Fes, Ribat Lkhier, back to Fes, and home.

We are pleased to announce that, since our last post, we've actually done things!

Once a year, all members of each Peace Corps region come together to meet for the first time, catch up, and plan events for the coming year. We're in the North-East region which is the largest and most awkwardly shaped of all the regions. 

It covers the whole Mediterranean coast (hence North) and then swoops down around the edge, including Figuig and the Er Rachidia region (that would be the East part). Because of the size and shape of the area, we met in Fes, which isn't actually even a part of the region. But anyways, we took the hour and a half taxi ride down, said bye to the cat, and had a very productive meeting. 

We were able to spend a lot of time talking to second and third year volunteers, which we both really wanted. We learned about projects that worked well, ones that didn't go as great, and that they all remember what it's like to be new and have no idea what you're doing with your life. Hamdullah (thank god). But now we have all sorts of ideas to move forward with and people to talk to who have already worked through them. 

Plus we had an awesome view. 

From there we decided to head back to Ribat Lkhier, our training site from January-March and visit our host-family. It turns out, they're still the best people in the world. 

We imposed ourselves upon them (not at all, really. They're the most welcoming people in the world) for some couscous and a kaskrut (tea time) and it was like nothing had ever changed. 

While it's definitely not the same as going back to the States, it was awesome to have a whole family of people who are just genuinely interested in our well-being. 

Update: the bees at their second house are flourishing and we got to eat the freshest and most glorious honey ever. 

Special thanks to Steve and Jennie, the volunteers there currently, for letting crash at their lovely home. Hopefully next time, they'll even be there!

After just one night, we hopped back in a taxi to Fes to do some much needed shopping for Enib (we couldn't come back after four days empty handed). But we also had the opportunity to meet up with a friend from Portland who just got here to be a Fulbright English Teaching fellow in Tangier for the next school year. Sure, we had just spent the week with a bunch of Americans, but this was different. Gus was one of Alexis' fellows from our time on the Obama campaign, and he's just a wonderful human. 

And now. We're back home in Taounate. Work starts at the Dar Chebab on Thursday (Insha'Allah) and Enib is moderately pleased.