La Shukran!

Hello all! Sorry for the lack of correspondence these last couple months.

The big news is that I’ve moved out of my host families house. I have a little place now and I’m loving it. My host family was great but I’m really appreciating my own space and privacy. My house isn’t big (three rooms and a kitchen) but it has a nice outdoor private courtyard. I’ve been busy getting furniture and things and its now starting to feel like home. I have water and electricity 24hrs a day and have cell phone service and even have the option of internet at my house. I didn’t expect all of these luxuries but definitely appreciate them. My neighbors are great and the gendarmes station (federal police) is just down the road so its pretty safe. Its about 2km to both Jerada and Louenet (where the Water and Forest Office is) so its a nice walk or bike ride.

It is now a little over one week into Ramadan. Ramadan is the month long religious holiday where Muslims fast (Siam) during the daylight hours. This means that the breaking of the fast (aka lftur or “breakfast”) takes place when the sun sets between 6:30 and 7:00pm. Lunch takes place at midnight or 1:00am and then dinner happens at around 3:30 in the morning before the first morning prayer around 4:00am. I’ve been doing sort of a modified fast. I usually sleep in and eat a big meal around 9:00 and then I won’t eat again until I break fast at 6:30. Technically you’re also not supposed to drink anything during daylight hours but I sneak water at home and every once in a while have a little snack. Shhh.....don’t tell. The other afternoon I’d received a care package with some licorice in it (Thanks Dad!) and didn’t have the willpower to refrain from sampling one or two. When someone knocked on the door I had to frantically try and clean the red chunks out of my teeth before I could answer. People constantly ask if I’m fasting and then invite me over for Lftur in the evenings. Its a pretty fun time and and good way to meet people. Food usually consists of Harira (a yummy bean soup), dates, fruit, bread, and the customary tea. The gendarmes even bring me Harira over in a thermos in the evening.

One of the downsides of Ramadan though is that the entire schedule changes. Obviously there are no restaurants open during the day. Cafe's had become a big part of my afternoon routine so I kind of miss that. During Ramadan it can also be more difficult to find transportation, especially in the morning. Since people have to wake up at 3am in order to eat, oftentimes they will sleep in until 10am or so. And since people are hungry, at times folks can be a bit crabby. And because people are pretty tired during the day it seems that many work projects have been put on the backburner, until after Ramadan.

Before Ramadan I managed to squeeze in a little vacation. I met up with my sweetie (Hanneke) in Rabat for a few days. Rabat is a very modern, almost European city with many of the comforts of home. It was great to spend some time with Hanneke and also experience city life. We ate a lot of good food (some bad food), checked out the zoo (pretty pathetic), and got in a lot of cafe/coffee time. After Rabat I went to Ifrane National Park (in the Middle Atlas) and helped out at an Environmental Education camp that was happening there. I haven’t dealt with kids much lately so 150 was a bit overwhelming at first. Because of the heat, and not drinking water, many of the kids were dealing with dehydration issues. I ended up teaching a lesson on the importance of hydrating and also washing hands. This was the first camp of its kind here so there were various logistical issues to deal with. But the kids had fun and the same kids who early in the week were crying and wanting to go home, by the end of the camp they were crying and didn’t want to leave. I had a great time but was exhausted by the end of the week.

I was gone from site for almost 2 weeks and it was nice to come home. It was a great break and also helped me appreciate where I live and the people here. I really like the other volunteers who are near me and I’m starting to develop a good community of Moroccan friends. My buddy Hassan has been absolutely invaluable to me. His family is some of the most kind and generous people I have ever met. I continue to be humbled by the friendliness of the people here. For every taxi driver in Fes that has tried to rip me off, there are many others in my site that refuse payment. For every merchant that tries to shortchange me, there are two that will chase me down the street when I’ve forgotten my change. Good folks here.

Oh.....so the other night I went over to my host families house for lftur (breaking fast). After the traditional meal (soup, bread, dates, olives, etc) I assumed that we were done. But then.......thats when the goat intestines came out! Images of Anthony Bourdain came to mind and thought “I can do this.” I really do think I could of gagged down a piece if they’d been cooked but they were just boiled in water and still looked kinda raw. When my little (4yrs old) host sister began blowing up a chunk of intestine like a balloon, I politely declined.

Allright.....thats all for now. Sorry for the lengthy rambling. I’ll try and be better about posting regularly. Hope this finds you doing well. Happy Ramadan!