Little Update

Here is a slight update of our site.

Language has had it's good days and really bad days. I have found if I am tired that day I cannot speak hardly any Darija (Arabic). My mind just shuts down even if I know the words that are being spoken. Some days I feel like I am doing great and I am going to learn the language quickly. I am starting to finally string a few sentences together so that is encouraging. I have a host sister who is 9 years old and she has been a big help. She is my "usteda' or teacher and is teaching me a lot of stuff and challenging me with my language. She really enjoys it and really likes me too.

When it comes to my tutor, I found one but I do not think it is going to work out. He wants me to learn "fossa" or classical Arabic because the past volunteer wanted to learn that. I am not as advanced has he was starting out and he seems to be frustrated by that. He huffs if I do not say the word exactly right. I just want to communicate with the people and be understood. I will worry about perfection later. I told him all of this but he does not seem to care much. I am not worried about this because I have many contacts for tutors.

Our site is very big. Beggars really hit us hard every time we go out and it can sometimes be abrasive. I few times now beggars have grabbed me and asked for money and just stood in my face with their hand out. Sometimes stuff like that is hard to handle but it is get getting better daily. We now know most of the trouble spots in town and when we go out we try to avoid them. So it is all together not that bad just we are getting used to everything.

Our counterparts here in country are helpful. I honestly have not had much time to do my job yet because we have been running around doing things like Carte de Jour and finding a place to live. On the plus side of this it seems that we have maybe found a place to live. It looks nice and is much bigger than our apartment back in the states. It is in a safe area and we have great connections with a mechanics shop down the road. They all said they would look after us. The place even has a western style toilet. No squatting for us. This is about all I have time for now so I will update more when I have the chance.

Happy Eid Kaber
Matthew

A few pictures from our CBT site!

First Three Weeks

Hey! We are in Morocco! We got here three weeks ago and are doing language training with a group of four other people in a small town. We are living with a Moroccan family too! We have like a month and a half of training left and then we are sent to our final place, but we don't know where that is yet. We will most likely end up working in youth centers in a bigger city. So we will basically teach english and create activities and clubs for local youth, and do camps. I'm actually at a cyber cafe right now typing on a french keyboard. fun stuff!

We are living with an awesome Moroccan family (mom, dad, a brother and two sisters). It's really starting to feel more like a home now that we have been here for more than a week. I get to help cook the meals and clean around the house Moroccan style! I've even gotten to hand wash my clothes :-) I have been a little sick though, but it's mostly just that they eat so much really tasty food all the time. we have like at least five meals a day, but I've learned to only eat so much at each meal. The beds are really different here, they double as couches during the day. they are called 'ponges'. It's been really awesome learning the language and the culture we have classes every day for about 8 hours with meal breaks of course :-) We are learning a lot!

Morocco

Hello Friends and Family,

Just wanted everyone know that we made it to Morocco! Tanie and I are still really sore and jet lagged from the flight and travel. It has been good so far. We are right next to the ocean and it is very nice outside. We have been getting to know our fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and most of them are great!

Over the next few days we have a pretty tight shift and we have lots of training to do. Right now I am sitting in the lobby and I hear a boy speaking arabic and having a great time. I hear the ocean crashing against the shore. I like this feeling of really not knowing what could come next.

I hope to post a few videos soon. So I hope to keep you updated whenever I can.

Matt

Updated Peace Corps Timeline

Updated Peace Corps Timeline

Early July – My wife and I spoke about maybe joining the Peace Corps.

Next Day – Started the application and talked to our recruiter for the first time. Tells us we can have an interview that weekend if we get all the paperwork in time.

July 12th – We both got all our paperwork in and had our interview. He told us that he could not nominate us yet because we were a married couple and he will have to check a few program areas and get back to us.

Sept. 16th – After a long wait we got a nomination in the mail for Youth Development and English Teaching.

Sept. 18th – Received our medical packet. Now the hard part starts.

Jan. 2nd – Dental Clearance – That was pretty easy.

Jan. 26th – Received a letter requesting more information and paperwork I did not seem to include :)

Feb. 13th – Received medical clearance! What a huge relief! I really did not know if we would get past this part. This seems to be where they are the most picky when it comes to invite after all the normal requirements.

Feb. 18th – Received an email from my Placement Officer asking if we can send things like our updated resume and a copy of our final transcript from college.

June 5th - Received our invitation packet and we are officially invited to serve in Morocco. Both of us Teaching English and working in Youth Development.

In this time they asked us to send additional information and update resumes. There is all kinds of questionares they have us fill out so they know our personalities better. This helps the Peace Corps with Training.

Sept. 8th - Staging at Philly.

Sept. 10th - Flying to Morocco!

Packing List

Hello Internet,

It is becoming closer and closer to September. This is really a scary thought but also very exciting. On Tuesday of this week we reserved a moving truck this was the first time that it really hit me hard that we were leaving the states. I had a strange reaction of nostalgia, greed or something else. I like the states most of the time. We have everything we need and want and for that we are blessed. The truth is I am going to miss Fort Wayne. I am ready for a change but to leave our first apartment and hometown it will be hard to leave. There are so many great people we will leave behind. We are also excited to make new ones too.

I have complied a list of just about everything we will be taking to Morocco. This list is only for me (Matt). We can bring up to 80 pounds because of airline restrictions. All of my stuff comes out to be about 60 pounds so I can bring a little more luxury items. That makes it nice :)
Matt


Matt’s Complete Packing List

Luggage
Backpacking Pack (Check)
Duffle bag (Carry on)
Backpack (Carry on)

Clothing
T-shirts (5x)
Polo (1x)
Dress Shirt (1x)
Dress Pants (1x)
Underwear (8x)
Socks (8x)
Dress Socks (1x)
Thick Socks (1x)
White T-shirts (4x)
Jeans (2x)
Shorts
Shoes (Chuck Taylors)
Sandals (Chaco’s)
Dress Shoes
Sweater
Long Sleeved Shirt (1x)
Zip Hoody (1x)
Hiking Pants (1x)
Swimsuit (1x)
Belts (2x)
Rain Jacket
Thermal Shirt
Under armor

Electronics
Laptop (Netbook)
Laptop Charger
Laptop Case
PSP System
PSP Charger
PSP Games
Portable Hard Drive (500 GB)
Hard Drive Case
IPod Classic (120 GB)
IPod Charger
USB Stick (8 GB)
Flip Camera (120 Mins)
Tripod
Digital Camera
Camera Case
Camera Memory Stick (512MB)
USB Cable
Battery Charger
Voltage Converter
Rechargeable Batteries
8x AA
4x AAA
Headphones (2x)
Power Adaptor Plugs (3x)
Headlamp
Maglite
Travel Speakers

Personal Care
Deodorant (3x)
Razors
Face Wash
Toothbrushes (3x)
Toothpaste
Floss (3x)
Camp Towels
Allergy Meds
Motion Sickness Meds (2x)
Glasses (2x)
Contacts (6 boxes)
Contact Solution
Contacts Case
Hair Stuff
Shampoo
Body Wash
Loofa
Razors Mach 3 (x3)
Electric Shaver

Utility
Gerber Multi-tool
Knife Sharpener
Duct Tape
Sunglasses
Headlamp
Box of Pens
Cards
Zip Lock Bags (Gallon)
Tupperware (2x)
Money Belt
Wallet
Sleeping Bag
Travel Pillow
Index Cards
Carabiners (2x)
Travel Locks (2x)
Wallet

Books
NIV Slimline Bible
Moleskin Notebook
Lonely Planet Morocco Guide
Photo Album
Pocket Dictionary
Pocket Thesaurus
Five Star 2 Subject Notebook
Small 2 Year Planner

Packing

Hey everyone! Now that we are down to two weeks left in our apartment we have been packing like crazy! We have boxes spread out all over the place and piles of stuff. It's nice to be getting rid of a lot of stuff that we don't really need. We like to simplify our lives. It's amazing how much junk we have accumulated in our 1.5 years of marriage. It looks like we will be able to sell Matt's car soon too so that is exciting! Check out our youtube account we put up a video about packing awhile ago. :-) Oh and I'm not sure if we mentioned it but Matt cut his hair off!