Ain't No Party Like a Dar Chebab Party

Two exciting things happened today:

1) The party for the reading competition actually took place, and was successful. The girl who won--who clearly knew she was going to win, as she conveniently wore a sort of evening gown--gave me a passionate hug afterwards. There was music and singing, and more food than I'd like to acknowledge. This is perhaps the second or third occasion where I've had to speak to a group of people in Arabic (not in English class). It's getting easier but I was still surprisingly terrified.

2) I got positive feedback for my bacci ball skills from many members of the dar chebab community. I admit that I associate Moroccan culture more with criticism than with people telling me good job--I know it's a method of encouragement, but it's hard to get used to. So I strutted around beaming, basically, and now dream of going to France to defeat all the retired men one day, one at a time. The girls are also getting really good and there's talk of us forming a team. I hear, though, that regional bacci ball competitions are infamous for people getting totally drunk...so maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. Yeah, you think you don't talk about stuff like that in an Islamic country, but you do...at least in Morocco.

List #2: Four Random Lessons I've Learned in Peace Corps So Far:

1) There's no good dinner on a hot night like a healthy gin and tonic.
2) Trust no one.
3) An idealistic white westerner in his/her twenties might go somewhere in Africa to try and "make a difference"; but, ultimately, the status quo of white versus black, the apathy of the world, and the direness of the situation will leave that same go-getter in a state of utter despair, which will in turn function as a profound coming of age experience, possibly resulting in extreme suffering (or so I gather from Blood Diamond, The Last King of Scotland, and Shooting Dogs).
4) Chocolate chip cookies are the best baked good in the world, and people from other countries will admit it if you force them to eat them despite their evidently somewhat unimpressive appearance.