Where does one draw the line between this is not a fashion show and you'll want to bring more stuff when packing for Peace Corps service?
Today was my first day of official, not-just-mentally-making-lists-but-really-doing-it packing. Brother's room was evacuated in October due to frigid temperatures (okay, fine, he just left for Alaska), so it provides a lot of no-longer-bombarded-with-stuff space for me to spread out my things. And so far it's been... frustrating. How much is too much? How much will I need to, or be willing to sacrifice my personal style in order to assimilate?
And the all-important question: just how many scarves should I bring?????????
My transformation into a hijabi (or muhajaba, or girl-with-a-scarf-on-her-head, or whatever) has been a long time coming, and I've stocked up on scarves, long-sleeved shirts (these being my favorite) and long pants/skirts for the occasion. The thought process behind this will come soon, but for now, the aforeasked* question still looms big in my mind.
*this is my blog, and I will make up words if I so choose. No one's forcing you to read this.
Maybe I'm over-thinking this? The plan is to sleep on it, and return to my lists in the morning. I want to be pretty squared away before my final trip to A2 this weekend. I also plan on posting my Master Packing List here on the blog, once its done. If you Google "Peace Corps packing list," hand-made lists for many African countries come posted, and look super-helpful. Morocco doesn't seem to have a really good list yet, so I'm looking to change things to save future PCVs a bit of stress.
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On a completely unrelated note, my packing was (thankfully) interrupted by Mama's grant application. Mama is a graphic artist** whose current medium is watercolor, and her work has been getting more and more attention as of late. While she's been selling work and entering juried showed for a while now, this whole grant thing is pretty new (as far as I know). This particular grant is worth $25,000 (!), and I was given the following responsibilities:
1. Type up the resume/CV, artist statement and narrative.
2. Convert resume/CV into a .pdf, and the samples of her work into correctly-sized .jpegs.
3. Submit and join in the celebratory dance to follow submission.
Thankfully, everything went smoothly with steps one and two. An online website helped the .pdf conversion, and .jpegs are pretty simple to manage (though I must mention that there were 20 files that had to be converted, sized and uploaded). Typing is also something I excel at, seeing as Rich White People Township Schools started us with computer class in about fourth grade. Everything was checked and checked again, electronically signed, and 2.5 hours later, ready to be submitted when... a glitch in the system foiled our plans for success!
As it turns out, there's a server problem, and while you can work through the application, nothing can be submitted until it's fixed. Mama was less than thrilled, but I assured her that there was nothing to worry about. Our data is still saved on the website, and is also backed up on our hard drive and on one of Baba's jump drive. This leads us to responsibility number 4:
4. Keep trying to submit until it's done.
Mama works at The Home tomorrow, so I'm on submission duty. With $25,000 on the line (that's almost 212,500 Morrocan dirhams) and the fact that my mom's work is really good, I'm ready to do what it takes to submit. I'll end this post with a few of my favorite paintings:
