Athens is angry, it seems. It’s a tempered anger, for the most part, but it is lies always below the surface. One always has the feeling of underlying tension, not with each other, but with people and social systems in power. This is most evident in the ubiquitous graffiti. In Greece, especially in major cities…
Moroccan oranges at a local market
Reason 3,042 Why I Love Morocco: Orange season is long, abundant, and delicious.
Reason 591 Why I Love Morocco: If you look helpless enough, eventually someone will take you by the hand and lead you through the morass of paperwork necessary for renewing your carte de sejour.
First, let’s be clear, since I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. There is an extensive coastline along Morocco’s most southern coast that, as of yet, I am not allowed to enter as a current Peace Corps volunteer. I want to visit Dakhla and Laayoune, insha’Allah, but I can’t. Not yet. So, this is…
What is value? What do you value? Why do you value it? As we transition to the next phase in our lives, we have been challenged by these questions. During our eight comfortable years together, we did what most people do – we accumulated things, many things. Our closets were full of wonderful clothing, our…
Moroccan butcher in Agadir
Reason 933 Why I love Morocco: Despite the rapid move toward modernization, especially in the massive metropolis of Casablanca, there remains a culture of trust and goodwill that permeates informal relationships.
The latest of innumerable examples: My local butcher, who’s known me only a week or so, sent me away with my purchase, even though I’d forgotten my money, and told me I could pay when I able. Incha’Allah.
Reason 302 Why I Love Morocco: Sometimes, when you ask a policeman for directions, after buying you tea, he tells a passerby to drive you to your destination across town, who then invites you for dinner at his home.
Reason 248 Why I Love Morocco: Sometimes, when you show up early for the bus, the bus drivers take you to breakfast.
Reason 1,843 Why I Love Morocco: No matter what you need, there’s always a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy.
Being in a new environment, one that often challenges my previous ways of living and understanding of my life, I was trying to find a way to frame my thinking in an effort to understand where and why I struggle. To that end, I’ve decided to harken back to traditional symbolic systems to see what…
