The Hours

Staging begins in roughly twelve hours. Staging is the final step before all Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) leave for our assigned country (Morocco for my group). We all meet at a hotel, go over a few things, and leave for our country one day later. Twelve hours, It’s soon, but I’m ready. Like I’ve said earlier, I’ve been preparing for this since my sophomore year of college.

More recently, though, I’ve started jogging more (figured there won’t be a gym in my village, so I should get in the habit of jogging for exercise).I’ve been reading other Peace Corps Morocco blogs for months now. I bought/read a few books on Morocco (the language, the culture, etc.). I finally bought that watch that’s also a Super Mario World LCD video game (it’s awesome, it’s like having a really cheap Gameboy on my wrist at all times). Bought a hard-case for my ukulele, and a couple of songbooks. Bought new shirts (haven’t done that in over 4 years, all my old ones were free and most say something Jewish on `em). And you remember the Sonic the Hedgehog comic where Sonic gets roboticized? No? Well, I do. My parents bought it for me before we went on a road trip years ago. I must have read it a million times over…but it was only part I of a two-part story. Well, I was in Barnes & Noble a few weeks ago, and they had this Sonic the Hedgehog comic book collection. Lo and behold, they had part II (and only part II) of that story as part of that collection. It wasn’t that good, but it’s nice to finally know what happens (they roboticize Knuckles, he beats up Sonic, then they both go through the roboticizer again and return to normal).

I feel like I’ve wrapped up most every loose end. I’ve visited/said goodbye to most of my friends in Chicago and Maryland (sorry to those I haven’t seen, my schedule’s been more than a little crazy as of late). I’ve caught up on just about every movie/show I’ve been meaning to watch. I’m not seeing anyone (yet again, crazy story there). I’ve got a whole lot of art supplies for my time in Morocco. I know some Arabic. I should be okay.

Then there’s the matter of leaving everyone/thing I know. People have asked me how I feel about that. Weird as it is, that just doesn’t factor into my mind as a problem. I think I’ve done it so many times that it just seems normal by now. I’ve lived in three different cities in my life, and went out-of-state to college (though my family kind of moved twenty minutes away from me after about a year). I’ve been on my own before (Uganda, working at an overnight camp in New Hampshire) in places where I knew no one. Really, this is all standard issue for me.

Am I nervous? No. I realize I’m going to a country that doesn’t really like Jews. Yeah, Morocco’s more tolerant than most Muslim countries…not hard, Jews left Muslim countries first chance they got once the state of Israel was established. Most Moroccan Jews left too. Still, a few thousand remain (way more Jews than any other Muslim country has left). I’ve read other blogs and talked to people who’ve been. There’s a lot of hatred out there for my people. Some Moroccans call others “Jews” as an insult, others unapologetically profess their hatred for Jews, still others are okay with or even fond of us. The king especially is tolerant of Jews, that goes a long way. Still, I’ve got to be careful not to let on that I’m Jewish. Not a fun thought, as I’m very proud of my heritage. Still, considering my reasons for going, it’s worth it.

Eleven hours left. Preparation’s finally over. Let the real work begin.