Date: Thu, 11 Nov 1999

Salaam Alykoum,

It has been a while since I checked email and written, I'm sorry.

The trip to Merzouga was great.....Well, Merzouga was great, the trip was exhausting. First, a 11 hour bus ride to Ouarzezat, then a mad scramble to find some Peace Corps volunteer's house at 5 in the morning.

Steph and I tried to sleep for about 4 hours, then gave up. We then walked around Ouarzezat for the rest of the morning and took pictures (forthcoming on the website). We then met up with about 13 other volunteers and took an 8 hour bus to Errfoud, where we met up with 25 or 30 other volunteers and stayed the night at a small apartment there. It was good to see people from our stage and compare notes. It seems that out of our original 84 people, there are now only 76. People have left for various reasons and there are even more considering leaving soon, but more about that later.....

The next morning, we took some Land Rovers out to the dunes. It was one of the best parts of the trip. We got on top, and were flying accross the desert. We could see the dunes in the distance and I felt as though I were on a Safari in.......well, in Africa! We were dropped off at what looked like a castle situated at the base of the dunes. There were camels tied up nearby and we took the photo op with gusto. We sat around in the relative shade of some Argon trees, until the sun passed it's peak (it was very hot). We set out for the top of the dunes around 4:30 or so. It was quite a hike. An hour or two and the going was rough. Have you ever hiked in Dunes? Well, for every step you take up, you slide halfway back down. I had my big backpack and my newly acquired guitar strapped to my back, as well as wearing jeans, because I didn't want to offend the Berbers nearby. We got to the top, just in time to witness a beautiful sunset, the changing colors of the dunes was incredible. I felt like I was in a movie. When the stars came out...... Incredible. We were far removed from any civilization and it was a surreal experience. We partied most of the night and slept under the canopy of stars and a nearly full moon that lit up the landscape. Due to my sleeping bag being stolen, I was sharing Steph's and, though it sounded like a good plan in Agadir, on the hard, cold dunes, it was something else entirely. Suffice it to say that neither of us slept well.

The morning broke with a vengence and the sunrise rivalled the beauty of the sunset the night before. We had to be back down to the "castle" by 9 am in order to catch the Land Rovers back to the town, so we were packin' out early.

By the time we were in the Land Cruisers, Steph and I were exhausted. Some friends of ours, a married couple, invited us to share a Taxi with them back to their place in Errechidia, where we could rest, eat, and later in the day, catch a bus back to Agadir. We gladly accepted. The towns out East are so different from the West Coast, where I had spent most of my time. It feels like a real desert out there. I can prove it with my nearly bloody nose. The houses and buildings are completely different. At any moment, I thought Harrison Ford would come around a corner with whip in hand. In fact, Raiders of the Lost Ark, as well as the upcoming Indiana Jones movie are filmed in Ouarzezat! I'll keep my eye out for him..... Steph and I made it back to Agadir on a 14 hour bus. NO SLEEP!!!!! Every hour, they would stop at some random intersection, turn on the lights and everyone would pile off, and pile on again.

When we got back, we showered, there was orange sand in every orifice, then slept for a whole day. That week, I found out, was a vacation for me, for Marché Verte (green march) they celebrate the independence of the Sahara, wrestled from the grips of the Spanish by Hassan the Second. So, I didn't have classes. I went to Tiznit and hung out in the sleepy little town for a while and got my bearings back.

I have finally received my mondat (money) though there still appears to be problems with my mail in general, both coming to my home, and coming to my school.

I am also having some misgivings...... It's hard to describe how I feel these days. I'm not sure what I am to contribute here. It is not as though I feel that every day is full of cultural exchange. I live in a huge, touristy city and I often walk down the streets without receiving a second glance. My classes do not carry much weight in my student's academic career, and their efforts reflect that. There are other volunteers, whose experiences are much more what I envisioned. They live in the Bled (the sticks) they carry their water, they are the only white person for miles, their days are full of being asked endless questions and receiving the well-known Moroccan hospitality and kindness. I on the other hand, may as well be in San Diego. With all the homesickness I feel, and the issues with my family weighing heavy upon me, I feel everyday is a struggle to convince myself why I am here. I hope to create something here and make myself useful, but I am quite lonely very often and that does not bode well for my mental health. I have, however, picked up a wetsuit and am scouring the local shops for a surfboard. Once that is procured, I feel that my contributions to the local scene may move in a wet direction.

Hope you are all doing well. I miss all of you.

m'a ssalama (with peace) thella frahsek (take care of yourself),

Fritz