I am amazed at how quickly time is flying by. I have already had to say goodbye to my host family at my Community Based Training site. They showed real Moroccan hospitality, and I will miss them.
A brief description of what my project was there: I worked with another trainee to improve the visibility of the coop in Ain Leuh. We started with many possible directions to take the project, and ended up focusing on distributing their brochure to the local hostels and creating a new sign for the front of their building.
The brochure project involved walking in the rain on a number of occasions. We did get the women excited to come up with us and talk to the hostel owners, but on the day we went up the hostel owner was unexpectedly out of town. Overall, the women seemed enthusiastic about going back later and picking up the conversation with the hostel owner, and from an earlier conversation, the hostel owner was eager to establish a relationship with the coop. Inshallah, they will pick up where we left off.
The sign project sprung from the fact that the sing outside the coop merely stated that they were a coop, not that they had anything to sell or that visitors were welcome. My partner and I came up with wording, and I drew icons (universal language) to put on the sign. We proposed our idea to the women, and they were excited about it. The fabrication process was primarily conducted by the women, they knew the metal worker and an artist who could create the sign from our designs. Success came on the last night of our stay in Ain Leuh when the new sign went up on the building.
If anyone is curious about more details on our process, email me or comment here!
As of last night, I know my site for the next two years. I will make more of a post about this after I’ve visited my site (I leave tomorrow). If you are a friend who can’t wait to know, send me an email. I will say that I am close to Rabat and am in a larger city (for SBD). I have water, electricity, internet, and access to a variety of foods.
More later!
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8 comments:
Hey Lisa,
Wow, it is so wonderful to read about your experiences. I have a ton of questions to ask, but in general, how are you doing?
It sounds like you're doing great!
Let me know,
Paul Goeke
Every time I read "coop" I think of coop like chicken coop, as in "its a pie machine, chickens go in, pies come out" not as in "Co-op" and I have to correct myself. I'm glad you're going to a place that will have electricity and internet b/c I love these updates and posts from you! Maybe once you're settled in I can learn how to use this skype thing. Whats the time difference over there?
LOVE! Laura
I can't wait to get an address! Yay snail mail! :)
Paul- good to hear from you. I just had a big change this week--going to my permanent site. Right now I am feeling overwhelmed but welcomed by this community! I hope everything is going well for you and your family.
Laura- Hey, speaking of chicken coop, I'm thinking of getting chickens this coming spring if I have a roof/courtyard space at my home. I know they can be really messy, but I'm willing to try it out once (people have chickens everywhere). Skype is easy to use, just download it. You need to have a microphone, and maybe a camera on your comp to talk/video chat. I think the time difference is now 6 hours since you all gained an hour.
Raichel- Very soon!
PS - Those pastries are beautiful! I bet they were tasty...
Hey, chickens are awesome, nothing tastes better than a very fresh egg! And they eat bugs in the yard. Watch out for roosters though. One time one attacked my uncle so my grandpa killed it.
How is the language coming along?
True. A rooster almost pecked my mom's eye out once, but they were planning on eating him anyway.
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