key but very nice. The Lezhe gang, Leslie L, and myself had dinner at Besa. Following pizza and beer we had a homemade chocolate cake curtesy of Winifred and red wine, curtesy of Bledar. Yeah that's right we're classy! The best part was instead of candles I blew out a match. It was a really nice night and I have never had such a warm birthday!

The only thing people are talking about now is our new president-elect, Mr. Barak Obama. I am thrilled that he won and look forward to what he does during his term. I am a little sad that I was not in Chicago to join in on the celebrating though. Maybe for the 2012 election....

Anyways, that's about all for now. Hopefully, this month doesn't fly by like October and I will be able to post again soon.

As always, air hugs for you all!
Leslie

I have been a' traveling!

2008-10-02T02:42:00.002-05:00

My passport now has 8 stamps. This is from me coming to Albania initially, going home to the US, coming back and then going to Montenegro. My trip home was amazing but I wish I had had more time. I barely had any time to just sit down and relax. It was like I needed a vacation from my vacation. Don’t get me wrong I had a blast getting to see everyone and eating American food! Ok, not to bore everyone but the hi-lites…

-My brother got married on September 20th. It was a very nice ceremony but the unity candle did not light. Bad omen – I think so J I got to meet my two new little cousins, Carlie and Faith. They are adorable! Justin was my date and he was a great sport since the reception died pretty early and we hung out till midnight.

-I got to hang out with almost everyone I wanted to on Friday. We had drinks and went dancing. So much fun!!

-Sunday was Becca day. We had lunch at Noodles and had a photo shoot.

-Monday I spent at Tosa East giving presentations about life in Albania. Not exactly my idea of fun but I got to count the day as business leave so it was worth it. On Monday I also went to the YMCA to say hi and as I was talking with my former boss she says “You know I never took you off payroll.” Then I say “Wouldn’t it be funny if I taught?” and she replies “I have a suit you could wear.” Needless to say I ended up teaching for 2 hours so now I can look forward to a $10 paycheck! Hahaha

-Tuesday was a family day. My mom and I had breakfast and went to see Mama Mia! The sing-a-long edition. It was amazing! We had dinner with my dad at Cheesecake Factory and then my dad and I went to see Wanted, which I remember watching being filmed in Chicago. It was pretty awesome too.

Wednesday I had a tearful good-bye with my mother at O’Hare as I headed through security to head back to Albania. The flight wasn’t too bad. There were good movies playing so the time went pretty fast. Ardi was supposed to pick me up in Tirane but he had work and couldn’t so I ended up taking buses back to Lezhe. Because he didn’t pick me up it also meant I didn’t get to Montenegro for the Madonna concert. It was super sad L However, he made up for it by taking me on Saturday night and then we spent Sunday walking around seeing the sights of Budva. It was gorgeous!

Other than these last two trips I can’t think of anything too important to catch you all up on. It looks like I might be going to Italy for the weekend of the 18th of October just for fun with Kendra, and I might be going to Macedonia for the weekend the weekend of the 31st with the Lezhe Women’s Club. We’ll see how things go I guess :)

Air hugs for you all!

Leslie

Full Speed Ahead!

2008-09-02T03:45:00.002-05:00

Looking at my calender for September I can't believe how busy I am going to be!! First off, they are having a big grand opening for the new Red Cross Center here in Lezhe. We're keeping busy making the place clean, organized, and Red Cross worthy. Next, I'm going to be helping with a kindergarten for Roma children. I have a meeting with parents this week, and classes start next week. Then I have couch surfers coming in and out staying with me throughout the month. I love having couch surfers because it gets me out of the house and its always so interesting talking to them! My first trimester report is due so I'm busily working on finishing that to turn in. Then I have a training in Tirane for 3 days next week. After that I am going home for a week for my brothers wedding!! I am super excited to get to see my family and friends and eat all sorts of different foods! I of course will be super busy with wedding stuff on Friday and Saturday but am hanging out with friends Friday night and doing a presentation at my old high school for the foreign language classes. That means I also have to prepare a presentation before I leave. The day I come back I'm going to Montenegro for the Madonna Concert. Then its back to translations, web design and coffees. But by then September will be over!

Another big thing happening this month is that on Saturday 8 volunteers who were evacuated from Georgia will be arriving in Albania. They will get a crash course in Albanian and culture. I will be greeting them when they arrive at Rinas Airport and helping out a lot since they are going to do the training in Tirane and I am only an hour away. It's going to be super exciting having new volunteers here!

So as you can see September is going to be a busy month for me but that makes me happy. I'm ready to keep going and am excited for all my small projects! With that said, "Full Speed Ahead!"