Back in Oz

Hello everyone we have returned from our feild trip of staying with a real peace corps volunteer, I cant believe they really exist. I stayed with Fabiola a tough Mexican girl from LA. Fabi is located in the mountains, I cant tell you my exact location because the peace corps doesnt allow that kind of information onto our blogs because terrorists might come and attack us Americans if you want to know my exact location contact my parents. Anyways, the terrain was very difficult and in my Merrell G2000 I was still twisting my ankel while three year olds were passing me up in rubber sandals. The view was amazing with palm trees and in the distance the mountains still had snow on them.

I got to go to a Sbitar (hospital) where we observed Fabi doing health lessons to sick women waiting to see the nurse. This Sbitar was shocking to say the least but it is all they have and atleast it was something, mom you would have been horrified. We then proceeded to incinerate bio medical waste which was a less than sanitary breathing in all of those chemicals so if I have cancer in the future we wont wonder why; or aids for that matter. But dont worry about me :) My town is lucky to have an incinerator most tozns just throw needles in a whole behind the hospital and then the kids play cops and robbers using the syringes as pretend guns; no biggy. I definetely leaned about why Morocco needs health volunteers.

We also observed a toilet project that Fabi is working on she is trying to get 21 homes squaty potties for there houses and half of them currently have there two meter holes dug. That is a good stat for Moroccans; they are slow people, which is understandable it is hard to get anything done when you have to pray to Allah five times a day.

I am so pumped about my experiences to come. I am also scared but I am trying to live by the moto that today prepares me for tomorrow. Dont worry about me I am doing great and I love you all. Thanks to those who have been commenting. Nikki I am so excited that I got to be in Oregon with you and Al and Zach.

I love you all
Emmy

I am off for a field trip

Hello everyone I am leaving for a four day field trip to shadow a current volunteer to see what I will be doing. I will inform you all about it when I return. I have just been training about nutrition for the last two days so I dont have anything interesting to report today. Nikki you would be happy to know I have started eating one raw tomato a day and somedays some cucumbers.
I love you all
Emmy
I am grateful for this experience.
Thanks Heidi and Aunt Jean for sending me letters I got them today, I was elated!!!
I will be talking to you all again on Sunday.

My Life

Hello everyone
I have just returned from spending one week with a host family learing tashelheet and learning how real Moroccans live. It has been a shocking experience to say the least. My host family consists of four daughters and three sons living in a house smaller than Sachels. They all sleep on the floor together and then I go my own room; thank God. My family is so nice they even make sure that I get the good piece of meet out of the community bowl that we eat out of with our hands. My fa,ily weaves rugs which is really cool. Dad I found our connection.

Walking around my village you would think that I was Juliq Roberts because everyone stops everything in order to stare. All the neighbors come over to my house to meet me I have no idea what they are saying but I just go with it.

The hardest thing to get used to is the Turkish toilets or the lack of toilet.

for the week while I was at my host families I would normally have languqge class for nine hours a day. We did have one day off to spend with our host families, which was more like wokring overtime than really having a day off. it was the prophet Mohammeds birthday and we ate all day long. I also went out to the Almond feilds with two of my sisters and it was so beatiful. We practiced vocab, it was one of the longest days of my life.

We have the day off today thank God. We have been working for the last forteen days without a break. Since it is Easter I went to church which was really cool even though it was in French and I didnt understand a thing. I have been homesick the last couple of days and would love everyone to send me letters. i am missing the mashed potatoes and gravy and ham. There is a lack of ham here in Morocco; I guess Muslims dont eat that stuff.

Tomorrow we start training again which means ten hours of information classes. This weekend I am going on a field trip to visit a current volunteer so we can get more of an idea of what we do.

I love you all and would really enjoy some letters in the mail and if you are feeling extra friendly you could burn me some cds.

Peace from the East
Emmy

Happy Easter. Stuff yourselves for me because I am getting sick of Paprika already and I have only been here for three weeks.

Once again I love you all so much.

The Journey Continues

The Pease Corps is a funny thing right when you start feeling comfortable with your surroundings they uproot you and send you somewhere new. The moto I have been hearing about from the beginnning of this process is be flexible and patient; easier said then done. This week we finally found out our Community traing groups; these are the people that will be staying in the same village with me learning the same language. I will b learning Tashlheet which is as useful as learning Navajo when people still spoke Navajo. 60 percent of Moroccans are Berber which is like indian. The Berbers didnt get whipped out like our Indians did; I think it is because they are so maliable, in the last 100 years th Berbers have prqcticed three different religions but still speak there own languge.

Dad to answer your questions I am about to go to my host families house for the first time, where I will be eating with ,y hands out of a dish with a chunk of goat. To prepare myself I have been taking deep breathes. I know I will be ok but I will admit I am terrified of the food situation here.

I will be able to get a tutor for Arabic so all is not lost.

I am growing strength and confidence everyday.

I love you all
Emmy

Today prepares me for tomorrow

Hello everyone that is if anyone reads this blog.
I am going to take the time to explain what my past week has been like. I started in Philly sleeping in a nice bed and all the American things I love - pizza; beer; and new friends. Then I flew to Rabat for training still having my new friends but leaving the pizza and beer behind. Rabat is a crazy city and very chaotic but on the Atlantic and the coast is amazing. Now I a, living in Ouarzazate where Kingdom of Heaven and Babel were filmed. I love it here it is not as chaotic as Rabat.
Training and vaccines are a large componenet of my life right now; which I am enjoying because as I said today is preparing ,e for tomorrow. When I start thinking about what ,y life will be like in the future I start to freak out and become overwhelmed. The Peace Corps does a great job at training you for what is to come.
The food is not that bad and the peopel are great; not as scary as the world make Muslims out to be. It is hot here I know you are all jealous; those of you who live in MN, but I will miss the MN summers.
I love you all and would love to hear from you. Please print this out for Grandma Josefson; give her a hug for me too.

Love
Emmy

i made it

Hello, I am safe and sound in a crazy new world with wierd keyboards, oh the things we take for granted. Love you all and when I hqve time I will tell you all about it.

Disclaimer

Hello all my friends and family,
I have been asked by the United States government to inform you all that every word, picture, and opinion posted on this blog is my opinion and your opinion, not the opinions of the American government. So when posting comments keep in mind that the CIA is going to read this and probably put you on one of those lists.