Our Wonderful Host Family

Welcome to our Moroccan family, the Abdous:  Abdillah (father), Ghizlan (mother), and two sons (Lmehdi and Housayn).  We could not have been more lucky to join such a patient and hospitable family.  See for yourself...

Abdou + Gerst = One big happy family, taken from atop the Kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou.

These tricky little bundles of joy provide hours of mischievous entertainment, and the 5 year old on the left (pronounced Maddy) really helps with language acquisition via constant repitition and a simple vocabulary.  Believe it or not, once Alex and I get home from school, Lmehdi is always by our side.

Abdillah's favorite view of the kasbah from a quiet spot behind the community gardens.  The family photo above was taken from the building on top of the hill.

In addition to language and cultural classes, Peace Corps' goal for us this week is to interview community members to learn about their likes and dislikes with respect to traditional gender roles, the relatively new tourist industry, and most importantly, environmental issues (e.g. trash incineration and disposal in unlined sinkholes, climate change, and water shortages).  The video below outlines some potential complications.   

In addition to differences in language between domestic groups, Alex and I are still getting used to many other complications (e.g. the presence of 3 different forms of currency; Frank, Ryal, and the Dhiram).   We've learned that much of the desparity between people in rural areas is due to the marginalization of the native peoples (i.e. Berber people) via occupation by several different foreign nations (i.e. France, Spain, and Arab) over the centuries. Berber peole, such as our host family, have been isolated and pushed into the mountains, much like the Native Americans have been isolated to tribal reservations.  Fortunately, in recent years, Berber people have regained some political representation, but there is still much work to be done.  Despite our desire to explore the nearby mountains, most our time is spent studying so that Alex and I aren't completely lost after we lose our translator in May.  

Ouarzazate & Ait Ben Haddou

Ait Ben Haddou agricultural valley.

Kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou.  Tourist trap due to filming of Lawrence of Arabia, Time Bandits, Kingdom of Heaven, The Mummy, Jesus of Nazareth, and Gladiator to name a few. 

Alex (a.k.a. Fahtima) M-rockin the Kasbah.

Jon (a.k.a. Jamel or Ali Baba) above Ouarzazate town square.

High Atlas Mountains above Ouarzazate skyline.

Settling in...

Our host family is great! Our host parents are our own age, and they have two little boys (1- and 5-year-old). The grandparents are also at home, and lucky for us, the grandfather (a tour guide) speaks German. Despite our language barrier with the rest of the family, our Tashlheet language skills are improving significantly every day (language lessons 8 hours/day, 6 days a week). Alex's linguistics background has definitely helped when figuring out verb conjugations and gender designation of common nouns. Since time seems to have slowed down significantly, Alex and I have plenty of time to practice.

Culture shock has been minimal, primarily because Alex and I understand that the “odd” behaviors of our host family and Moroccan culture are based on a different set of values (i.e. religious beliefs, environmental ethics, gender roles, etc.). Nevertheless, we are having a hard time with the lack of running water, soap, toothbrushes, and toilet paper. I hope that eventually we can find a better balance between the low sanitation standards of Morocco and the hyper-sterile conditions common in the US.

The food is incredible and our stomachs haven't had any problem adapting to the change in diet. Actually, I think we're becoming healthier due to the lack of alcohol, processed foods, and American stressers (e.g., traffic and late nights). Recreation so far has involved socializing and playing chess during the many tea/coffee breaks taken throughout the day (10am, 4 am, and 6 pm). In addition, we've gone hiking along the aquaducts of the Salty River through Ait Ben Haddou, and up through the Kasbah to the fortified mountain fortress of Xenap, a real warrior princess from the 7^th century BC. The geology is absolutely breath-taking, but unfortunately the attached photos only capture a marginal amount of the beauty that is actually present.

That's all for now...back to class.

-J

The nice side of Morocco w/ vids and pics

Here was our introduction to Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains:

 

(the sirens you hear in the background are from our police escort)

Our beautiful road trip led us to the smaller, yet still well-known (to the movie industry) city of Ouarzazate, pronounced "war zuh zaht."

We have just received the information regarding our next 2 months of community-based training (CBT)! We will be leaving tomorrow morning for Ait Benhaddou (ayt ben had dew), which is just 16 km from Ouarzazate. Here, we will live with a host family and learn the Tachlhit dialect of Berber, pronounced "tashel heet." Every day, we meet with our language and cross-cultural facilitator (LCF), Amina, who will help us learn the language and work with the rest of our CBT group (3 other people who also live in the same town with other host families) to create an environmental awareness program.

We will not find out the location of our site (where we will be for 2 years) for another few weeks, but I think we have enough to work on for now!

Whirlwind tour

Casablanca to Marrakech to Ouarzazate in less than 5 days.  Lots of trainings (i.e. safety/security, survival language, and community building with other Peace Corps volunteers).  Drove through the snow-covered High Atlas Mountains directly below Jebel Toubkal (highest Moroccan peak) after days of hanging out in a tropical fruit, nut, and palm tree-filled desert oasis.  Flora and fauna is absolutely beautiful.  The market was totally overwhelming and Arabic language-learning is ramped to full speed.  Alex and I couldn't be better.  Videos and pictures soon to come.  -Jonathan

The Countdown Begins!

Days till departure: 7

Crazy! What to pack? Where are the passports? What are we doing?!

As we scramble to finish the final stages of packing, we ask ourselves, "Where are we going and when?!" Well, the itinerary has arrived!


3/14: Fly to Philadelphia for pre-departure training
3/15: Bus over to JFK and fly to Casablanca at 6:45 pm EST
3/16: Arrive in Casablanca at 6:25 am WET (Western European Time) and bus 3 hours to Marrakech
3/18: Bus over to Ouarzazate for the rest of pre-service training
3/21: Travel to assigned community-based training site, where we will live with a host family for the remainder of our training
5/25: Swearing in as official volunteers
5/26: Ship out to our permanent site location for the next 24 months!

We will not be told our locations for community-based training or our permanent site location until much closer to those departure times. From 3/16 until 5/25, however, the address to have for us is:


Jonathan/Alexandra Gerst
s/c Corps de la Paix
2, Rue Abou Marouane Essaadi, Agdal,
Rabat 10080, MOROCCO

This is the address for the Peace Corps office in Rabat, where they will forward the mail to our locations. The Peace Corps asks that people not send packages to this address, but letters are fine.

Moms, Dads, don't worry, we'll call you as soon as we have the opportunity! For the rest of you, we will not have a land line until we move in with our host family, and internet access will be as regular as our schedule allows.

So, sounds like a whirlwind of activities are awaiting us next week! Until then, we love you and will be "posting" with you soon!

Jon and Alex