Some Future Plans in Regards to Peace Corps Activities

Work with the Moroccan-American Association for Human Development and Cultural Exchange (MAAHDCE)

The association that I created with some Moroccans and fellow PCVs will have an event to mark Independence Day. This is going to be a great opportunity to explain to kids the history of the American holiday as well as compare it to the Moroccan Independence Day, which celebrates the return of their king from exile and the freedom from Spain and France. We will also talk about the relationship between America and Morocco going all the way back to the founder. Did you know that Muhammad III was the first leader to recognize America as a new country? Hopefully, this will lead to other PCVs doing cultural events. My hope for this association is that it will become the group for PCVs in the Er Rachidia area to go to when they want to host such an event. Later, I hope that we can partner with the private schools here that teach English with American schools so that they can talk back and forth through Skype sessions.

Work with Dar Chebab Medina in Er Rachidia

As I have stated before, most of my work is in Er Rachidia proper now. Before the summer break, I would hold weekly meetings for the general health club. It made for a very slow work week. In September, I hope to increase that to in between four and five days a week. My hope is to teach conversational English with the current English teacher there two days a week, and then to teach a combination of yoga, pilates, and general health each day. Depending on what I can get, I will do them all over a five day week, or just vary which class I teach on a specific day of the week. I finally feel like I'm useful. I know that people have said that the changes that I am making are far more deep than I realize, but I like the fact that I have a schedule now.

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This is coming on a final countdown, sort of, I suppose. I only have 44 weeks left. It's just coming by so quickly, especially when I factor in that I'm sending in a request to travel to America for the entire month of August. When I return in September, it will be only 35 weeks. I hope to visit some friends in Pensacola at some point while I'm in America. It will be great to see how people are doing.