Gratitude*

*Remember, a star in the title means that there’s going to be some religious overtones in here. No heavy God-talk, but definite implications. If you don’t want to hear it, feel free to skip along to the next post. :)

Grateful for…so many things. Mom and Dad, regardless of the distance. My Moroccan family. The infinite flexibility of Mind, which embraces new vocabulary and new family members and whose infinite resources meet all of my needs. For the heart-stopping sunset tonight. For Teen Bro inviting me to participate in the arritshta (dancing) tonight. For Sis-in-Law’s loan of the coin belt. For our gaggle’s collection of creepy-crawlies. For Ali’s and his wife’s willingness – eagerness – to share their knowledge with us. And the reminder that everything, however strange, becomes normal with repetition. Once I clear the first hurdle with my community, anything is possible. For my friends’ confidence that community members – like Ali and the gaggle – will want to help us. For the technical assignments that push us to independence and interdependence. For H**, with her patience and humor and smiles and adaptability and tremendous language abilities. For Mma worrying about me (because “school” ran until 7 instead of 6). For my little siblings, teaching me every random thing I ask them. For the buzzing flies that remind me that I have more than enough to eat. For the roses. Ah, the roses. For coincidence # 67, starting a prepositions list inside the back cover of my language notebook, which I needed today and which will help me organize my thought/notes/studies.

For the imam and quyd and moqaddim and everyone else who is willing to meet with us. For the reminder that, while some volunteers may be in it for the money or the paid vacation or the career perks, the vast majority are in it to help heal the world.

For the infrastructure support that has already been given to my village, in the form of the targua (canal) and the steps down from the cliff-top to the igran (fields), both of which have eased the lives of my friends and neighbors. For Peace Corps giving me yet another support network – my host family – to ease me through the steps towards becoming a successful Morocco PCV. For the Environment Program Director Mo, quietly demanding that the PCVs bless his country. For H**. OK, so I’ll have to wait a little longer to learn Classical Arabic. If I’d been assigned Darija, aka Moroccan Arabic, I wouldn’t have gotten H**. For getting a hot shower this afternoon, in the local hotel!

For realizing that, while the shower was lovely, I could have survived without it. For realizing that familianu (my family) holds dinner until I admit that I’m sleepy, since bedtime immediately follows dinner. For the gaggle bringing us an ant, a larvae, a tree snail, and a front. And for their knowing absolutely nothing about them, meaning that there is LOTS of space for environmental education. For coincidence #23, my friend’s melt-down coinciding with Ali’s wife’s search for plants, meaning that we had the time to comfort her without delaying the progress of the day. For visiting the local hotel, which (1) gave me the western toilet that I love, (2) gave me an idea for when Mom/Dad/Sis/et al come to visit, and (3) made for a nice mid-week break. For solving the mystery of the disappearing sheep*.

So I still haven’t mastered 3in. It’s getting better. And I’m realizing (with Teen Bro’s help) that ing and other sounds are as challenging for Moroccans as 3in is for me. That helps.

* On my first day, I saw Mma and Sis-in-Law with some sheep in the back yard. I went out to hang out with them, and ended up watching the sunset. While we were sitting, the kids shooed (shepherded?) the sheep through the gate towards the house. I wondered if the sheep would be sleeping in the house with us, but not to worry - they just disappeared entirely. They weren't in the courtyard, they weren't in the house...they were disappearing sheep. I referred to them as such from then till now. Turns out there's a small, completely enclosed mini-sheep-pen built into one of the courtyard walls. I'd never noticed it, thinking it was just the courtyard wall. But tonight, my brothers showed me the wulli (sheep) by the light of their glowing cell phone. :)