This is a series in which I describe a typical Tuesday during our Peace Corps service. This will give you an idea of what we do on an average day – sometimes exciting and sometimes mundane.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018: Rabat, Morocco
6:40am – Wake up, shower, and get dressed.
7:34am – Walk to the dining room for breakfast. From the buffet, I select some scrambled eggs, a few slices each of cucumber and tomato, a chocolate croissant, and a strawberry yogurt. When I sit down, I pour a glass of orange juice and cup of coffee. Jon and I chat with the others at our table about our previous evening’s activities and what is coming up for the day.
My and Jon’s breakfast; this was typical every morning during orientation.
8:30am – Sit in the main conference room for a session on sexual health. The doctor leading the session is French and very funny, making it an enjoyable session.
9:53am – We go on break earlier than planned. I sat in the lobby and chatted with a few other trainees, then met Jon in our room. We studied numbers 1-20.
10:42am – We go to another training session in a smaller conference room, since we have split into two smaller groups. This session is on dealing with unwanted attention, from catcalling to stalking and sexual assault.
Our LCF (Language and Cultural Facilitator) does a role-play with another LCF to give us an example of an exchange we may have with a Moroccan.
12:44pm – We break late from this session and head to the dining room for lunch after a brief stop in our room to pick up the laptop. Two Peace Corps IT specialists were there to help some of us who were having problems downloading a software program we will be using. After getting that straightened out, we sat at a table for lunch. Served family-style, we ate a mixed salad (a platter with cabbage, carrots, beets, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, and hard-boiled eggs), a pasta and lamb dish, then dessert (two types of melons, which are currently in season).
1:36pm – We go back to our room to use the bathroom and brush our teeth before the afternoon training. While there, we set up a transfer between another trainee’s hard drive and ours so that we can exchange movies.
1:50pm – We head to the main conference room for a session on emergency action plans and what to do if there is a nation-wide emergency.
We had a session dedicated to emergencies and what we should do in different situations depending on the level of trouble.
2:21pm – Coffee, tea, and juice break!
2:36pm – In the smaller conference room, we listen to some dialogues about unwanted attention, stereotyping, and diversity. Our speaker goes over what the key phrases and words are in Darija so that we know what to listen for and what we can say as a response.
3:41pm – Another break! Coffee, tea, and juice are set up outside.
4:04pm – Return to the room to continue learning language related to unwanted attention.
5:14pm – Finished with training for the day! Jon and I go back to the room to change and relax for a while. I write in my journal and organize our books while Jon washes some clothes.
7:05pm – A couple of trainees knock on our door and invite us to walk down to the beach to watch the sunset. A group of 10-12 walk down and find a spot on the sand to sit. Bruce starts playing his guitar while the rest of us put our feet in the water, take pictures, and chat.
We had a beautiful sunset over the ocean!
7:48pm – Jon and I leave the group a little early, just after the sun dips below the horizon, to go to dinner since we are hungry. A kitten jumps on the chair next to Jon begging for food. For dinner, we are served a lentil soup, a fried fish and pasta dish, and yogurt and apples for dessert.
8:51pm – I take our laptop and hard drive to the pool area to meet a handful of others. We take turns swapping hard drives and exchanging movies. Jon stays in the room and relaxes.
10:03pm – I return to the room and we both get ready for bed.
We all sat around the pool with our laptops and hard drives, exchanging movies and tv shows.