From Morocco!!!!!!!

Dear Friends and Family,

WOW I AM HERE ATLAST! Morocco is exactly as exciting as I thought it would be! Our flight went ok; we sat on the run way for about 2 hours so our 7 hour flight got a little long. We were all very ecstatic and even started clapping and cheering upon arrival. The country seemed very brown and flat from the air, with lots and lots of farming land. When we got off the plane, we walked straight down the stairs onto a bus waiting for us. We got into the beautiful Casablanca Airport and went through customs pretty quickly as we got to go through the fast track because we work for the government. You could tell many native Moroccans have seen the usual 6 month delivery of Peace Corps workers and we were greeted with lots of kindness. I even met a woman who has lived in Morocco for over 20 years and was just coming back from visiting her family in Long Island, small world.

At this point it was time to get our luggage; so far this has proven to be a real challenge for me as my luggage all combined weighs more than I do! There are 67 of us and we each brought approximately 100 pounds of luggage AND carry on’s, as you can imagine getting through the airport quickly and discreetly was nearly impossible. After about an hour of collecting the bags, we finally got on our charter buses to head to Rabat (the capital of Morocco). My immediate response to looking out the bus window was that I had without a doubt underestimated the level poverty. It is quite sad and extremely prevalent. It is hard to explain but I took pictures and video that I will display asap. When we arrived in Rabat, things became a bit more established.

Then as a surprise we pulled up to the Offical Peace Corps office in Morocco and it was STUNNING! The landscaping was breath taking and we enjoyed mint tea and cookies on the lawn. We meet the Country Director named Bruce and also his staff. We took a quick tour and then rallied up again for a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11 at 8:46 American time, 12:46 Moroccan time. It was very moving and the overall theme of the day was that now more than ever the world needs volunteers to promote world peace and friendship. In just the few days I have been here I have become EXTREMELY proud to hold my place in the organization. When JFK created this mission he instilled so many beautiful goals and focuses for us and I look forward to sharing them with you in future.

Finally we left all ready to go to the hotel and sleep, carrying our luggage alone exhausted us and jet lag didn’t help. Well of course we came to the hotel just to find out we had a whole day of safety training. A speaker from the embassy came to inform us on normal practices and emergency situations. Later the day continued with health training, picture taking and some free time that I spent walking around the neighborhood. Everyone looked at us as we were told would happen, but since we are in a bigger town no one acted to taken back. The one thing I cannot get past is the beautiful weather! I know it differs greatly from region to region but today the high was 79 and it was breezy and cool. Our hotel is nice and the food has been delicious so far.

Anyway I must go now, I have lots of sleep to catch up on! I love you all and I miss you sooo much already! I am really looking forward to receiving letters very very soon…hint hint J

Xoxo,
K