Putting in Running Water, InShalla

Sarah-Kate and I have been working hard these past few weeks to get our water access projects started in two neighboring villages. We are collaborating with the commune and a local association to help fund and implement these projects. Building a water tower, installing many kilometers of piping and ensuring that all 18 houses in each village have a water tap are our primary objectives. After the project is complete in January we will collaborate with the local health clinic to provide health lessons to the women of the village! This is what is taking up nearly all my time recently but it's been fun, a lot of fun. The enthusiasm the villagers have is contagious. 

This is the association in the village I will be working in. They are quite a fancy village with lots of nice houses. The men were super cooperative and the meeting went well, really well.

These are the women who will benefit most from this running water. As of now they have to hike about 1km down hill and the back up this HUGE hill everyday to reach this well. I can only imagine how many hours a day they carry water. Soon, they will just be able to turn the faucet.

Me and the ladies. I still can't believe they let us take this picture. The ladies are hilarious and we are going to have a blast, I just know it.

My Reality Check

I spent the last five days enjoying the spledors and joys of Rabat as well as the company of many other Peace Corps Volutneers. One thing that seemed to be the theme of my consistent internal monologue lately is the reality of leaving. Being only eight (or possibly seven) months away from close-of-servicing (COS), the reality of life here is coming into focus.

Things I will miss about Morocco:
1. Amazing seasonal fresh fruits and vegitables
2. Freshly baked bread, all the time
3. Being able to travel anywhere without a car
4. The excitement people feel when I speak Tashlheet to them
5. Living alone in a relatively stress-free environment
6. Being able to travel around Europe when I need a break
7. Weekends in Agadir
8. Everyone welcoming you to their house for dinner, even if you just met them
9. Speaking Tashlheet, since I won't ever be able to do it again
10. Having ample time to read, study, think, run and cook

Things I will NOT miss:
1. Being harassed
2. The way some men look at me
3. Hours upon hours of un-airconditioned travel
4. Constantly having to ask "what?" when people talk to me
5. The constant anxiety I feel when I leave my house
6. Having to carry around my passport

This is just a summary of how I am feeling now, granted, these feelings change with the weeks but the reality is that Morocco has been really good to (for) me and I am grateful for that.

Last Minute Health Lessons

This morning Sarah-Kate and I dressed in our conservative best and headed over to the local health clinic to meet with the nurses. We had coordinated this meeting time yesterday with the local doctor, so we weren't coming in blindly.

A few months back, Sarah-Kate coordinated the teaching of these health lesssons by the nurses at the clinic for a tiny village she had helped to install running water in. The lessons were only supposed to be an hour long, covering topics like hand-washing, purifying water, breast-feeding and pre-natal care.

When we got to the clinic today, the nurse who was supposed to give the lessons bailed. She said that the timing was too late and she wanted to do it another day. Annoyed, Sarah-Kate and I headed back home, figuring we would try again tomorrow.

At 3:30pm, one of the men from the Commune (county-council) knocked on my door, ready to head to the village. After about 30 minutes of driving around, trying to get ahold of the doctor, Sarah-Kate and I decided to just teach the lessons ourselves. Mind you, I have never taught a health-lesson before but like most things in Morocco, I just went with it.

About 40 women came to our little lesson where we showed clips from a health video and attempted to understand what the women were saying. Most of the women were disappointed that the nurse didn't come, since she is the one with the medicine and technical knowledge but they seemed to enjoy hanging out with us. We drank some sodas (a big treat), ate cookies and chatted mostly, but I would say it was a success. The women were receptive and thankful.

This is just another example of how being a volunteer just means you learn to think on your feet. 95% of what I talk about, give lessons on or help out with I know nothing about. The reality is that having gone to school, I know how to research, ask questions and organize. These are the skills that are most valuable, well that and improvisation!

We should be having another lesson this Wednesday, InShalla, with one of the nurses. I am hoping it works out, just so the kind women of the village can ask their questions to someone who knows!

Life is good, really good.

I don't feel that I often get a chance to explain how good things are here, how really good. This blog can easily become a place for venting but I wanted to use this post to explain that for the first time in what feels like a long time, things are really good.

My new site is working out great, I have made two trips to Rabat in the past month (meaning delicious food and amazing company), I have a pending Rabat/ Fez trip in the next week, I have been getting to run every day, the weather is cooler and my applications are going well. Now with my new and improved internet connection I have the opportunity to Skype/ chat with my friends and family, keeping me more connected into their lives than ever.

I only have about 7 months left in Morocco, whew. Where did the time go?

For now, I am working on submitting law/ graduate school applications and getting started on two running water projects in two smaller villages just a few kilometers away. Yesterday we had a four hour meeting with the associations and the women of the respective villages and I am feeling good about getting started. These poor women haul water up this mountain every day, needless to say they are getting excited about the idea of having running water.

On the downside this is my second fall away from home, which I don't like. I miss college football games, the leaves changing color and the brisk fall wind. The leaves on my background are my way to live vicariously through my own blog. This year is also Mizzou's 100th anniversary Homecoming. I don't even know how to explain how sad I am that I am going to miss it.

My sister and best friend are booking their tickets to Morocco this weekend. We are going to do Morocco and then off to Rome for a few days. Rome will be my last big vacation before the end of my service and I couldn't be more excited!

That is all for my random updates, thanks for reading! Love you all.

We Will Never Forget

"It was a declaration of war by stateless actors bent on changing our way of life, who believed these horrible acts, these horrible acts of terror directed against innocents could buckle our knees, could bend our will, could begin to break us and break our resolve. But they did not know us. Instead, that same American instinct that send all of you into the breach between the fourth and fifth corridors galvanized a new generation of patriots, the 9/11 generation."
            - Vice President Joe Biden on September 11th, 2011.


I can't believe it's been ten years.