(Editor's note: Carson City resident Rebecca Goldenberg is serving in the Peace Corps in Tiznit, Morocco.)
The sun just disappeared behind the mountains to the west. It left a warm rose colored light in its memory across Tiznit. I ran to the roof of my apartment to catch that light on film - we'll see if the photos do justice to the sight now etched in my mind.
Every now and then, beauty shows her face in this desert town. The sunset put a softer touch on Tiznit's generally harsh face. Three months now I have lived here in the deep deep south of Morocco - five months altogether in this Northern African country.
The dust is starting to remain a permanent addition to my belongings. I try to sweep it up - but it seems to always come back - resilient stuff. Unfortunately those pretty white shirts and pants of mine are not surviving too well in their battle with the dust. Guess I should be happy; the dust marks the length of my survival so far in this developing country.
Some days life here is a light easy breeze, but other days I get knocked down with its force. Finally, I have a my own place to shelter me those days I find too difficult to face the world outside my front door. Being able to hide away has helped my sanity. I sit on my porch sipping hot chocolate watching life continue on without me down below. And it does continue ... women still bring their bread to the community oven, men still slurp down mint tea, and children still run wild through the streets.
The community is getting to know me, though. If I lock myself up too long, when I finally do peek my head outside I am bombarded by neighbors, friends and shop owners wanting to know where I have been. So it's better to show my face on occasion then have to deal with the guilt my community forces on me for not joining them for tea and bread at their homes and shops.
Sweeya b sweeya (little by little) my apartment is starting to feel like home. No tea cups or teapot yet to fill the role of a good Moroccan host.
But I've got a pot and two mugs to fill my American friends' tummies with warm cocoa. Somehow my apartment has become the "group house" of the southern Peace Corps volunteers. I love the visitors, but I wonder if they come to see me or to take a hot shower - something most volunteers in the region don't have of their own. Aye, I'm sure it's a bit of both. My door will remain open no matter what for all of them though. We're each other's family here in this crazy land.
Being an American in Morocco is not easy for any of us in Peace Corps, and for a while it got even more difficult. At the last height of the current crisis in the Middle East Moroccans broke out in support for Palestinians.
Demonstrations and marches took place across the country. Events passed peacefully, but have left me a bit on edge. Now life is back to normal - or as normal as life can get considering I'm living in Morocco.
Dave and I wandering through the mystic city of Marrakech together when he came to visit two weeks ago. We fought off the lizards, monkeys, snakes and shop owners as we explored the endless souks in the medina. To rest from the challenge we had endured we sipped tea at the poshest hotel in Morocco, a nice break in general from my Peace Corps standards.
Lately my life has been focused in on Tiznit, and life is slow and not exactly adventurous in Tiznit, unless you count paying the water bill an adventure. Ramadam is just a couple days away, though, and I'm certain to have tales to tell from this experience. I just know something is going to happen to my host family's friendly sheep that lives in their basement.
I had almost gotten used to life without a schedule - a lifestyle I could never dream of living in the United States. But it didn't last long. I've found myself a routine. Teaching English now fills my time, along with numerous secondary projects I have in progress. Sixty Moroccan girls believe my name is Teacher. I've told them over and over again my name is Rebecca, but in a strange way I think it's a form of respect here verses the impersonal feeling it conveys to me.
Teaching is a challenge to my creativity, plus my knowledge of my own language. Today we sang the "hokie pokie" to study body vocabulary. As I danced the hokie pokie in front of the class, the girls got quite a laugh, but I don't mind embarrassing myself to get the lesson across.
Other projects filling my planner all focus on work with women and girls.
Moroccan men are quite happy just sipping on their sugared down tea - so I'd rather put my effort toward empowering the other sex. GLOW - Girls Leading Our World - a summer camp for girls from the bled (countryside) is the biggest project I'm involved with beyond my teaching.
Peace Corps volunteers are organizing with Moroccan counterparts seven camps countrywide. The camp's objective is to help girls see their strength. It has the potential to be amazingly rewarding for all those involved - the girls, counterparts and Peace Corps volunteers.
Beyond saving the world (just kidding!) I'm working on improving myself.
The personal"to do list" versus the work "to do list" is much longer. I've set so many goals for myself I'm always kept busy. Since I was a little girl I've wanted to run a marathon, so I'm training for one. Every morning I head west toward the Atlantic ocean that waits for me beyond the mountains.
My runs take me through the scattered little villages outside Tiznit. On the dirt roads I pass women carrying the week's firewood stacked high on top of their heads. My perceived personal physical strength always vanishes when I see the load they tote with no apparent trouble. Later to rest my achy body I find myself sitting down reading book after book. Reading is always something I've wanted to have more time to do, and, well, I've found some time here in Morocco. Learning to cook is another personal goal I've continue to write into my planner for years - and I'm finally learning. If I don't I'll starve because at the local hanout (store) I won't find a box of mac & cheese to fix up really quickly like I would do in the U.S. Slowly I'm ticking off the goals from my list, but I keep adding new ones so I'm not sure I'll ever find a blank page when I open up my planner.
Life in the Peace Corps is challenging, but I am appreciating every moment of it. Some days may be hard, but I'm growing and learning a whole new perspective on life. This new wider view, I hope, will help me see joy in things I never saw before when I return home. I'm happy to be here.