Hills, HUBs, and Camps

Sorry for the delayed post, these past couple of weeks have been hectic!

Things are chugging along here in Morocco, learning language and culture. I would tell you all about the extensive studying we do everyday at the Dar Chebab, (don't worry Mom, I am in fact learning some things over here!) but lets go with the more exciting parts shall we?

We have finally gotten a couple of weekends off and besides hanging around L'Mhaya and integrating, we have gone on some adventures! Before our first HUB days, my friends Kira, Alex and Ih went for a hike in the nearby hills. Getting to the mountain I wanted to climb was a bit of a process, Alex had to ask her host father to ask his friend to drop us off at the base and then they would come back a few hours later once we had finished. We were supposed to leave by 11 Sunday morning and in true Moroccan style didn't get on the road until 12:30. Once on the road though we stopped at a very pretty gorge/valley to take some pictures and drink some spring water.


From there we continued on towards the hillside where things got pretty country. The country side here in northernish Morocco isn't like what we think of in the United States. Here there are tons of olive orchards as well as open fields where animals graze and farmers grow different vegetables. It is amazing how much this part of the country looks like southern Europe and Italy in particular. Alex, Kira and I wandered up to the hill where this sweet old lady tried to help lead us to the mountain side and walk us up. We wanted to get away from speaking Darija since we have been living it 24/7 so we called our LCF and she helped us explain. It turned out that the lady just wanted us to be careful because climbing hills is dangerous. The amount random people care for you in this country is astounding. We had a laugh and continued on. After a lunch of cheese and avocado sandwiches we got to the top and the view was something else. The city of Fes on one side and Meknes on the other with the countryside in the middle and snowcapped mountains in the background. Special.

The next day, 50 of our 100 person Staj got together in the city of Meknes to-have a 2 day intensive HUB session. HUB sessions are overnight and consist of many bureaucratic meetings and sessions where we learn about different teaching styles and what is required of us as PCV's. You may be able to see a pattern here That every time we get together-have meetings and they Are long and drawn out the positive purpose of speaking with current as well as volunteers Having 2 days in a really swanky hotel make up for the dull parts. The hotel we stayed at, (Name redacted due to Peace Corps policy) overlooked the old city and even had a pool. It was too cold to swim of course but the food was good.

When we were not bogged down by meetings, we had the chance to explore the city. One notably cool site was the old underground prison of Moulay Ismail. I cruised down there with Treva and Garrett as well as Treva's host brother and we made silly scary faces and tried, from a distance albeit, to scare this other group of tourists down there. There were still the wooden locks where the prisoners hung down there and it was relatively creepy.

After Meknes we went back to good ol' Mhaya and have been for the past week teaching classes and preparing for the upcoming Spring Camp we will be hosting. Camps are one of the big components of our service and is something the Ministry wants us to focus on while kids are not in school. I'm really excited for this experience because it will be great experience for when we are in site by ourselves and need to lead one of these by ourselves, in Arabic, the second week were are there. Crazy, I know. 
     
But this is what it is all about. Yeah the travel and cultural integration are important and really fun but the reason I came here was to make a difference in someones life. I have larger, maybe unrealistic goals of eventually creating a fully sustainable Dar Chebab. I.e electricity, water, waste, food. Yet the essence of my service is going to be about the relationships formed and the knowledge exchanged on a personal basis; something I value. Becoming a better self-starter, accepting failure and cherishing success are all things I hope to learn here. It will be a constant struggle and it already has. Each day is different. In the month I've been here I have had great days and bad days but its about what you've got deep down which makes you a volunteer. I am excited to find success, Inshallah and I am also maybe even more so excited to fail, excited to be in the dumps, when that happens and I'm at my lows I'll know that there is so many highs that I have to get though in order to get there. Thats when the challenge is. Thats when we really learn about ourselves.

Sorry for the digression and definitely don't think I'm down here! Minus spelling corrections this is all train of thought and I want to keep it as such in order to truly give you, my friends and family and maybe even strangers a real glimpse into my life here in Morocco.

-J