The newest member of our family

World, meet Katie!!

Those of you who have kept up with this blog from the beginning might remember Sandy, the adorable pit bull whom Justin and I fostered for 4 months before leaving for the Peace Corps. We absolutely loved our time with Sandy and had been itching to have a dog to call our own since then. Two and a half years later, we're so happy to have this wonderful dog join our family!

Overlooking the Potomac River in Georgetown.

Katie is about a year and 2-3 months (we don't know for sure), a beige and white American Staffordshire Terrier mix, and 43 pounds of goofy, loving, energetic adorableness. 

At the dog park, an example of her goofiness!

We adopted Katie from Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, a foster network of volunteers who work hard to find families for homeless and abandoned animals (I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the DC area!). We knew that we wanted to adopt a pit bull, for several reasons:
1) They are ADORABLE and have a wonderful disposition, and 
2) Pit bulls get a terrible rep and more than anything we want to try to change people's perceptions. Our hope is that by seeing us on the street with Katie, or in reading about or meeting her, perhaps people might start to think a bit differently.

Who could think these dogs are anything but adorable?!?

If you've read this long, then here's your present - Lots more adorable Katie photos!! Enjoy :)

Katie gets to know Pimento, our pet turtle.

Surrounded by her toys. 

With Justin and our friend Bryant.

Playing with a Chanukah present from her
Uncle Neal, Aunt Erin, and Cousin Maple (the dog).

Despite What Your Guidebook Might Say You Cannot View the Atlantic Ocean Through a Glass Floor at the Hassan II Mosque [Guest Post]

GUEST POSTER in residence: Justin

Casablanca’s Hassan II Mosque is one of the few active Muslim religious sites in Morocco that is open to non-Muslims, albeit only on a guided (paid) tour. It is a breathtaking and impressive building, and one of the largest mosques in the world (our guidebooks disagree about where exactly it ranks – one says it is the second largest, another agrees with the guide from our tour that it is third, a third book states that it is the fifth, and Wikipedia asserts that it is seventh largest mosque – the point is that it is big, and everyone is on the same page about that). The Hassan II Mosque is large enough to accommodate 25,000 worshippers, but according to our guide, only about 600 people typically attend, not including during Ramadan or for Friday mid-day prayers.

We had admired the exterior during a previous visit to Casablanca, and on our most recent trip decided to splurge for the tour. It isn’t terribly expensive if one is traveling on a US salary, but the 120 Dirham (about USD 14) per person fee can feel pretty hefty, considering that entry to most monuments and museums in Morocco costs no more than 20 Dirhams (about USD 2.40). According to our guide the money goes towards upkeep and salaries for the staff, making the Hassan II Mosque self-sustaining. Note to other Peace Corps Morocco Volunteers: As residents we get a 50% discount off the usual price (bring your Moroccan ID), which was a pleasant surprise for us.

The Hassan II Mosque has no historical significance, having been built in the late 20th century. While some might consider it a poor allocation of funds (public subscription, which Rough Guide characterizes as having been “not entirely voluntary,” covered much of the construction costs), it certainly is beautiful. And if, as our guide claimed, Hassan II’s goal was to attract visitors to Casablanca, a city otherwise holding little of interest for most tourists, he seems to have at least somewhat succeeded. There were plenty of people on our tour, and aside from the tour itself I’m sure most at least spent money to eat in Casablanca even if they did not stay there, which at least somewhat undermines potential cost-to-the-public grievances.

As a caveat for potential future visitors, two of our guidebooks claim that the Hassan II Mosque, which sits partially on a pier over the Atlantic Ocean, has a glass floor through which one can see the waves. But while the prayer hall floor has a couple of small glass segments, the only thing one can see through them is an ablutions room (also part of the tour) downstairs. I asked our guide if she had any idea of from where the misinformation in the books might have originated; she said that there is a separate (private) royal section (she called it a palace, but I am guessing it is something more analogous to the private chapels found in many churches), and that in this royal area the Atlantic Ocean is visible through a glass floor.

Even though some of our photos did not come out great due to lighting, they will speak to the beauty of the Hassan II Mosque better than (my) words would:

One of the entrances.

The prayer hall.

A beautiful light fixture.

Pretty much every surface is covered in elaborate decoration; this section
of carved and painted wood was well-lit enough for a good picture.

The mosque has a hammam (traditional bath) in the basement.
It serves no religious purpose and has never been used.
Hopefully they change the water from time to time anyway.

Another entrance.

Detail from the metalwork on the door.

Moroccan Travels: Agadir

Before climbing Mount Toubkal, Justin and I spent a few nights in Agadir. Based on what we had heard and read about the city, we initially were not too interested in visiting, but as our time in Morocco wore on, and always interested in experiencing another of Morocco’s many facets, Justin became increasingly curious about the city. Since we would be nearby for our Toubkal trek, Justin wanted to check it out, and I humored him :)

With one exception, Agadir lacks any structures of historical significance, because on February 29, 1960, the city was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake (5.7 magnitude - I've been told it's the worst in Morocco's history). Down the beach from the old city, Agadir was rebuilt, supposedly in the style of a European beach resort, and it has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Morocco. It is also popular among Peace Corps Volunteers seeking a getaway that is more accessible and less costly than Europe. 

Agadir’s main draw is its large, beautiful, and clean beach; we spent a lot of our time walking along it and enjoying the area on and near the beach that are lined with restaurants and shops. We also visited Agadir's kasbah (the above exception, one wall of the kasbah remained after the earthquake and it has a beautiful view of the city), an Amazigh Heritage museum (the jewelry on display in the basement is the highlight) and, set in a lovely garden, an “Exposition Mémoire d'Agadir” displaying photographs of Agadir from before and after the earthquake. Our time in Agadir also happened to coincide with its annual Timitar Festival which began as an Amazigh music festival, but now includes musicians from around the world (including this year Kenny Rogers, though we went to bed before he came on stage!).

Agadir certainly wasn't our favorite city that we visited in Morocco and I'm glad that we didn't go out of the way for the visit but it's always interesting to see new parts of the country, and the relaxing beach time was good before our massive mountain climb. Enjoy some photos from our visit below:

View of Agadir from the kasbah (it was a foggy morning).
Left of the large street in the center is where the city was before the earthquake.

Justin and the remaining wall of the kasbah.

Another view of the kasbah wall.

Camel rides by the kasbah! We were amused.

View of the beach front; the mountain with the kasbah can be seen in the back.

The Agadir beach.

A beautiful entrance to the "Exposition Mémoire d'Agadir" photography exhibit.

The Timitar festival by night (on the side of the mountain is Arabic writing
which means "God, Country, King").

Please Do Not Take Pictures of the Children [Guest Post]

GUEST POSTER: Justin
We had just sat down at one of the tables outside of a restaurant for lunch. This was in Essaouira, and the restaurant was one where we had eaten a year prior and we were happy to see that it was still open (we heard a rumor back in December that it would be closing) because it had great burgers and desserts. Another foreign couple, older than us, was also sitting outside. I noticed the gent of the couple videotaping the neighborhood fountain across the plaza, then sat down with my back to him.

It is summer, so there are even more kids hanging out on the streets with unstructured time (which is not necessarily a bad thing) than usual. A group of maybe eight boys, ranging from probably about seven to twelve, was sitting on some stairs about three yards away. 

A few minutes later, I looked up from my menu and saw the woman of the older couple standing by the boys. She had her camera out. I did not see her taking any pictures, but it seems safe to assume she had, because a few of the boys started getting agitated and it looked like one of them tried to grab her camera or hit it away.

Any worthwhile Morocco guidebook will tell you not to take pictures of people without first asking their permission. And if you think about it, that's really common sense and not just in Morocco. I am not talking about a crowd scene or a photo of a landscape or something where someone happens to be walking across in the distance, but one wouldn't, or at least typically shouldn't, walk up to some stranger in the US and start taking portraits of him or her (or his or her kids). The same holds true here, the people aren't animals in the zoo, so we shouldn't photograph them without asking.

So the woman returned to her table and the situation seemed to be quieting down. Then another patron of the restaurant, whom I had not previously noticed, started talking. He began telling the woman that it's rude to take pictures of people without asking, but somehow or other within 90 seconds he was shouting, cursing, and storming out of the restaurant.We thought he was disturbed but later learned from the restaurant staff that the guy is an American who has lived in Essaouira for years and visits the restaurant from time to time (though I guess this does not preclude his being disturbed). 

You can use your imagination about what the guy said, suffice to say it involved abundant use of the letter F accompanied by corresponding finger-raising. He seemed unaware of the irony of going on a profanity filled tirade about a point of etiquette. He also set a rather poor example for the kids, because as soon as his fingers started flying they picked it up and began cursing too. Now I'm not so naïve as to think that they had never heard foul language or seen raised fingers before, but they were not doing anything until he did.

The woman seemed pretty upset and shaken up. She and her companion even asked the restaurant staff for directions to the nearest police station, though what they thought the police could or would do is beyond me. I felt bad for the woman; what she did was inappropriate but seemed more based on ignorance than malevolence. The other patron's response was completely out of line (at one point it looked like he was actually about to get hit by a Moroccan bystander) and precipitated the boys' bad behavior. As for the boys, one might be tempted to pigeonhole them as looking for trouble or up to no good, but an interesting conclusion to this whole thing, which you can interpret however you will, was that a few minutes after the kids were following the vulgar example of the other patron, they actually came up to Lauren and me to apologize to us.

Moral of the story: Don't take pictures of people without asking for permission.

Drew U. Visits Tiflet! [Guest Post]

GUEST POSTER: Justin
When I was in college, my school had a pretty amazing program called the Drew International Seminar (DIS). Participants enrolled in a course at Drew focused on a particular issue related to a specific country (occasionally two countries). Then for three to four weeks after the semester ended, the students visited the country/ies they had been studying for an on-site seminar to continue studying the same topic. The DIS program was like a mini study abroad, and in addition to the academic component, students had time for sightseeing, to learn about the country and its culture more generally, and to meet people from the country. 

In February of 2012 I happened to be on Drew’s website and was suddenly curious whether the DIS program still existed. Several years passed since I had been a student, and given the way the economy has been the last few years, I knew many schools have had to cut costs due to financial difficulties. It turned out that not only did the DIS program still exist, but two professors would be bringing a group of students to Morocco in May or June of 2013. Their DIS is on mobility and identity in the context of globalization (seminar description here).

I got in contact with the professors to offer to help however I could, met up with them last July while they were in Morocco making arrangements, have been in correspondence with them, and last week they and sixteen students visited Tiflet during their DIS. It is exam time in Morocco, so a lot of young people are busy studying, but we were able to bring the DIS together with a group of five strong English speakers from our site, and it was a great opportunity for Goals 2 & 3. We have of course explained to our Moroccan students about American diversity, for example, that we have people from all over the world and with all kinds of backgrounds. But us telling them is different from them seeing a group of Americans where the people look very different from one another. The Moroccans loved the opportunity to practice speaking English and both groups seemed to enjoy meeting the new people.

Here's a group photo (a few more are on the DIS Facebook page):

The DIS spent most of its time in Morocco in large cities – Rabat, Tangier, Fez, Meknes, and Casablanca. While in Rabat the Drew students met up with some Moroccan university students, who told them that they needed to get out of the big cities. Some Peace Corps Volunteers also will dismissively tell people that those are not “real Morocco.” It’s not true, as there is no single “real Morocco.” As with anywhere else, Morocco is multifaceted, and particularly since the majority of Moroccans live in urban areas (source: CIA World Factbook), large cities represent a large facet of Morocco. The DIS also visited Chefchaouen, which while small receives a lot of international tourists. But in Tiflet the DIS participants got to experience yet another facet, seeing a minor city that is not often a destination for foreigners and meeting with its youth. While Tiflet is by no means the smallest community in Morocco, the mere thirty-five miles which separate it from the capital city make it far removed from big city life. According to one of the professors at least, the Tiflet experience provided a good point of comparison to some of their other experiences.

Justin's first event!

Back in March, I wrote this post about the first big event that I did in Tiflet (outside of teaching English classes and miscellaneous smaller activities). Now, it's Justin's turn! 

A couple of months ago, Justin was approached by a friend of ours, who is also the president of one of the local associations in Tiflet. He wanted to put on a festival for a rural underserved community, and explained that with Tiflet being a larger city (about 80,000 people), youth have access to resources that can help them to learn and develop in new ways - for example, a Youth Center and along with it, clubs and associations that do activities involving sports, music, theater, or art. This association wanted to provide something for rural youth that would give them access to some of those same resources, help to teach them skills, and forge a partnership with the community for potential future activities. Justin had previously mentioned that if the association ever needed money for an event, that he might be able to help them find funding sources - and this was a great opportunity.

For several weeks, Justin worked with the association to apply for a microgrant, which helped to provide the funding for supplies, transportation, food, etc. Once the grant was approved and the planning continued, Justin helped along the way, talking with the planners to help make sure all of the bases were covered. And Justin and I both attended the 2-day festival and helped out in any way that we could with limited language - setting things up, taking pictures, dancing with the kids, and helping with a workshop. I watched a lot of the kids from this community really come out of their shells over the two days and was really inspired by what our community's youth were able to do for others. Enjoy the photos and descriptions below which will tell you a bit about what went on there.


Day 1:

Arrived bright and early to help set up a stage, banners, some speakers, and lots of other fun stuff, along with other youth from Tiflet and teachers at the community's school:

The first activity was a soccer tournament, starting with 4 teams/2 games on the first day, and a final on the second day.

If you noticed, the photos above were all boys - That's because soccer here is mostly focused on boys. For the girls, the association put together a running competition. Not quite as big of an event as the boys', but still good for them to participate, and it's great that the association included physical activity for girls, something that often seems to be overlooked.

Next came a puppet show, with the theme around the importance of studying and going to school (at least that's what I think, based on not totally knowing everything they were saying!).

Then, a set of clowns to get the kids excited!

After some dancing with the clowns, we continued with a "cultural competition" - sort of like a quiz show around Moroccan and Islamic culture.

Next was an art workshop which I helped to run... just a chance for them to draw and express themselves.

And last (but very important) for day 1 was LUNCH! And since it was Friday, it of course had to be couscous. This was one of the MANY platters of couscous passed around.

Then, Justin and I went home and COLLAPSED.


Day 2:

The day started with the final soccer game to determine the tournament winners. Tensions were a bit high amongst the coaches (the kids' teachers) and lots of cheering went on!

After the game ended, we continued the excitement with a small dance party - And I learned some moves!

Next was the awards ceremony for the soccer and running. All of the kids were given certificates for participation in the festival too.

Somehow in the midst of all of this, Justin got put into a "jellaba" - a traditional Moroccan outfit. Quick photo break :)

 

Activities continue with performances that the kids have been practicing in school in preparation for the event - comedy routines, dances, theatrical performances, songs, even short speeches. All really impressive!

And last but definitely not least - the festival concluded with a "fantasia" performed by members of the community - a traditional equestrian display in Morocco that has been practiced for centuries (you can read more about it on the Wikipedia page). The fantasia involves horses and riders in traditional dress, riding along a straight path at the exact same speed so that they form a perfect horizontal line. All riders are carrying traditional guns and at the end of their short ride towards onlookers, they all fire into the sky at the exact same time. Pretty cool! As they were setting up, Justin and I got to pose with one of the horses, and I also spent time taking photos and admiring the beautiful traditional dress on the horses.

 

All in all, a really successful event, and I'm proud of Justin for the work he put into it and even more impressed by the amazing youth in our community who conceived of and organized the festival. I can only imagine how many more great experiences like this we will witness over the remaining year and a half here!