Home!

Hello Friends and Family,
So Im back in America and thought id write about my transition period. So after a hard trip complete with a few canceled flights I made it to Tampa in one piece. I was greeted by my family and Chilis! Just what I wanted lol. I decided to start my new young professional life in Jacksonville. Mostly because that’s where my sister and nephew live but also because I have no commitments to be anywhere so why not just try out a new city. I am hoping to start a new job any day now at the courthouse where my sister works. Also in my future is some more school. Assuming I can get financial aid, I will be starting a new program this spring via internet through St.Pete College. I am very excited about the program which is Emergency Management and Administration. It’s a year certificate program and then I will hopefully move into a career with FEMA like jobs.

So far America has been really awesome and I feel like I have just slipped right back into my life. Ofcourse it hasn’t been without bluppers here and there. Like the first time a man spoke to me in the gym, (please note I thought he was going to harass me lol) I lost all ability to converse and he was just helping me with the tv remote lol. Driving has been interesting…not that I was a great driver before I left but boy theres so many rules! My favorite things aside from being around my friends and family has been wearing shorts, working out in a gym, eating icecream (everyday), the nice weather, playing with Dillon and making phone calls so easily.

Every few days, I go running or biking with my ipod and I scream the songs on the top of my lungs just because I can. The neighbors stare, or dance depending on their mood and yesterday while I was doing this, I couldnt help but to be struck by one of my most patriotic moments ever. With the beautiful wind in my hair and the sounds of music IN ENGLISH in my ears I noticed 4 houses with American flags on the front porch. In a neighborhood where just walking outside you can see happy families playing football, cleaning their cars or pushing strollers it struck me just how good we have it. I don’t want to turn into the snobby worldly know it all type, but living overseas really does give you perspective that I am really greatful for. More than anything it offers you some sort of comparison. Its easy to forget what we have to be thankful for and focus on whats getting us down, but tell me where else can I eat mint chocolate chip and sing Britney Spears at the top of my lungs 24 hours a day? And where else are we constantly surrounded in comfort and choices?

I was apprehensive about coming back to America’s, economy. And while it challenging I am mostly overwhelmed by the negative energy people are producing. Things are bad and worrying about them isn’t gonna make them better, but I understand that when struggling to pay for things words like that don’t help. However a good friend reminded me the other day that ‘Other countries would kill for our problems’ and it is very true.

Sometimes its hard to see the bigger picture but I know as the great country we are, things will get better! And if they don’t…atleast we will have mint chocolate chip to drown our sorrows in. J

I am so thankful for all of you and for your support. I wish you knew how loved I feel. My life is so full of blessings that at times its overwhelming! I hope you take a minute to read this passage written by David Letterman cause he says everything I am having trouble articulating. Please note this is just my opinion…take it for what its worth J

xoxo
Love you!
Kristin

' As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark 'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?
B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?
C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?
E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?
F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?
G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.
H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter or take you to the hospital.
I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.
J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.
K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.
L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.
M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy. Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it .The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go..They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane! Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mudslides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'
-David Letterman
Please keep this in circulation. There are so many people who need to read this and grasp the truth of it all

COMIN HOME TO THE MOTHERLAND!

Hi Friends and family!

So I am writing to let you know some interesting news. As it turns out I will be coming home for good in the next 2-3 weeks! Recently I have been ill and after a recent hospitalization (Nothing serious), things were put into perspective for me. I have been considering this for some time now but just being a unhappy with my lack of work wasnt reason enough to leave. Then my sister became pregnant (yay) and my health worsened and I realized that maybe this is not where I am supposed to be in life right now. There have been struggles along the way that I have not written about in my blog because it is public, but I am not going to sit here and explain all my reasons to you guys cause I know you will love me no matter why I want to come home. It has been an exhilirating year, one I would not give up for anything in the world. Now it is time to go home, work on getting better and visit with all the fabulous people in my life.

It is important to note that this year was made possible by all of your love and support. Some volunteers want to go home but dont cause they 'have nothing to go home to' like cars, jobs etc...well thankfully..I have all of you and that is enough for me.

Now I will begin the process to leave, it is rather normal that people dont finish service, my group started with 27 and we have lost 8 people already. I will need to pack up my house, say good bye to my close community members and then go the PC headquarters in Rabat. There I will spend 3 days doing some paperwork, exit interviews and medical clearances. They will buy my ticket home and then I will be on my way to Florida!

I cant thank you guys enough for helping me this year and I sincerly look forward to seeing all of you in the states! Get the parade ready cause here I come!

XOXO
K

Camp

Hey Everyone! Hows life treating you? Great I hope. So I am at summer camp for a month. It in an english immersion camp and the kids come for 2 week sessions. So far it has been a blast. I am finished with my first 2 weeks and the second session started today. The camp is really well run and the activites are tons of fun. Everyday we have english class, club time, beach time and a really fun night activity like halloween, american game night, staff talent show etc. I have a bunch of pics but here are the ones I have with me on the USB. It is harder to post here cause I have to go to a cyber and free time is rather limitied. Ill keep this post short and sweet cause my list of things to write about is back at camp, after the next session I will promise to write more. Included are pictures of my painting that was supposed to depict child labor lol...its ugly but it was alot of fun, my AMAZING watermelon eating skills, me and some of the other americans, our halloween carved canteloup, and the beautiful old portugese cistern in this town. The city is very nice, its beach side and the temperature is literally HALF of that in my site! I even use a jacket at night! Anyway I must run! I hope all is well! Happy camping and Ill talk to you soon!LOVE YOU! XOXO KRIS

American Visit!!!!!!!

Hello Friends and Family! Happy almost end of the summer! THANK GOD! ;) So far I have been proud of surviving my first Moroccan Sun filled summer. The work was nearly none existent but it made time for even more fun. The main work I did was a basketball camp that I did in Floyds site with some other volunteers. As I know nothing about basketball, I was a little worried about the week long camp in 112 weather. After kinda giving up on trying to play due to lack of skills I started to focus more on helping with the logistics of meal time etc. Then in the afternoons we had swim time for the girls, which was definitely the highlight. In the beginning of the week there were about 10 girls who didn’t know how to swim and who were really scared of the water. Within just a few days the girls turned into little fishes with the help of some other swim teachers that came in. Also one girls mom came to see her swim for the first time in her life and she was 17 years old! These are the little things I focus on when I feel like my work is intangible. While there were some stressful parts of the week cause I was ill for a bit and the weather took a toll on all of us, it was a huge success and it even landed me and the other volunteers on the nightly Moroccan news! Then just 2 WEEKS later the MOST exciting thing to happen to me in all of my service occurred ;) I got my very FIRST AMERICAN VISITOR! Not just a visitor but my best friend Reena! On a hot Moroccan Wednesday I started my 14 hour trek to the airport in absolute excitement! It had been over 10 months since I had seen a familiar face or anyone I had known pre-peace corps… as I waited in the airport for her, I watched Moroccan families reunite for a little too long, lol I started to cry thinking about what that moment would be for me in just a few months when I go home for Christmas. One woman grabbed her grown son and they both hugged and sobbed, it took everything I had not to go over and join in just to enjoy the sincere, pure love of a mother and while I write this I am tearing up waiting for that same moment with my own beautiful family, but when it happens it will feel even better after the wait! Anyway back to Reena, so she came out of the terminal and after a good long hug we both just stood for a minute waiting for reality to soak in. Then we were off and our Moroccan adventure began! The first thing we did was get on a train headed to Rabat where we went to the American Embassy’s Restaurant for lunch. We immediately fell back into the friendship I left 10 months ago and my level of joy shot through the roof. After a few drinks we did some sight seeing and went to a really pretty garden and souk, found our hotel and then headed to the T.G.I.Fridays….can you believe it? It opened only a week ago and it is STRAIGHT out of America and I will have you know it is the ONLY place in Morocco with free refills of fountain diet coke! It was amazing! And it was definitely the start of a week of constant eating. J After a short stay in Rabat we were headed onto our true Moroccan experience! As all of you know my best friend in country is Loubana and she lives in Bouarfa with her extended family, so I have never met her immediate family. We set off to her home town near Rabat and we had no idea how great it would be! The train stopped, mind you in the middle of nowhere, not a station in sight but my Moroccan train companions assured me it was my stop. So we jumped off and a minute later were greeted by Lubs and her sister. We started off on a trek to Loubna’s house and after lugging our bags through a field, we waited for a while for a horse carriage on the main road. I suggested we start walking so we could not just stand, wasting time, ofcourse a horse carriage would come by any minute…Well 10 more minutes into the walk, there was no horse in sight and the heat seemed to worsen with every step. I can assure you, this 20 minute walk was undoubtedly the hottest I have ever been in my life. The sun felt like it was shining through my soul and out the other end. About 10 minutes in we were all exhausted and our only options were stopping for a popsicle or dying on the side of the road. We chose the first of the two and then walked the rest of the way in complete angst. And for the rest of the day the topic of disscusion was how ‘kristin said we should walk instead of getting a horse’ lol. We were greeted by anxious family members, and 2 new pairs of Moroccan pajamas (as it was simply too hot for real clothes.) Minutes later we were eating Reena’s very first cous cous! And it was my very favorite kind…onions, raisins, chicken, sugar and cinnamon. It was absolutely delicious! It was followed by too much watermelon and cactus fruit! After a rest and some more family visitors, we were all packed up and ready to go camping! Because of the extreme heat, we went up to the mountains to stay in Loubna’s uncle’s house. This journey included a horse carriage and a bus and a small feat, hiked up several steep areas up a mountain to the house. As it turns out this was just the first house they owned, and this wasn’t even the HIGH house! We spent a night there with about 15 family members and we didn’t eat dinner until 2am! (Side note this was the day my sister called me to tell me she was pregnant and I screamed in the middle of the market!) After sleeping on the roof for a few hours, we were woken early to avoid the sun for the rest of our hike up the mountain. Much to our surprise, there were two donkeys waiting in the living room to assist our trek. We hiked our little hearts out and I felt like a wimp compared to the 70 year old uncle who was running past me. Finally we made it and through all the olive trees, almond trees and other brush only to make it to a quant little house complete with a tree swing and lots of kittens! We laid under a tree in the shade on a blanket and napped on and off for hours. Loubna’s mom personally fanned the flies off of us. We were awoken for a snack and hot tea and then a giant picnic lunch. After a personal tour of the farm lands, we started our descent and our return to Loubna’s real house. We spent the evening braiding hair, painting our nails and getting Henna. It was a great way to integrate Reena in such a short amount of time. The next morning we set off to our next destination which was a 9 hour train ride away and our good bye was complete with Loubna’s grandma crying and begging us to come back one day. Side note: The family was so touched by our visit, Uncle Hamid said ‘If only we had more time we would slaughter a sheep for you gals.’ (Which would normally only happen if we had just been born lol) well you can imagine Reena’s face when I translated this for her, she has been a vegetarian for about 15 years and she quickly responded ‘A cup of mint tea will do just fine’ We laughed for days about this little cultural experience. We arrived in our next town Oujda just in time to grab a small hotel for a badly needed night of sleep. They next day we ‘upgraded’ to a really nice hotel in attempts to spoil ourselves but it turned out to be dirty and poorly run so the next day we returned to our cheap clean hotel. To fully enjoy the tourist end of Morocco our favorite past time became Hotel Lobby Hopping, we went in the lobby of every nice hotel in that town. Sat, sucked up the air conditioning and I even got my hands on an English newspaper! Then much to our surprise we got a personal tour of a brand new 5 star hotel! Im not sure if they thought we were some one important or what but it was fabulous, we even got to see a suite that costs 5000 Dirhams a night which is more than 2 months living allowance for me. The next day we returned for MESSAGES! We were the first customers ever to use the spa and it was the best 30 minutes of my Moroccan life ;) The rest of our time spent in Oujda was just souvenir shopping and relaxing. Finally we got on ANOTHER bus and headed to the dirty south to go to my house! I was very excited for Reena to see what my real life was like, as I don’t usually stay in nice hotels or get messaged. We sat around sweating, watching bad tv on my new computer (thank you sooo much Donald!) and Reena cooked all my favorite Trini foods I was missing from our days in college. It was quite relaxing and we were even lucky enough to go to part of a wedding and visit two of my closest families. After I packed up for camp and closed up my house for the month I would be missing, we got on a bus (Surprise surprise) and went to Floyd’s site where we spent most of our time swimming and having a get together with some fellow volunteers. Then we got on a night bus to head to Casablanca where it all began. We had plans for an actual nice hotel this time so we could end our trip in style. We ate lots of delicious food (Pizza hut! Omg), visited a famous Mosque and just visited for what would be our last night. L One more bottle of wine and my best friend would be on her way back to the mother land. While I was very sad, I knew the next day I would be at camp with other Americans to distract me for a while. I took Reena to the airport and sent her on her way. I can barely explain how amazing it was to see Morocco through the eyes of a new American again, she brought me back to where I was months ago and she questioned all the things I have come to accept as ‘normal’. I felt very good about my Arabic and it was really fun to show off my new ‘home’, Morocco.

I love you all sooo much and I hope your summers are winding down nicely! I hope to talk to you soon! I will let you know the exacts date of my American return soon.
Miss you!!!!!!!!
xoxo
k

Hola Mis Amigos

Hello Family and Friends!
How are you? Great I hope! This edition of my blog is very exciting cause I went to the greatest place on earth...also known as BARCELONA!! As many of you know Spain is very close to Morocco but the cultures are like day and night. I have been looking forward to this trip for months and I couldnt have had a better time! The timing was perfect, with my work coming to a staggering halt and when we left it was 104 degrees so a vacation was heaven sent.
Like a dork, I took notes while I was in Spain as to what I would write in my blog so bear with me if I go on for too long. Floyd and I flew out of Fez on a saturday afternoon and arrived in Spain in just 2 hours, then we found our hostel and took a badly needed nap (it took us the whole day to travel to the airport and our only sleep was at a bus station lol) Then we freshened up and went out for a night on the town. Barcelona has a very nice strip called Las Ramblas, it is busting at the seams with Restuarnts, bars, street performers and shops. Our first dinner was a little spanish place and we packed as much pork into the meal as possible as it does not exist in Morocco. Walking the strip was really fun, Barcelona is very laid back and fun, there are men walking around selling beer on the street, the clubs dont even get started till 1 am and I am convinced that people just dont sleep in this country. Being the boring people we are, we skipped out on the night scene and went to the nearest ice cream shop. Ice cream has become a huge thing for me as I NEVER get to have it! Well I wasnt going to go on about this, BUT I had THE BEST icecream I have ever had in my life in Spain. It was Raspberry Chocolate and it had chunks of brownies in it...omg my mouth is watering, I am only sharing this information in hopes that someone can tell me it exists in America so I never have to live without it! I encourage you all to search the aisles of your grocery store till you find it cause you have no idea what you are missing. Need I mention that I ate this very icecream 3 out of the 5 days I was there? lol.
After walking around and spending a good 30 minutes talking about icecream, we headed back on the metro to our hostel.

The Next day still seems a bit like a dream...The morning started with a bacon sandwich lol...my obsession with meat is humorous after all my veggie days in America. Then we headed out on a walking tour that was in our Spain Book, the beauty of Barcelona is that at every block there is something cool to see so just getting lost is a blast. We saw a few attractions, including a beautiful cathedral, Roman ruins, and the city hall. While we were walking aimlessly we literally ran into a group of older people just dancing IN THE STREETS accompained by a full band, they were doing a traditional spanish dance and the pictures dont do them justice but it was just such a sweet way to spend a sunday afternoon. After leaving lunch and walking all over the neighborhood, Floyd read in our guide book that most movies are actually in english with spanish subtitles...he told me this and I was like 'Thats cool' he noticed that I obviously didnt catch on and he goes 'You could see Sex and the city'...just about then I was scared that I had died and gone to heaven. So off we went to a Metro stop very far from where we were...I still didnt want to get my hopes up, we got a little lost and walked for what seemed like forever. Finally we found the cineplex and sure enough the ticket lady said it was in english and that we had an hour to waste. So while I was trying to get a grip on reality, we walked the complex to find something to eat and what do you know...there was a CHINESE BUFFET down stairs...at this point Floyd had joined my heavenly state and the two of us probably looked like fools who had never eaten or seen a movie before lol. The movie was great and we had a blast watching it! Afterwards we took a walk on the nearby beach and then went to busy strip where we got to watch a little of the EuroCup which was fun because of the atmosphere.

The next day we committed to some of the bigger things to see in Barcelona and after our ham and cheese breakfast we headed to the Sagrada Familia Temple. It was really cool, but very full and also underconstruction. Across the street there was a lovely park and Floyd and I got distracted by the dog park for a really long time. This plays into my theory that the smallest things will be fun for me when I get back to the states. The beauty of Barcelona is that there is something to do EVERYWHERE, there is a park every 30 feet, a dog park here, outdoor ping pong there etc. For the first time ever on vacation I spent more time just sitting on a bench or swinging on a swing relaxing rather than rushing to see the next monument. It was great!
After that we set off to Park Guell which is full of beautiful mosaic building and beautiful gardens. There was a whole section of people just sitting in the shade enjoying live music and having picnics. We joined that for a while and also explored the park for a bit.
Our next stop was the beach. It was really nice and definatley different from any other beach Ive been too. There were people walking around selling beer, coke, water, and then Messages lol. A little asian woman literally gives you a full body message just there on the sand. We just relaxed, with the english magazines and chips ahoy we found! (AMAZING) This day we got really lucky and there was a holiday (Day of St.John) and so we heard there was going to be a celebration at the beach that night. Well as it turned out EVERYONE went to the beach, everyone was drinking, dancing, and watching the HOURS worth of fireworks. It was sooo much fun and there were just people everywhere. Down in my pictures is a picture of a bunch of people, that was what the subway looked like at 1:00 AM when floyd and I were leaving...those people were just then going to the beach!

The next morning Floyd left for America cause his sister was graduating, so I was stuck in Spain for 2 days by myself (I know poor poor me lol) My plan was just to get off on random subway stops and see where it brought me! The first place I ended up was the biggest mall I have ever seen, on the water complete with a Thai restuarant. I window shopped for a while ate lunch and then much to my surprise found CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY ICECREAM! YAY! A few hours later when I was done enjoying airconditioning I headed out and on the dock there were a bunch of people feeding cat fish so I sat there and watched for about an hour and then walked down my favorite strip watching the street performers!

The next day I went to one of my favorite places, the neighborhood where the 1992 Olympics Stadium is. As soon as you get off the subway there are just signs everywhere for like 10 amazing sights in the neighborhood, and there are outdoor escalators to get you everywhere. I saw a beautiful art museum, the stadium and then another free museum that was amazing. It had a really good exibition on the struggle of immigrants and it really shed light on everyday issues people in Morocco are facing. Then that night I headed back to the Hostel and hung out with some really nice people from England and we watched a Soccer game in the garden.

Then it was time to head back, and to be honest it was really challenging. I had just spent a week, being myself completely and now I was heading back to my conservative sight. One of the things that struck me about Spain was how Diverse it is, I know it is similar to America but wow to be around that again was so refreshing! It was also nice just to walk down the street and not get any unwanted attention or comments. Barcelona is really relaxed and everyone just does their own thing...something I miss alot. Not to mention there is FUN everywhere. This bartendar asked me what I usually do after work and I laughed out loud. I said 'well Im on my 32nd book'...I love Morocco and my life in some many ways but it doesnt go without challenges and missing everyday things. Lucky for me when I was on the plane I met a fellow american that happened to live in the same town I was traveling to and her husband had a big van (they have 8 kids) so they drove me to my friends house! It was great not having to get on a souk bus just yet! I am now back in my site...right now there is no water and sometimes no power and from what I hear this is just normal summer here. I am doing ok...this morning I did a trash pick up with some really great kids and it was nice to get back into the swing of things! I just have 2 weeks left insite with no work, then my best friend is visiting and then I have a month of Summer Camp which I am really excited about.

I hope I have inspired you to see Barcelona, or atleast to go sit on a park bench :) I miss each and every one of you sooo much! I am so happy I have people like you to share my adventures with and I hope to hear from you soon!
LOVE YOU!
XOXO
Kris