Made it to the next town

Alright, I keep warning people that I won't be able to communicate, and then I find a place of easy and free internet access. It is best to have low expectations though, yes?

Still, the training is promised to be very intense and I will need to spend time learning language and integrating into Moroccan culture, so I will limit my time online. This doesn't mean that I am not thinking of you all!

A few other notes on my time in Morocco so far:

-The food in the hotel in Rabat was somewhat disappointing and not exactly what I was expecting. I think they were catering to their European tourists. Whatever the case, the food at the new hotel we will be staying at this next week is so much better! I finally got my Moroccan couscous, and much better prepared veggies and fruits, and light and delicious flatbread. The fruit was the best end to a meal. It was a type of melon, but sweeter than honeydew and cream-colored. I believe it is a casaba melon, which is apparently available in the US, but I wasn't aware of it! Try one.

-The road between Rabat and our current site took us through dryer lands, but not infertile. It was also hilly/mountainous. It reminds me of a hilly south-west US.

-Baggy clothes are dangerous. At home, I don't usually have a problem over-eating, but when I am presented with new foods that I want to try in a buffet-style, I end up piling my plate higher than I intend. Since my clothes aren't as tightly fitted to my figure, I don't notice the amount of food I've been taking in. In any case, I'm sure I will be walking it all off shortly.

-On a related note, did I mention that I love the bread?

Hello PST

Our time quickly comes to a close in the big city. I'm starting to sense the stress to come in the next few months. I've had some of my shots (not so bad), and a lot of introductions. However, I also still feel that this will be a great challenge that I am ready to take on. I'm excited to really start the language training and the home-stay with a Moroccan family.

Right now it looks like it may be best for me to focus my energy on being present and spending an enormous amount of my time trying to absorb the language and culture. This may mean sporadic blog updates, and there might be times when you don't hear from me for a while. Don't worry about me! Also, don't stop emailing or commenting, I will try, at the very minimum spend time online, once a week, if not more. I do plan on keeping you all posted here, but things may be infrequent until I get settled at my site November-January/February.

Right now, there is another beautiful sunset here, followed by a call to prayer and breaking of the fast. I think this may turn out to be a good metaphor for how things have gone here so far, and how I am likely not to get such a nice break in the coming months. Whatever it may be, bring it on!

P.S. Playing cards is a great way to practice saying your numbers in a foreign language, and contains a significant amount of fun.

Made it to North Africa!

Travel went fairly well this long long day that started Monday morning. Of course, sleeping on a plane isn't really sleeping--there was no way to get comfortable. I am still wearing the same clothes as from yesterday as well, just in case you were curious.

But now we are at the hotel in Morocco. I am currently sitting outside in a wi-fi zone on the top floor. The city below is full of sounds of honking horns and activity. A mosque is not far and squarely in front of my view. There is an excellent cool breeze up here which balances out the heat of the sun that feels somehow turned up to a higher intensity. Fortunately the humidity is fairly low right now. It is slowly hitting me that we are no longer in America.

The rest of the afternoon and night we are to stay put. Tomorrow we will get more information and may be eventually allowed to explore some of the city.

I will be here for a few days so please feel free to try to contact me via the internet while I still have easy access!

edit: Just a reminder that we are arriving in Morocco in the middle of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting from food, drink (including water), smoking, sex, etc., during the daylight hours. I am amazed at all the help we have been getting from all the Moroccans during this time, particularly those who are serving food. I'm sure I am seeing a different Morocco during Ramadan than I would see during the other months.
Of course it would be madness for me to try fasting right now considering everything else my body is currently going through (right now a case of jet-lag...with promises of soon to be more exciting challenges). Maybe next year I will try. I am interested in the discipline required to go through fasting, but I would never put my health seriously in jeopardy. I have a year to think it over.

Onward to Morocco

September 8th. I really cannot believe it. What a date. A lot of emotions going on today and last night, but ultimately I am so excited to be moving towards this next step.

Yesterday, we had our second day of staging. More getting to know each other, more getting to know the Peace Corps and Morocco. Overall, I felt that the information was presented in a way that I didn't feel overwhelmed or bored. Which is saying a lot considering how much time we spent in one room. I believe I'm with an amazing group of people.

Last night we had some time to walk around Philadelphia. A group of us went down to the Liberty Bell and then walked around until we found food. Don't look to hard for me in that group shot, I was taking the photo.

I got back to the room early last night to decompress and make a call or two.

Today I will be getting on a bus up to New York and then flying out to Morocco. Once there, my cell phone will no longer work and internet accesses may be more difficult. Be patient if you are waiting to hear from me, I will try to post here when I can.

Onward to Morocco!

Staging

I made it! Well, to Philadelphia in any case. Free internet access in the hotel, so I am taking advantage of it.

My first day of staging went something like this-
Woke up at 3:30am, got on a plane at 7:20am, arrived in Philadelphia at 11:00am. I took a shuttle from the airport to the hotel, that happened to have four other volunteers on it. I then had lunch with said volunteers, followed by a long line for registration (which I'm sure was designed to get us all to talk to each other while waiting). The rest of the afternoon (until 7pm) was spent getting to know the other 57 PC trainees and starting to familiarize ourselves with what the PC is about and our expectations and anxieties.

Tomorrow promises to be long...but perhaps still informative. Hey, when you're excited, sitting through long days doesn't seem so terrible. Then again, ask me how I feel about long days in a month.

This is it

My bags are packed and I'm about to head out to the airport. I'll be in Philadelphia over the weekend. Then, we drive up to New York and fly out of New York to Casablanca. Finally, we drive from Casablanca to Rabat, Morocco's capital. I'll be there the rest of next week, and the real adventure begins!

It is a amazing how many little things needed to be taken care of last minute. I did, however, manage to get about 3.5 hours of sleep, which is honestly better than expected.

See you in Philly!

4 days, 22 hours

Completed:

-Move out of my studio

-Take down show

-Leave job

-Initial packing

-Say goodbye to most friends, family and co-workers

To do:

-Organize/store stuff I'm leaving behind

-Finish packing

-Final goodbyes to friends and family I have yet to do so

-Paperwork for loans and insurance, etc.

-Tie up all other loose ends

---

I feel fairly good about my packing. I am under the 80lbs weight limit by over 10lbs, and I only have a few more things to pack. I tried carrying it all at once to see how it would feel. I think I can do it, just not over a great distance. I should be able to hobble around an airport.

Packing has been an adventure in figuring out exactly what to bring-- what will be used, and how to take up the least amount of space with important items.

My understanding from reading material the Peace Corps has passed out and listening to advice from past Morocco PCVs is that in many places in Morocco I will need to be covered in a more conservative way than in the US. This means I need to favor packing shirts with sleeves between 3/4-full length, no low-cut collars (not a big problem for me), and the bottom falling loosely around mid-thigh. That last stipulation caught me, most of my shirts fall right at my hips or slightly higher. It is also my understanding that my pants and skirts (sometimes preferably skirts) need to be both loose and long. I've managed to find shirts, skirts, and pants that will hopefully work by raiding a few closets, finding some bargains at the store, and by a generous gift to help boost my new wardrobe.

The other clothing issue is that I won't know where my final site will be until I am already in Morocco. With Morocco's diverse landscape-- dessert, Mediterranean, mountainous--I could be in extremes from sweltering hot to frigid. I was concerned about stuffing my winter coat, long underwear, and sweaters in my baggage, but I was saved by those vacuum-seal space-saver bags. So I am prepared for most types of weather. Most importantly, I've packed a lot of layers I can take on off during the day.

One issue I'm a little unsure about is the use of contacts. I normally wear contacts, but I know the PC strongly discourages you from using them in-country. it sounds like this is large part due to the poor-availability of sterile contact solution, and risk of eye-infection. However, randomly reading Morocco-PCV blogs has revealed that some do take contacts with them (with a lot of solution). Is it worth the trouble of trying to take all the contact solution, etc? Or is the risk pretty bad for eye infection regardless? I will have two pairs of glasses with me, as requested, and I may just bring my contacts for special occasions with a bottle or two of solution. If any Morocco PCVs out there have any experience on this, I'd be interested to know!

It appears that there won't be too many posts from me now until I'm actually on this adventure. Bear with me in the coming weeks as I try to figure out internet access-- and sanity. I'm excited that all of this is so close to becoming reality. I still can't believe it!