Happy Thanksgiving!

A quick hello to wish a happy, warm holiday to those of you with whom I haven't yet corresponded this week!

Last weekend, I said my final, sad goodbyes to my host family in Ait Hamza. A few days later, after a language test, more training sessions (as if I weren't scared enough of the buta gas tanks everyone cooks with here, they had to scare us more!), and a fun mock wedding ceremony with amazing live Berber musicians, my fellow small business trainees and I bade farewell to our little Auberge in Azrou, and headed to the town of Immouzer. This town, less than an hour away from Fez, feels quite suburban, and the vegetation and landscape here appear much like any US town in a slightly mountainous area. Here we joined our youth development colleagues at what first looked like a country club compared to our home in Azrou -- a compound with outdoor spaces, a basketball court, pool table... -- although now I think that impression was highly superficial. I especially miss the owner of our Auberge in Azrou, who was so kind to all of us (he even gave me a beautiful blanket for my birthday, back when he had barely gotten to know any of us)!

Today we officially completed our training, and I am eagerly awaiting a yummy Thanksgiving dinner this evening with 50+ of my newest friends! Tomorrow is our official swearing in ceremony in Fez (too bad they whisk us in and out before we really get to explore anything!), and in spite of my underachieving efforts to prepare for my oral language exam last Sunday (in order to avoid any additional work this week), it appears that I have been commissioned to deliver a speech in Tamazight tomorrow during the event, in front of the U.S. Ambassador, our host families, and everyone. That should be entertaining (and short), to say the least! But with my cape (a gift from my host mom), scarves, skirts with pants underneath, and fingerless gloves (it's gotten to be strictly utilitarian dress these days), I'm certainly getting crap from my colleagues that I'm turning into a Berber woman already!

That's it for now. I leave for my site (which will take two days) on Saturday, although much of the next week will be spent running errands in the cities of Errachidia and Goulmima. (Frankly, my primary anxiety is about the agony of moving all of my luggage around, since Peace Corps has given us so much additional gear and books that I now have another entire large souk bag full of stuff!). Anyway, it looks like I'll hardly be getting settled any time soon! But now it's time to go eat a little bibi!