October 20, 2008

It's been a busy last few weeks, which is good!

Two weeks ago, we had one of our quarterly delegue meetings with the provincial ministry of health representatives. It went well for the most part, though one of my friends and I have to go back on the 28^{th to meet and discuss the final steps for the Training of Trainers next month. I'm excited and hope it all goes well.}

On my way there, I stopped at my friend's association. He is a SBD—Small Business Development—volunteer and works at a handicapped association in my souk town. I think I blogged about the first time I visited the association. This time was no different: amazing. Not only did I get to spend time with incredible people, but I also was invited to try the pottery wheel and made a small cup that they told me they will fire for me. Awesome, and even more awesome that my teacher was a handicapped member of the association.

I also had my friend over the day before that; she's my teacher friend from around Marrakech who speaks pretty good English. She always has me over to her house, so I decided I had to have her over for lunch, and made what I considered to be fancy food for her: spaghetti with tomato sauce and filet mignion. Unfortunately, I don't think she liked either one of them. We did have fun chatting though.

I had some other friends from my town over to eat lunch last weekend, which was also fun and slightly crazy. We played cards, played music, ate, and just generally spent time together. For them, I made pasta with meat sauce, which, again, did not go over as well as I had hoped. Oh, well. I think it is all about what people are used to, and not a slight on my cooking ability.

However, from last Monday through Friday, I was able to participate in what is potentially one of the most effective and incredible charities I've ever seen in action: Operation Smile. If you have extra money sitting around (I know, not during this economy!) and you don't want to donate to any Peace Corps project grants (www.peacecorps.gov), I can tell you that from what I saw, Operation Smile would be a great place to donate: they do good work that really does make a difference, it seems to be working slowly but surely to become sustainable in the countries they go to, and the surgeries are life-changing for the children and adults.

We went thinking we would do health lessons, but I got conscripted almost immediately into translation the first two days for medical records. It reminded me of my old job, when I'd go through medical records with Spanish-speakers occasionally… but this time in Berber! It was slightly hectic, especially since there were no birthdates for many of the patients we screened, or trying to figure out how to get some of the people from very rural areas to give us the most complete address possible, but good to see so many people able to come out, and different associations that helped get people to the site.

After two days of screening and talking to the awesome volunteers with OpSmile, I stayed for two days of surgeries. The organization brought an incredible crew: nurses, medical records people, 5 plastic surgeons, 4 anesthesiologists, a child life therapist, dentist, pediatrician, and speech therapist, all of whom donated almost two weeks out of their busy schedules to volunteer. They came from all over the world, and were all very generous with us as well, something completely unexpected, letting us use their shower at their hotel (there were 10 volunteers sleeping on a local volunteer's floor!), or buying us a drink or two at night, or even just by showering us with leftover toothbrushes or American chocolate. Peanut butter cups have never tasted so delicious!

The surgery days were even more hectic, but surprisingly well-organized. The first morning of surgeries, I helped facilitate new patients: filling out medical records with them, and then finding the pediatrician, medical records photographers, surgeons, dentists, speech therapists, and nurses, who were spread around the hospital, translating for the patients. That afternoon, I spent most of my time in pre-op, talking and playing with the children who were waiting for surgeries, doing health lessons with them and their parents, and comforting the parents to the best of my ability. The kids were surprisingly well-behaved after, in some cases, 24 hours in the same room without being able to eat or drink.

The next day, Friday, I did the same thing, but was also able to do something I never imagined I would be able to do: I observed some of the surgeries in the OR. We scrubbed out, wearing shoecovers, masks, hair nets, and scrubs, and were able to watch four different surgeries at once—including my friend's baby girl, my tutor's cousin. There were four surgeries going on at a time, and one of the people who was photographing before and after pictures of the children explained what was going on at each step. It was a lot simpler of a procedure than I imagined.

I left a little early on Friday to go home, something that was hard but that I felt like I should do. Zika (my cat) had been home alone for 4 nights, and I was worried about having left a housekey with a neighbor. I was glad for two reasons to have come back when I did- Zika was stuck on the roof (!), and the next morning, I woke up with strep throat—definitely not something I wanted around children just coming out of surgery!

It was hard to leave because there was something almost magical about being able to participate, however peripherally, in Operation Smile. I don't know if it was just being surrounded with other people who believe in public health and volunteerism, if it was some of the encouragement that I received from them, or being able to share in something unique and wonderful as one of their missions. Whatever it was, it was hard to leave, and I hope to be able to be involved with them in some way after my Peace Corps service is over.

Now, I'm at home with strep throat, though I feel much better today than yesterday. I have to run into town this afternoon to get amoxicillin, and will hopefully have enough time to update the blog then!

Peace!

October 24, 2008

Evidently, I didn't get a chance to blog when I went into town last week. I was able to pick up this year's Carte de Sejour: like a green card, and I met my new gendarme commander of the brigade around my souk town. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least. This is the third or fourth new commander in the last year and a half, and he wanted to make sure he knew that our safety (our meaning the few foreign residents in the around 100,000 person area) was his number one priority even above citizens. This was a little uncomfortable, to tell the truth, because though I appreciate being safe, I hate the fact that we're treated differently, even if it's better. It's a privilege that I don't think I deserve. He was shocked that we chose to come to Morocco to work in the countryside and learned Berber (and set about translating three or four proverbs from Tassousite Berber into French for me), and said that we need to be careful because people here are thieves, which is the opposite of what I've experienced. It was an intense little conversation, but I'm glad that I have my carte and don't have to carry my passport around.

I spent the night at one of my friends' houses (the English-speaking teacher), which is always fun. We woke up in the morning and went jogging, and I was gleeful to be able to watch a few hours of CNN while she taught classes. I stayed at her house most of Wednesday because we thought the principal of the schools would come to drop something off and I wanted to talk to him. Instead, I stayed until three; he still hadn't shown up, so I went to the school instead and got conditional permission to teach lessons there. There's still a lot of red tape to go through, but I was excited nevertheless that he is on board with everything.

The next morning, bright and early, I got up to do another Equippe-Mobile run. It was amazing, even if I had to walk to the sbitar at 4:45 am to be there on time. The first two places were around where I spent a week last spring, so the two teachers at the school remembered me, and shockingly, so did the children. They answered correctly every question I posed about the toothbrushing lesson last April: how many times a day it's important to brush, what to use if you don't have toothpaste (salt), what foods are good and bad for dental health… even my name and what country I was from (!). Most of them were able to understand the basic hygiene lesson that I gave them, which was good.

The next stop was literally the small cluster of houses I stayed with for a week, and not only did they all remember me and ask me why I hadn't come back, but one family had prepared me a bag of almonds and pomegranates from their farm to bring back, and just the sincerity in their eyes as they made me promise to come back was really meaningful. It was rewarding as well, because they also answered some questions about past lessons correctly, and I got to see the six-month old baby girl that was due around when I was there. I remembered sitting with the mother and going over how to have a safe, clean home birth, and though I don't know how much she followed, her baby was beautiful and healthy.

I have to go back.

October 25, 2008

(continued from above)

The third big stop was at another school in the next village. I was able to do a toothbrushing lesson and give out 90 toothbrushes, one to each child, that some of the Operation Smile volunteers gave me before I left. Some of the women were interested and engaged in both the basic and dental hygiene lessons, though I spent most of the time there with the kids. At their insistence, I gave my phone number to a few of them and have already gotten a call from one of them today when they went to a place with "rizo" (phone reception).

The last stop was at what I think is one of the most interesting "bled" (countryside) mosques I've seen: instead of a minaret tower, they have a large pointed dome with a loudspeaker. It was really heartwarming there as well; a friend in my town is originally from there, and so many of them knew me from months ago or because of that connection; people I don't ever remember seeing in my life knew my name, where I lived in my town, and other things. They too begged me to come back and stay sometime. I'd like to… and they were all engaged and actually thanked me for lessons; something I've never had happen.

October 26, 2008

I can't believe how fast these months are going and how fast these days fly by!

Equippe-Mobile was, as always, fantastic. I don't even remember what I did on Friday, though yesterday was a little crazy. Touda, one of my favorite people in town… well… I'll back up. I mentioned to her daughter and some other friends when they came over to eat lunch last week that I loved a dish that is only eaten in my town when families have stale bread. It is a delicious dish with vegetables, lentils, broth, and spices, poured over torn stale bread. I mentioned that I loved it, and so Touda knocked on my door (a 20 minute walk from her house) at 7:30 that morning.

"You told me a few days ago you have lentils… if you give me some, I'll make that dish you like." No problem, so after tea and coffee, she left and invited me for lunch. I was bombarded by some of my girls who asked if they could spend the night. I was a little nervous about it, but reluctantly agreed, then headed to Touda's for lunch, conversation, and television watching. A neighbor woman my age came over almost as soon as I got home, and we looked at my pictures together, then as soon as she left, the three girls that are probably my favorites, came over.

It wasn't as crazy as I thought it'd be; they were asleep by 11, miraculously, and they did some pretty funny "plays" for me using my clothes as "dress-up." My favorites were when one of them dressed up like an old nomad shepard woman complete with staff and taheruyt, and another wore a tan Moroccan shirt of mine that is long on me and it fit her almost exactly like a man's jellaba. She used a scarf like old men do here and was convincing. We also did face masks, which was really something novel for them.

They enjoyed the "risotto" (pretty much everything I had left in my house thrown in a pressure cooker: rice, lentils, random vegetables, bullion, spices, and, their favorite, a few wedges of Laughing Cow cheese) and while I washed dishes, they "set up" the tea room (salon): lighting all my candles and cleaning up. Right before bed, we had cookies, hot milk with sugar, and pomegranate by candlelight. I suppose it was a successful sleepover for them, and it was fun regressing back to the times of my own sleepovers, though they didn't quite pick up on the idea of a pillow fight.

Today, they got angry when I kicked them out at ten; I had been with people from my town for over 24 hours nonstop and it was draining, especially since I've become so accustomed to having alone time. Other kids came over later (I felt guilty because they were too young and wild for me to let them spend the night), and I was followed around when I ran to the store to buy food.

I'm off again early tomorrow morning because I have another meeting on Tuesday morning in the provincial capital.

My parents called me tonight to wish me a happy early birthday. Apparently, right before they called, some Obama campaigners came to their house looking for me. They asked if I was home; my parents said I was in Morocco. "Oh, she won't be voting then," they said. They corrected them and said I had voted absentee weeks ago. They asked who I supported, my father answered in a way that didn't tell them directly but made it quite clear. Strange, that North Carolina might be a swing state this election. I love the fact that most PCVs I know here vote absentee if they get their ballot in time, and that we can have good conversations about politics, though someone who chooses not to get involved in the discussions say that we "fight over things we agree on," which is somewhat true, at least among people I see often in my province.

Next time I update, most likely we'll know the outcome of the election. Crazy. I'm going to try to spend the night of the 4th at my friends' house who has a television, and see if I can bribe her to let me watch all morning on the 5th. There is a 4 hour time difference, so we might not know anything until 8 am anyway. Or it could be the 2000 election again where that's really wishful thinking. Adig rbi str.

Okay. I must pack for two nights. Take care!

November 4, 2008

Election day! I hope all you at home are voting or already have!

The other delegue meeting went wonderfully, as did a little birthday get-together I had (where I cooked filet mignion seared with butter, garlic, and rosemary, plated with demi-glace (a wine-herb-stock-butter reduction sauce), coated with crumbled blue cheese. Price per plate of ingredients? Under $2. A friend made potato skins and then woke up and made a fantastic breakfast the next day) and a crazy Halloween get-together where I dressed as Sarah Palin. I now have bangs and don't know what to do with them.

I'm off, just wanted to update before another 2 or 3 months go by!

 

 

November 5, 2008

 

I have never been prouder of being an American than today.