One of the best things about the internet for those of us going into the Peace Corps is the ability to connect with others in our group (Staj 97) and to hear from volunteers who are already there.  Thanks to Facebook I have gotten acquainted with Ruth in El Jadida who will meet me in Rabat with the gift of a down sleeping bag, a much needed item I have no room for in my two suitcases! Two weeks from today I fly to Philadelphia to begin the adventure. Christmas eve at church I met Alex, an RPCV who returned from Benin  in July, who said he will pray for me.  He loved his time in Benin but said it was very challenging.

December 22, 2014

Now we are all counting down until January 12th when we fly to Philadelphia for orientation before departing for Casablanca. I am looking forward to meeting the 108 folks who are going.  I met three of them In DC, Alexis and Toby Thom, and Steven Howard.  We are ready to go if not entirely packed up.

I was very happy to see my Mobile family John, Liz, Hannah and Jacob Wilson with whom I flew to DC on Thanksgiving Day (low fares!)  Then I was happy to meet up with Martha Ann Overland and Aaron and Nina Sullivan in their new house in DC.  We spent Thanksgiving together even thought they had barely moved in to their new home.

Next stop Brooklyn to visit granddaughter Mackenzie Garfield now working at What Comes Around Goes Around in SoHo. That visit included Rebecca Matovic and her family, a conference on ordaining deaconesses in the Orthodox Church (don;t hold your breath) and a great visit with Marwa El Shakri and Mark Mazower, Jed and Selma.  Now  I am back in Boston having fun with granddaughter Sarah.
Sarah's bestie is Yenet whose family is below.  Sarah is the one in pink.

And while we were playing the Rosetta landed on the comet.

Here are the two I hope to see when training is done.

These ares granddaughters Lou and Juliette Cluzel, presently studying in Toulouse.

And this was our Moroccan New Year's Day dinner a year ago.  Maybe I cooked my way into the Peace Corps!

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I was shown this garden by my grandchildren.  It is their school garden.  I liked the outdoor class area and the neatly hung gardening gloves. There is a debate about including gardening in the curriculum as some parents feel it is work not learning. This is a California issue as most places I have lived could not include gardens at all.

Halloween

California Right Back Where I Started From

St. Anne's Church in Corvallis, OR.  We cut up bushels of potatoes and a scad of garlic for their Greek Fest.  Lamb was roasted and tested!

The family in Philomath, the parents crossed the continent in an aged white van long ago and found land out here to thrive on.  The boys came from a different direction and are brilliant.  Last seen at the train station in Albany.  My grandson on the left is now the family's butler, gardener, cake and curry maker.

The train from Albany to Emeryville, the Coast Starlight, is one of my favorite trains.  But there was a rowdy crowd who were escorted off at Klamath Falls.  Yes, they do that.  It is overnight, arriving in the morning.  Which gave me the chance of diving right in to another parish festival with my friend and host Maria Zaharov.

Farewell to San Anselmo.

Hello Altadena!

Blogging is not home to me yet.  I am trying to figure out photos and may get a grip by Thanksgiving.  But the family in Altadena is hosting me now and I find two grandchildren and one three legged cat in bed most mornings.

Saying good by. Harder than I thought. Farewell to my over eighty friends in Tacoma, my over ninety Gig Harbor lawyer friend who works every day and plays at least two sets of tennis after, and over seventy friends in Puyallup. Adieu to the clan in Philomath whose Snickers, books, apples and laughs never ran out. Ciao to my amazing grandson Az, or Far Out as he was known on the Pacific Crest Trail which he hiked from San Diego to Canada this summer. Adios to the amazingly hospitable Soot family, shepherds of St. Anne's Orthodox Church in Corvallis. I hope to see you all again in 2017 Inshallah.

My grandson Azrael (AKA Far Out) arriving in Corvallis after completing the Pacific Crest Trail from San Diego to Canada. He shrank a little.

St. Anne's Orthodox Church in Corvallis, Oregon

A lively, welcoming worshiping group of Oregonians.October 2014

Basic Training in Oregon

As part of a three month journey around the USA seeing family and friends my nephew and his family have graciously shared their barn with me.  It has only cold water which I am testing to see how long I can stay clean without the family suggesting I shower.  So far eight days.  They provide me with three one mile walks a day - uphill on gravel.  There are usually deer grazing in the yard.

Moroccan Cuisine

 

In preparation for leaving for Morocco to serve with the Peace Corps, it seems important to get acquainted with the  Moroccan cuisine. Others might choose to  dedicate their time to getting a grip on Moroccan Arabic, bon chance a eux.  Food talks as everyone knows, without a Bing translation.  Showing up in the souk now are clementines, which, as my French connections tell me, is a sign of fall.