Happy 4th of July!

American holidays seem to come and go with little notice from us, but we found ourselves in Rabat this weekend at a 4th of July party that was being held for the American community. There were hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and ice cream, swimming, soccer and basketball. Even the Ambassador and his wife and the American icon, Ronald McDonald, made an appearance. There was no beer or fireworks though, which set it apart from the Butte celebrations of the past few years where there were plenty of both, but it was a fun time. We met a lovely Moroccan family whose sons go to the University of Minnesota. They invited us to stay in their home and offered to take us to the beach and cook fish for us. We were again reminded of the incredible generosity of the Moroccan people.

The week before, we were in Fez attending the first regional meeting since the PC reorganization. We met the health and environment volunteers who are also being phased out. The regional concept makes a lot of sense and we were interested to hear the ideas and activities of other sectors and to discuss how our projects can all hopefully fit into youth development in the future. Unfortunately it was boiling hot in Fez—well over 100—and our rooms in the cheap hotel affordable by PC were stifling. We were more than happy to move on to Rabat where the ocean breeze makes it at least ten degrees cooler. Summer is indeed upon us.