My fellow volunteer friend Nina and I were talking this morning about how much more difficult round two of being away seems. We have done one Thanksgiving, one Christmas, one football season, two birthdays, two Easter's and frankly, it just doesn't seem fair to have to do it again. Keeping this factor in mind, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving were more difficult than ideal. I was homesick and mostly annoyed that I was missing yet another holiday season; another Black Friday of shopping with my Mom, another day spent baking pies, another round of Christmas movies playing on T.V., it just didn't seem right. Then came Thanksgiving.
This year Erik, a volunteer down in Tata, volunteered to host us all for a Thanksgiving celebration. Tata is far. Far from life, civilization and far from even southern-most volunteers, but it's a unique place that was on my "must see" list before leaving Morocco. Luckily for me two volunteers from the Essaouira region, Nina and Adam, as well as my 10-km-away mate Kate, came to my place the day before so we could all travel together.
Tata's beauty is unlike anything else. There is such solitude and peace in the vast emptiness. The mountains seem to pop out of this barren landscape simply to add texture and depth to the nothingness.
We traveled the first day to a fellow volunteer, Alisa's, site where we took a beautiful walking tour of the lush green gardens amidst the desert, we cooked delicious stuffing and a pie, and ate just about every delicious thing in her refrigerator. The next day we caught an early bus to Tata city, where we could catch a cab to Erik's site in the middle of nowhere.
The feast itself was fantastic. The miracle of the day was that twenty four volunteers managed to get from their homes all over Morocco to Erik's place, without a hitch. I am also not exaggerating when I say he lives in the middle of nowhere. Each volunteer brought a dish (or two) and Erik bought a 44lb turkey for the event. We took pictures, played games, caught up on life and most importantly, ate like kings. The best part of the day was the extremely positive attitude filling Erik's cinder block house. When volunteers get together things tend to get negative, quickly. This holiday seemed like a celebration, like a group of friends just getting together to celebrate in the States. It felt so normal.
After the first round of food was consumed, most people were sprawled out on the floor recovering from their extended stomachs. Per my suggestion, we then went around the room and everyone shared what they were most thankful for. This is a holiday tradition at my house which was great to get to share with everyone else. It made the day.
Overall, we had a blast. It was exactly the fun and fellowship I needed to recover from those very homesick weeks. I only have about 20 weeks left here.... the time is flying. One month until Claire and Danielle's visit and our trip to Rome.
Also, I just got a scholarship award letter from UArkansas to my post box in Morocco so things are looking pretty rosy.
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| The group of us volunteers celebrating Thanksgiving. |
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| Kate, Nina and Adam in my kitchen baking cookies the night before our trip to Tata. |
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| Myself, Ayanna, Eric and Nina at Erik's house. We were all wearing brown. |
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| Nina and I having too much fun. |
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| Adam, Alisa and Nina in Alisa's gardens/ fields near her house. |
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| The amazing plate of Thanksgiving food we had. It was perfect. |
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| Bjai and I celebrating. |
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The desert beauty of Tata. |
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| A little pre-food hangout. |
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| 1/2 of our 44lb turkey. |
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| This picture is the crowning glory, me and my pumpkin bread. |
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