A bit warm

I don't know who coined the term "cold land with the hot sun" to describe Morocco, but they obviously never visited the province of Zagora. If it were up to me, it might go something like "the unbelievably sweltering land of the mercilessly fierce sun." Ok, so not quite that dramatic, but it's HOT here, no doubt. For this kid from Maine, the sheer shock of the heat has been enough to consume pages of journaling and most of my daily thoughts. I used to talk about the weather to avoid awkward silences in casual conversation, but now it's almost the only thing I can think to talk about (and that's not just because my berber is still barely functional!). I feel foolish at times as this isn't even the hottest place in-country. My colleagues in the province of Tata and southern Errachidia will endure even more intense encounters with the sun. With that in mind, it was 115 degrees in the shade yesterday in my family's house. Forgive me for belaboring the point, but here are just a few things that best illustrate the overall effects of my new climate.

*I can't wear sunglasses outside at mid-day because the rims get to hot to keep on my face.
*I can watch my laundry dry (I mean this literally, my clothes go from dripping wet to bone dry in 25 minutes).
*The tap water is hot.
*The wind feels like a blow-dryer.

I took some comfort from the fact that I'm not the only one who finds it difficult to deal with. Indeed, even the local inhabitants travel to other (cooler) parts of the country to work or visit relatives this time of year, sometimes for 2 months at a time. I have watched the regular group of kids playing soccer diminish to 1/4 of its former size.

Don't worry, I've been doing more than just complaining here. My work at the health clinic is going well. Now that I've finally figured out the paperwork and memorized the vaccination tables, I think I've started being more of a help than a hindrance to the patient nurse (ha! get it? a nurse who has "patience" as well as "patients." sorry, brain is melting...)

I'm getting better idea of what I may try to focus on for community development ideas. Ther major issue is water, plain and simple. There just isnt enough currently to support the agricultural efforts of even the few farmers who are welathy enough to own their own private wells. One of the principal problems is that each plot of land uses open-ditch irrigation exclusively. The major drawback is that a third of the water used in this manner seeps into the arid sandy soil that lines the ditches or evaporates before it reaches the target crop. The subsequent flooding of the small squared off patches makes for an inefficient use of this precious resource. Most farmers have no choice as they lack the start-up capital to invest in any sort of improved irrigation technique. That's not to say all are eager to change, however. The experiences of the previous volunteer indicate that there are some who are staunchly committed to their familiar methods of farming and see little reason to alter them. Finding interested farmers will be a start, but that's still a long way in the offing.

Language is always a struggle, but I'm starting to get to the point where my host brother (who is extremely good at figuring out what I'm trying to say) and I can explain more complicated things to each other using my limited vocabulary. This, I feel, is a critical point, because now it's not a matter of simply knowing or not knowing how to say something; I'm starting to develop the critical mass necessary to be able to improve on my own. I owe much of this to my host brother and my family who still make an effort to communicate. It would be much easier for them to just throw up their hands and wait until I move out, but they frequently attempt to involve me in conversation. Sometimes our efforts are successful, and sometimes I end up even more confused and frustrated than I was in the beginning. But I've decided that, in the words of my dad, "every day God gives me an opportunity to be humble."

My language tutor gave me a linguistics textbook to put my experience in some sort of academic context. I digested it in 2 days (told you I had some free time). I think this is a good time to think about language abstractly, mostly because now I can't take communication for granted and I spend a lot of time abstracting principles from Tamazight anyways, noticing things about speech and meaning that I never noticed (let alone thought about) before. One of the topics was language acquisition and how difficult it is to try and learn another language after thinking exclusively in one's native language for so long. I certainly feel the mental conflict as I try to force a new language into my thoroughly enlgish-thinking brain.

Thanks to the Daleys for the email, to Mrs. Pat North for her lovely letter and to the family for the care packages, I never thought I would be so happy to read the sports page of the Kennebec Journal! Good luck to Erin, sounds like your training is plenty intense. Keep up the hard work! Joe post another blog and be well. Always proud, guys. Special thanks to all who continue their steady support and fath. It's truly a very real help to me. And, not to be overlooked, a belated congratulations to all the graduates of Saint Anslem College, class of '06. If you can't find a job, there's always the Peace Corps ;-) Be well and God bless!

Aaron