Nothing Is Mundane

The most beautiful sunset yet

These signs frighten me

Yoga on the roof on a cold sunny day

Cookies and scones made on a rainy day

Curried kefta rice

Ouargui from the bridge

Preparing bread 

Hours of sifting

These kids love playing in this bus

Nothing is mundane here. After my travels, I realized how much I had been missed in my community. Continuing to feel blessed and humbled, I am getting back into my routine which  feels good and gives me purpose. I am getting invited to new homes and events. I visited my host family and they gave me lots of hugs. I have so many friends, I find its hard in keeping up. I am taking in this year marker as a milestone and feeling peaceful and happy. The sunsets keep me grounded as does my yoga and meditation practice. Each day I am reminded that the simplicity of it all is what keeps me going. I often wonder how this very moment will effect my life moving forward. As I was in need of a new computer charger, several came to my aid in my community to help me. I was lucky in finding a new one and amazed at the knowledge that the locals have here in terms of fixing things. As they dismantled the battery into many pieces I watched with undivided attention to see how it would get repaired. As men ran across the street bringing back pieces and parts, they opened the battery compartment with small screws and elements I could not imagine how they would repair it. But alas all parts strewn across the meat counter of the local butcher, I just watched in amazement. Afterwards, they said; "Laila, muskil kbir, explosion", which means a big problem, explosion. They sent me off and I purchased a new one close to home which didn't break my budget. Morocco carries on with new adventures ever so mundane and I am so glad to be a part of it.

A trip to Rabat and Khenifra

Kitty outside doorway in alley, Marrakech

View from Hotel Sindi Sud rooftop

One of many mosques at night in Marrakech

Train to Rabat

In full bloom on way to PC office, Rabat

A good indication you're in the right direction

Rabat, capital city

In the souk medina

Souk medina

Yarn store where I purchased jilaba beads

Picturesque doorway

Rabat Fulbrighter and Morocco Exchange students with Peace Corps

Visiting my friend Christine in Khenifra

Khenifra 

Khenifra from mountain hike

Khenifra

Bee Boxes

Bee Press

We visited the bee keeping place

View from over the mountain, Khenifra

A random photo

Siad's bee  buisness

Cactus

Olive and lemon stand

Artichoke and banana stand

Beautiful door knob

This grave yard photo looks very old

The trip to Rabat came about because I needed to see the Peace Corps Dentist to get a chipped tooth repaired. To make a long story short, I bit into a rock at my family's cous-cous luncheon, a common occurrence among Peace Corps volunteers, especially in Morocco, where eating so much grain consists of rocks inside. The Peace Corps dentist is located in the capital city which was quite a treat to see. Peace Corps headquarters is also located there and I had a great time looking through the extensive library there. I also met a few Fullbrighters living in Rabat, they took a few of us out for an Italian meal. I explored the souk medina and enjoyed my stay. I will be back in May for my mid-term medical checkup. After Rabat, I took two taxis to visit my friend Christine, who lives in Khenifra about another 5 hours South of Rabat. Her site, very different from mine and beautiful with mountains hiking distance from her apartment. A few other volunteers came to join for a few days of relaxing, cooking, movies, popcorn, roof top relaxation and meeting her host family. Siad, her host father has a bee keeping business and took us on a tour. Although her community is part of a large city, it was interesting to see the differences from my village to her's. I traveled alone for the first time far distances to new parts of Morocco and was glad I could negotiate my way while finding the best deals and most direct routes. I am so grateful to experience new places. Although nothing is easy in Morocco, I feel confident that I can get around in any part of the world. As I am learning more about myself along the way, I am aware of the process and the changes that are taking place and it's really nice to feel that I am being looked after while going through it.

'Mabruk Lrosa'; A Traditional Moroccan Wedding

The cooking starts 2-3 days before, 100 chickens

The tent connects to the house

The setup

Flowers

Prepping Chickens

Me in my jilaba, scarf on my head and coal on my eyes

Offering before the wedding

Start with feet Henna

Then hand Henna

The guests

I love dancing

Bride and Groom

The bride is lifted

Then the groom

More dancing

Children are the last to eat and get the leftovers

Hired help

'Lrosa' or also called 'L3airs', it was a community wedding. I left my house relatively early in order to attend my host sisters wedding. Along the way I was met by a woman and her daughter from the Association, so we walked together. A day wedding is more unusual in Morocco and I was thankful for it. Like all the other weddings I have been to, it was a three day event. Family and friends (some travel from great distances) to visit and stay overnight all together in one or two big rooms for those three days and sometimes longer. I was looking forward to seeing my sister and many other families and friends I know in the village, but not looking forward the loud monotonous live music, long hair bobbing and being whipped around in all directions, excessive food eating, being nudged to dance when I don't feel like it and sitting watching others for hours on end while drinking water out of a cup that gets passed around the room that everyone else has been drinking from. Even with all these uncomfortable things, I have settled on accepting it as part of the culture. As prior days have been cold, this day was sunny but exceptionally cold. I wasn't able to help out with the dishes cause the water was too cold and my hands frozen. Although I wanted to wear a dress or skirt, I was told several times to wear my jilaba as proper etiquette, I didn't mind. I enjoyed myself dancing, talking to others able to understand conversation and hope that the next year in Morocco, I won't have to attend as many weddings, I think attending about 9 traditional weddings is plenty. For this occasion, just in case, I was fully prepared and packed; earplugs, pillow, heavy socks, warm hat, gloves, slippers, toiletry kit, meds, cell phone with flash light, camera battery fully charged, camera charger, mp3 player, backpack, toe warmers and a little money. It's a pain when you aren't sure what the accommodations will be especially when you are expected to participate. Luckily, I was able to make it home before dark to have a relaxing evening and sleep in my very own bed. Amen.