Thanksgiving 2013

Spending time with volunteers

Rabat gathering

Cooking time

8 mile run

Neighbor window kitty

New running shoes for marathon

Meknes

Bumper cars, Meknes!

Meknes

Outside Midelt

It's cold in Midelt

Fun food

Thanksgiving 2013! Rabat

October 2013 Bike Tour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcnXb34nvHw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

'L3id Kbir' Sheep Sacrifice 2013

Posing for a photo after the kill

Intestines, not fully cleaned yet!

Sheeps head

The axe

Resting from cooking in traditional Moroccan clothing

Making bread outdoors

Cooked head

Sheep tajine with prunes

Olives at suq

Making sheep cous cous

Cous cous

Saying goodbye at the bus station, with Mounaim's mamma

Another beautiful sunset

Another L3id Kbir which follows Ramadan, but this time in the city. It was all very special to spend it with Mounaim's family. We ate sheep for days, watched television, played games, talked, walked, made tea and bread. A lovely break from the everyday living routine. I always feel good when I participate and learn new traditions. It's this very thing which I know I will preciously take back with me to share and remember stateside.'Washr Mbruka Saida L3id Kbir'.   

In Rememberance

Zagora, Morocco-bike tour December 2012
Layrahmo ina lilah wa ina ilayhi raji3on. Amin. — 

I will greatly miss Mohammed Rouze as he was an integral part of my experience in Morocco. He was a host country national who taught me more about how to be a better guide. His presence will be missed by many and I will forever have good memories. He had an amazing sense of humor and could identify with foreigners and was a great man. He worked in Morocco as a driver for companies such as 'Butterfield and Robbinson' and 'Great Explorations' for many years. He has children and a wife who will miss him greatly.      

Apple Festival and Barrage by Bike

La Salle Covert, Apple Festival 2013, Midelt

Solar panel production which is used in Midelt

Gorgeous presentation with fuji, gala, pink lady, jonathan gold

On a warm day with Mounaim

Artisans' sell their work

This truck picked up my camera on the side of the road which I temporarily lost

The water has gone down and salt has appreared

We made it 65 kilometers strong by bike

Just cooling off, a nice dip

Beautiful day for a ride!

Stopping for a chat

When quiet the lizards appear

Midelt has an apple festival once a year, farmers come and make displays of their apples and sell them for a profit. I was surprised to see types we have in America such as fuji, gala, pink lady and jonathan gold. They looked surprising large in size. The event was for three days and in the evening music played in a field where locals could gather and watch. It was crowded with some tourists and a lot of people neighboring towns. In lieu of the next bike tour coming, I went for another 65 kilometer prep ride to the Midelt barrage on a beautiful day. Along the way I dropped my camera from my vest pocket and didn't notice until much later down the road. A yellow truck stopped to pick it up and went further down the road to a place close to the barrage to work. I eventually saw the truck and asked about the camera which they graciously gave back to me. I had doubts and was deeply saddened before getting it back. Then I realized a bad situation turned into a good one and sometimes things do work out in your favor. It's one of the things I love about Morocco.

Back in Rhythm Before Work and Winter

New, old suq Asics for 1/2 Marathon!

Hiru doing his thing

I love this photo, trying something new with my hair

Close to my house, 3 mosques

Volunteer, Yvonne

Washing blankets with Mounaim

Rice, chicken and veggies

Lilou says hello

I have been finishing my quarterly peace corps report, washing blankets, enjoying peace corps friends coming through my site, cleaning, downsizing, cooking, preparing my schedule before fall and next bike tour, reading, and reflecting on one last winter here in Morocco. Time is going quickly... L3id Kbir, the sheep sacrifice holiday is near and I will spend it without my site mate as she is back stateside. It will be  a very different experience this time in the city. I have been wandering Midelt taking random photos to remember my place of residence here. Locals are suggesting that it has been a warmer fall with a lot of rain this season which should bring a warmer winter. I have been thinking a lot about a milder winter and "what if"? The kitties are happy, things are calm and I am resting my body between running and cardio/yoga workouts. I am training for the Marrakech 1/2 Marathon. Lot's of exciting stuff coming up...

Berber/Tamazight Language Training Ouarzazate

Sunset yoga on the Bab Sahara rooftop

Yoga

Host sisters from Idelssane, Fatima and Hafida

Ibraham and grandma

Ibrahim

Mamma

Taking a moment to myself

The glorious Sahara sunset...

Our study group with teacher, Hassan

Friends and Peace Corps staff

Ten days of language training after two and a half years has been a wonderful addition to my skills set here in Morocco. Many of the locals speak this old native dialect pronounced; "tamazeert", as Midelt is part of the Atlas mountain region. I am able to make basic sentences, greetings and have a basic knowledge of verb conjugation, sentence structure, and the culture of the Berber's who settled in Morocco. It was to my delight, that I was able to teach yoga to my fellow peace corps friends. I had the fortune of visiting my host family from Ouarzazate which was fun and interesting using yet another dialect of Arabic. All in all it was a great training.