This is SOO Morocco :)

found this link the other day and thought I would share it with you all. After reading this article you can experience what I go through everyday in Morocco whenever I leave my site and travel. Just copy and paste the link below. ENJOY :)

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/99459

Mabruk L3id and Upcoming Adventures!

This past weekend was my finale L3id Kibir as a Peace Corps Volunteer! A year from now I will be done with my service and traveling around a little bit before heading back to Michigan, inchallah. I do respect this important Islamic holiday, but I will admit being a non-meat eater, I am not a fan of meeting what everyone will be eating for lunch two hours prior; it is just not my style. Give me the frozen food section any day or Farmer's Market where it is already killed and ready to grill up. I do not eat meat other than chicken, and I have yet to buy any chicken for myself since arriving to Morocco almost 15 months ago! I am very proud of that:) I know that L3id Kibir is all about Abraham sacrificing a sheep instead of his only son, Issac, but is it too much to ask for people not to kill things on my roof next to my apartment door? I will respect the traditions in this country, but I am not too big on watching them kill the sheep, so I just chill with the wives who will cook up that huge sheep after the men are all done chopping it up into pieces.

Other than that, my holiday weekend was uneventful, and it was great. It is nice to have a long weekend to oneself to just relax, sleep in, and enjoy nothing. Just studying for the GRE exam I have in February and catching up with the latest movies I got from Rabat last weekend. I wanted to soak in as much nothingness as I could before next weekend begins. Starting the 5th of December until the 12th I will be in Rabat for Mid-Service Medical, which I hear is like a very LONG week of scavanger-hunt like doctor appointments and meetings in Morocco's Capital city. Once the week of running around Rabat is over, I head back to

my

site for only 4 days to clean up, teacher maybe one class, and pack up for my Christmas vacation to LONDON!

I am super excited about heading out of Morocco and going to an Angelo-speaking country for the first time in 15 months! woohoo!

I am excited yet a little nervous about making my flights and being in a Western culture again, but I am looking forward to wherever my travels take me :) I just need to buy some warmer clothing for the snow in London! I actually get to see and walk through snow, inchallah!

Hope all is well back in the states, miss you all! I will write all about my London travels with pictures after my return in January!

images from:

http://blogimg0.ifrance.com/00/02/66/157424.jpg and http://c2.api.ning.com/files/uKrEuqEi9wur5o724Mymik8hRj*HWtUwch5TStI80DytcKwH7Pp*hGJOnr161kbPySIr*5vyEV7XOhdTyit1bY6KYaCCgq8k/london.jpg

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

I just wanted to send out a HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my loved ones back home in Michigan and throughout the USA. I miss you all very much and am thankful for you all being in my life and supporting me through everything I try to do. HUGS! and eat some turkey for me :)

image from:

http://southdakotapolitics.blogs.com/south_dakota_politics/images/thanksgiving_word_searchhtm_txt_turkeywi.gif

SO-YOUN. One in a Million. You Will Be Missed.

It saddens my heart to write that fellow PCV, staj-mate (my YD training group), and friend, So-Youn, has suddenly passed away from an illness in Marrakech last night. My thoughts are with her family and friends as we all try to understand and morn for the loss of a great woman, PCV, and all around funny person. I will always remember that she loved life, reading, writing, and her friends dearly. Though I was not very close with her, when I did the pottery workshop at her site about a month ago this time, I got to know her better and see why so many people love being around her. The picture above is the last picture I had with her (she is the last person on the right side). It was at the pottery workshop she put together. This picture shows the aftermath of So-Youn's crazy spa idea and a bunch of girls who have not had a spa day in 13 months:) This photo captures the fun we all had with her. I will never forget this moment.

She will never be forgotten. Never.

R.I.P.

Birthday Fun and Indian Food

This past weekend was a blast! April and I headed out to celebrate her 25th birthday!!! We went on a 48 hour adventure to eat some non-Moroccan food and relax for a bit before heading back to our sites to work. We were on a mission to find a Mexican place to eat, but sadly it was closed. Though our mission was to eat Mexican food, we did find a really nice Indian place were we ate until our tummies were full:) It was an enjoyable time. The funniest part was when our good friend and tutor, Tony ( aka Abdullah) came along to eat Indian food for the first time. The look on his face when he took his first bite of chicken curry was priceless. Happy Birthday April!

http://www.knoxvillebusiness.com/images/delicious-indian-food.gif---> image from this site.

Pottery Workshop In Zagora

From October 16th until the 20th I had the pleasure of leaving my site and head down to the Zagora region

to take part in a pottery workshop with the local potters who make the nationally known "green pottery" in Morocco. A group of about 11 PCVs got together for this 6 day workshop and learned everything from throwing our own pieces to painting and varnishing pieces and even how to henna pottery! It was a really exciting workshop and I learned a lot that I could possibly do at my own Dar Chabab if I have the funding to do so. It was great to be able to do something art related for once while being here in Morocco. It was very refreshing to do this workshop and make some neat

looking pieces of pottery to send home as Christmas gifts :)

Morocco is still amazing me even after being here for over 13 months. Bring on the last 13 months!

Other than the pottery workshop, nothing much is going on at the moment. Work started this month and it has been a bit stressful due to moudir issues, but I am taking is slowly and still enjoying the company of my kids and the teachers that are

starting to volunteer their time at the Dar Chabab! My goal is to have the Dar Chabab totally under the control of the teachers and

kids a year from now. To start working on sustainability so when I leave a year from now, the community of Skoura will be doing all classes and activities in the Dar Chabab.

Wish me luck because this is going to be one long process, but worth trying to see if it will happen.

MAbrk L3iD!

it happened a few days ago and i have been so busy that i am finally getting around to saying it! so here it is all!

MABRK L3ID!

ONE YEAR!

IT IS OFFICIAL! I HAVE BEEN A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER FOR ONE YEAR! It has been one fast and fun 365 days.. bring on the next 14 months!