Success!

Success!  Alex and I passed our language proficiency exams, and can happily report that we are speaking Tashlhiyt at an intermediate level after only 2 months of intensive training.  In addition to our language success, we are also really pleased with our training projects which proved beneficial to the community at Ait Ben Haddou.  We hosted an environmental education day and trash cleanup with 60 local children, conducted a grant writing workshop, and helped coordinate a capacity building workshop for the local association via training by another successful association in the region.  We also helped the community to obtain 6 trash cans for the town.   Thanks to all of our friends and community partners in Ait Ben Haddou for helping us adapt to the wonderful Moroccan way of life and prepare us for successful projects at our new site!  Now that we've finished our training months and said our goodbyes to our training group and host family, we'll be sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers on May 25th, 2011.  Next, Alex and I are headed off to Rabat for USAID workshops.  Also while in Rabat, we will be attending the Mowazine International Music Festival, with such headliners as Joe Cocker, Cat Stevens, Shakira, Nelly Fertado, Elton John, Lyonel Richie, Kayne West, and several other famous musicians from all around the world (http://www.festivalmawazine.ma/en.html).  The BEST PART...it's FREE (i.e. Government sponsored)!   Beginning in June, we'll be starting our new lives in Timzgida (translation: Place of Worship).  We will find a house to rent there, and will then open our PO Boxes (Yeah for care-packages ;-).

Here's a pictoral recap of our last month of training:

Many evenings after class were spent rock-climbing on the garden boulders

Me protecting my girl in ABC Osh-gosh overalls.  I made this in-between study sessions.

Mehdi's pigeon (translation: atbir) that he caught coming out of a hole in the wall (He waited for days).

Goats and sheep on the cliff over-looking our new village, Timzgida.

Back at Ait Ben Haddou with fellow PCV, Sara, Alex, and my best Moroccan friend, Jawel.  Jawel said this hike was "insane kilometer"...about 20.

Initial segment of environmental education day, with me presenting a poster I made on the benefits of throwing litter in trash cans (i.e. less litter = more tourists = more benefits for families that rely on tourism).  Alex's segment was presenting the kids with environmental photos from the community that were either littered or clean, and then asking them to pick which photos they thought were good and which ones were bad.

Alex's litter pick-up crew with kasbah in background.  We had 60 kids all together picking up trash, and afterwards we threw them a juice, cookie, and comedy skit party...SO MUCH FUN!

My friend Jawel is a wood-worker that owns and operates a Genawa music shop in the kasbah, and he hooked me up with some really nice pieces (e.g. a gimbri, a traditional barn door lock, and mini-kasbah figurines) that he made.  In this photo you can see the door locks on his shop wall and the gimbri (yellow painted man with goat on head) that I bought.  Many days after class, I would hang out with Jawel, and he taught me how to play the gimbri and lotar.

More to come later.

Best,
Jonathan