Language Juggling - A Sport!

Well, it's been an interesting week, including my first two days of work in a row - oooohhh boy - 24 hours of babies and toddlers within a 36-hour time period is a difficult thing to survive. But survive I did - it is possibly what helped me actually sleep through the night last night, heh - a first since leaving the USA, and a most welcome one at that. I tend to have trouble sleeping when A) I'm alone in the place, B) I'm stressed/anxious, C) I'm somewhere new/unfamiliar, and D) When I've got stuff on my mind. So go figure I haven't been sleeping well recently, heh. But last night was just under seven solid hours, so I'll take that success and be extremely happy with it. I've been moved to a different part of the building for volunteers, so back to new new environment, thus probably not great sleep tonight -_- But we shall see!

This week was nice, I got to walk down through the market area with Myrna, which was fabulous. Basically, it's called the Medina (city, in Arabic) and it's what Chefchaouen is famous for - the older part of town is full of narrow alleys, with the buildings plastered and washed down with a lovely sky blue. Incredibly beautiful - I'll do a photo-wander over there before I leave, believe me! Our walk over there was cool too - the part of the city is higher up the mountain, about level with the house I'm staying at (the city is on th side of the mountain, so everything is on a hill here). When walking past buildings as they started becoming more frequent, the alley ways inbetween them plunce four stories at a time, making for incredibly steep walking paths falling away to the right as you wander along the street, which is absolutely gorgeous.

The Medina itself is famous on Thursdays, when the fresh produce is brought in from the hills by the Berber women and market-men. The small alleys were lined with old women with vegetables and herbs lying on the pavement to buy - you duck through an archway with fish in boxes driven in from the coast on to the next round of older women. The farther in you wander, the less people there are, an occasional shop popping up here and there - and then you start getting to the touristy old-town, where souvenir shops with their colourful and odorous (in a pleasant way) wares hanging and blowing in the breeze in the tiny, steep alleys. Keep in mind, everything that is part of a building is sky blue, with doors and window bars in violent turquoise or royal blue flush. It eventually led us out to the square with restaurants and postcards in abundance (after passing through an amazing little jewelry store full of silver gorgeousness!). We eventually got down to the local commercial district and got vegetables for the children at the hospital, but it was absolutely gorgeous. Loved it.

Today was a nice visit from Dr.Solis and his wife, who came to pick up Anita and take her to Spain for the week. They shifted me to the living quarters upstairs, as we'll soon have two more volunteers coming to stay, so we'll all be staying in the same area. Meh, I like downstairs, but if they insist, I'll come upstairs.

Myrna and I were able to find the Germany vs. England game on a German TV channel that she has on her TV, and let me tell you, it was an experience. Watching and hearing commentary in German while bantering in Spanish and explaining why I'm laughing at the commentary is a brain-jam. Hurts the mind, but was totally worth watching. THAT is how you play football gentlemen - no giant falls and dramatic fouls because you almost got tripped - there were five or six instances during this game that probably would have resulted in a major foul, if not a card for any of the teams from the Americas, France or Africa, but the Germans and English played on, knowing that there was something far more interesting and worth-while than a show of their acting prowess. I was sooooo proud of them! n_n And my heart was torn in twain the whole time, as I feel a sense of loyalty to both teams, though I'll admit I was fairly firmly rooting for Germany the first half of the game. Why only the first half? Because the underdog has my heart! I really think the Lions should have been given the goal that bounced from the post - it was technically in, and would have allowed for a little less loss of pride for those fabulous Saxons. But there you go - we can't all have our way. Regardless, great game.

After the game while a bunch of commentary was going on, interviews of players and coaches and flashes of Berlin going nutters, Myrna and I were talking about random things, like family, family history, things we enjoy or things that go on while we're here. Come to find that she is from El Salvador, not Honduras as I'd originally thought, and lived there during the entire civil war, which gives me a sense of great respect for that woman, who as a young woman (14-26 years of age) lived with untold terror. I've only learned a little about the war, and it's something that breaks my heart. If you've never watched the film 'Voces Innocentes' and really want a feel for the war, I'd recommend it. Now, as Myrna pointed out, it's no where near as terrible as the real thing was, which I completely agree with - films never are. But it's still incredibly graphic, and made me weep for a good thirty minutes. It is, however, as close to a true-voice of that era as you can get - from the point of view of the children. Hearing Myrna tell me just a little about the war, living through it, and its effects on her life while there, it just breaks my heart, yet gives me a deeper understanding of what she and others went through during a conflict that tore a country in two. I started off typing 'a great understanding' - really though, there is no way to understand unless you were there. But it helped me see through her eyes a little more. If I had more material to base off of, or some paper, I'd totally not mind asking her for more details and writing them up, but I won't do that unless I have good use for it - no need to make her relive it. Although I did learn something interesting - right now, a good number of middle-aged women are unmarried, because the boys their ages were almost all killed during the war. She commented on the fact that some people ask if she's single due to faith or lack of motivation, and she pointed out that it's extremely common for women her age - there just aren't enough men to be husbands. Kind of eye-opening to me, but there you go.

Overall, a good week - today was a lovely day off, and I plan on having another lovely relaxing day tomorrow before working on Tuesday. This week is oddly planned, but I'll be working Tues/Thurs/Sun. Friday and Saturday we're all heading to Ceuta to pick up the other volunteer coming to us for a month, and shall spend a night down there. That'll give us a chance to relax for an evening in town, pick up any supplies that are hard to find here, and just have a bit of an adventure. Woo hoo!

Updating from Chefchaouen

Well, not all too much has happened since the last time I updated - I've finished off my first week of work, and am already finding it much easier - once you get into the swing of things, the job ain't so bad - I'm even learning to deal with crying kids ;) Yeah, go figure - me putting up with excessive noise.

But the kids are getting better, even the toddlers are starting to realize that I'm not so much of a pushover - they're harder to work with simply because of the language barrier, but I'm doing my best to get a handle on simple stuff.

My coworkers are all lovely, even when we have language barrier problems - there are one or two things that they just always do, like make lunch for the older babies (can't decipher the arabic dialect of what they need each day, so I just let the girls take care of that). One of the more amusing parts of each day is when we have our break midday and the girls will turn on TV. Now, I'm not the best officionado of what is great television, but the translated Turkish Soap Operas are great to watch - I don't *need* to know what they're saying - I think that'd make it too painful. My personal favourite day so far was watching a turkish soap opera (in arabic) followed by a chinese soap opera (translated to arabic), then seeing Yu-Gi-Oh pop up in Arabic right after that. Certainly an interesting grouping - there are also cooking shows on that channel and spanish news... I just don't question it. Although yesterday a bollywood movie came on with the most ridiculous closing fight scene I've ever seen. I don't know what the film was called, sadly, or I'd watch it again - it hurt that much. In a good way. One of the tamer moments of the fight scene consisted of one of the three heroes (unarmed) fighting five white-clad ninjas armed with machetes inside a power-line tower (you know, the big grids that are made of thin pieces of metal). This was the tame, more believable part - the flame-thrower in the giant factory fan, the jet-ski flip in midair over the bridge (which is in the middle of the desert, by the way), and the girl flipping through the air and stabbing the villain in the chest with a katana while he was slowly riding a bike towards them.. those were a little more... well... difficult to imagine working well in real life. But again, who am I to judge?

But yes, I'm on to my 'weekend' right now (Mon/Tues off of work) which is going to be lovely and relaxing. I've been having some tummy trouble the past two days, but I'm blaming that on traditional getting settled in to a new environment, and am hoping it'll settle down soon.

I would also like to give a minute rant about how incredibly useful and wonderful tea trays are. No really - they are used for EVERYTHING food oriented here, and they're amazing. Why don't we use them all the time in the USA? I have no idea. But I love them. And will be getting one upon my return. I guarantee you that.

Also, we went out to lunch the other day, and they asked what I wanted to drink - orange juice, apple juice, or both? I said both. What I got was fresh squeezed orange juice, mixed with freshly squeezed/pureed apple. *MMMMMM* Please sir, can I have some more?

But yeah, not really all that much going on these days aside from working - going out to lunch with Anita and Myrna sometimes, figuring out the washing machine (which is in French... *sigh*), and catching up on Dr.Who (I love all of you for sending me episodes!). Action packed my days are not, but fun they surely are.

Well Now, Time to Catch Up

Well now, it's been about 4 days since I updated last - most of the world wonders why that seems like such a long time, but I won't even lie - feels like at least a week since my transition to Morocco.

Monday we were set to leave around 10:30am for Morocco (obviously, that means we left around 11:30 - Latinos have never been well accustomed to using a clock religiously). Crossing the border took next to no time at all, and after about an hour, we got to the first city (Tetuon, I think) and stopped for lunch with some of the foundation members that live there. Lemme tell ya, I'd forgotten just how long it can take people to meet, greet, talk and eat - especially when there is catching up to be done. And holy goodness, five and a half hours later, we started to move on towards Chefchaouen.

The drive was beautiful, and gave me a good chance to look at the countryside, and how greatly it contrasted against the city. They certainly move to a different drum out there - and it was absolutely gorgeous.

The town, which took about an hour and a half to get to, Chefchaouen, is located on the edge of the Atlas mountain range, dividing the northern half of Morocco from the Sahara desert, shutting in the winds blowing down from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, making the whole area much cooler than you'dve thought. I'd guess that we're hitting mid-80s when it's hot, mid-afternoon, but no warmer. It does, however, supposedly get much warmer later on in the summer - we shall see. But right now, it's quite normal and expected to be wandering around in jeans and a sweater (Thank the LORD I brought my fleece...).

The night we arrived, all six of us (the two organizers from Ceuta, and the three women that live/work here, and myself) went to dinner in the 'old town', which is obviously the more touristy area, full of shops and currency exchange and EXCELLENT food. We went to a place that did two courses for a set price, so I got couscous with veggies and the local traditional soup (I forget the name, but it was tasty). SO MUCH FOOD. After the excellent, extended, and very filling lunch we'd had earlier, I was only able to eat about half of my food - but it was very good. I'll be wanting to head back to old town at some point to be able to pick up postcards and the like. I refuse to be too conspicuously touristy, but I'll probably take pictures right before I leave to be able to show ya'll sometime, because it's just gorgeous.

The women I'm living with are absolutely charming - their names are Anita and Myrna. Anita is from Mexico and works directly in the house as a long term volunteer caretaker of the orphans, and Myrna is the coordinator/overseer (from Honduras, I believe). Both are kind and caring, Anita being more quiet but very in-tune with the local population, and Myrna happy and bubbly and always learning more about the people around her.

Moving on to work, I'll be working Wed/Fri/Sun (for now - the schedule is put up every two weeks) and covering for a couple of the local girls that are on holiday. Let me tell you, it's going to be interesting. My Wednesday shift if with Anita, who speaks excellent Spanish and will explain anything I need - she also drives to work, so I have a ride to and from. Fridays, I'll be working with one of the local girls, who speaks no English, no Spanish. Oooooohhhhh boy. *sigh* Sunday I'll be working with a girl who speaks a fair amount of English and really wants to improve it, so I figure I can deal with that, heh.

There are five boys and two girls, the boys all being under a year old, and the two girls being 2 and 3 years old. Oh boy, it's a handful - and we're there for the full care of the children, sending the two older ones to school, feeding all of them, keeping the place clean and tidy, etc. It's one heckuva job - hopefully I'll learn better patience when dealing with children, as I have very little at the moment.

But that brings us up to about current time. I'm home for the day off, both Myrna and Anita are at a birthday party - I elected to stay home and rest up from yesterday, clean around house, etc. It's a nice place, and I think once I settle in, I'll like the situation - I'll be walking to work tomorrow! Woo!

Frogs and Snail and Puppy Dog Tails...

Well, yesterday was a nice day with plenty of happenings.

I went over to the person who is keeping track of my paperwork's house yesterday morning and talked a little more about the situation I'm going into, some of the technical and legal aspects (there is always more to talk about apparently) and got my border-crossing-application to fill out.

After that I was invited over to lunch at the pastor's house (who, incidentally, was one of the students at the college we worked at while in Germany - small world), which was absolutely lovely. Since I'd seen him last he'd gotten married and has had two beautiful sons, Pablo and David, and has another one on the way. His lovely wife is an amazing cook, and I reaped the benefits of it, let me tell you! They also had another guest over (a frequent flier) named Alejandro, I believe, who is doing some work down at a university I think, although I'm not too sure.

After the lovely lunch, I ran on home to talk to my beloved parents on Skype and watch FOOTBALL!!! The opening game was full to bustin' with heart-stopping moments, which is awesome, yet irritating. And just because Mexico is so accustomed to winning, I was voting whole-heartedly for South Africa. That and because their opening ceremonies were just fabulous! If you didn't get a chance to see them, please find it online somewhere! Absolutely gorgeous!

And of course this started the debate between my friends and me of who is going to and who SHOULD win the UK/USA game.

Obviously it's the UK - just sayin'.

But all of this will be solved and seen tonight when we enter into the game of awesome! I'm so excited - although, disconcertingly enough, the TV isn't showing the first game of the day, so I'm hoping that it'll show the last one - I'll get peeved if I can't watch it.

And while I was wandering around this morning picking up my Sunday sustenance, I walked past a bunch of older berber women selling their wares on the street as usual, but when I looked down today, I didn't see a bag full of lemons or potatoes... no, I saw a bag full of snails! To each their own, I guess.

Oh, and I actually have tried to upload photos, but they refuse to actually be placed into the internet, so photos have no option BUT to wait - so sorry dears! I'll do what I can, but it may be a bit of a wait to be able to see what I'm seeing!

Today: Ceuta, Spain

Monday: Chefchaouen, Morocco

Lazy Afternoon

Not much to update with today.

Had a much better evening last night - I took my little linen bag that I use for laundry and put it in the crack of the door to keep it from shifting overnight and worked like a charm - it was lovely being able to sleep through most of the night.

Yesterday had a lot of Skype talking, and I ended the day by talking to Nikky for a good 35mins before heading to bed - it makes being alone a lot easier when you realize there are still people out there - you just have to find the means to speak to them.

And at sundown yesterday, the call to evening prayer was ringing out from the minarets again, but just to compound the beauty of it, seagulls were crying every once in a while, giving you that eerie feeling of 'Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas any more...' - it really was a beautiful sound though. A coastal town beginning to sing in the night. Gorgeous.

Dr.Solis came by and gave me the rundown of the situation that I'll be working in, and I have a much clearer idea of what to expect, and am excited about the prospect now, hehe.

I also met the pastor of the church today (the one above which I'm staying) and *drumroll* it's one of the students from EBS in Germany, where we lived for several years. Lovely to see him again, although we didn't recognize each other at first (that's what happens to a 13 year-old after 8 years - she becomes unrecognizable!). I'll probably be going over to his house to meet his wife and kids and to have dinner sometime this weekend, which will be lovely.

I ventured uphill for the first time today, and went to an ATM and got some money out of the back and then went to a bakery for lunch - DELicious, even though I was surprised that the little bits hiding inbetween the mushrooms on my slice of pizza bread were actually mussels and seafood... a bit of a shock, but lovely nonetheless.

After that I came back to the foundation where I've been loafing and catching up on news on CNN and in the NYTimes (good lord is the world economy out of whack these days!), and I got to speak with my parents via Skype again! ^_^ Ah, I love my family - miss them terribly and love them endlessly.

But the rest of the day is probably going to be spent loafing, with a possible excursion to get some food this evening (yes, I am a daring soul). Tomorrow is the day of stuff, with people coming by to get my paperwork, to give me more info, just to see the strange foreign blonde girl, etc. I think it'll be fun!

Today: Ceuta, Spain

Monday: Chefchaouen, Morocco

Quiet Day

Well, as some of you know already, some don't, I'm in Ceuta for the week. There's kind of a final resting period for me before the President of the organization and the director take me down to Chefchaouen for my long work-stay. So basically a week of me on my own.

I'm currently staying at the temp. housing/hostel that is above the little church in the city of Ceuta that can house probably around 8 to 10 people, but currently it's just me here. Frikken creepy at night, let me tell you - the wind around here is impressively strong, and almost never stops - and at night, when it's pushing the bars and outside blinds on the windows and slamming doors all night long, it's unsettling, especially when you're the only person here. There also aren't that many lights, so I confess, last night I went to bed at sundown and put on a couple of movies for company. Unfortunately, one of the other quirks of this place is that the wireless refuses to give me an IP address, so I'm stuck on their ethernet - thank the Lord I have that during the day or I'd lose my marbles! (well, more)

The President is going to swing by sometime this evening to meet me and to give me another run down of things I need to know while I'm here and down in Chefchaouen (google it if you want to know where it is, heh). But right now it's me and CCN Spain here. I'll probably explore town more tomorrow, but today I'm more in the mood to hang and write and draw.

I ran down to the supermarket when I got here yesterday after the coordinator made me lunch (bless her! I hadn't eaten all day), and found that it's within easy walking distance (maybe 15mins away downhill - 20mins back if you're only carrying a light load, more depending on how much you want to buy). There's a toasty maker here, so that is what I'll be eating while I'm here, I've determined. Yeah, so much for a balanced diet.

On a completely different note, I think that it's appropriate that I left the USA for my overseas adventures right as the daisies stopped blooming. Just sayin'.

From one end of the world to another... today was a little hop

Hello again people,

yes, today, I travelled from Malaga, Spain to Ceuta. And let me tell you, I'm shocked my ulcer isn't back.

So I found out last night that the initial travel plan of driving me straight to the harbor and then to where I was initially going had to be nixed due to one person not having their car all of a sudden, and the other one having their back go out like a matchstick bridge under a heard of elephants. My phrasing, not hers.

So the plan changed late last night into me being dropped off at the local train station, to take the train into downtown, find an ATM for teh cash, hop onto a bus at the station that is attached to the train station, hop a taxi after riding the bus, then take a ferry across the Straight and be picked up by a contact on the other end. Simple right? HAH

The train part was easy enough (during rush hour, so there were two million people in that train), and I get out at the station and head upstairs - thank the Lord, the guy who picked me up at the airport was waiting and averted major disaster. The ATMs in the terminal didn't work, so we wandered off into the city to find a bank that WOULD use my ATM card - after a while, success, FINALLY, cash. Then we go back to the train station, and walk in the direction of the bus station, according to signs. We walk outside and the road is GONE - completely gone due to construction - it was eerie. Enrique, however, knew exactly where he was going, so I just followed him around a block or two to the bus station. Excellent. Wouldn't have found THAT on my own. Get bus tickets, hang around for a bit, get on the bus. Honestly, that would have been the disasterous part of the day, but he averted it, for which I'm soooo greatful.

An hour and a half later, my bus arrives at the coast and stops in town at the bus station, where I quickly hail a cab and get a ride down to the port (for less than 5 Euros, go me).

I grab a ticket for the ferry to Ceuta, call my contact to let her know I'm alive and on my way, and make my way up to the boat. Frikken nice ferry is all I'm saying - looked like the passenger lounge on a cruise liner. We are obviously out of tourist season since the shops were all closed, but that's just as well for me - I don't want to share that space with the alloted 925 people within firecode, hehe.

I get to Ceuta, am picked up and taken to the hostel/temp. housing I'm staying at for the week. Small place, eerie only because I'm on my own, a fact I don't enjoy. I enjoy it even less because the WiFi will... not... work... GRAH

Bless Cameron for trying to help me get it set up, but jheez, it was an exercise in frustration - hopefully I'll be able to get ahold of one of the founders soon to get that fixed so I can call people on Skype after work. Luckily a couple of the spare rooms have ethernet cables set up for me to use. I can't stay in those rooms, obviously, that would be too convenient, but I am able to come over and do things like chat, and post blogs. It's exciting.

I made and excursion down to the supermarket today, probably about a mile away, and got some of the bare necessities, although another trip will need to be made.

Also heard the call to evening prayer at the Mosque for the first time tonight - beautiful.

PS: Oh, so I'm totally homesick - been bursting into tears (behind closed doors, don't worry, not THAT out of control) all the time, and I've finally remembered my prep course by the work abroad dept - traveller's depression. Especially the first time being alone alone. Knowing is half the battle, believe you me. I thought I was going crazy! And now I realize that it was a predictable crazy... so yeah...

Day of Rest

Well, seeing as God and the rest of the world were resting without me yesterday, I rested today. Also, I've been talked to about much of what to expect and stuff over in Morocco - the voice of experience and the voice of what I'd learned are similar, but a lot of tiny differences. +2 points for not having to wear a headscarf!

The meal schedule over here is something I'd forgotten about - breakfast 9-10am, lunch ~3pm, then dinner ~10pm. Ahhh... latinos and their ways... it's actually working really well with the jetlag, so I enjoy and accept this arrangement.

The people I'm staying with today are the director of the program and his wife (although the director is in Morocco atm, so just the wife technically) - very nice, incredibly hospitable, and a great chef. Everyone I've met so far has exclaimed about my Spanish being so good... I was wondering for a bit, because my understanding is pretty good, spoken is meh. THEN I realized that the last volunteers they'd had were a family from Alabama. *grins* NOW I understand. The town I'm in today, Malaga, is also very pretty - mostly a home-town with some tourist condos, but a nice feel to it. There are enough tourists for me not to look outlandish, but still mostly hispanic, which allows them to realize that I won't understand all of what is going on. Excellent balance. Now to mentally prepare to be the white sheep of an all arabic heard...

I'll be online for much of the day today (day for ya'll, afternoon and evening for me), but after that, my schedule will be very questionable - I have unsecured wireless from neighbors here, but internet connection may not be available for a while. We'll see. I've greatly enjoyed IM-ing some of you who have kept me sane so far (shout out to Marc for having the best time schedule around - yes, he's in Japan, but he still wins).

Location Now: Malaga, Spain

Location Tomorrow: Ceuta, Spain

Location Next Week: Chefchaouen, Morocco (way to overdo the vowels, Morocco)

Sunday June 6, Heathrow Airport, London, 12:40pm

Well now - I've survived so far it seems - the flight was relatively uneventful,

save for some ridiculous turbulence in the middle of the night. By the way,

for anyone who hasn't been here, Heathrow is HUGE - it took ten minutes

driving to get from one terminal to another, no traffic, no stops, no nothing.

Ridiculous. Also ridiculous is the fact that the different gates all remain closed until

RIGHT when they start boarding, meaning nowhere to park it for several hours.

Note to self, get shorter layovers.

I love the fact that this airport seems to be more culturally diverse than

Atlanta, which boggles the mind a little bit. I swear, more than 60% of the

temporary population here is either Hindi or Arabic of some variety.

Oh, and to everyone that I boasted to about being a stalwart unflinching and

un-teary girl, I cried when leaving my parents at Atlanta - I've never been this

far away from them, and definately not for this long, so it's going to be interesting.

I love them dearly and count the days until I can see them again. So there,

I've cried.

Oh, and this was the first overnight flight EVER that I didn't get sick on. I'm

chuffed with myself, hehe - now just to maintain that record for the second flight

and the ferry ride to Ceuta...

Sunday June 6, Malaga, Spain 11:21pm

Well, I survived long enough to get to my host's home for the night. Excellent. Very nice people who cook really well... I'm pleased. Powersources for the laptop are lacking, and I have a strong sense of foreboding about this, but we'll see. In general I'm pleased. And miss everyone.

Tomorrow starts the 'don't get yourself killed SLASH cultural' training. Woot.