A different way of doing things....

Probably the hardest thing to get used to in another county (especially a third world country) is how they do things differently than one is used to doing them. For example, when I came home from work last week this is how I found my kitchen after the cleaning gal had been to my house that day. This is typical...I'm told they do these things to let you know they did indeed clean in the cupboard that day! :) They will move things around on your dresser or table so you know they cleaned there too. :) I only have her come every other week, but it is lovely coming home to a clean place and usually a wonderful meal as well!

The beggar ladies are another interesting group. I watch them from the windows of my apartment. They are sitting in front of the cafe/bakery across the street. Some people will give them money, others will give them a loaf of bread when they leave the bakery. In reply, the ladies give them a big toothless smile and say "Shook-rahn" - thank you! They will touch their hands to their hearts and wave good bye! (sooooo sweet!)

This is another example of doing things differently....I asked our assistant administrator if she would translate in French for me the night of "Parents Night" last week. I was welcoming the parents and introducing the students and their work that evening. A few of my parents do not speak any English, so I would say a few words and she would translate, I'd say a few more and ......on and on the evening went.  Parent-teacher conferences are the same. Sometimes this is so hard and very frustrating, but very necessary!

One of my little boys the night of Parent Night. Isn't he adorable with the scarf and all? I thought he looked very European that night. The kids all wear uniforms during the day (which is something I have not had in past schools), so when we have evening activities and they can dress up it is fun to see them in colorful, fun clothes! :)

This is different than home too. The classrooms go right outside to a covered hallway. There are times that this is nice....like in the mornings when I arrive and hear and see little birds along the ledge. There are times when it is not so nice....like on stormy, windy, rainy days....the wind blows the rain in on us, so we have to wear coats and take umbrellas when we go to Music or lunch or PE or where ever!

So, life in Morocco is just that...different! I love parts of it and parts of it have been very challenging! The past couple of weeks I have been having car problems.....that's a whole other story....later! I'll just say, it pays to pay a little more (well, a lot more) and get a little closer to quality service.  :)

Thinking of you Aunt Carol....

Dear Aunt Carol, I chose four of my favorite, relaxing, beautiful photos for you to look at and to let you know I am thinking of you. I miss you Aunt Carol and Uncle Buster and am praying you will feel better soon.  I know you are itching to get out and get that garden planted. I would love to have fresh veggies with you when I see you in a couple of months, so rest, heal and know my prayers are coming your way. All my love, Jill

Part III Agadir Trip

This is Miss Judy trying out her FIFTH cup of coffee......sometimes it's hard to get a really "good" cup of coffee in Morocco! :) But....Judy just kept trying....maybe a little cinnamon in it, maybe a little more sugar or milk, maybe milk first and then the coffee.....nope....it's just not Starbucks!! :)

So many parts of Morocco I would love to share with my mom and dad. Mom would love all the beautiful flowers and Dad would love all the farm land and animals!

Now we are entering the town/village of Safi. They are known for their beautiful pottery. I hope to go back and see that more. Instead we were on a mission to see the "World's Largest Tagine". One of my students had just given his report on it and I wanted the girls to see it!

We drove all around town and asked three different people....they all sounded so thrilled that we would be looking for the "Grand Tagine". Well.....here it is! The girls expected something a lot larger.....they were a little let down. I went to pose and tried to get them a little more excited about it! :)

They finally agreed to pose with me and the World's Largest Tagine!!! (My students LOVED the photos!)

Safi had lots of beautiful murals around town. This was a mosaic made out of ceramic tiles.

This was a building on the edge of town.

Another interesting looking building on the edge of town.

We stopped to look back at the view of the town and this little girl came up to sell us candies. We all bought something from her. She was just adorable!

She knew just enough English to make a good sale and then say "Thank you very much!" in the sweetest voice!

The next little town we drove through...

This is a hotel about 3 miles south of our school. I have never been inside, but it looks impressive from the outside!

The car was moving, so this isn't a great photo, but this is one of the many stands along the highway on the way to our school on the weekend. He is selling fresh squeezed orange juice. The only problem is the glasses are used and reused.... I've never actually bought o.j. from them.

Lynn drove this whole trip and gave me a lovely break! It was so fun to sit and relax and take photos. This is some of the crazy driving.....can you see the four or five vehicles trying to fit into two lanes of traffic??!!

More vendors on the side of the road....selling oranges at this stop.

This is the road up to our school. There is the local cow...where is the shepherd that is watching him??? !!Well, that was our trip to Agadir....back to work on Monday!   :)

Day II on Agadir Trip....

This was our room in Agadir.










Judy is hilarious...she keeps trying to talk all of us into returning to teach next year. So she is showing off the kitchen and saying how nice it is and reminding us that we could visit there any time!!....right.

The next day we headed north toward Essaoura. We came across this shepherd and his herd of camels along the beach.

Here we are....Judy, Robin, Lynn and myself...and the camels in the background!

This cost me 2 dh (like 40 cents) to pose with the shepherd! :) He was happy!

The ride along the coast was beautiful scenery and ...

cute little villages along the way!

A little meat for lunch anyone??

...or maybe tagine? It's really pretty good! It's like "stew" in America. It is cooked in these cute little pots.

This is what the road signs look like! Agadir - 74 km. ahead.

Then we came along the most amazing sight! These are goats climbing this tree! The tree is called an Argan tree and is only found in Morocco! The goats climb the tree, eat the fruits, spit out or excrete the seeds inside the tree, then the ladies gather the seed/nut and make Argan oil for cooking and Argan oil for the skin....suppose to be very healthy!

This is the little "shepherdist"....isn't she cute! :) She was very sweet to let us take her photo. Although....we paid her also!

This is our little cracker-box of a car for 4 grown women with all our luggage! :)

Some children getting out of school. In the Moroccan schools they go 6 days a week.

This crazy guy was going around curves wayyyyy too fast. We finally passed him and stopped worrying about him tipping over on us! Carpets are realllllly heavy! I'm not sure what he was thinking!!

Here is Judy trying to barter with the man over some Argan oil. She is trying to decide if he is telling the truth about it being for the skin. She thinks in a large bottle like this it is probably for cooking, but he keeps saying "La!" and rubbing his skin!! :) She ended up buying some from him! We laughed and laughed! She has such a big heart for these people!

This was on the beach in Essaoura. They get lots of tourists to pay for rides on their camels.

Horses along the beach.

Can you tell which are the camel foot prints and which are mine?? :)

A cute little cafe by the beach.

The hotel we stayed at. It was a fairly nice room. We never did figure out how to run the air, so we opened a window and slept great!

Returning from our walk to the beach.

We asked locals for the best fish place to eat. The food was okay....cute little place though.

My favorite photo of the day.....this was taken on our way home that night. The moon was full and just beautiful!!