Performance

At my youth center there is a local chapter of a nation wide association for youth, specializing in education and culture through song and dance. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in on many of the meetings and practice sessions of this association, watching the kids express themselves through performance. These kids won’t be appearing on So You Think You Can Dance anytime soon but I am glad to see them doing something positive with their time. Tonight was their performance that took place in the large auditorium at the youth center.
Upon my arrival I was ushered to a perfect front row seat by my friend Aziz. He even had to make a kid move for me! Aziz is one of the leaders of the association and he choreographed many of the dance routines that he taught to the kids.
Over the past two months here in El Gara I have watched the kids stumble through the routines making many mistakes and repeating the dances over and over. I got such an overwhelming since of pride when watching the kids and seeing how far they’d come with practice and I was so happy to be watching what I could call “my kids.” There was a hip-hop style routine performed by five girls. Just before the music started to play one of the girls spotted me watching from the audience and her face lit up like a Christmas tree and she blew me a kiss right before the music began. I was honored that she was so excited to have me watching.
The girls really rocked it. They all had their hair down, which is rare, and they were all sporting really stylish clothes and hats. They rocked it like the bad asses I know they are! They are my girls.
Another more interpretive style dance routine was performed by three girls and three boys. I was so pleased with their final performance and they had come a long way from when I first saw them perform the routine.
I love giving these kids all my love, support, and attention. Having such a nurturing personality it makes me feel so good that they know that I love them. They all treat me so well in return.
This was probably the first time that I can say I felt at home in El Gara. It finally felt I was among “my people”. I felt a part of the community. As I looked around the auditorium I saw people I knew and they all made it a point to say hello and shake my hand. It makes me feel more comfortable here when I know there are people around who love and care about me. I am building true relationships with people. Not false ones with people who just want to hang out with me because I’m the novelty item in town. If I can build relationships like these in two months I am so excited to see how the relationships will grow in two years.

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View from the Top

In every city that I’ve lived I have a spot. A spot that I love to go to relax, read, think, and just pass the time. I have been searching for a spot like that here in my new city in Morocco and I believe now I’ve found it.
I have access to a roof in my apartment and it is a great place to go for fresh air and sun which is also private. I share it with the two other tenants in the my building. The roof is completely enclosed, without a top of course, so even though there is sun out there, there really is no view. The walls are high and it just feels like an outdoor room. There is only a small corner that receives direct sunlight.
Beyond the roof there are the actual tops of the buildings, which are all flat. Listening to my inner child I decided I wanted to climb up and explore the top of the building. The other day. I stepped on a chair then on top of the wooden window shutter of my kitchen window carefully hoisted myself up. At this time it was just before dusk and the moment I stepped up I felt like I had entered a whole new world. I saw a view of the city I had never seen before and I could see for miles. I felt like I was the only person in the world for those few moments because I was completely along up there and there was no way anyone could see me. I felt so free and so rich to have such a wonderful view to be able to see. Americans love privacy I have found. It’s clear to me now living in a culture where there is almost no privacy or personal space. That’s why I want to find private places like this because when I am out on the streets I live in a fish bowl.
I plan to climb up there a lot to catch some rays in privacy admire the stars and night and feel free as a bird.

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The Real Casablanca

I had the opportunity to go to Casablanca with a friend of mine, who is Moroccan, who is a native of the city. This was my third time in Casablanca but this was defiantly the most rewarding and exciting visit yet. Being with Aziza I felt very well taken care of and was given the royal treatment. Being in Casablanca with a resident of the city is the best way to see exactly what you want to see.

After arriving, Aziza showed me her apartment and I had a little rest. I told her that I needed to buy a few things for my apartment and she took me to the best places to get the best prices. The amount of things to buy in a big city is really unbelievable. It’s impossible to find exactly what you are looking for unless you are with someone who knows where to go. I took advantage of having a wide assortment of articles to buy as well as having a Moroccan with me, who is much better at bargaining than I am.

After a little shopping we went home for lunch. I had expressed to Aziza that I wanted to visit Mosque Hassan II, which is the largest mosque in Morocco. Visiting this mosque was one of my goals while here in Morocco and so I was glad to take the opportunity to see it. The mosque was completed in 1993, built by Morocco’s king, Hassan II I really enjoyed my time viewing the mosque and I really hoped I could go inside. Just a I stepped foot inside the door a woman working there quickly identified me as American and said that I may not enter. I was afraid of this because I was aware of the Islamic rule that non-Muslims may not enter most mosques. I was hoping that this attraction might be welcoming to all people, but I was wrong. I was pretty offended and disappointed by this and to spare you my words of anger I will just say that I do not agree with this religious rule. 

The mosque is on the shore of the Atlantic so I also truly enjoyed looking out into the ocean and listening to the waves crash along the shore. We walked to chic area nearby with lots of hip cafés and restaurants along the beach. We stopped in a café called Tropicana and had some coffee and conversation.

Afterwards Aziza took me to Marjane, which is best described as the Wal-Mart of Morocco. Any opportunity to go to Marjane I get, I take gladly. Our first stop in Marjane was to the attached McDonalds. There I was delighted to have a hot fudge sundae. It was delicious and helped me to feel like I was back home. I enjoy the ease of shopping at Marjane because such a large variety of products are available to you, and is just like shopping in the USA. I have been trying to find oatmeal for quite some time now and it is proven to be an obnoxious challenge. Trying to explain oatmeal to someone who doesn’t have any idea what it is, is not easy. I have never had to explain a food before. I was also trying to explain something like Bisquick, with no luck. I decided to give up and deny my desire to look for maple syrup out of discouragement. It is nice having a large display of foods to choose from but there are challenges when they are all written in languages you do not understand. 

Even though I was exhausted from all the events of the day Aziza took me to her parents house for a “short” visit. Her family was so very kind, warm, and welcoming, and was patient with me when I tried to explain who I was and what I was doing here in Morocco. After leaving her parents we went back to her apartment and watched some t.v. together. It was of course nice to be with a friend sharing a laugh and a good time. She told me that there are many more places she wants to take me in Casablanca and so I can’t wait until my next visit.

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My Far Away Handyman

One of the most unfortunate things about living on my own, far from home, is the fact that my dad is far away. Being a girl, whenever I have a problem, I call on my dad. Problems with my car or my sink, or anything that requires handy work, my dad was always a phone call away. But here in Morocco by dad can’t help me, at least not physically.
After one week in my new apartment problems started coming out of the woodwork. My kitchen sink clogged, my bathroom sink clogged, and my Turkish toilet clogged. I do not consider myself very handy and have never fixed neither a sink nor a toilet so I wasn’t too confident that I could fix this problem myself. I wanted nothing more than to call my dad to come over and find a way to make the problems go away. He tried to give me advice over Skype but it just isn’t the same.
So being on my own I have to do whatever it take to get the job done. I lucky have wonderful downstairs neighbors, who have become my family, who I expressed my problems to. After these problems existing for over a week, today I put my foot down and decided that I was really going to explain how urgent this matter was to address. They came upstairs to have a look and the situation. The woman, Fatha, quickly took charge of the situation and said the pipe and the trap underneath the kitchen sink needed to be cleaned, same with the bathroom. The two of them went to work while I could only stand back and watch, as they insisted on doing it for me. Fatha also had the idea of pouring lots and lots of water down the Turkish toilet, an idea I kept away from for fear of a massive overflow and mess. After two full buckets down the toilet the blockage was gone. If I had only known it was that easy.
I’m hoping that by being here I will gain skills to be more handy around the house. But I will admit it will be nice when I am able to call on my dad again to fix all of life’s little glitches!

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Teaching

After completing my sixth week of teaching English I can say it is going less than perfect but I understand that it will take practice to be most effective.
Right now I teach two English classes per week for one hour each.. My Tuesday class consists of all boys and 1 girl aged 15-24. The very first class I had there were 13 students in attendance, now I’m lucky if I get five each week. Seeing as there were 13 in the original lineup it’s always a surprise who will show up each week. I do have a few dedicated students who have been present every class. At first I was slightly apprehensive to be teaching older students, thinking that I was going to enjoy teaching children more, but teaching this group of students has proven to be fun, entertaining, and somewhat effective. With these students still being “high beginners” but still having a small knowledge of English I can usually get my point across. So far I have gone over greetings, family members, giving directions, question words, and prepositions with them. They seem to grasp the lessons well, I just hope they remember them!
Saturday evenings, on the other hand, offer a bit more of a challenge. My Saturday class consists of 8-14 year olds and in the first class there were 20 students. Again as with the Tuesday class it is usually a mystery who will actually show up so sometimes that number is smaller and sometimes all 20decide to attend. In schools here in my site classes are much larger than 20 students, so I have a hard time complaining, but for one women, who barely can communicate, 20 students may as well be an army. The kids love to chat with their neighbor at any moment then can and even yell across the room with complete confidence that it’s acceptable to do. Usually trying to get their attention spikes my blood pressure quickly, but they are so incredibly cute they are tough to be mad at.
I have had to start at the bare bones of the language with these kids. Some can not even read the English alphabet and some have the worst pronunciation I have ever heard. Some students thrive. Having a multi-level class is such a challenge because some of the material is over some students’ head’s and some is just too easy. With 20 kids in the classroom, and me only being one person, I find it difficult to give each student the personal attention they need to learn. I try to use only English to the class when I am saying words like “good job” or “listen up”, with the hope that they will eventually figure out their means on their own.
I am ending this session of classes at the end of January. After which I will be out of town for two weeks for more training from Peace Corps. When I return I am going to sit down and clearly communicate my requests for how I want my classes structured. No more coming in 30 minutes late, and no more 20 student classes. I feel these first couple of months have been my trial run, and have taught me what works and what doesn’t.
I usually start the class with a little review of the week previously. Even though the students took notes the week before they act as if the information is new. Then I present all the new words and write them on the white board. I try to get everyone to repeat the words so I can hear if they are pronouncing them correctly. Then I try to end with some kind of activity to get them to use the new words. For instance this past week I taught them how to introduce their family members and say how many siblings they have. After presenting the new phrases I had the students draw a picture of their family and label each person with their name and who they were. Sounds easy enough, right? Well even for me to communicate simple directions such as these I have difficulty. Sometimes I think these kids have cotton in their ears or I am speaking some kind of alien language that no one could understand. Because just when I think my point is communicated and I tell them to start they sit there staring at me with goofy smiles on their faces.
But with a little patience and help from those students who understand me a little better, the point is taken. After drawing their family I wanted the students to stand up and introduce their family to the class. “My father’s name is…, my mother’s name is…” And so on.
When all is said and done I’m not sure how much these kids are actually learning. But I am confident of one thing that they are learning and that is confidence. After every student has gotten up to speak in front of the class I start a very loud and enthusiastic clap for them. The students love this and they all join in joyfully. I always praise every student and pat them on the back whenever they have the courage to try. I can tell by the genuine smiles on their faces that they are proud of themselves and that they feel special. If they never remember one word of English that I taught them, I really don’t care. What I care about most is teaching them that they are special and loved.

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It is actually cold in Morocco-who would have thought that

I would have liked to think being raised in Michigan I had developed a very thick skin when it comes to cold. We Michiganians tend to find it perfectly acceptable to shed the winter coat the moment the temperature hits 40 degrees. In my particular region of Morocco, which is near the coast, the weather, I have been told, never becomes too harsh. The weather stays somewhat mild and does not hit extremes as in other parts of the country. I will probably never see snow in my town, but I have been enduring large amounts of rain. Right now I am in what I guess you could call a winter season. However, the temperature, again I have been told, will not drop below 40 degrees. So being from Michigan I have the mindset that I have endured much worse, and survived. I am some kind of soldier of the cold, I’d like to think. But us in Michigan, and mostly all other Americans, for that matter have one luxury that Moroccans are not familiar with. And that is central heating. Yes heating is expensive, but American’s find it to be a necessary investment. An investment in comfort. But here in Moroccan homes there is no such thing as central heating, nor home insulation. Right now my home is a cool 58 degrees. I am forced to dress like a child who is going out and play in the snow. My typical ensemble consists of first -underpants. I have a wonderful pair I got here in Morocco, which are handmade by local women. They are knitted very tightly, basically a sweater for your legs. Next I wear one pair of thin socks under them, and one pair of wool socks over them. Then I usually wear 2 long sleeve t-shirts with a sweatshirt or my fleece jacket over the shirts. Moroccans tend to get a lot of clothing custom made and I joined them by having my very own fleece robe made. When I am at home I wrap the warm, blanket like, robe over me and it helps a lot. Lastly, sometimes I even go as far as wearing my winter hat and putting the hood of my sweatshirt over top of it. I even have broken out my thick fleece gloves on occasion. Most of the time I want to be deep under my blankets in my bed. Drinking hot tea is always very soothing. Once in a while I can even see my breath! I’m sure things could be much worse. I know that there are places colder than, what I have to endure. This is just one of the many challenges I must face as a Peace Corps volunteer. I know one day I will look back, and laugh.

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Cooking my own meals

Now that I am living on my own it means I have to prepare all my own food. Living in my own apartment in East Lansing defiantly taught me a lot of things about how to survive, but the lessons I learned in cooking back at home have to be somewhat tweaked for cooking here in Morocco.
Here, there is no such thing as Stouffer’s microwave lasagna or ham and cheese HotPockets. Microwaves are not very common and those people who have them just use them for warming things, not cooking. So this means there are no quick meals. Almost everything I eat must be made from scratch. Even though this is more challenging and requires a lot more patience, it is still fun and interesting at the same time. What is also a challenge is that I am presented with ingredients here in Morocco that I am not used to seeing back home. And I am cooking with a gas stove, which I never have used before.
Right now the food in my kitchen consists of: dried white beans, dry lentils, white rice, spaghetti, eggs, fresh tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, bananas, and apples. I also have some Laughing Cow cheese and jam that is nice to spread on bread for a quick snack. I just finally found some dry cereal that I have begun eating for breakfast. I also like to eat almonds and dried and salted chick peas for snacks.
If I really don’t feel like going through the process of cooking I can just make myself a quick tuna sandwich. There is a lot of canned fish around here. It is easy just to grab some bread and stuff the tuna in it like a pita . I can get tuna in tomato sauce and it tastes pretty good.
Luckily for me I do have quite a bit of free time on my hands right now. I am enjoying the opportunity to experiment in the kitchen. Now I have a space that I am free to make errors and move about as I like and no one will judge me for my mistakes. I make a lot of spaghetti as an easy way out because it doesn’t take too much time, can’t be messed up, and it’s filling. I can also fry up eggs quickly and easy as well. But a couple times during my first week on my own I have gone a little bit deeper in my cooking endeavors. One day for lunch I chopped up potatoes and boiled them with some rice. I topped it with cheese and some spices. What I learned from that is that a little rice goes a long way!
I also was really in the mood to make some kind of soup because it’s really cold in my apartment. So with limited resources and limited know-how I gave it a shot. I had some flour and wanted to make some kind of dumplings. So I mixed up dough with salt, flour and water and rolled it into small dumplings. I chopped up carrots and potatoes and put them in the pot to boil with water. I dropped in a Knoor chicken bouillon cube to give it some chicken flavor. I put a little flour in the water to thicken up the broth. In the end it actually tasted pretty good. The chicken flavor was really good and the veggies were just right. Next time I might make smaller dumplings though, seeing as they were really heavy.
All volunteers get a really good cookbook that was put together by former volunteers. It has some really good and interesting recipes. Most are American favorites, things I have always wanted to make myself. It also has really good information about how to cook healthy meals and is very informative.

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