Boston Your My Home...

On Monday November 14th I informed the Peace Corps that I would be early terminating (ET) my service, I will not go into the details as to what brought me to make that no-turning-back phone call, lets just say it was the combination of many things that added up to "...Time for this one to come home". But I made the call without reservations, because I have felt all along in this process that had me moving to Africa to serve in the Peace Corps that if at anytime I felt the pull from home either externally or internally that I would go where I was needed more. If you read my musing here at all you know that I have many "philosophical" issues with the Peace Corps as an organization and the way it laid out (or lack of) the structure of the Small Business Development Program that I was assigned, along with the news last February that SBD program was being terminated and would not continue beyond 2012. When I sat back and weighed it all it became clear to me that after over 14 months living and serving in Morocco it was time for me to leave... so I did.

The six days between the minute I made the call and the time I touched down in Logan Airport was an exhausting period, much like leaving to come to Morocco, putting a cap on 14 months in a 5 day window is mentally tiring... between closing a life in my city of Sefrou, medical exams in Rabat and getting all the proper signatures to leave is crazy busy. Yet come Friday afternoon I was done and Saturday hopped a multi-leg flight to Boston and into the arms of my loved ones... exhausted but happy to be home. Now it is time to enjoy the holidays with family get reaquianted with America and look forward to 2012 and beyond.

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The following is from my DOS (description of service) that I had to fill out for the Peace Coprs before they let me leave...haha.

During his service, James’s main responsibilities included:
Marketing and Graphic Design. Upon getting settled in Sefrou after swearing-in I quickly decide that my skills could be best used in Morocco by helping as many artisans around the country versus the Peace Corps’s simplistic view of working with just one artisan in my site. Upon meeting my “counterparts” and seeing that they had been the benefit of multiple PCVs over the last decade and well advanced in their business, I became very comfortable with the path I had chosen. Also at this time we began to learn that the Small Business Development Program was being terminated in Morocco which further feed my need to branch out of the antiquated model that the Peace Corps employs in the SBD program.

Below is a list of completed tasks within my first year as a PCV:
(January-April) Worked Marketing/Advertising for the Marché Maroc Fés Craft Show, working within a three person marketing team we redesigned the logo and branding of the Marché Maroc name. Marché Maroc Fés craft fair was the most successful one to date and I would like to think that bringing a more professional look to the branding played a small part. The Marketing team had grand plans to take the Marché Maroc to a much higher level while preparing HCN to take over leadership roles within the structure of the Craft Fair. But with the demise of the SBD program in Morocco the timeframe to accomplish handing over the craft fair to HNC was impossible and became pointless.
(February-March) Created a business card for the Coopérative Ismoune in Tighassaline.
April-June) Created a business card for the Coopérative Andaz Nouska in Midelt, redrew the coopérative’s logo to supply them with a high resolution file to be use for future marketing material. Created a tri-fold, full-color brochure for Coopérative Andaz Nouska.
(May) Design a logo for the Coopérative Charouk in .
(March-April) Designed a new logo, business card, and labels for the argan oil Association Dchers-Commune Sidi dahmane in Taroudant.
(May-June) Designed a logo for Tigmi Bags a Coopérative in Tigmijjou.
(June-July) Redesigned a product brochure for the Coopérative Adwal in Rabet El Khira.
(September) Designed a new logo and business cards for Coopérative Toudart Iwsta in Midelt.
Additional activities James participated in:
(March) Health: Created a medication form for illiterate patience, using icons along French and Arabic text. (The idea of a YD PCV)
(June) Created a product/sales tracking form for Marche Maroc, using icons and French. (Idea of two PCVs(SBD))
(February) Did some cartoons for a PCV for the handling and storage food around her village. Do not know the outcome of the illustrations.
(April and June) Drawing of city maps for both Marche Maroc cities (Fes and Essouria)
(June) Gave a presentation at IST along with a 2nd year PCV on Marketing and Design.
(Spring) One of the originators of the Marche Maroc Sustainability Committee, but soon decided to remove myself from this project. My reason for withdrawing from this committee was that I saw it as a complete dead end when upper levels of Peace Corps could not see the benefit and gave lackluster support for the sustainability of the Marche Maroc craft fairs.
(Summer) Working with English speakers in Sefrou to practice their language skills as there are very few English speakers in my city.
(February) Helped local artisan get a travel visa to America for her oldest son to accompany her to the Santa Fe Craft Fair.

Project/tasks started but not completed at this date:
I was asked my staff member to look over the ARM Art Resource Manual) that prior PCVs had created... to edit and re-layout the manual. I started this and got to a point where I was missing material and never had a chance to finish it.
(August -) Began creating a product catalog for Tigmi Bags a Coopérative in Tigmijjou, which could be the backbone of a website.
(October -) Started a product brochure for the Coopérative Toudart Iwsta in Midelt, but project has stalled due to artisan not supplying information.
(September -) Created a “beta” Wordpress website for the purpose of redesigning the current Wordpress website for the Coopérative Adwal in Rabet El Khira, but the holidays and lack of input form the coop has stalled this project.
The uncompleted project could still be completed by me from America if the PCV and I agree to continue or the PCV can complete the project themselves or with another PCV.
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Not bad for a years worth of work... :) I removed the refernce to all the PCVs I worked in tandem on each project for this posting (to protect the innocent..haha). I have NO regrets about my joining the Peace Corps, my service in Maroc, or my decision to leaving early... life is too short to fret and too precious not to embrace every minute.

bslama Maroc.... hello America.

Something New... Something Old

Something New: Decided to travel to Fes today and pickup a few things... so a grand taxi is needed. Off I go to the grand taxi stand for Fes and low and behold there is an area with police like fences and everyone is waiting in an orderly line to ge into the next cab... OMG did the earth stop spinning, people here waiting in a line to get the next taxi instead of he circus shitshowI have witnessed for 15 months. And now for the kicker... people actually seemed to like the idea... WTF why wouldn't they there is order first come first served versus a free-for-all. I smiled and thought there is hope after all.
Something Old and Gets Old: Well once again I was in a full taxi and the woman next to me starts getting sick... throwing up into a plastic bag. Now I know people get sick, but this has to be the 4-5th time I have been in a taxi and this happens and of course almost every bus ride has at least 2 or 3 people getting sick. Not sure why I shared that but I did.

Thats One Big Friggin Door...

Working on the door... still not complete but almost there, I will be putting my paints down for a few days as I address some pressing issues that need to resolve. I will get back to it and work on the shadows above the door and refine the reflections on the vehicle... so far I am very happy with this piece and looking forward to signing it. I have a few other doorways in Morocco to capture... inshallah I will create a series of a half dozen of so.

Thank for taking the time to look at my work... today is Sunday and that means I follow football at night here... no video just a scroll across my screen telling me who did what... of course we are talking football not soccer. I am in the fantasy football league here in Peace Corps Maroc and holding my own.

Random Thoughts and Fears

Piles of Skins... Last night as I was getting ready to crawl under bzzf blankets I glanced out my window to see the piles of fresh sheep skins lining the sidewalk... fast forward to early this morning as I opened the windows to a beautiful "Paris" blue sky and low and behold all but a few of the skins were gone... where did they go in 7 hours? I can hear every sound that takes place outside my window and I did not here any commotion such as the lifting and hauling of a ton plus of sheep skins? Maybe the big bad wolf came by.
Sheep's Head and other delights... So I am hanging out at the local fire pit (think Pats tailgating) watching sheep heads and feet being cooked to a charcoal black... the heads freshly removed fom the body are carried in buckets or plastiic bags to the fire pit and tossed on the grill... eyes wide open and all. These young men covered in smoke make 15Dhs for each head and hooves... they were very busy. So as we wait for the head to be cooked to perfection I am discussion the possiblities of once again eating the head of this animal... so as the conversation lulls I say with a smirk on my face... "you know there is nothing better than a little"head" in the afternoon..." knowing full well that no one has any idea what I mean... and of course they all agree that head in the afternoon or evening for that matter is great. Sometimes I need those moments to keep me grounded... (yes I am bad)
Fear in the Turk... There is no other way to discribe the panic that runs through you when in a small turkish toilet you lose the grip on something and it begins to fall... TOWARD THE HOLE....NOOOOOOO!!! The panic starts the second it leaves your hand...you convulse trying to grab it and yet it is still traveling downward... as it hits the tile and spins and rolls always toward the hole of no return you starts playing goalie to keep it from the horror.... please Lord I do not want to have to fish this out of the hole. Sometimes it is just the cap to the deodorant... but sometimes it is more important such as your tooth brush. I keep a bottle in the hole as a plug when not in use for a number of reasons... from odor, if something lives in there to keep it in there, but mainly to stop the something from falling down it.
Movie time... Last night I watched a movie that I got from a friend, The Legend of the Fall with many great actors... as I was reading the subtitles about 20 minutes into the movie I realized that it was in French... why did it take me 20 minutes to make that connection. Have I been away from english for so long... or was I just so cold and tired that my brain stopped functioning... either way I watched the whole movie and enjoyed it.
Painting versus work... having a hard time getting motivated todo real work these days... I am painting which is great but I need to clear my head to get two projects back underway... inshallah.
That is it for today... day two of the holiday and I have an invite for more sheep.

Bab Number II

As i have written it is cold in my home and getting colder... so to keep warm I will need to paint, for anyone who has ever watched me work a canvas I am in constant motion. I stand and walk and move back and forth looking at the work from all angles... this is a good method when the temperature in my home is under 55 degrees. The blood is moving and I am lost in the work... my fingers start off cold and almost numb but minutes into it I am unaware of the cold and my fingers are no longer stiff.

This is the underpainting for my latest in Moroccan door series... ok there is no series (yet) so this is my second door. Using Burnt Umber, Cobalt Blue and a little white I thinned the paint with turps and a little Stand oil. The door is a well perserved and wooden and the tile roof above it is Morrocan green.

I will let this sit today and maybe start another piece if the mood strikes me. It is almost time to eat sheep.... as Homer Simpson might say "mmmmmm openface sheep sandwich....arggggggh."

Sheep Heads Soup...

Today is l'3id Kbir and there are sheep heads being cooked in the vacant field outside my window, but there is a different feel to the holiday here or at least on the surface. Back in TimHdite it was a carnival atmosphere with the killing of many sheep the game of the day... there was utter joy in the killing. Boujloud... people dancing and marching around wearing the just skinned sheep skins playing music and in general looking like a surreal version of a Disney parade.
Here in a larger city it is more subdued, like Easter morning very quiet and everything shutdown, with the few exceptions, such as the fore-mentioned grilling of sheepheads and the man with the grinding wheel sharpening knives.
For the last few days the sound of sheep being carted, dragged, herded around Sefrou has been the norm... do these animals know what time of year it is, can they sense that they are about to be slaughter in a very disturbing way. Held down and their necks slashed until they bleed out... it takes minutes and you can hear the poor animal gasp for each breathe as it shudders and just when you think it has finally sucummed to death... it has one last gasp of life... it is brutal... very brutal.
I understand the religious story and why sheep are killed and eaten... I just cant wrap my head around the way it is done... I do not see the respect for the animal... something has been lost from what I can see. But I am from a different cultural and I am sure there are many things that people here would find harsh or strange in my world. So I am about to embark once again into a week of nothing but eating sheep parts... most if not all of it... I hope this week goes by quickly.
Soon I will head out to eat with friend... I am clean and have my best clothes on (... well I dont really have nice clothes... so they are clean) I will bring a gift from the States that my Mom sent... baby clothes for the twins and get prepared to eat whatever is put before me... please no sheep head this year.
Mbruk l'3id...

A Hard Rain is Fallin... and Baby it Cold Inside... Again

After almost 9 months of no or very little rain the last week has been very New England like... forrid rain for days, temperatures in the 40-50's and a cold home... about to get colder. After a few days of heavy rains I also discovered that my kitchen ceiling leaks and spent one night catching water and mopping the floor. It took a little bit of time but I got the water to pool in one direction and into my wash tub... humdullah.
Now my home is not quite as cold as it was last year at this time in TimHdite but it is heading there... so far I am up to two heavy wool blankets, sleeping with my hat on again and during the day wearing a fleece, two shirts, coveralls and a hat indoors... when I go out I can remove the fleece..haha.
Time to breakout my small electric heater and crawl under the blankets and close my bedroom door and live in there once the sun sets. I guess the hardest part is that my fingers are aways cold and drawing and painting takes a little while to warm them up. It was my hope to be able to get through November without using the heater, but that is not happening... I can live with cold outside... it is insane to live that way indoors... last night I saw my breathe again in my house, that is never a good sign. The days of three cold bucket baths to cool off are done... now I may not bathe for days.

Vistors from another World...

I had my first (and maybe my last...haha) visitors from the States, my brother Tim and his wife Devra arrived into Fes and I meet them and off we went to the Medina at Bab R'Cif to the riad that they had booked. As anyone who follows a PCVers blog knows we tend to stay in the dirtest, nastiest and very cheap places (50-60dhs)... 5-6 in a room, no hot water, filthy turk and of course no toilet paper (we ALL travel with a roll). Well the place(s) that we stayed were OUTSTANDING!!! So zwin this place that it had slippers and robes... SLIPPER AND FRIGGIN ROBES!!! I must take a moment and thank them bother for treating me to this side of Maroc... it was such a nice gift... of course like any good PCV, I stripped the place of any food, soap, shampoo and I now have three sets of slippers.
Tim and Devra were here in Maroc for about one week, we shopped the medina in Fes... stopping at a shop and doing the mint tea while haggling over prices, an hour plus later we left with many gifts and the owner only overcharged us a little versus this orginal price. Fes my favorite city in Maroc and I think they enjoyed the medina which dates back to the 700AD and has over 300,000 people living in that maze of tiny streets. From Fes we landed in Sefrou and they got to see my city and place, a lovely dinner with my friend Ali and his lovely family capped our stay here. From Sefrou we headed to Meknes, Volubilis and Moudlay Idriss. Then on to Tanger and finally they took the ferry across to Tarifa, Spain and we said our goodbyes and tariq salam.
I guess I have been here too long... after a few hours here Tim and Devra were pointing out the "oddities" they saw in amazement and I was oh you find that odd? They also could not believe the smells and poor air quality and I did not smell anything unusal... as for the air quailty, well they say that the life expectance of a PCV is 7 years less than the average... so maybe the air here is shaving a few years off at the end... inshallah.
Finally... Thanks so much for coming to see me here and letting me experience Maroc as a tourist (ok more like a tour guide) and for saying that my language was good... HAHA.

Through The Looking Glass...

Self-portrait... Needing a break from thinking about what to paint next I pulled out a used 9 x 11 canvas board and did this self-portrait, using my fingers I applied the paint to build the structure of my face and capturing the light coming in the room from the right. In less than 2 hours I had this study in black/white, while using a little dioxazine purple and cobalt blue in the background... I think I am done with this as it was just a study, but if I think I want to refine it a "swiya" more than I will go into it in next day or so.
Working directly into the space without any prep drawings to work from is what thrills me the most... I can not control my passion enough to render a tight drawing and then transfer that to the canvas and move from there... There are time I do exactly that but during that process as I am getting ready to approach the canvas I am on edge... eager to move into the paint, applying, removing and pushing it around the rectangle in order to create order... from nothing.

In The "Bled"...

Here is the finished painting of the woman working the wool into yarn... It was a good exercise but I ran into some problems with keeping colors in the face area from getting "muddy". The lack of small brushes has made me improvise in the tight areas... but at last I will be receiving some small brushes from home and this should allow me to work those areas with a wee bit more control. I have have four more canvas for oil left to complete... which means I will fall back to watercolor. The beauty of oils for me is that I can attack the rectangle with passion and total freedom... using whatever method to apply the color that strikes me at the moment. Watercolor for me is a more controlled medium... I am lacking the discipline right now... so I need to find it again.

ET... Go Home.

ET (Early Termination)... This week I headed into Rabat to drop off a few books, but my main reason on going there was to say goodbye to my friend Adrienne, who decided to call it a career in the Peace Corps and head back to the States. Adrienne and I came into the Peace Corps together, sat next to each other for most of our CBT and traveled to Dublin back in March for St. Patrick's Day. She is one of my closest friends here and I will miss her.
Morocco can be a hard life for female volunteers, this is a muslim culture and the status of women is so different than what we have back home, but more important there is the constant harassment of women here by the men. I do not understand why this country tolerates this shameful behavior but somehow it does and in fact it is the norm. It doesnt seem to make a difference if the woman is a Moroccan or foreigner, they will get verbally and phsyically harassed... but for foreigners it seems to be never ending.
As a foreigner and a man, I do not know how my female friends put up with such bullshit day in and day out. I would have left within the first 90 days... and the Peace Corps from my point of view does very little to address these issues besides having "gatherings" on harassment... there is very little support coming from Peace Corps staff... shameful as that may sound.
So I lose another friend over here... but I have made a friend for life... God Speed and I know you are happy for the first time in months.

See you when I return.

Alone at work...

This is a work in progress... I started this painting the other day and it is coming together quickly. The subject is making "yarn" from wool... It is a tedious process and for the most part still done by hand in all areas of Morocco. She will sit there working the wool into strings of yarn in the blazing sun dress in heavy clothing. The wool will be used to create the "berber" rugs that this area is famous for.
This was one of the few painting that I actually did a "comp" drawing for mainly because there is a lot going on with her and I wanted to get it right before I put color to canvas. Because I am working in a small(ish) format and I am lacking small brushes, I create these "points" to apply the color into small area such as the faces... my latest material for this tool is the cardboard from Reese's Cups that my Mom sent me... I received Bzzzf candy last week. So I eat a Reeses Cup, and take the small square and fold it until it is ridgid and dab the paint to the canvas... the upside is i am eating lots of candy... the down side is that I am eating lots of candy!!
When I have completed this piece I will post the finished artwork.
Salam-

Purple haze...

This woman walks by the cafe outside my place everyday, she is usually dress from head to toe in either black or blue and she was blessed with cheek bones that a younger woman would kill to have. Heavyset and always walking with a purpose greeting a few friends, she goes by empty handed and returns less than an hour later with the days food in each hand. There is nothing unusally about this woman... her look and demeanor I see a 1000 times each day, she just happens pass by me a few times a week.

The painting is a study in oils and 9x11 inches, composed in purple and deep blues with her complexsion renderes in earth tones umbers, ochre and varying cadiums which I hope makes her face pop off the canvas.

Chefchaouan

Is the "Blue City" about 4 hours and a 7oDhs bus ride from Fes. The trip there is rather unspectacular but the city itself is unique and very chill. As you come into the city that sits on the side of a mountain and sprawls down into the valley it looks like any other Moroccan town and at first I was unimpressed and wondering why I had just taken a 4 hour bus ride to see it. But as you enter the medina and get your first of many offers to but kif "... good stuff man, the best man... you want" the boy asks... you begin to see the reason it is on the tourtist destination.

Finding the riad and dropping my bag off, I head out to explore, and as the sun hits the building splashed in varying shades of blue and begin to she the beauty of the city... the intense white trimmed in brillant blues grabs you at every level. As I walked around I noticed the number of tourist here more than any place I have visited outside of Kesh... the sweet aroma of the harsh is everywhere.

About a 45 minute grand taxi ride takes you out to hike to God's Bridge a nature arch 100's of feet above the river that cuts through the mountains down to the valley. The hike is a well cut trail and the sights are lovely. On the way back the river pools in spots to create swimming holes... I climb down and dangle my legs in the cool water. The taxi is waiting (cost a little more to have him wait a few hours) and back to the riad I go. I spend another day taking pictures and roaming the city and then onto the Bus back to Fes and a "knuckle" back to Sefrou... exhausted but so glad I saw this city.

The Waiting...

Working on this new oil painting of two women waiting for the local bus outside of the mosque... it is still in progress but I am getting close to laying down the brush and digging out a new canvas to begin another.

The bus as always was nowhere to be found and as time moved on these two were soon surround by more and more people as the heat of the September day drove everyone to seek the shade of the palm tree. It was souk day in Sefrou and as you can see these two have souk-bag stuffed with the days shopping. I left before these women had moved so maybe they are still waiting for the bus that never comes.

Walk This Way...

Haven't posted a pianting in a long time, this is my latest effort to capture the woman of Morocco. Saw this older woman heading my way and reached for my camera and as she emerged from the shadows I snapped. The medium is oil on an 11x14 canvas board. I love the shadows and her determined walk as she moved across the traffic ... burdened with a heavy pack and an even heavier bundle each step seemed to wear her down. The weather is Sefrou on this day was cooler than the previous day but still in the mid-90's.
Peace Corps is easy... a woman's lot in Morocco is hard.

Dar dyali u bab

Hi- For those who have wondered (or not) what the outside of my place looks like (posted interior shots back in Feb) here is a view my home from across the street. I live about the hnut and snack shop the two big windows you see are mine, the left is into my salon and the right is my bedroom. I have access to the roof (shared) still it is private and some nights I find myself sitting

there gazing at the stars and the moon dreaming of my loved ones back in Boston who are seeing the same sky and I feel a swiya connection. The white vehicle park outside is the often mentioned "Grand" taxi... most are white,vintage late 70's early 80's, 4-speed and held to together with whatever is needed... this one looks in pretty good shape.

Next is my door (bab)... or the hobbit hole as I call it, duck your head as you step down into my hallway to the flight of stairs to my place. This is sort of typical for doors in

this area... maybe a bit more "rustic" then some. Lets see I

think I have only wacked my head on it the first week. Finally there is my front door into my humble home... it is made of iron and again is a typical entery into a home. I like my home every much, there are times when the noise is too much, mainly the loud music that was played during the political "debates' that was propaganda and bone-rattling loud... but now that is less and less, there is still the five calls to prayer and my mosque is in the top 10 for loudest is Morocco, but for the most part it has faded into the background, except when I am skyping and then it is the brunt of a few "WTF" and such. I have a good landlord and the people areound me know I am living here versus my first few weeks when I would get the look of "your still here?... are you crazy, you left America and all we want is to go to America... idiot!" haha. The hnut guys now helps me to pronounce my "r" and the Driss the young man who runs the snack shop is great... only I think everyday he adds another few god pharse to our gretting just to see my reaction as I try in vain to keep up and end up smiling and say "tbark allah".

I have finished my first year in the Peace Corps, had a little celebration with a few PCVs... there have been many more good days/times than bad and inshallah I will complete my service here in November 2012... but if for whatever reason that does not come to pass and I "DOA, DOR, ET or get AdSep"... 3ad humdulilah.

Salam-

Birthday in a Foreign Land...

This week I turned 54 and celebrate one year in Morocco...
Birthday's in Morocco are not even a blip on the radar, for the most part no one here knows how old they are and do not celebrate birthdays, so I kept my to myself here in my town and just treated as another day. Having said that a trip to the post office was fruitful, sitting in my box were slips for two "care" packages from home... one from Mom and the other from Susan (and Linda)... so as i eagerly scribbled my name on the form and the packages were handed to me, I walked briskly back to my home and with knife in hand opened my gifts... a pile of yummy treats and hand towels spilled onto my ponj. Thanks so much, until you live in a world so removed from home you will never understand what a letter or package from home means... it can take a lousy week and make it seem as if all is right in your world... THANKS!!!

Ramadan and traveling is behind me and summer is coming to a close... even if it is still above 90 everyday... and work is picking up again. Today I worked on a logo for a young woman who runs a rug co-op in Midelt... we have kicked a few ideas around and I think I have a few that she can choose from. This woman is a bright with a good head for business, so I want this logo to be something that she is proud of... so even if we gave to go through many changes I want the end result to be perfect. After this I will tackle the redesign of another co-op's web peresence... but the big job is the catalog for a basket maker down south, over the summer we created a logo and now we will create a paper catalog that can be the backbone of a website. These projects should keep me busy for the next 2 months...inshallah.
Salam-

Lord of the Flies

Summer is still dragging in the Fes/Sefrou area and I can't remember the last time it rained here. The net result of heat and lack of rain bring about... FLIES Bzzzf! Over the course of thelast week the flies are as thick as I remember them when I arrived last September, these are not the fast moving flies that land on food that we have back home. They are smallish, slow and like to land on people... they will bite, but maimly they just f%$# landing on me. Whereever there is exposed skin these bugger go and if you shoo them away... all that happens is the fly to a new spot. IT IS PISSING ME OFF! Most of my Moroccan friends are not bothered and in fact never try to kill them. At first I would kill them but now it is just too much work... just try to keep them out of my face and the rest of me i just shoo when too many are on me because it is a no win battle. I pray for rain and that the heat of summer drops into the cool air of fall soon... inshallah.
Transportation is Hard: In general moving around Morocco is a slow and unpleasant ordeal, but over the last few weeks it has become a nightmare, nothing is running and when it does run it is packed and takes forever and the mad dash to get in any vehicle is both entertain and hard work. Last week the buses were not running so one day I took a grand taxi from Khenifra to Azrou then Azrou to Midelt (roughly 300km)... both legs were close to two hours each. The first leg started out with the driver and a passenger engaged in a yelling match about money, the fact the driver got out of the taxi leaving it running in the middle of the street to go shopping. This went on for 15 minutes with the driver looking back at the passenger while driving at speeds that put your heart in your mouth. We drove the mountain road between Khenifra and Midelt passing trucks and busees on blind curves, flying through small dewars honking the honk and driving on the wrong side of the road. At times I thought the door i was pushed up against might fly open and throw me down the edge of the cliff. Of course I must say grand taxis are my favor mode of travel because your life is in your hands everytime.
Leaving Midelt a few days later again no buses so I took a taxi back to Azrou, then Azrou to Imouzzer and finally Imouzzer to Sefrou. Theride from Midelt to Azrou I got stuck in the middle of the back seat between... lets just say the air was rather pungent and for some reason one of the men in the front see complain tha he was "chilly" and asked the window to be shut... LA 3arfk, sHuna bzzf (no please, it is very hot) I said and the driver compromised and rolled it up half way. We arrived in Azrou to the same mess as Midelt no buses and few taxis... i watched in amazement as people fought for seats in taxis... I waited talked to to kurti (dispacher) and got him to get me on one without having to push anyone out of the way a la George in Steinfeld. So I got home exhausted and never wanted to travel again.
Been home for a week hot as hell, bored silly and looking to get back to work.
Next up Fes...

Back in the Saddle

I arrived back in Sefrou almost two weeks ago into a country two weeks into the month of Ramadan during the hotest time of the year. I could see a change in the people when and if you saw more than a handful during the daylight hours. They looked tired and in general a litle pissed, but as the time to break fast approach I saw more and more people on the streets, vendors were out selling food, cafes are filled with people just sitting and staring, not drinking and very little conversation. This was the time i would head back out to get my staples and observe... there was tension in the air and almost as if on schedule everyday, the square I reside turned into a mass of honking horns, people yelling and my two favorite hand gestures here. First, bring your hand up to the side of your head and turn your wrist as if you are screwing in a light bulb... two or three quick turns of the wrist, this is the sign for "ARE YOU F'en CRAZY!". The next is the the arm gesture and flip of the wrist over to palm up... so arm at a lose 90 degree angle in front of you and the flip of the wrist along with a slight movement of the arm to the side. This means many things but lately in my area it means "Iam walking here... think of Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy... with out the pounding of the car but the same voice level. Why there are not more fist fight amazes me... back in the States fists would be flying. One thing I will say is that when an altercation is happening by standers will intercede into the argument and most times they stop the argument from turn ugly with god phrases and wrapping their arms around one of the potential combatants. Once again to compare this to my world in the States if there is an agument between two people and a third jumps into the mix even as a peacemaker... it becomes like the old thirdman in a hockey fight... that person is now fair game.

Fasting: Well outside of one day that I cheated and had water during the day (it was close to 100 degrees) I fasted from 4AM until 6:30-7ish each day I was here during Ramadan... why you may ask, I have no good answer besides one I love a challenge and two it was the respectful thing to try to do. I found that everyone I met asked me if I was fasting, if I was muslim and when I answered yes and no they would smile and say t-bark allah. I never had anyone check my mouth to see if it was parch and white from the lack of water. I am not sure how many people in my town are "strict, by the book" muslims, but during ramadan everyone appears to fast and take the religion to a higher level.
Heat and drawing: Well the downside is that since my sleep schedule is ass backwards (I sleep from 4:30AM until 10-11AM) and the heat of midday and glaring light has mad it difficult to get up or out to paint or draw. I have instead played with my website (www.jameswilliamflynn.com) and updated the look and function, yet I miss the drawing and never feel quite right unless I have done a drawing or 10 a day. Lets hope I get back to it this week...inshallah.
PeaceCorps: Well Ramadan sucks the life out of any PC work I had been working on and between the lack of real work, not drawing much at all and a flipped sleeping schedule I have been like a caged lion pacing my home and town... I never do well with too much down time and look forward to the fall months, with many projects to move to the front burner and the end of the heat. Looking forward to see what Sefrou is like in the fall
Salam-