Moving Day reflections….

If there's one thing that I have learned about Morocco it is to expect the unexpected. This holds especially true reflect on the last few days leading up to today. This morning I officially moved into my new house, and have left my second and final home stay behind. I must say that in the days leading up to this momentous occasion I anticipated feeling relieved, liberated and satisfied. What I didn't, and couldn't, anticipate is feeling sad about leaving my host family. They have become my family, and while having my own space after four months in country feels like taking the first breath after being underwater for too long I will miss them. If I'm going to be totally and brutally honest it's not just them in particular…

The truth of the matter is that I haven't lived by myself since the spring of 2007. That was a rough time in my life, but that aside I really enjoyed the experience. Since then I have become used to the noises and little things that indicate a hundred times a day that you are not alone. In my most recent housing arrangement it was the sound of children playing in the hall, the smell of cooking, conversations in Tamazight. Before that it was pots of pea soup left on the stove by my grandparents to simmer for the afternoon, and my Mom's habit of talking semi-unintelligibly as she walked away through the echoing rooms of that giant ranch style monstrosity. Having none of those subtle sensory cues in my new home is going to be strange to say the least, especially considering how much larger it is than my other solo living apartment.

Now, for the first time in a long time it's up to me to carve out a home in a place that is far from my friends, family, and all that has been familiar to me for so many years. It might appear to the casual observer that I am being melancholic or "emo" about this situation, but I'm just trying to state the facts. I think that it's exciting. So far I have been an ambassador for the United States by socializing and working on my project. Which has been rewarding, but I'm ready to do more. Now I get to demonstrate those aspects of the American psyche I find most compelling (determination, resourcefulness, and thrift) by creating a welcoming space that represents me in a place that is both beautiful and unfamiliar on a shoestring budget with "locally available materials."

I'm looking forward to welcoming my new Moroccan friends over for tea. I hope that my house becomes a home that is familiar, not just to me, to many of my friends Moroccan and American. I look forward to sitting on my patio and greeting the people who live on my street as they pass by. I look forward to hosting my fellow PCVs for educational events, group projects and planning sessions. I look forward to experiencing the full cycle of this place in a space that is entirely mine…