"Volunteer Advisory Committe" (of which I am secretary - I won't be late to a meeting again - darn those buses!!!) meeting and lunch with the Director of Peace Corps, Aaron Williams (appointed by President Obama).
In-Service-Training in Rabat with our "counterparts", Barhim and Najat; some of the date products on the table - woohoo!!!
Hanging with other volunteers - Adriana & Peggy - good times!
Ice cream...always on the agenda in the big city...Najat and Brahim participating in the fun!
Our roof top terrace in Essaouaria - LOVE THE OCEAN!
Peace Corps Volunteer a'la mode!
Sean decides (after a little convincing) to join the Moroccan boys in some cooling off - he showed them how it is done!
At the fishing dock in Essaouaria - boys will be boys!
Sean preparing to dive - front flip - fantastic!
Essaouaria - lovely!!!
Glad to be at the beach!!! LOVE IT!
Sunset behind the ancient city walls and medina...
Souq-ing with my new hat!
One of our uninvited guests...YIKES!Scorpions, cockroaches and summertime in Morocco. It is officially HOT. Sean just returned from a walk through town (to check to see if the Holland versus Cameroon soccer game was on TV at one of the three cafes in Aoufous – and when I say "café" it means plastic chairs and a table with tea or coffee to drink – and ONLY men are allowed!), the game is not until later, but he observed, and I quote "I saw two people, total". That means, summer is officially in full swing. It is 100 degrees (at least) and the people of Aoufous hibernate during the day and only come out AFTER the sun goes down. One of my theories (one of the many considering I am still talking like a three year old and can hardly ask for water) is that everyone is gearing-up for Ramadan. For those of you who don't know about Ramadan, it is a month long, Islamic "holiday" that consists of fasting during all hours there is light. Allah said: "Every act of man is for him except fasting, it is done for My (Allah's) sake and I will give reward for it. The breath of a faster is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk." Every year Ramadan moves back 11 days; e.g. last year it was from August 21st thru September 20th (approx.). So, this year Ramadan is from August 10th thru September 11th…hmmm…and next year it will run the entire month of August.
What this means to us:
- The days are much longer in the summer months, so if we decide to fast, which we plan on doing, we will not be able to eat or drink (even water) from about 4:00AM to 9:00PM everyday (in about 20 years Ramadan will be in the winter! – lucky dogs!)
- Because we arrived in Morocco during Ramadan, we get to celebrate it three times!
- Nothing will be going on and everyone that can, will be sleeping or relaxing all day – in their homes – NOTHING will be happening
- We will not have much going on in terms of "work"
- Hopefully I will lose some weight
Here is a little more detail about Ramadan:
- Fasting includes not: eating, drinking, having sex, smoking, wearing make-up, wearing fragrance, chewing gum – all day from first light (before sunrise) to last light (after sunset)
- There will be A LOT of praying going on – all day, every day
Lyftor – or "breakfast", will break the fasting and will be eaten after the sun goes down at night - If you accidently eat or miss a day, it can be made up at the end of Ramadan
- Pregnant or nursing mother are not advised to participate in fasting, as well as, small children or anyone who is sick
So, that is some of the basic stuff. My theory is that a lot of people are slowly switching their schedules to nights, in preparation for Ramadan and to cope with the heat! We just might be heading that way ourselves!
~em
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