Well, we're on a bus to my CBT (community based training) site and we've just finished our 9 days of orientation in Morocco. We've been staying in a complex owned by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in a coastal town on the Atlantic. Our weekdays during orientation comprised of scheduled meals, sessions and language class. Sessions have been lead by Peace Corps staff on a range of topics, from Peace Corps policy, the Peace Corps' approach to development, and diarrhea. Yes, we sat through an hour and half on diarrhea, the symptoms, and how to avoid it. Apparently it's a pretty big issue for Peace Corps volunteers 😂
During our down time (before 7:30 am and after 6 pm), we've spent a lot of time at the beach. It's right across the street from the complex where we're staying, which is really nice. The water is the perfect temperature for swimming and the beach is very long and ideal for talking walks or going on morning runs.
We also started learning Moroccan Arabic, or Darija, in small groups with our LCFs (language culture facilitators). All LCFs are Moroccan Peace Corps staff with a lot of knowledge on language instruction and Moroccan culture. Aaron and I are working with an LCF named Suki who is seriously the sweetest person I've ever met. Considering how I knew zero words in Darija when I got here, I feel like I've learned a lot already. I can now carry out a (very) basic conversation in Darija, so I'm about 500% better than I was last week.
Aaron and I are going to a CBT site that's a fairly big city (132,000) people. We'll be living with a host family, and have our host parents and two host brothers. I have a host brother who's 33 and one who is 10. I'm both excited and nervous to meet them, and am sure some hilarity will ensue as we try to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps.
During orientation, all 112 of us have been staying in one place together, and I feel like I've known some of the people here forever. There are five young married couples in our staj (Peace Corps cohort) and we've spent a lot of time together during our free time at orientation. Us married couples stayed in an isolated area of the complex away from the other Trainees, which Aaron fondly dubbed "Love Village". None of the other couples are in the same CBT site as us, so it'll be another month till we see any of them. To Gabby, Hayley, Sam, and Abby, thanks for being great fast friends and awesome examples of young marriages. Miss you already!
10 interesting facts I've learned about Morocco since being here:
1) It's not uncommon for people to speak four or five languages: Darija, French, Fousa (Modern Standard Arabic), English, and a dialect of Amazigh (indigenous languages).
2) There is only one certified tattoo artist in all of Morocco, as getting tattoos is not as popular here as it is in the US.
3) Morocco has a high speed train that shortens what was a 6 hour train ride to 1 hour 10 minutes.
4) Morocco has delicious, sweet mint tea, and any Moroccan pouring the tea will pour it from very high, to form bubbles on the surface of the tea. I asked my LCF why you would want bubbles, and she said it’s just a cultural preference.
5) Moroccans consider meals a socializing time and often eat dinner until very late at night (I'm talking 11 pm).
6) Hospitality is very important here. People are all very welcoming and want to feed you and talk to you as much as possible.
7) Two of the biggest contributors to Moroccan economy are the manufacturing of plane parts and tourism.
8) Darija isn’t a written language the same way English is - you can text and write in Darija, but it’s uncommon to find written works published in the language and it isn't taught in schools.
9) Rabies occurs at a much higher rate here than in some other countries, which means Peace Corps volunteers are highly discouraged from petting or playing with stray animals - sadly for me.
10) At the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco is only 8 miles from Spain!
So far I'm loving Morocco and am really appreciating learning so many new things about the culture. I know once we live with our host family, we'll be further integrated.
For family who wants more frequent updates of what Staj 101 is doing, I recommend following the Peace Corps Morocco page on Facebook! They post more frequent updates about our training process than I likely will 😂
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