Azilal and Realizations

Typical duct taped map, friend Donna, PVC

Berber pride flag

Protest near Azilal

Azilal town center

One of my favorite shots

Azilal

Donna and Alex, PCV's in Azilal

The sun hits Azilal

Alex helps with the large suitcase, Donna moving again

Donkey's on the hill in Ait M'Hamed

Mother and child wait for bus

The mosque in Azilal

Another trip to Azilal was just as exciting as the first earlier this year. I was able to help a friend move from a rural village, Ait M'Hamed to a larger city, Azilal. Azilal sits at the bottom of the mountain and is quite beautiful. As I continue waiting for work in my village, I am finding other things to do. As the election has come and gone, I am continually surprised at how well Moroccan's are versed on politics and Obama. As I ride through my village locals call out to me, "Laila, Obama muzian!" which means Obama is good. The more I am here, the more experiences I gain whether its with the Moroccan community or volunteers in Peace Corps. I have recently come to the realization that the relationships I have cultivated here are important. I have been doing a lot of work to integrate and get respect within my communities. Although there has been some difficulty with language and communication, I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far. I feel ready to finish out my last six months of service and move into the next phase of whatever awaits me.    

L'3id Kbir; Sheep Sacrifice Day

Sweet goat

Moments before the sheep sacrifice

Boys wait for the festivities

Happy candid photo

Making bread

'Msimn' for breakfast

Special cake called; 'keeka'

Family, brothers visiting from Spain and Italy

Watching the sacrifice

Man comes to the village to kill and clean the sheep

Sacrifice

Stomach

Sister gets her feet henna'd

Prepping kabobs, sheep innards

L'3id Kbir (sheep sacrifice day) is back! Blood and burning flesh resonate the town for days now... I spent my time visiting with my host family, neighbors and friends.  I can't say I will miss L'3id Kbir again as this year I felt less connected to the animals and the slaughtering as compared to last year.With festivities happening this week, the center of town has been very quiet which has been a nice break at my apartment.  Soon it will be back to teaching and yoga in my community which I have missed. As I ride my bike around town, I find that my days are limited here and I am absorbing all the experiences as they come as they will be an end too soon.  

Midelt; Yoga Seminar

Hello Midelt!

Midelt is known for their apple production

Midelt from center of town

A day at the river

Yoga for men, crow pose

Women's yoga, tree pose

Peace Corps friends and host sister's carpet shop

Warrior 2 pose with men

Bread tour with PC Volunteer, Leslie from Colorado

Kids Tae Kwando yoga class 

Coed yoga class

Volleyball learns yoga stretching

Midelt suq

Beautiful veggies at suq

Scale used to weigh food at suq by the kilo

Suq clothing and other stuff

Outskirts of town

Certification ceremony

Goodies for the party

Presenting certificates

Certificate of completion

King's Center, women's bags

Carpet loom at Artisan's Center

Artisan's King's Center

Yoga class with Japanese exchange student

Head stand prep

Bow pose, men's yoga class

Midelt is located about  eight hours North of me, close to Fes. I was invited to participate  in a  ten day yoga seminar to train young professionals the techniques and introduction to yoga. It was such a joy for me as this community embraced my presence with love and support. There were several classes; beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of yoga and understanding why we practice yoga. A rare opportunity to be able to work so closely with men in this culture which I valued and found could be fun. I spent my days teaching as many as five classes at a Tae Kwando studio in the center of town. Although it was exhausting, I found it to be very rewarding. I learned that Midelt is known for their many different kinds of apples and they also have fossils which come from the mountainside in Midelt. I was able to take a local bread making tour to help the woman of Midelt generate income as well as see the city and meet many of the locals. My Peace Corps friend, very active in the community hosted me during my stay and  organized a volleyball team over the past several months. He works with youth and has many friends and a very active lifestyle. I enjoyed myself and am looking forward to returning as they have offered to host me again in the upcoming months. I have received so much more than I have been able to give back. It was a very successful project and time well spent. I feel that I have a second home here in Morocco...