March 12th 2012

The plans for today were VERY unclear. We had “tree planting” but apparently they already have enough trees in the village, so we were supposed to plant trees in our houses at 9:00. We woke up at 8:30 and called Fadoua. She said that the trees weren’t there yet, so we had a leisurly breakfast (same as yesterday- still delicious). After breakfast, the trees had arrived so we went into the courtyard to plant them. The main picture of this post is of one of the (grand) moms, and Yousef- it might be my favorite picture from the village stay. Our older cousin started to plant- he was doing a lot of the work and I think he was kind of surprised when I JUMPED IN. He let me dig a liiiittle and then said “okay!” and took the shovel back. I spoke to Chase & Asif and they said that it was the same In their house, so it wasn’t a “you can’t do it because you are a girl” type of thing. Hillary and Ari came over to “help” and after we planted our trees, we helped with theirs. In the midst of helping plant trees, my “sister” gave me the reigns of another donkey. Unaware of what I was agreeing to, I took them while she went in the house. She came back with two huge water jugs- must be time to get the water!

She secured the jugs on the donkey and brought him to the haystack. She then motioned for me to jump on the stack and then the donkey. I did (the RIGHT way this time) and she gave ME the reigns. Off we were. THIS DONKEY knew exactly how to get to the water fountain. It’s basically a straight shot, but still… it was cool. We got water and came back.

The rest of our SIT family was walking towards the little market. We brought Selma and met them. Selma got a free sweet from the man at the store and then we sat under a tree at the side of the road. I was kind of bored, so when Kirsten, KC and Melissa came to the store with their sister, I jumped on the opportunity to walk back with them. Their sister was so nice. She bought me a bag of chips before she even met me! They were like those little veggie trips but probably weren’t very “healthy” (they were ketchup flavored). The small bag of chips began the long day of eating. I went home and sat with the (grand) moms on a tire. I texted my mom because she said she would call on Sunday night and I just realized that it was Monday- maybe it didn’t go thru because I am in the middle of NOWHERE. She responded right away and I said she could call. I didn’t really need her to call and wasn’t sad at all. I am so removed from everything while I am here- she started talking about her visit (which I am still VERY excited for) but I couldn’t really think about it with all of the cows mooing in the background. It was time for lunch, so we went inside, same lunch as every meal so far- it’s starting to get old, but the French fries are still dank. I think it’s the extra virgin olive oil that makes them soooo good.

After lunch I literally fell over on the couch and passed out, even though we told chase that we would meet them for a walk- woops! I slept for an hour I think (maybe more) and then pulled myself together (my roommates were still sleeping) and I took my book outside to read and get some sun. Lucky me- nobody was outside to pull me out of the sun. Ari and Hillary came out shortly after and we soaked up the sun. Then it was time for cooking: bissrah (the split pea soup) and tea. We all went to Fadoua’s house- as we were leaving, Salma’s mom came up to me (with Salma) and asked in Darija if Salma could come with us. She also made it very clear that she wanted me to watch after her. I agreed (of course). Salma was like a puppy and I was trying to make friends in a public park everyone LOVED her. They asked where she was from because she doesn’t look Moroccan. She was very cute, but quieter than usual. Here's a pic of Salma and me Cooking was dumb because there are too many of us. We took turns picking the bad beans out of the bunch and then the leader took them inside. I missed a lot of the presentation because I was playing outside, but the next thing I knew- we had Bissrah! WITH HOT SAUCE that I went crazy over. I think I ate more hot sauce than bread or soup. Then it was time for the tea, which I was ACTUALLY excited to learn how to make.

I have decided that I am going to have a mint plant in my room next semester and have regular tea sessons. I need to find a great tea set. They use gunpowder green tea (2 handfulls) and FIVE tablespoons of sugar. You put the ingredients in and then keep cooking the tea. Then you add the mint and serve. You pour the first cup back into the pot. THEN you serve everyone, and make sure that you pull up the pot so there is a long stream of tea flowing into the cup. The kids use two cups and pour the liquid back and forth (Blue Camel style) to make it cooler- I was right with them. The tea was very very hot. We drank it and played a lot. “The Pied Piper” nickname has followed me to Morocco. I am really considering taking one of them home. I joke about it with Selma’s mom, but I am actually not joking…. It was getting late, but Fadoua invited us to stay a little. We did but then Salma whispered “nemshee ila dar” which means “we (Salma and I) go home” we left fadouas and ran into her dad and mom who were coming to get her. We went to her house and her mom brought us the greef pancakes and MORE TEA. I only ate a little. Hillary and Ari came back and I went back to my house. WWe watched Turkish soap operas and Tia’s “BF” was brought up again. I am getting very tired of this topic. She put on her rings… I am the best at Arabic out of the three of us, so I am getting confident in speaking and am understanding more and more. It feels great. Dinner was harira, which is not my favorite, but was good because it was not a lot.

After dinner we were brought to Ari and Hillarys. It was colder than usual, so I was happy to see them sitting with a cover on. I squeezed my way into their blanket. They were looking at darija/English books. Salma’s mom invited me back next year and I agreed. We were asking questions back and forth and I learned that the sister (~16) went to school, but doesn’t anymore because there is no school nearby. Her brother/cousin who is either younger or the same age goes to school by public bus. It is so unfortunate, and makes me rethink the EFA internship- I definitely would love to live in different villages for 6 weeks talking to girls and their families. I just wouldn’t be learning Arabic, but maybe I would be? I am not sure… I have to seriously re-think things. “Mounir”- Tia’s BF came in but I didn’t really pay attention because I was tired. I took a Benadryl before bed because the village allergants are affecting me, and we could sleep till 9 am the next day (VERY rare, but nice change). I put on the ski shell that Jesse gave me for Christmas. It was VERY comfortable and I was a total clam. We brushed teeth under stars (najoum—I finally know the word for them) and then I got SO cozy in my cocoon and went to sleep.