Third Goal

A Chanukah Story

Disclaimer: I'm an American who happens to be Jewish. I served in a Muslim country and concealed my religious identity for the entirety of my Peace Corps service. The only people who knew about my background were the wonderful staff of Peace Corps Morocco, 90% of whom were both Moroccan and Muslim. Even my host family and close friends in Morocco still do not know about my Jewish heritage. While it did add another level of difficulty to my service, I did not want to needlessly complicat...

Esteban Wakes Up

Esteban was an awesome cat and probably accounted for a few thousand of my photos during my service. Here is he waking up.

Rabat At Night

A look down the main shopping artery in the old city of the Moroccan capital city of Rabat. On a nice night, the streets are packed as Rabatis and tourists stroll through the market picking up everything from the latest Western and Eastern fashions to brand new computer hardware and software. You literally can find anything, you just need to know where to look.

Rabat Ville Train Station

The view looking out from the Rabat Ville train station in Rabat's capital city.

Roof Vineyard

My friend Rich's host father has grapes growing across the top of their roof and let me take his picture when I stopped in this past summer for a visit. The vines snake down the front of the house and must be decades old.

Pop Rocks: Cultural Exchange

I stopped by a local shop to pick up some food before going to my host family's house for lunch and I noticed that they sold Pop Rocks. My host mom and I had so much fun. :)

End of Market Day

I shot this photo in my site near the end of my service just as the market day was coming to a close.

Marrakech Food Stalls

American writer Paul Bowles said that without Jemaa L'fna, "Marrakech would be just another Moroccan city." The square, which is translated as the Mosque at the End of the World, comes alive at night as foreign and Moroccan tourists, not to mention your average Marrakchi, circles around snake charmers, fortune tellers, storytellers, musicians and magicians. They are fed by over 100 food stalls which operate from late afternoon well into the night, adding a smoky haze to one of the most unique...

Moroccan Santa Claus

For a Muslim country, this one was a bit surprising. I stopped in a big supermarket called Marjane one day when I was in Marrakech and right in front of the entrance was this guy dressed as Santa Claus. For about $5 you could take a picture with him and the animals and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Merry Christmas!

Essaouira Seagulls

Essaouira is a gorgeous coastal city with a centuries old Portuguese fort that sits along Morocco's Atlantic coast and is about 90 minutes west of Marrakech. In my humble opinion, it's one of the most relaxing places in all of Morocco. The seagulls must think so too cause there's a whole lot of em.

What's a Tagine?

Tagine, noun. A North African stew of spiced meat and vegetables prepared by slow cooking in a shallow earthenware cooking dish with a tall, conical lid. ORIGIN from Moroccan Arabic: frying pan.

Look What We Caught!

I was walking home one day from the Boys and Girls Club-type place where I worked, and some of the local kids ran up to me screaming, "Teacher, teacher! Look what we caught!." I was quite impressed. They're a lot smarter than I was at that age. Did you know how to catch birds when you were in elementary school? I made sure that the birds were released unharmed.

Camp El Jadida Team Action News