Faces

Because we live in a bubble here at University housing - nice homes, beautiful grass, running water - we try to make the effort to get the kids out into villages so they see the other side of Morocco.

Kendra always wants to hold any kid she can find!
Little Momma - probably doesn't go to school at all.
This little girl snuggled up to Katrina. The roof they are sitting on that angles down to the ground is made out of flattened milk powder and oil cans.
This little girl kept getting tackled onto the rocky ground by some little boys in their rough play. She always just bounced up again and kept on going! Moroccan kids play much rougher than what we are used to.

This is how the Berber women carry their babies.
The girls wanted to catch a chick, and this little boy gladly (and with great flair) helped them.
The girls also wanted to pet a baby donkey, so all the kids went racing around after it and finally caught the little guy!

Carcassas

(Vegetarians - beware, this entry will offend you...)

Often places like those pictured have a nice restaurant behind them. The idea is that you select your favorite cut of meat, delighted with its freshness, and then wait until it is cooked. Personally, I'd rather not see the uncooked dead animal I am eating, but that's just me.

You would think that by now I would be used to carcasses. After all, one of my very first memories in life is going with my mom to the meat market in Kabul.

But, alas, I just can't get used to hanging meat and the smell that accompanies it. I am one of those spoiled Americans who bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts back in the good 'ol days. But here, I must face up to my fear of raw meat.

First of all, I psyche myself up. Then I go to the marche where about 10 butcher shops similar to the ones pictured line one side of the wall. Blood drips from the carcasses and onto the floor where it meanders over to the fruit and vegetable stands which are about 5 feet across from the butchers.

One day buying fruit with my friend Wendy, she yelled, "Out of the way! Cow coming through!" I jumped just in time to avoid a guy carrying the entire side of a cow draped over his head and almost dragging on the ground. We peeked outside to the meat delivery truck. Flies swarmed out of it as the next man hoisted a bloody carcass onto his head and dragged it to the butcher who may or may not have adequate refrigeration. Then they proudly hung the carcass with various known and unmentionable body parts attached for the viewing pleasure of the shoppers.

The chicken guy has about 4 chickens hanging artistically down one after the other; their slit throats giving them a rather morbid expression as one might expect. One day Kendra stood staring at those chickens a long time, but never said anything. A little child stood under them and her mother smiled at her while blood dripped onto her head. After Katrina found out those were real chickens, she asked what they were for. I braced myself and mourned the loss of her innocence before I spoke... "Those are for eating, honey." She thought about it for a while, and then my tender-hearted, animal-loving, sweet daughter said, "Oh well, we've got to eat something" and asked to be hoisted up so she could see the butcher hack it to pieces and skin it. His bare hands did all the work in the freezing air and then he happily handed the bag over to me with blood running down the sides. "Shukran," (thank you) I gulped.

Then there is the ground beef. They cut off a side of the cow, mix onions, parsley & cilantro with it, then grind it all up. Everything made with this meat tastes excellent.

My least favorite is the spare parts guy. I cannot identify any of the things hanging from his hooks nor do I want to. He likes to sling various things over the counter to the stray cats waiting expectantly there. A brain sits on the counter. Hmmm... think I'll skip that today. Or perhaps it's time to become a vegetarian . . .

She's 4!

Our precious little Kendra turned 4 years old yesterday. Since we had already had a big combined party for both girls earlier, we just had a few friends over for an informal play time. We enjoyed the summer-like weather with a little swimming pool out on the lawn and I even bought 2/3 of the ice cream supply in all of Ifrane for the occasion (2 cartons). In the first picture she is holding a pillow made for her from Fatima Ezzahara. The second picture is a classic end-of-the-big-day picture of Kendra sitting in her birthday chair exhausted from all the fun and from repeatedly falling on the road and scraping up her knees! We think her sandals are too big!

Kendra is still my little cuddler, routinely nuzzling into my neck, pressing against my cheek and always ready for a hug. She remains an adoring fan of her big sister, asking for her first thing every morning. Katrina carries her out of the room to me and so the day begins. Kendra takes life at a slower pace than her big sister (most people in the world do), and she tends to notice little things and likes to go off and sit by herself and just be quiet sometimes. She is very happy here after a bit of a rough start, and we love seeing her little personality blossom like the flowers she loves to bring me.

This morning she was singing the "Hayeyouyah" chorus complete with "Yord of Yords." Recently after watching the move "Madagascar," she walked around the house saying, "I yike to move it, move it...." And the other day, she was singing, "I am H-I-P-P-Y, I am H-I-P-P-Y, I know I am, I'm sure I am, I'm H-I-P-P-Y...BIBLE!!!" I think she's a little confused about her Sunday school songs, but that's life from a little person's perspective!

Four years ago, my math-minded husband was hoping Kendra would be born on an all prime-number day (5-17-03), but I guess I just didn't work fast enough, and the 18th it is! And we are so thankful for our little girl!

We're not in Kansas any more . . . or are we???

So, all you Kansans - what is that in the pictures??? Wendy sighted this today at 2:00 and called us outside. For at least 20 minutes, we watched it grow larger, twist to the right, go up and back down a few times, and then finally dissipate. All the North Americans who saw it were convinced. The Moroccans scoffed - "We don't have tornadoes here! That's ridiculous!" The other reaction was, "What is a tornado?" We felt a bit like Biblical Noah telling everyone there would be a flood!

But we have heard reports that there was indeed a "hurricane" (also their word for tornado) here about 15 years ago that destroyed several houses in Ifrane. It was an odd feeling to be in place where most people don't even know what a tornado is, much less have a warning system or sirens. If indeed this was one, we are grateful that it was far away and that it might not have even touched down. We mourn for those in Greensburg, Kansas (an hour away from where Gerald's parents live) whose lives were taken and houses destroyed by a monster tornado only a week ago.

Although Gerald and I have experienced all kinds of wild, tornadic weather, it may just be that we had to come to Morocco to see a full tornado. . .

Fairy Land

About once a week, we take the girls to the woods nearby. One day as we were wandering past the gnarled ivy-covered trees and the rushing little streams, it occurred to me that this just might be a fairy land!
Sure enough, we found out that one day a year the tiny flower fairies living in the forest leave to gather flowers in far-away meadows. On this day only, special children are allowed to see the fairy village while the fairies are gone. It just so happened that this special day was April 28 - right between the girls' birthdays! Here are the face-painted birthday girls in one of the many fairy homes arranged around a little pond and waterfall.

All was well until some washerwoman came and declared this exact spot the only place in which they could wash their clothes! We politely convinced them to move a bit further down stream and thanked them with cake and juice!
A rarely-seen "Talia Fairy"

A small part of Fairyland

(Sorry - I'm having problems with the layout)

Birthday girls!

cousins and friends

She's Here!

Mom arrived safely last Wednesday - on time and with her luggage! The kids greeted her with flower garlands and of course hugs came from all of us. While waving through the glass to Mom before we got to hug her, Abir (who has never met Mom) announced, "I think her likes me!" We took Mom to the beach for a few days and also to the botanical gardens in Rabat. We were trying to give her a time of rest, but with our crew, it is doubtful that was accomplished! Then our little family stayed in Rabat for a church retreat and Ron's crew took Mom home to Meknes where she is now. It seems perfectly normal to have Mom here - she fits right in!