storks of the Middle Atlas

This area is quite a cool hangout spot for storks. I think they stop here going between Europe and farther south in Africa (and some spend the winter).

Storks seem to particularly like building nests at the top of a mosque's minaret. Their nests are pretty huge and look really neat. At least they live above the loudspeakers that send out the call to prayer five times a day. Photo from the roof of my house



This group was hanging out on a hill by the landfill. Photography while riding on a bus whipping around curves is tricky.....

fun times at the carnival

Nice springtime weather came through this weekend with good timing for our little Sunday morning carnival.

I organized it with the dar chebab leaders and the older students. A big part of what I'm here to do is 'capacity building' of youth and counterparts. This means that I help to get and keep things going, but I make sure others are responsible and in charge of things. This can be frustrating (just doing something yourself your way would be so much quicker and easier sometimes) - but capacity building is real development. On to the carnival.

One of the main events was a rather complicated game that involved dice, a numbered board, questions hidden all over the place outdoors, and answering those questions.

Face painting (as well as arms and hands) was a hit.




English and art skills put together for good use!






At first I was told that boys wouldn't be interested. Not true.




Most popular things to have painted: roses, hearts, Morocco theme, and a full-on clown face.










She loves New York too!




Me with some of my cool English students (and check out the view from the carnival!)




Girls racing = awesome




My English students definitely like having photos taken.




This is just a fraction of the (mostly younger) kids that came.




My counterparts and helpers - they did a really good job.




My friend and fellow YD volunteer came for the weekend to enjoy the Middle Atlas and the carnival. Can you find her? (It's not really as hard as "Where's Waldo")

the surrounding countryside

There was a good amount of rain here this winter which was good for farmers (and bad for roofs). The nice green scenery makes me glad I don't live in the desert. Speaking of green, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'll be trying to explain it to my students at the dar chebab tonight which should be as funny as explaining Valentine's Day last month.

These are some views walking just outside town (called lHarsh) a few weeks ago with my friends (and excellent English students) Rachid and Mohamed AKA Steve

drawing at the dar chebab

Since there was a lot of vacation time in January (holidays and the end of the semester) my English classes at the dar chebab (youth center) went on an irregular schedule. So I took the opportunity to have activities with the younger children for a change. We had a bunch of fun drawing activities/competitions. They definitely like drawing/coloring and being in photos.

I figured I should put up some photos related to specific Peace Corps work since I haven't posted any yet. There are lots of projects and activities going on - this was one of the best for photos!

Now pretty much every time I see kids around they ask "rsmu lyum? rsmu lyum?!!" (we're drawing today?) Spring is finally here so now we won't be limited to only being inside!

Here's a brief series

a weekend in Fes

What a fun quick weekend in Fes! I'm back after a very nice trip (my weekends are Sundays and Mondays). It was good to meet up with a few volunteer friends that I haven't seen in months. I did however spend about 10 hours in two days on buses.

We did a lot of walking and getting lost in the old medina during the day and actually stayed in the old medina for the first time even though I've been to Fes quite a bit. The weather has gotten awesome and it was great for wandering. That's the best thing to do especially since I wasn't in the market for a rug/dagger/jellaba/leather anything.

The doors are really cool




We also got to see how rich people travel. Other friends of ours were splurging on this very nice riad in the old medina. One night here costs more than two months rent of my house. Unbelievable!




Their rooftop view over the city was also incredible. Since we were there at sunset we listened to the call to prayer echoing across the city from the many mosques nearby.




That's not to say that our PCV appropriate pension wasn't cool. Although being directly across the narrow street from a mosque did kind of wake me up at 5. But our view was fun too.




I think I may have seen more foreigners this weekend than I have in six months. Another bonus was all the shopping for (Western) house supplies that aren't really available around me. I was really glad to meet my host brother (from training) for breakfast. We were again at one of the most fun tourist watching places ever, Bab Bou Jeloud

gruesome and glamorous

The celebration of l3id kbir last month (the center of the holiday being the sacrifice of a sheep) was a great opportunity to experience Moroccan culture and take some rather interesting photos. I also got to eat many new parts of a sheep: brain, head in general, stomach, intestines, heart, hoves, and lots of the more traditional meat. Verdict: heart was especially good, but I'll probably pass on the intestines next time. Also, salt and cumin play an important part.

Here is a neighborhood cat enjoying some of the extras




This has got to be my favorite glamour shot ever. The fact that it was my host sister's idea makes it even better

from the olive harvest

I really should have gone to sleep by now - but I can sleep a bit in the morning before market time. This photo is from the olive harvest a few months ago. These trees are in front of my host family's house. It was a good afternoon of hitting trees with sticks and putting lots of olives in the wheelbarrow. Olive oil is a really important part of meals and it's nice to know that ours is very local. I obviously had fun messing with the colors for effect. laila saida. goodnight.

first post

hi! salamu3laykum!

By way of a very brief introduction I'm Marc, a 21 year old Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco (by the way *disclaimer!* this site has nothing to do with Peace Corps).

I've created this blog on a bit of a late-night whim as a way to share some of my photos I like (maybe some funny stories too). I've never had a blog before so I don't have much of a clue as to what I'm doing. What I figured is that this will encourage me to take more photos. Let's call it a photoblog.

So here is one of my favorites of the moment from just outside of town