Outside Cafe and Football

Last night was the Barcelona vs Manchester United and Sefrou is a Barca town and l'qhwas were overflowing with "football" fans. Right below my place there are a couple of zwin l'qhwas that are equiped with flat screen tvs both inside and out and during a soccer match (sorry there is in my mind only one football and we use our hands). people are lining the streets to watch. In the states this would never work as nobody is spending money, a few may buy a 4dh coffee and stay for hours upon hours, back home there would be a cover charge, the business would have security to keep people from getting a free view of the game and the booze would be flowing... hmmm I think I miss capitalism...haha

Last night the town was a buzz with the up coming match so as the sun was setting I perched myself in my window and with paint and brush tried to capture a moment during the game. It was dark in my room and I was working fast and people were moving about... I was not sure how it looked until this morning and I think I was successful in grabbing a moment.

Barca won and Sefrou was celebrating until late last night... sometimes Sefrou feels like a European town... well maybe that is pushing it a little. Today is Sunday and I plan on very little PC work today, just going to chill and paint and yes food shop... inshallah

Salam

The Green Grocery...

This is the green grocery across from my home and attached to the Mosque... melon season is upon us here in Maroc and the quantity and quality is unbelievable. Watermelons so large that carrying it home is a chore... sweeeeet honeydew, cherries (yes, not a melon) but plentiful and ripe. Normally this corner is teaming with people, but this was Friday right before midday call to prayer when the city is bare of people and noise. It is in fact one of my favorite times to walk the town. In full disclosure... this fruit/veggie man is a swiya high and at times his produce can be old, so I only shop there when I am too lazy to venture into the produce souk and purchase from my "guys".

South Side

This is my city... it sits about 20k southeast of Fes and at the foot of the Middle Atlas Mountains. I am told it has a population close to 70k and I can believe it, older the Fes and once the center of the Jewish population in Morocco, but now there are only a handful left, but their mark and history is embedded in Sefrou and even though their numbers have dwindled to a handful since the French left in 1956 they still come back and give to the city. I live in the Ben Saffar section of the city, it is lively and never seems to sleep... If you look at the image I have posted here I mark where I live and it is almost the dead center of Sefrou... you can see the mosque and if you close your eyes you can hear the call to prayer.

Sefrou still has it walled city (medina) in tacked... divided by the river it is a maze of alleys and pathways that are filled with shops selling everything for high priced jewelery and goat heads, intestine and brains... my favorite part of the medina. The smells and sounds are wonderful but unlike Fes mammoth medina Sefrou's is tiny and less intimidating.

People here are friendly, but for a large city the number of english speakers can be counted on both hands and that includes me... everyday I am asked how my arabic is coming along and the answer is usually the same "swiya b' swiya"... what they really have a hard time understanding is that my French is even worse... I think they believe I am an idiot...HAHA.

Well that is my town... it is not Boston, but then again no place is like Boston... "god's country"... but it will fill the void for now or until I call Boston home once again.

Salam.

Hot Fun in the Springtime..

Once again I was taken from my sleep by the bright morning sun and the warm still air of midday at 6:30AM... May is coming to a close fast and June looms as the summer heat is starting to settle in for the next few months. I asked around about the temperature because it was the topic of most conversations (well at least to me) and when I pursued the topic to inquire about what is in store temperature wise, I was told that the summer heat in Sefrou will hit 40-45 degrees if not 48 at times. Of course I am illiterate in that measurement so I did the conversion and said in a gasp 100-113 F.... ARE YOU S%$& ME!!! Yesterday was my first room-temp bucket bath and I have a feeling there will be many more to come.

I can see that the on-coming heat is already keeping many people indoors during the day... the nights are getting busier and noisy as last night the square where I live was busy until well after 1AM... just wait until Ramadan.

Speaking of my little square and the view the painting above is from my salon... a small watercolor sketch I did yesterday from my window... I did a "whiteboard" view back in February by this time I have color.

Computers don't bounce... I dropped my laptop on the unforgiving Moroccan tile floor and broke the screen... I was both pissed at my stupidity and the idea or being without my lifeline and work tool and the idea of how much is it going to cost to fix or bet a new one. I spent the morning at the two local "computer" places and got prices... but in the afternoon I hooked up with Ali and we made a few calls and he found a man "Rachid" who everyone says is the best around... even better than going to Fes... yeah I have heard this before. So we go to his shop and I am impressed with his knowledge and all the computers he is working on (Morocco is tough on electronics)... he tells me to come back the next day after 7PM and it will be fixed... and so un-Moroccan like I go back he has fixed it but before he completed the job wanted me to approve the cost.... 1300Dhs.... wow, but I need it so Ali talks to him and gets the price down to 1100Dhs and we agree and 40 minutes later I leave with a new screen and a little lighter in the wallet... but it is paramount to my job here to have a computer... inshallah I will not drop it again.
It is time to stop writing and get onto other things... like staying cool.

Salam

Sketches From The Dirty South

In Early May I traveled down to the Essaouria area and visited with my friend and fellow PCV Josh... Josh lives in a small dewar outside of the ocean city of Essa... his village has less than 300 people and they make these wonderful water reed baskets. My reason for visiting was to help him create a logo and product catalog and discuss topics such as internet presence, pricing and to hang with a friend.

Josh's village is beatiful and his home is a bit "rustic" with no running water or reliable internet access. But the views and vistas from his roof fill one's eye with color, light and the uncontrollable urge to place color on paper.

The south of Maroc gets the nickname "dirty south" more becasue of the heat, dust and poor roads versus the landscape ... as you can see here in Josh's village it is green and lush and beautiful...

I hope you have enjoy these snippets from my sketch book... more to come I hope.

Looking back in...

Once again time has slipped by between this and my last entery... I know many of you have been concerned and worried about my well-being and the fact i stopped writing here did not lessen those concerns. Much has happened since I last typed into this screen... the bombing in Marrakech, NATO bombing Liyba, Bin Laden killed and Morocco status as unsafe to travel to within the Peace Corps family to name just a few. Within the Peace Corps itself there has been story after story about the lack of security for the women who service this organization and the distasteful way the Peace Corps has handled the aftermath of these tragic and life-changing events. There is also the news that my program within Morocco is being terminated and this has left me with a bad taste in my mouth, BUT also the freedom to pursue the work I think is the most useful of my time and skills. Some of you may know that since I have joined the Peace Corps I have found it to be a less than stella organization, that like a typical government agency promotes based less on character and merit but on years and titles. If it was not for the many great people I have met both volunteeres and host nationals I may have become completely disillusioned and returned home.

I have tried to keep up-to-date on all the news swirling around the Peace Corps and for all I have read the article in the Boston Globe back about 10 dyas ago comes the closest to my feelings and those of the PCVs I have spoken with but our mission and the PC in general. I think the PC is missing a great opportunity and a huge cache of older talented "baby boomers' who could grow the Peace Corps into an organiztion that would make the world a better place versus turning the clock back to "teaching english" as the core of the programs.

Still I know I am doing good work here and I am positive in what myself and fellow PCVs can do if left alone by Peace Corps. I am closing in on 10 months in country and can not believe that time is moving so quickly... Hopefully we will leave a small positive mark... inshallah.
Salam.

Thursday night and I am sitting in my salon, drink in hand, music playing and computer on my lap after a day of painting and working... Today I finished a small project that involved the health sector. A PCV friend who has been working in the health area (she is in the YD program) contacted me a week or so ago about working with her on creating a form for illiterate people who are given medication for such illnesses as diabeties. The doctor when handing out with the meds would include this form so that the patient could know when to take his/her medication. Right now they mark the box with slashes to tell how many pills to take a day. So I took her idea and created icons that represented morning / afternoon / evening and spaces where the doctor could mark the number of pills to take and what time of day. She was very happy with the finished artwork and I hope it is put to use and helps. It was a fun little project Next I moved onto the Art Resource Manual that the PC has asked me to edit and layout... this is a huge undertaking and will take me most of the summer. The original was done in Word so I have cut all the copy out of Word and started to reformat it in InDesign... I look at my list of possible project on my wall and there must be a dozen or so... I like to stay busy, but maybe I am crazy. In between I painted and now have two oils completed and another almost there... I want to try to finish a few paintings a week for the next month of so and get a body of work. Today I painted theMosque out my window, Yesterday I completed the tannery in the Fes Medina and hepainting of the door. Pending News on Morocco: There are rumors protests this weekend around Morocco... it is hard to get a gage if it is just talk or if the movement is picking up again. Because of a few articles I have read and some talks with some locals I have decide to repack my "flight" bag and get some of the things I treasure together in case the worse happens and I need to flee. If that is the case I have talked with my friend here that if I leave some my things with him I may have him ship them to me if needed. I think the chances of any of this happening is very slim... but I have decided to error on the side of caution. That is about it from Morocco...

Happy Birthday Stephen... wish I was there to celebrate.