Today I Say...

Lhamdullah for NPR, its' podcasts and free Newport Folk playlist. And to Wana for ability to download all these in the comfort of my own home without which none would have been possible.

In the Here and Now

With less than four months to go in Morocco, it is a constant struggle to stay present in my life here. Work is coming to an end. Summer is brutal. Ramadan is looming.

I have recently returned from a long vacation in England and Ireland. It was blissful walking through the streets of London, reading in the parks, soaking up the great outdoors in the Lake District, and drinking Guinness while listening to Irish folk in the pubs. Towards the end of the trip, I had the realization that no one had whistled at me, or honked, or said inappropriate phrases. A sad realization, really, because I knew I had to return to Morocco where verbal harassment is commonplace especially in the summer. This was confirmed when I didn’t even make it out of the train station in Meknes before inappropriate phrases came my way.

I so much want to enjoy my last 121 days here. I really do. I want to live in the present soaking up early evening tea dates, taking advantage of summer’s stillness to read, and finishing up the PCPP reporting. But all I can do is think about what happens 122 days from now…