this is my older host brother, hussian, in our living room sketching in the layout
my host brothers, hussian and abdul halem helping sketch
picasso-esque, dont you think 
the final product
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
saving the world one sign at a time
during training they tell you not to expect immediate results, but they werent accustomed to dealing with super volunteer, andrew quincy!!! after talking with my host brother i decided to focus my initial energies on helping the womens cooperative hone their business approach, my village is situated on an established trekking route meaning lots of foreigners pass through the community and the community benefits little from the passing money, my host mother is involved in the weaving workshop but they lacked a proper sign, other than cardboard cutout, so given that they had a metal scrap laying around i decided to help by painting a "catchy" billboard to draw attention to the cooperatives wares, my host brothers decided on the wording in french and arabic "development association of amejgag"
this is my older host brother, hussian, in our living room sketching in the layout
my host brothers, hussian and abdul halem helping sketch
picasso-esque, dont you think
the final product
this is my older host brother, hussian, in our living room sketching in the layout my host brothers, hussian and abdul halem helping sketch picasso-esque, dont you think the final product
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Saturday, June 02, 2007
women the world ‘round are all the same
shopping for panties with my 16 year old sister was a experience in its self. granted I haven’t spent much time in the states shopping for women’s unmentionables, but I assume it’s a fair bit different here, for starters undergarments are bought at the same and only store which sells everything from bubble gum to flip flops and fertilizer to pack animals if you get them on the right day.
surprisingly for being in such a conservative society, I was amazed how unabashed she was about the whole ordeal, stepping to the counter and stating her needs. the store (Hanout) owner heads to the back and pulls a dusty box of miscellaneous clothing. his first offering is something from the geriatric rack at a womens plus sizes store, straight faced she declines and she motions to see more. the next is a nice number, not too parachute like and not too scandalous either, just right. Next comes the obligatory bickering over price. that settled and a little change left in her pocket, her natural female, estrogen-fueled mind kicked in, she asked to see what else the owner had tucked away in the way of a nice house coat, the garb of choice by all rural women in morocco. needless to say there was no dressing room and all sales are final. what he pulled out next not only temporarily blinded me, but turned my stomach. a hot pink moo-moo with the words "super sweet squeeze university" embroidered across the chest in green and purple stitching. oh how my sister squealed with delight, just what she had always wanted. but I personally thought see would have looked better in the neon green pleated moo-moo that said something about highway love=milwaukee truckers or something like that. unfortunately they couldnt meet on a suitable price, gloomily she turned and we headed for home, i tried to cajole her by saying "hey cheer up, at least you got some underwear to show for it."
ps ive been observing some trends in the general color schemes of the women clothing and have noticed lots of maroon and gold, giving me the feeling im constantly walking the fields with the hickory high red tornadoes marching band, its the little things that take you home.
surprisingly for being in such a conservative society, I was amazed how unabashed she was about the whole ordeal, stepping to the counter and stating her needs. the store (Hanout) owner heads to the back and pulls a dusty box of miscellaneous clothing. his first offering is something from the geriatric rack at a womens plus sizes store, straight faced she declines and she motions to see more. the next is a nice number, not too parachute like and not too scandalous either, just right. Next comes the obligatory bickering over price. that settled and a little change left in her pocket, her natural female, estrogen-fueled mind kicked in, she asked to see what else the owner had tucked away in the way of a nice house coat, the garb of choice by all rural women in morocco. needless to say there was no dressing room and all sales are final. what he pulled out next not only temporarily blinded me, but turned my stomach. a hot pink moo-moo with the words "super sweet squeeze university" embroidered across the chest in green and purple stitching. oh how my sister squealed with delight, just what she had always wanted. but I personally thought see would have looked better in the neon green pleated moo-moo that said something about highway love=milwaukee truckers or something like that. unfortunately they couldnt meet on a suitable price, gloomily she turned and we headed for home, i tried to cajole her by saying "hey cheer up, at least you got some underwear to show for it."
ps ive been observing some trends in the general color schemes of the women clothing and have noticed lots of maroon and gold, giving me the feeling im constantly walking the fields with the hickory high red tornadoes marching band, its the little things that take you home.
the official PeaceCorps volunteer (PCV)
on may 23rd of 2007, andrew quincy spees became an official member of the PeaceCorps. the ceremony was held in fes at a very nice western hotel, a two hour bus ride from azrou, our training site. we were joined by our fellow upcoming health trainees in a lovely, albeit hasty ceremony. we were graced by the american step deputy to the vice ambassador (or something) who was supposed to make the induction more prestigious i guess. after a short spiel from the country director, we heard speeches from fellow trainees who had scored highest in a fluency test in their new, respected languages. we then signed away our lives to protect the queen mother and fight for peace (i wasnt exactly listening during that part). after the ceremony we had a lunch buffet with our host families, im not sure that our families were accustomed to the idea of all-you-can-eat, as i noticed some of the guests shoveling peanuts and condiments into purses. after lunch and another tough round of goodbyes we were corraled back onto the bus for azrou, all in a span of three hours, now thats american efficiency. i have noticed since becoming a PCV that colors are more vibrant and the birds are singing sweeter, oh the joys of saving the world!!
the next day we shipped out to our respected final sites as PCV. i however took a small side trip to rabat for an mri on my back, which has been increasingly painful in the recent months. luckily for better or worse nothing was found to be abnormal yet im still uncomfortable sitting for long stretches on hard surfaces, which unfortunately is an everyday thing here.
another small aside: after our 3 month language training, we were tested the determine our proficiency. the scale ranges are novice, intermidiate, high, to superior. yours truly, ever the studiuos pupil, required them to establish another level to the scale. i think we decided on "infant handicapped" oh well im good at other things like darts!!!
what i do
during my training phase my group of 5 collaborated with the local school on an Earth Day program. the older students (12-17 years) walked to the river to collect water samples to be analyzed in a lab somewhere. the middle aged kids helped plant trees around the school, while the youngest children drew posters titled "what the environment means to me." to our surprise the students curriculum included a substantial amount of env. ed., but as everywhere, there is a certain degree of separation between talk and walk. though there were some difficulties with language it was an overall success.
me and the boys after successful planting an olive tree
collecting water to be analyzed for contaminates
i think this girls face says it all (oh my gawd, waste water treatment testing is like the lamest ever, duh!!!)
in our final week, we approached the local men's club (association) about addressing the problem of waste. seeing how the community lacks the funds and infrastructure (landfill) to dispose of waste we thought that waste reduction and education was the most feasible way to address the problem. serendipitously the association was concerned about the problem also, and has a pending proposal for fulltime garbage collection, so they were excited to collaborate. we decided that posting posters including the school children's artwork in front of the stores raising awareness to the "reduce, reuse, recycle" concept would be an easy approach. we were also able to provide a small amount of money to purchase receptacles (55 gallon oil drums), which the association would research, buy, and fabricate into trash cans to act as consolidation points. a member of the association volunteered to weekly gather the trash and burn it. working in morocco and the "developing" world offers different challenges to that of the states like keeping your family feed and clothed, but the idea of interconnectedness to environment can trump socioeconomic situations. getting people to realize that minimal effort can result in improved standard of living is the real challenge.
me and the boys after successful planting an olive tree 
collecting water to be analyzed for contaminates
i think this girls face says it all (oh my gawd, waste water treatment testing is like the lamest ever, duh!!!) in our final week, we approached the local men's club (association) about addressing the problem of waste. seeing how the community lacks the funds and infrastructure (landfill) to dispose of waste we thought that waste reduction and education was the most feasible way to address the problem. serendipitously the association was concerned about the problem also, and has a pending proposal for fulltime garbage collection, so they were excited to collaborate. we decided that posting posters including the school children's artwork in front of the stores raising awareness to the "reduce, reuse, recycle" concept would be an easy approach. we were also able to provide a small amount of money to purchase receptacles (55 gallon oil drums), which the association would research, buy, and fabricate into trash cans to act as consolidation points. a member of the association volunteered to weekly gather the trash and burn it. working in morocco and the "developing" world offers different challenges to that of the states like keeping your family feed and clothed, but the idea of interconnectedness to environment can trump socioeconomic situations. getting people to realize that minimal effort can result in improved standard of living is the real challenge.
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