Extremes

Living in extremes, that is what this chapter of my Peace Corps experience has been like. Last summer I remember sitting on the edge of my bed directly in front of my fan, wearing wet clothing, and trying not to sweat in the dry desert sauna. I wondered if I would ever again see rain. A couple months after that, I found myself in the same exact location, perched on the edge of my bed, except instead of a fan it was a heater, and instead of wet clothing it was all my clothing, layered in a desperate attempt to stay warm. At that point I was wondering if the drain in my open courtyard would catch up with the rain and prevent my house from flooding, which it threatened to do several times. The extremes do not stop at the weather. There are days when I have no time to myself, I spend hours running here and there, teaching, meetings… and then there are times when the weather is bad or there is nothing going on and I spend the entire day reading, watching movies, and doing sodoku. This is what I have learned: When you can rest, rest because you might not be able to take another breather for quite a while. When you find work, take advantage of it, because the opportunities for improvement can be rare. Lastly, do your best to enjoy the day, because you never know what tomorrow will be like. (Wow, one of my high school professors would have scolded me for writing too much like a hallmark card, but truth is truth.)

I got a cat, her name is Milo and she loves to play with bugs. Isn't she a cutie!

Currently I have been putting together a series of projects. The first is a laundry station that will be a step toward decontaminating the oasis in my community from laundry soap. Currently I have submitted the official proposal and paperwork to Peace Corps and I am now waiting for approval before the construction starts. I will keep you all informed and updated with photos once they become available.

The other project is the one that I have been requesting help for. I am putting together a project outside of the Peace Corps framework to get medical supplies donated to clinics in Morocco. It is a large project and I could use all the help I can get. Please look at the blog I have set up about the project at http://sendmedicalsupplies2morocco.blogspot.com/ .

Until next time…. As always, thank you for all the support.