a snapshot of my morning: surfing the internet and waiting for stuff to load, sipping some deeerrricious coffee given to us by a KOICA volunteer we had lunch with a couple of weeks back, and enjoying some homemade carrot cake made by my roommate. 

now if you are reading this back home you might not think any of this is anything special but let me explain.

saying that life in fes is different than my life in hakamaa is a huge understatement. first of all, “…waiting for stuff to load” on the internet doesn’t mean a full 24-36 hour wait anymore. here it means 5-10 minutes tops (of course depending on what you’re waiting on). coffee is no big deal but this is coffee from korea! given to us by a friend we HAD LUNCH WITH! and the “us/we” i keep referring to is me and my ROOMMATE! a human one! who baked a carrot cake BECAUSE WE HAVE AN OVEN! i mean i probably sound so crazy to some of you and honestly, i probably did lose a little bit of my mind being so isolated back in hakamaa but the good news is that i’m slowly regaining some of it back. haha… but really, fes is giving me some semblance of what life used to be like for me where i got to HANG OUT with people and have fun, meet new friends and share stories, etc. the other night, i had sushi for dinner. i mean, WHAT! oh and last week WE WENT OUT TO BRUNCH! i kept blinking and shaking my head every 5 mins thinking, “noooo please don’t let me wake up from this amazing dream!”. i was drinking freshly squeezed orange and peach juice, eating smoked trout and broccoli amongst other things (i haven’t had broccoli in over a year), in a garden covered by white canopies, surrounded by flowers and little butterflies floating about. they even provided people with cute little straw hats in case the sun gets in your eyes. OH! and there was a man sitting in the corner playing a sweet, sweet song with his guitar!! unbelievable. anyway,  i think you get the picture.

so what else is new? i am now a bona fide aerobics teacher extraordinaire yes, friends you read that right. once a week i teach an aerobics/exercise class of about 25 people at the women’s center here in fes. i’m not exactly sure how this happened. but i said “challenge accepted!” and now here i am! let’s just say i lost a little bit of sleep the night before i made my big debut but i pulled through! i was hurting in places i didn’t think could hurt! and then i had to climb 9 flights of stairs afterwards to get home (that’s right, we don’t have an elevator in our building!). this week will be my 3rd week with the class and i have to say that it is getting better and easier as i go. the women in the class are all so sweet so it makes it all easier. i even got my first couscous lunch invitation after class last week! (i frickin’ love couscous). in addition to my exercise class i’m also teaching at the dar chebab (youth center) 3 times a week. right now the school year is ending so starting anything big is kind of pointless. instead, i’m taking the time to get to know my surroundings and the people around me, hoping to eventually find my niche.

i’ve been in fes for 3 weeks now and there is a ton more things to see and explore. i have a feeling this next year is going to breeze by! oh by the way, this is karina. she is actually a boy but my roommate initially thought she was a girl and proceeded to give her a girl name. she doesn’t mind it though:

oh! also, i’ve updated my contact list with my new mailing address

the sun is finally out! now i can put away my rain boots

and it’s green everywhere in hakamaa!

we just finished spring  camp and all things considered, i believe it went rather well! here are the highlights:

…i think my favorite day was when i taught them colors then i had them play with water balloons afterwards. i basically divided the kids into two teams. i called out colors and then one person from each team would run to the bucket and grab as many water balloons in that color to be used later as “ammunition” and then in the end of it they had a water balloon war. it was gooooood times. i LOVE water balloons. they were one of the few things i brought with me from the states along with fruit roll-ups and airheads.

…this next series of pictures i call the “tsawerni series” because it’s made up of pictures of the kids i took on the day i was walking around with my camera and all i heard all day was “nathalie! nathalie! tsawerni! tsawerni!” (tsawerni=take a picture of me). and here i thought they were shy. haha…

…my 2nd most favorite day was art day. i was trying to practice sustainability by skipping the paper and painting their faces instead. haha…as you can see, most of them liked it so much they would go wash their faces and come back for another nathalie original design. haha…

…this next one was kinda strange but one of the cooler moments of camp. one day my mudir asked me to take a walk with him and another man who was visiting us from one of the associations in tangier. so i said “sure” and the next thing i know i find myself in the middle of this meadow that’s covered in wild flowers with two grown men in their 50′s picking flowers and cheerfully singing songs amongst themselves like two little girls. haha. at one point they each did a “she loves me, she loves me not”. turns out this is what my mudir planned on doing with the flowers: props for a photo opp!

…and my third most favorite day was friday couscous day!! i LOVE couscous but i’ve only made it once myself because it literally takes HOURS to prepare and it just seems a little ridiculous to do for one person. anyway, this also shows you how they plate their couscous. the placement of each veggie and then finally the meat in the middle is all premeditated resulting in one super deeeerrrricious meal!

and since i haven’t shared a cute photo of mittens lately, here she is sleeping in my arms ^__^

sheep family.

before.

after.

<3 my host parents.

i hate to get mushy but i’m gonna! it was a year ago to this date that i began my great adventure and it’s been everything i expected and more than what i could have ever imagined. it has taught me how to persevere through hardship, loneliness, disappointment, discomfort, and frustration but at the same time i’ve learned how to keep trying when plans fall apart, maintain a smile in the midst of the most awkward and uncomfortable situation, to fly by the seat of my pants, be open to every possibility, and to realize that i am not in control of anything. with that said, i am so thankful for all of my friends and family back home for their continued love and support. i can’t even begin to tell you how much i truly appreciate all the gchats conversations, emails, letters, cards, packages, etc. whenever i have bad days, my wall of love serves as a reminder that people care. shuf it! (look at it!)

and so i guess i’ll end with this: 

things are still quite slow at site. the kids are back in school and all but for some reason they haven’t been very motivated to come to english class. i hate to think it’s me but then again a part of me thinks it’s not. i mean we had fun in my classes; some days i literally made it rain candy. i really can’t figure out why attendance is literally nonexistent. i have a few projects a-brewing in my head at the moment…if they don’t want to learn english then they are going to at least learn some american culture. i’m thinking a dance/exercise class and art club is in order. mind you i’ve never even stepped foot in a gym before let alone attended a real dance/exercise class but there are plenty of exercise videos circulating amongst Peace Corps volunteers that i’m pretty confident i can learn some moves from them and then teach them to my girls– no boys for obvious reasons. i’m thinking i’ll start with some hip hop abs…yeah that’ll be good.

because productivity is low, morale has also been low. the weather sucked and so motivation suffered. basically everything blew. but alas, the sun has come out. and my laundry is now only taking 2 days to dry instead of a full week.–by the way, doing laundry by hand in 30-40 degree temperatures without a water heater SUCKS! i can literally see steam rising up from my hands because the water is so frigid…anyhow…i titled this blog “the little things” because those are pretty much the only things that is keeping me afloat right now.  living alone in this strange place, it’s easy to feel sorry for myself but i’ve realized that there are plenty of people here who look out for me. last week, the taxi man kicked a guy out of an already full taxi just so that i can have a seat and i won’t have to wait for another one to come. the guy gave up his seat pretty willingly, which i thought was pretty generous. yesterday my host parents worked together to unclog my toilet then proceeded to clean my doorway and the area surrounding the entrance to my house as i stood there and watched because i wasn’t quite sure of what was happening. today, a group of little girls chased me down the street to first give me kisses (of course) and then some candies. mind you these kids families’ can’t afford much and for them to share their candies…it gets me right here <3. now if that’s not love then i don’t know what is…by the way, the kisses are always abundant. if i get stuck somewhere where there’s a group of women or girls, i can’t get away without each one of them giving me kisses. i’ve had a line going once or twice before! there is seriously something to be said about human touch. i can’t even explain it. i used to cringe at the thought of hugging people who are unfamiliar to me let alone letting them kiss my cheek but now i’m like “bring it!”

2012 was full of life-changing events that brought on new adventures, heartaches, huge adjustments, challenges, excitement, extreme highs, and some of the lowest of lows i’ve ever experienced in my life. and to be honest, i still couldn’t fully tell you what it all means to me…at least not yet. at the beginning of our service, the peace corps showed us a little chart to illustrate for us what we can expect emotionally as we go though our service and it goes a little something like this: the first 3 mos or so you will be at a high because you are experiencing all new things and everything is still exciting, then eventually you go down as you realize “oh sh*t, what did i get myself into” then you go up again as you move into your final site and your getting to know everything, then you go down again as things eventually get old, and so on and so forth. right now as we’re approaching our year mark, we’re supposed to be at a low as we’re questioning our original motives for joining the peace corps in the first place, whether or not it has all been worth it, and of course everything we’ve given up to be here. right now i’d say i’m at 60-40 (no worries, the chart says in a month or two that can easily change to something more positive). morocco has been an awesome experience overall. one that i can already tell, i will value for the rest of my life. so far, i’ve gained some very special friendships through my time here. i’ve learned so much about myself and what i’m capable of. and i’ve seen places and experienced things that i would otherwise not have the opportunity to had i not made the move here. that said, living in morocco is hard for obvious reasons. but the lack of daily life conveniences aside, it’s hard being completely alone in a strange country (well, strange for me). it’s hard adjusting from living in america where i am free to do/say whatever i want, to anyone i want, wherever i want to having to always be conscious of myself and my surroundings. i’ve never spent this much one-on-one time with myself ever in my life.  i’ve done a good job of entertaining myself so far with movies/tv shows on my computer, taking up crocheting, getting a cat!!!, and taking more naps to fill my day.

i’ve changed. i can feel it. i’m a little more “go with the flow” now. i’m still very much on time but there will be times when i’m not and *gasp* i don’t apologize for it because people mostly don’t even realize that i’m late. i used to put great value to my personal space but morocco has taught me that here, personal space is not a right, it’s a privilege. from being squeezed in a taxi with 7 other people where a random person’s arm, leg, or worse–butt cheek can be on you for the entire length of your trip. where strange little girls and grandmas grab you and give you up to 6 pairs of cheek-t0-cheek kisses each and you can’t do anything about it but just to take it (this is 10x worse in the summer time because then they turn into sweaty cheek-to-cheek kisses…ick). and i’ve accepted the fact that i am helpless when it comes to certain things and even though i’m used to doing things for myself, it’s okay for me to ask for help and let people help me. sometimes it feels weird to be vulnerable but you get through it.

anyway, as time passes, it doesn’t mean i miss home any less. i think about home and everyone there almost everyday. i’m truly thankful for friends and family who have kept in touch with me despite their busy schedules and the time change. it’s a little overwhelming for me to think that i will be spending the entirety of 2013 in morocco but hopefully some of you can make it out to visit me?? there is so much to look forward to already. i can’t wait to see what this year holds for me.

halloween extravaganza!

a fellow volunteer was able to organize a halloween festival at her site complete with a pinata, games, handmade decorations made out of recycled materials, and a haunted house! those of you who know me probably won’t be surprised by the fact that i’ve never, ever been in a haunted house before BUT i was in one for this event! i was one of the scarer though so it wasn’t a big deal. i sent one kid running out of there yelling for his mom…literally! i mean all i did was i RAWRed really loud and grabbed his ankles. geez, what a baby.

my sister’s visit!

so it was a bit of a roller coaster ride at first because after anticipating and preparing for her visit for a few weeks, she tells me just about two weeks before she was to arrive that her boss didn’t approve her vacation request and that her trip would be cancelled. i think you can imagine the disappointment and the overall feeling of sadness that came over me at that point but alas, in true effie fashion, she was able to pull a hail mary and get that vacation approved! anyhow, she spent a day in tangier and was able to meet my host parents and my host bro. after that we headed to marrakech where we stayed at a super zwin (beautiful, pretty much just plain awesome) riad, we went to a fancy hammam, did some shopping, and got to walk around a bit. the next day we met up with our tour guide and driver (two separate people ya’ll and yes, we had an whole car to ourselves during the last half of the trip). we pretty much spent the entire next day driving through the atlas and stopping by various sites to admire and take pictures. after that we were brought to an auberge in tinghir where we would take a long around, visit a berber rug making house/association/place where my sister spent an obscene amount of dirhams (she did get pretty cool rugs though) and then we went to walk around the todra gorges. after the todra gorges we headed to merzouga for our camel trek. and here’s a funny story: so on the way my sister had to stop by an atm to withdraw some cash. i get out of the car to help her and we’re both thinking that it was going to be a quick stop and then we’ll be on our way. we turn around and discover that the driver is gone with the car along with ALL of our stuff. i mean purses, backpacks, passports, cameras, etc. after a few minutes i started to get really mad. who effing does that?! the tour guide thankfully stayed behind and so i was able to take my anger out on him and yell at him a little. he says the driver just went to go get gas. the heck??!!! who takes that long to get gas?! so the guy comes back and i’m yelling at him, “fin gadi?!?! algeria??? china??!!!” i think i scared him a little. anyway we continue on our way and i find out later that night, during our campfire that he actually went to go get me a cake so they can surprise me with it later on. i don’t even remember telling them it’s my birthday but i guess i must have in one of my emails when i was trying to schedule the whole trip. anyway, i felt like an asshole and it was really an awesome trip altogether. who can say they spent their actual birthday in the middle of the saharan dessert, being serenaded by four berber men on drums?? oh and the camel ride was super cool too!

thanksgiving celebration in berrechid

so after our week of galavanting around the southern part of morocco, for the last day or so of effie’s visit, i decided to take her to berrechid where a bunch of other volunteers were gathered to celebrate thanksgiving. we had TONS of good food, which went well with all the great conversations and awesome company. a good time was had by all and it was great to get to know my fellow volunteers who i may not have known too well at first because well first of all, there is 100 of us just in my stajj and some of them live waaaay down south and i’m on the tippy top of the country. during the weekend we got to share what we were thankful for, we got to cook together, play games, and everybody was so nice and welcoming to my sister who was pretty much the only one there who wasn’t a volunteer. anyway, it’s hard to imagine celebrating the holidays alone in a different country but with people like this around you, it makes things a whole lot easier. it’s like having a family away from home

world’s aids day/sida activity in ouezzane:

this past weekend, i, along with some fellow volunteers in my region and one who is not necessarily part of the region but is equally awesome (…just wanna be all-inclusive, ya know) helped out another volunteer with her event at her site. basically she came up with the idea of having a weekend of testing and education about aids as well as blood pressure and blood sugar (this is huge here in morocco coz everybody eats a pound of sugar with every meal). she had associations come and provide testing and even got a local eye doctor to provide eye exams and glasses to some people in need. she had an awesome turn out overall and the cherry on top was getting the time to spend with my fellow volunteers. its’ not often we get to see each other and when we do it’s like whoah. hard to explain but i’m sure you can imagine.

and that is it for now! more later