Paris, Peace Corps, and Productivity

Only two weeks ago from today, I was flying out of Fez to Paris. My expectations were high and so I was somewhat nervous that Paris would not be all that I had dreamed of. Turns out… I had no reason to worry. Paris was amazing.

I thought I’d be able to write this wonderful story of Paris and my adventure there, but I’m finding it quite difficult. Maybe it’s partly because it feels like a dream and those are always hard to recount in much detail or maybe because I want to be selfish and keep it all to myself. Either way… I’ll do my best to do Paris justice, but it just might be a place you need to see for yourself.

This trip all started with a spontaneous decision by another volunteer and myself. We had less than a month to plan and we hadn’t spent more than a few days together, so in retrospect it was a crazy, romantic decision with a lot of potential for disaster. **Side note… It turns out we travel pretty well together and no major disasters occurred, except for a stressful emotional re-entry to Morocco, which is another story and to be expected.

We had four full days in Paris and hardly wasted a minute of it. The first night we got in late, found our hotel, and wandered out looking for food. My first meal in Paris was this wonderful sirloin steak with fries and amazing sauce. Oh yeah and a nice cold beer. AC ordered steak tartare and I remember thinking “wow” so gutsy, raw steak. It was both of our first times trying steak tartare and who would have guessed that I’d like it so much. Parisian pub food isn’t quite like the fish and chips I’m used to in the UK or our bacon cheeseburgers at home, but it was delicious.

The next days were filled with tons of walking and lots of sightseeing. The first day we saw the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery, botanical garden, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomph, walked along the Champs Elysees, outside of the Louvre, and the Eiffel tower. Then the next two days we took advantage of the Paris museum pass and saw Centre pompidou, Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame towers, Musee D’Orsay, Louvre (saw the Mona Lisa… kinda had to right?), Tropical Aquarium (Sort of a bust, but they did have two jelly fish!), and more. It was so nice skipping entry lines, ticket lines…

The last day we checked out of our hotel and had our bags to lug around. We saved the Montmarte district for this day and when we had to climb to the highest point in Paris to see
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur … it wasn’t the smartest idea since we had our heavy bags. The reality of going back to Morocco finally set in for me and made me stress out a little. After spending a full five days together, I was pleasantly surprised at how we dealt with each other’s tiredness and end of the trip moodiness. I admit I’m not the easiest person to travel with…

So I’m keeping it short… the trip was filled with wonderful sights, food, wine, and I will never forget it.

Now for the rest of the title of this blog…. Peace Corps…. It’s a changin! Like the wonderful David Bowie song… Cha, Cha, Changes. We recently found out that Peace Corps in Washington has decided to streamline all the PC countries. They want to have less sectors in the countries, so that I’m guessing it can be more organized, efficient?

In Morocco, there are four sectors; health, environment, youth development, and small business development. However! Big news! Listen up! They will no longer be continuing health, environment, and small business. This new group that came in two weeks ago will be the last health and environment volunteers for quite a long time or ever in Morocco.

The news is starting to sink in for all of us. It really only concerns my training group in that, we now know next year when we leave… no one will be replacing us. NO ONE! So any major projects that we get going that take more than a year to complete (which is a lot here, since work pace is slower) won’t be continued. Many people’s projects could just stop or fall apart. It’s a sad reality to think about, but at the same time I’m in total support of the new direction our country is taking.

The youth development program has the most structure, support from the government, and results of any sector here. They have an actual place to work, job description, and are held accountable for what they do and don’t do. The healthies are just sorta thrown out there to sink or swim with so many factors contributing to “success”. It’s hard for most people at home to wrap their heads around… but we don’t really have a “job”.

Now the last part… Productivity. Yep… I’m finally feeling productive or at least want to be productive. I couldn’t say the same before this month. I was ready to be done, throw in the towel, and say peace out Morocco. Now with the changing weather, I’m finding my stride. Everything I have planned are still in the very early stages and could possibly fall apart (cross your fingers they don’t), but I’m optimistic. I have a health class this Saturday and will start a series of topics at one school and then hopefully branch out. Also I’ll be working at the youth center soon doing a weekly English class and tutoring. I have grand ideas for a poster campaign on pregnancy to do at the hospital in my town and possibly outlying towns. I’m crossing my fingers on all of this and hoping that my spirits continue to stay lifted.

I miss home like crazy and can’t wait for the visit this summer. Take care dear readers.