Post Final Site Visit

Hello readers,

I had a great time visiting my final site, although there were some logistical problems.  Basically, I ended up staying in a hotel for most of the visit.  My final site is in the city of Guercif.  The city is pretty large compared to my current training site.  My impression of Guercif was that it was well developed.  Compared to my training site, Guercif's roads are fully paved, there are large buildings, and the people seem to be much more exposed to foreigners, although I don't think many Americans visit Guercif that often.  Plus, it was really hard for me to find someone who spoke English.

The great thing about Guercif is that there were no wild dogs.  Its funny, but after I returned from Guercif last Sunday, I was chased by two dogs while I was jogging.  I realized that the dogs here are not wild, but rather dogs owned by people who live outside of the city.  Luckily, I shouldn't have this problem in Guercif.

The cooperative where I will be conducting business development appeared well organized.  It was real interesting to observe their daily operations and see their products.  Also, the members of the co'op were incredibly nice and very patient with my lack of Moroccan Arabic (Darija).

As I mentioned in my last blog post, Guercif is a new city for the Peace Corps, so I am really excited about building strong and lasting relationships, especially for future volunteers.  Here are some pictures of Guercif and of a near by reservoir.

Thanks,