That's right. A fit of JOY!

to: Nicole Griswold <nicolegris@gmail.com>
date: Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 2:41 PM
subject: RE: Language Classes

Salaam Nicole!

Great to hear from you... I love that you’re thinking of taking language classes. French will definitely help a lot in getting around. Many people in Rabat speak French and those in the service professions (restaurants, hotels, taxis, trains, etc) largely speak French as well. It would be great if you had some phrases in both French and Arabic.

Now for your question…it’s true that Moroccan Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic are different. For classes taught on Arabic in the US and Canada…it’s usually the case that the Arabic taught is either Egyptian Colloquial Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). If you learn some words in either MSA or Egyptian, you’ll be understood, though the pronunciation for those words in Moroccan Arabic may be different. If you’d like to chat more about this, let me know!

As far as work assignments…our Morocco staff will be deciding the work placements about 2 weeks before the program starts. During the month of August, most volunteers have the opportunity to work with the orphanage and/or the Children’s Hospital. Stay tuned!

Cheers,Sharon

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to: Sharon
date: Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 3:58 PM
subject: Re: Language Classes

Salaam!

Oh my goodness, I think I actually experienced a fit of joy with the news that I might be able to work in a Childrens Hospital while there!!! I volunteer weekly in the Emergency Department of the local Childrens Hospital and ABSOLUTELY love it. My dream is to work there as a nurse one day. Ahhhh, Morocco is just getting more and more exciting.

Thanks for the info regarding language, that is fantastic to know. I just put in an Amazon order for the "Learn Moroccan Arabic" CD, a workbook to learn Arabic script, and other handy books including a phrasebook. I think I'll additionally take that French class for travelers from a local language academy (I've been learning French from a Scottish dude for free on iTunes and while it's entertaining, it's not quite cutting it!)
Okay, all for now.

Thanks, Sharon!
Nicole

Sleep Talking

I woke up out of a dead sleep in the middle of the night last night and thought, "OH MY GOSH. I'M GOING TO MOROCCO."

As I came out of my deep slumber I remembered that I have bought my ticket and that countless people are supporting me. My heart started beating quickly.

I couldn't be more excited, yet scared out of my mind at the same time.

I went over everything I need to get and do before I leave (you know, the important things you remember in the middle of the night, like bug repellent and ear plugs), snuggled up against my puppy again, and went back to sleep.

I'm going to Morocco!

And the trumpet sounds....

Wanted to jump on here quickly and give a big THANK YOU to all of you that have sponsored! I'm in the thick of finals week and am going a bit berserk with the continuous studying on top of moving and everything else, and have thus done a super lame-o job on thank you cards! I WILL get there....

I'm still learning Scotti- I mean, French, via iTunes. I've also been reading this fantastic book about Morocco I got from the library but I just realized it was printed in 1995 and therefore pre-9/11. A lot has changed in the Middle East and the relation with foreigners since! I need to look for a more updated version.

Here are a couple of things that I know haven't changed, however:

• Almost all restaurants and grocery stores will be closed during Ramadan during the day, some indefinitely for the entire month of the celebration. If you aren't familiar with Ramadan, let Wikipedia be your guide here. There is also no eating or even drinking in public during the day while Ramadan is going on, which is most of the time I am there. Think Sahara Desert and no water.
• After fasting all day, there's a huge feast. There are bells or trumpet players throughout the streets signaling throughout the night to wake-up and have another meal before sunrise. Many people sleep as late as possible to ensure a shorter day of fasting.
• Eating with your left hand is strictly forbidden. At this rate I'm pretty sure I could eat with my feet better than my right hand, so I'm currently practicing (....or at least I'm trying to. Do you know how hard it is to not be able to get that awesome bite of salmon teriyaki in your mouth?!)

Okay. Finals. More later!

Two months!!!

Two months from now I will be officially in Morocco, hopefully catching some much needed slumber in anticipation for the beginning of my adventure! I'm SO excited!!!!!

So much to do and so little time. I've been practicing French from some Scottish dude via a free iTunes application, which has been quite entertaining. I'm actually learning a lot, and memories of French class in high school are slowly making a come back. I also found Moroccan Arabic lessons at the local library which I'm totally stoked about.
In addition I've been placing holds on any and every book related to Morocco in hopes of learning as much about the culture as I can before I go. When I'll have time to read them is a whole other topic, but I'll figure it out. I really want to learn more about Islam as well, as it majorly influences the Moroccan culture. Any suggestions appreciated!

I've also officially moved into my new house, although I'm not sure I'm okay with the term "moved in". Just because all of my boxes of crap are there doesn't mean I have the slightest clue where my clothes are and what happened to my toothbrush... Getting ready this morning was quite exciting, and the sheer exhaustion of moving and getting no sleep from being in a new place had me pondering just how much of a taste it is of what's to come in two months.

Two months! 60 days! Wahoo!!!

PS- For those of you that didn't read the previous blog post, my financial due date has been extended a month until July 8th. :) Horray!

Bo-Ya Grandma!

Today, I bring you good news and great joy! Okay, so I'm not Jesus and maybe it's more good news for me than for you, but I'm sure you catch my drift (is that how the saying goes? I am far too exhausted to know, or care, for that matter right now!)

Because so many awesome people have sponsored me, they have extended my financial due date to July 8th instead of June 8th! One has to fit certain criteria to make it possible, and I feel so blessed that they were able to extend it.

The other fantastic news is that I am 59% towards my program cost! Simply click on the Sponsor Me button on the right to check it out for yourself. I am totally in awe, and have been blown away by the generosity of others. Melissa, a very good friend of mine and the Mama to the beautiful boy on the right, wrote about my trip in her blog, asking for her readers to sponsor my trip. I am blown away by all of the generosity!

That said, I still have a bit to go before I fulfill my program cost. Why pay money to volunteer, you may wonder? Well, that's a fantastic question, and I'm so glad that you asked. Much of it has to do with their belief of creating self-sustaining communities that are not dependant on volunteers and visa versa. For example, say an organization goes into a third world country wanting to help them, but needs to stay with host families. These host families are already impoverished, and likely to burn out on continuing to provide for guests when they can barely provide for themselves, therefore leading them to wonder if it's even worth having volunteers come in. There's more info about it here.

Okay, that's all for now. I'm moving tomorrow (!!!!!) and have far too much to do in so little time! I wanted to jump on here and give a quick update though, and also say that due to the move, I'm wicked behind in thank yous. I will get to them, I promise. But in the mean time, THANK YOU!

Now, off to pack...

Honey YOU, are my shining star....

I have been getting some amazing notes of encouragement from people to go with their amazing financial support for my trip. Many of them have included some form of this in the note:

"This isn't much and I'm sorry it's not more, but..."

All I have to say is, thank you. Thank you for donating to a cause that I am so excited and passionate about. Thank you for dreaming with me and supporting me emotionally, spiritually, and financially. For goodness sakes, please don't be apologizing or belittling your support! It means the world to me and I feel grateful regardless of the size of the contribution.

You guys are rock stars for trusting me and supporting me in this. Thank you!