Pool Day!

With temperatures continuing to rise here, I (Toby) was invited to go to the pool in a neighboring town with some friends (Karim and Zakaria). Beni Walid is a small town 20 kilometers eastish of Taounate. I had pre-applied a lot of sunscreen, packed my food, water, and more sunscreen and we set off for our taxi. After being in a Grand Taxi with six additional people, going to the pool was the greatest.

There was a nice little palm tree for some shade, but that was about it. Direct sun in 106 degrees (F) is just as warm as you think. The pool complex had a deep pool and a kids pool, and it was surprisingly unpacked, considering the heat. Unlike in America it was a pool where you can run and no one will tell you to walk, and every type of flip and dive happens frequently. As with most Moroccan activities, there were a lot of photos taken (below). I definitely plan on going again - the temperature is bearable if you are in the water or shade, though I am currently rocking the best Teva's sunburn yet. 

Couscous Saturday

When we first found out we were coming to Morocco, we read a ton of blogs (like this!) and discovered that couscous was a huge, family ordeal that happened every Friday for lunch. Since getting here, we've had a number of couscous Friday's, but now also Wednesday and Saturday (one member of our staj had couscous six days in one week!). So, it would seem that couscous is just more of a big celebration meal, plus a Friday lunch meal. Either way, it's delicious and we support this entirely.

Earlier this week we set out the find the town veterinarian to get a deworming pill for Enib. Our friends pointed us to la gare (directly translated: train station, but it's the huge bus hub and where you get a taxi to Fes). They said just go down there and ask people. Simple enough, right? Plus, veterinarian is a cognate in French, we assumed it would be a simple task. 

We got to la gare and asked a pharmacy if they knew where to go. One of the guys working stood up and, in response to Alexis' asking in both French and Darija said "you need a doctor?" In English. We laughed and responsed "... For our cat."

He asked around and helped us find the nondescript, completely unmarked building that was off on a dirt road and was really awesome about it. 

He also invited us to have couscous for lunch with his family on Saturday. As a rule, we never turn these invitations down, plus couscous is really good. 

We got there and had a first course of fresh juice and sellou (the tasty ground up nut and spice mixture that we are so much of during Ramadan).

And then enjoyed another massive Moroccan meal with our new friend, Otmane, his parents, and three brothers. 

After lunch, we stayed to talk and watch the news and drink some coffee, which is always pleasant. Quickly the conversation turned political, which we've encountered a number of times. They explained their opinions of various American presidents to us, and made sure to emphasize how much they loved Bill Clinton. 

All in all, it was an awesome day and now Enjb doesn't have a worm problem. 

Follow Enib on Instagram!

Enib can now be followed by his many fans at @MorocCat on Instagram!

One word that is the same in every language

"Selfie."

I hate to admit it, but it really is. Here's a random sampling of the selfies we've been in throughout our six months here. 

That time Alexis got invited to a going away party for a woman who was about be a pharmacist in Casablanca (three of these women have come to her adult English communication class). 

On a hike with some students from the Dar Chebab. 

At our first lunch with Siham and her family. 

Here we are at our swearing in ceremony with the American ambassador to Morocco. 

A perfect summary of grand taxi rides. 

Four of the five red heads in our staj at a training. 

At lftour (breaking fast) in Tiflet. 

Toby and his scavenger hunt team at In-Service Training. 

Toby and some of the regular kids from the Dar Chebab. 

The weekend we went to big souk with Anass and Nassar. 

On the hike to Karim's house 

And finally...

Enib is still working on his selfie skills, but he's showing promise. 

Mbrouk 3id!

First of all, "mbrouk 3id" is one way of saying "happy 3id!" The other is "Eid Mubarak!" Or...

Special thanks to our friend Emily for finding this gem. 

Eid is the word for feast, and this one is the small one that marks the end of Ramadan, when everyone has to spend the day feasting. What a glorious holiday! 

We celebrated with one of the families that has hosted us for a number of lftours and other meals. We went over around lunch time for a big meal. First of all, it was really strange to drink water (then eat) during the daytime.  

We went home a few hours later to spend time with our awesome new cat, and were stoked to get a call from our first host-mom from Ribat El Khier. This is one of those big holidays where you call anyone and everyone you know, just to say hey and tell them you miss them. 

And here's an updated picture of the henna on day two, with a sleepy Enib in the back. 

Now here's Toby lookin' all Moroccan. 

Breaking fast - day 30(!), a new kitty, and henna time

We did it! Our first Ramadan has come to a close, and it's been an awesome experience. Most importantly: here's our meal tonight. 

It was just the right size and all of the usual good stuff. However, after a month of eating harrira (the red veggie soup), we were thrilled to see a new kind. It was still tomato based, but had barley in it. A definite win. 

After dinner, our hosts asked if Alexis had ever had henna before and, upon hearing she hadn't, were quick to rectify the situstion. 

(After pictures to come tomorrow)

And finally, the other biggest part of our day is the new addition to the Taounate Thom family. Everyone, please meet Enib (which means Grape). 

Post bath. 

And here he is being pensive after our second thunderstorm in two days. 

Ramadan karim, world! And Eid Mubarak!

Breaking fast - day 28

At this point, the families that we break fast with are used to us and treat us more like family than guests, which we really prefer. Tonight was an awesome meal of harrira and a chicken and carrots dish, and it was perfect. The only difference was we now had these briwat, which were actually being handmade as we walked in. They're basically a Moroccan samosa. It's a pastry triangle full of chicken, peanuts, onions, spices, and some egg. 

Six months in Morocco, In-Service Training, summer updates, and the things I would do for a Chipotle burrito

We've officially been in Morocco for six months now, which is just crazy to think about. Some days it feels like we've been gone years, and sometimes just a week. Who knows what the next 21 months will feel like or bring. 

We just spent the last week in Harhoura, a little beachy suburb outside of Rabat. It's actually the hotel that we first went to right after flying in, so it felt nice to be back and actually have some clue about what we're all doing with our lives. It was an awesome chance to see everyone again. Morocco may look small on a map, but there are other volunteers who live at least 16 hours away from us. The sessions were really helpful and inspiring now that many of us have an idea of the needs in our site. Special thanks to all of the volunteers from years ahead of us who came out to help! Those sessions were definitely the most helpful. 

The hotel was also equipped with a glorious swimming pool and water slide, which served as a perfect way to unwind after the information-filled hours earlier in the day. 

While there, we were also reunited with our entire CBT group and our LCF. We went out for a very traditional lftour (break fast, but not breakfast) at Domino's which was perfect. Naturally, we didn't bother getting a picture of that meal... Next time!

We we're also introduced to one of the other committees of volunteers in Peace Corps Morocco. The Supporting People with Special Needs (SPSN) Committee is the youngest committee and focuses mainly on developing resources for PCVs to use to better support all members of their community. Each staj elects a set number of people to each committee, and Toby was one of those elected from ours! His first meeting was two days later, where he was also elected to the position of co-chair. Yay Toby! More will come on this later. 

On the final night of IST, we held a Peace Corps Prom that was a really entertaining experience. I guess any time you gather 83 Americans in a room with pop music and tell them to dance, they probably will. Also, as couples were encouraged to take other people, Toby asked Cameron during a presentation in front of the whole staj and Alexis went with Kika, Cam's wife. Mostly this just meant we took awesome pictures together, and it was great. 

On Saturday we were all free to go back home or on vacation, except those on SPSN who had a meeting. Alexis didn't really feel like heading back to Taounate alone and explaining to everyone why Toby wasn't there only to have him show up a day later, so she went to Tiflet with Cam and Kika for a night. Tiflet is about 45 minutes outside of Rabat and about the same size as Taounate, but much flatter. 

Due to some passport errors (in that Toby's was with Alexis and the hotels in Rabat require them for booking a room), Toby came out to Tiflet for the night too! It was a good chance to unwind after the hubbub of a weeks worth of trainings. 

Sunday meant returning to Taounate and a series of uses of Moroccan mass transit. 

1. Grand taxi from Tiflet to Rabat 

2. Tram in Rabat from taxi hub to bus station

3. Taxi from bus station to train station upon learning that the bus was sold out 

4. Train from Rabat to Fes

5. Taxi from Fes train station to the Bab FtouH taxi stop

6. Grand taxi from Fes to Taounate

Total travel time: 7 hours - definitely not the most direct route in 100+ degree heat.

And now we are back home! We've only been here a few months, but it really does feel like home now. Yeah, there are a few problems, but they're our problems now, and there's some comfort to that. 

For a few weeks, our favorite produce guy has been calling us Taounati (of Taounate) and we've just been laughing along and saying sure. But now! The Moroccan government officially recognizes it, too. 

Here you have it - the proof: 

It's officially summer now. First I'd like to take a minute to point out that any complaints about the heat that we have are virtually nothing compared to those living around Marrakech or Errachidia or anywhere south of those points. We both bow in awe of you wonderful humans.

However, it's still really hot. It's a dry heat, which is nice. We're averaging somewhere around 100-104 every day, and (apparently) getting in to the 70s at night. The house stays somewhere around 90 all the time, which is nice at times and rough at others.

Note, these are the temperatures across the country at sundown. 

But we have a functioning fan and refrigerator, so we can't complain too much (though we definitely will). 

That being said, if anyone has a home in Europe that they feel like letting us use, free of charge, for the month of August, don't hold back. 

Stay cool!

PS- I would do just about anything for a Chipotle burrito. No questions asked.