Dar Chabab
The building on the right is the dar chabab or youth house. Our group of six volunteers meet here everyday for language instruction and activity planning. There are classrooms, an auditorium with a decent looking sound board, the mudir’s (supervisor’s) office and a couple of mysterious locked rooms (one of which may or may not have some new unboxed computers in it. There is also a ping pong table and pool table. The building in the middle is a brand new library. There are books on the shelves and WIFI but will not be opened until King Mohammad VI or one of his delegates gives the okay. The building on the left is an indoor sports center large enough to house an indoor soccer field and basketball court. In front of the sport center, on the main road, is the local police department and government offices. More on this later.
When Moroccans say “scott” it sometimes comes out “scoot”. My host family tells me that this can mean “hush”or “shut up” so we came up with a new name. Samir. It means a man gazing up at the stars in the desert. I like this name. Sometimes they call me Sami. I’ve started introducing myself to Moroccans as Samir.
Disclaimer
The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.
Fez, Morocco
Sunday, 1/26/2014. Departed Rabat, last Thursday, 1/23 by CTM bus. Trip took about 2 hours. Stopped along the way at a full service Total gas station complete with grocery store and small restaurant. When Nancy and I drove around this part of Morocco 30 years ago in our Volkswagen, we never saw a rest stop this modern or anything resembling it! We were told that Morocco has been experiencing a building boom over the last 10 – 15 years and what we’ve seen so far is confirmation. Apartments and housing developments, both finished and under construction, are everywhere. Satellite television dishes fill the rooftops of all of these buildings and wifi (pronounced wee-fee) internet is in many cafes and homes. Currently we are using an internet connection of a neighbor that lives on the floor below us. It is really great to have a reliable connection after the overloaded, intermittent connection at Hotel Oscar in Rabat.
We are living in one of those buildings built within the last 15 years, with a family of 7, in a two bedroom apartment with one bathroom. The oldest son, age 31, lives in the north, and does not live here. A youth in Morocco is roughly defined as between the ages of 18-35. They live at home until they marry or move to another city for employment. The shortcut to adulthood in Morocco is marriage otherwise you are considered a youth until 35 or so. There are two sons and two daughters in their twenties plus Mom and Dad. They are a close knit family and very relaxed. The youngest son, Alea, speaks English well and translates for us when necessary, which is most of the time. Alima, the Mom, is a really good cook. Every meal is delicious. I’ll post some pictures of the family and the food dishes soon.
Today is a day of rest for us. Our usual schedule is to have breakfast and depart for language class at the dar chabab that starts at 8:30am. The dar chabab is the “youth house” where we will have our classes and activities for the community children and youths. It is about a 10 minute walk to the dar chabab from our house. We go home for lunch around noon and return to the dar chabab at 2:30pm for more discussion about Moroccan culture and youth activity planning. Our instructor, Mohssine, is knowledgeable, friendly and relaxed. We understand there are just over 500 dar chabab’s around the country. They are part of a youth development program designed by the Moroccan government to give Moroccan youth’s an after school activity center. Our dar chabab has seen little activity since the last training group came through here last year. How well the dar chababs are utilized in each community varies widely.
I’m new to blogging and still figuring out how to use this program. For now, I’m sticking with the standard format!
Rabat, Morocco
After spending a couple of days in Philadelphia assembling our group of trainees, we departed for Casablanca, Morocco on Royal Air Maroc, Tuesday 1/14/14. We landed at 5:30am Morocco time. Then we took a bus for 1.5 hours to Rabat and checked into the Hotel Oscar. All of the road signs are in French and Arabic. The countryside looks like Baja California only greener. We’ve been busy with meetings, medical and language training every day, all day. Last Sunday 1/19, Nancy and I went for a walk in the morning to the beach. It rained hard the night before that had cleared out, but it was still windy. In the afternoon, we walked around Rabat taking in the sights. Roman ruins, tomb of King Mohammad V, his brother and grandfather, and Kasbah des Oudaias. There are little cafes in the Kasbah, old castle, along the hillside above the river Oued Bou Regreg. They serve Moroccan mint tea and the best macaroon cookies I’ve ever had. On Thursday, 1/23 we depart for Fez, built in 789AD, for 8 weeks of Moroccan language training. I hope our internet connection is better there so I can post more often!
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao-tzu (604 BC – 531 BC)
Departing the San Francisco Bay yesterday on a beautiful day. We will miss you but we’ll be back! Nancy and I have embarked on a journey to Morocco as English instructors with a youth development project in the Peace Corps. Today we are in Philadelphia for staging where our entire cohort from around the country is assembling to depart together on Air Maroc tomorrow. I’ll be periodically posting pictures and observations on my blog of our experiences. Welcome! MarHaba!
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