Walked in the morning. Went to llici, met a new English teacher there who agreed to try to work with me on language. Went to A. O., met Rebecca, went to her house, did email. Had GREAT lunch w/her. Walked to Muscletoria (gym), looked around, went back to house, more emails, went to P. O., photograph shop, gendarmes to start carte d'sijour process. Taxi'd back to T, arriving about 5:30.

Arrived T about 12:30. Went to neddy at 3:00. Technician from city was trying to load Arabic on computer, but with no success. Sat in on script class led by Malika Elgana. It is VERY cold in the house and my room at night!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my baby Cinda who is 34 today. Another beautiful daughter gets older...glad they do, and not me! :)

Had my pap and mammo in Rabat this morning; all I will say is those procedures here seem to be about 20 years behind the U.S. and make these events seem pleasant at home. Also went to a dentist for a routine cleaning but he found a broken filling which he removed and replaced w/o novacaine and I was pleased with his treatment. But I am taken care of for another year. I can't believe that with all the drinking water glass sharing at meals that I haven't even caught a cold yet, knock on wood.

Am back in Marrakesh tonight after about a five hour train ride. Am meeting a current volunteer, Rebecca, on Wednesday in my cyber town so will write again then and hopefully post some photos of Rabat.

A Sunday in Rabat.

First, a bit about the hotels in Morocco. The one I am in is a very basic one that reminds me somewhat of Mammoth Hot Springs hotel. Pretty spartan, no TV, old furniture, but clean...even the holey sheets. I do have my own private bath, complete with an American toilet and shower. Hotels, at least the cheaper ones I go to, do not provide soap, shampoo, t.p. or towels. There is typically no plug for the sink drain either, which makes it difficult to wash out clothes. But because I am staying two nights here, I get a discounted rate of about 10 dollars a night. Otherwise it would be about 13. Since I am here for medical reasons, I am reimbursed, but when I travel for pleasure this price will be pretty attractive to me on my P.C. living allowance. For those of you who might have Lonely Planet travel book, this hotel is around the corner from Henry's bar and across from the train station.

So I started the day with great pastries and coffee at the Patesserie Majestic. Then I meandered around the old medina for a couple of hours, primarily looking for the bargain priced DVDs for a PCV friend but could not find the store. Went back to my room for a little rest and reading then headed back down through the medina, through a huge cemetary, then to the ocean front where I watched wonderful huge waves and surfboarders.


Did some more wandering in the medina; bought a sink plug. It was quite funny trying to explain what I wanted. but got the job done even to the point of bartering him down a bit. Think I still paid too much at 12 dhs (about 1.35)On the way home I saw bike racers entering the finish lane near my hotel. Guess Lance Armstrong wasn't among them. Not sure what race it was but there were lots of press and a big ceremony following.


Discovered that my niece Laurie's friend from Seattle is coming to Morocco in March with the P.C. so am eager to be able to see her. Am going to now Skype with daughter Marci. What a great invention! It's free so if you want to visit with me, or anyone else via computer, all you need is a headset!

From a bona fide Peace Corps VOLUNTEER. Picture above is the musicians entertaining us at the reception after the ceremony.

Yes, at last through with training, had a lovely swearing in ceremony at a beautiful hotel in Fes with Ambassador Tom Riley doing the honors. His wife Nancy started crying and told me later she was fine until she looked at me [I guess I was getting a bit teary] This picture is Riley, the main man for the city of Fez, and PC Director of Morocco Bruce Cohen.


The day before we had a sumptious Thanksgiving dinner. I helped make the dressing and peeled apples for the apple crisp. We had the usual dinner, but with some of our gourmet male [and female]cooks, it was very tasty, to the point most of us stuffed ourselves at the grand feast.

We also had an election of a volunteer from each new group; that is one from SBD and one from youth, to represent on the Volunteer Advisory Council. Each new training group has a rep; the council meets quarterly and presents comments/requests of volunteers to the P. C. staff. There are two meetings in Rabat and two meetings at other locations every year. I am honored to have been chosen to be rep from five nominations for the spot from the 29 in our group. It will likely add some spice to my life and I look forward to this responsibility.

I am enjoying a few days by myself before going to my new site and new homestay family. Arrived in Rabat this afternoon by train from Fes. Checked into hotel near the train station where PCVs usually stay then walked to a big store somewhat like Target to pick up a few things that are difficult to get in tiny towns. Still, no peanut butter to be had. Tomorrow I plan to walk all over the city to see the sights. Monday morning I have my annual female checkup and also teeth cleaning, then train to Marrakesh; where I will pick up my large suitcase that P.C. shipped from Azrou then will head to my new home.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I am so thankful for the many blessings I have in my life. My wonderful health, beautiful daughters and their families, all the rest of my family, my great friends, and this awesome opportunity to servem doing my little part to contribute to world peace, sharing my time and talents with these great people, learning their culture, and teaching them ours. Not every day is all ups and without bumps in the road, and emotions run riotous every now and then. The desire for personal, private space is sometimes all consuming, as is the need to eat what and when I want, etc. and especially to see and be with my dear family and friends. But most of the time I do feel that I am where I need to be at this point, and am so eager to learn the language a bit better so I can truly get started with some projects in my little town. I wish all my readers a great day of thankfulness and send you my love.

More about Sunday. WEDDING PARTY! We had a mock Moroccan style wedding party at the hostel, and it was a rockin' time! They told us of some of the customs, and two volunteer were dressed up as bride and groom, then a band of musicians came and entertained as well. I gave a shot at blowing the horn, with some success, thanks to old trumpeting skills. It was a fun way to end our stay at this fine hostel.

...APES! all over the place! Had a great hike yesterday to the cedar grove with three other volunteers. We spent about 4 1/2 hours and probably walked about 12 miles. We walked one way through a forest, where we encountered a family (dad, mom and baby monkey) and ended up at the tourist spot on the highway where there were many monkeys, and many tourists stopping to feed them and take pictures.

Tour books mention that Azrou is best known for the Barbary Apes, but I'm informed that they are really monkeys. We returned back downhill all the way via the highway. A great morning!

BUTAGAS was the subject of one of our sessions today. We learned how to buy it, how to hook up the tanks to the stove and oven, how to check for leaks, etc. Butane is the cooking heat source here in nearly all homes, so it was good to learn the ropes on that.

Mailed two postcards to oldest grandsons yesterday at a cost of about three dollars for the two of them. Guess they dont want Moroccans writing to Americans? Letters from US to here are .84 (so please feel free to write me anytime...getting mail is really a big deal for me) but packages get a bit more pricey, but again, hugely appreciated. I look forward to going to the Marjone in Rabat in a week to see if they have some American things like peanut butter, whole grain foods, etc. and I am already starting to feel sorry for myself about how this Christmas will be, but know that it will be okay and I will get through it.

We had a presentation yesterday from the Dept. of Ministry on Tourism yesterday. He spoke French for about 2-3 hours with a power point presentation, but the gist of it was that there is a strategic plan in place to get more people employed, including doing more to help the rural artisans like the ones Ill be working with, so that was good news. Hope it really happens.

Am going to walk tomorrow for about four hours, to go see the Barbary apes which I have seen on the way to my community based training. Then will hit the language studying for my proficiency test on Monday. I am still slower than most others but believe I excel in other areas, so am not stressing out about it. We all go to Immouzer Tuesday for a few days and will be cooking our own big Thanksgiving dinner the night before our big swearing in ceremony in Fes.

The new director of the Peace Corps visited Azrou last week, but I was not here so missed seeing him. He worked a couple of years for D. A. Davidson, an investment firm in Gt. Falls, prior to being tapped by Bush for this position. He was a volunteer years ago.

I will be emailing my new mailing address is about 10 days, so please no more mail to the Rabat address.

Have finally managed to post some more pictures. If you have an interest, there are more in the October journaling that match the diary for those particular days.

Had a tea today for the weaving association members we have been working with to learn how to do our marketing, and we put together a brochure for them that they were quite thrilled with! I helped make a german's chocolate cake in the home above our classroom. It turned out surprisingly well, considering the ingredient substitutions, size of pan, oven with no temp gauge, etc. Tomorrow night will be my last here. We are doing tea at 4:00 for host families. It will be a sad night to say goodbye to these dear people who have opened their hearts and home to me. But on to my new site and new host family who will keep me for two months while I acclimate to my permanent location and find a place of my own.

Two months in Mgrib! And I feel like a big fat white carb.

It's hard to believe it's only been two months since I arrived in Rabat! Feels more like six months. And when I think my language skills are in the toilet, I recall what I knew just 60 days ago, and that makes me feel better. I am back in my community based training town, and there is quite a difference in communication with my host family from two weeks ago. We can actually exchange some messages verbally, without me going through all sorts of crazy antics. I will say goodbye to them Thursday morning, and that will be sad. I have been receiving little gifts of jewelry from several family members already. They are very caring. However, the house is colder than H! Today was a beautiful clear day, and lovely to be outside. But inside the house was another story. I have so many blankets over me at night I can hardly move from the weight. They do have a little wood stove in the TV/eating room that really makes that room hot, but that's the only one. And the safety features leave just a little to be desired.

I think I've eaten more white bread the past two months than I have the past two years total! I keep trying to cut back but they are so insistent that you eat, eat! And sometimes there's not much more than bread or other carbs to eat. But I'll survive for another couple of months until I get my own place. I understand that nights are cool there, but not as bad as here. Of course, the summers will be a lot hotter!

Anyone that might have a notion to come and see me would be wise to get some basic French down, so they can do some travel without me. Most all libraries have French books/tapes/CDs, as well as lot of places have night classes for adults. Sure wish I had more knowledge, but that will just have to wait for awhile.

Our PCT (training) group is cooking/eating at the PCV 's place tonight. One guy fancies himself as a cook, and if his hummus is any criteria, I have a great meal to look forward to soon. I think I have his hummus recipe committed to memory and look forward to trying it later on. He's got fresh green beans, will be steamed, not cooked in a pressure cooker until they are WAY overcooked, as is the case with most vegetables in this town. We get a lot of fresh veggies in Azrou at the noon meal...tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, quince, squash, potatoes (sometimes even french fries!). Had couscous for lunch today and it was great.

That's it for today! Thinking of you all, and hoping to hear from you by email when you have time!

I'll try to get caught up with less daily detail and journal in an orderly subject manner tonight. First, came back to a long letter from my friend Martha. It is such a treat to get mail! And I do love to hear what people are doing...even if it is going to grandkid's soccer games. I wish I could be doing that, but look forward to lots of soccer games when I get home...

First a comment on the Moroccan language, which is called Darija. I have mentioned that there are no "teaching" books on it as it is sort of a dialect of classical Arabic, and there are three other dialects as well. Classical Arabic is taught in the schools, to read and write, and Frensh is also taught. Many words have few or no vowels. For instance, the verb "fkkr" which means to think it over. (Yeah, i know!) And like our language, a slight change in how you pronounce a consonant or vowel can turn a regular word into a dirty one. So correct pronunciation is pretty important!

My new host family consists of a young couple with a four year old boy and a 2 month old boy. While I was there, a celebration called "tahara" was held for his recent circumcision. About 50 people came to visit and eat, and I spent time nodding and smiling, and finally retreated to a corner with my sudoku book. A young man about 17 who is a close friend of the family was intrigued by it so I showed him how to do it. It was fun to see the light come on when he got how it works. Then a girl about 8 was bored so I showed her a little clapping game thing which she just loved. Nice to know some things like that are universal...as are 4 year old boys! Cute, but a bit spoiled and a little wild. The husband is a mechanic and his garage is on the main floor under the living area. He drives a fairly new SUV so that's where their money goes, methinks.

My room leaves a bit to be desired. Both the house arrangements in this new town and the culture is a bit different from where I have been in training. There is a little courtyard in the center, with bedrooms, kitchen off in separate rooms off it. My room is an unpainted (concrete) 8-foot square windowless room. I think I will be spending all my day at the association's building. I am buying all the furniture from a P. C. volunteer who is finishing and going back to the states, and will be happy when February comes so I can get my own place. There have been numerous references to religion and I know they'd like me to be a Muslim. I have to continue telling them I have my own religion. I think they're getting the message. And, some women simply do not go ANYwhere by themselves...not even to the weekly souq to get their produce. But I've already adopted the habit of getting up and making my own coffee, and after a big cup, go out and walk for an hour. Then when doing that, I greet everyone with a big smile and say good morning in Darija. Figure if I'm going to be the local spectacle, might as well be known as the friendly one! Then when I do live by myself I likely won't need to be so concerned about theft. Hopefully that strategy will work, although I'm not too worried about it. I could have a bicycle, but the area is hilly with very rocky paths, and the one paved road is pretty busy with people, bicyclees, motorbikes, donkeys, trucks, buses, taxis, so I think it would be insane to bike on it.

This town has running (cold) water all the time, but no cyber, no police, no bank. It has one teleboutique (which is a place with pay phones), a little health center which is somewhat a first aid station, and the customary 10 hanuts...the little grocery stores. I found one that has coca light, so that is good!

So my work is with a 2-year old women's association, called a naddie, who primarily make crocheted things, but also do a bit of ceramics and weaving. They are excited to have me there, and I am eager to go to work with them to explore marketing possibilities. Next door are two large building which are boarding places for high school kids who stay there during the week to attend high school. About 60 girls and boys each. After being introduced to the directors of each and meeting a few of the girls, the next day a few girls came over to ty

Marrakesh, what a great city! I'm here tonight at a cyber after a day of a little shopping (I'm getting to be quite a great haggler...which is the standard game in Morocco.) You never pay the asking price for clothing or the like. Well, I guess you could, but it isn't necessary or expected. Went past a golf course on the way here from my new site. Looked pretty nice! Am spending the night at a little hotel in the center of the city where most of the shopps are, and the snake charmers, orange juice stands, etc. We share a very clean room that has a sink, with a shower and American toilet on the same floor, for an American price of about $6. Had a very good salad for lunch for a little over $2. After some other volunteers arrived we taxied to a McDs. I had a McFlurries. Sure miss the ice cream from home! The prices there are American, which is very expensive for the standard of living here, but it was extremely busy nonetheless. I look forward to exploring here more when I need to get away from it all in my new little town, which is about the size of Fairfield, Montana, where I grew up. So it's rather like living under a microscope.

As I walked this morning, I look at Jaleb Toubkal, the highest mountain which is gorgeous and majorly covered with snow, as I listened to the farmers whack olives from their trees onto large plastic tarps. It's really a gorgeous area. We've heard Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are making a move in the High Atlas and I think it might be near where I am. (Did I already blog that info?!)

I have a ton of info but will wait until I get back to Azrou to blog more. The keyboard here is slow and I'm looking forward to a good bed tonight, even if it is a double one I'm sharing w/ another volunteer.

My new host family has a 4 year old boy and 2 month old boy. There is a huge circumsion party when I was there. About 50 people ate a ton of food we prepared in this little house. I sure got melancholy and missed my grandkids. I went to the nearby town one day to the Cyber as there is none in my town. I need to find one that has Skype and webcam though. I'll also be getting my mail in that town, sharing a box with a volunteer who lives there, but haven't made that connection quite yet. Hope to do that soon so anyone who wants to mail me Christmas cards can send it there.

Last word for this writing. Even this old broad got a little proposition at my new site. It was in jest...I think... But I certainly am the topic of conversation. I hear "American" a lot in conversation. Will be glad when they know I can understand, and also sure wish I knew French! Most people here do....