"The Life and Times of Griff"...: September 2004

Within the ten person home of my host family, we typically sit on leather custions round the low table. The men are led to the salon, whilst the women prepare the presentation of the meal. The women parade into the salon hoisting with them an elaborate silver serving set, warm towels, and kettles of cold water, so that the men of the house could rinse their hands before eating. The food is eaten with fingers only: the first three fingers of the right hand may be used - or, rather the thumb and the first two fingers. After the meal, the silver is presented and passed again, this time accompanied by soap. You cannot tear into a plump lamb carefully wrapped in boiling tomato pulp, and share it with your neighbours, unless they are scrupulously washed. Underneath the almost transparent, flaky layers of pastry are delicious surprises in the form of tasty morsels of chicken, vegetables, couscous, and meat of all kinds. The meals are as complex as the six or so hours it takes to prepare them. In fact, the dinner is already being staged as I write, and it's once again time to experience the hallmark of Moroccan cuisine.

Salamu ealaykum, kulsi bixir.
(Peace upon you, everything is fine)

I began my training in Philly where I met other 52 volunteers that would eventually take to the desert of Morocco to either work as a Youth Development or Small Business Development volunteer. On Sept 11th, I traveled throughout Philly and saw the Liberty Bell, and visited the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence where George Washington and John Hancock were hundreds of years prior. So, it is has been a real ''patriotic'' experience from the start.

Moving ahead a few days...

Today is the first day that I have had enough time to actually write more than one or two sentences in an email. I have been training non-stop since flying from JFK in New York to Casablanca on Sept 13th. And now, I am sitting in an internet cafe, drinking tea, and listening to the Moroccan version of Britney Spears. The internet cafe itself is situated in an alleyway restaurant, located here in the city of Ouarzazate. The computer that I am emailing you all on right now is based in Moroccan-Arabic script, and it is sometimes hard to switch it over to English. In addition to this, I walked about 3 miles to get here.

So with that being said... the pace of life here is extremely slower than that of the states. It is a major adjustment on my part, just to relax. As an example, it took us 12 hour (by bus) to reach Marrakesh from Rabat. From there, we traveled 3 hours through the Atlas mountains to reach Ouarzazate, were I am right now. We are currently staying at the Bab Sahara Hotel in Ouarzazate for the next month, then we are off to our final homestay destination. During this month, I will also be traveling with my particular group (whom are learning Arabic with me) and traveling to the city of Tinerhir for more (handson) training with the local artisans.

As far as my job, the expectations are non-existent. Meaning, that all they really care about is that I emurse myself in the culture and language for the first year or so. Then, as things progress, help them to further their businesses. Our entire staff is Moroccan, and extremely welcoming. In fact, our local doctor (Dr. Hamid) was actually trained in english by former Peace Corps volunteers many years ago when he was just a teenager. Oh yeah... during my training in Rabat, I met with the US Ambassador to Morocco. Very cool. It was sort of like meeting the President, with all the security. He will be the one swearing us in on November 29th, and awarding us with the honor of "official" volunteers after we successfully pass our training.

As far as my fellow PCVs, they are not at all what I stereotyped them as. Sure, some are pretty hippie, but my particular group are the polar opposites. I have already met some of the smartest, well traveled, articulate, good natured people that I have ever been associated with.

I am learning Arabic (soley) and not French. Maybe next year I will get a tutor in French, but for now I am strictly focused on mastering my Arabic. The Arabic itself, is very fun to learn. The sounds are extremely foreign, but that makes for an even richer experience as I travel around town practicing what I have learned. I am confident (with the superb training) that by the time I see you all next, I will be fairly fluent. I did however have one cultural clash. After just learning how to greet women properly (which is a very touchy subject here), I went out into the streets to try it out on my first victim. In Moroccan culture it is okay to greet a woman, but not to do the kisses on the cheeks. That is reserved for close friends and family. I forgot this and went up to a complete stranger and began to greet them in this fashion. She was appauled by my actions, and quickly started cursing me out in Arabic. I basically ran away, embarrassed. It was almost as if I went up to here and touched here bottom. It was a simple mistake, but one that I will not make again. I am sure there will be others to follow though. In addition to the cultural and language learning, I am just beginning to learn Arabic script. It is alittle hard to get used to, due to the fact that the language is spelled and read from right to left.

The safety and security issues are not a factor. The US Ambassador has issues personal security guards to watch us day and night. We travel in small packs of 5 everywhere and watch out for eachother constantly. To put it into alittle better perspective... Most of the danger is located far east of us. It is almost like if there were hurricanes in Florida, and a friend called you in California to see if you were okay. We as Americans tend to lump the middle-east into one big region, but in reality there are many miles between the danger and us. Moroccans are strict Muslims and it is against their beliefs as Moroccans to engage in this type of activity. As well, Morocco is a lot like California, in that they are bordering the ocean and the mountains. In addition to this, they are very open and welcoming to other nationalities and cultures. Nevertheless, I am remaining cautious at all times.

I did not go into too much detail about the scenery, so I will do that next time. In short, it is dusty, economically poor, colorful, odor sensitive, the sun has a white light, and the sounds of Muslim chants echo each morning.

If there is anything specific that you want me to tell you, please do not hesitate to email me @ griffinmorocco@yahoo.com. Just give me a few days, weeks, to respond. Sùkran (thank you).

Tbark llah
(god bless you)