i would like to buy a vowel...

But I can't. I've got other things to spend my money on (like chocolate). Also, there are no vowels available for purchase. Tashelheet has successfully eradicated the vowel altogether.

Okay, no. But there aren't many to be had. Shoving a whole lot of consonants together to make a word is fun, but I sometimes feel like it would be nice to have a vowel, just as a buffer, so my brain could have that extra moment to figure out what consonant comes next and how on earth I'm supposed to pronounce it.

It may not need to be said, but Tashelheet and I are still struggling along. Getting to know each other more and more each day. I often wonder if I'll ever be able to speak/understand it and I have to remind myself (and everyone else) that I'm still learning. And if there was ever a time to do it, now is it. Because I kind of have to. It's in the job description. I really do love learning new languages, so I'm not resentful of the task, just speechless quite often.

I've been an official volunteer for a week now. It's exciting and intimidating all rolled into one. My new host family is wonderful and prove to be a comforting pillow to fall back on when the world outside their door seems a little scary.

It feels like life is about to be drastically different. I, along with the four other new volunteers in Tiznit province, have a meeting with the delegue of the Ministry of Health for the region tomorrow morning in the regional capital. He'll hand us our "note de service" and I'll be an official something or other for the government of Morocco. This seems a bit heavy to me. I've been hanging close to the host family the past five days, but once that document is in my hands, it's onwards and upwards. Meeting with the local government officials in my town, meeting with the landlord for the apartment I will potentially be renting when August rolls around. I'll be getting to know the staff down at the sbitar (health center) and making my presence as a health worker known in the community. Yes, this still feels heavy.

But this is my life now. And I think I'm ready to live it. Maybe not prepared, but ready. I'm blown away by the peace I have about it all. That in the midst of all things crazy and new, there is calm.

I realize there's a whole chunk of my life that has been left out in the past month and a half or so on here, but that's fine. I'd like to say I'll catch up, but I probably won't. I'll just keep going from here...now that I'll have plenty of time to sit and ruminate about life and my existence.