Sorry, My Mom Won’t Give Me A Dowry

Well the wedding festival went off without a hitch. All together we checked a whopping 1,557 blood pressures- with 121 of them being women. I don’t want to say too much, but I would put that under the success column. After the first day, we got a really good flow and feeling for what worked best for us. With some people doing crowd control, three blood pressure takers going, and then those around to help educated and tally- I think all together we did a great job. We did have a lot more on lookers than I had anticipated, and a lot of repeats (we’re convinced if they got a higher pressure, they wanted to come back and double check), but all in all... it went quite smoothly. Here are some snap shots from under the tent...

As for the festival itself, unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to really walk around it until the last day. Due to illness, hosting, and working, it was hard to get a chance to sneak away. Just image a huge outdoor garage sale, everyone having their own tent. A flea market, if you will. Of course it wouldn’t be complete without street food and some music. Although, I wouldn’t know about the street food-- after waiting two hours for kebabs, a few who ordered that delicious looking chicken, decided to leave the table and continue on through the festival.

A few of us, however, were able to get a chance to hang out with some camels before they were shipped back off to the Sahara. A little confession: camels look really cool & exotic until you get up close. Once you’re face to face, you realize how... kind of odd they look (at least to me), and how uncomfortable they seem to be if you were to ride on one. But the riding part will come later on. Anyways, check out our little photo shoot: 

This was also my first time hosting at my new house, to which I was quite nervous. Hosting always has the potential to be stressful, but add in being sick, not having running water, and not enough sleeping space. Also, there’s no King Kullen (Walbaums, Stop & Shop, whatever) down the street to run to if I’ve forgotten something. Though, all guests are PCVs, so they’re use to these conditions, it’s still a bit demanding. But with the help of my guests, especially my better half, hosting was a breeze. Every dinner made was delicious; from spicy stir-fry, to fried chicken with mashed potatoes & applesauce... mmmm, amazing!

Cooking here has definitely been something I’ve gotten into to. And while cooking for one isn’t too exciting, when the opportunity presents itself, I’ve really enjoyed baking or cooking for the occasion. Some of these delicious dishes include (keep in mind, everything’s from scratch):

• Biscuits
• Flour Tortillas (used for tacos & burritos)
• French Toast
• Pancakes (apple cinnamon, oatmeal chocolate chip)
• Pizza (a variety, I love pizza)
• Garlic Bread
• Cream of Tomato Soup
• Vegetable Soup
• French Fries
• Hash Browns
• Mashed Potatoes
• Alfredo Sauce
• Apple Sauce
• Burgers
• A Basic Meat Sauce
• Vegetable Dip
• Stir Fry with a variety of sauces (peanut, spicy tomato, butter...)
• Huevos Rancheros
• A Variety of Omelets
• Fried Chicken
• BBQ Chicken
• Brownies
• Yogurt Cake
• Yogurt Coffee Cake (oh my lord, so good!)

I really want to make enchiladas soon, so hopefully that will happen. But alas, cooking here has been a lot of fun. Kind of making things up as I go along too. With time to spare, it’s easy to get carried away with some things, and when getting together with other volunteers- cooking is something everyone enjoys.

Along with cooking, my house is coming together slowly. I’m trying to use a lot of things I’ve found around my house, around my yard, around the area, to my advantage and in resourceful ways. Which reminds me, I have a buttload of plastic bottles, any suggestions on what I can do with them? I’d rather have some project than throw them out, as they would just stay in a landfill. So if you do, please let me know! Anyways, check out some of the updates...

my newer, smaller, yard. with fire pit and compost pile.

...make shift shelves!

Well, I’ve gone on for a while now and I must head out and get some water. Out of the 8 community taps, the two closest to me have gone dry, so I’m off to find one that is actually working, joy.

Bulgarian Burgers

I woke up today to get a 4 am transit down the mountain. I don't know what it is about getting up a the crack of dawn, but it always makes me a bit gitty. I blame my parents, my dad mostly. I can remember setting my alarm clock, if not being woken up by my mom, to get up around 4:30 in the morning and get to the car to go who knows where. Dad loves driving anywhere, I guess that's where I get it. It was always so exciting... our bags would be packed, and my brothers and I would trudge down the stairs, still half asleep, but with a pillow in arm and head to the car. And back in those days, when we had our sweet van, we'd already have our spots in the car picked out, so we would hop in, and make our own little bed. Then, after making sure we had everything, we'd all head out. And usually we'd all conk back out by William Floyd (Mom probably just after we got on the LIE), with the promise of bagels in Queens. "I know just the place!" Dad would always say, he always knows just where to go. I guess that's why I never mind getting up early to travel, I think I'm always expecting to get bagels. So I thank you both for that.


Here's a little different. You hope there's a seat, by the window preferably, and then pray you don't get caught in a vomit frenzy. With still an unknown cause, travel and Moroccans just do not mix. And nothing is worse than standing in the middle of a moving van, with a women on either side of you, puking into a plastic bag. Thank you Man for inventing iPods. I should have thanked you a while ago when I was taking the LIRR home after a Wiggles concert got out. Lord, was that a rough ride. I had my first MP3 player that I still wouldn't be able to figure out, with only 10 Weezer songs on it, but I listened to that baby the entire ride home.

According to local legend, two lovers, Tislit and Isli were children of warring mountain tribes and had fallen deeply in love. When their families discovered their relationship, they refused to allow them to see one another, let alone marry. The couple was so heartbroken that they ran away to marry secretly, and then threw themselves into the mountain lakes that today bear their names.

Devastated by the deaths of their children, the tribes came together and agreed that from then on, no one would be able to dictate who their children were to marry. The wedding festival serves as a yearly reminder of both this freedom to choose and an opportunity for men and women to meet their future spouses. Indeed, it is one of the few opportunities many mountain villagers have to socialize with the opposite sex, and people come out in droves to see and be seen.

According to protocol, women are made up by their families in traditional dress, their single status identifiable by their pointed head apparel. Potential husbands then browse the goods on offer, egged on by their friends, before settling on a potential match. The womens' families still play a crucial role, determining whether or not the suitor is appropriate - if his application is unwanted, a broken handshake indicates he should move on. If, on the other hand, he is successful, his bride-to-be will say the immortal words: "You have captured my liver" and the match will be settled.

Right, back to the point. So, now I'm down here, in Rich, one of the two closer cities to my town, running around getting some shopping done and some serious internet-ing. Which means intense Facebook stalking; no one's safe. I need to stock up on some goods because this week my side of the mountain is playing host to the world renown Wedding Festival. The story behind the festival is this:

Okay, so these days it's more like huge open market, and there's a tent where couple's can get a marriage certificate. It's believed that no one really gets married off these days, but can still happen. I'm told there are marriage ceremonies up by the lakes, so hopefully I'll get to see some of that.

So I get to play host to about 10-15 volunteers in my little house with no running water. These guys will actually be able to have a real Peace Corps experience haha.. it should be a lot of fun. Most people haven't gotten a chance to come up the mountain, so it'll be a good time. And I promise, I will post pictures when I can. 

Work wise, we will be setting up a tent at the festival where we will be giving free blood pressure tests and talking about good pressure vs. bad and what one can do to prevent it. We'll also be talking about the hazards of smoking and the health infrastructure in Morocco and locally so people will know where to go for what. So hope for the best!

Okay, so what exactly have I been up to... not much. I'm still trying to get use to this whole idea of me living here. The language is coming along, as is work. Towards the end of Ramadan, I took a little trip to go camping a bit and then spent a little time on the other side of the mountain, relaxing, cooking up a storm, and just having a good time. Check it out...

Plum Trees, with delicious free plumbs (free if you don't ask...)

A Moroccan house, if you will

Can you find the man in the tree?

absolutely adorable.

pop-up tent and self made fire

Fresh peaches! Yum!

Looking down at Ait-M'Hamed

Enjoying some homemade apple cinnamon pancakes!

Bulgarian cheeseburgers with a ranch topping, my stomach was so happy!

...these ones had a fried egg on top, oh lord.

Weekly souk that serves around 30,000 people

check out those melons!

I realize after posting a lot of these pictures I need to take some more pictures of my own village. I don't know why I just haven't yet. I think it's I don't really think to bring my camera along with me when I take walks, and I apologize. But, I'm on it next time.

Alright readers, I hate to leave, but my ADD is kicking in and I do have some errands to run. A lot of food and other items I need to run around town to buy. There's no Target, no one stop shopping in this town. One day maybe...