Update

It has been awhile so I will update you on the last month of my life. Since I got home from America life has been busy and full of adjustment. Once I got home I had to adjust to the fact that my friend Amy was gone now and I needed to figure out how to live here without my best friend. My Peace Corps service has been filled with adjustments and I have made the decision no matter what comes my way to deal with it and grow because going home is not an option for me.
On a brighter note a couple of weeks ago there was a huge music festival in Essaouira and my province mates and I organized an alliance with a local AIDS organization. During the festival we worked with them in getting people tested for AIDS. We had about fifteen other volunteers helping us and successfully got around 500 people tested. I also got to see the group Arrested Development perform. I have never seen or heard of them before but they were good. The festival was on the weekend after Michael Jackson died so they played Billy Jean and we all jammed. I miss music so much especially going to festivals. When I get home I am going to listen to as much live music as possible. I spent a couple of extra days after the festival in Essa hanging out with my new friends from England and Canada. I needed two days to decompress after hanging out with large groups of people for four days straight. Team UK/Canada really helped me realize not to take life so seriously and live one day at a time. Thank you Ollie, Matt, and Kory.
When I got home from the Festival I found out that my best Moroccan friend was getting married that day and leaving the next. Khadjia is a twenty year old girl who a week before her wedding day she found out she was getting married. The day she met her husband was the day she married him. She was so happy and scared to be leaving home and moving to his house four hours away, which might as well be ten because she is rarely going to see her friends or family anymore, the people that she has seen everyday for her entire life. I cried when I said good-bye and thanked America for giving me a life of education and choice. I am so grateful to be from a country where girls are given the opportunity to choose if they want an education and to choose who their husbands are or if you even want to get married in the first place. A week after the wedding I wonder how Khadjia is doing. I know she is a great wife and making sure she is fulfilling all her duties that are expected of her. I know she is probably pregnant by now. Life here is so different but I hope that maybe Khadjia’s daughter will have more choices than her mother was given.
For the forth of July I went to my friend Audrey’s site with a bunch of other Peace Corps volunteers and we roasted hot dogs over a camp fire and went tubing down the river. We tried to keep it as American as possible. I still missed playing BINGO and riding on the double Ferris wheel. I missed the fireworks on the lake but I got to eat smores and be with friends and that is the most important part of the Forth.
After the Forth I went to another volunteers house for about a week to chill and hang out in the most beautiful site in Morocco. Doug’s site is very interesting because it is always changing, he can leave for a week and a new road will be built. It is so interesting to watch development in action. When Doug got to his site he didn’t have cell phone reception but now he does and hopefully someday soon he will have electricity. One day Doug and I went hiking to pick up some rugs and it ended up being quit the adventure. The rug place was closed so we had to hike up to the women’s house that had the keys. We never found the lady with the key but we did find a midget that served us tea and for some reason had the keys. He biked down the hill and opened up the store and was a great salesman. Doug and I ended up getting some rugs and then had a nice hike home. Everyday that I was in Ait Bouali I realized how great my life is here. I am starting to feel like my time in Morocco is going by too fast and I have so much to accomplish still. Good thing I thrive under pressure and will get everything done.
I am home now and getting used to my site again and being forced to push myself. Everyday it gets easier and since tomorrow is market day so I will be busy shopping for beans, vegetables, and Tide. Then I will be going to my neddy to teach English and afterwards I will go and have tea with one of the girls from my neddy. I haven’t seen much of my neddy girls this summer because I have been so busy and they have not been coming to the neddy because in the summer nothing happens in Morocco. After Ramadan everything will pick up again and be back to normal. Until then I have two grants to write because I am trying to get the girls at my middle school beds so they don’t have to sleep on the floor anymore. I am also trying to get computers for a school down the road. I also got a great idea to teach the girls at my neddy how to crochet bags that we can sell so they can have personal money. Slowly but surely I will get work done in this country. The developing world is so slow. I almost forgot this week I am working at a kid’s camp that my friend Tim is putting together. I will be in charge of crafts and donkey races. I am so excited to see the donkey races and will be sure to tell you all about them. Until next time I will miss you all and think of you frequently. I am doing great here in Morocco and trying to learn as much as I can.
Peace,
Emmy

Where is my Wallet!!!!

When I first got back life was great because I was surrounded by all my Peace Corps friends and we went on a vacation to Chefchouen.  I was still surrounded by people and snacks.  Now I am back at my site and life is hard again.  Getting back into the swing of things is not going smoothly. I had my wallet stolen today which is a major set back.  I have been pushing myself to "except the things I cannot change."  I will get back on this horse and start loving it here again but with only fifty durhams in my pocket and no food in my fridge it is hard.  I could say I am not sending this blog out for people to feel sorry for me but that would be a lie.  I need support right now.  I know I am going to be ok and life will go on without a debit card but HUH.  Tomorrow I am going to file a police report and I will talk to Peace Corps to find out what the next step is but since this happened on a Sunday there is little news today.  If any of you out there believe in God please start praying that the police will find my wallet.  I don't even care if the money is gone I just need my identity back.  I hate how important a little 3 by 5 piece of leather is.

I love you all and I will be more positive next time I log on.

Love

Emmy

Back to Morocco

I am about to get on the plane to go back to Morocco and this week has been jam packed with fun. I started the week by wake boarding and ended the week with finally getting to rest and watching tv, Go Red Wings! I saw so many people since I have been home and it has been amazing. I also spoke to three different classes about my experience in Morocco, which helped me realize what I am doing is amazing. I am so tired but I want everyone to know that I love them and thank you for such a great time. I will let you all know when I arrive safely in Morocco.
Love Emmy

Life has Changed

The kittens are dead now because my mama cat was too sick to feed them. Leo didn't kill them, I did. I couldn't take their crying anymore and they wouldn't eat anything so I had some girls throw them in the dry riverbed. Then the next day I took my cat to the vet and he said she was healthy except for the fact that she had worms. I gave Georgie the meds and she seemed to be doing fine but the next day I watched her die a painful death. More than anything I wanted to take away her missery, but the butcher refused to chop her head off. So we just waited for God to do His thing. After Georgie died I was hell bent on burrying her in my courtyard but the girls at my neddy told me my house would smell for months. I ignored them and when it came time to dig the hole it was impossible because the ground was so pouris. Then I just threw her over the wall of my house and she is resting in peace in a grassy patch. From time to time I do smell her though, but I will admit I kind of like it. That putrid smell reminds that she is still watching over me.

Then the next week my closest Peace Corps friend, Amy, decided to quit. This hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew it was inevitable but that doesn't take away from my saddness. I have had a rough couple of weeks but I have great friends that have been watching over me and keeping me entertained. I will be going home in a week so it is time for me to be a super volunteer and tea it up. I also have my toothbrushing project going on and the neddy girls to teach English to. Peace Corps is pushing me to become the person that I want to be.

I am super excited to see everyone that is in the Minneapolis area. I will be home from May 24th to June 1st. Please call me, I still have my old cell number.

Love you
Emmy

T-12 Days until Chelsey Crotty becomes Mrs. Chelsey Paulsen!!!!!!!
Congrats, I can't wait to see you dressed in white. I love you.

My LIFE

This past week was a great one because...I started my toothbrushing project. I taught fifteen kids for three days in a row the importance of brushing our teeth. This week I will have two more groups of kids and by the end of the school year hopefully all the kids in my madrasa will have toothbrushes; and use them.

I also found my cats they were hidden in my guitar case! I really didnt like the idea of having a cat that would eat her young.

I love you all but gotta go
Emmy
Life is good! I will be coming home soon and I am super excited. There is a Twins game one of the nights I am home and I am going to eat twelve Dome Dogs.

Panicked

This is one of the most interesting things that has happened to me in Peace Corps, or for my entire life for that matter. So a week ago I came home from bringing my friend Nicolet to the airport and come to find out my cat Georgie had given birth to three kittens. I discovered this while I was talking to my friend Moira on the phone. I just got done commenting on how much skinnier Georgie was looking, trying to convince myself that she must have had gas all along. But, no I was on my bed with my hand under the covers trying to get Georgie to come to me, as I felt a little string like thing under my hand. Moira convinced me I had to look under the sheets and when I did I started yelling “Babies! Babies! Babies in my BED!” Once I calmed down I had to move the kittens from my bed to a new home because I was not going to tolerate sleeping on the floor for weeks.
The past week I have been getting used to the idea of these kittens in my life. As some of you know I am afraid of animals so it takes me a long time to warm up to new creatures in my house. I was doing well convincing myself that this was easy and not that big of a deal. Then Georgie got the great idea that she would start carrying the kittens into my bed while I was sleeping. This did not make me happy. I would wake up in the night and freak out having a mild anxiety attack because this little KITTEN was roaming around under my sheets. I decided to give Georgie three strikes, because that is the golden rule. In one night Georgie got two strikes, it took everything inside of me to not kick her out then. But, I stayed strong to the rule and went to bed the next night with high hopes; she failed and got her third strike. I then proceeded to putting the kitty bed in my salon that I never go in. I also tied my door shut so Georgie couldn’t sneak in.
The next day I left for Essa, before leaving I checked on Georgie and the kittens and all seemed well. Upon my return the kittens were gone. Mind you these creatures have only been living for a week now. Their eyes aren’t even open, they have no way of climbing over the bed I have created for them, and they spend most of their day suckling. BUT! The kittens are gone! I have looked everywhere in my house. Yes I looked in my bed three times, yes I looked in all of the cupboards, and yes I circled my house multiple times. No kittens.
I told some of the people in my village and they all believe that Georgie has eaten three kittens. After discussing this with some knowledgeable cat people we believe Georgie has not in fact eaten the kittens, there just isn’t any evidence of this happening. Does this mean that she carried three kittens individually up my orange tree and put them somewhere else? I cannot find these kittens anywhere?!?! In conclusion I must say this, why am I scared of animals; because you can’t ask them questions.

Nicolet Visits!!!

Last Thursday my friend Nicolet came to visit and it was such a blast. We bargained in Marakesh for belts and purses and bags. I was so fun to use my language to bargain for her. Then we headed to Essaouira where we chilled. It was a much needed chill session after a big night on the town in Marakesh the night before. Nicolet got sick on the bus but she recovered and the rest of our trip was great. I was so happy to have someone I love from my past life to see my current life. One day I brought her to my site for a couple of hours and everyone was so excited to see her and she was super overwhelmed and couldnt believe that I live like I do. We had such a great time together and got to sit and talk for hours and hours. I miss her already.

After I dropped her off at the airport I proceeded to travel to Rabat and then Azilal, where I talked to all the new volunteers about stress management. The new volunteers had so many questions, it was fun to be the expert. I also got to witness my growth that I have made in the last year. I talked to the new volunteers without being nervous and I just got to be me. A year ago this would not have been possible. I also got to look back and see that I am no longer in the dark about this experience. I know what Peace Corps is all about now and I feel comfortable about my service here. I have never been this happy and this stable before in my life. I have always had a great life but now I am happy and I am working for change. I love my life.

I will be in Azilal for a couple more days visiting my friend Audrey and then I am finally headed home on Monday to stay in my site for a long time because I have been so busy this past month. I cant wait and I miss my home. Plus my cat, Georgie, is pregnant so I need to go home and take care of that situation. Huh, I wish I would have trusted my instincts and got her fixed but now I have another adventure on my hands with some kittens on the way. Lesson learned I should have listened to Bob Hope when he says Dont forget to have your pets spayed and neutered.
Oh well....

I love you all
Emmy