Tip Tuesday

Blemish repair
1. Here is a tip from my own best friend Maggie, one that I have used for years. Apply Neosporin. or some other anti-bacterial ointment to a blemish that is popped. A blemish on your face is basically an open wound and the anti-bacterial ointment will help heal it much faster and lessen the appearance of a scar that could form.

Chip saver, money saver
2. As summer comes and stale foods in the kitchen begin to annoy you try this tip from e-cooks.net. For soggy or stale chips and crackers preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread the chips or crackers on a single layer on a cooking sheet and bake for five minutes. Allow to cool and place them in a plastic bag or container.

Read more

Palace of Versailles

The grand event that I had been waiting for the most was my trip to Versailles Palace. Situated in a suburb of Paris just 20 km away and only a short 30 minute train ride from the city.

I was so excited to see Versailles because of my fascination of Marie Antoinette for the past several years. In those years I have read several books and articles on the late queen and had added a trip to her home to my life list. I was so happy that I got to make that dream come true and being on the palace grounds I felt closer to her than ever.

When the Palace at Versailles was built it was just a country village but today it is a working suburb of Paris with many residents. The court at Versailles was the height of political power in France from 1682 to late 1789 when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were forced to move from there at the beginning of the French Revolution.

Once Cynthia and I arrived in Versailles and took a short five minute walk from the train station to the palace, following the other tourists, we got in line to buy our tickets. This was the most pricey thing I bought in all of Paris. To have access to all the palace grounds and all its buildings was 25 euro or about $35. But it was worth everything to me to see as much of Marie Antoinette's life as possible.

We first toured the main palace which was mostly like driving cattle down the range. By most of the rooms we squeezed only having a few seconds to stop and admire and to take a photo. It surely was very crowded. But when I got to Marie Antoinette's apartments and got to see her bed I was so happy.

After we were finished with the palace we exited through the back and went out into the gardens where we saw a large and beautiful fountain and the grand canal.

There was music playing on the grounds that was reminiscent of the late 1700s. It was such a nice touch that added to the proper and royal feeling while being there. I was wearing a beautiful and girlie dress that fit just perfect for my royal visit.

After walking for about 20 minutes we arrived at the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette's estate. It was built in the 1760s and was later given to Marie Antoinette by her husband Louis XVI as a private place for her to relax. She would go there to escape from the formalities of court life and her duties as the French queen. Here she would entertain only those in her "inner circle" and she would find the solitude to be herself.

Now Marie Antoinette was far from a commoner but while at her estate she tried to be. From 1785 to 1792 The Queen's Hamlet was built not far from the Petit Trianon. A hamlet is a small rural  settlement of of buildings not large enough to be considered a village. Here she was able to get back to nature as she had learned from the teachings of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau of the time period. The tiny village has many buildings and was a working farm able to produce eggs and milk that the Queen loved so much. In the eyes of the French people the Queen seemed to be merely amusing herself. But to Marie Antoinette she found serenity here.

I could understand exactly how she felt when I was there. Walking around through the nature was to liberating, it was a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. The trees and flowers were all so lovely.

Read more

Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe is one of Paris’s most iconic images. My first experience with it was the first night I arrived in Paris. It was pushing 1 am and technically I was lost but perfectly calm.  I was following two helpful Parisians, who were helping me to get to my final destination of the night. When I exited the bus I was taking I was surprised to see the Arch presented to me in all its glory. Lit up and grand, I was blown away by its size.

In 1806, just after the Battle of Austerlitz,  Napoleon I declared to his soldiers, “you will march home through arches of victory.” To indulge his liking of Ancient Rome he called for the monument to be built to dominate Paris. The architects Chalgrin and Raymond took their inspiration from the Arch of Titus in Rome. The massive monument was constructed between the years of 1806 and 1836.

In 1916 the idea arose to use the Arc De Triomphe as a site to honor one solider, the unknown solider, and to symbolize all those who died for their country during the First World War. The unknown solider was laid to rest  beneath the Arch in 1921. The flame of remembrance was lit November 11, 1923 and has never gone out since.

The Arch sits on a piece of land, completely for it, in the middle of a traffic circle with roads jetting out from many points. Getting from point A to point B around the Arch takes some time. You must slowly go around the circle waiting at cross walks while crossing each road. The traffic in the circle  is chaotic but I’m sure Parisians know what they are doing.

When Cynthia and I took the time to go to the Arch with the intention of going up I quickly realized that there must be some secret passage way  underground to get there. After some time we found it and we were on our way to stand below the Arch. The elevator was out so we know we would be climbing lots of stairs just like we did when we visited the Catacombs. Once we reached the entrance we started to climb the large stairs. There are different floors to stop off at and admire the history of the building of the Arch.  Once we got to the observation deck we got toe see a view of Paris from above. The Eiffel Tower was in view on one side as well as the busy streets below.

Obviously this last image isn't mine because I didn't bring my helicopter to Paris!

Read more

The Louvre

We spend one full day at the Louvre Museum. 652,300 square feet of treasures from prehistory to the 19th century. The monument holds 35, 000 works of art in all. Of course I couldn’t look at every one of those, but I did seek out my favorites. The Louvre is the most visited art museum in the world and now I can say I have been a visitor.

The museum is centrally located in Paris along the banks of the River Seine. Getting to the Louvre is easy but once you are in you need to decide to make a plan or just wander if that is what you truly like. I had written down the locations of some must see pieces before I went to Paris so I firstly headed off in a pursuit of those. After I saw the works I had been waiting for I took the time to get lost and just see what presented itself to me.

Here they are:

  Venus de Milo

Liberty Leading the People, Eugene Delacroix, 1830

Some works of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

 The Lacemaker, Johannes Vermeer, 1669-70

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

Mona is such a celebrity I had to wait several minutes inching forward ever so slowly just to get a look at her. 

Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, 1503-1519

 Her crowd awaits!


Outside the Louvre is a work of art as well. There are so many statues on the building to admire as well as the glass pyramid built in 1988.

After making sure I was able to find my favorite works I took much time just winding through the maze that is the Louvre. There are three wings Sully, Denon, and Richelieu. When you are in the central lobby directly underneath the glass pyramid there are people buzzing around at every angle. You can pick up a map in one of several languages to make your trek somewhat manageable. Once you enter a wing you realize just how much there is to see and just how overwhelming it can be. There are many places to sit along the journey of discovering the Louvre which was very helpful for me as I had very sore legs that day. I made sure to take periodic breaks so that I could better enjoy myself. I stopped being preoccupied with having to see and appreciated every work of art and just tried to relax being surrounded by all the beauty, history, and culture. Some places of the museum were very crowded while others were very calm. In those calm moments I opened myself up to the energy that the paintings could offer.

Read more

Paris, Catacombs

I just returned from the vacation of a lifetime. A week in Paris with my Peace Corps friend, Cynthia. I had been waiting for a  vacation for almost a year, but I had been waiting to go to Europe my entire life.

Paris ended up being beyond my expectation. I loved every minute of my time there, except for the painful moments that my legs were throbbing from so much walking. I enjoyed navigating the streets of Paris as they were clearly  marked and the map was easy to follow. I loved riding the Metro subway system as well. I normally hate puzzles but this time it became a puzzle that was doable and was fun to figure out.

We got to do a lot of things and I had so many wonderful obervations while I was there. I felt right at home in French culture after coming from a year and half in Morocco. I did a lot of comparing while I was there, juxtaposing French and Moroccan way. Lets just say it was a refreshing break. And now I am left with photos and beautiful mental images of the City of Love and Lights.

Over the next week, or however long it take, please enjoy my small anecdotes on Paris attractions I visited and other stories. I'm going to start today with the Paris Catacombs,

The Paris Catacombs were created at the end of the 18th century as an ossuary. An ossuary is a site built to house human skeletal remains. In 1780, Paris's largest cemetery was closed for public health reasons at the request of local residents. In the early 19th century the Catacombs were opened to the public, attracting many visitors.

We entered  the Catacombs and immediately began descending tight spiral stairs for what felt like about five minutes. I had to hold on tight to the side rails because after some time the stairs became a little dizzying. When we made it down we walked through some spooky underground tunnels that were chilly and wet. We finally made our way to the bones and saw stacks and stacks of human remains placed very orderly. There were decorative configurations made out of some of the bones and most of all  skulls. I just kept thinking about who all these bones belonged to and how they lived their lives several hundred years ago. Many of them lived in the time of Marie Antoinette. So I imagined their lives compared with the lives of the royals.

This was an interesting, offbeat, and unique attraction to see. And seeing as I love spooky stuff it was right up my alley.

Read more

200th post, Tip Tuesday

This is the 200th post of my blog and it just so happens to be my 25th birthday! I've grown and changed a lot since post 1 and I've really felt a change in my writing. Thanks so much to all of you who have been loyally tuning in over the past 20 months. Look forward for more to come.

This calls for a celebration.

Without further ado here is your Tip Tuesday.

 1. From thesimpledollar.com, use the 10 second rule when shopping. Pick up something for 10 seconds and ask yourself why am I buying this? Do I need it? If you don't, put it back. It will really help impulse buying when you really take a moment to think about the purchase. Has worked beautifully for me.

2. From sistertosister.org, drink one or two full glasses of water before meals. The water will help you to feel more full so you don't fill up on too much food that will leave you stuffed and uncomfortable.

Read more

Women's self defense

In my last semester at MSU I took a semester long women’s self defense class. I loved it. It was so empowering learning ways to protect myself from those who mean me harm. I learned so many techniques to defend myself from a number of different attacks.  

All these things helped me to feel more prepared if I were to find myself in a dangerous situation. On top of having all this practical  knowledge I finished the class with the notion that it doesn’t matter your size or strength in an attack. If you know the proper moves to make you can both outsmart and outfight your attacker.

The idea for this workshop spawned from when I asked my sister Rababe if she would know what to do if she was attacked. Her answer was just curl up in a ball on the ground. I knew then I had a duty to share my knowledge with young girls in my town.

I picked a day and decided to have a two hour workshop about women’s self defense.

We started with a discussion about how to prevent yourself from getting into a dangerous situation. Prevention is the best defense. Here are some of the discussion questions and points I used:

1. What do you know about self defense?
2. Where and when can a situation get dangerous?
3. If you must be out alone, what can you do to stay safe?
4. If a situation feels dangerous, it probably is. Listen to your gut.
5. Walk with confidence. An attacker is going to attack someone who they think  is weak. Look like you know where you are going, even if you do not.
6. If you think you are being followed, change your path. Get into a store or well lit area as soon as you can.
7. When you see/feel a situation start to get dangerous being looking for all the exits that are around you.
8. Try talking your attacker down. If this aggravates them just stop.
9. It is ok to hurt someone in self defense. It is either you or them.
10. Last resort is to fight.


My program included many ways to aggress an attacker and ways to get out of different restraints.

Aggressive moves:
-Defensive position
-Proper punch
-Hammer fist
-Nose break
-Eye poke
-Elbow punch
-Foot stomp
-Knee hit
-Kick to groin
-Using keys as a weapon
-Distraction technique
-Assertive verbal skills can also be easily used. Yelling “back off”, “stop”, “no”, or any number of other things in a LOUD, and CONFIDENT voice can draw attention to you and deter the attacker.

Escape from restraint:
-How to get out of frontal choke hold against a wall
-Get out of choke from behind against something
-Get out of bear hug
-Get out of hair grab

I am very much against giving certificates for little things but in this case I thought it was appropriate. I found a simple certificate of completion online and printed some copies to give my participants. I wanted them to feel proud in themselves for completing something that could ultimately save their lives.

I used Youtube to find the proper execution for all of these moves. If you would like to do a program like this yourself please feel free to follow the notes I have written. If not, please review all these things just for yourself. Learning how to defend yourself can make you feel stronger and more in control. It’s worth taking the time.

Read more

Sometimes I'm a Superbitch

I’ve always been small. I’m confident but sometimes I feel like a pushover. Somewhat of an easy target. Someone who people think they can throw jabs at. Whether playful or not things add up. Mixing this with my ability not to be mean, you have what is called a doormat.

But that was then.

Because of Morocco I have finally found the bitch in me. For most of my life there was always some part of me wishing I could be mean. Wishing I could give someone a piece of my mind if they cut in line. Wishing that I wouldn’t have to always wear a happy mask even when I’m pissed off. Before I was too afraid to show this side of me, if it even existed. But to survive, to stay sane, Superbitch was born.

Through my daily life I am bombarded with men on the streets who ask me how I am, who are total strangers. They don’t care about how I am, they just want the chance to talk to the American woman or any woman for that matter. I get continuous words from every angle that my only shield to is my mind. Tuning it out only goes so far.

I do not exclusively receive this treatment, Moroccan women spend their whole lives dealing with this kind of childish behavior from people who like to call themselves men. Most women can agree that ignoring it is the best tactic.

I’ve gotten very good at this. And this is where my bitchy-ness began. In American culture we can agree that ignoring someone when they are talking to you is rude. To my happiness, I’ve been very rude. I would assume that in most cultures this fact is true, but I’m just not so sure here. The men of this culture are so used to being blown off by women that they seem to have no feeling in being ignored. Even have no feeling in being told off, because all they are looking for is a reaction, whether it’s good or bad. Embarrassment comes along with rejection. But I still think Moroccan men are wearing an embarrass-proof suit. I’ve been told that they never feel embarrassed, they still just want to talk to you.

I have to walk around with my guard up all the time here. I justify most of my rudeness on a cardinal rule that we all learned from our parents when we were very young. “Don’t talk to strangers.”  I get overwhelmed daily with strangers trying to talk to me and I just don’t feel comfortable in this culture talking to people I don’t know. I don’t want to talk to you when I am going to buy my eggs. I just want to get my eggs and get on with my life.

The thing is this is working for me, but only in my mind. Continuously ignoring mens’ comments doesn’t stop them from coming.  When you live in another culture you learn how much is cultural. Being a bitch doesn’t translate in this culture. This look on my face and this attitude that I’m carrying screams “don’t talk to me” but I still get misread.

Now I’m stereotyping Moroccan men here. There have been a few handfuls of men that have shown me respect and I value and appreciate that very much. But I find out real quick who are the ones that  will treat me as I should be treated and those who won’t. The ones that choose not to treat me with respect,  I have no time for.

I’m not saying that bitchy-ness is now my only quality, or even that it’s a good quality. I’m just saying that I think I have it now and I’m not afraid anymore to use it. There is a balance between being a pushover and a raging bitch all the time. But having a little bit of both in you can make you more strong and assertive. I’m sure every strong woman has a little bitch in her, she just needs to know how to use it right.

Sometimes when I feel small I like to picture this in my head. 

Yeah, that's me.

Read more

Peace Corps Journals

Peace Corps volunteers can offer such a pure, raw, and realistic view to the outside world of the culture they are living in. Since we are submerged deep into a culture, living along side our countries' citizens, we can show what it is like to be a Moroccan or a Ukrainian or Bolivian.

Peace Corps Journals is a website that hosts volunteer blogs from all of the countries that Peace Corps is serving in. If you want to learn something about a country other than Morocco please take some time to browse the site and find a blog you may like. 

You can browse popular stories, newest stories, or search by country by clicking the tabs on the top.

Read more

A Melancholy Night

The wine was cheap, headache inducing liquid.
The glass was plain, full of water spots.
The house was empty, quiet, alone.
It was freedom, it was prison.

As the wine went down the shackles tightened.
The possibility to leave faded.
The DVD player was ready to play.
Play whatever was needed.
What was needed?

At the start the thought was unclear.
The intention whimsical.

Once glass down.
Four to five remained.
Warm feelings ensued.
A movie contributed.
To the downward spiral.
As the spiral spun things became deep.
Soul deep.

Disappointment raged.
Longing throbbed.

What she wanted was clear.
She wanted to be loved.
Loved unconditionally.
A person who would love her without makeup.
Someone who would applaud her accomplishments.
Accept her flaws.

She wondered when it would happen.
She cried.
She cried about the movie.
She cried about herself.

It got deeper as the bottle emptied.
As the movie plot thickened.

The raw humanity came through.
The body became less of a robot.
More of a vulnerable, soft, piece of flesh.
Made to protect a soul.

The breakdown was liberating.
Refreshing.

Read more

Craft fair

I went to my first craft fair put on by my volunteer colleges in the small business development sector. Their job is to work with Moroccan artists to help market and sell their hand made products. They also help to run and even create associations in which these artists work together. Here are some photos of the hand made crafts that we have here in Morocco.

 

I bought some gifts for friends back home as well as a small Moroccan rug that I had been wanting. 

Read more