Faith in Tom and Love for Aldo

There is much to say about my landlords negligence, his final roof fixing appearance the one day I couldn’t be here, my craze from not living in my house for a week, how grateful I am to Natalie for taking my cats and I in that week, not bathing for almost two weeks, the awful trip to a dear friend’s site to rescue his cat since he’s currently in America, locking ourselves in his house, being freed by a bobby pin, too many cat transport adventures, and the continual lesson in patience I attend every day. But I can’t catch you up on everything; right now I just have a little apology and a blurb on my Valentine’s Day.

First off I would like to apologize for my lack of faith in the new Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. It seems he’s having a far better start than I feared, and I’m darn grateful. A great new blog I’ve come across is Epicurean Ideal, and her recent post, on Feb. 12, explains it all better than I can, so please check it out.

My Valentine’s Day was pretty uneventful; I returned from Azrou in time to go to the cooperative in the afternoon and attend their script class, then returned home and got my house fixed up a bit and the ferno returned to its proper place (the roof fixers kinda broke it) and settled back in. I made my newest favorite recipe, and ate my first home-cooked-all-alone meal in quite some time and watched a dumb movie. Then I decided the best valentine I could give myself was some Aldo Leopold. My real valentine, Bu, and I curled up and began A Sand County Almanac. I first read it my senior year of college for Environmental Ethics and Policy, and honestly all I can really remember about it was that I loved it and it brought me rare moments of peace in those crazy days. So this is take-two, and I plan to take it all in much better this time. I realized a few pages in that this year is actually the 60th anniversary of its publication, and it’s unbelievable how true and imperative its message remains.

Now I’ve really got to get cracking on trip planning-I leave for Spain and Germany in less than a month and haven’t thought it through at all! To be perfectly honest, I’m not even that interested in where I’m going or what I’ll be doing; I’ve lost the crazy wanderlust I had just a couple years ago. I’m excited for the break from Morocco, to have time with my awesome cousin, and to see how I act around not-PCVs. And I know myself well enough that I know I have to plan it down to the minute, even if I plan to break each and every plan. I hate going somewhere randomly, but just haven’t been able to tear myself away from planning for the next big trip, that one happening in nine months or so, that trip that not so much a trip as it is LIFE after Peace Corps.

I’ve grown far more loving lately of my experience here and I wholeheartedly and willingly mean to complete it now. Of course it’s far easier and more pleasant to go each day knowing what my later goal is, but wow! I’m soooo excited! I’ve been looking into so many different farms and philosophies on farming and styles and plants and animals and everything; it’s all incredibly overwhelming and yet invigorating. So, oddly, I have to force myself to take a break from planning my life and focus on my itty bitty vacation.

My last post seemed a bit rude in hindsight and I want to let you all know how much I truly love this country, its people, and my life overall here, and I won’t be making a surprise early return. The trials and frustrations here are only vital lessons in patience and everything else I still have to learn. I’m not deliriously happy, but I’m also not constantly wishing I was somewhere else-I am grateful for the overall experience here, and for the crazy way this time and this country has helped me finally recognize my calling.
I feel I haven’t said it in awhile, so I will - I love and miss you all dearly and do look forward to the day we’re reunited, and it will feel so good!