It’s hot. I mean, that’s probably a bit of an understatement – where is it not hot right now, right? And to be honest, I don’t even have many bragging rights. You’d think living in the desert in Africa in August would just be awful (and in some ways, it is), but with temperatures […]
Category: Peace Corps
I Spent a Week in a Moroccan Orphanage and Lived to Blog About It
In America, when we hear about orphans, we immediately conjure up images of little orphan Annie fighting the evil Miss Hannigan with rich ole’ Daddy Warbucks on her side. It’s a hard-knock life, after all. My guess is that you’d think, in a developing country, that stereotype would be even worse, but I’m not sure […]
Summer Camp, or Fat Tony’s Taste of American Culture
I guess when I think of “summer camp,” there are sort of grandiose images that pop into my head with s’mores and campfires, long hikes through the woods, boat rides and swimming pools, lots of hard work, laughter, and love. But the El Jadida Summer English Immersion Camp I worked through Peace Corps didn’t quite […]
Freedom to Love, or from Mogador to America with Love
I’ve had a lot of moments lately (and I can’t help but think that several volunteers experience similar moments) where I sit back and think, “What am I doing, really doing, in the Peace Corps?” I mean, I’d say I’ve laid a lot of that out in previous posts, answers to those questions, that is […]
Because “Nothing Succeeds as Planned”
So, I’m sitting on a train with Caity, Avery, and Nicole making our way to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, for a training on how to educate people on healthy lifestyles and HIV/AIDs prevention, and I’m not really sure what it is about trains, but you can get lost in the moment staring out the […]
Some Brief, Not-So-Classified Thoughts
I’ll keep this one even shorter. Yes, Osama bin Laden is dead. People ask me here if I’m happy about this. Most of them are, it seems. I just respond, “I never rejoice when anyone dies.” That’s not a lie. It’s unfortunate that bin Laden is just one more death in a war I wish […]
Thoughts for a Spring Day, or Identity Not-so-Crisis
So, it’s a breezy day, and I’m sitting in a chair chewing gum with my mudir (boss) in what might be the only grassy place (the Dar Chebab, or “House of Youth and Sports” where I work) east of the Middle Atlas Mountains, where everything else is desert. So, we’re sitting there having a short conversation […]
On Progress and Development
I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to say this, so here it is: regarding recent world events, ranging from the bombing in Marrakesh or the death of Osama bin Laden, I am not at liberty to comment. So, I’ll probably comment. I’d been on the road a lot lately, and when you say “on the […]
When Ignorance is Power, or Lots of Random Thoughts from the Last Few Weeks
So, first things first, as I write this, I have no idea what time it is. Morocco, as a country, began observing Daylight Savings Time last week. I guess, on a technicality, that means that Morocco’s major businesses and government offices have now “sprung forward” an hour. However, not everyone chooses to observe the new […]
The Sound of God
This afternoon, as I have many times before, I found myself walking by one of the mosques as the call-to-prayer sounded loudly around me from the speakers on the minaret. I’ve mentioned this experience elsewhere, but it’s worth mentioning again. In fact, it’s one of the first things I think you notice about this country if […]
