Happy New Year to everyone. With the beginning of a new year I began to feel a rejuvenated and renewed commitment. Its like having a new energy or a pep in my step. I celebrated three different new years. The first was the beginning of the Islamic Calender or Moharam. The second was the beginning of the Gregorian calendar or the new year celebrated back home. The last was the Berber new year or Asugas Amazigh. They all are different dates but the feeling three times over was good for me. Its not that I’m down, its that every Peace Corps Volunteer knows that life, in our contexts, has its highs and lows. Its hard to feel over- excited or jovial when our loved ones back west are together and celebrating. We celebrate the holidays of our host country and send happy holidays greetings. We spend time with our surrogate families who welcome us with open arms. For me it has been exciting to celebrate holidays in Magrib and experience them with Moroccans.

  

                                             The Berber New Year of was interesting. A man from my village told me of the tradition in my village. He said that people eat afullus asuga. A rough translation is country chicken. In Magrib we have two types, umlil or abildee or asuga. Umlil means white and asuga black. The difference is more with how the chickens are raised I believe. In my village they are prepared for a New Years Eve meal with bread. Not just any bread though. The bread is baked with tini or date in it. The  person who gets the piece of bread with the tini is said to receive luck for the new year. I was informed that only older people get the tini and not to get my hopes up.

Unfortunately I didn’t get the tini but the year is proving to be hopeful. The relationships that I have developed with people in my village are growing and getting stronger. I feel apart of my community. I go to the igran or fields often to reflect or go on walks. In the fields I often see the women using the asumouz or harvesting hook to krz or harvest the grass for the animals.

One day I saw Fatima  in the igran. I cant express how much this woman means to me. She is always friendly to me and treats me like her own daughter since I arrived and could only say hello. She stands about four eleven less than one hundred lbs. her hands are rough from harvesting, her face widens into a smile when I approach. I kiss her hand, she kisses mine. Then her shoulder then forehead. She has been in the fields all day and I see her exhaustion reflect on her aged face. Fatimatells me her back hurts. The tagalagouz or basket that she carries on her head appears to be bigger than  Fatima. I offer to carry it. Fatimasays no. I insist. The two of us get the tagalagouz on my head and we head to her house. I was nervous on our walk because we were headed near the argan tree where the women sit every afternoon and I was nervous they would see me. As Fatima and I made our way around the path I saw two of the women’s eyes widen then all erupted in laughter. When we returned to sit I said that Fatimawasn’t feeling well and I wanted to help her. The women said God bless your parents Rihab, and that I was miyar and called me tabudraut. As they said these comments I was less embarrassed and felt happy inside. I also made plans to partake in the harvest in may.

The igran makes me happy just as walking in my village does. This week I walked with Mariam and we picked wild azukuni, oregano. It is soooo good smelling and fresh. My village is well known for its azukuni. Many people have it in tea, with milk,  or make a  dish with azukuni, flour butter salt to dip bread in. As Mariam and I made our way back to the center of town waving at local children walking home the new year made me feel hopeful three times over. 

 

  

Since last fall I have been teaching health in the local schools. Every month has a different topic. This months theme is nutrition. Mariam and I acted a scene and then talked about healthy eating habits to the children. After the lesson we had some students act. This really helps to reinforce the lesson. Some students like the classes so much they show up when its not there classes turn. The video is of students performing the skit.