Dear Friends and Family,
So another day has passed in Morocco and I am still on cloud nine. I got some free time to explore the city today which was nice because we are leaving to head to our training site in Fez tomorrow. Luckily we have some rare access to free wireless internet while we are here so I am trying to write as much as possible incase it will be hard to find in my next site.
Today was quite interesting and informative. It started with an 8am lecture on diarrhea and its symptoms. Which is normal part of traveling almost anywhere. When surveyed last year, 100% of African volunteers said they had diarrhea. Lol! I am overwhelmed! But the session definitely gave us a good chuckle….basically when you get severe diarrhea the Peace Corps mails you a package complete with three test tubes each containing different types of preservatives. For a week every other day, you collect a sample of your feces and MAIL it back to them lol! I know you are all at work reading this feeling a bit grossed out but if you could have seen all of our 67 faces at 8a.m. you would be laughing as hard as I am right now. Its an adjustment period but luckily we have each other to get through it. The Peace Corps also equips us with many tools to avoid being sick.
After a few more sessions, we got to end early and got to explore the town and it was AMAZING! I finally felt like I was in Morocco! The souk (kinda like a street market) was FULL of Moroccan people and wonderful products to buy! It was exactly what I expected and more! I also went to the post office. The attendant was so understanding and helpful but it was quite costly. I had a bunch of cards from the U.S. that I was going to mail at JFK airport only to realize that they didn’t have a mailbox so I had to mail them from here. To give you guys an idea about the money heres a break down.
$1 is equal 8 Dirhams (exchange rate changes everyday) So for about $26 I get 210 dirhams.
-Postage for 13 letters/cards………….284 dirhams (ps you guys better love those letters)
-Diet coke (called coca cola light )……7 dirhams
-Phone call at pay phone………………20 dirhams for about 2 mins….kinda stressful
-Bag of chips………………………….11dirhams
So while the exchange rate is in my favor, living on a Peace Corps budget is easier said than done. HOWEVER I am totally excited about my cell phone situation. Later this week I will be purchasing a cell phone and the Moroccan version of prepaid minutes and whatever incoming calls or texts will be billed only to the sender. Meaning you guys can call me whenever you want I would just HIGHLY recommend researching the prices first. This will be very nice because I already miss people’s voices. Once I get my phone number I will let everyone know.
I am posting pictures of my walk to the beach today…it was incredible! we also walked through the most incredible cemetery! The weather couldn’t have been nicer and there were native couples all over the beach sharing a sweet moment. I also felt very loved walking through the souk because some Moroccan men have a huge interest in American woman and go out of their way to express their excitement. I had one man yell that he loved me, a proper response is to simply smile and keep walking so that’s what I did. Yesterday I had one man say “Hello America” and I nervously blurted out the first thing that came to mind ofcourse…”Hello Morocco” then we shared a quick giggle and I just loved it cause until you need it, you forget how much laughter and smiles are a universal language. I am also posting a picture of the Moroccan version of my cat for those of you who know what she looks like lol!
I hope all is well in the states….I don’t know what my next site will be like but I truly hope I have internet so that I can continue to hear from you guys…thank you so much for all the love and support!
XOXO
K
So another day has passed in Morocco and I am still on cloud nine. I got some free time to explore the city today which was nice because we are leaving to head to our training site in Fez tomorrow. Luckily we have some rare access to free wireless internet while we are here so I am trying to write as much as possible incase it will be hard to find in my next site.
Today was quite interesting and informative. It started with an 8am lecture on diarrhea and its symptoms. Which is normal part of traveling almost anywhere. When surveyed last year, 100% of African volunteers said they had diarrhea. Lol! I am overwhelmed! But the session definitely gave us a good chuckle….basically when you get severe diarrhea the Peace Corps mails you a package complete with three test tubes each containing different types of preservatives. For a week every other day, you collect a sample of your feces and MAIL it back to them lol! I know you are all at work reading this feeling a bit grossed out but if you could have seen all of our 67 faces at 8a.m. you would be laughing as hard as I am right now. Its an adjustment period but luckily we have each other to get through it. The Peace Corps also equips us with many tools to avoid being sick.
After a few more sessions, we got to end early and got to explore the town and it was AMAZING! I finally felt like I was in Morocco! The souk (kinda like a street market) was FULL of Moroccan people and wonderful products to buy! It was exactly what I expected and more! I also went to the post office. The attendant was so understanding and helpful but it was quite costly. I had a bunch of cards from the U.S. that I was going to mail at JFK airport only to realize that they didn’t have a mailbox so I had to mail them from here. To give you guys an idea about the money heres a break down.
$1 is equal 8 Dirhams (exchange rate changes everyday) So for about $26 I get 210 dirhams.
-Postage for 13 letters/cards………….284 dirhams (ps you guys better love those letters)
-Diet coke (called coca cola light )……7 dirhams
-Phone call at pay phone………………20 dirhams for about 2 mins….kinda stressful
-Bag of chips………………………….11dirhams
So while the exchange rate is in my favor, living on a Peace Corps budget is easier said than done. HOWEVER I am totally excited about my cell phone situation. Later this week I will be purchasing a cell phone and the Moroccan version of prepaid minutes and whatever incoming calls or texts will be billed only to the sender. Meaning you guys can call me whenever you want I would just HIGHLY recommend researching the prices first. This will be very nice because I already miss people’s voices. Once I get my phone number I will let everyone know.
I am posting pictures of my walk to the beach today…it was incredible! we also walked through the most incredible cemetery! The weather couldn’t have been nicer and there were native couples all over the beach sharing a sweet moment. I also felt very loved walking through the souk because some Moroccan men have a huge interest in American woman and go out of their way to express their excitement. I had one man yell that he loved me, a proper response is to simply smile and keep walking so that’s what I did. Yesterday I had one man say “Hello America” and I nervously blurted out the first thing that came to mind ofcourse…”Hello Morocco” then we shared a quick giggle and I just loved it cause until you need it, you forget how much laughter and smiles are a universal language. I am also posting a picture of the Moroccan version of my cat for those of you who know what she looks like lol!
I hope all is well in the states….I don’t know what my next site will be like but I truly hope I have internet so that I can continue to hear from you guys…thank you so much for all the love and support!
XOXO
K
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