Ruth and the General Excitement

So for the past four weeks, I've been hunkered down in site, trying to really understand working here, what that means, and how I fit in to it. And it's difficult. It's such a different working environment here, that makes work as a volunteer incredibly hard to get one's head around. Work is preceded by relationships with the people you work with; as volunteers we are working 24 hours a day, because it's not defined by going to the office or how many reports you can write. It's defined by having a good conversation with someone, and making a plan to do something productive next week. It's defined by building the relationship with the people you work with, so that they trust you enough to listen to your ideas. And it's also defined by showing the commitment to being there, whether 'there' be at the association when there's only seven people instead of forty because all the roads are flooded, or whether 'there' is at someone's house to celebrate a birth or mourn a death. All of which is pretty far removed from the traditional sense of the word work. But that commitment goes a really long way in a society that is based on community and in which people go out of their way to help and welcome an outsider. And I'm sure that all volunteers go through this struggle to define their role wherever they are, but I'm also sure that it won't be until toward the end my service that it will really make sense.

So I've been helping my women prepare themselves for an upcoming craft fair (check it out here and here) in Fes, which has resulted in a month of trials and tribulations, crazy, misunderstood conversations, and trips to various towns to buy supplies, but definitely productive. My women have been busily making more product that they know sells well, we've been adjusting one of their current products which usually means I end up playing the mannequin when I go to the association each afternoon, and a couple of women have been experimenting with a new product - pictures of that will come soon. Fes will be the first craft fair that my women have been to in a while, so I'm excited that they are participating, and I'm excited to go to Fes, since I've not been before. Yippee!

More excitement - after Fes, my parents will be arriving in Marrakech, where I will meet them and spend a few days, followed by a few days in Agadir. My host family and the women in my association are excited to meet them, and for them to see Ain Chaib, and I'm looking forward to being able to explore Agadir a little more thoroughly, including the souk there, which seems immense. And I'm looking forward to the look on my Mum's face when she sees how many people get in a grand taxi :)

Oh, and something else to mention, because it was awesome and super unexpected - last weekend five other volunteers arranged a surprise birthday gathering for me, complete with Mexican food, marble cake with sprinkles (yes, sprinkles!), amazing fudge, and hummus with yummy bread, amongst other things. I had no idea this was being plotted against me, but thanks to my awesome region mates, they totally had me fooled.

Anyway, that's all for now. More after the excitement of the next couple of weeks. If I can stand it.

xoxo.

Long over due, I know, and writing to follow, but... pictures!

Ruth and the Ides of March

Yesterday marked six months that i've been living in Morocco. Six months! I have no idea where this time has gone, but I'm still alive and kicking despite obstacles thrown at me, and more importantly, enjoying all of it.

The other good news I have for yesterday, the Ides of March, is that I was not stabbed 23 times. Yay me for keeping that one under control. Instead, I have become one year older and wiser. Mmm… maybe. But, naturally, the day consisted of chocolate cake and baileys, which we all know is happy making in my world. And thank you everyone for the birthday love!

This past weekend I attended a health workshop with three of the women from my association, which was a really great weekend. The workshop consisted of different sessions on topics such as leadership, women's health, the Mudawwana, which is the Moroccan family code, and the rights that are granted to women within this, yoga, tips for making things like salt scrubs and face masks out of easily available foods and a community planning session during which the women worked out an action plan for bringing all of this information back to their communities. We also all went running on the beach in Agadir, which was great fun, and for me, it was a great weekend for bonding with my women. They also took me to the souk in Agadir after the workshop concluded, where we ate huge plates of yummy fish, and and walked around the hugest souk I've ever seen for a while. We were all exhausted upon arriving home, but happy with our weekend. My women are already planning on holding the workshops to teach back in Ain Chaib, starting this Friday.

It's been raining in my site since last Thursday, which means that all of the roads are flooded again. There's a roughly one-foot wide dry track on the edge of each road which is now the path, and leaves to me clinging to the wall desperately trying to avoid falling in the small lake that is the actual road. Fun times!

xoxo.

Ruth and the Crazy Tortoise Lady (Called Ruth)

What a difference a day makes. I was in my souk town this morning, and it was like I was in a different town than the one I was in the other day. This is the town that I'm in on a regular basis - two, three, four times a week, and is generally pretty intimidating, but with the help of my iPod, my bitch face, and sunglasses, I can usually make it through without too much trouble.

When I was there on Friday, a man grabbed me by the arm out of the blue, which, needless to say, I was none too happy about, and demanded that I give him some of the water I was drinking. Yesterday, I was crossing the street and a random man (not the same one) grabbed me even more forcefully by the arm and tried to pull me in his direction, which was a pretty upsetting experience - especially as these instances are the first that I've had anything quite so physical in terms of harassment - usually it's the stares, the cat calls, the rock throwing. Of course, thankfully it went no further than just unwanted grabbing, but not fun.

But today, I went to town, and while waiting for some shoes to be finished (not mine - different story) I went and hung out with my vegetable guy, Mustafa. Who. Is. Awesome. I sat in his vegetable stall for over an hour, while he made me drink copious amounts of tea and eat cake, and handed me his cell phone with hours of video of Berber dancing. I showed him pictures of my tortoises (yes, plural - again, different story) and we spoke in my halting darija about the word for late (which there isn't one), how each of our families were, and the difference between normal tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. I love how trusting Moroccans are - Mustafa would get up and wander off to get the tea or have a chat with someone, leaving me in charge of his stall without batting an eyelid - while I was quietly dreading what would happen if an actual customer appeared, as I didn't know the prices of anything.

Anyway, it's interesting how from day to day it's a completely different story and experience here. The little things make such a different in either making or breaking your day. Of course, how I approach my day makes a difference too. A friend of mine just sent me "The Secret" (thank you Al!) and I've only listened to a little bit but the author talks about how like thoughts attract like thoughts - like if you're thinking negative thoughts, then you'll start thinking more negative thoughts and dig yourself a hole. Quite interesting, and true I think… I'm trying to stick with positive thoughts from now, which - I've said it before, and I'll say it again - is getting easier, as life gets easier in the cold land with the hot sun. As luck would have it, I completely understand why it's called that now.

And so here's the tortoise story. I now have two - Olly, aka the little one, and Tiberius aka the big one. Last week, I inherited Tiberius from two volunteers in my souk town, and luckily, so far, there's been no fighting or baby making between my now two tortoises. Two is enough I think. Between Olly, Tiberius, knitting, and my Bailey's addiction, I think I can now make it official. I'm the crazy tortoise lady of Ain Chaib. Brilliant.

I'll leave you with that happy image.

xoxo.