This will just be an entry to update the last two days. Saturday when I went into Marrakesh, I must have dropped my passport. I didn't discover it until one of the girls jokingly took my wallet yesterday and I told her that she now had an American passport but when I looked in the wallet....no passport. After going though all my stuff with the wonderful help of the girls, no luck. So now I have to file a lost passport form at the little police station in Asni and then go to Casablanca next week to apply for the new passport at the Consulate. Casa is 3 1/2 hours from Marrakesh and therefore 4 1/2 from here. Luckily my friend Aziz is starting a tour group in Marrakesh on the 13th so I am hitching a ride in the van that is going up. All the girls are much more upset than I am about the turn of events. I just told them that now I could have a better picture with my slimmer self :-). Anyway, I am not leaving the country until at least April 10th (need to leave after 90 days and then return) so there will be no problem getting the passport I hope.
Yesterday was a pretty amazing day though. I walked with the girls that had remained for the weekend into the mountains so that we could visit one of the girl's aunt. Little did I realize that we were going to spend hours wandering through this very poor area with sheep and goats all over and lots of kids running around, while we went from house to house seeing both her relatives and another student's. Gave me a taste of what I might be experiencing this upcoming weekend. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so there are no pictures. Just look at pictures of quintessential Berber High Atlas villages and you will see where we were. Sanaa's cousin asked the girls why they brought their grandmother with them and we all had another good laugh at my expense :-). I am going to Chaima's house for the weekend but we are also going to spend time visiting two other girls. I am very glad that Chaima agreed to "share" me since there is only a limited about of time that I can spend in each girl's house. I have another home visit next week. I think that that one will be a lot poorer than the one this weekend.
So we all spent Saturday and Sunday night curled up on the wonderful Moroccan couches that serve as beds in most families, watching Hawaii 50 and the Good Wife. Strange, strange.....and of course they were reruns. Two of the girls, Hadija and Samira made dinner both nights and I washed the dishes. The girls couldn't believe that I was helping clean the kitchen...they said that their mothers tell them to do that. I pointed out that I no longer had daughters at home to do the work for me (although I didn't point out that American teenagers certainly don't have the home responsibilites that these girls have.)
Now Latifa and I are planning some event for International Womens Day and she wants to encourage the girls to think about their experiences as women representing their families and their villages. She also going to talk to them about the law passed in 2004 which increased the legal rights of women in this country. She is passionately committed to this home and is such a wonderful mother to the girls (although she is in her thirties).
Got to go. Will keep everyone posted on the events of the week and what we do for Womens Day. And how many times we sang We are the World!!!
To everyone in California....glad the quake was not super strong but glad that I am here instead of there :-).
Yesterday was a pretty amazing day though. I walked with the girls that had remained for the weekend into the mountains so that we could visit one of the girl's aunt. Little did I realize that we were going to spend hours wandering through this very poor area with sheep and goats all over and lots of kids running around, while we went from house to house seeing both her relatives and another student's. Gave me a taste of what I might be experiencing this upcoming weekend. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so there are no pictures. Just look at pictures of quintessential Berber High Atlas villages and you will see where we were. Sanaa's cousin asked the girls why they brought their grandmother with them and we all had another good laugh at my expense :-). I am going to Chaima's house for the weekend but we are also going to spend time visiting two other girls. I am very glad that Chaima agreed to "share" me since there is only a limited about of time that I can spend in each girl's house. I have another home visit next week. I think that that one will be a lot poorer than the one this weekend.
So we all spent Saturday and Sunday night curled up on the wonderful Moroccan couches that serve as beds in most families, watching Hawaii 50 and the Good Wife. Strange, strange.....and of course they were reruns. Two of the girls, Hadija and Samira made dinner both nights and I washed the dishes. The girls couldn't believe that I was helping clean the kitchen...they said that their mothers tell them to do that. I pointed out that I no longer had daughters at home to do the work for me (although I didn't point out that American teenagers certainly don't have the home responsibilites that these girls have.)
Now Latifa and I are planning some event for International Womens Day and she wants to encourage the girls to think about their experiences as women representing their families and their villages. She also going to talk to them about the law passed in 2004 which increased the legal rights of women in this country. She is passionately committed to this home and is such a wonderful mother to the girls (although she is in her thirties).
Got to go. Will keep everyone posted on the events of the week and what we do for Womens Day. And how many times we sang We are the World!!!
To everyone in California....glad the quake was not super strong but glad that I am here instead of there :-).
Are the Atlas mountains named after "Atlas?"
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