summer update

ok, i know that it’s been three months from the last update… oops. i even wrote this one down on paper (the “joys” of not having a computer). so, it’s summer again… and hot and sleeping is impossible (because Morocco isn’t on daylight savings it starts to get light at 4am). i’m in ouarzazate now, the thermometer reads 45 degrees (113 Fahrenheit)… but it’s probably not quite that bad. we spent a lot of time handing around the air conditioned places (cellphone stores, the post office, supermarkets) until we get kicked out for loitering… fortunately, my house in the mountains is much cooler. so here goes (please excuse the writing, my english and writing skills are suffering... )

general
my friend joanna (whom i know from blockbuster) came to visit at the beginning of june. We visited Casablanca, fes, meknes, chefchouan, and marrakech. it was great to see her, and it was a lot of fun to see new places in morocco. even better, she brought me starbucks coffee and magazines. so, if you’re reading this, thanks for coming jo… i really appreciated it, hope you had fun, and it’s always a pleasure.

after that, i had to go to rabat for mid-service medicals. i love rabat, it’s very european and reminds me of home. it was really nice to see all of my friends in peace corps. we ate lots of good food (i.e. mcdonalds) and went to this mexican restaurant with great sangria and a congalese bar with great dancing. i had lots of health tests and a dental cleaning. i’m supposedly healthy, but i’m still convinced i have a cavity... there's no way an entire year of moroccan tea could have left me without any.

someone’s paving the road to my house! i’m pretty impressed with the amount of development that tidili has managed in three years…. first electricity, then water, then cellphone reception, now paved roads… before i know it, they’ll all have wireless internet and blackberries… well, soon enough anyway.

it’s been a rough couple of months for me. i’ve been experiencing bouts of homesickness and frustration regarding work. i still love living here, but working here has proved to be challenging. it’s slowly getting better, and the homesickness has been subsiding. everything goes in cycles here, and summers have generally been rough on me.

right now, i’m trying to plan a few trips. i’m hoping to take a short trip to spain in october, and my parents and I are meeting in eastern europe for thanksgiving. i haven’t left the country since i’ve gotten here, and i’m getting antsy to travel abroad.

ok, now onto that stuff about the work I’m doing here, because I know that you’re all dying to know:


solid waste management project
sigh, it’s been disastorous. i’ve been coming up against a lot of obstacles with this project. i have done all of the background work that i could have, including interviewing store owners about trash disposal and willingness to adopt a new system, selection of landfill site, write up project proposal. i have met with the commune (local government) technician numberous times trying to work out how to go about implementing this project. from what i can understand, there’s a lot of political issues/tension/corruption within the commune. cecause of this, the commune has been reluctant to commit to this project. the other problem that i have been encountering, is that the people that i need to discuss this project with, and the people with authority to commit to the project aren’t usually at the commune. the president and vice president usually have other addresses in cities, and visit the commune only once every couple of months. after talking to my programming staff about how to deal with the set backs, we have decided that if the commune doesn’t commit by the fall, i will provide them with a translated copy of my suggested proposal with a detailed outline of how to complete the project, and move on to other work.

library project
i am pleased to say that the school library project is going very well. i am working with am enthusiastic teacher who’s excited about the project. we have collected about 100 arabic and french books for the library, and we are sending out request letters to various organizations this week to ask for more donations. if all goes well, this summer we will organize the books, create a checkout system, and (hopefully) arrange a reading hour or reading club for the students to participate in the next school year.

irrigation project
i took over an unfinished irrigation project from a volunteer that finished his service. the village further up my mountain about 30km is trying to complete a project to pipe their irrigation system. the previous volunteer wrote a grant to provide them with piping for a quarter of the full project. as part of this grant, the government division responsible for environmental preservation committed to donate 10 tons of cement and 350 kilograms of reinforcement bar. unfortunately, they were unable to follow through with this donation because of “budgetary issues.” peace corps suggested that i write another grant to cover the additional costs (about $1000). i visited them this week to clarify some discrepancies in the first grant and to update them on the status of the project. they were really nice about it, and even agreed to pay for transporation of the materials. i wrote up the grant and plan to submit it by the end of july. hopefully, there’s enough money left in the SPA (small project assistance) fund to pay for it and the community can start to work on installing the piping.


girls health program
at the beginning of july, i held a girls health program. it was basically an two hour/day four day after-school program (well, without school…. it’s summer) with an activity and a health lesson every day. the first day we had a nature hike, and did a lesson on safe water sources and trash disposal. the second day we had an art day, and the girls colored in health related pictures and i had them explain what the healthy habit was and how to do it. the third day we played Frisbee and talked about the importance of exercise and health. the last day, i had the girls write stories about healthy people and healthy habits and read them out loud to the other girls (it was my feeble attempt at introducing the concept of public speaking and self-confidence)

all together, about 15 girls came each day (mostly the same girls). i felt like it was a great success, the girls seemed to be genuinely interested in the activities and lessons. i catered the program to girls 10-20 years old, and i had a helper (Fatima) who helped me write and deliver the health lessons. some of the younger girls wanted to participate, but the activities were too advanced for them. i want to continue doing some more of these (maybe one every two months) in different villages. i might also try to do a younger girls program with activities more for ages 6-10. altogether, it was a lot of fun and seemed pretty effective.

other than that, i’ve been enjoying my time here (for the most part). there’s something to be said about appreciating where you live when you live there, so, i’m trying to focus on that. i have been doing more yoga, reading, cooking (a lot), and i’ve started to paint again. i am trying to hike more and enjoy the company of my neighbors.

speaking of, i finally understand berber humor.. it took me about a year to get. it basically just involves mocking their friends. i’m trying to get them to appreciate plays on words and puns, but the effort is usually in vain.

i am in the process of reasearching grad school for public health, and i’m going to try to apply by October. i miss my friends, family, and America (well, mostly target stores and free refills). please feel free to email me, as i always love emails and i’ll respond as soon as i can.