Here I am at the Cyber at 5:00 after a long week of studying and observing and "visiting" other families other than my host family. It's a good thing everyone has a good sense of humor! The other night I was trying to explain to my family why I wanted to drink a lot of milk (usually with my coffee) and so I pantomined a curved back and strong bones and they sure enough understood the whole osteoporosis deal. So we had a lot of good laughs over it...even my mma (the mother) who is 77. The father is 79, and the resident daughter is 38. Another daughter is here on vacation from some other town where she works in a factory. I'm not clear on what income they live on, but judging from some of the other homes the others PCVs (Peace Corps volunteers) are living in, I'd guess this family is middle class.

The other night we went over to one of their cousin's house after supper (which is their breakfast). He is the French and Arabic teacher and speaks some English. We had an engaging conversation about the state of affairs in Morocco and the town I am currently living in. He indicated the big problems were education, health, and politics. We agreed that if people were healthy and educated that would help take care of politics. He walked my two "sisters" and me back to our house and asked if I'd like to see some of the area, so tomorrow morning we are walking to a dam/reservoir that is about 7 kilometers away. Hurray! A real walk at last. Then in the evening my sisters and I will go the the hammam. It will feel good to really scrub down and steam as opposed to the bucket baths I've been doing every few days in the bathroom at home. The hostel and its sparse accomodations is looking pretty fancy to us at this point! We leave to go back to Azrou Monday morning and will come back to this town on Friday.

Went to the weekly souk again this noon. The hay trucks are something to behold. I'll try to get a picture of one next week. They are carrying about twice the load they should be, seems to me. I bought two pair of dark socks for about $2.20. He wanted $3.00 but my bartering skills are getting better. The white anklet socks I've been wearing w/sandals and clogs are not a good idea. It's very dusty and dirty and they're impossible to get looking clean. Most everyone wears slip on shoes as they have to take them off so often during the day whenever they go into a building where there is a rug/carpet. Also bought some plums and a soap dish. Doesn't seem like a big deal but numbers and money are difficult to learn/hear the amount and it's very important to get this part of life down right since I'll be doing my own shopping in just a couple of months. It's scary to think that we'll be put in a town on our own in a couple of months! Even though we'll be with a host family for awhile, we'll have no one to rely on in the same town. But when I think what I've learned in the past few weeks it's pretty amazing.

My host family is very cool. My sister was getting up to fix my breakfast (even though she doesn't eat from about 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. I finally convinced her I could get it myself, so she leaves everything set out for me. A little cast iron coffee percolator, the powdered milk to make up, the bread or cake or whatever, and there is usually some sort of fruit. So I turn on the buta (stove using butane gas) and put my breakfast on a tray and take it to my room. They have usually been in bed when I leave the house about 8:30 to go to the school. School is about a ten minute walk, and is just a house on the edge of town. Someone lives next door and upstairs. We have most of the main floor. Our instructor has a room there, there is a kitchen, bathroom, a couple of empty rooms that would be bedrooms, and the "classroom" which just has the low sofas and pillows for the back, and a circular table that we sometimes write on. Not the type of training accomodations I'm accustomed to, for sure! But when in Rome...

Oh, by the way, the cost of using the Internet at the Cyber (not a cafe, but a room with just a lot of computers in it and currently there is me and about 12 school kids) is inexpensive. Costs about $1 for an hour and a half.

A bit more about the weavers and what we learned/saw this week. They are trying to get back to using natural dyes, which means yellow from pomegranate peels, green and light red from plants down by the river, the natural white and black from the sheep, of course. The light brown used to come from bark from the trees in the forests in the Atlas mountains, but the forestry dept or it's like has guards there so they can't do that many more. Deforestation is a big problem in Morocco, and I'm sure it is not an exaggeration at all. It gets quite cold at night and people rely on firewood to heat their homes, and am sure demand overshadows supply. Did I say that the old weaver's house we visited was 200 years old? I think her loom was likely close to that age, as was a tool she used for kind of combing down the threads to be tight.

August is the big vacation month in Europe, so when I get a chance to go anywhere, especially if it's on the continent, like Spain, that is a good month to avoid. I'd imagine villas are very expensive (if available) at that time. I'll think more about travelling once I get the language down here and get accustomed to moving around. Public transportation here can be an exciting experience. There is one bus line that is quite dependable, but others may or may not be running at all, or be running several hours late.

I'm doing fine physically and emotionally. My diet is pretty nutricious, although I am really missing fresh garden salads. No lettuce here at all, or broccoli. I miss everyone but am so mentally fatigued at the end of the day I sleep pretty well. I do have a no-brainer mystery book that I read for about 30 minutes every day, and play a few games of electronic yahtzee (thanks, Marci!) to relax. Am reserving the card instruction to the nationals when I can explain how to play!

That's it for now. Will try to borrow a PCVs laptop in Azrou for the next installment.

I am having some problems with the speed of the blog site today. also is taking forever to delete the repeated posts from the other day that I didnt think were taking. technology here is not always at its best, just like at home. Another challenge is the all the directions etc is in French so makes it a bit difficult to remember where to do what on the blog and other sites

Past two days met for a couple of hours with the weavers group. went to an older womans house which was 200 years old to watch her weave. Pretty amazing. Next day we met again and they showed us the process from carding to setting up the loom etc etc. We are getting lots of info re their lifestyle, needs, transportation, markets and it is a fascinating effort. Our language and culture facilitator translates for us.

Am working on learning numbers and money. My poor old brain is about fried. Hope to get out for a long walk on Sunday and then to the hammam which is a public bath house with steam room. Men and women separately, of course.

Dress: Nearly all the women in this town are scarved but very few wear veils which was also the case in Azrou. It is a matter of personal choice with some influence within the family. The scarved women also usually wear the jellabas on the street but take them off in the home. My family wears light weight sweats underneath and loose longer tops, both fairly western style. Shoes are removed in the home only in carpeted areas. In my house the hallway and kitchen are plain concrete the bathroom has ceramic tiles on the floor and the other rooms have carpets/rugs on the floors. I think I mentioned it will get quite cold at night fairly soon. I think there is just one heater deal and that is in the living room. So layering becomes the way of dressing. The more religious men wear jellabas as well.

Even though the country is Muslim, just like at home, not everyone practices the Islam faith, except at Ramadan everyone fasts. Last night we had their first meal of the day at about 6:30 when it was dark. Dessert first...sweet pastries, cornbread, dates, a chocolate kind of deal. Then a wonderful soup that had a pureed vegetable base of carrots, tomatoes, celery, parsley, spices, and then garbanzo beans which started out as dried and then they soaked overnight to add to the soup. It was quite filling. I think I disappointed the family because I went to bed at 10:30 and they ate again their big meal about 11:30 then a light meal at 4:00 a.m.. I managed fine with leftover cornbread and olives for breakfast w/my coffee au lait, then had an apple; orange, and some nuts for lunch today. They tend to sleep a lot during the day while they refrain from eating or drinking ANY beverages.

We met with a cooperative today who formed recently and is selling their carpets to a group in France. We are going to use them as a case study and the PC volunteer here will continue on with that. It was a really cool experience.

Salaam.

Here is the "mdrasa", which means

school, where we study culture and

language during our community

based training. Inside is Leslie

and Barbara, and Josh taking a

nap between them. This period

of time was during Ramadan, and

the young men fasted along with

their host families, so were quite drained during the day.

I will be getting a cell phone in November so I can be contacting other volunteers and for safety reasons. Not mandatory but a good idea, I'm told. Also, if someone has Skype on their computer in the U. S., they can call my cell phone for about $.30 a minute, so perhaps that will be a way to talk to my daughters. Many Cybers have Skype here and then it is free...just the cost of the Internet...which is generally only about $.50 for half-hour...for me, and then free for the person in the U. S. I think.

Did some last minute shopping today in the medina in Azrou to get a kaftan for my CBT (community based training) home. Didn't have a robe and needed something to get from my bedroom to the delightful toilet during the night and in the morning.

We did some team exercises today and then were advised what town we would be going to, who our LCF (learning and culture facilitator) would be, and who our team members are. Have a favorite LCF who I was hoping for, but the group I'm in will be fine and will have a great learning experience, I'm sure. There are currently 23 women and 7 men in our entire group, and there will be two younger men in my group of six who will keep things fun and lively. There are eight women over 40. I am the eldest, but there is one woman who is one year younger. This particular group has a number of very strong personalities, and believe it or not, I have been sitting back and doing a lot of observing. Plan to do lots of listening and observing the next few months!

Rooms here in the hostel vary a bit. I have only one roommate and we have our own bathroom which is nice, but there are just three single beds in the room. no night stands, tables, shelves, or dressers, so our stuff is scattered all over. Also, one light hanging from high ceiling and no light by our beds so the reading situation is not the best. The bathroom has a shower w/drain but isn't built very well to keep the water off the toilet area. It does have an American toilet, tho, so that is good. Other rooms have a closet, but share a bathroom with other rooms...and most other bathrooms apparently run out of hot water all the time, but we have been lucky to have had hot water all the time. So life is pretty easy on that score so far. When we leave they will let our rooms to other travellers. We practice our Arabic on the kitchen staff. I have this great camping thermos type mug that also has a french press deal, so I go into the kitchen every night after dinner to get hot water for my herbal tea. This mug is envied by many others, and am so glad I brought it, but wish I had more herbal tea as it isn't very available here! And, the tea/coffee here is drunk in small glasses...no cups or mugs used.

I have tried to use my international phone cards about six times and with no success as yet. One of the Peace Corps volunteers here said he hasn't been able to use his for the past year. I will persevere with my emails to MCE until I make it work! But it could take time. There is a Cyber at our next small town, so will be able to continue writing on the blog, but again on a "funny" keyboard, I imagine. So many little things I keep forgetting to relate but will try to keep the interesting things related as I can.

We are wrapping up our initial training here at the hostel in Azrou, and Friday afternoon will leave in groups of six for a community based training in smaller communities in the outlying areas. We will be staying with families (separately) and going to a house our language and culture facilitator has rented for our lessons all day long. Ramadan will start with Sunday or Monday, which will be quite interesting to observe. Muslims MUST refrain from food, beverages, anything that passes the lips (this includes smoking) and sex from dawn to dusk. Then they eat all night long, sleep in in the morning. We don't have to observe it, but cannot eat or drink in front of them...except we can eat breakfast in our hosts home with the children. We'll do lunch at the LCF house. We've been extensively drilled on culture so as to not make mistakes in our actions while their guests. We won't know until Friday morning where we will be going. Some places are as far away as two hours. We'll be there for ten days, then back to Azrou for several and back and forth until Nov. 20th, when we go near Fez for swearing in as a P. C. volunteer on Nov. 24th, then Thanksgiving dinner together before we go to our permanent sites.

A couple of things. We do our our laundry here at the hostel, and at our communities. This means we go to the roof, use a tub, washboard, and scrub away. I am not making this up. Then rinsey rinsey and on the clothes line. It's something to see these young guys have a go at it! I'll bet the first thing they do when they get to their permanent site is hire someone to do their laundry.

There are cafes here that the men hang out in all day, drinking expresso, which means very strong coffee. Native women generally do not go there, and of course there are no lattes available. Glad I had more than my share before I left! I do have good coffee au lait every morning here. And, I have been able to shower daily. But that will change next week. We are to bath only every other day at the most, and it likely will be with a pail of water in the wonderful toilet that is a hole in the floor.

We've had numerous current volunteers come and talk to us. The first six months is all about learning the language and the culture, and the next six months is just being a member of the community and being accepted and trying to build a foundation for the project work to do the second year, when you can finally really get to work. But lots of time just visiting people, drinking tea with them.

Will be gone for about 10 days, so will write more when I return. Am fortunate tonight to use a friend's laptop, so not so many typos as usually have at the Cyber.

Script really is getting me down, so technical work this afternoon was a relief! Must skip card games tonight and work on script. Some people still feeling sick with headaches, fever, diarhhea.

Azrou. Have had a slight case of the "d" that so many have had serious issues with. Guess I've been lucky! Had usual breakfast of bread, wonderful apricot jam, coffee au lait, and occassionally hard-boiled eggs are available. Always freshly made orange juice with lots of pulp in it. Went for "hike" with Margaret, who has bad knees, Treeya, (Pat) who's not accustomed to this elevation, and Sharon, who didn't have on good shoes, so it was more of a walk through town and a little way of a hillside. Trash/litter everywhere, which is very bothersome to me. Shopped a bit, had lunch in medina restaurant of tajine de poulet for 30Dh. Chicken, potatoes, carrots, onion, olives...good but a bit oily. Bartered for goods: towel to cut up for bathroom rag use, some "pee" sandals. Bathroom/shower shoes, in other words. Still haven't tried the squat toilets but know that eventually will have to learn to use them. Bought Snickers bar which was a nice treat! Studied/worked on script, had dinner, played harts and s...on your neighbor with "kids" in sitting room at the Auberge. Used Bob's computer here at hostel to send email. Nice not having to try to figure out how to use French keyboard. Lights out at 10:30. (self-imposed)

Now at our PST site, Azrou, at the Hotel Auberge du Dernier Lion de Atlas. Aziz, owner. A hostel type of place, recently remodeled to accomodate PC training sessions. Tough day of learning script, among other things. This will not be easy! Had a slow session on cross culture. Had read info in book already, and main message is don't judge behavior displayed, as the values represented go deep and are often beyond our immediate understanding. Did laundry up on the roof and went to cyber to email.

Started getting shots, and more presentations on health, policy...all day! Ambassador Tom Riley and wife Nancy visited in the afternoon. He's a Bush appointee, as the King wants to make sure he has the ear of the President, so the Ambassadors here are not career bureaucrats.

Arrived at Casa Blanca airport about 8 a.m. Boarded bus to Rabat, arrived at Hotel Chellah. Pat Zukas from WA state is roomie. She's 58, an artist and yoga teacher. Pretty nice hotel. Had afternoon session with PC country director Bruce Cohen who drilled us extensively on safety and security and reasons for it, etc. Other PC staff were introduced. When finished, I did half hour exercising at fitness room along with two other volunteers. It was like a sauna for lack of A/C. Dinner at 7:30 at hotel.

Went walking at 8 a.m. with four others, back to DiBrunos for coffee and lunch to go. Finished packing, bags to lobby at 11:15. Bus was to leave at 12:30 but didn't until 1:30 then traffic held us up but got to airport in plenty of time. All the concern about baggage weight was for no reason as they didn't penalize anyone for overweight. Plane was not very full so we got to spread out and I took up the mid-three bulkhead seats. Sure am thinking alot about my kids, grandkids, family, and friends as I depart! But know that I'll see them in a year, and what a life I'll live until then! Oh, no qualms about flying on 9/11...

A full day of learning PC policies, and getting to know each other. I am the oldest of the 57 volunteers, but Margaret is 62, and several others appear to be in their 50's. About half are youth development and other is small business development. Great group, all eager for the experience. We still have lots of unanwered questions about the specifics of our assignments, but guess all will ultimately be revealed. Had nice light dinner at a nearby restaurant called Penne's with Pat and Margaret, and to be about 11 p.m. Here is photo of me, Judi, who is 53, Margaret, and Pat, 58, I believe.

Left hotel by myself at 8 a.m. Went to a deli called Di Brunos, straight down on Chestnut Street, for a latte. then went to Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall tour. Found a cheap lunch of liverwurst sandwich and skim milk at a diner, then walked to Penn's Landing. Very interested sculptures there. Back to the hotel, shower, met for group session at 2:00. Did ice-breakers, intros. About 18 of us went to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. No eating utensils, but used a flat bread product to scoop up the food which was served on a large platter. Very tasty food!

Flew to Philadephia. Arrived at Sheraton City Hotel about 8:00. My roommate, Ina, arrived about 11:30 p.m.