merrily, merrily, merrily...

So... I guess it's been awhile. But only because nothing's happened since it was cold in November...

Okay, things have happened. So we're all up to speed, a brief recap (did you know the full word is recapitulation?):

December:

Eid Mqqurn - sheep died, nearly every bit was eaten, though I still have a piece in my freezer
Christmas in Madrid - ate many pork products, Indian food on Christmas Eve, went to a Methodist church with Texan preachers

January:

Visit from Sam - HLP4L! Here's the comprehensive rundown.

Marrakech 1/2 marathon - what a mess! Got very lost, but found a friend in Ishmael, an 11 year-old with a penchant for James Brown

February:

Visit from Tori - we did a lot of turning about the country in trains, buses, and automobiles and met some... interesting folks

March:

One year in country. Crazy.

And now it's April. At the beginning of the month, I, along with 7 other volunteers (and 130 others countrywide), worked at a spring English language immersion camp in the city of Zagora (about 14 hours of travel from where I live). There were about 70 campers aged 14-17 and a group of about 5 Moroccan counsellors. I taught an English class with another volunteer named Kate. We covered subjects like family relationships, simple action verbs, and the difference between "a" and "an". Kate and I taught our class "Hello, Goodbye" by the Beatles. We came up with hand motions and wowed the crowd at the "Spectac" at the end of the week. My friend Mel and I led a nutrition club 3 days of the week. We introduced the kids to peanut butter. The campers were fantastic. They were so enthusiastic, and overall, very well behaved. We taught them "Row, row, row your boat" and they ate it up like pie. It was a totally exhausting week, but completely worth it.

Finally, finally, finally I found myself a kitten! There are cats everywhere here, but I've been wanting a kitten from a family who keeps their cat inside because the outside cats can be pretty funky. Last month, I was visiting a family that I'm friends with and they told me their cat had just given birth. It was a triumphant moment. I was there a couple days ago. The kitties are bigger and I can bring one home soon! There are two daughters in the family; Samira is 21 and Hafida is 15 or 16. Samira loves make up and nail polish and all things pretty and they both love doing henna. Thus, I had my nails painted and henna done on my hands. In the process of waiting for the henna to dry, dinner was served. Egg tagine with bread. Samira had to hand feed me. I decided this must happen a lot when people get henna because not one person in the room skipped a beat as Samira scooped egg up with the bread and proceeded to shove it in my mouth.

At camp, I made a bean bag with a sock and lentils. I introduced it into the afternoon activities of the kids in my neighborhood. Whoa.