New job title: Baladeer

So have I told you I bought a guitar? Oh yes, and it has served to make me extremely happy. Since I don't have any guitar books really, I'm using youtube as my teacher and so far it's worked well. In fact, it's worked so well I've started taking the guitar to Dar Chebab and been teaching what little guitar I know. I realized that my students don't know how to read tablature so I figured this might be a nice intro to anyone who wants to learn about the western system of music. 

Yesterday while I was playing my guitar with a bunch of other students, one student wrote down some lyrics and started singing them. So I asked if he would like me to write chords to the song and make up a melody. He said sure and two minutes later we had our own song. Hooray budding songwriters!

Anyhow, that's the latest and greatest but I'd also like to tell you what I've been up to. So I went to the Rose Fest and helped out in a SIDA (the French version of AIDS) tent at the festival. A group of volunteers and I all attempted to talk to many Moroccan festival goers about SIDA. I felt pretty satisfied about it. In fact, it inspired me to have my own AIDS day event in my town. I was able to convince the local doctor to come to the Nadi Naswi (Women's center) and give a speech about STI's, SIDA, and other areas of women's health. 

It's nice to to be busy but I sense things are definitely slowing down. It's beginning to get warm here and school is coming to an end so we'll see what the summer holds in store for us!

Here's a particularly beautiful sunset that I decided to photograph from my balcony. 

This is my friend Marcus and I at the Rose fest.

When Marcus and I went to lunch, this little lady came out of nowhere and decided my olives were tasty. :)

 Of course, roses at the Rose fest.

I worked the morning shift at the Rose fest. You can just barely make out the snow on the mountains in the distance! Barely. Haha.

This is the AIDS tent where we worked for the few days at the Rose Fest.

I was lucky enough to stay at another volunteer's house who just happens to be friends with a French pastry chef. You have NO IDEA how delicious these were.

And then on an unrelated note, there was a party in my town that I was invited to! 3 hour dance-a-thon? Yes please!

That's all for now. Catch you on the flip side. 

Vascillating

Well today was funky. I began today by really thinking about what impact I was having here in T-town and I was sort of beating myself up because I felt stymied by natural ebbs and flows of population to my classes. I was talking to one of my students on the way home and I thought to myself, this person feels like the only person who cares that I’m here. I mean, I generally think I’m a happy person but these thoughts were rough. What impact am I making here? Does anyone care that I’m here? Why do I care so much about trying to please these people when I’m not sure they want me here? Isn’t this my life dream? Shouldn’t I be trying to give my all? Why is apathy becoming a more normal part of life?

Then out of nowhere, a group of teachers were sitting outside my house at a café when I came home from Dar Chebab. They called me over and started talking to me. As it turns out, they would really like to have me teach some English classes for them. Wow! I feel really elated by this.  I also thought it would be nice if I posted something aside from farm animals and me traipsing around the country. I work, I swear!

Now for a picture of me kissing a Triceratops.