Yeah that is where I have been living the last 2 months in the "big refridge" of Morocco. As I put numbing fingers to keyboard it is 8 degrees C in my room... which for all my US friends that comes out to be 46.4 F ( x 1.8 subtract 32 or something like that). I sleep under 4 heavy blankets in lots of clothes with a stocking cap, what a sight to see, the blankets weigh so much that once I get under them it takes a great effort to roll over... so I just lay there and watch my breath stream out. But enough about the COLD.
Last week at hub site we all got our final sites.... and I thinkI got lucky, I am outside of Fez, I dropped about 1000 meters down the mountains and I got a city of about 70k with a artisana that has many talents artisans that I hopeI can help. I arrived on last Sunday in a raging rain storm taking two grand taxis to get there (each about 45 minutes) those rides in themselves are worth a story, but in Morocco grand taxis are the way of life. So I arrive in town and then have to call my new host family and talk to them in my "limited darija" and she speaking french in return. I knew I should have paid attention back in High School. To complete this story I get a petite taxi and arrive soaken to the bone at their home.... in time for kaskrut (6:00 tea and bread).
Then next 5 days I spend roaming the city and meeting the current volunteer and finding out the lay of the land. My first day I am alone (PCV is out of town) so I sit down and this Moroccan gent slides up and strikes up a conversation in Arabic/French and sign language. I am no fool... I have lived in a city all my life and I know a panhandler when I see one... but he looks and sounds safe and I am thinking... well I can at least use my arabic and see if he understands me. So off we go him showing me the city and me trying to communicate with him for the next few hours... Finally, I think it is time to end my "tour" and I figure I will set the price and offer to buy him a lqhwa (coffee) and he likes the idea and off we go for coffee. Of course during coffee he says he needs smokes, yes this is all still in our arabic/french sign language jargon... I let the first couple of mention of smokes pass, but finally I know I have to answer so I ask him... "bsHal cigarettes" and says 30Dh... I begin laughing out loud and tell him I am not giving him 30Dh and that I am a poor "hay'at salam mutatawie" (peace corps volunteer) and I have NO money either. He has no idea what the Christ I am talking about. So I shake his hand and wish him luck on his search for a butt. God do I love city life and the shit that can just pop up.
What I discovered in my city is a refreshing drink "bgit esrina l'voka, efak" Bring me a avacado milk shake, please. it is soooooo wonderful. I sat down in a tented cafe over looking the mdina just thinking I am in Morocco and if all goes as planned I should be drinking one of these l'vokas everyday for the next 2 years. I think I will like my new city and plan on being in Fez many times if not once a week. It may not be as warm as I would have liked, but I will take the vibe of a city any day of the fishbowl life of a small dwar.
I spent some time meeting the artisans and the delegate and of course the local police who wanted to put a face to my name. The artisans I will be involved with are very talents people and they crossover many different mediums... wood carvers, furniture makers, seamstress and tailors, potters... I believe I can help and stay very busy, only time will tell.
Well finally I got back to the hub, had to deal with some very foolish Peace Cops questionaire (I am getting use to the childish questions they ask) and then hooked up with friends and talked about the pros/cons of our individual sites... and now back into the deep freeze.
One last thing... today the King of Morocco came through the town, in a huge procession of cars he was driving his SUV and waving, doing about 45 miles per hour. Not a fan in general of Monarchy, real or fake, but I figured what the hell why not see him since I am his guest. So now I have seen the King of Morocco and the Queen of England drive by me... would much rather see the Kings of Leon!!
Inshallah when I return to America.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey Bud,
ReplyDeleteit's great to hear that everything is starting to fall into place. After a shaky start, the adventure begins in earnest. I have an ear to ear grin every time I read the blog and emails.
Stay healthy
Jim