29 March 2008

Yesterday I was in a crowded taxi, smushed into the same front seat as the PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) who I and three other PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) had been visiting. As we rolled around corner after sharp corner, we were again and again greeted by two flags waving proudly in the wind. Vibrant scarlet red, with a dark green star shivering in the center. The flags are there because the king is coming to visit that part of the country. Every town, school, mile of road that he might see is covered with the colors of Morocco. It’s amazing. And then there were the Christmas lights. Yes, green and red Christmas lights, strung in the trees just like they do in Mount Horeb, and complete with some flashing green flowers reminiscent of St. Patty’s Day. It’s humbling to see the patriotism, but at the same time it’s kind of… thought-provoking. It’s hard to see how clean the towns become (no trash, flowers planted, banners and flags everywhere…), knowing that more than likely it will no longer be so clean in a few short days. Still, one cannot deny that the effect was way charming.

We were on our way back from our field trip, in the “foothills of the High Atlas,” according to the volunteer we stayed at. I disagree, we were most definitely in the mountains. No question. Not snow-covered, but in pretty easy view of the white caps of snow. It was fun to see an actual active site, with the volunteer in action. We were able to help out with an Environmental Education session in the nearby school. That was fun, the kids were super cute. The girls were very shy, though. We did a trash pick-up and then a discussion about the different kinds of trash and how long they tend to stick around if you just throw them out on the ground. The girls answered questions, but didn’t want to pick up any trash. The boys were all about the trash, but didn’t answer questions. Some things stay the same, right? Only sometimes the girls are WAY too shy to answer questions, even. Definitely a culture of shyness here. Even outright fear in some cases.

Now we are back again at our seminar site. In a couple of days we return to our host families, though! I look forward to it!