Pictures:
- Spreading the corn on the roof of my new house in Assoul to dry it for use in the winter.
- The kids in the house playing on the chalk board
- The view of Assoul from my window, not too bad huh?
In the bled… or at least that’s what they call it around here. The bled basically translates to the sticks, the far off places that people rarely travel to. The funny thing is that I actually really like it. I was afraid that Assoul might be too far out, too far away from my comfort zone but it isn’t. I remind myself that I really had no idea what to expect when I got to Morocco, so here I find myself about two and half hours from the closest internet service. The good news is that I have cell phone reception and electricity. The only glitch is that running water is limited. Some houses have running water for several hours, some for only an hour. Of course there are ways to deal with this and I will make it work even if it is a little difficult at times. The other good news is that I am allowed to travel to my nearest internet site once a week which means that I will stay there, a town called Rich one night a week at a hotel with a hot shower.
I have a new host family in my site; I will be living with them for my first two months here. I officially move to Assoul the end of November and will live with this family until the first of February. My family is great; they have hosted Peace Corps Volunteers before and seem to be accustomed to Americans. My host father speaks English almost fluently which is great for my lack of language in the Berber dialect I’ve been learning. His wife tries to speak to me but the dialect here is different than what I have been studying which is challenging to say the least. She is convinced I know nothing… which is sometimes true. Regardless, they are very nice people and the food here is really good (even if I am still having some stomach issues). Anyway, my host family also has 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. They are really sweet, and I can’t wait until I can speak with them more. Overall, the family is calm and respectful and I enjoy them very much.
I am replacing a volunteer at my site; she has been here helping me everyday find my way and introducing me to everyone. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She has been my translator and friend through this whole process. It will be strange to come back in a couple weeks and she will have left. Still, I am so thankful that she has been here to help me figure out what I’ll be doing for the next two years.
A little about what I’ll be doing…I am assigned to work with a women’s weaving cooperative. They are in fairly preliminary stages which means I can hopefully help them with product development (color & design), organization, and marketing as well as funding for a building and looms. It sounds like a lot but really it’s just little steps (many of which have been paved for me by the previous volunteer). Really those descriptions are wide open and just ideas that I’ve had since I’ve been here. It’ll be interesting to see how it all works out or if anything works out. Inshallah.
So, only about two more weeks until I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer. We’ll go up to Fez to swear in and have a smashing thanksgiving. I honestly can’t wait to move to my site. I’ve been moving around so much the past couple of months that I feel like I’m a gypsy… Oh wait a minute, I am a gypsy (just for a little while longer though).
I have a new host family in my site; I will be living with them for my first two months here. I officially move to Assoul the end of November and will live with this family until the first of February. My family is great; they have hosted Peace Corps Volunteers before and seem to be accustomed to Americans. My host father speaks English almost fluently which is great for my lack of language in the Berber dialect I’ve been learning. His wife tries to speak to me but the dialect here is different than what I have been studying which is challenging to say the least. She is convinced I know nothing… which is sometimes true. Regardless, they are very nice people and the food here is really good (even if I am still having some stomach issues). Anyway, my host family also has 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. They are really sweet, and I can’t wait until I can speak with them more. Overall, the family is calm and respectful and I enjoy them very much.
I am replacing a volunteer at my site; she has been here helping me everyday find my way and introducing me to everyone. I don’t know what I’d do without her. She has been my translator and friend through this whole process. It will be strange to come back in a couple weeks and she will have left. Still, I am so thankful that she has been here to help me figure out what I’ll be doing for the next two years.
A little about what I’ll be doing…I am assigned to work with a women’s weaving cooperative. They are in fairly preliminary stages which means I can hopefully help them with product development (color & design), organization, and marketing as well as funding for a building and looms. It sounds like a lot but really it’s just little steps (many of which have been paved for me by the previous volunteer). Really those descriptions are wide open and just ideas that I’ve had since I’ve been here. It’ll be interesting to see how it all works out or if anything works out. Inshallah.
So, only about two more weeks until I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer. We’ll go up to Fez to swear in and have a smashing thanksgiving. I honestly can’t wait to move to my site. I’ve been moving around so much the past couple of months that I feel like I’m a gypsy… Oh wait a minute, I am a gypsy (just for a little while longer though).
1 comment:
Welcome to your new home! It actually sounds like a comfortable place. Thanks for the postings and the neat pictures. I'll write before you get to the Internet place next week.
Sc
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