Location update!

Yeah! I have more information! One fewer question to which I have to answer "I don't know."

As stated before, for the safety of all of the PCVs, our whereabouts are not made publicly available...which also means that they don't tell *us* much about where we're going. But I got an email over the weekend whose attachments I just took a look at, and lo and behold! I learned something new.

In addition to nifty factoids about appropriate presents for our host families and about four iterations of the alcohol policy, they gave us packing advice and logistical information for the first few months:

You will be arriving in [Arrival City]*... Once everyone has cleared customs and luggage has been collected, you will make the bus trip to the initial training site in [Coastal City]. There, the rest of the training staff will greet you, and you will have a chance to unwind, unpack, and relax. Your first three nights in Morocco will be spent in a hotel in [Coastal City]. We ask that you remain in the Hotel from your arrival until the following afternoon, during which time you will receive a briefing by the Regional Security Officer from the US Embassy. After your first three nights, buses will drive you to your Environment Seminar Training site, in [Mountain City]. We recommend that you pack so you can easily access your toiletries and a change of clothes. This will save you from completely unpacking your bags until you arrive at [Mountain City]. Please pack in one of your bags everything you will need from the time you arrive in [Coastal City] until you go to your [Mountain City] (3 days). Expect to be at [Mountain City] for the first week before moving to your Community-Based Training (CBT) site, where you will stay with a host family. The stay with your host family is typically a week to 10 days after which you will return to [Mountain City] for 3-5 days to debrief and participate in group training activities. Because you will be traveling back and forth to your host family site several times during pre-service training, it is advised that in addition to your larger bag(s) you also bring a smaller, lockable bag or suitcase suitable to carry enough clothes for each 7-10 day CBT period. A storage room for your larger bag(s) holding the bulk of your belongings will be available at [Mountain City].

* Out of respect for the Peace Corps' safety procedures, I'm not naming the cities involved on this publicly-accessible blog.

Going away parties

I should leave the country more often. It's a great way to flush the luv out from the underbrush of propriety and social mores. :D

Seriously, I've received more hugs, free meals, and spontaneous expressions of affection in the past week than in most months. :) Here's a quick rundown:

2.08.08 - Taken out for dinner and hugs. (Zola - American fusion)
2.13.08 - Given a gorgeous picture frame and hugs.
2.14.08 - Taken out for lunch and hugs. (Capital City Brewing - American)
2.15.08 - Taken out for lunch and hugs and kisses. (Lugiano's - Italian)
- Visited friends at their home, given a goodbye pashmina and dinner (and hugs).
2.16.08 - Taken out on the town (and by "the town", I mean New York City) for karaoke and dinner (Acapella - Italian). Received hugs and kisses from my friend *and* half the wait staff. Affectionate people, New Yorkers. ;)
2.17.08 - Taken out for lunch, dress shopping, a movie, and many, many hugs.
- Taken out for dinner and hugs. (El Paso - Mexican)
2.18.08 - Taken out for lunch (Tao - Chinese) and the Zoo. And hugs.
2.20.08 - Taken out for brunch and hugs. (Panera - Soup/Sandwich Shop)
- Gave away snake, received fourteen (or so) hugs from long-lost friends. Good trade!
- Given going-away ice cream party and eclipse viewing and *lots* of hugs.
2.21.08 - Given help with packing ... and hugs.
- Taken out for dinner and hugs and kisses. (Eggspectations - Breakfast food all day) Given awesome wallet card commemorating amazing women.
2.22.08 - Taken out for breakfast and hugs. (Eggspectations - yes, it's that good)
- Given balloon and hugs.
2.23.08 - Given breakfast, pamphlet, and hugs.
- Given dinner and hugs. (Thanks, Mom!)
2.24.08 - Lots and lots of hugs.

My effort to avoid names is being strained by this post. But I realize that, if you're one of the people involved, you know who you are, and if you're not, it doesn't make much difference which friend did which thing. So ... my friends are totally, utterly, and undeniably **awesome**. Thank you all. :)

Father, Friend, and Guide*

Non-disclaimer explanation: I'm a religious person. I believe in the power of prayer. I realize, though, that not only is that not necessarily true of all my readers, but I actually have a few readers (or, well, people who said they'd check my blog, and I have no reason to believe they won't) who are uncomfortable with any discussion of prayer and its impact. But I have other readers who share my faith tradition and who understand that there's no way I can share my full experience in something as transformative as the Peace Corps without reference to God. So, dear readers, here's what I'll do. Any blog entry that deals largely or entirely with my prayer will have an asterisk in the title. See, it's up there. Plus, I'll tag them with "prayer" as a label. So, if you don't want to read it, you don't have to. It won't be on the test. And if you do want to read it, enjoy! :)

Preparing to join the Peace Corps has been emotionally schizophrenic. I'm excited and happy on one hand, nervous and apprehensive on another hand, and sad to leave my friends and family on a third hand. (Like Teviye in Fiddler on the Roof, I have too many hands.) Some of the apprehension has been centered around the fear that some unexpected, last-minute calamity will arise that will yank this opportunity away, like Lucy with Charlie Brown's football. It could be a medical test, or a parking ticket, or a financial lien, or who knows what, but it could rear its ugly head just as I'm on the cusp of this amazing moment.

Wednesday's readings from the Bible included the passage from Revelations about the woman waiting to give birth, with a dragon breathing down on her, waiting to attack as soon as the baby is born. I'm not pregnant, but I am on the verge of the culmination of (well over nine months of) loving preparation for an important idea. And it sometimes feels like there's a dragon waiting to eat me, or otherwise destroy this idea I've invested so much of myself in. So as I listened to the readings from Revelation, and heard about the woman rushing into the desert - like Hagar, whose needs (and those of her child) were met, even in the wilderness - I remembered the promise from Isaiah, "Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?", God's reassurance that nothing can prevent or interfere with the harmonious conclusion of all my labor. Pun intended. (It also occurred to me that more than one woman has probably come to her 38th or 39th week and read that verse with a "So what's taking so long already???" kind of thought.) But God has promised a successful conclusion, in His time, and I can trust in that promise. No dragons can snatch away the product of so much love.

As I thought that through, the swirling anxiety began to ebb away, and I felt myself breathing more deeply. When the time came for the second hymn, which I think was 294, or maybe 297, I saw Hymn 291, which has the lines, "Quiet, Lord, my froward heart ... As a little child relies ... Let me thus with Thee abide, as my Father, Friend, and Guide." The whole hymn is pretty great (it's written by John Newton, author of Amazing Grace; the version in my hymnal is slightly adapted from the original text, available here), and has calmed me down before, in the face of many challenges--most often final exam weeks. This time, the final line landed especially hard. It conjured up memories of going for walks with my dad when I was an itty-bitty kid. We'd range all over the neighborhood, and probably beyond, but I didn't then - and don't now - actually know where we were. I was too young to use the techniques I've learned since, of marking landmarks, noting street names, etc, to avoid getting lost. At the time, I just knew that my daddy knew where we were going, and I really didn't think about it beyond that. I knew I had nothing to fear, because my father, friend, and guide was holding my hand -- or, often, carrying me on his shoulders -- and would keep me safe for the *whole* trip. Not just the first part, but the whole trip. It never occurred to me to worry that he'd take me somewhere, then abandon me, or hide behind a tree and giggle while I flailed around, lost. And if Dad could be counted on for that, how much more can I trust my Father in Heaven to keep me safe for this whole venture? The God who is Love has inspired, illumined, designated, and led the way thus far; He's not going to let go of my hand at this point.

And the rest of the fears were gone.

In the days since then (because yes, even though I'm time-stamping this entry as of the 19th, when I had all these ideas, I'm actually typing it up on the 24th), there have been various other obstacles to overcome: picking up the U-Haul, driving through an ice storm, saying goodbye to dearly loved friends, and others. But every time fears have begun to nibble around the edges of my thought, I've remembered this. My Peace Corps adventure will yet be brought forth. And no matter how far I venture from my parents' house, I'll have my Father at my side, leading me, or even, when the going is rough, carrying me all the way through.

If you read this far, thanks. For letting me share this with you. :)

Other Peace Corps Blogs

They found me!

I don't know who or how, but somebody found my blog on January 20th and added it to the list of Peace Corps - Morocco blogs. (I just found the list five minutes ago, which makes me all the more impressed that they found me three weeks ago.) So if you want to read what other PC - Morocco bloggers are writing, check the list here: http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/mo.html.

Staging packet

So I've received my "staging packet", which is typically sent out three weeks before departure, and it's slowly dawning on me that I'm leaving REALLY SOON. I mean, *really* soon. It also finally occurred to me that twenty-seven months is a LONG TIME. I've lived in DC for about 30 months.

Yeah, OK, so maybe this should have occurred to me sooner. But...whatever. I'm still really excited to go. This has just added a bit of urgency to the to-do list (that doesn't seem to be getting any shorter).

Now that the long-awaited Staging Packet has arrived, what useful information is at my fingertips? Some very useful details, like my flight number and travel times, plus some bigger-picture things like tips on adjusting.

I've also been reading extensively. Other Morocco PCVs recommended In the Caliph's House, which I've now read, plus I've started Power, Faith, and Freedom, which is a comprehensive history of the relationship between the US and the Middle East. (From a US perspective, anyway--the author, Michael Oren, couldn't get access to most of the Arabic archives.) I checked the index, and there's not a single reference to the Peace Corps on any of the 800 pages. Admittedly, Oren had over two hundred years of history to discuss, but I still thought that we'd rate a mention. I brought this to his attention at a book talk/signing. From his very brief response - he was trying to get to the next person in line - I think he thought I was trying to zing him with a "Gotcha! You left something out!", but really I was trying to see what role, if any, he thought Peace Corps Volunteers had played in US-Middle East relations over the past forty years. (Yes, 40 years. Pushing 45, actually - Morocco was one of the first countries to get Volunteers, after all.) Morocco was also only the second country--ever--to sign a treaty with the U.S., and claims to have been the first country to recognize our independence from Britain. The book is full of fun facts like these.

Going away ... giving away

As part of my plan to get rid of my stuff, combined with my desire to see my loved ones before I head for Morocco, my friend The UberHostess threw me a going away / giving away party. She came over a few hours early to decorate my apartment with streamers and balloons. (Note from two weeks later: I have to say, the balloons have been fun ever since. We still have them, and have used them for countless hours of catch, hackysack, and a series of practical jokes. Most recently, I had trouble getting into my room because a dozen of them were taped to the backside of the door, preventing it from opening more than a foot or so!) The place was festive and fun, plus there were maps of Morocco on the walls, both to set the mood and as part of her plans...

Long story short: A whole passel of friends came over, ate awesome food (brownies, stuffed mushrooms, tuna sandwiches, chips, clementines, and more), drank fabulous drinks (particularly noteworthy: cranberry juice, ginger ale, and orange slices in a lovely punch bowl), and talked a lot. 'Twas much fun. :)

The UberHostess also had a truly lovely idea, the second half of which I'm looking forward to more than I want to admit: she took pictures of everyone in front of one of the maps of Morocco (which, by the way, I'd bought with her, in my favorite local map store) and had them all write notes to me on note cards she'd brought. She'll print out the pix and put them with the notes into a scrapbook, which she'll send to me once I'm in country. I haven't seen any of the notes or pictures yet, and I'm already deeply moved by the thoughtfulness behind this idea. I have a feeling I'll be fairly overwhelmed by my friends' love when I open this book in Morocco.

After the munching and the toast (to me!), we moved into the Giving Away part of the evening, and I was delighted to pass off to my friends all sorts of stuff. Everything from DVDs and books to kitchen equipment and dishes was carted away to good homes. (The furniture will be going later, when I'm no longer using it.) I've talked about this in other posts, but the short version is, I'd rather have my stuff being used than gathering dust while waiting for my return.

FAQs

I've been getting the same questions from a lot of different people, so I'll put the answers here, for general consumption.

1. Where will you be going?
   Morocco, the northwesternmost country of Africa. It boarders the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, Algeria, and Western Sahara or Mauritania* to the south.
   
   
2. Have you ever been there before?
   Nope. I've only ever been in Africa for a week, when I visited Egypt with my sister last January. (See the 11-27-07 timeline post for details). But I got a taste of Morocco last night, at a fantabulous Moroccan restaurant. If my experience and/or food in-country are anything like my experience last night, I'll be a very, very happy person. :)
   
   
3. What will you be doing?
   Environmental Education and Community Development. As for what that means...it varies. (Check out the 1-16-08 post for details.)
   
   
4. What city will you be in?
   I'll fly into the capital city, but shortly thereafter be transported to another town, whose name and location I don't know, for three months of training. At the end of training, I'll learn where (barring unforseen circumstances) I'll be volunteering for the next two years.
   
   
5. What language do they speak there?
   The national language is Arabic - though Moroccan Arabic sounds quite a bit different from everyone else's! Morocco was a French colony for years, though, and one effect of that is that French is still required in school. There are also three Berber dialects that are common, especially in the more remote regions of the country.
   
   
6. Do you speak it?
   I studied French from 7th grade through a semester of college, so that will be my primary crutch. I've been working on Arabic, but it's still pretty rudimentary. Also, I've been learning Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), which is the equivalent of learning English with an Ohio accent and then going to back country Tennessee: folks there can understand me, thanks to TV and radio, but not necessarily vice-versa. (And if you think I'm kidding, you don't know anyone from the mountains of Tennessee, where "f'n'a" is the future tense and "on" rhymes with "hone".)
   
   
7. How's the packing coming?
   (inserting fingers into ears and babbling frantically)
   Seriously, there's a lot to do, not least of which is stockpile thermal underwear and hiking equipment, since the odds are that I'll be in an unheated cement building in the mountains, with sporadic electricity and indoor temperatures in the single digits. General appeal to blogreaders: if you have thermal layers or hiking garb that you never use, could you shoot me an email or hit the comment button below? Thanks!!
   
   
8. What else do you have to do before you leave?
   ...a whole lot. I have to square away finances and legal stuff to be handled in my absence, say goodbye to everyone I know - and hug as many of them as possible, which means a lot of traveling, give away most of my belongings, schlep the rest into my parents' basement 1000 miles away, find a home for my pet snake...
   
   
9. Why are you getting rid of so much stuff? Why not just store everything?
   The most reasonable answer is that moving is difficult and expensive, and very little that I own would cost more to replace than to relocate it. But there's more to it than that. The vast majority of my belongings hold little sentimental value; it's just stuff. Stuff that can be useful, like a bed and dresser and toaster oven, but which won't get used while accumulating dust and rust and moths and mold, awaiting my return. Also, nearly all of it came to me as the product of someone else's love and generosity - usually my parents'. It seems more in keeping with the love that brought this stuff into my life to share it with folks who need it, than to hoard it away for my own future use. And, finally, it's an act of faith in a just and benevolent universe: if I help meet someone else's needs now, my needs will be met in the future.
   

* It's complicated.

So what will I be doing, anyway?

What does "Environmental Education" entail in Morocco? Most of what I've found is pretty vague, but I got some nice insight from the Peace Corps' annual reports (aka: Congressional Budget Justification) over the last few years.

From 2004:
Based on a Volunteer activity analysis and in response to Morocco’s needs, the Peace Corps formally merged its agriculture program and its wildlife and environmental education program into a single environment project.

So I might be doing agriculture work. Good to know.

The new project promotes natural resource management and rural community development
with a focus on environmental awareness and sustainable development. Environment Volunteers have written and taught environmental curricula, conducted nature field trips,
introduced new technologies designed to promote conservation of natural resources (such as solar ovens), and assisted local authorities in systematic reforestation efforts.

Memo to self: read up on solar ovens. I have found a nifty idea for solar water purification, though. I'd envisioned some sort of chemistry set where solar energy is used to vaporize water, which could be condensed as distilled water in a sterilized bottle. Turns out it's a whole lot simpler: http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2006/03/24/lowtech_solar_water_purification_it_works.htm

Each site has a team of two or more Volunteers

Yes! I'll be placed with somebody else! Schweet!

who conduct community development projects in their assigned parks and protected areas. Fifteen teachers in three primary and two middle schools within and near national parks were trained to utilize and adapt materials for environmental education activities in both the classroom and the community.

OK, teacher training. I thought that might be a piece of it. Good to know.

From 2005:
In Morocco, a country with 39 major ecosystems,

39 major ecosystems?! That's fantastic! Courtesy of Wikipedia and 15 minutes on Google (Google Earth and the search engine): Morocco is about 5% bigger than California, and like CA, it goes from sea level to mountains in a fairly short distance. The mountains are pretty comparable, too: California has some 14ers, while Morocco tops out at Jbel Toubkal, 13761 ft. But back to our story...

natural resources undergo continual degradation because of deforestation and overgrazing. An estimated 30,000 hectares of vegetable cover disappear each year, with serious consequences for the country’s biodiversity. The environment project seeks to reinforce the Moroccan government’s conservation initiatives and help the country’s rural populations achieve a higher standard of living.

Environment Volunteers have written and taught environmental curricula, conducted nature field trips, introduced new technologies designed to promote conservation of natural resources (such as solar ovens), and assisted local authorities in systematic reforestation efforts.

Looks like they recycle some of their stories. ;)

Five Volunteers organized an Earth Day event at primary schools to raise children’s awareness of local environmental concerns and to give the students hands-on projects.

Earth Day in Morocco! Awesome!

From 2006:
The environment project seeks to reinforce the Moroccan government’s conservation initiatives and help rural populations achieve a higher standard of living. Volunteers have worked with government representatives, youth groups, and environmental interest groups.

Nothing new, yet...

They have also worked with new local associations to promote income-generating activities such as ecotourism projects.

Ooh, ecotourism! One of the best ways to combine conservation with economic development! I'm suddenly thinking of my trips to Monteverde, Costa Rica in 1995 and 2005. I wonder if any of the groups that did such remarkable things in those 10 years have published a guide to help promote similar efforts in other areas - Ecotourism For Dummies, or something...

Volunteers have established small community- or school-based tree nurseries and planted tree seedlings, and they have been involved in projects to control erosion and prevent water supply contamination. Volunteers have co-facilitated workshops to identify topics on environmental awareness and methods to limit desertification in three provinces, and they have helped with the planning and implementation of tree-planting drives for income-generation and soil stabilization. One project involving seven new local associations resulted in the distribution of 12,000 olive, apple, cherry, and plum trees to 350 local families.

Tree planting! Now I'm thinking of my stop in Arbofilia, also in Costa Rica, where my fellow ecotravelers and I helped their ongoing reforestation and corridor creation (read: tree-planting) efforts. As I recall, they raised money to plant and nurture the trees in lots of different ways, but it was incredibly money-efficient: $1 = 1 tree.

From 2007 - which also mentions that they anticipate having 228 volunteers in Morocco in 2008, so I'll have lots of company!!
[Repeated stuff excised]...This year, along with their counterparts from the Water and Forests Department, Volunteers organized several demonstrations of improved cook-stove prototypes to demonstrate and evaluate their potential to reduce daily fuel wood requirements. More than 300 women and girls were targeted by this project.

How cool! A project that encourages women and girls to engineer environmentally-friendly solutions to their own energy challenges! Plus, less wood = less chopping, less carrying, less splitting. It's good for the forests *and* good for the people. This is my kind of problem-solving. :)

Peace Corps Invitee!

This morning's Peace Corps Status Update:

Congratulations! You have accepted an invitation to serve in Morocco. You will soon be receiving additional information from your country desk, the travel office, and the office of staging about preparing for service.

So...the clock is officially ticking. I'll be "staging" - PeaceCorpsSpeak for "all gathered together and getting ready to get on the plane" - March 1st and 2nd. March 3rd I'll be airborne, and March 4th I'll be in Morocco. Exactly where remains a bit of a mystery. We'll be in the capital for the first few days, and then will spend the next 11 weeks ... somewhere ... not too far away.

They say that the geographical uncertainty is a safety measure. If nobody knows where the Americans will be clustered, nobody can target them. Us. I understand that, but it does make planning (and packing!) a bit of a challenge. Out of respect for their wishes on this, though, I'll be keeping the geography pretty vague, even as I learn more. I might refer to mountains or deserts or oceans or towns, but I'll try to avoid proper nouns or identifying details, at least on the blog*. As you may have noticed, I also avoid using proper nouns identifying people. :)

Anyway, after the 11 weeks in the undisclosed training location, I'll get my actual assignment. I'll know where I'm going, with whom I'll be working, and hopefully even have a permanent mailing address. Where I can receive packages. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. :D I will have a mailing address during training, but they've asked us not to have packages sent there. Of course, letters are always welcome. :)

* If you want details, shoot me an email. If you don't know my email, you don't get the details.

Pre - Peace Corps Timeline, continued.

Early December - Official letter arrives, requesting more medical stuff. I need to redo some bloodwork (aka another chance to feel like a pincushion) and get the MMR booster. Most folks get an MMR booster in their teens or 20s because they got the first one as a newborn. Me, I got the first MMR three months ago. Does it really need to be boosted? Peace Corps says yes.

December 18 - MMR booster.

December 22 - Pincushion time. :( A couple hours later, I hop on a plane to go home for Christmas. :D

January 2 - I'm back from Christmas. I check the results of the bloodwork: I'm all good. :D

January 3 - My placement officer calls me. I tell her I've got everything, and am about to mail it. She says, "Fax it. I'll call them and ask them to fast-track the review. I can't invite you after January 21, so..." I fax it. The fax machine takes five tries before it finally goes through (as it usually does). Big sigh. :)

January 7 - Peace Corps Status Update: I'm finally medically cleared. Yeee-hah.

January 8 - Peace Corps Status Update: My package is in the mail. They'd overnighted it on the 7th, and it arrived not long after the email update did. :D I'm officially invited into the Peace Corps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Turns out I'm headed for Morocco, not Jordan. I'll be doing Environmental Education work, as expected...it'll just be a little further removed from Jerusalem, and with differently-accented Arabic. I tell myself that this can be a good thing.

January 9 - I call my placement officer and accept the invitation. Time to begin informing family, friends, colleagues, random strangers... I'm going to Morocco!