First of all I have to let everyone know that the self-defense class that I did with the trainees went very well. Everyone had fun and hopefully retained a thing or two. There was a lot of interest and many people thanked me afterward. Whoohoo! To my dojo back home, Northwest Martial Arts!
I saw a man on his donkey talking on his cell phone and I thought, 'that's an accident waiting to happen.' That's among the many cultural oddities that I've encountered so far. Did I tell you about the Turkish toilets? Yeah, I think I did. I'll just say that I'm adjusting just fine to it.
My CBT (Community Based Training) site is stunning. It's so beautiful. I can see the High Atlas Mountains from my backyard, large lake, and a roaring river. The long rainy winter has served this place well. I have never seen dirt so red and grass so green, and there are many wildflowers blooming. The drive to our hub site is the most scenic ride I have ever experienced. I don't think the view will get old.
At least not for the remaining seven weeks that we'll be in CBT. I apologize if you're shifting in your seat while reading this... I know haven't said exactly where I am, but that's on purpose. It's Peace Corps policy. Like I said, I have only 7 weeks remaining for CBT. During this time we're supposed to learn Tamazight (Berber dialect). We've only learned greetings and touched on verb conjugation. I've got a lot of studying to do, but we haven't had a lot of time yet to do it. Between language class, technical training, quality time with the host fam, and laundry I barely have time for sleep. I'll find a balance somehow, insha'llah (if God willing).
Speaking of laundry, I really missed having a washer and dryer today. My host sisters showed me how to wash clothes by hand. It occurred to me that I shouldn't wait a week to do my laundry because it will take me hours just to wash and hang them. I'm glad for the experience, though. This is how most of the word does their laundry; sitting on a short stool or squatting, three buckets of water, and a washboard. I have to say it's a unfortunate that they use Tide as a laundry detergent, they call it 'Teed.' We saw a woman yesterday when we went to see the waterfalls, after a 3 hour hike up the mountains. She was using Teed. It can't be good for the environment. It's also a bit disturbing how much garbage is all over the place. They only have one village garbage can, which they burn the contents of when it gets full, but we can all tell that people don't throw much of their trash in there. I should say that the garbage can is a new addition. I hope people will get used to the idea. The Health and Environmental Volunteers have their work cut out for them.
On another note, I'm looking forward to learning how to bake bread in the wood-fired oven.
Thanks for all your prayers. You are in mine as well.
Felicia
Hey Felicia! Thanks for the post... it gives us an idea what you're experiencing. We know what you mean about the garbage and how it's burned. That's how it was in Vietnam, too. Such a beautiful place but the litter and smell of burning garbage doesn't do it any favors.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you at the dojo! Keep posting!
Hi Felicia, I just got back from a walk to the Safeway a block away from my house. Down the aisle of cleaning supplies, I passed a new product from Febreze, "Moroccan scented" laundry spray. The ad copy said something about ginger and the markets of Casablanca. "Really?" I wondered, and came back home to your blog to get a real dose of Morocco. Interesting to note that Moroccan laundry smells like Tide. Good luck with the hand washing: I never really managed to get my clothes very clean. Thanks for all the good work you are doing!
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