When I think back to being in the US, I often think about Mexican food, Indian food, sushi, and ingredients that I might use to try and make such food. Honestly the most "American" thing I can think of is any given town having at least one eastern Asian restaurant. However, life in the US wasn't all about food, as much as I tried to make it that way. One of my years in the US shared a similar daily routine, and memories from different parts of the year can now easily get mixed into a single day - each weekday was as much the same as it was different. Every night, go to bed early; every morning wake up at around the same time; drive to the same place and count how many people are there. I was lucky enough to be working a fun job that was different every day, but the routines of teaching were the same. A day, B day, short Wednesday, bell rings at 3:10, 38 minute lunch break,staying help after school, standardize testing week coming to shake things up! These routines started to get tiring. There was some freedom in the classroom, but the administrative systems and timetables were wearing on me.
Here, it's mad different. When we got to our final site, we asked what we should do first in our youth center and women's center. They basically said "no problem, take the first month to settle in." What? Honestly that lack of structure sounded refreshing. I met new people, ate new foods, went to cultural events, and also watched movies, went on runs, played games, and cooked.
But OK really, when should we start?
"No problem, whenever you want."
So within a couple weeks we worked with a middle school, working with an English teacher and under the head teacher. But, then came finals, then came a 2 week holiday, and school is still kinda starting right now so we only went a few times. [Side note: Start dates of school are a bit softer here. School might 'start' on a certain day, but it takes some time for students to actually start coming.]
After a month, our English classes at the youth center have started picking up, and we have 3 sessions a week. We've split people into beginner and intermediate groups, mixing them together on Saturdays for a "conversation club". They are between 14-44 years old and a fun group of people. We have had a good time incorporating different topics into English classes like volunteerism around our city, gardening, different life skills people want to learn and different things people want to see in our town. In that way, we are learning about our community while they are practicing their English. In the near future, students will practice giving presentations on topics they chose to practice their English and public speaking and presentation skills.
I've also been teaching preschool a few times a week, and am given freedom which of the 3 classes I want to go to that day (Ages 3, 4, 5-6). These ages I am TOTALLY not experienced with. Jasa has come a few times to help and you can tell she has worked with these types of smol children. Who would've thought to add a dance to learning days of the week? Blew my mind the difference that simple thing made haha.
Jasa has been teaching exercise at the women's center a few times a week, and has started our first Non-English centered activity, which is hopefully a precursor of more to come. I am looking forward to teaching music, and organizing volunteerism activities, making drought resistant gardens and green spaces, which I have recently learned many of the students in our English Discussion group were very interested in for the city!
As I hope you are catching, the vibe here is much different. Every day is a different schedule. No more half hour commute, just 10 minute bike rides. No more bells, just an agreed upon time and people come if they can/want. Hardly any outside pressure, just the desires of my community and my ability.
However, I believe this flexibility is more appreciated by me than my students (and certainty is more appreciated by me than Jasa, who likes to be crazy busy), than it is an asset for my work in the community. Because of this flexibility, we are consistently looking for more activities and are getting busier as weeks/months go by, and have plans for the near future. People like to ask if I feel like I'm making a difference. Honestly, I would likely be making a larger difference at home at my old job. This journey is much more about self-development than people generally like to advertise. In the city I am in especially, there are Moroccans that can teach English. There are Moroccans that Peace Corps could pay to do pretty much anything I would do. I suppose part of our duties is to promote peace and friendship through creating a more personal relationship between the populations of two nations, and we do that work every day through friendly interactions. There is also cultural exchange, and we have had the privilege of exchanging "school cultures" with teachers here, learning from each other common teaching practices. As far as I know, Jasa and I are the only credentialed public school teachers in our volunteer group, so that perspective is uniquely interesting to us; and we've spent a good amount of time talking to other public school teachers, even teachers I might randomly meet in a copy shop, or our landlord (Arabic teacher at a local high school)!
Don't get me wrong though, I am really loving the downtime. Reading in the sun, learning guitar (pianos are NOT easy to come by around here), watching some movies that have been on my list for a long time, exploring the music of the area, and spending time with new people. I love the flexible vibe people approach with.
"What time?"
"Afternoon, God willing."
"Ok so like 1 pm?"
"God Willing."
"God willing."
*Show up at 1:10*
"Oh you are punctual!"
or
*1:15 pm*
"I need to be somewhere at 2 pm"
"Ok, but stay, because the food will be ready in 20 minutes."
*20 minutes later*
"Ok I should really start heading over to _____ soon."
"You gotta eat lunch! It'll be ready in 15 minutes!"
*1:50*
"Ok, I really gotta go"
"It's not even 2 yet it won't take you that long to go ______ (all the way across town)!"
etc.
At first that took some getting used to - people are on what I would perceive as a more relaxed vibe all year round. That isn't a bad thing though when everybody is on the same page! You can keep it professional among other teachers and business relations etc, but if it's someone you are meeting in downtown; if it works it works, if it doesn't, it's all good. It shows that, among friends, it really doesn't matter what time you show up, tea doesn't take long to make. A shop is unexpectedly closed (often shown by putting a broom across the door?), then you just wait a second, the owner could be praying, smoking, getting change from a neighbor, delivering something, or just gone to the bathroom he'll be back (unless it is during the lunch break: anytime from noon - 4 pm). Lives don't need to be run with the efficiency of a machine, that is what machines are for!
There are positives and negatives to ultra-structured, time efficient life we practice so diligently in the US, and the same can be said about having a slower, day-by-day more holistic timeline. Right now, I'm living kinda slow, and I'm enjoying it. I love living with Jasa and spending more time with her (thinking about it, I probably spend less than 10 hrs a week away from her) and our new cat. I'm sure aspects of the structured life will creep into my daily schedule here, and maybe the beats of this lifestyle will affect the rhythm of my drum forever. Either way, things in the future are now less than predictable, and I look forward to what the next 2 years is going to bring.
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