Things are going well in our little town. Last week, Aisha, from the environment sector of Peace Corps came for a site visit. We talked to the president of a local association and met with a senior staff member of the Department of Water and Forests in Essaouira. The meeting was successful, and we generated several ideas for projects in the community. When these projects actually get started, we’ll give more details, but laying the groundwork should keep me busy for a while. We also received our Peace Corps bikes. It is nice to be able to get out of town on a bike ride. They are good exercise and a good way to get to the rural towns outside of our main site. We have to wear helmets at all times, which gets us an occasional smirk, but a lot of the kids in town have said that they wanted to get helmets too. Last night, it sprinkled for about half an hour. This is the first time that it has rained since we’ve been in site. Rain during the summer is uncommon, and for the last 10 years, Morocco has been experiencing a prolonged drought.
Last week we visited a town about 10miles away where a group of about 10 French students were building latrines for the local elementary. It was interesting to compare methods and see another organization working on projects similar to ours. They finished up on Saturday and will spend the next few weeks touring the country, starting with Essaouira. In addition to the French volunteers, this weekend, about 10 Peace Corp volunteers met up in Essaouira for a weekend of fun and relaxation. A couple of people from the high atlas mountains, and a couple of people from the Tata region of southern Morocco (where it gets 140 F for weeks at a time) were there, so it was interesting to compare experiences. We also got to see a chameleon, Chamaeleo chamaeleon. This is the first chameleon formally described by Linnaeus in 1758. So far we have seen a chameleon and the tortoise, Testudo graeca, wondering the streets of the historic old medina in Essaouira. Although there is no green space within the town (which is surrounded by walls), it is turning out to be a good place for wildlife. I guess animals like World Heritage Sites. So far, two people from our cohort have gone home – one from the health sector and one from the environment sector. One was for medical reasons, the other for personal reasons. Everyone else seems to be doing well.
We move into our own apartment this week. Many previous volunteers say that home stay is one of the harder parts of PC service in Morocco and we look forward to getting the privacy that we were used to back in the states. As a married couple, moving out of the home stay family’s house is much easier. Moroccans understand that as a married couple, it is time that we live on our own. For single volunteers, however, families often don’t understand why anyone would want to be a lonely mesqina (poor thing) living all alone, so volunteers are sometimes pressured to stay with the host families. This is a culture where family ties and human interaction is a very important and integral part of life, so many people from several generations often live together, and the idea of “alone time” doesn’t hold much appeal.
Last week we visited a town about 10miles away where a group of about 10 French students were building latrines for the local elementary. It was interesting to compare methods and see another organization working on projects similar to ours. They finished up on Saturday and will spend the next few weeks touring the country, starting with Essaouira. In addition to the French volunteers, this weekend, about 10 Peace Corp volunteers met up in Essaouira for a weekend of fun and relaxation. A couple of people from the high atlas mountains, and a couple of people from the Tata region of southern Morocco (where it gets 140 F for weeks at a time) were there, so it was interesting to compare experiences. We also got to see a chameleon, Chamaeleo chamaeleon. This is the first chameleon formally described by Linnaeus in 1758. So far we have seen a chameleon and the tortoise, Testudo graeca, wondering the streets of the historic old medina in Essaouira. Although there is no green space within the town (which is surrounded by walls), it is turning out to be a good place for wildlife. I guess animals like World Heritage Sites. So far, two people from our cohort have gone home – one from the health sector and one from the environment sector. One was for medical reasons, the other for personal reasons. Everyone else seems to be doing well.
We move into our own apartment this week. Many previous volunteers say that home stay is one of the harder parts of PC service in Morocco and we look forward to getting the privacy that we were used to back in the states. As a married couple, moving out of the home stay family’s house is much easier. Moroccans understand that as a married couple, it is time that we live on our own. For single volunteers, however, families often don’t understand why anyone would want to be a lonely mesqina (poor thing) living all alone, so volunteers are sometimes pressured to stay with the host families. This is a culture where family ties and human interaction is a very important and integral part of life, so many people from several generations often live together, and the idea of “alone time” doesn’t hold much appeal.
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