Nobody works in the summer...

...except for Peace Corps volunteers.

It has been quite a week, and I've been stumbling all over town in spite of all sorts of digestive distress (and subsequent lack of nourishment), fever, etc., just trying to find a few pockets of motivation among the women of Assoul. Why? Because tomorrow marks the first day of their first really big craft fair, in Saidia -- a town on the Mediterranean coast next to the Algerian border. Two months ago, everyone seemed really excited about the prospect of possibly selling a thing or two, someone getting to go on a pretty big trip... But last week, only the new president and vice-president of the cooperative seemed motivated. How disappointing! Most days, the nedi was locked up tight, and the vice president, Fatima, and I went around knocking on doors (many of which weren't being answered) just to see if anybody had any products to sell ("any" meaning not dirty and not ugly). Mina, the president, had been working hard weaving, even trying out some new product ideas that we had discussed. Everyone else was either "occupied" (sleeping, due to the afternoon heat), or "waiting for the cooperative to start" (I keep explaining that we are in the process of starting it, so they need to work now!). Somehow, we miraculously ended up with one large souk bag full of stuff very late in the day Saturday. (All this was echoed in my attempts to complete other work as well this week -- no one was answering phones at any office I called! My understanding is that I can expect this through the end of August).

Sunday morning, Fatima and I left for Meknes, where we stayed with her uncle's family. I still didn't have much of an appetite, and was opting for starvation over possible intestinal distress during two rather long bus rides (been there, done that), but I nevertheless sampled a couple of the blander baked goods that the women of the house were preparing in bulk, as they were catering a wedding -- delicious! Today, we had one more long haul for Saidia. And, en route, I spoke with our regional delegate from the Ministry of Artisana, who told me that the women of Assoul have now been formally invited to hold their General Assembly meeting to begin their cooperative. Does this mean their next craft fair (at the end of August) will cause less stress? One can only hope, but...

In the meantime, I am excited to be here with Fatima. Regardless of what she sells, she is super-smart, and I think she will get a lot out of this experience (in addition to selling, she's going to be able to attend a number of training sessions). So I will be working ("working"?) here at the beach for a couple of weeks before I take a proper vacation. More on Saidia as our stay here progresses... By the way, it turns out it is hot and muggy here.



My other excitement this week was that my host family has a new baby boy! I paid a few visits, but unfortunately, I had to leave before the big naming ceremony. Although given the last such party I attended was in the winter, and remembering how hard I sweated then, I'm not sure it is such a bad thing to miss one in the dead of summer.

Besides, I had a vicarious party the night before I left Assoul -- someone had loudspeakers going at a wedding in town until 4am (when my alarm was set to catch the morning transit -- ARGH!). Even though it was on the edge of town, they might as well have been blasting straight into my window! No sleeping in the summer either, it would seem.