Play Time!

It’s beautiful outside-love sleeping w/ fresh mountain air coming thru open windows, waking to clear sunny skies. How can you not wake up happy? Besides, vacation travel is on the horizon….

I’m packing to head to Fes tomorrow for the World Sacred Music Festival. Ben Harper tomorrow night at Bab Makina-an amazing outdoor venue inside old medina walls, lit up ramparts-fabulous. A bunch of us will meet up afterward to help Jess celebrate the big 4-O. Then Sunday it’s Shakila Saidi and the Rajab Suleiman Trio from Tanzania-traditional Swahili dance-at the beautiful Batha Museum garden stage in the afternoon, followed by “Africa Spirit”-a sufi ensemble from Zanzibar and musicians from Burundi back at Bab Makina in the evening. Free concerts in between if we find the energy. Randy, Cortney, her mom and I will be staying at Maia’s Dar Anisis riad. Jealous yet? What a fabulous weekend it promises to be!

On Monday I’ll head to Rabat for a week of work (gotta get the job done, right?). I’ll be helping with the IST training for the 1st year SBD PCVs. Workshops to help run on Tuesday, meetings w/the Ministry on Wednesday (I’m on the Program Advisory Council) and Program Staff, then running a session on Craft Fairs on Thursday. We’re working on making the Marche Maroc Craft Fairs sustainable, and have great PC and Ministry support to build on, so Inshallah we can keep up the momentum.

Then a week from tomorrow, Kristen and I head up to Paris for a week of vacation. We’ve rented a small apartment in the Marais area-right by the Bastille. Great location, and it’ll be nice to have somewhere to park ourselves between all the walking we’ll be doing. Breakfast on the balcony. Maybe come back after a long day, put up the feet, pour a glass of wine, snack on something yummy we’ve picked up along the way. Maybe go back out for dinner, maybe not, depending on what we feel like doing. Kristen’s not been to Paris and I’ve not been there in years, so feels really luxurious to have a whole week to explore. I’m very excited for this trip-feels like the 1st true “vacation” I’ve taken since I’ve been here-purely fun, no obligations, etc. Wahoo!

It’s been a productive week leading up to this travel. Between the busy day w/the Adwal women on Tuesday, running up to Fes on Wednesday for some meetings and running a Logo Workshop for the new Women’s Assn yesterday (thanks again Jess for coming and helping), I’m ready for a break.

Got a call yesterday from Gail about maybe having the Couscous Coop do a demo for some tourists on Monday-hope it works out-but need to know today so I can set it up before I leave. Also had a brainstorm that the 2 young women who serve as “housemothers” (they’re both in their 20’s) for the Dar Taliba (dorm for girls from the countryside to live in during the week so they can attend school) would be great camp counselors for the Camp GLOW that Amina Yabis is running the end of the month. Waiting to hear if she wants to meet w/them tomorrow when she comes from Sefrou to run the Natural Dye Workshop for the Adwal and Asalah Cooperatives here. Need to stick around for the workshop in the morning-get some photos before heading off to Fes….and the fun begins….