Training Site

Hello readers,

I finally made it to my training site, which is a medium sized city in Morocco, near Azrou.  The city is nice, but much different from the cities in the United States.  The people are also nice and tolerate foreigners well.  The weather here is warm and dry, although it rains sometimes, and the climate is arid.  The geography is comparable to Eastern Washington.

My host family is incredibly nice.  The family consists of a married couple with an 11 year old boy, a 17 year old boy, and a 5 year old girl.  The mother and 17 year old boy speak Modern Standard Arabic, so I am able to stumble my way through conversations.  However, the 5 year old girl continually speaks to me in French. I just nod my head and smile continuously.  The children enjoy playing my guitar, which makes it difficult for me to practice.  In all, the family is great and very hospitable.

I am adjusting well to daily life here in Morocco.  I jog with my host family's 17 year old son in the mornings.  We have to carry rocks when we jog because there are wild dogs or coyote outside of the town limits.  I took a Tea Kwon Dow class with the 17 year old son, which was pretty intensive.  The Tea kwon Dow school is going to give my group and I classes three days a week during our 10 week training.  Also, the Dojo has showers, which was nice, since my host-family heats up water for me to take bucket showers in the morning.  Lastly, the Turkish toilets are pretty interesting.  I won't go into any details, but they are pretty intimidating.  

The food is great in Morocco.  There are about 5 meals a day with lots of mint tea and coffee.  Being a lefty has been an uphill battle for me, since it is culturally unacceptable to use your left hand to eat.  However, I am getting the hang of it and my host-family is very supportive or very humorously intrigued.  Also, my host-family expects me to eat lots of food, so I am constantly having to say I am full during meals.  Luckily, the food is not processed and unhealthy.

Training is pretty intense.  The first half of the day consists of language training.  I am now getting the hang of Moroccan Arabic, but it is still very different from Modern Standard Arabic.  The second half of the day consists of cross cultural studies, although this will change to small business development technical training later on.  Some days we go out to the streets and practice our Arabic lessons during the first half of the day.  Training begins at 8 AM and ends at 6 PM, Monday through Saturday.  On Sundays, we get a full day to spend with our host family and group members.  My group consists of 7 people, including the trainer and myself.  The days seem to go incredibly slow; but, like basic training, I am sure things will pick up.

In summary, I am having a great time.  I have not gotten sick yet (inshallah).  I am adjusting well to the cultural differences and the absence of western amenities.  Lastly, the following are some answers to questions that you might have:

1. Is toilet paper used?  No, the left hand is commonly used, but I use toilet paper.
2. Are food dishes and cups communal?  Yes, although my host-family provides a spoon for me.
3. The primary form of transportation is by foot.
4. Living conditions are very modest compared to most parts of Seattle and the United States.
5. The locals in my city speak mostly French, Moroccan Arabic, and Modern Standard Arabic.

Thank you,