A FEW OF OUR RECENT CRITTER FINDS.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
What have we been up to this week???
Today we took a trip in to Essaouirra to pick up a package which we were very excited about. It was like opening a Christmas present only in the post office with the post inspector. We shopped a little- got some boots, a snickers and a BED (which I’m very excited about!) We met with other volunteers for pizza and headed back to our site. Overall, it was a really relaxing day.
Yesterday we traveled to another environment volunteers site (AMY) to see the women’s cooperative there. They have a really nice aromatic garden from which they make soaps. She also taught an English class while we were there and we stayed for lunch. Lunch was another adventure… I thought the chicken seemed a little chewy until I found out that it was actually rabbit. It was tasty, the family raises their own rabbits, goats and chickens for food and also have a camel and a donkey for riding/hauling things.
We went for a walk with some of the neighborhood kids yesterday and found our first highly poisoness scorpion hiding under a rock. We saz anther less dangerous and smaller scorpion today. Ben saw an (as yet) unidentified snake last week and I saw a tortoise. We usually find something new everytime we go out. Ben also found a huge beetle a few days ago which sprayed him with some kind of defensive spray that stained his hands red. Our family thought that was quite funny.
Tomorrow the association in our town is hosting a trash clean up which we’re helping with, work is going slowly but surely.
Pictures here are of Essaouirra (in case you needed another reason to come visit us!), products from the local thuya trees, and Amy and her English class.
Today we took a trip in to Essaouirra to pick up a package which we were very excited about. It was like opening a Christmas present only in the post office with the post inspector. We shopped a little- got some boots, a snickers and a BED (which I’m very excited about!) We met with other volunteers for pizza and headed back to our site. Overall, it was a really relaxing day.
Yesterday we traveled to another environment volunteers site (AMY) to see the women’s cooperative there. They have a really nice aromatic garden from which they make soaps. She also taught an English class while we were there and we stayed for lunch. Lunch was another adventure… I thought the chicken seemed a little chewy until I found out that it was actually rabbit. It was tasty, the family raises their own rabbits, goats and chickens for food and also have a camel and a donkey for riding/hauling things.
We went for a walk with some of the neighborhood kids yesterday and found our first highly poisoness scorpion hiding under a rock. We saz anther less dangerous and smaller scorpion today. Ben saw an (as yet) unidentified snake last week and I saw a tortoise. We usually find something new everytime we go out. Ben also found a huge beetle a few days ago which sprayed him with some kind of defensive spray that stained his hands red. Our family thought that was quite funny.
Tomorrow the association in our town is hosting a trash clean up which we’re helping with, work is going slowly but surely.
Pictures here are of Essaouirra (in case you needed another reason to come visit us!), products from the local thuya trees, and Amy and her English class.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Just a glimpse into our lives…
My average week looks a little something like this…
Monday- health clinic in the morning, study, nap, walk in the afternoon
Tuesday- study, nap, walk in the morning, tutoring in the afternoon
Wednesday –health clinic in the morning, study in afternoon
Thursday- study in the morning, tutoring in the afternoon
Friday- shopping day and laundry
Weekends- hike, travel…
This morning at the health clinic, I shadowed the nurse. We saw about 45 patients from 9 until noon. Most health problems fell into two types: diabetes and skin/eye infections. Which leads to the most common health problems here and part of what my work will consist of: diet and basic hygiene. Some days at the health clinic I work with the midwife. On those days we see babies for vaccinations and women for pregnancy checks. Once I start to get a better grip on the language, I will begin to give health lessons while patients wait to see the nurse/doctor/midwife. Our health clinic has a doctor, however the nearby clinics do not so we share our doctor. Our clinic is very lucky to have a midwife as well, many clinics only have one nurse working there.
Yesterday was a big party for the new baby in our family. People started showing up about 11 am and there were still people around when I went to bed at 10:30. It was a long day full of meeting new people. The men and women stayed separate for the most part, the women being the majority of guests. The women had dancing and singing, the men were a little more reserved and just talked over tea. We had lunch, dinner and several snacks during the party. The family slaughtered a goat for the occasion which is fairly common for special occasions if the family can afford it. It’s been a little interesting to try different types of meat than we’ve had in the past. We started with liver, then had heart, muscle meat and stomach. The head and hooves are still in the fridge and may be lunch tomorrow??? Ben has enjoyed trying new meats.
Since the baby has been born, friends of the mom have come over to help with house work-cooking, cleaning, laundry everyday and her mother is staying with us to help out as well. I’m not sure if that’s the norm but it’s nice that she gets to rest a bit.
Next week, cross my fingers, we’re headed to the beach!!!
My average week looks a little something like this…
Monday- health clinic in the morning, study, nap, walk in the afternoon
Tuesday- study, nap, walk in the morning, tutoring in the afternoon
Wednesday –health clinic in the morning, study in afternoon
Thursday- study in the morning, tutoring in the afternoon
Friday- shopping day and laundry
Weekends- hike, travel…
This morning at the health clinic, I shadowed the nurse. We saw about 45 patients from 9 until noon. Most health problems fell into two types: diabetes and skin/eye infections. Which leads to the most common health problems here and part of what my work will consist of: diet and basic hygiene. Some days at the health clinic I work with the midwife. On those days we see babies for vaccinations and women for pregnancy checks. Once I start to get a better grip on the language, I will begin to give health lessons while patients wait to see the nurse/doctor/midwife. Our health clinic has a doctor, however the nearby clinics do not so we share our doctor. Our clinic is very lucky to have a midwife as well, many clinics only have one nurse working there.
Yesterday was a big party for the new baby in our family. People started showing up about 11 am and there were still people around when I went to bed at 10:30. It was a long day full of meeting new people. The men and women stayed separate for the most part, the women being the majority of guests. The women had dancing and singing, the men were a little more reserved and just talked over tea. We had lunch, dinner and several snacks during the party. The family slaughtered a goat for the occasion which is fairly common for special occasions if the family can afford it. It’s been a little interesting to try different types of meat than we’ve had in the past. We started with liver, then had heart, muscle meat and stomach. The head and hooves are still in the fridge and may be lunch tomorrow??? Ben has enjoyed trying new meats.
Since the baby has been born, friends of the mom have come over to help with house work-cooking, cleaning, laundry everyday and her mother is staying with us to help out as well. I’m not sure if that’s the norm but it’s nice that she gets to rest a bit.
Next week, cross my fingers, we’re headed to the beach!!!
Friday, May 30, 2008
If you're interested in an AWESOME Moroccan getaway check out this place...
www.surfmaroc.co.uk
looks pretty amazing, and close to us too!
www.surfmaroc.co.uk
looks pretty amazing, and close to us too!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Tomorrow marks one week being in our new home. Quit a bit has been going on to keep us busy. On the way to site (our anniversary) we stayed a night in Essaouira and treated ourselves to a nice seafood dinner and deserts at a local patisserie. We spent most of last week unpacking and beginning the paperwork for our residence cards. I spent Sunday and Monday in Essaouira again for a work meeting while Ben stayed in site (for all the excitement!) Since arriving at our site, the grandmother of the family has been staying with us and we have been unsure why. During the night on Sunday, Ben was awoken by noises and talking from the next room…the next day our host family had a new baby girl. We knew that a baby was expected but we had no idea when and it was quite surprising! She gave birth in her bedroom with no major complications and the baby seems to be healthy. We’ve had visitors in and out for the past few days and have been eating lots of chickpeas but we’re unsure of their relevance. Next week we’ll get to be part of the naming ceremony which we’re not quite sure about but will know more about next week. Tomorrow is my first ‘real’ day at the health clinic, hopefully things will go smoothly. There isn’t much I can do there yet because of my limited language but it will be a good chance to practice speaking and for people to get used to my face. We will also start tutoring very soon so we’ll have a fairly ‘regular’ schedule. It’s so difficult to put life here into words. A few of us were talking over the weekend and it’s like an experience you can’t describe without seeing first hand. So just a reminder…if anyone wants first hand??? The most difficult part for me has been changing my American mindset of "find problems, fix problems." Things here don’t work that way. Right now it’s sip tea and chat and that’s harder said than done. I feel like it’s a great lesson to learn and will multiply my patience in the end. We don’t have any new pictures yet besides the mug shots we took for our IDs but we’ll get some soon, we’re planning a hike for the weekend. Pray that we’ll have patience.
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