AHh... now this is a Peace Corps shot. (myself holding the head as they insisted I take a photo with it)
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Friday, January 21, 2005
Christmas @ Rick's Cafe Americain
Play it again Sam...
Rick's Cafe, the mythical saloon from the 1942 film "Casablanca" was finally transformed from celluloid to wood, glass and plaster thanks to the imagination and determination of an American woman enamoured of Morocco, Kathy Kriger. Set in an old courtyard-style mansion built against the walls of the Old Medina of Casablanca, the restaurant - piano bar is filled with architectural and decorative details reminiscent of the film: curved arches, a sculpted bar, balconies, balustrades as well as dramatic beaded and stenciled brass lighting and plants that cast luminous shadows on white walls. Details have been added that go beyond the film set in terms of ambience and comfort - four fireplaces, banquettes and an intimate private dining with view of the fishing port provide the background setting for an international menu specializing in Casablanca's fresh fish, vegetables and fruit. Guests steeped in the elegant atmosphere come to feel as though they are in the film, and each evening a new chapter unfolds in the lives of the characters who are part of today's Rick's Cafe.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Lessons learned: Through the eyes of a Moroccan family
The other night I had an interesting experience, but it wasn't the kind of experience that was dangerous or exciting or anything. It was the kind of experience that makes you kinda feel good about what's happened in your life, as well as open you up to how much the world is still in need of those who care to help out their fellow man.
So, about 6pm last night, a women friend of my counterpart comes to me and says that she wants me to help out her friend's daughter. This is all in Arabic, so my understanding of the situation was 25% at best. However, because I knew my counterpart and had worked with the woman friend of his, I went along with it. This lady told me that she would return at about 7pm with her friend so that she could meet with me and talk with me about her daughter Ghrita (aka Rita).
The mother of Rita picked me up in a car and drove me to her apartment just west of Marrakesh. The mother of Rita spoke about as good english as I do derija so I gained alittle more knowledge about how and why I was now driving with her towards her apartment. Once arriving to her home, I was greeting by three girls (one was 6yrs, one was 12yrs, and one was 15yrs). Another 20 minutes past and I was still without a clue as to why I was there. I spoke to the 15yr old girl, Rita, (who speaks pretty good english) about these "problems" that she has and how I can assist her. Eventually, Rita started to talk about the fact that she was 6'0'' and that she felt awkward at school being the tallest. Then we spoke about her love for JLo (Jennifer Lopez) and Justin Timberlake, and America in general. These were typical teenage topics and I still was really uncertaint as to why I was here. I began thinking that I was here for some sort of marriage setup or something of that nature. Another 30 mins pass, and Brahm Stoker's Dracula came on, so I decided to stay for dinner and enjoy the American film.
Then in comes four more women into the house, so now we're looking at eight women in this tiny apartment and myself. At this point, I'm sure that I'm here for the reason surrounding marriage. I began doing the math... (Single American guy + 15yr old Moroccan girl + She speaks english + many women here = had to equal marriage talks) But then, one girl, started talking to me in perfect english and began explaining the reasons why I was "really" brought there...
Aparently, the 15yr girl Rita, was out of school and she had formerly been enrolled at the "American School of Morocco". At this school, they teach entirely in english and have the same standards (if not better) than most of the public schools back in the states. This explains where and why Rita was so familar with the english language. The girl continued to explain to me that Rita was out of school because she could no longer afford to be there. Just as in the states, private schools such as this American School of Morocco, cost an arm and a leg for Moroccans to be enrolled in it. This particular school is a very prestigious school and is well received in Britian, America, Australia, Canada, etc.
The reason why Rita was out of school is because her father and mother recently got a divorce, due to infidelity as her father ran away with a prostitute from Marrakesh. Just a year ago, the entire family was living amoung one of the more well-to-do parts of Marrakesh and money was not a problem. After the father up and left, he never returned to the family he created of three beautiful girls and a wife (typical story that we're all familiar with).
Looking into solutions, Rita's mother spoke with the Head-Master of the American School of Morocco and asked if there was anyway for her daughter to get a scholarship or find someone that could help her pay for this school's cost. The Head-Master found a local (anonymous) donor that helped Rita these past 6 months. Unfortunately, that source of income has now dried up and so Rita is once again in trouble of missing out on her high-school years. Rita is beginning to lose motivation and her mother is beginning to think of out-landish ideas to help Rita continue her studies. Her mother, like me, understand that if she stops learning now than the posibilities of her future could be limited. Coming from a mother, she told me, that it's not about her own feelings, it's all about her daughters and their futures, she continued, "I could care less about anything else!!"...(words I've heard from many women caught up in the struggle of continuing after a divorce).
My first thought was that Rita should just go to one of the fully-funded public schools available throughout Marrakesh. This (to me) seemed like a perfectly sound solution, but here's the problem... because Rita has been in this American School so long now, she doesn't understand Arabic script and writings. And being that the ciriculum at these public schools are either spoken in Arabic or written in it, she'll continue to fall behind.
As with most household issues (domestic and international), there's an issue with the lack of funds support it's growth. And unfortunately, their aren't any organizations here in Morocco for families of divorcees, and/or proper laws protecting the rights of broken households and the effects that might take place. The mother of Rita is currently un-employed due to the inappropriate actions of the men at her work and so she had to quit (you can paint in the picture yourself there). As I began to peel back the onion, the problems just continued to piling up.
I told their family that the only thing I can do is explore ways to find them help, since I myself don't have the means or don't know others throughout Morocco that can help her. Going forward, I am planning to send a letter to the US Ambassador of Morocco's wife, who (I believe) works to help empower women's rights. I am in the process of working with this family to get all the finances, divorce papers, etc needed to build a case for their situation. As I began to break down the numbers in US dollars, I realized that only $15 dollars a day will help Rita remain in school for the next 6 months. Or in other words...about $2000 for 6 months. In addition to this, I told them that I would look into finding any sort of high-school exchange programs, but I doubt this will work because it's really about the relationship between the two schools and there isn't any in Morocco that I know of.
I am offering my words of encouragement, along with the personal stories of overcoming the odds, but that can only last so long. So, as of right now, all I can do is spread the word of their issues, in hopes that someone (or even better) some group of women with similar experiences, can assist them in this time of need. If you or any group of yours is in touch with those willing to lend a helping hand (whether that be domestically or internationally), or if you have any suggestions for me going forward, please let me know. I personally don't want to get too wrapped up in this issue, but it's hard to just sit back and do nothing. I see in them the parallels that existed in my own family (from the former years), along with so many other families throughout America with their exact same challenges.
At the same time all of this is happening, and I am constantly reminded of the struggles my own mother went through to raise her three beautiful children after the divorce happened when I was only three years old. I am blessed everyday, knowing that my being here in Morocco and sharing in all these experiences thus far, have much to do (if not everything) with my Mom's perserverence, faith, sacrafice, and willingness to keep moving through those hard times. I thank you Mom for being there for me and my siblings, even though we couldn't fully understand or appreciate it until now.
So, about 6pm last night, a women friend of my counterpart comes to me and says that she wants me to help out her friend's daughter. This is all in Arabic, so my understanding of the situation was 25% at best. However, because I knew my counterpart and had worked with the woman friend of his, I went along with it. This lady told me that she would return at about 7pm with her friend so that she could meet with me and talk with me about her daughter Ghrita (aka Rita).
The mother of Rita picked me up in a car and drove me to her apartment just west of Marrakesh. The mother of Rita spoke about as good english as I do derija so I gained alittle more knowledge about how and why I was now driving with her towards her apartment. Once arriving to her home, I was greeting by three girls (one was 6yrs, one was 12yrs, and one was 15yrs). Another 20 minutes past and I was still without a clue as to why I was there. I spoke to the 15yr old girl, Rita, (who speaks pretty good english) about these "problems" that she has and how I can assist her. Eventually, Rita started to talk about the fact that she was 6'0'' and that she felt awkward at school being the tallest. Then we spoke about her love for JLo (Jennifer Lopez) and Justin Timberlake, and America in general. These were typical teenage topics and I still was really uncertaint as to why I was here. I began thinking that I was here for some sort of marriage setup or something of that nature. Another 30 mins pass, and Brahm Stoker's Dracula came on, so I decided to stay for dinner and enjoy the American film.
Then in comes four more women into the house, so now we're looking at eight women in this tiny apartment and myself. At this point, I'm sure that I'm here for the reason surrounding marriage. I began doing the math... (Single American guy + 15yr old Moroccan girl + She speaks english + many women here = had to equal marriage talks) But then, one girl, started talking to me in perfect english and began explaining the reasons why I was "really" brought there...
Aparently, the 15yr girl Rita, was out of school and she had formerly been enrolled at the "American School of Morocco". At this school, they teach entirely in english and have the same standards (if not better) than most of the public schools back in the states. This explains where and why Rita was so familar with the english language. The girl continued to explain to me that Rita was out of school because she could no longer afford to be there. Just as in the states, private schools such as this American School of Morocco, cost an arm and a leg for Moroccans to be enrolled in it. This particular school is a very prestigious school and is well received in Britian, America, Australia, Canada, etc.
The reason why Rita was out of school is because her father and mother recently got a divorce, due to infidelity as her father ran away with a prostitute from Marrakesh. Just a year ago, the entire family was living amoung one of the more well-to-do parts of Marrakesh and money was not a problem. After the father up and left, he never returned to the family he created of three beautiful girls and a wife (typical story that we're all familiar with).
Looking into solutions, Rita's mother spoke with the Head-Master of the American School of Morocco and asked if there was anyway for her daughter to get a scholarship or find someone that could help her pay for this school's cost. The Head-Master found a local (anonymous) donor that helped Rita these past 6 months. Unfortunately, that source of income has now dried up and so Rita is once again in trouble of missing out on her high-school years. Rita is beginning to lose motivation and her mother is beginning to think of out-landish ideas to help Rita continue her studies. Her mother, like me, understand that if she stops learning now than the posibilities of her future could be limited. Coming from a mother, she told me, that it's not about her own feelings, it's all about her daughters and their futures, she continued, "I could care less about anything else!!"...(words I've heard from many women caught up in the struggle of continuing after a divorce).
My first thought was that Rita should just go to one of the fully-funded public schools available throughout Marrakesh. This (to me) seemed like a perfectly sound solution, but here's the problem... because Rita has been in this American School so long now, she doesn't understand Arabic script and writings. And being that the ciriculum at these public schools are either spoken in Arabic or written in it, she'll continue to fall behind.
As with most household issues (domestic and international), there's an issue with the lack of funds support it's growth. And unfortunately, their aren't any organizations here in Morocco for families of divorcees, and/or proper laws protecting the rights of broken households and the effects that might take place. The mother of Rita is currently un-employed due to the inappropriate actions of the men at her work and so she had to quit (you can paint in the picture yourself there). As I began to peel back the onion, the problems just continued to piling up.
I told their family that the only thing I can do is explore ways to find them help, since I myself don't have the means or don't know others throughout Morocco that can help her. Going forward, I am planning to send a letter to the US Ambassador of Morocco's wife, who (I believe) works to help empower women's rights. I am in the process of working with this family to get all the finances, divorce papers, etc needed to build a case for their situation. As I began to break down the numbers in US dollars, I realized that only $15 dollars a day will help Rita remain in school for the next 6 months. Or in other words...about $2000 for 6 months. In addition to this, I told them that I would look into finding any sort of high-school exchange programs, but I doubt this will work because it's really about the relationship between the two schools and there isn't any in Morocco that I know of.
I am offering my words of encouragement, along with the personal stories of overcoming the odds, but that can only last so long. So, as of right now, all I can do is spread the word of their issues, in hopes that someone (or even better) some group of women with similar experiences, can assist them in this time of need. If you or any group of yours is in touch with those willing to lend a helping hand (whether that be domestically or internationally), or if you have any suggestions for me going forward, please let me know. I personally don't want to get too wrapped up in this issue, but it's hard to just sit back and do nothing. I see in them the parallels that existed in my own family (from the former years), along with so many other families throughout America with their exact same challenges.
At the same time all of this is happening, and I am constantly reminded of the struggles my own mother went through to raise her three beautiful children after the divorce happened when I was only three years old. I am blessed everyday, knowing that my being here in Morocco and sharing in all these experiences thus far, have much to do (if not everything) with my Mom's perserverence, faith, sacrafice, and willingness to keep moving through those hard times. I thank you Mom for being there for me and my siblings, even though we couldn't fully understand or appreciate it until now.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Holiday Wishes to each of you!
Hello everyone, and Happy Holidays!!
I've been getting private emails from multiple people about the frequency of my updates, so let me first say that I apologize. As you already know, I'm in the Peace Corps with little access to the internet, and when I actually get a chance to hit the internet (like this) it's slower than dialup. Believe me that I have a ton of pictures that just need to be transferred to digital format, and once that is finished than you will all be the first to read them. So with that being said, here's a few words on my experiences over the last month...
The swearing in ceremony was set at a beautiful Kenzi Hotel there in Ouarzazate. The governor of Ouarzazate, along with the US Ambassador to Morocco were both in attendence. In addition to this, all our host familes from each of our individual sites were present. After raising my right-hand and swearing in, we took to the poolside festivities where we all had a chance to pat eachother on our backs. At the poolside, we were greeted by a traditional berber band (dancers, drummers, etc).
Moving ahead to December 1st, you find us all at our final sites (Amizmiz for me) and with our host families. There, we would stay for the next 2 months until we were acclimated to our new environments. As of right now, I'm closing in our my first month, and I'm reeeeeally ready to get my own apartment. So, about my living quarters now... well, I can say that I'm not struggling like the typical Peace Corps volunteer. I have a room to myself, a bed (which I sleep diagnal on), and a light that flickers on an off. Usually, when I need to study at night or read a book/magazine, I will use my headlamp that I bought at REI in the states. There's a hole in the middle of our house that showers all the time, due to the fact that we live at the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. The rooms are all situated on the outside of this "courtyard" and each day we cross this to get from one room to the other. If you can picture a bagel, than you're more than half way there to understanding the setting. The house itself is made entirely of concrete with a few iron rods. Ooohh yeah, it's cold...insulation.... what's that??? Then there's the "Turkish" (which is hole in the ground surrounded by porclain) which is on the otherside of the "courtyard", and makes for a difficult evening if you need to use the facilities.
Let's see... well, my day... My day is pretty simple I must say. Believe it or not, but not having much to do is harder than you think. I've learned to appreciate the little successes that I might have, and try to shift down my gears. I typically try to sleep in till ooooooo about saaay 10am eachday. Then we have 1st breakfast, then we have 2nd breakfast at 11am, then we have lunch at about 2pm. Continuing with this we have 1st dinner at 6pm and 2nd dinner at 11pm. Yes, that's right... 5 meals per day. If anyone tells you that people in Africa are starving, know that it's in the Southern parts of Africa, because Moroccans eat good and often!! Continuing with my day, I might meet my sitemate (Andy) for a coffee. Have you ever seen the movie "About a Boy" with Hugh Grant?? Basically, his day is alittle like mine in that we try break up our days in segments of time. (30mins for getting dressed, 60 mins for eating, 45 mins for going into town and getting some walking excercise, 8 hours for trying to understand why I'm here and what I'm doing, and so on and so forth)... you get the picture. Basically, it's sloooooooow here! Time is of the plenty here, and it's actually a good opportunity for me to do some other things in my life where I didn't have the time previously. So, it's not all that bad, it just takes some getting used to.
For the time being, I've taken up teaching english in my community. My class consists of about 30-40 girls (age ranging between 18-22yrs). Although this isn't my primary job, it does help for me to show value in my community. And with the limited language abilities, this is something that's fairly easy for me to do considering that I'm the town expert in this language. As for my other responsibilities, I don't really have any at the moment. Believe it or not, but my job for the first 6 months to simply integrate with my community (drink tea, walk around, say hello, watch Rambo in Arabic at the local coffee house, etc.) At the same time however, I am beginning to understand alittle more about my artisan community and there desires for the future. My 500+ artisans consist of seamstresses, potters, blacksmiths, shoesmiths, carpenters. Hopefully, by the end of the 6 months I will have had a better idea as to how I can assist them for the future. (nshallah) (God Willing)
More later, ... I promise.
I've been getting private emails from multiple people about the frequency of my updates, so let me first say that I apologize. As you already know, I'm in the Peace Corps with little access to the internet, and when I actually get a chance to hit the internet (like this) it's slower than dialup. Believe me that I have a ton of pictures that just need to be transferred to digital format, and once that is finished than you will all be the first to read them. So with that being said, here's a few words on my experiences over the last month...
The swearing in ceremony was set at a beautiful Kenzi Hotel there in Ouarzazate. The governor of Ouarzazate, along with the US Ambassador to Morocco were both in attendence. In addition to this, all our host familes from each of our individual sites were present. After raising my right-hand and swearing in, we took to the poolside festivities where we all had a chance to pat eachother on our backs. At the poolside, we were greeted by a traditional berber band (dancers, drummers, etc).
Moving ahead to December 1st, you find us all at our final sites (Amizmiz for me) and with our host families. There, we would stay for the next 2 months until we were acclimated to our new environments. As of right now, I'm closing in our my first month, and I'm reeeeeally ready to get my own apartment. So, about my living quarters now... well, I can say that I'm not struggling like the typical Peace Corps volunteer. I have a room to myself, a bed (which I sleep diagnal on), and a light that flickers on an off. Usually, when I need to study at night or read a book/magazine, I will use my headlamp that I bought at REI in the states. There's a hole in the middle of our house that showers all the time, due to the fact that we live at the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. The rooms are all situated on the outside of this "courtyard" and each day we cross this to get from one room to the other. If you can picture a bagel, than you're more than half way there to understanding the setting. The house itself is made entirely of concrete with a few iron rods. Ooohh yeah, it's cold...insulation.... what's that??? Then there's the "Turkish" (which is hole in the ground surrounded by porclain) which is on the otherside of the "courtyard", and makes for a difficult evening if you need to use the facilities.
Let's see... well, my day... My day is pretty simple I must say. Believe it or not, but not having much to do is harder than you think. I've learned to appreciate the little successes that I might have, and try to shift down my gears. I typically try to sleep in till ooooooo about saaay 10am eachday. Then we have 1st breakfast, then we have 2nd breakfast at 11am, then we have lunch at about 2pm. Continuing with this we have 1st dinner at 6pm and 2nd dinner at 11pm. Yes, that's right... 5 meals per day. If anyone tells you that people in Africa are starving, know that it's in the Southern parts of Africa, because Moroccans eat good and often!! Continuing with my day, I might meet my sitemate (Andy) for a coffee. Have you ever seen the movie "About a Boy" with Hugh Grant?? Basically, his day is alittle like mine in that we try break up our days in segments of time. (30mins for getting dressed, 60 mins for eating, 45 mins for going into town and getting some walking excercise, 8 hours for trying to understand why I'm here and what I'm doing, and so on and so forth)... you get the picture. Basically, it's sloooooooow here! Time is of the plenty here, and it's actually a good opportunity for me to do some other things in my life where I didn't have the time previously. So, it's not all that bad, it just takes some getting used to.
For the time being, I've taken up teaching english in my community. My class consists of about 30-40 girls (age ranging between 18-22yrs). Although this isn't my primary job, it does help for me to show value in my community. And with the limited language abilities, this is something that's fairly easy for me to do considering that I'm the town expert in this language. As for my other responsibilities, I don't really have any at the moment. Believe it or not, but my job for the first 6 months to simply integrate with my community (drink tea, walk around, say hello, watch Rambo in Arabic at the local coffee house, etc.) At the same time however, I am beginning to understand alittle more about my artisan community and there desires for the future. My 500+ artisans consist of seamstresses, potters, blacksmiths, shoesmiths, carpenters. Hopefully, by the end of the 6 months I will have had a better idea as to how I can assist them for the future. (nshallah) (God Willing)
More later, ... I promise.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Jan.2005: National Geographic Issue
The January '05 Nat'l Geographic Magazine features a story called "Among the Berbers: a journey through Morocco's high Atlas mountains". I thought this might be of interest to you (families and friends) back home who are wondering what Berber culture is and their daily life. It will give you a picture into the daily life of those living within the Atlas mountains (including myself).
Here's the link for the story:
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0501/feature4/index.html
Thomas T. Riley - U.S. Ambassador to Morocco
Thomas T. Riley was confirmed as the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco on December 9, 2003, culminating almost three decades of work in international business, technology, and energy management.
Mr. Riley earned his Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Stanford University in 1972. He began his professional life as an Associate Engineer for the Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington. After a year of service with Boeing, Mr. Riley attended Harvard Business School, where he was awarded an MBA in 1975.
Following graduation from Harvard, Mr. Riley spent four years overseas with TRW, based in Northern Ireland, England and France, rising rapidly to the position of Manager of European Operations. He then returned to California and co-founded General Resources Corporation, an equipment distribution company, establishing partnerships with local service companies in Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan. Mr. Riley speaks French fluently.
Mr. Riley also has a strong foundation in technology, having worked in the Silicon Valley in California for the past 20 years. He has served as the President and CEO of Unity Systems (automated building controls), Web State (online training) and most recently ActivePhoto (online digital photo services). Mr. Riley is often invited to speak at industry conferences in the US and Europe, and was awarded a U.S. Patent for an innovative energy management system.
Mr. Riley has actively donated his professional expertise through volunteering at organizations such as Bizworld, a program that teaches business principles to elementary schools, and Hope Rehabilitation Services, a charity serving those with mental disabilities. He and his wife Nancy, a tax attorney, have 2 daughters in college.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
