Today I find myself with a glorious, easy afternoon, the first in many days since arrival at our site.  I’ve been waiting for the WiFi folks, who haven’t shown for the third day in a row, but it’s given me the opportunity to catch up on laundry, menu planning and blogging (update: Maroc Telecom did show today and we now have WiFi!!!).  But the good news is: we are in our new home at last!  We occupy the top floor and have exclusive use of the roof, which gives us some privacy while we take in a little sun.

My favorite thing about the place is the 360 degree view from the rooftop!  We can see the entire city and surrounding foothills, and even the lights of Marrakesh at night!  Star gazing has become a favorite activity.

We finally have a table and punj (traditional Moroccan seating), and once I get my tajine pot and typical Moroccan spices, we’ll be ready to cook and entertain all of the lovely people who’ve been so kind to us.  Purchasing nearly all of our food and supplies at the local suk (market) or hanoot (store) has challenged my darija ability, but between speaking Daringlish (kind of like Spanglish) and lots of miming, we’re getting by.

I never thought I’d be so happy to take charge of my own laundry again, even if the machine we purchased is only semi-automatic and requires a lot of hand-rinsing.

Mal had a local welder build me a “throne”, so I can now call myself “Queen Latifa” (Latifa being my Moroccan name).  This contraption has made use of the Turk toilet more American-style, and my knees are very thankful!

Activities are going well at our dar chebab (house of youth).  We are teaching English to a local Scout group and may have as many as 120 boys and girls in attendance at any one time.  We also teach smaller, beginner level English classes and provide tutoring to students studying for final English exams next month. 

Since soccer (called “football” everywhere else in the word) is the predominant sport in Morocco, as an alternative, Mal has begun a “hand sports” group that is currently perfecting the game of “Frisbee golf”.  I wasn’t aware of Mal’s expert status in the sport of Frisbee!  His ability to fling a Frisbee from one soccer goal into the goal at the opposite end of the field has attracted the attention of many a young man, and Frisbee has quickly become a sport that the kids want to master.

Until next time…!  Enshala!