Hi all,
Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive--the unfortunate demise of my computer a month ago has made it a lot harder to write blog posts in the leisurely fashion to which I'm accustomed. Here's a quick update from my past month and a half:
-The month of August was Ramadan here, which was probably the most challenging cultural experience so far. Fasting consists of not eating or drinking water (or smoking or engaging in sexual activity) between dawn and sunset. Ramadan follows the Muslim lunar calendar, so it gets about two weeks earlier every year; everyone says late summer is the most difficult Ramadan, because the days are long and it's so darn hot. Basically all Moroccans fast, and Moroccans can actually be arrested for eating and drinking in public during Ramadan. Occasionally you'll see a tourist insensitively eating or smoking a cigarette during the day, but even PCVs who aren't fasting generally don't do that. I chose to fast, to see what it was like and because I guessed, correctly, that it would go a very long way towards helping me integrate into the community.
A typical schedule involves sleeping late (until 11 or so), reading, working, or spending time with friends during the day, and breaking the fast with a family at about 7:30 pm. Iftur, which literally means breakfast, involves dates, tea, honey cookies called chebakia, delicious soup called harira, and assorted other things depending on the family. Dinner follows at midnight or 1 am, and then some people take a nap until about 3:45 am, when they wake up to eat suhor, the pre-dawn meal. Some families eat a big meal then, but most prefer some fruit, milk, tea, or bread. Then they go back to sleep. Most people (but not me, obviously) spend quite a bit of time praying or at the mosque, during the day and after breaking the fast.
The best part about Ramadan for me was breaking the fast with assorted families in my site and in Azrou. I made a few new friends and enjoyed some good food and company. The hardest things were the messed up sleep schedule, which generally meant I could only get a few hours of sleep, and not being able to drink water. Especially difficult were the days I had to wake up early to work, and couldn't eat or drink for 10 hours or so, which leads me to ...
-I've finally started working a little, which is nice. I'm helping out on a project, partially funded and assisted by the U.S. Forest Service, that's working with the Park Service in Azrou to try and fix the damage done to the soil by years of over-grazing in parts of the park. I've been working with another PCV and someone from the Park Office to do soil analyses and establish baseline soil quality in a few different areas of the park, so that they'll be able to tell if the project is successful a few years down the line. Next week, a team from the USFS is coming here, and I'll be able to sit in on trainings conducted by the Park Office with local shepherds about how to graze their herds responsibly. While the work isn't exactly my specialty, I am learning quite a bit, and it's been really nice to be out working in the sunshine in the park.
-Other than that, life has been pretty quiet at home. I had company on my birthday, which was really nice, and I'm heading to Marrakech next week for a training, so I'll be able to see some friends then. Hopefully, I'll have a new computer by the middle of October, so I should be a better blogger and email correspondent by then. In the meantime, it's always nice to hear from people at home.
Love from the Maghreb,
Gussie
Just wanted to let you know I'm still alive--the unfortunate demise of my computer a month ago has made it a lot harder to write blog posts in the leisurely fashion to which I'm accustomed. Here's a quick update from my past month and a half:
-The month of August was Ramadan here, which was probably the most challenging cultural experience so far. Fasting consists of not eating or drinking water (or smoking or engaging in sexual activity) between dawn and sunset. Ramadan follows the Muslim lunar calendar, so it gets about two weeks earlier every year; everyone says late summer is the most difficult Ramadan, because the days are long and it's so darn hot. Basically all Moroccans fast, and Moroccans can actually be arrested for eating and drinking in public during Ramadan. Occasionally you'll see a tourist insensitively eating or smoking a cigarette during the day, but even PCVs who aren't fasting generally don't do that. I chose to fast, to see what it was like and because I guessed, correctly, that it would go a very long way towards helping me integrate into the community.
A typical schedule involves sleeping late (until 11 or so), reading, working, or spending time with friends during the day, and breaking the fast with a family at about 7:30 pm. Iftur, which literally means breakfast, involves dates, tea, honey cookies called chebakia, delicious soup called harira, and assorted other things depending on the family. Dinner follows at midnight or 1 am, and then some people take a nap until about 3:45 am, when they wake up to eat suhor, the pre-dawn meal. Some families eat a big meal then, but most prefer some fruit, milk, tea, or bread. Then they go back to sleep. Most people (but not me, obviously) spend quite a bit of time praying or at the mosque, during the day and after breaking the fast.
The best part about Ramadan for me was breaking the fast with assorted families in my site and in Azrou. I made a few new friends and enjoyed some good food and company. The hardest things were the messed up sleep schedule, which generally meant I could only get a few hours of sleep, and not being able to drink water. Especially difficult were the days I had to wake up early to work, and couldn't eat or drink for 10 hours or so, which leads me to ...
-I've finally started working a little, which is nice. I'm helping out on a project, partially funded and assisted by the U.S. Forest Service, that's working with the Park Service in Azrou to try and fix the damage done to the soil by years of over-grazing in parts of the park. I've been working with another PCV and someone from the Park Office to do soil analyses and establish baseline soil quality in a few different areas of the park, so that they'll be able to tell if the project is successful a few years down the line. Next week, a team from the USFS is coming here, and I'll be able to sit in on trainings conducted by the Park Office with local shepherds about how to graze their herds responsibly. While the work isn't exactly my specialty, I am learning quite a bit, and it's been really nice to be out working in the sunshine in the park.
-Other than that, life has been pretty quiet at home. I had company on my birthday, which was really nice, and I'm heading to Marrakech next week for a training, so I'll be able to see some friends then. Hopefully, I'll have a new computer by the middle of October, so I should be a better blogger and email correspondent by then. In the meantime, it's always nice to hear from people at home.
Love from the Maghreb,
Gussie
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