Site Placement

04-24-08

Just finished up my 3rd CBT week an all is well. My group was able to organize and implement a stellar Earth Day presentation for our community (Magraman.) We worked with a local primary school and with the help of very supportive teachers and some language translation provided by Peace Corps staff, the day was amazing. We were given a 2 hour block of time and were successful in teaching environmental education lessons and activities to over 120 students (ranging from age 5-13). Since the main issue affecting our community (and also much of Morocco) is a lack of water we focused on water conservation and protection issues. Magraman is reliant on subsistence farming for its livelihood security and as water becomes more scarce many farmers are forced out of agriculture and, as a result, out of the community.

We started out by doing a skit that we’d translated into Darija, that focused on what Earth Day was and the importance of it. I played the role of the wise old tree. We played a few games and then I taught a lesson on the water cycle (that was translated into Darija) and was surprised at the level of knowledge that the students already had.

So tomorrow is a very significant day in my Peace Corps life. Tomorrow I learn where I will be spending my life for the next two years and get a basic idea of what I may be working on. Pretty exciting.

04-25-08

Oujda bound! Found out where I will be living for the next two years. Oujda is a fairly large city (600,000-800,000 people) that is located in the far NE part of Morocco close to the Algerian border and the Mediterranean. I will be living 65km south of there is a smaller village and working with the Department of Environment and Forestry. Apparently, my host dad who I will be living with for the first two months also happens to be the regional forester. Networking already. Potential projects include working on protected areas for gazelle’s, a nursery, environmental education, and there’s also talk of a museum that focuses on the mining history in the area. I’m headed up there tomorrow so I’ll let you know when I know. All for now!