Dear Friends and Family,
Salam! I hope all is well with you and yours! Everything here is great as always. I officially survived my first Moroccan holiday! It was quite the day! The holiday marks the end of a month of fasting (Ramadan) and it is called Leid Sgir, which translates to little feast. The morning started off with a breakfast full of Moroccan ‘donuts’ and mint tea. Then my family and I went around the neighborhood visiting 6 or 7 houses wishing them a ‘Mbrok Leid!’ Ofcourse at each house we were invited to sit and eat more cookies! At first I really loved it…but after about 10 cups of sweet mint tea and at least 25 cookies I was beginning to wonder if I would make it through the day without having a serious sugar crash. While I ate too many, the cookies were incredible! I saw homemade stuff that American bakeries would kill to be able to make. By the end of the day I think I had made it to every house in the town and with each trip the hospitality continued to shock me. Infact when the day was finally over I was happy to get some alone time while walking home and a neighbor I had never met stopped me and I ended up eating cookies and tea at their house and they were so nice! Eventually they walked me home and I got to spend the night with just my adorable grandma because the rest of my family went to visit family in another town. Then after a day of sugar, I brushed my teeth for 10 minutes and had sweet sweet dreams. A highlight of the day was when I complimented a woman on her dress and she took it off and gave it to me :) I am going to attempt to return it today but she was so happy to give it to me I may just have to keep it.


The next day was our day off and while I am battling a HORRIBLE cold, I took the day to explore a near by town and mountain with a fellow volunteer. We ended up climbing the mountain and it was incredible! The pictures are included and as you can tell I even got dirty! Lol I am trying to fake my way into becoming an adventurous person and so far so good.

Anyway I hope all is well! Ive been thinking about you guys a lot! Only 16 days left of training and then I will find out where I will be stationed for the two years! I am already dying with excitement!
PS....Yes I dyed my hair darker brown/red...hope you like it!
Love you and miss you all!
Xxooxoxo
Kris



P.S. Many of you have been asking me what I would like to have sent to me...postage is EXTREMELY expensive so I will not ask for much. So far I missing Comsopolitan and Glamour (magazines) Youd be surprised how much I can get here, so for now my list is minimal but later on I will try to think of fun things...mmmmm like kraft mac and cheese!

Keep in mind I just need ONE person to send me this month's issue. THANKS SOOO MUCH IN ADVANCE! It will help ward off homesickness!

PS these pictures are of my family and fellow volunteers during the Holiday and also my mountain climbing!