my new acquisition

Updates...

I was out travelling quite a bit last week so I have some more photos :) My friend (casey) and I went to Tetouan before heading to Rabat for a series meetings. Tetouan was actually a really nice city. The vibe of the city was unlike that of any other Moroccan city I have previously visited. The people were really nice, the food was great and there was just something that made it very likable. Though it was a bit rainy, we really enjoyed out time in Tetouan.
Afterwards, we had a conference in Rabat. During our time in Rabat some inclement weather descended upon the entire country. It became incredibly windy and rainy. This bad weather has yet to let up so I wasn't surprised to find my house a mess when I returned to my town. I returned Saturday to find everything completely soaked and a roof leaking in almost every place imaginable. My landlord has gone to survey the damage but can't repair it until the sun dries the roof out. The river was overflowing the day before yesterday so everyone in town was going out to have a look. I went along with a friend of mine. On a brighter note, I do have another photo of the rug being made for me :)

My Rug :)

One of my favorite old ladies decided that she is going to make me a rug so that I can have something made by her in America. Now that my departure day is slowly approaching, she has started to create this rug for me :) Following are photos of the first step, that of setting up the warp. I'll try to continue posting photos of her progress.

My (meskin) Mud House

There has been a lot of rain recently in the area of Morocco in which I live. There is something you should know about houses here. The roofs usually need repairing every year before winter. The rains cause the mud on top to slowly wash away and shoveling snow off roofs usually means some mud is scraped off.
I don't have a tv or any regular access to the Moroccan weather forecast but I know when we're expecting a storm of some sort because everyone in town is up on their roofs adding plastic and mud. Even so, many roofs still manage to leak. You see, our roofs aren't slanted...they're perfectly flat. So this winter, being mild compared to last year's, I think my landlord may have overlooked the repairing of my roof. Oops. After the first couple of days of rain I had a leak or two in my house. It really wasn't a big deal. But then the snow came and it melted and then came over a week of nonstop rain. Always raining...aywa. So my one or two leaks turned into 10 leaks in each room. I had to move all my belongings from my bedroom/living room beacuse I woke up to the sound of water dripping onto my blankets. I couldn't find a large enough dry spot in which to put my poor ponj(aka bed). My computer was also covered in water that morning. I couldn't stand anywhere in my kitchen without getting dripped on. So I moved into my dry room. Hamdullah for the dry room. A lot of families have the same problem. Oftentimes they re-mud one room very well so that they have atleast one dry room in the house.
Anyways, my house is now dry and being repaired but I thought I would just share some of the problems that people in my town ofter encounter in the wintertime...

Sana Saida!

I just wanted to say happy new year (sana saida) to everyone :)
I had a wonderful new year's celebration in the merzouga desert and have had a great start to 2010. Yesterday, we had free eye examinations in my town. Over 350 people got eye exams and free glasses(those who needed them). The best part is that it was all organized by the development association in my town. Inshallah, this year continues to be a good one.

Dental Hygiene

I wanted to write about my dental hygiene lessons a long time ago but somehow I kept finding excuses not to. I wrote about dental hygiene in my town last year when I did a couple toothbrushing lessons. This year I went to a school in a different part of town. Family and friends from home were generous enough to donate toothbrushes and toothpaste so I was able to give every kid one of each. I hope that by having the materials, they will be a bit more proactive about brushing their teeth.
I started every lesson by discussing cavities and how they are caused. I asked the kids to explain to me what cavities are and how they would go about getting rid of them. Generally, most of the kids knew how to appropriately answer these questions. The problem was that many didn’t know how to properly brush their teeth and that very few of them ever actually brush their teeth. After the lesson in the classroom the teacher and I would bring all the kids outside for a group toothbrushing.  My sitemate, Briana, or I would take turns doing the demonstration while the kids followed along. The teachers often helped by reinforcing the message. We handed out toothbrushes and oftentimes had to show the kids the proper way to hold a toothbrush. We then gave them toothpaste and instructed them about the ideal amount they want to be putting on their toothbrush. After that, we began the demonstration. All the classes were rather successful and the kids really had a good time laughing at us goofy foreigners. 
Below are some photos from the lessons:

6 Months Left...

As the days get colder it becomes more difficult to get out of (my very warm) bed every morning. I’m pushing myself to get up early and enjoy my town as it slowly wakes up and as the sun slowly comes over the mountain. I do this because the realization that I have six months left in Morocco has been on my mind a lot recently. I have been aware of my time left here, but only superficially. Now it has really dawned upon me that I will be leaving soon. It feels strange to write that but I have to constantly remind myself that it is true. I’m leaving soon. Aywa. I suddenly feel rushed to visit everyone dear to me. I feel the need to visit every corner of this wonderful country; however, I also feel the need to spend every waking moment in my community. How do I reconcile these two polar desires? Not only am I struggling with these thoughts but now I am also being forced to make plans for my return. Job searching is now something that I have to add to my weekly cyber list. I don’t want to think about responsibilities in America while trying to savor my last months in Morocco. I don’t mean to sound melodramatic but six months go terribly fast. I don’t know where the last 18 months have gone…

My sitemate, Briana, recently finished her service here and has since returned to America. I was with her when she began to feel the crunch of her impending departure. I was the as the weeks left became days and then hours. I hated to see her go but that’s how our service works. Her preparations for departure made me think about when I would have to do the same. Thoughts about my departure crossed my mind but for some reason they still appeared distant. Now that my closing of service date is set and now that I have reached the six months remaining mark, I can’t help but feel a bit rushed. (I empathize with you Bri :/ ) I still have a lot of health education to do and a new sitemate to show around so for the time being that’s what I will concentrate on.

Part of my town just as the sun came over the mountain. :)