Friday, October 06, 2006
Holiday spirit
One of the things that I like about Ramadan is that -- to balance out the craziness and testy attitudes that begin to emerge late in the afternoon (not to mention some dangerously fast driving that left my heart in my throat yesterday) -- there is also a festive and generous spirit much like what we experience during our own holiday season. Case in point: the hotel that is my home away from home in Rich has been offering a charity lfdur every evening, alowing those in need to come and break their fast for free. Sometimes the volunteers staying in the hotel will join them, and sometimes we go elsewhere, but yesterday, it really gave me a good feeling when I stumbled into the hotel right at sundown, after an afternoon of traveling, and had a couple of guys who work there (who hadn't yet broken their own fasts) insist that I sit down in a comfortable spot and have some soup, coffee and dates...
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Déja Vu
I just arrived in Azrou, one of my two homes during my first few months in Morocco last year. This time, I get to be one of those "older and wiser" (HAH!) volunteers who comes in to help train the newbies (whom I have already heard to be far more brilliant and experienced than we were). Actually, I am just around to do a little Gender and Development training - ideas about how volunteers can account for and respond to various gender roles in carrying out their primary assignments, as well as other project ideas for promoting broader thinking about gender roles in our communities.
I should be happy for the excuse to travel, as life in Assoul has been a bit slow lately, but frankly, I've enjoyed being a homebody, and traveling kind of sucks during Ramadan. Lots of places open late, transportation - particularly in rural areas - can be way too unpredictable, and it's kind of hard to find a respectfully discreet place to eat if you want to maintain a little respect and consideration for those who are fasting.
Meanwhile, back in Assoul, I have finally finished the second season of "Lost." Very disappointed about having to wait indefinitely to catch up with season three as that gets aired (I did look at a couple of spoilers for the premiere, before realizing that is a really awful thing to do to myself, not to mention a little pathetic!). So, instead, the plan now is to get started on "24." Seven episodes in two nights, and counting...
"How are you watching all of this television?" you may be asking. "Do you finally have electricity?" NO. But after the commune made the very unwise decision to discontinue fueling up the town generator, the teachers went on strike. Yay teachers!
Other excitement:
(1) Another scorpion in the house, but this one was small.
(2) I finally learned how to make zmetta - crubbly nutty sugary oily goodness that is one of the Ramadan staples for breaking the fast around here.
I'm having a good time running lately. The nedi is closed more often than not anymore, so I actually get a lot of community face time this way (and occasionally get a little business done). And now that folks have gotten used to it, I find all of my encounters on the road (and I do say hi to everyone) far less stressful than I once did. People get excited that they know what I am doing now, say hello, ask about my exercising and occasionally where I am going, but rarely try to force me to stop anymore. There are a few older ladies around town whom I like to tease, telling them that they ought to accompany me, and once or twice on the road I've had some Berber woman shuffle along, carrying her MASSIVE load from the fields, for a few steps behind me before she laughs and gives up. But yesterday I had my biggest laugh. I had about 10-15 minutes left, and two women who I don't know, but who I suppose I had waved to while passing them going the other direction, dropped their loads and came bolting out of the fields. In their dresses and the blue plastic shoes that are rather ubiquitous among the women of Assoul, they actually ran with me, one of them (Miriam) making it all the way back into town! It may not fit into Peace Corps' formal definition of development, but clearly I am making some sort of impression around here!
I should be happy for the excuse to travel, as life in Assoul has been a bit slow lately, but frankly, I've enjoyed being a homebody, and traveling kind of sucks during Ramadan. Lots of places open late, transportation - particularly in rural areas - can be way too unpredictable, and it's kind of hard to find a respectfully discreet place to eat if you want to maintain a little respect and consideration for those who are fasting.
Meanwhile, back in Assoul, I have finally finished the second season of "Lost." Very disappointed about having to wait indefinitely to catch up with season three as that gets aired (I did look at a couple of spoilers for the premiere, before realizing that is a really awful thing to do to myself, not to mention a little pathetic!). So, instead, the plan now is to get started on "24." Seven episodes in two nights, and counting...
"How are you watching all of this television?" you may be asking. "Do you finally have electricity?" NO. But after the commune made the very unwise decision to discontinue fueling up the town generator, the teachers went on strike. Yay teachers!
Other excitement:
(1) Another scorpion in the house, but this one was small.
(2) I finally learned how to make zmetta - crubbly nutty sugary oily goodness that is one of the Ramadan staples for breaking the fast around here.
I'm having a good time running lately. The nedi is closed more often than not anymore, so I actually get a lot of community face time this way (and occasionally get a little business done). And now that folks have gotten used to it, I find all of my encounters on the road (and I do say hi to everyone) far less stressful than I once did. People get excited that they know what I am doing now, say hello, ask about my exercising and occasionally where I am going, but rarely try to force me to stop anymore. There are a few older ladies around town whom I like to tease, telling them that they ought to accompany me, and once or twice on the road I've had some Berber woman shuffle along, carrying her MASSIVE load from the fields, for a few steps behind me before she laughs and gives up. But yesterday I had my biggest laugh. I had about 10-15 minutes left, and two women who I don't know, but who I suppose I had waved to while passing them going the other direction, dropped their loads and came bolting out of the fields. In their dresses and the blue plastic shoes that are rather ubiquitous among the women of Assoul, they actually ran with me, one of them (Miriam) making it all the way back into town! It may not fit into Peace Corps' formal definition of development, but clearly I am making some sort of impression around here!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
