Greetings from Africa

It hasn’t even been a week since arriving at staging in Philadelphia and it feels like it’s been months.  I have been so busy it goes by quickly but it seems like the amount of work for months in 2 weeks.  It’s been quite the whirlwind of activity since I arrived in Philadelphia.  I got into town on Monday morning and after arriving at the hotel and finishing paperwork, we were spit into groups where I met about 1/3 of the people who would be in youth development with me.  It was exciting to meet a bunch of the people who I would be spending the next two years with.  Everyone in the room was going through the same things as me so we all talked about our fears and what we were really excited for over the next two years.

            Moving on, the next morning we took a bus to JFK, where we preceded to sit around for a few hours before checking in.  After all 110 of us got through security, many of us met at the airport bar to relax before the flight.  The flight over was rather uneventful.  We arrived in Casablanca at 7 in the morning Moroccan time.  We got straight onto a bus and drove for about an hour and half to Rabat.  Monday was maybe one of the longest days of my life, with the time change and all the travelling we travelled for about 28 hours.  To off set the jet lag we were kept up until about 8 that night when we all promptly passed out. 

            Since then it’s been a lot of learning about how to be successful in our new jobs, learning the language, meeting new people, and exploring Rabat.  A new thing that Peace Corps Morocco is doing, is they are removing all other programs for the country and switching all to YD.  This means instead of meeting 40 new volunteers in my program I’m meeting 110.  It’s very exciting and very overwhelming. 

            We were split into our small language groups the other day and got right down to learning.  It’s easy to learn the language when it’s everywhere and everyone is speaking it to you.  It definitely reinforces the words you learned during the day.

            Today I had the day off so some friends and I went to explore the city.  There was so much to see.  The old city is beautiful and the markets are such an incredible experience.  The market was full of clothes, food, spices, jewelry, and soaps.  Pretty much everything you could want, it’s amazing.  Everyone is extremely nice here it’s amazing.  We also walked around the former palace, which was turned, into walking areas and gardens.  After that we were able to walk down to the beach.  Such a peaceful place, huge waves and kids running around.      

            Currently I’m sitting on my friend’s bed listening to some other volunteers play the ukulele.  I’ve been having a great time meeting people since I got here, and getting to know people really well is so much fun.   I found out that the hub where I will be doing my community based training will be Fes.  I will be in a smaller community outside of there though.  I can’t wait to get to my host family’s home and start having language class everyday.           

Saying goodbye, and getting ready to leave

I sit here realizing how much I really am going to miss everyone here and the lifestyle I've been able to have here, be it in New Hampshire, Maine, or Boston.  But it's time to start something new and I'm sure, though I'll miss a lot during my 27 months away, I'll be having the time of my life.

I'm sure I'll have more to talk about once I get to Morocco and start my training but for now I'll try to share with you what little I know about my travel plans.  Though it's frustrating how little information we receive about our service and where we will be, it will be a fun surprise once things get started.

We start with a staging day on Monday the 19th in Philly.  This is to turn in paper work and meet people on our trip.  From there we are bussed up to JFK where we fly to Casablanca in the middle of the night.  Then we take another bus to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, and we get right down to business.  There is medical and paper work to get done.  After this is when we get split up to smaller groups and go to a different city to start our real training, these are the details we have no idea about, like where we will be and who we will be with.  This will be extensive language training with a small group of other volunteers.  This is where I will be spending my first three months.  That is all the information I have right now and some of it may not even be correct.

In the mean time I've been packing, or at least trying to.  Most of the time I get half way through then realize it's not going to work and give up.  Which usually leads to me eating, something I've been doing a lot of, trying to get a taste of all my favorites before I leave on Monday.

Besides my awesome friends and family I'm going to miss: family gatherings at my Grandma's house and playing trivia pursuit to end the night, crossword puzzles with my dad, my mom's cooking, loud punk concerts, Bull Feeneys, Easter!, playing summer league with a cold beer after, kayaking on hot summer afternoons, Thursdays at the Pig, my cat, and my dog who is sure to be gone when I get back.

Thank you everyone for your love and support since my decided to join and your continuing support while I'm in Morocco.  Missing everyone already, and can't wait to see you all when I get back!

~Emily