cell phone

so if anyone wants to call me, i have a cell phone. all incoming calls are free for me and probably cost you a fair chunk of change, so I understand that there will certainly be some who do not utilize this option. There was some issue with a sim card today which was utterly lost in translation which prevented me from calling a couple of you to give you my number, and consequently, im still not sure exactly how this is going to work, but without further adieu, the number from the united states should be: 011-212-10255705.
Also, I discovered that although my blogsite has an option to change your password, it does not yet allow you to create a password in the first place. so, as things stand, ill just watch what I say, and if you want to know more, you'll have to call or email.
Communication deficiencies aside, I must say this experience has been, is, and is going to be remarkable. Never have I been in an atmosphere where so much was demanded of me. We were given our post assignments today which lets us know first and foremost, the language we are going to be speaking for the next 26 months - Tashlihit - and through that we have been able to deduce the area of the country we are going to be working in. As far as geography goes, I'm very excited, and I'm very excited about the 4 other volunteers who will be working not with, but in the same proximity with me. They are all very down to earth people with varying backgrounds, and while when I awoke this morning, I was hoping to learn Arabic, I am happy with my placement. I will be located on a national park in the high altas mountains near Marakesh, or perhaps (1/5 odds) on another national park closer to southern coastline. I will still be placed within a small village within the park working with the communities who are still permitted to live in the protected areas, working on sustainable, and perhaps renewable energy options because as the law reads, these people have the right to take trees from the forests if they need it for fuel. which of course they do. One of our jobs is to find the technology and work with the community, regional associations, federal govt, and international organizations to bring this to them in a way they can agree upon. The funding seems to be there, what is needed is someone on a grassroots level to work with the people and educate them about more efficient ways of going about their daily lives. There is a great deal of talk, and a series of success stories where solar power has been utilized effectively. The difficulty lies in the integration process, for these people are not used to change, and if they are given new technology without understanding how it works or agreeing as a community about how it will be used, projects tend to fail. The training we are undergoing right now is designed to enable us to do that. Training consists of 5 two hour sessions every day, at least 2 of which are language, one script and one spoken. Today we had another on the hierarchy of different federal associations which we fit into, who we report to and why Peace Corps has chosen to work with them rather than other organizations. Another was on integration techniques, and we were given the assignment of going out in the city with limited language skills, and finding out both subtly and directly what people want or believe they need. We then assessed the responses that were given and talked about which might be considered if mapping out the needs of the community at large. Naturally there were no expectations for todays activity, but it was still fascinating to catch a glimpse at the process. We are all so far outside our comfort zone right now that there is no point in reaching for a rock to grab onto. People laugh at us, and people come to us with questions and fascination and its all the same. Next monday we leave to go to the villages in which we will be doing the majority of our training within and will begin our homestays. From then until training is complete we will spend about 5 days with a family, still keeping the same training schedule within that village but in a much smaller group, and then return to the undisclosed city we are currently in to debrief. (If your staring at a map and wondering Dad, it is where they said I would be doing my training!) Then off again.
The food is great, the program is extremely well organized and the trainers are respectful yet demanding. How I'm going to continue to retaining information at the rate its being given is beyond me, but so far, so good.
The best times to call me are between 1:30 and 2:30 PM and 3:30 - 5:00 PM EST. Hope all is well.