Until today, there hasn’t been “bursting-at-the-seams” news/events to blog about the last few days.  …or maybe I’ve just grown more accustomed to the culture shock.   But now, my baby sister (Molly) is planning to come for a visit in the summer, so there’s something super-exciting on the horizon!   …and my daughter (Lex) is making noises about traveling to Spain this summer, which is a grand total of 20 miles from Morocco!  Nothing specific, but it gets me pumped thinking about the possibility!  I won’t be able to plan anything definite until I am established in my new site, but that could be as early as the middle of June.

We had a few nice days in a row, so of course I assumed the weather had finally changed, but the last 3 days have been freezing with freezing rain and hail.  My hands feel arthritic right now as I type, because they’re not functioning properly in this temperature (it has nothing to do with my age!).  My awesome, awesome super-awesome friend Maria sent me a birthday package that contained all the essentials, including chocolate, a poncho, and long underwear.  I thought I was over needing that kind of stuff (not the chocolate, of course), but the cold-weather gear has certainly come in handy lately.  Thank you, Mia!

We’re down to a little over two weeks of training, so the end is hugely in sight.  Then its Rabat for a few days, swearing in, an announcement as to where we’ll locate for the next two years, and the next day, they kick us out of the nest, and we have to find our own way to our final destination (which might involve two days of traveling for some, depending upon how far away their permanent site is). 

My comprehension skills suck, so I’m nervous about our language test, which is administered in Rabat, and we need a certain level of proficiency in order to be sworn in!  Bribes may be in order!  JK.

Not to jinx it, but my best guess is that I will end up in an area outside Rabat or Casa Blanca (which would be great).  I asked for a larger city, and they seem to be available.   Plus an existing Volunteer said that geezers tend to get the sites they want (she might not have phrased it exactly like that).  Rabat and Caza are on the coast, so cooler in the summer, large, so more to do, and are major transportation hubs, which is great for traveling.

As for final sites, there are both “established” sites and “new” sites.  An established site is one where there is an existing volunteer (that has typically been there a year or more, and there may well have been another volunteer at that site before the current volunteer).  That means that the community and kids know about our existence and have participated in any number of activities and projects that have been organized by the current volunteer.  The new volunteer comes in and can “coattail” the on-site volunteer, watch, learn, help the existing volunteer, get his/her feet wet with small activities, and slowly work his/her way up to full-time planning and participation.  Many of the existing volunteers have been in-country 1 ½ years and have approximately six months to go before heading back home.  That would give the new volunteers that six months to get up-to-speed and running things on their own.

…which leads to the definition of “new” sites.  As you may have discerned, new sites are where (at least usually) a fancy, new dar chabab (youth center) exists, but where there has never been a PC Volunteer before.   Typically, there is a mudir (director) of the dar chabab, but they typically don’t have any role in organizing the youth or putting together programs or activities for the kids.  …so in comes the new PC Volunteer, knows seven weeks of language, has had about 2 days of practice with how to teach, has never met the mudir or any of the kids or others in the community, and is suddenly thrust into the role of meeting kids and other members of the community, encouraging participation in the dar chabab, and of course then needing to create programs and activities for them to participate in!

…I’m guessing I’m going to fall into this latter category (simply because I will be perceived as having the maturity and experience to handle a new site).  Pretty damn daunting!   And of course all the above has to do with getting started work-wise in a new site. !  Obviously, I first need to find a place to live and furnish it (which might include having to buy a refrigerator, stove, bed, etc.  Having an existing Volunteer with a lay of the land would certainly be helpful.

The way it works is that the PC has established host families in our new sites for us stay with for approximately two weeks, so that we have a place to stay while we look for an apartment.  We try to utilize the host family to help us, with (undoubtedly) varying levels of success.  We have a very limited budget for both rent and our “settling-in” allowance, so we have to negotiate our rent.  My understanding is that it is difficult to do, because everyone assumes an American is made of money, so trying to explain (with 8 weeks of Darija) the nuances of the Peace Corps and the volunteer work we do is a challenge.  And I’ve heard that rent in the bigger cities is expensive and so even though Volunteers placed in bigger cities get a “bump” in their monthly allowance, its typically not sufficient to cover the additional cost (which means that we have precious little to spend on all the other things we need).

I’ll put together another blog on how much we are going to get as our “allowance”  and how much everything costs, just as soon as I figure it out myself.  I still struggle to figure out how much I get.  Because there are about 8 dirham to the dollar, I keep thinking I have all kinds of money.  I’ve got damn near 500 dirham in my wallet, and I’m thinking I’m rich, but I could be arrested for vagrancy in the States with so little flus ($$).

Alright… Enuf for now.