Peace Corps 2.0

I remember when I first applied to Peace Corps I kept imagining myself either on some deserted island, teaching people about water purification or helping them cope with some foreign disease that travelers brought to the indigenous people, or in an African grassland, running from lions or teaching about AIDS beneath a large tree to children excited to see an American. When I had my interview and was told that I would be placed in a Middle East program, which would have either been Jordan or Morocco, I was torn. Morocco sounds cool, and is near the desert, so I would be helping nomads and perhaps teaching women about literacy. Jordan, on the other hand, was near so much Christian history; not to mention I would have had an opportunity to witness the Israeli-Palestinian struggle firsthand. When told I would go to Morocco, I looked up more details on it, and decided that living the desert life would be cool. I imagined no water, no electricity, and certainly no internet. Little did I know that the 21st century was embedded everywhere around the world. Nowadays, not even the smallest mountain village escapes the ongoing updates of facebook and twitter.

I was doing laundry and dishes when I heard the sound of knocking on my door. I opened it, and there stood Majid and Ismael. They asked how I was doing and whether or not I could help them with something.

"Sure," I replied, "But I need to finish my housework first."

By this time, I know why the men laugh when I say that I, a man, need to do dishes and laundry. They said to meet them at two at Ismael's house, and to bring a camera.

I arrived at Ismael's house, where I was advised as to how I would put my Peace Corps service to good use.

"We need you to take pictures of us for our facebook account."
"Beg your pardon?"
"Yeah, we are having difficulty with that."

At that moment, I was happy to know that my skills at noting irony were bring put to good use in the Peace Corps thanks to the taxpayers. Technically, this falls under the category of goal one, which is to provide technical skills to local citizens of the developing country. And what is more important nowadays than having a profile to serve as a means of networking? This is something that I've learned to tell myself every time I go to someone's house to upload video games for the local children or to create profiles for the young men, though once I did manage to help my host mother find information on how to sew her own jellaba.

Anyway, I took them around the village, and that's when it started. Back in America, I loved taking fun pictures of people and nature. I think it is because I secretly wanted to be a photographer. The two men were confused at first with how seriously I seemed to be taking the project, but once they saw the pictures, they were more than excited to put them on their facebook. Here are a few samples:









Quick update, also: this is the week of one of the biggest celebrations in Morocco. Eid Kibir, the reenactment of the slaughtering of the ram by Abraham in the Bible. I will have pictures of that, as well, so keep in touch.