Missed Milestones

This weekend was a series of missed milestones back home. My sister's birthday, my brother's first wedding anniversary and my college roommate's wedding! The past week I'd been wondering how I would handle missing all of these celebrations. Luckily, I kept myself fairly busy and didn't have much time to dwell on what I was missing back home. Yesterday was my day at school and today I unexpectedly found myself in Khenifra.

My host uncle, Sidi Mo was over for breakfast, so I asked him about the village he lives in and the association he manages. The village is 5k over the mountain and I have yet to visit, although I hear a lot about it because my host mom is from there and her parents, Sidi Mo and other family still live there. In the course of conversation, I mentioned that I was going to Khenifra tomorrow to pick up some paperwork from the MEDA office. Sidi Mo asked if I wanted to go today to see the souk. Before I knew it, we were in a taxi on our way!

The postman was in the taxi with us and the three of us had coffee, real coffee, together at a cafe in Khenifra. Real coffee is a treat in Morocco. Coffee at home is hot milk with sugar and Nescafe – a delicious drink, but not really coffee. Plus, I'm a coffee with milk, no sugar kind of gal and I really do enjoy the taste of real coffee. The coffee at cafe's is actually espresso, which is even better than regular coffee, so I was pretty content with the day and it was only 10am.

Sidi Mo and I strolled through the souk – it is a large, open air market where you can buy just about everything. By everything, I mean everything – large kitchen appliances, big metal doors, fruits and vegetables, meat, clothes, shoes, spices, furniture, kitchen utensils, hardware, and just about anything else you can imagine. Some stands have tables, others have their wares spread on the ground; tarps and tents cover most of the area, which helps keep vendors and buyers cool and out of the sun, but makes walking treacherous as you must dodge stakes and ropes with every step. There are people walking, some pulling handcarts, others pulling larger 2-wheel carts and the occasional donkey and everyone seems to think you are going to get out of their way. I am slowly learning to push my way through crowds and gently guide people out of my way.

As we strolled through the food section, Sidi Mo pointed to the different vegetables and told me their names. A few had different names than I had learned in training, so it was helpful. Occasionally, we'd stop to talk to a vendor that Sidi Mo knew. I was usually handed a cup of tea and had to drink fast because the conversations were short and Sidi Mo would stand there waiting for me to finish the tea. Sidi Mo bought a couple melons , plums and popcorn for the kids in the family.

We stopped at a hanut at the edge of the souk and Sidi Mo left his purchases with the owner. He brought a single melon and a couple plums with, which puzzled me. We made our way to a restaurant that serves fish, pizza and rotisserie chickens. On the walk over, we talked about what I eat – my vegetarianism is truly a marvel – and when we arrived Sidi Mo ordered without consulting me. There was tons of food for the two of us – I received a good sized “salad” - boiled, chilled potatoes and beets, corn, green pepper, olives and tomatoes served over a bed of rice. Plus, a fried fish platter of sorts that had 3 whole fried fish, a pile of fried baby shrimp and fried calamari. I didn't know how to tell Sidi Mo that I am allergic to shrimp, so I dug into the salad and ate the other fish and was stuffed without even touching the shrimp. I was so thrilled to see vegetables I could eat with a fork!!!

During lunch Sidi Mo gave the bag of fruit to the waiter. After clearing our plates, he returned with a beautiful platter of fresh cut melon and clean plums. It was delicious! When we finished our fruit, we walked around town a bit and then settled into a cafe for another round of coffee. I have been to this cafe a couple times with Sidi Mo and they have a single flat screen TV that is always tuned to Animal Planet. It is kind of weird, but enjoyable for me because its in English and thrashing animals are universally appreciated.

After coffee, Sidi Mo and I were walking to the taxi stand when I saw a white person sitting outside at a cafe. I did a double-take and realized it was Duncan, a fellow, new volunteer in the Health sector. He was in town for a series of introductory meetings with the Ministry of Health. I was thrilled to have an American to talk to, so we sat down to chat. Sidi Mo told us to speak in Tamazight so he could join the conversation and we did our best. Soon, Samuel, a 2nd year Health volunteer joined us; he was in town to help Duncan and the other new volunteers find the Ministry office and to help with translation. Samuel has a knack for languages and thoroughly impressed Sidi Mo with his abilities. We had been chatting for about an hour, when Jed, another new Health volunteer arrived. It was quite an experience – the 4 Americans doing our best to speak with Sidi Mo. We all had a good laugh and Sidi Mo told Samuel that I am part of the family, like a sister to him.

The voyage home was long. We took a taxi to a town about 20k outside Khenifra and hung out for a long time waiting for a taxi to the Sisterhood. We drank tea, talked to the taxi stand manager, ate yogurt, and hung out some more. I saw an internet cafe and asked if I could go over there for a few minutes. Sidi Mo escorted me and I got the impression that the taxi was going to leave any moment, so I had better hurry. All of the computers were taken, but Sidi Mo talked a group of girls into giving up their computer for a couple minutes. I got the impression that he played the “American” girl card. They fell over themselves to make way for me at the computer and after my 5 minute email session, wouldn't accept any payment. I got a quick email off to my sister and my brother and sister-in-law to let them know I was thinking of them on their special days.

Driving back to my village, I had a feeling of coming home. It was a cool evening and there was a breeze coming in the window of the taxi. When my village came into sight, I felt a familiar safe, content feeling I used to get when I traveled and was returning home. I used to feel that way when the lights of Chicago would come into view from an airplane, or when I'd get off the expressway at the exit for my parents house. It was a good feeling.

It also occurred to me that my host family and many members of the community treat me like a cherished child. Everyone seems eager to show me around and treat to me to small things like coffee and sweets. They beam proudly at me when I identify something correctly, and chuckle to themselves when I mispronounce words. I also feel like they are showing me off...like “Look we have an American with us.”

My parents were having a family BBQ for Memorial Day and my sister's birthday. Via the wonders of Skype, I was able to talk with everyone at the party all at once! It was great to hear everyone's voice – voices I didn't expect to hear for a couple years.