A bit on my surroundings. I have walked three times to my cyber town and each time marvel at the beauty and what goes on in the countryside/villages. Last time I watched a gravel operation in progress at the river bed. Pick axes, shovel, large hand-held (likely hand-made) screen. An old yellow dump truck nearby. Not exactly like we see in U. S.!

There are many kinds of trees and other plant life. Palm trees, lots of bamboo, olive trees galore, some evergreens (there is a forest nearby that is protected...I think there were many trees on the hills/mountains but they've all been cut down for firewood) lots of bramble bush. The bramble bush, or whatever the real name is, is used for property division lines. Sometimes just all hooked together and serve as a wall, other times there is one layer on top of a rock wall that is about 3-4 feet high. No car parts for fences here as I viewed up north in my first homestay location. And, there are a ton of prickly pear cactus. That too, is used sometimes for field divisions. Wheat was planted in Devember, for a June harvest, before the 120 degree (F) heat hits...

I've talked about the abundance of white flat bread that is eaten. One reason is that they grow wheat, and grind it in every small town (sometimes the families do it themselves) so it is very cheap, and another reason is that the bread is used as the eating utensil. No forks are used at meals, but spoons are used by most when couscous is served...which is primarily on Fridays. The tajine is a dish, both a ceramic object as well as the food in it is called tajine...that usually contains root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips..and then maybe a thigh or leg of chicken, which is on top, in the middle, and eaten last. So meat is not eaten in abundance, and that meal is about the only time you see vegetables. So with the recent Leid holiday and the slaughtering of sheep...all the families eat for days on end is bread and sheep...as they view that meat as quite a deal. Last night I had dinner with my tutor and she made sheep kebobs, cooked over a grill, and served that with her own homemade wheat bread which was excellent! Her hometown is between Rabat and Casa, so she is more of a city type, but she says the olive oil in our little town is the best in Morocco. She is going to teach me how to make the wheat bread so I look forward to that. There is virtually no lettuce at all, and no broccoli. Other than those two main things I'm accustomed to eating a lot, most vegetables are available, although they cook them to death! Not much variety in the menu...