Really hard to believe that that’s a title, but my Peace
Corps service is coming to a close. I don’t really have that much to write
about, but I feel almost compelled, since it is the end of my service, to leave
a little note about how things closed up.
To start
off this post will talk about food for the first time in ages. After writing
(but before posting) my last post I finally had the wonder known as rfisa. Rfisa is many volunteers’ favorite Moroccan food, but I’d never been
lucky enough to have it until now. It
is now one of my favorite foods. It is made from torn up milwi (a Moroccan wrap akin to a thick tortilla) mixed with lentils
and baked chicken. The particular version I had also had a ton of oregano. It
was incredible, and I’m glad I finally got to sample this traditional, though
time and labor consumptive, dish.
The next
day some students threw a “surprise” party for me. I say “surprise” because one
of the volunteers at the Dar Chabab told me there would be a “surprise” party,
but refused to tell me whom the “surprise” was for. It wasn’t hard for me to
work it out. The party ranged from the funny (a sketch some kids put on poking
fun at my Darija and how I’ll mix up close sounding words for hilarious
effect), to the sweet (when a friend talked about how we’d first met), to the
Fellini-esque (when the “break dancing” started). It was pretty much the
Platonic Ideal of a Moroccan party, and I really enjoyed it.
The rest of
my last week passed in a blur of goodbyes and classes, with another goodbye
party on Thursday, this time at the Dar Taliba. The kids managed to prank me
pretty well, someone brought in alcohol free beer to the party, but didn’t tell
me what it was, so when I drank what I expected to be a coke-like thing I
almost spit it out in shock. I had to check the percent alcohol (0.0) just to
be sure it wasn’t a test.
The next
day, my last day in site, was really hard, saying goodbye to friends and
students. For our last English class I tried to teach my freshmen and
sophomores “The Times they are a’Changin’” (I know, weird goodbye song, but it
wrapped up the topics we’ve worked on nicely), but we were all a little too
emotional to really do it well. Afterwards I went to Fes to wish my original
host family goodbye. It was my first time in Fes since September, and lots has
changed. One host brother is in University, my youngest host sister can now
speak in full English sentences, another host sister (whose wedding I sadly
missed because they gave me a day’s warning, while I was in America!) is
pregnant. Lots has also stayed the same, and I was glad I had the chance to
wish them goodbye. Now I’m in the capitol signing out, so this will be last
post from Morocco. I intend to make one more, a final wrap-up, sometime after I
get back home, so until then bslama
3likum!
