In the last few weeks, I was helping Stan, who is my site mate, that is, the other PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) living in my town, as he looked at potential apartments in which he was considering living. Last week, he moved into his own apartment. He is very happy to have his own space. I'm glad he found an apartment.
I've also been introducing him to Moroccan teachers who live here in town, as they arrive back in Morocco after traveling for the summer. Last night, I introduced him to a Moroccan who teaches Arabic in a primary school here in town. We met at a cafe here in town, where we enjoyed some coffee for a couple of hours. It's not uncommon for men in Morocco to sit at a cafe table, each having just one cup of coffee, over the course of a couple of hours.
While the teacher was asking me about what I had done during my summer, and I was asking him where he had traveled over the summer, for a significant portion of our time together, we were having impromptu language lessons. He was explaining words and phrases in Darija to us, and we were telling him about words and phrases in English. I learned some new words in Darija, but I think that Stan, being newer to Morocco than me, learned more new words than I did.
Given that this teacher is so friendly and helpful, I was glad that I was able to introduce Stan to him. Which, I suppose, is a reflection of how I am glad to be helping Stan in general, as he gets to know the town and the people here in it. And it occurred to me that I am helping him in the context of me having been here in Morocco nearly one full year. Just a few days shy of one full year in Morocco, actually. And I feel pretty good about being here almost one year. I feel relatively well-adjusted, glad to be here doing the work and helping the people I'm helping, and feeling competent at knowing how to cope and handle certain challenges.
Which got me thinking, on the eve of my one year anniversary of arriving here in Morocco, about how I got to where I am mentally and spiritually now, through all of the challenges, many of a type which I had never before faced before the last twelve months. I've tried to learn from what others have tried to tell me, even when it was something I very much didn't want to hear. I've tried to pay attention to what my experiences here have been telling me. I've tried to follow my own advice (which, in my particular, individual case of being here in Morocco as a PCV, has consisted largely of the tips I listed in my August 2011 blog entry entitled "Tips for PCVs and PCTs"). I've tried to take responsibility for how I contribute to what happens in my own life, to try to avoid going down paths where things go seriously awry. It hasn't always been easy. It has involved taking a hard look at myself sometimes, sometimes learning things about myself I didn't expect, and realizing I need to adjust my image of myself and my approach, which often demands humility. But I certainly think that I'm a better person for having done so, and for that, I am very glad.
It's been even easier for me because I have faith that I am trying to do what God wants me to do, to help impoverished people try to better themselves. I have been strengthened by having that vision, which has made this journey considerably easier than it otherwise would have been.
I've also been introducing him to Moroccan teachers who live here in town, as they arrive back in Morocco after traveling for the summer. Last night, I introduced him to a Moroccan who teaches Arabic in a primary school here in town. We met at a cafe here in town, where we enjoyed some coffee for a couple of hours. It's not uncommon for men in Morocco to sit at a cafe table, each having just one cup of coffee, over the course of a couple of hours.
While the teacher was asking me about what I had done during my summer, and I was asking him where he had traveled over the summer, for a significant portion of our time together, we were having impromptu language lessons. He was explaining words and phrases in Darija to us, and we were telling him about words and phrases in English. I learned some new words in Darija, but I think that Stan, being newer to Morocco than me, learned more new words than I did.
Given that this teacher is so friendly and helpful, I was glad that I was able to introduce Stan to him. Which, I suppose, is a reflection of how I am glad to be helping Stan in general, as he gets to know the town and the people here in it. And it occurred to me that I am helping him in the context of me having been here in Morocco nearly one full year. Just a few days shy of one full year in Morocco, actually. And I feel pretty good about being here almost one year. I feel relatively well-adjusted, glad to be here doing the work and helping the people I'm helping, and feeling competent at knowing how to cope and handle certain challenges.
Which got me thinking, on the eve of my one year anniversary of arriving here in Morocco, about how I got to where I am mentally and spiritually now, through all of the challenges, many of a type which I had never before faced before the last twelve months. I've tried to learn from what others have tried to tell me, even when it was something I very much didn't want to hear. I've tried to pay attention to what my experiences here have been telling me. I've tried to follow my own advice (which, in my particular, individual case of being here in Morocco as a PCV, has consisted largely of the tips I listed in my August 2011 blog entry entitled "Tips for PCVs and PCTs"). I've tried to take responsibility for how I contribute to what happens in my own life, to try to avoid going down paths where things go seriously awry. It hasn't always been easy. It has involved taking a hard look at myself sometimes, sometimes learning things about myself I didn't expect, and realizing I need to adjust my image of myself and my approach, which often demands humility. But I certainly think that I'm a better person for having done so, and for that, I am very glad.
It's been even easier for me because I have faith that I am trying to do what God wants me to do, to help impoverished people try to better themselves. I have been strengthened by having that vision, which has made this journey considerably easier than it otherwise would have been.
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