mattmigration

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l-eid l-kbir: The Big Holiday

If you're a vegetarian, don't read this.

      Abraham passed the test, and now Muslims honor his actions by slaughtering sheep on Eid al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice. Other traditions include wearing new clothes, visiting family and friends, I celebrated the three-day holiday, Islam’s biggest, with my host family. We woke early, slaughtered a ram, ate a LOT, and enjoyed each other’s company. Here’s a smattering of pictures from the…

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Where's My Bus?

Travel is easy in Morocco. Just make sure to budget your time. Also COME VISIT ME!

It is 172,414 square miles in size, slightly larger than California. Add on Western Sahara – referred to as Moroccan Sahara by Moroccans – and the size increases 63%, becoming slightly larger than Texas. That’s a pretty big area, even if Peace Corps Volunteers were allowed to own and drive cars. Throughout the year we attend various trainings, go on vacation, and take weekend trips, and some of…

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So incredibly happy to have attended the #peacecorps #Morocco Project Design & Management training in #Agadir with my counterpart and best friend, Manar. Among the many things we learned about designing and managing projects were goal- and objective-setting, budgeting, scheduling, monitoring and evaluating, and writing project proposals. Look for updates about our planned media and technology camp leading up to mid-January! #pcmorocco #congratulations #youthdevelopment (at Agadir, Morocco)

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Huge shoutout to @jcsmucker for the birthday cake #yum #peacecorps #birthday #pdm #training #25 (at Anezi Tower Hotel & Apartments)

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Visiting the old stomping grounds #toledo #españa #cityscape #vacation pc: @mikeofawn (at Toledo, Spain)

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Back in Madrid nearly 4 years later, and I still can't make myself spend 11€ on a walk through the royal palace. #madrid #palacioreal #Palace #spain #españa #anamskin (at Palacio Real De Madrid)

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Ramadan 2016: Why I (Sort of) Fasted

Ramadan, the month of fasting and prayer, ended yesterday. Here's why I (sort of) fasted!

Most people in my site with whom I’ve come in contact know that I’m not Muslim. Even so, during Ramadan I received an inordinate number of questions involving exactly that. One specific conversation was with the computer teacher at my middle school. Last day of life skills class! It was my last day teaching there for the year. As I was about to climb the stairs to my classroom, the computer…

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The art of public bathing

A kees is like an oven mitt except that it's designed to exfoliate. I have never been cleaner!

As you can see, the 7mmam is a necessary place in my site. I live on the edge of the desert and, for a few weeks each year, my city sees ajej. I should say “my city fears ajej” because, as it turns out, sand pelting your face in 50mph wind gusts hurts. Once the dust and wind settled down for this season, I craved the 7mmam. I hadn’t…

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This is what $8 at the Saturday #souk looks like. 50% of it went toward the #treatyourself avocados and bananas. . #produce #vegetables #veggies #farmtotable #fruit #garlic #cilantro #peacecorps #howiseepc #pcmorocco

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It is a very touristy place which, if it was like Marrakesh or Fes, would usually mean shop owners would harass passersby to come look in their shop and consider the “very good price” of random items. However, Essaouira is not like Marrakesh or Fes. It has a familiar aura of a beach town in America: people are more relaxed, life moves more slowly, and everyone really seems happier; plus, it’s cooler and breezier than any place inland.

Arguably its best quality – as I observed during my… two days there – is its focus on the arts. Rug makers, musicians, artisans, weavers… it’s known particularly for gnaoua music and has art galleries on virtually every corner.

When I visited Essaouira I brought along my DSLR, as I intend to do the next dozen times I visit, inshallah. These photos are some of my favorites.

Photos from my short visit to Essaouira, the "little rampart" of Morocco. It is a very touristy place which, if it was like Marrakesh or Fes, would usually mean shop owners would harass passersby to come look in their shop and consider the "very good price" of random items.

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Language, Part juj

The next hurdle of language learning: remembering what words mean when they sound the same.

This word is pronounced jm3 (how do I pronounce 3?), and it’s written جمع. I chose this particular word to illustrate a very common pattern in the language here. Many times, if you take a verb and add some extra sounds to the front, back, and/or in the middle, you end up with words that have a connotation related to the original verb. Maybe that’s a little confusing. Let’s listen to jm3 and some…

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#internationalwomensday became a week-long celebration and conversation in many of my classes. Here in my advanced English class, following a discussion about gender stereotypes, my students imagined what they would like and dislike if they were the other sex. Highlights: one boy said he would enjoy wearing lipstick to be beautiful and the girls shared their excitement about not needing to wear makeup. #pcmorocco #gender #peacecorps #morocco #howiseepc #darshabab #youthdevelopment #شباب

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On Sunday, My Bike was Stolen

Authority and residency on the edge of the Sahara.

On Sunday morning I awoke in anticipation of visiting another volunteer in a site two hours from mine. The plan was to watch a documentary she made with one of her counterparts and give them some notes. I walked toward the taxi stand but, on the way, I remembered I needed to briefly visit the gendarme. I am still in the midst of applying for my Moroccan ID, and I needed to give them original…

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TEA. It's super important in Morocco, so I made a short video explaining how and why.

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Term of Today: Tiyb

Hey, hey, guess what? I kind of know how to cook after all??

I’ve never truly been in a situation where I’ve had to Tiyb for myself. College is a big exception, but even then I had many options – healthy and otherwise – to eat outside my dorm or apartment. Another exception is when I worked at the Oregon legislature and lived in a small house nearby. I had a functional kitchen, but I shared it with two others, and I still had delicious options on the…

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Kelly

One of my host sisters

Photos of a place named "Cows".

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I picked house #3!!! Spending my first night here tonight. Out of everything, I'm most excited to sing in the shower. #freedom #peacecorps #pcmorocco #househunting #staj98