Lauren Jamie Bernstein

Bringing the World Home (the Peace Corps Third Goal)

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 04:04:00 +0000

"The logic of the Peace Corps is that

someday we are going to bring it home to America."

President John F. Kennedy, 1961

What makes Peace Corps service unusual (amongst many other things), is that service continues long after volunteers leave their host countries! I have written in previous posts about the goals of the Peace Corps that volunteers are expected to work towards - Here's a quick reminder:

1. Helping the people of the host country with technical skills.

2. Helping to promote to the host country a better understanding of Americans.

3. Helping to promote to Americans a better understanding of the host country.

Goals 1 and 2 were very much a part of my time in Morocco. I was able to take small steps towards Goal 3 during my service: through this blog, through time spent with visitors, through a pen pal program with a home school in Connecticut, and a few guest blog posts here and there. But the real work on Goal 3 started when I came back to the US.

A lot of Goal 3 seems to happen informally as we catch back up with friends and family, but I am also on the lookout for chances to speak about our experiences in larger settings, and Justin and I were recently fortunate to have our first opportunity to speak formally about Morocco; in this case, to the 8th grade class of The Emery/Weiner School from Houston, Texas!

How did I manage to connect with 8th graders from Houston you might ask? Through my lovely friend Nishta, a high school classmate and teacher at The Emery/Weiner School. Nishta and I have been able to stay in touch through the wonders of Facebook and I even wrote a guest post for her fantastic blog while in Morocco. When I got back stateside, Nishta and I reconnected and set up a time to speak to her students when they came to visit Washington, DC on a class trip. So earlier this month, Justin and I put on our coworker hats once again and collaborated on a powerpoint presentation to deliver about our experiences - ranging from why we joined the Peace Corps, to the type of projects that we did, to some of the key lessons we would want Americans to learn about Morocco. We weren't sure how our presentation would go over, but to the credit of these mature, respectful, and talented students, we spoke to an excited and engaged crowd of 60 with tons of interest and lots of questions!

Huge thanks to Nishta and the wonderful folks at The Emery/Weiner School for the work that they do with these great students. We were really impressed by their interest in Morocco and the Peace Corps and questions that showed real thoughtfulness, but beyond that, when having a dialogue with the students about volunteerism and service, we were also incredibly impressed by the volunteer activities that these students were already doing back in their own communities.

Incredibly thoughtful thank-you notes from Nishta and her students.

It was truly a fantastic Goal 3 experience and we're looking for lots more of them! If you're interested or know of opportunities, please let me know. And if you're interested in seeing the presentation that we gave to Nishta's students, you can download it from here.

What I Wish You Knew about Morocco (Peace Corps Week special)

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 03:35:00 +0000

In honor of Peace Corps Week, current and returned volunteers worldwide have been asked to share messages on the theme of "What I wish Americans knew about my host country." It's been over half a year since I returned to the US (cannot believe how quickly the time has flown!) and hardly a day goes by where I don't reflect about my life in Morocco, compare cultural differences, or think about some of the lessons that I gained over my two years. So in honor of Peace Corps Week, I thought I might share some of the key things I learned.

Let's start with some basic ones:

1. Morocco was the FIRST (yes, first!) country to recognize American independence, and has signed the longest unbroken peace treaty with the United States in American history. Moroccans are very proud of this relationship; it's something that I heard from friends and strangers almost every day.

Moroccan children hanging with Mrs. Clinton at the Embassy.

2. It's not just deserts! From rolling hills to snow-covered mountains, massive forests covered in cork trees to oceanside resorts, rocky plains to yes, the Sahara desert, the country has some of the most diverse landscapes that I have ever seen.

From Tangier, to the Sahara desert, to the snow-capped Atlas mountains.

A few that dig a bit deeper:

3. Moroccans are literally the most hospitable people that I have ever met. There's a reason that Moroccans all call each other "brother" and "sister" within just a few minutes of meeting. It is so common to meet someone on the street, ask for directions, and all of the sudden a few minutes later you find yourself on the way to their house for tea and then dinner and you are meeting the full extended family. During my Peace Corps training, I was warned not to compliment someone too heavily on an item, because they would surely try to give it to me - this happened several times when I forgot! This isn't to say that people don't have arguments or issues amongst each other, but there is something deeply inherent in the culture and religion to be open, generous, and hospitable towards others.

Justin and I with our Moroccan family.

4. As the US is an incredibly diverse country, so is Morocco. Morocco is primarily a Muslim country (about 99% identify as Muslim) but I observed an incredible diversity in people's perspectives and views - some are what we might call more conservative, some more progressive. I saw many women dressing in a western style, many others fully covered, and pretty much everything in between. The Moroccan Arabic language is most commonly spoken but the accents and vocabulary change between every community and region in the country. And that's not to mention the parts of the country heavily influenced by the Spanish and French, and an incredibly rich history - Morocco has some of the most beautiful Roman ruins in the African continent.

Roman ruins in Volubilis.

5. The word "inshallah" is a defining aspect of Moroccan life. It means "If Allah wills it" and comes into play when thinking about everything from plans for a meal, to an upcoming trip, to meeting a future husband or wife, even about death. It means accepting that God works in mysterious ways and is in control of plans. But interestingly enough, there is a line in the Koran that says that while God is in control of plans, people must still put in a strong effort and work hard and will be rewarded.

A group of students in our job skills training class.

And one last one that's kind of fun:

6. Maybe you have heard of argan oil? It has now become famous in the US and is included in all sorts of cosmetics, and pure argan oil is extremely expensive. You might not know about the traditional method of extracting argan oil, and here's where it gets fun. Goats in Morocco climb the argan trees. The goats then eat the argan nut. The nut passes through the goats, the waste matter is gathered and the argan oil is then extracted from it. So this expensive, famous, extravagant cosmetic... is derived from goat poo. I can't make this up.

Goats in trees! Where argan oil begins :)

An unfinished project, now complete!

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 02:05:00 +0000

I've written pretty extensively on this blog about my work related to gender issues and women's empowerment as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco (if you're new to the blog, you can read some of those posts here). About halfway through my service in Morocco, I started a project with an amazing group of young Moroccan girls from GlobalGirl Media, an organization that empowers young women from underserved communities by teaching them new media and leadership skills.

These girls were passionate about creating a video on an issue that affects girls and women in Morocco and in other countries throughout the world -- sexual harassment. I wrote a grant for their project, to cover the costs of filming people throughout Morocco - women and men, old and young, in small and large communities - as well as the editing and production of a video with their findings. Unfortunately, the filming took longer than expected and I left Morocco before the project was completed. I'm happy to say though that these dedicated individuals remained committed to the project along with other Peace Corps volunteers and have completed an amazing 3-part video! It's really exciting to see what these girls have been able to accomplish and to know that I played a role in helping them to express themselves and to stand up for issues in their country.

If you are interested, the 3-part video can be viewed on the below links (they have English voices dubbed over):
Part I: Is this Normal?
Part II: Let's Talk about Normal
Part III: Time for a New Normal

In other news, Justin and I are enjoying our time with the adorable Katie and exploring DC as much as possible when it's not covered in snow. We're counting the days until springtime, cherry blossoms, picnics and bike rides! More updates to come soon.

The newest member of our family

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 23:55:00 +0000

World, meet Katie!!

Those of you who have kept up with this blog from the beginning might remember Sandy, the adorable pit bull whom Justin and I fostered for 4 months before leaving for the Peace Corps. We absolutely loved our time with Sandy and had been itching to have a dog to call our own since then. Two and a half years later, we're so happy to have this wonderful dog join our family!

Overlooking the Potomac River in Georgetown.

Katie is about a year and 2-3 months (we don't know for sure), a beige and white American Staffordshire Terrier mix, and 43 pounds of goofy, loving, energetic adorableness.

At the dog park, an example of her goofiness!

We adopted Katie from Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, a foster network of volunteers who work hard to find families for homeless and abandoned animals (I would definitely recommend them to anyone in the DC area!). We knew that we wanted to adopt a pit bull, for several reasons:
1) They are ADORABLE and have a wonderful disposition, and
2) Pit bulls get a terrible rep and more than anything we want to try to change people's perceptions. Our hope is that by seeing us on the street with Katie, or in reading about or meeting her, perhaps people might start to think a bit differently.

Who could think these dogs are anything but adorable?!?

If you've read this long, then here's your present - Lots more adorable Katie photos!! Enjoy :)

Katie gets to know Pimento, our pet turtle.

Surrounded by her toys.

With Justin and our friend Bryant.

Playing with a Chanukah present from her
Uncle Neal, Aunt Erin, and Cousin Maple (the dog).

Time flies!

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 00:16:00 +0000

I am writing this blog post from New York, where Justin and I have been spending the Christmas holiday with his family. It's so hard to believe that we have been back in the U.S. for nearly 5 months! I've been a bit delinquent on posting (it's on my New Years resolutions list to be more frequent!), so let me catch you up on the last few months.

New City:
We're now settled into Washington, DC where we are slowly but surely getting used to life there. It's a slower pace than New York City and certainly very different from Morocco! The transition has taken a while but I think we are finally getting used to both life in the U.S. and life in our new city.

New Apartment:
After living in a temporary place for a month or so, we moved into a permanent apartment in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, which I just recently read has the largest concentration of returned Peace Corps Volunteers in the world! So I'm happy that we're in good company. It took a few months but we're almost fully unpacked and settled in.

New Jobs:
Justin has started back at school to get his PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland (proud wife brag: It's the number one program for this in the country!) and he's doing really well and enjoying the work. I am working as a Marketing Manager at an amazing education technology company called EverFi. The company creates interactive, web platform-based programs to teach critical skills to students that might be missing from either the school or their home (for example, financial education for high schoolers or alcohol abuse prevention for college students) and partners with corporations to bring these into schools free of charge. It's very much a change from my days working in corporate advertising, and I love coming to work knowing that my work has the potential to enrich and improve people's future prospects.

New Year:
Now that we are finally feeling more settled, I'm so excited to begin the next year and to see what adventures are ahead! From our home to yours, wherever you may be in the world, wishing you a year filled with learning, wonder, and beauty. I look forward to continuing to chart our journeys in 2014!

One Month Back

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Today marks 1 month since Justin and I returned to America. In some ways I feel like we never even left the US and in other ways I am reminded daily of our 2 years spent away from it. It’s been a whirlwind for sure and I cannot believe that it’s been so long since my last post! I do plan to continue blogging, to talk about our experiences transitioning back, teaching others about our time spent in Morocco, and maybe some other fun stuff in between :)

So, where to start?

So many people have asked about our experiences in Morocco, and it’s hard to give a concise answer about something that has changed and affected me in so many ways. Truly, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life – to learn about a culture and way of life quite different from my own, to have the opportunity to affect other people’s lives, to figure out how to solve difficult and uncertain situations with limited language and technical skills, to be able to truly experience another country for more than a brief visit… each of these would take days to expand on how they have affected me.

If you’re curious about some of the work that I did in Morocco, you can look at my Peace Corps Description of Service, which you can access by clicking here. This is an informal version as Peace Corps limits us to fewer pages, but I wanted to include as many details as possible!

Since coming back, we’ve spent lots of time in between New York and Washington, DC (our new home) and in the coming month we’ll be moving into an apartment, starting a new job, starting school (Justin), going to a wedding (my brother’s), catching up with lots of old friends, and continuing to adjust to our new lives – so I’ll have lots to cover in future posts! In the meantime I’ll leave you with a photo from one of our last trips in Morocco and our favorite city to visit, Essaouira.

Our Last Days in Tiflet

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 16:52:00 +0000

A short update: We said tearful goodbyes to friends and family and left our 2-year home on Wednesday morning. For the last few days we've been finishing up paperwork at Peace Corps headquarters in Rabat. We will be returning to the US tomorrow and I'm excited to come back, but I remain very reflective about our experiences living in Morocco.

In our last days in Tiflet, we took some photos to help remember things by. I realized that I haven't posted a lot of photos of our community on this blog, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites.

Tile pieces inlaid into cement - lots of houses in Tiflet have this and I love it!

In downtown Tiflet.

Justin in front of our Youth Center, where we worked.

Our favorite animal in Tiflet! Most donkeys/mules are used for work purposes
and are usually tied up by the legs or neck. This guy, on the other hand,
does not appear to have an owner and we often see him lounging in the
grass or slowly meandering across the street blocking traffic. I tried to get
close for a photo but being the independent donkey that he is,
he wouldn't let me too close :)

Wood piled up for burning to heat a hammam, or public bath.

Traditional honey-covered Ramadan sweets.

Piles of fresh vegetables at our daily market.

Our post office. Justin and I have a side hobby of taking photos of
post offices which we haven't done much in Morocco but look forward
to resuming when we're back in the US!

Sunset along the main road to Rabat, with a mosque minaret on the right.

Things I Will Miss

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 10:33:00 +0000

The countdown has begun. On Wednesday we will begin our closing paperwork with the Peace Corps, and then if all goes smoothly, by Friday or Saturday we'll be heading back to the US. It's all felt very surreal recently, but last night as we took some photos with our wonderful host family after the Ramadan break fast, things started to set in and I spent some time reflecting on the last two years of our lives.

Justin and me with our adoptive family.

A while back, I put a sheet of paper on the wall with 2 columns: Things I Will Miss About Morocco and Things I Miss About the US. As we near the end I thought I'd share the list here.

Things I Will Miss About Morocco

The relationships that we've made with the wonderful people we met here.
The smell of fresh bread baking in the community oven down the street.
People saying "Bssaha" to me when I run through the community (it means "To your health" and it's like I have a group of cheerleaders along a race route, I love it!).
The stars at night (particularly during the summer when we have clear nights, it is breathtaking).
Walking everywhere in town, and always seeing people we know.
Going to the daily market to buy cheap vegetables, fruits, and meats and being able to spend several hours cooking amazing meals with all fresh ingredients.
The unbelievable hospitality and generosity of Moroccans. I can't even begin to describe it.
Amazingly crazy color combinations in homes (we're talking pink and orange couches with purple and lime green curtains - sounds crazy but it works!).
Delicious olive oil, cheap and straight from the press.
Minty wonderful sugary tea.

Things I Miss about the US

Our friends and family, of course.
Gyms and exercise classes - Some days I could kill for some Zumba that's not just on my computer screen!
Movie theaters. I'm already gearing up for some summer releases :)
An array of foods that are hard to come by here, most notably cheese, portabello mushrooms, and black beans.
Air conditioning and heating.
Restaurants and take-out food.
Knowing that when I speak to someone I am definitely understood (and I understand them too).
Microwaves! Reheating food on the stovetop or in the oven can get old.

Despite What Your Guidebook Might Say You Cannot View the Atlantic Ocean Through a Glass Floor at the Hassan II Mosque [Guest Post]

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 16:42:00 +0000

GUEST POSTER in residence: Justin

Casablanca’s Hassan II Mosque is one of the few active Muslim religious sites in Morocco that is open to non-Muslims, albeit only on a guided (paid) tour. It is a breathtaking and impressive building, and one of the largest mosques in the world (our guidebooks disagree about where exactly it ranks – one says it is the second largest, another agrees with the guide from our tour that it is third, a third book states that it is the fifth, and Wikipedia asserts that it is seventh largest mosque – the point is that it is big, and everyone is on the same page about that). The Hassan II Mosque is large enough to accommodate 25,000 worshippers, but according to our guide, only about 600 people typically attend, not including during Ramadan or for Friday mid-day prayers.

We had admired the exterior during a previous visit to Casablanca, and on our most recent trip decided to splurge for the tour. It isn’t terribly expensive if one is traveling on a US salary, but the 120 Dirham (about USD 14) per person fee can feel pretty hefty, considering that entry to most monuments and museums in Morocco costs no more than 20 Dirhams (about USD 2.40). According to our guide the money goes towards upkeep and salaries for the staff, making the Hassan II Mosque self-sustaining. Note to other Peace Corps Morocco Volunteers: As residents we get a 50% discount off the usual price (bring your Moroccan ID), which was a pleasant surprise for us.

The Hassan II Mosque has no historical significance, having been built in the late 20th century. While some might consider it a poor allocation of funds (public subscription, which Rough Guide characterizes as having been “not entirely voluntary,” covered much of the construction costs), it certainly is beautiful. And if, as our guide claimed, Hassan II’s goal was to attract visitors to Casablanca, a city otherwise holding little of interest for most tourists, he seems to have at least somewhat succeeded. There were plenty of people on our tour, and aside from the tour itself I’m sure most at least spent money to eat in Casablanca even if they did not stay there, which at least somewhat undermines potential cost-to-the-public grievances.

As a caveat for potential future visitors, two of our guidebooks claim that the Hassan II Mosque, which sits partially on a pier over the Atlantic Ocean, has a glass floor through which one can see the waves. But while the prayer hall floor has a couple of small glass segments, the only thing one can see through them is an ablutions room (also part of the tour) downstairs. I asked our guide if she had any idea of from where the misinformation in the books might have originated; she said that there is a separate (private) royal section (she called it a palace, but I am guessing it is something more analogous to the private chapels found in many churches), and that in this royal area the Atlantic Ocean is visible through a glass floor.

Even though some of our photos did not come out great due to lighting, they will speak to the beauty of the Hassan II Mosque better than (my) words would:

One of the entrances.

The prayer hall.

A beautiful light fixture.

Pretty much every surface is covered in elaborate decoration; this section
of carved and painted wood was well-lit enough for a good picture.

The mosque has a hammam (traditional bath) in the basement.
It serves no religious purpose and has never been used.
Hopefully they change the water from time to time anyway.

Another entrance.

Detail from the metalwork on the door.

Moroccan Travels: Agadir

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 11:51:00 +0000

Before climbing Mount Toubkal, Justin and I spent a few nights in Agadir. Based on what we had heard and read about the city, we initially were not too interested in visiting, but as our time in Morocco wore on, and always interested in experiencing another of Morocco’s many facets, Justin became increasingly curious about the city. Since we would be nearby for our Toubkal trek, Justin wanted to check it out, and I humored him :)

With one exception, Agadir lacks any structures of historical significance, because on February 29, 1960, the city was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake (5.7 magnitude - I've been told it's the worst in Morocco's history). Down the beach from the old city, Agadir was rebuilt, supposedly in the style of a European beach resort, and it has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Morocco. It is also popular among Peace Corps Volunteers seeking a getaway that is more accessible and less costly than Europe.

Agadir’s main draw is its large, beautiful, and clean beach; we spent a lot of our time walking along it and enjoying the area on and near the beach that are lined with restaurants and shops. We also visited Agadir's kasbah (the above exception, one wall of the kasbah remained after the earthquake and it has a beautiful view of the city), an Amazigh Heritage museum (the jewelry on display in the basement is the highlight) and, set in a lovely garden, an “Exposition Mémoire d'Agadir” displaying photographs of Agadir from before and after the earthquake. Our time in Agadir also happened to coincide with its annual Timitar Festival which began as an Amazigh music festival, but now includes musicians from around the world (including this year Kenny Rogers, though we went to bed before he came on stage!).

Agadir certainly wasn't our favorite city that we visited in Morocco and I'm glad that we didn't go out of the way for the visit but it's always interesting to see new parts of the country, and the relaxing beach time was good before our massive mountain climb. Enjoy some photos from our visit below:

View of Agadir from the kasbah (it was a foggy morning).
Left of the large street in the center is where the city was before the earthquake.

Justin and the remaining wall of the kasbah.

Another view of the kasbah wall.

Camel rides by the kasbah! We were amused.

View of the beach front; the mountain with the kasbah can be seen in the back.

The Agadir beach.

A beautiful entrance to the "Exposition Mémoire d'Agadir" photography exhibit.

The Timitar festival by night (on the side of the mountain is Arabic writing
which means "God, Country, King").

Please Do Not Take Pictures of the Children [Guest Post]

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 15:09:00 +0000

GUEST POSTER: Justin
We had just sat down at one of the tables outside of a restaurant for lunch. This was in Essaouira, and the restaurant was one where we had eaten a year prior and we were happy to see that it was still open (we heard a rumor back in December that it would be closing) because it had great burgers and desserts. Another foreign couple, older than us, was also sitting outside. I noticed the gent of the couple videotaping the neighborhood fountain across the plaza, then sat down with my back to him.

It is summer, so there are even more kids hanging out on the streets with unstructured time (which is not necessarily a bad thing) than usual. A group of maybe eight boys, ranging from probably about seven to twelve, was sitting on some stairs about three yards away.

A few minutes later, I looked up from my menu and saw the woman of the older couple standing by the boys. She had her camera out. I did not see her taking any pictures, but it seems safe to assume she had, because a few of the boys started getting agitated and it looked like one of them tried to grab her camera or hit it away.

Any worthwhile Morocco guidebook will tell you not to take pictures of people without first asking their permission. And if you think about it, that's really common sense and not just in Morocco. I am not talking about a crowd scene or a photo of a landscape or something where someone happens to be walking across in the distance, but one wouldn't, or at least typically shouldn't, walk up to some stranger in the US and start taking portraits of him or her (or his or her kids). The same holds true here, the people aren't animals in the zoo, so we shouldn't photograph them without asking.

So the woman returned to her table and the situation seemed to be quieting down. Then another patron of the restaurant, whom I had not previously noticed, started talking. He began telling the woman that it's rude to take pictures of people without asking, but somehow or other within 90 seconds he was shouting, cursing, and storming out of the restaurant.We thought he was disturbed but later learned from the restaurant staff that the guy is an American who has lived in Essaouira for years and visits the restaurant from time to time (though I guess this does not preclude his being disturbed).

You can use your imagination about what the guy said, suffice to say it involved abundant use of the letter F accompanied by corresponding finger-raising. He seemed unaware of the irony of going on a profanity filled tirade about a point of etiquette. He also set a rather poor example for the kids, because as soon as his fingers started flying they picked it up and began cursing too. Now I'm not so naïve as to think that they had never heard foul language or seen raised fingers before, but they were not doing anything until he did.

The woman seemed pretty upset and shaken up. She and her companion even asked the restaurant staff for directions to the nearest police station, though what they thought the police could or would do is beyond me. I felt bad for the woman; what she did was inappropriate but seemed more based on ignorance than malevolence. The other patron's response was completely out of line (at one point it looked like he was actually about to get hit by a Moroccan bystander) and precipitated the boys' bad behavior. As for the boys, one might be tempted to pigeonhole them as looking for trouble or up to no good, but an interesting conclusion to this whole thing, which you can interpret however you will, was that a few minutes after the kids were following the vulgar example of the other patron, they actually came up to Lauren and me to apologize to us.

Moral of the story: Don't take pictures of people without asking for permission.

A Musical Interlude

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 18:26:00 +0000

The days are going by very quickly and Justin and I are excitedly planning for our upcoming return to the US! To get us in the mood, we compiled a thematic playlist. The list of songs is below and you can click here to listen to the full thing.

If you have other song suggestions, please leave a comment!

1. Rock the Casbah, The Clash
2. Stop, Pink Floyd
3. The Letter, Joe Cocker
4. Wait, The Beatles
5. Coming Home, Diddy feat. Skylar Grey
6. Homeward Bound, Simon & Garfunkel
7. Home, Cowboy Mouth
8. America, Simon & Garfunkel
9. Empire State of Mind, Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys
10. America, Neil Diamond
11. Homecoming, Kanye West
12. I'm Going Home, Tim Curry from Rocky Horror Picture Show
13. Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans, Louis Armstrong
14. New York Groove, Kiss
15. Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn
16. Sweet Home New Orleans, Dr. John
17. L Train, Shootyz Groove
18. New York State of Mind, Billy Joel
19. Closing Time, Semisonic
20. We'll Meet Again, Johnny Cash

Climbing Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 10:30:00 +0000

Justin and I returned this week from our final round of travels in Morocco, passing through Agadir, Essaouira, Oualidia, Casablanca, and the (literal) culmination, climbing up Mount Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa!

I had a lot of time to think while slowly making my way up to 13,671 feet. And I spent a lot of that time reflecting on my experience in the Peace Corps and living in Morocco more generally. I started seeing parallels between my mountain climb and my two year experience living abroad.

Justin and I smiling the night before our big climb.

Be patient and deliberate

Climbing up the steepest summit to the peak of the mountain was one of the hardest physical experiences of my life. The summit was filled with tiny pebbles and very few places to get a firm foothold. I found success in patience - surveying my surroundings slowly and patiently, planning my next step very deliberately, then doing the same for each new step. And the same with my experiences living in Morocco. Sometimes projects, goals, even day-to-day duties can move at a much slower pace than I may have wanted, but I have learned to be patient and deliberate, and in time I've been able to achieve my goals and experience success.

Lots of rocks, pebbles, and snow - in June!

Be aware of and respectful of surroundings

I guess this might be an obvious one. Being respectful to nature, to other people, to the culture in which I'm living - it all goes together.

And what beautiful surroundings they are!

Keep one eye on the ground and one eye towards the sky

The mountain climb was filled with steep twists and turns, sharp rocks, slippery pebbles, and all sorts of other impediments, and I realized after climbing a short time that I hadn't taken my eyes off of the ground! Then I looked up and saw the first rays of the morning sun shining through the mountains:

I realized how incredibly important it is to continue to watch steps and be aware of my path, but at the same time, I can't forget to take in the beautiful world around me! The same goes for my Peace Corps experience. So much time focused on getting the language right, understanding where to go and what to do... but at the same time, I've tried to keep an eye on the bigger picture - why I'm here and what kind of legacy I can leave behind.

Celebrate all victories, small and large

It was a long, long climb. At times I got frustrated, nervous, scared, and overwhelmed at the obstacles ahead of me. Not sure whether I am talking about the mountain or about my Peace Corps experience right now :) But whether it was as small as celebrating making it to the next tree or learning a new vocabulary word, I found that in a long journey, making sure to celebrate the small things is just as important.

A quick photo break on the way up.

Celebrating at the top - we did it!

The Fountains of Morocco... Drink it in!

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 10:30:00 +0000

I cannot get enough of the beauty of this country... from the tiles, to the lamps, to the doorways, I'm pretty much taking photos of everything I see! Today, I bring you some of the beautiful fountains of Morocco - from simple to incredibly ornate, each one is unique and breathtaking.

An apple a day...

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 10:23:00 +0000

The newest updates: Last week Justin and I returned from an "In-Service Training" (IST) in Marrakesh for the newest group of Peace Corps Volunteers, where we gave a presentation about our awesome Job Skills training workshops. After IST, I participated in my very last meeting with the Gender and Development Committee in Morocco and was able to sit back and really appreciate how far my efforts have gone in the last 2 years to promote gender equality activities in Morocco.

So all in all a productive week! However, my excitement faded quickly upon getting back home last Tuesday, as that evening I managed to slip in the shower and bang my chin against our bathtub, breaking open a pretty deep gash all the way to the muscle.

But this blog post is not to complain about the injury - Rather, I want to gush about the medical treatment that I have received in the Peace Corps, which is better than I have ever experienced! As soon as I banged my chin, I called the after-hours Peace Corps medical duty phone. Within a minute I was connected to a doctor who told me immediate actions to take with supplies from the medical kit that Peace Corps provided us with. First thing the following morning, I went to Rabat where I met with the same Peace Corps doctor, who brought me to an amazing plastic surgeon for a quick consultation followed by stitches in my chin. All within about 18 hours of my injury.

From my fractured leg bone to now this, I have been so impressed with the medical attention that I've received in the Peace Corps. Before we left for Morocco, there was some negative press about medical problems with the Peace Corps, but for me I have had nothing but positive experiences. Even so, I have promised myself that the chin injury will be my very last medical issue, because I need to return to America in 1 piece! :)

In other news, we are finalizing most of our projects and beginning the packing process. I can't believe that our return to the US is getting closer and closer! Over the coming weeks we plan to spend lots of time with our Moroccan friends and family and do some final sightseeing too. More to come soon!

Drew U. Visits Tiflet! [Guest Post]

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:47:00 +0000

GUEST POSTER: Justin
When I was in college, my school had a pretty amazing program called the Drew International Seminar (DIS). Participants enrolled in a course at Drew focused on a particular issue related to a specific country (occasionally two countries). Then for three to four weeks after the semester ended, the students visited the country/ies they had been studying for an on-site seminar to continue studying the same topic. The DIS program was like a mini study abroad, and in addition to the academic component, students had time for sightseeing, to learn about the country and its culture more generally, and to meet people from the country.

In February of 2012 I happened to be on Drew’s website and was suddenly curious whether the DIS program still existed. Several years passed since I had been a student, and given the way the economy has been the last few years, I knew many schools have had to cut costs due to financial difficulties. It turned out that not only did the DIS program still exist, but two professors would be bringing a group of students to Morocco in May or June of 2013. Their DIS is on mobility and identity in the context of globalization (seminar description here).

I got in contact with the professors to offer to help however I could, met up with them last July while they were in Morocco making arrangements, have been in correspondence with them, and last week they and sixteen students visited Tiflet during their DIS. It is exam time in Morocco, so a lot of young people are busy studying, but we were able to bring the DIS together with a group of five strong English speakers from our site, and it was a great opportunity for Goals 2 & 3. We have of course explained to our Moroccan students about American diversity, for example, that we have people from all over the world and with all kinds of backgrounds. But us telling them is different from them seeing a group of Americans where the people look very different from one another. The Moroccans loved the opportunity to practice speaking English and both groups seemed to enjoy meeting the new people.

Here's a group photo (a few more are on the DIS Facebook page):

The DIS spent most of its time in Morocco in large cities – Rabat, Tangier, Fez, Meknes, and Casablanca. While in Rabat the Drew students met up with some Moroccan university students, who told them that they needed to get out of the big cities. Some Peace Corps Volunteers also will dismissively tell people that those are not “real Morocco.” It’s not true, as there is no single “real Morocco.” As with anywhere else, Morocco is multifaceted, and particularly since the majority of Moroccans live in urban areas (source: CIA World Factbook), large cities represent a large facet of Morocco. The DIS also visited Chefchaouen, which while small receives a lot of international tourists. But in Tiflet the DIS participants got to experience yet another facet, seeing a minor city that is not often a destination for foreigners and meeting with its youth. While Tiflet is by no means the smallest community in Morocco, the mere thirty-five miles which separate it from the capital city make it far removed from big city life. According to one of the professors at least, the Tiflet experience provided a good point of comparison to some of their other experiences.

Job Skills Workshops Conclusion

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:40:00 +0000

This past weekend, Justin and I, along with our two Moroccan counterparts Abdellah and Badr and new Peace Corps Volunteer Tim, presented certificates to 25 Moroccan youth who completed our month-long "Vocational Skills for Moroccan Youth" training workshops.

Workshop participants with us and our counterparts

Participants attended 7 workshops in total, ranging from writing a CV, preparing a "Demande d'Emploi" or "Lettre de Motivation" (the Moroccan equivalents for our cover letters), interviewing, job search and social media skills, entrepreneurship, financial management, and career planning/goal setting. Participants completed homework assignments including making a CV, writing a cover letter, and even doing a mock interview.

Here, I'm talking about needs and wants, related to financial management.

When Justin and I first began the process of developing these workshops with Abdellah and Badr, we were blown away by how little education students receive here on goal setting or potential career/educational paths and what it takes to realize their potential. We've been told that there's one person in our community who is like a guidance counselor and visits each of the high schools once a year, gives a long-winded speech to students, and leaves without spending individual time or taking questions. Many students end up on a career path based on what a family member or friend does because they don't have a sense of what opportunities are out there, and no one has ever encouraged them to think about their interests and pursue them. Then, when it comes time to look for jobs, not only do many students not know how to create a good CV but many also lack the knowledge of where or how to look for jobs or the self-confidence to express themselves to a company.

Justin in action! He is teaching about the qualities of a successful person.

For our final session, we gave out certificates, had a small party, and asked participants to fill out evaluations about their experiences in the workshops. The responses were overwhelmingly positive. Not only did participants highlight tangible new skills that they learned in the workshops, but they also noted some unexpected new qualities that they gained: self-confidence, motivation, and leadership. One participant said that in the interview she/he "learned how to be me in that moment." Another participant learned that he/she "could be a manager, not just a worker." And another participant told us about learning "how to reach my dreams, how to have a will for success, and how to be an accomplished person." Many participants said that the mock interview was one of their greatest experiences. For many it was their first interview - two participants were so nervous that they actually walked out before the interview! Their peers were able to get them to come back in; the group as a whole was really supportive and the mock interviews presented a great opportunity to learn how to express themselves in a safe and comfortable space.

The workshop team!

Next week, we'll be going to Marrakech to share the program with other Peace Corps Volunteers. We hope that we can encourage others to replicate the workshops in their communities, and maybe this will be one of the legacies that we can leave behind here. For us, it was one of our last big projects and it was great to end things on such a high note.

A signed banner with all participant names.

A big shout out and special thanks to Abdellah and Badr, who were the primary facilitators and worked with us in every step of the planning process, and without whom we could NEVER have pulled this off.

The El Glaoui Palace (Palais El Glaoui) in Fez [Guest Post!]

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sun, 26 May 2013 15:54:00 +0000

GUEST POSTER: Justin

On a nondescript street in a quiet district on the outskirts of the Fez medina, I noticed handmade a sign above an unassuming doorway informing passersby that this was the entrance to “Palais El Glaoui.”

Sign above the door.

I was curious and interested, but surprised, because to the best of my knowledge El Glaoui had been in Southern Morocco.

You may recall that last summer Lauren and I passed through Telouet and visited the Glaoui Kasbah on the way from Aït Benhaddou to Marrakesh. I had heard of the Glaoua, but did not then know much about them, other than that they were the main topic of a book called Lords of the Atlas by Gavin Maxwell and that the leader of the Glaoua (called El Glaoui) had been some kind of powerful local warlord who had collaborated with the French during the Protectorate. Intrigued by the scale and decaying splendor of the Glaoui Kasbah, and with it being in as remote a location as Telouet of all places, I tracked down a copy of Maxwell’s book (by tracked down I mean I looked for it in the Peace Corps library a few times until someone returned a copy). Beginning in the late nineteenth century El Glaoui (first Madani, then his brother Thami, following Madani’s death in 1918) rose, through a combination of skills, circumstances, and ruthlessness, from being a relatively minor local chieftain to the ruler of an enormous neofeudal estate encompassing a vast swath of southern Morocco, effectively a state within a state, only to lose everything following Moroccan independence in the mid-twentieth century. Lords of the Atlas isn’t a great book, but there is not a whole lot of other English material on them.

These two adorable puppies wanted to be my friend.

So it turns out that Thami, who as Pasha of Marrakesh was based out of that city, also owned this palace in Fez.

A central courtyard.

Empty fountain in the central courtyard.

These doors (in the background of the photo
above) look like they had once been brightly
painted, but time and exposure to the elements
have bleached them out pretty well.

Many of Morocco’s museums consist either of collections housed in former palaces, such as the Kasbah Museum in Tangier (primarily exhibiting archeological finds), the Jewelry Museum in Rabat, the Dar Jamaï Museum in Meknes (showcasing Moroccan artisanry), and the Museum of Marrakesh in Marrakesh (contemporary Moroccan art), among others; or simply museums where an old palace is the museum, such as the Bahia Palace and El Badi Palace, both in Marrakesh. And most of the publicly accessible areas in these palaces (excluding the El Badi, which is really only the ruins of that palace) are in fairly reasonable states of repair, often after some more or less extensive restoration work. I was only able to visit a few rooms of it, but the El Glaoui Palace in Fez, which was not listed in any of my four guidebooks, is interesting inasmuch as it gives an idea of what some of these restored palaces may have looked like prior to restoration, or if had they been left to crumble.

The woman showing me around said this was the
courtyard of the harem. I have no specific reason to
disbelieve her but am reflexively suspicious when people
tell me things that strike me as potentially designed
to play into to Orientalist fantasies.

A collapsed walkway in what I was told was the harem.

The El Glaoui Palace also is the studio of Abdelkhalek Boukhars (aka Abdou), a painter and the guardian for the El Glaoui Palace. Abdou’s paintings, most of which are nonrepresentational and called to my mind Pollock, in the setting of the empty old palace I found pretty neat.

Some of Abdelkhalek Boukhars's paintings.

While the El Glaoui Palace is not the first place I would suggest visiting while in Fez, if you will be there for a few days it is worth checking out.

One of several salon's off of the central courtyard,
I did not think to ask if it is still in use.

Some beautiful zellige mosaic.

More beautiful zellige.

Painted wood ceiling.

This dog has decided that I have visited the palace long enough,
and it is time for me to leave.

This is what the entrance looks like if you are looking for it.
Also I added it to Google Maps here

Lights, Camera, Blog Post!

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:06:00 +0000

We've had a few power outages recently, so I think I have light on the mind! I've been accumulating a collection of favorite lamps that I've seen on my travels in Morocco and I think it's the right time to share them. Enjoy :)

Some of our newest projects

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:28:00 +0000

I mentioned a little while ago that we've been working on some exciting projects! One of those projects is a website that I built at the request of Peace Corps Morocco staff, to help promote Peace Corps and volunteers' projects with current and potential partners. Peace Corps Washington has fairly strict guidelines in terms of content and layout, so I didn't have a lot of creative flexibility, but I'm still pretty happy with the result. I actually finished the website at the end of last year, but the process of getting all of the approvals from Washington took a long time and it finally went live last week. Here's a screenshot of the homepage, and you can check it out by clicking here!

There's more: This past weekend, Justin and I along with two local counterparts and close friends launched a project that has been in the works for the last 9 months or so. Unemployment is a major issue in Morocco, particularly for youth; according to a report that came out last year, 49% of Moroccan youth are neither employed nor in school. Although Justin and I are not in a position to address the lack of available jobs in Morocco, one thing that we realized that we could do was to help provide youth with the tools and skills to better equip them to find a job. So we worked with our friends to develop a workshop series on employability skills. We held the first two workshops this past weekend with sessions on creating/improving their CVs and the Moroccan versions of cover letters. We'll continue over the next 3 weekends with sessions on interviewing skills, goal setting and career planning, entrepreneurialism, conducting a job search, social media, and financial management. The first two sessions went really well, with participants asking lots of questions and expressing that they have already begun to gain new information. We're excited to see how the remainder of the program will go, and I'll post an update when it's over! Check out some photos from the workshops, and if you're interested, you can learn more on the Facebook page that we created for the program, which also includes some of the course materials.

It Was a Very Moroccan Place [Guest Post!]

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:23:00 +0000

GUEST POSTER: Justin

Sidi Harazem sits about 10 miles east of Fez. Like Moulay Yacoub, Sidi Harazem has mineral springs believed to possess healing properties (unlike Moulay Yacoub, Sidi Harazem is also a popular brand of bottled mineral water sold in Morocco). Sidi Harazem is a popular recreation destination among Moroccans. Very popular. Actually, when we visited it with my sister and brother-in-law on a Sunday morning during a school holiday the place was packed to the gills, and not including ourselves we saw a grand total of one person who, based solely on appearance, was likely not Moroccan.

Sidi Harazem’s overwhelmingly Moroccan presence contrasted sharply with many of the places to which we had gone the week before, most of which were blissfully uncrowded and where the majority of the visitors generally appeared to be foreign tourists. This of course was not the case everywhere. Active Islamic religious sites are generally not open to non-Muslims in Morocco* and since most foreign tourists are not Muslim the proportion of local-to-foreign visitors was generally higher in places such as Moulay Ismail’s mausoleum (which actually constitutes a rare exception to the general prohibition, though only Muslims may enter a central chamber) and Moulay Idriss. But no place that we had visited remotely approached the concentration of Moroccans at Sidi Harazem.

*I do not know whether this is the reason in Morocco, but the Ninth Surah of the Qur’an (called At-Tawbah) contains verses (17-18) which some people interpret as forbidding the presence of non-Muslims in mosques.

We had spent the previous week visiting places of exquisite beauty (to our eyes) and tremendous cultural and historical significance (in our perceptions), yet the locals were flocking to Sidi Harazem. To be fair, Sidi Harazem is certainly not without allurements; it is situated in some lovely hilly country and is very clean. But it just seemed, to us, rather bland and somewhat artificial.

Sidi Harazem has two mains areas. The first consists of a flat and somewhat featureless stone-like space, with grassy sections and cafes off to the side. There was a massive concrete structure (possibly a sculpture, though of what I cannot imagine) at the entrance and a fountain in the center. The fountain is less like the Fez medina’s beautiful Nejjarine fountain and more like a rectangular pillar with spigots sticking out. And of course there are pony, horse, and camel rides; people selling balloons; snails, for eating; and harsha.

Sculpture(?) near the entrance to Sidi Harazem.

Where it says "fountain" above, you could be forgiven for
picturing something that looks like this
(the Nejjarine Fountain in Fez) ...

... but the fountain in Sidi Harazem is more like this.
Seen here with people filling vessels with the water.

Not sure what he used to dye the horse's hair, but I prefer not to know.

This could be the only living camel within a hundred kilometers.

To reach Sidi Harazem’s other main area you walk downhill, first past a big fancy hotel (not obviously occupied when we were in Sidi Harazem except for the cows grazing on its grounds) with a high fence, presumably to keep out the common folk, then past some carnival rides, including a disturbingly fast-moving (to us) Ferris wheel. The second area has more cafes, a second fountain, a larger grassy open space, and a group of shops catering to Moroccans, many selling cheap souvenirs. Football (soccer) matches and families picnicking or relaxing shared the grassy parts. Further down and off to the side there are two swimming pools, sparsely occupied while we were in Sidi Harazem.

Cow grazing on the grounds of a large, fancy,
and not otherwise obviously occupied hotel.

I'm pretty sure this Ferris wheel was breaking the speed limit.

In some ways Sidi Harazem reminded me of Ifrane, a town in the Middle Atlas which the French developed to resemble a faux-Alpine village (it also houses Al Akhawayn University). Lauren and I will often ask young people in Tiflet what their favorite place in Morocco is, and Ifrane is the most frequent response. We visited Ifrane briefly on January 1, 2012, on a daytrip bus excursion with some of the youth of Tiflet. I did not much care for Ifrane, I found it expensive and artificial, even though it is pretty, well maintained, and clean. But for many young Moroccans with whom we speak, their idea of a great day is to take a bus to Ifrane and stroll around. Similarly, for many Moroccan families, a fun day out is apparently to pack the family, a pressure cooker, a Butagaz tank, and lots of empty water bottles in the car and then go to Sidi Harazem for a picnic (and to fill the water bottles with the special water).

Forgot to bring your empty water bottles to fill at the spring?
They've got you covered.

I do not at all mean to say or imply that they’re wrong or to mock, belittle, or denigrate this idea of a good time as inferior to mine, it’s just a different notion of what constitutes fun. I don’t think it’s not a matter of accessibility, because there’s a lovely (and free to enter) botanical garden in the middle of Fez (Jardins de Boujeloud aka Jnane Sbil). We poked our heads in at the Jardins de Boujeloud when we walked by and while there were certainly people there, it was nowhere near as crowded as Sidi Harazem, which requires more effort to reach. And the entrance fee to most public monuments and museums in Morocco is only 10 dirhams (about 1.20 USD), which I cannot imagine covers their operating costs and is almost certainly less than the cost of the gasoline required to get to Sidi Harazem (gas is very expensive in Morocco). So this really seems to be a matter of preference.

Big grassy area used for football and picnics.
The makeshift structures on the left provide shade for picnickers.

It's not a picnic without a pressure cooker and
Butagaz (a tank of cooking gas, the blue thing).
Please forgive the metal bars in the frame,
I took the picture zoomed-in through a fence
from a distance, to avoid seeming extra creepy.

Then again maybe I shouldn't find it odd that Moroccans would not flock to their monuments. I lived in New York most of my life and only visited the Empire State Building for the first time (and the Statue of Liberty for the second) in the summer of 2011 in anticipation of leaving for Morocco, and it’s not like we spent every weekend at the Met. My friend Badr (who, by the way, loves Sidi Harazarm) and I have talked about the idea of Morocco that the Moroccan National Tourist Office promotes – camels and deserts and belly dancing, even though this idea bears little resemblance to the vast majority of Morocco. So then foreigners (myself included) come to Morocco and go to museums housed in old palaces, take tours of the medinas, and head down to the desert pursuing a certain idea of Morocco and wanting to experience authenticity, and these certainly are facets of Morocco. But in a way the experience of visiting Sidi Harazem gives a more accurate idea of contemporary Morocco (and Moroccans) than many of the other places we have been, and I was especially glad that we were able to bring my sister and brother-in-law there to share it with them. Even though none of us were thrilled by Sidi Harazem, it was a very Moroccan place.

Mmm...still warm.

Feeling healthier already.
Though we were later informed that one must
drink several liters of the water
(while still warm of course)
to enjoy the supposed health benefits.

Without knowing anything about this guy, I'm guessing that,
in decreasing order of likelihood, this t-shirt is (a) intended as a joke,
(b) a political statement (not endorsing terrorism), (c) something the
wearer thought looked cool without noticing, understanding, or caring
about what it said, or (d) meant to be taken at face value (very unlikely).

What we've been up to, and post-Peace Corps updates

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:46:00 +0000

It's been a busy few weeks! How have they been busy, you ask?

Travels with Liz and Dave
The same morning that we said goodbye to my brother Neal and future sister-in-law Erin in Casablanca, Justin and I rushed up to the Rabat airport to meet his sister Liz and brother-in-law Dave. They visited during a school holiday in Morocco, so we were able to take some time to travel around with them to a few places: Rabat, Meknes, Azrou, Fez, and of course Tiflet. A few photos are below, and look for future blog entries about some of our travel experiences!

Dave and Liz in our riad in Rabat.

In Rabat's Kasbah, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Justin and me in a beautiful old Koranic school in Meknes.

Liz and I try out Moroccan style scarf-wrapping in a cooperative in Fez.

Justin and me in an old Koranic school in Fez.

Dave shows off his scarf-wrapping, in Fez.

Liz and Dave, at a beautiful outlook en route to Azrou.

Justin and Liz in the Chellah in Rabat.

Springtime in Tiflet
Even though we were traveling, it was very much a working holiday! We have lots of exciting plans for the coming months, and now that we're back in Tiflet, expect more posts soon as projects come to fruition. Meanwhile, spring has (finally) arrived in Tiflet with beautiful sunny weather every day! And with that beautiful weather, I have proven myself as a gardener. Check out my handiwork:

I harvested the spinach to make a birthday pizza for Justin, at his request. But I've planted a new round and am keeping my fingers crossed that the green thumb wasn't just beginner's luck :)

Women's Leadership Workshop
One of the projects that I had been preparing for was a women's leadership conference in Rabat, that a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer planned along with a Moroccan NGO called "Association Démocratique des Femmes du Maroc." I brought 2 women from my site to the training, and I stayed for the weekend to help the Volunteer. Being around this group of 20 women, of all ages and backgrounds, from small and large towns across Morocco, was absolutely inspiring. Here's a photo of all of the workshop participants and the trainers:

Post-Peace Corps Plans
I haven't really written much about it on this blog, but post-Peace Corps plans have been a topic of much discussion, consideration, and anxiety for Justin and me, really since before we even came to Morocco. One of the things we knew we wanted when we left the US was change, and Morocco has given us plenty of that. As we think about returning to the US, what seemed impossibly far off when we first got here is now surreally close, and we’ve finally decided to continue that theme of change by readjusting back to life in the US while at the same time integrating into a new community, the Washington DC area. Granted, it won’t be nearly as different from New York as Morocco was, but will certainly be quite the change from our lives now! We’re confident that our skills and experiences from integrating into a new community here in Morocco will serve us well as we return and reintegrate in the US.

Now here’s where you come in, dear readers. I plan to return to the marketing/advertising world and am seeking opportunities as a Marketing or Brand Manager in the Washington DC metro area in late summer/early fall. If you are involved in the marketing/advertising scene in the DC area, know people who are, or your company is looking for a new marketing person, I would be immeasurably grateful for any and all tips, leads, referrals, or introductions! The same goes for any insights on places to live in the area. Click here to view my resume, or here for my LinkedIn profile, and read a bit more about my marketing and advertising background. And you can be sure that we’ll be experiencing as much as we can of this amazing country as our remaining time ticks by - and of course sharing it here!

Doorways of Fes

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 09:33:00 +0000

Greetings from Fes! Justin and I are finishing up some tourist/tour guide time with his sister Liz and our brother-in-law Dave. Full blog post on their visit coming soon, but in the meantime, I was struck by the beauty and variety of many of the doorways in Fes. Enjoy :)

Family and Travels

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:38:00 +0000

Well, I'm back in America now.

April Fool's!! Yes, I know that I'm a few days late, but I've been busy. Speaking of America and being busy, just what have I been doing??

As you can see by the lookers in the photo above, I've been spending time in Morocco with my big brother Neal and my soon-to-be sister Erin! Here's a bit about what we've been up to. Justin and I met Neal and Erin at the Rabat airport and brought them to Tiflet for a night. They experienced the ambiance of a small town, enjoyed some Moroccan mint tea and traditional breads with our host family, and chowed down at one of the restaurants in exciting downtown Tiflet.

Neal and Erin had booked a 10-day tour which started in Marrakech, so from Tiflet, we journeyed with them to the other side of the country to spend a bit more time together. And while Justin and I have been to Marrakech a few times now, there are still sites we have yet to see and lots that keep changing! On our own (while Neal and Erin were with their tour group), we visited the beautiful Majorelle Gardens along with a Berber Museum, which really impressed us with the quality and quantity of information offered about the Berber heritage in Morocco. And with Neal and Erin, we got a second opportunity to see the El Badi Palace, which since our first visit has been restored in several new places, some of which we hadn't even been able to visit before. It was really amazing to get to literally experience the restoration on our visits. And we got to eat some new Moroccan foods, namely the "tangia," a local Marrakech specialty that is cooked similarly to a tagine, in a clay pot but more of an urn shape and typically cooked by burying in hot coals for many hours. Like a tagine, the meat cooks low and slow, creating a very tender, juicy dish.

After a few too short days with Neal and Erin, we waved goodbye as they headed off with their tour group. We'll meet back up with them this weekend at the end of their tour and can't wait to hear about their Moroccan adventures! In the meantime, enjoy a few photos from Marrakech, at the Majorelle Gardens and the El Badi Palace.

Where "Mad Men" Meets the Peace Corps

noreply@blogger.com (Lauren Bernstein) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 19:25:00 +0000

For those of you who don't know, before the Peace Corps I worked in advertising agencies in New York City. My life has gone from developing marketing strategies and producing television and radio commercials, billboards, websites, and lots more... to teaching English and aerobics, developing programs for youth, spending time with people in the community, studying a new language, learning about a new culture, teaching about America, doing activities for women in the community, and so on.

A pretty big change as you can imagine! But one thing that I did not count on was being able to continue some marketing/advertising related work in Morocco. Recently, I was highlighted in a "Peace Corps 101" radio interview to provide marketing tips for Peace Corps Volunteers. You can check out the interview here!

On this blog I haven't talked about all of the projects that I've done in Morocco, but here are a few specific things related to marketing that I talked about in the interview. With Peace Corps Morocco's Gender and Development Committee, I helped to revamp the committee to be more relevant and helpful for Volunteers and used strategic planning models to develop a vision and mission statement. I created a website and new communication channels to make it easier for Volunteers to learn about and access resources for gender initiatives. For Peace Corps Morocco, I created a website (which is almost finished!) at the request of staff to showcase Volunteer efforts and to promote our programs to governmental and NGO partners in Morocco. And lastly, as the PR Senior Advisor for the Serving Volunteer Advisory Council, I'm currently running all PR outreach efforts for this global group dedicated to connecting Volunteers and helping provide strategic solutions to worldwide issues.

These are the big ones - and I have one more big marketing-related project in the works that you'll hear more about in the coming months. So while a lot has changed, it's been nice to continue some of the marketing-related work that I enjoyed back home!