On Being Very Important

Morning jams include but are not limited to The Strokes

Before joining Peace Corps I had this idea that being a Volunteer was one big adventure. That’s part of what made it seem so appealing having worked in a basement office with no windows filing human resources forms, creating contracts and paying bills (not that I don’t love my Lisner family). In some senses, being a Volunteer is a big adventure—you never know if you are being understood, your house might mutiny in one form or another at any moment and the neverending gifts from creepy men in your community (yesterday I was given a teddy bear for no reason) definitely spice up the day.

However.

For the most part being a Volunteer means living life the way normal people in your town do. It means being willing to feel like an idiot most of the time, being willing to sacrifice your health by eating like 45 cookies in one sitting, being willing to delay or change your plans due to the whims of the Moroccan sun. Basically, being a Volunteer—at least here in Morocco—means being willing to give up a substantial amount of your own independence and let the environment dictate your life. Instead of waking up and making something out of the day, the day makes something out of you.

When you feel like you don’t have a lot of control over your own life, you tend to feel unimportant, a pawn in someone else’s chess game. Sure, Obama praises you in his speeches. But it’s a little awkward when you don’t feel like you really contribute that much.

It is times like these, my friends, when being invited to Rabat to facilitate last-minute sessions—“Giving and Receiving Feedback That’s What She Said” and “Providing Support to Peace Corps Trainees”—for the language teachers in preparation for the incoming Health/Enviro stage is awesome. That is a Dickens-worthy complex sentence if I ever saw one.

Basically I got a call from Peace Corps staff on Tuesday asking if I could be in Rabat Thursday to do some sessions to the LCFs (Language and Culture Facilitators) who were in the middle of their ToT (Training of Trainers) that focus on working with and supporting Americans. They asked me and my friend Ryan to come, mostly because we can both get to Rabat in a matter of hours and we are still pretty fresh out of training ourselves. Did I care what exactly what was expected of me? No. Was I nervous about having to give a 90 minute seminar on topics I’m not really an expert in? Not since getting a liberal arts degree. The important factors here were:

a. Free trip to Rabat
b. Seeing all my LCF friends
c. I needed to go to the PC office anyway
d. Free food
e. Getting out of couscous Friday

It was an amazing 26 hours. I got into Rabat around 2 pm on Thursday and headed straight to PC Headquarters, which is sort of the happiest place on Earth. It’s literally a villa, and they have this magical place called the Volunteer lounge where you can TAKE FREE BOOKS. So I made a quick stop there to drop off some books I’ve read since getting to site then pick up a few new ones: The Two Towers (I know have the complete LOTR series in my house) and The Tender Bar. Book reviews to come in future blogs. Probably not really.

Chatted with my program manager for awhile about various things: the upcoming spring English camps in Morocco and how they are a clusterfuck every year, my upcoming vacation plans, whether or not my Darija is zwin yet. Then I was able to bum a ride with another staff member to the LCF ToT site, otherwise known as the welcome center for the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Conveniently, this little building is a two minute walk to the beach.

After getting settled in there and meeting up with Ryan, we had a quick meeting with staff about the topics they wanted to touch on in our sessions. Then Ryan and I went out to the beach to plan. Not a bad day’s work. Afterward there was a lot of fun and indulgence with the LCFs old and new: big dinner and a jam session with Mbark and his mandolin.

Our sessions Friday morning went really well. Everyone listened to me and actually thanked me afterward for my “hard work.” This is maybe the fourth time I’ve felt like an important, contributing member of the Moroccan community.

Here’s the best part: after the sessions Ryan and I were treated to lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Rabat! So much food, so delicious. I ate a salad, plate of fajitas and ice cream sundae, reasoning that I should fill up on free, delicious food now and just not eat for the rest of the day. (Worked like a charm). The entire meal ended up costing more than what I pay every month in rent.

Got back to site in the afternoon, just in time for an epic game of Scrabble with one of the university students that was hanging out at Dar Chabab. All in all, it was a much needed dose of feeling-like-I-matter. Plus, my European vacay got officially approved. Tebark Allah aliya.