I’ll call this one “Summer time in Morocco.”

One constant throughout my blogs is the absence of doing any meaningful work (you may not have even noticed that, of all the things I talk about, doing Peace Corps “Youth Development” work isn’t one of them.

That is because Morocco generally and my site (Sidi Bou Othmane) in particular pretty much shuts down during the summer months.  Even more so than the citizenry of Europe, people travel during the summer in Morocco.  And of course the tourist sites of Morocco don’t shut down (Marrakech, Agadir, etc.), but Sidi Bou Othmane is not one of those sites J 

So, in terms of working with youth, there is a dearth of opportunities.  The few “youts” that are around have no interest in doing anything but sit around (much like I do) and be couch potatoes.

Now perhaps a more motivated PCV could find more to do and fewer excuses, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  I’m supposed to be “integrating into my community” during the first few months, and if you don’t count the fact that I sit on my couch every day that I ‘m not traveling to other cities, that’s just what I’m doing. J

Which brings me to the amazing point of this blog.  I would need to pull out a calendar to calculate it exactly, but as near as I can tell, I have spent (and will spend)almost twice as much time out of my site (in various forms of having fun) than I’ve spent in it, over my first four months, and we’re not even allowed vacation time during our first three months!

A brief look at my schedule includes trips to Rabat (coastal city, 18, days total), Casablanca (coastal city, 3 days), El Jdida (coastal city, 5 days), Asfi (coastal city, 14 days), Essaouira (coastal city, 9 days), Agadir (coastal city, 4 days), Marrakech (awesome city, pbly. 20+ days), and Prague, the Czech Republic (speaks for itself, 5 days). 

Now the Asfi trip is actually a Summer Kids’ Camp where I will work (camp is from August 20-30).  But, Ryan, Lee, Tiara, and Mallory will all be there, so it will also be a great time with great friends, I have no doubt.

Prague is so I can see my good, good friends, Maria and Don, who will be there during that time.

Rabat was both Peace Corps swearing in and two weeks of “medical” which means the Peace Corps paid my way to be there so that the PC doctors could evaluate a pain I had in my leg.  They never figured out what the pain was, but I got to spend two weeks in “heaven” with cool sites, cool temperatures, and lots of pampering (which wasn’t on the PC’s nickel, but I’m okay with that).  Also, probably 20 PCV's passed through Rabat during that time for one reason or another and so I got to hang out with a bunch of friends during that time.

Agadir was a PC regional meeting, but the meeting part of the day lasted only about 6 hours, and the rest of the time was spent with Ryan, Lee, and other good friends hanging out at the beach (water temp, 82 degrees) and doing a little partying.

Two weeks of the Marrakech time is also PC meetings, but will bring together for the first time ALL of the PCV’s from all over Morocco, so we will definitely have a good time!!!  The rest of my "Marrakech time" was spent with family and friends without even a pretense of working :)

El Jdida is a PC regional “Youth and Sport” meeting which, near as I can tell, is nothing more than having a little extra money in the budget that has to be spent before fiscal year, and so we get to go hang out at the ocean again (and again, with Ryan and Lee, because we’re all in the same region).

Essaouira has been my “home away from home” as its on the coast, averages probably 70 degrees, is beautiful, and is only 4 hours by bus away (which may seem like a long trip, but when you live in the absolute middle of nowhere, traveling 4 hours to get to the coast is like a bee-bop).

So its “give, give, give” joining the Peace Corps.  Its not for everyone.  I mean, you have to rush home, do your laundry, and head right back out again!

Theoretically, I will be actually working in-site beginning in October, and then its going to be “fingers-to-the-bone”!  The PC expects at least 15 hours a week out of me which, given my schedule, is going to be hard to satisfy J Truly, I am both anxious and excited to get going on some fun things in my site, and will be (hopefully), keeping busy.

There went the “call to prayer” signifying that I can break my fast, so I have no f***ing idea why I’m even finishing this last sentence rather than throwing some cold water down my throat before I go over to Tariq’s for breakfast!