Independence and Sbitarin' it up

Today was a crazy day, on Wednesdays I go to my sbitar (clinic), because it is vaccination day. Normally, the morning is busy but we only vaccinate twenty babies, today we vaccinated fifty-five babies! I got there this morning and my nurse had me unlock to sbitar for him because he had to drink tea first at his local cafe. The women and babies started pouring in as I was unlocking the door and they just kept coming. There is absolutely no order to who goes when so the women all crowd into one small room and just start throwing me their little notebooks. These notebooks are for them to keep track of what vaccinations their baby has received. It is my job to document this information for them in these little books. I also take the babies weight, which is really inaccurate because the babies still have all of their clothes on and diapers on, and no one is to know how many pounds the babies are carrying in those diapers. Fights usually break out because some women got there right at eight and someone that got there at nine got to go before them. It is the biggest frenzy I have ever been apart of. I also get to give the babies vitamin A and D, which comes in a liquid vial. Newborns get the Vitamin D and their mouths are so small it is tricky. My nurse does the shots. Hamed, my nurse, is supposed to have a doctor at the sbitar but he is still waiting for one to appear. I am really lucky that I get to help at the sbitar because most of my friends don't get to do anything, they just wait in the lobby.
I got to move into my place last week and freedom is amazing. It has been over a year that I have not been either living with my parents or a host family. Living with my parents was nice but as we all know there is a reason we move out when we turn eighteen. My host family is also great but my sound track is crying babies. One of the children is always crying. We also ate dinner at 11:30, which drove me nuts because I was so tired and when Emmy gets tired she is not nice. My first couple of nights in my place I didn't eat dinner at all just because I didn't feel like it and it was a liberating thing. Since then I have made mashed potatoes, pasta, and fruit salad. I am learning how to cook! My place also has great acoustics so I have been singing and playing my guitar as loud as I want. Free at last free at last!!!
My house has a bed, like a real bed. It has a kitchen, a room with the toilet, and another room with the sink and the shower. Sometimes I forget to wash my hands because the sink is not in the toilet room. There is a salon are where I host my guests for tea. It is one really long room and I hate this room because I dont know what to do with it. I did have my family over for tea and they gave me some suggestions. They also criticized my tea pot and the sugar I used to make tea with and the fact that I didnt have a special table for the tea glasses. Moroccans like to criticize a lot and like to tell me I know nothing. They are not being mean in their eyes but it is just what they do, it happens to all of my peace corps collegues so we are are just growing thicker skins. My house also has a kitchen with counters and a built in stove which is rare. The top floor is all balcony. This house is nicer than any house I will be living when I get back to the states, which is ironic. The only plus to moving back to the states is that I will hopefully have a sink in my bathroom. Now that I live alone everyone is coming up to me and saying Eawn Ribbi which means God help you. The people of my village feel really sorry for me and I am cheering every second.
It is still really hot here and nobody does anything during the day so life is a little boring still but it will get better after Ramadan, so I am told. I read a lot and stare at the wall thinking of you all and politics :) I have read a lot of books since I have been here but the best book so far is Shantaram, I highly recommend you all get a copy. It is long but entertaining from beginning to end. I also read Newsweek, which is provided by the Peace Corps until September 22nd, then because of budget cuts I will no longer be up to date on current events. What is going on in the campaign right now?
This is my life.
I love you
Emmy