So I have been in my final site in Morocco for over a month now
and I have to be honest and say this transition has been harder than I thought.
I always believed that my outgoing personality was one of my strongest traits,
but here in Morocco, that doesn’t come out often. It took me a long time to
realize why that was and then *BAM* it hit me. Language. I am able to be boisterous and energizing because my
target audience understood what I was saying, slang and all. Here in Morocco I
am an outsider and one who is still attempting to learn the language needed to
be successful here. It’s not that the people around me are doing things to see
me fail, but rather my own anxieties regarding my language skills doing so. I
am glad to be aware of this issue early in my service and I am taking steps
(baby steps truly) to counter this. As of two weeks ago, I know teach an English
language class three days a week and that not only aids my students in learning
English, but also boost my practice and comprehension of Darija (Moroccan
Arabic). Fingers-crossed; by the next blog posting my concerns with my language
learning will dissipate significantly, as I hope to have a tutor soon as well.
Now back to my site and service in a less complaining
manner, I like my town a lot. It’s quiet, beautiful with a nice view of the
mountains in the distance, and full of youthful energy. Every day that I walk
around town there is the laughter of children having fun with friends and
family. Yes, my town is small and there
are not a lot of options in terms of entertainment and leisure activities besides
cafes and a few internet cyber cafes, but that doesn’t keep people from
enjoying themselves here. My hope is that I get to know the town and it’s
inhabitants more that I will be able to bring them in to the Dar Chabab (Youth
Center) for all the wonderful things we currently and potentially will offer. Billiards,
Table Tennis, Music Equipment, and Books galore are just few things we have now
and of course the awesomeness that is my English class. I currently have 4-7
students coming daily with the hope to expand after the summer (Summer is
Morocco is similar to the US in that families tend to travel, kids don’t have
school, and it’s hot as hell; This also means the Dar Chabab drops in
attendance and typically closes as least 1 month in the summer months of June,
July, and August).
In other news, I am still in the process of finding permanent
housing here in town and it’s much harder than searching in the states. Haha. For
one thing, there are no red and white signs advertising ‘For Rent’ across town.
Here it’s all about getting out and talking to people in towns. At cafes,
banks, stores, etc… Without those 1-1 interactions, it’s near impossible to
find a suitable home. Fortunately, my host family has been gracious enough to
allow me to stay with them for another month through May so that helps, but I am
definitely ready to get back to autonomy of living alone. I miss sleeping in
nothing if I choose, having cereal for breakfast, not eating dinner at midnight
(That happens here more than you might think), among other things. However, on
the flipside I will miss prepared, balanced meals, mom washing and folding my
laundry, underwear included, and the company of good people around all the time.
It’s a complicated position to say the least : )
I guess in closing I will say that my service thus far has
been full of fun and failure just the same. I know that I will face many more
challenges over the next two years and I remain ever positive and hopeful for
the best in my service. I do believe that I can work with my community to make meaningful
change in the place we all call home now. Be sure to keep up with my Facebook
post, pics, and of course this blog for the latest and continue following my
adventure.
P.S. Below you will find my address here in Morocco
if you would like to send a care package or just words of encouragement.
Here are a few recommended guidelines:
Daviyion Johnson
BP 73
Rue Abdelaziz Ben Driss Msila
Bhalil, Morocco 31102
Here are a few recommended guidelines:
- Please send through the US Postal Service, not through FedEx or UPS
- Don’t send anything valuable, in case the package gets lost or stolen or whatever
- Take items out of their packaging, when possible, so that things don’t look too new or nice – to prevent theft
- If you have to declare the value of the contents of the package on a custom form, don’t put a high amount! I’ll have to pay lots of fees to get my package if you do! Again, if you’re not sending valuables, this shouldn’t be an issue. Mark it as a gift on the customs form, too
- If you don’t need to send something in a box, send it in a padded envelope! It’s apparently less likely to be opened and taxed. Otherwise, use the USPS Flat Rate boxes to keep costs down
