Wiebes are not in Morocco anymore.

Hmmm I just realized, okay not really, but I was reminded by a friend who said they wanted to start a blog that I had not updated my blog for months. Well now I am motivated, so I will post up some stuff left over from Morocco adventures that I was always meaning to post, and then well, I guess I will have to change the name of the blog, or start a new one, since I am no longer living in Morocco. Although I think I left my heart there.

Earth Day in Morocco

So I was forwarded this article on Morocco and Earth Day activities and despite all the day to day harm I see here to the the environment, it gives me hope that change is in the works. The leadership here is moving ahead and leading their country to make our world a cleaning place for the future. Change is slow but it looks like their might be change. well done Morocco. This is worth posting.

TOP Ten Reasons to Think of MOROCCO on Global Earth Day

Source: Moroccan American Cultural Center

WASHINGTON, April 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading up to next week's 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the following are ten good reasons to keep Morocco in mind — and visit online or in person — to mark Global Earth Day.

1) Welcome to Morocco's capital, RABAT, one of six world cities selected by Earth Day as host for major events in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Global Earth Day — along with Tokyo, Kolkata, Buenos Aires, Washington, DC, and New York City.

2) Solar energy from the Sahara desert — unlimited reserves! Morocco has launched a $9 billion project to harness the Sahara sun as renewable solar energy for a green economy, and reduce carbon emissions by 3.7 million tons a year. Morocco expects renewable energy to supply 42% of its power by 2020.

3) His Majesty King Mohammed VI, one of Green Morocco's strongest advocates, has launched a project to plant a million palm trees by 2015. He has also directed creation of a national agency for the development and safeguarding of oases zones and Argan trees across Morocco.

4) On April 24, the Stars come out in RABAT for a Day of Global Celebration. Renowned musician Seal, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and LOST'S Jeff Fahey join Moroccans and international guests at a great festive event in city center for an unforgettable Earth Day.

5) EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, top U.S. environmental official, has praised Morocco as a model for "its commitment to a clean, green economy," adding "Morocco's leadership on the environment and sustainable development offers a great example for how we can spread this idea across the globe." (3/18/10)

6) On April 17-24, leading up to the Day of Global Celebration, RABAT is the site of an unprecedented week of Earth Day events, including environmental awareness workshops, seminars, and presentations on innovative, environmentally friendly technologies.

7) On April 22 — Earth Day — Morocco unveils its groundbreaking "National Charter for the Environment and Sustainable Development," the first of its kind in Africa and the Arab and Muslim world, according to Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers.

8) Morocco also launches 10 major new environmental projects. On Earth Day, ten long-range projects will be inaugurated aimed at protecting the environment, environmental education in schools, environment and rural development, fighting desertification, preserving ecosystems, and treating waste.

9) Nationwide commitment to Green Morocco. A land of great diversity — from palm-sheltered oases, peaks of the Atlas Mountains, and sands of the Sahara — support for a Green Morocco and the National Environment Charter reflects the will of Moroccans across all regions and sectors of society.

Helpful Links

— For Morocco at http://www.earthday.org/countries/morocco
— For Earth Day in Morocco: http://www.journeedelaterre.ma/en/home
— For Morocco's National Charter: http://www.charteenvironnement.ma/
— For EarthDay.org Newsroom: http://www.earthday.org/newsroom

The Moroccan American Cultural Center (MACC) is a not-for-profit 501 c(3) organization which works to build stronger cultural and educational ties between Morocco and the U.S. through its support of programs that enhance bilateral relations and cooperation. Created in 2003 as an initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, MACC has undertaken a range of projects which include hosting events that celebrate and share the rich diversity of Moroccan culture, and supporting programs that enhance cultural and educational ties between the U.S. and Morocco as well as across the Maghreb. For more information, go to http://www.moroccanamericanculture.org/

100 Days

Sheesh I am way behind so here goes.

So we have exactly 100 Days left here in Morocco so we thought we would list 100 things we will miss in Morocco and 100 things we are looking forward to in Canada. We will post one a day, unless we forget, then we will of course have to catch up.

Missing in Morocco

100. $2 to fix a flat tire
99. The Ocean view
98. Cheap DVDs form the Medina
97. Friends
96. Hot weather
95. Being able to travel
94. Dodging crazy drivers riding my bike.
93. Euchre nights
92. Being two minutes from the beach
91. Endless cats to pet and chase.
90. Kofi
89. A pool at school
88. Swim team
87. Lazy days at the Beach
86. Surfing
85. The playground
84. Oreo the Cat
83. Scruffles the Dog
82. Kinder Joys
81. Sheep on the side of the road
80. Donkey Carts on the Road
79. Collecting Sea Glass
78. Collecting Sea Shells
77. McFlurries
76. Movie Nights at School
75. Hind
74. Camel rides in the real Desert
73. Mint Tea
72. Ancient History in front of our eyes
71. Soccer Team
70. Bachir's laugh
69. Coaching with Pete
68. Overseas sports tournaments
67. The drama
66. Daisy
65. Oreo
64. Salt and Pepper (aka SP)
63. The school cats (see above for names)
62. Mr Uariachi
61. Getting ice cream after a swim.
60. The playground at school.
59. Swim Meets
58. Track Meets
57. Swimming at Belle, Nuria and Solange's
56. Alyssa visits
55. Sunny days on the roof, watching the ocean waves
54. Finding new kittens everywhere, and we mean everywhere
53. Wim and Pauw
53. Niama's cookies
52. The cockroaches, strangely enough, they are not very fast here, easy to catch and release, or kill when Hannah is not looking.
51. Paola
50. Ms. Murphy
49. FZ
48. Ms Ash
47. Mr Barkers stories
46. Watching Ms. J coach on the sidelines ... I should have video taped her
45. Ms. Barnes music concerts .. man they are good
44. Vacations with the Grahams
43. Rabat American School
42. Tajine
41. Couscous
40 Our maid Naima
39. Living on the Beach
38. Birthday Parties with the Princess
37. Wrestling before bed time
36. French class
35. Walking to visit Kofi and his parents
34. Kitty Kat Alley
33. Flo and her mom
32. Picking Flowers that grow everywhere
31. Terra D'Amanar
30. Tom (our friends cat)


Looking Forward to in Canada

100. White Spot
99. Cedar Trees
98. Good quality DVDs
97. Friends
96. Understanding what people are saying
95. Snow
94. Dodging crazy drivers riding my bike.
93. The Bombay Restaurant
92. Family Camp
91. Shopping malls.
90. Visiting Kofi (and his owners in Winnipeg)
89. Movie Theatres
88. Less pot holes to dodge
87. Flag person at a road construction site
86. Libraries
85. Swimming pools
84. Lindbjerg Academy of Performing Arts
83. Dairy Queen
82. Nester Elementary
81. Ozada Park
80. The River
79. Bunzten Lake
78. Sasamat Lake
77. Rocky Point Park
76. The Vancouver Aquarium
75. Hockey in the evening instead of 2am at night.
74. Smooth streets
73. Camping
72. No pedestrians running across the highway
71. Nachos
70. Fixing up a house again.
69. Shopping at IKEA to fill a new house
68. IKEA meals
67. Taking care of our own garden.
66. Buying enough fruit to fill a freezer for the winter
65. Playoff hockey
64. Vancouver Whitecaps games
63. Best Buy
62. Getting a truck (We Hope)
61. Stanley Park
60. Vancouver Aquarium
59. Not having everything rust
58. 7/11 Slurpees
57. The Wave Pool
56. The New Pool
55. A new camper trailer... we hope
54. A big screen TV ... we hope
53. Eagle Ridge Pool and the high diving board
52. Skiing and Snowboarding galore
51. Minnekada Park
50. Matteo's gelato
49. Road trips through the Rockies
48. Playland
47. Outlet Shopping
46. Rockcy Point Park
45. Safeway Starbucks
44. Sledding
43. Bike Trails
42. Only bikes in the Bike Lane
41. Neighbourhood walkabouts
40. Walking to School
39. Living close to school
38. Biking to school
37. Soft grass
36. Massage Therapy... paid for
35. Ramona (see 84)
34. Rochelle (see 84)
33. Amanda (see 84)
32. The ole swimming hole at the river
31. Our trees = hammock time
30. OUr Lindbjerg buddies

Hamburg 2009

A long time ago I traveled to the land of my forefathers and visited Hamburg, Germany. As is my liking, I wandered the streets aimlessly and discovered sites one would not necessarily find as a tourist. Here is a snapshot of what I saw, set to some famous German composers.

I Still Remember Fudge the Cat

I Still Remember

by Hannah Wiebe

I still remember how soft your fur was,
I still remember, I still remember,
I still remember your cute little face,
I still remember, I still remember,
I still remember your meow,
Meow Meow Meow, it went

I still remember when you played with your ball and string,
I still remember, I still remember,
I still remember when you slept with me,
I still remember, I still remember,

I still remember the day you died,
I still remember,
I still remember

and I love you

Waiting in the Mist
by Emma Wiebe

Cool mist surrounded me
I felt a shiver down my back
But I still waited
I didn't know what I was waiting for
I just knew it was to some here
Mist.
It makes me see things
Frightening things
Makes me think some one is going to come out
And grab me
Yet I still stayed
In the quit mist
I waited.
Not knowing what was going to happen
Not knowing weather I was going to live
or die
Not knowing what to do.
I wondered
How was I going to get back?
Thoughts Wondered in my head
Confusing me
But I still waited

Flags

Around 16 years or so ago, a friend returned from a trip to Russia and brought me a flag. You are a Socials teacher she said, I thought you would like this. I did, it was very cool. The next year, she brought one from Cuba. Hmmm I thought, maybe I should see how many I get before I retire. Well over the years, students and friends, and a few odd strangers have sent me or brought me flags from all over the world. Each one has a story, which is the really interesting part for me, and I am well on my way to getting to the end of my goal. A student just brought me one from Kuwait, so I thought I might include the list here, maybe generate a flag or two along the way. Any size and any shape. I will even reimburse you if you want. Maybe one day I will take pictures of them all and post them up. Hmmm probably not any time soon.

The Continents

Africa

Chad
Egypt
Gabon
Kenya
Morocco
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda

Asia

Bangladesh
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Iran
Japan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Malaysia
Philippines
Russia
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
(Tuva)
USSR
Vietnam

Europe

European Union
Austria
Belgium
Bavaria
Czech Republic
Croatia
England
Finland
Flanders
France
Germany
Greece
Holland
Holland - WWII Commemorative Flag
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Scotland
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Vatican City
Wales

Oceania

Australia

North America

Canada
United States
Mexico

Canadian Provinces

Saskatchewan
Manitoba
Ontario
Quebec
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia

South America

Bahamas
Belize
Brazil
Chile
Columbia
Cuba
Ecuador
Jamaica
Nicaragua
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay

Hike on Horror Mountain - by Hannah

Saturday was the worst day ever! Let me tell you what happened. I was talking to my friend, Sally, my name is Lucy. "Sally, do you want to hike on Horror Mountain?" I asked.

"Of course!" she replied. "I've been dying to go to Horror Mountain!"

"Come on let's go! I replied. When we started walking up Horror Mountain, I could see that it was not as I imagined it. Horror Mountain was dark and unfriendly. "I do not like this place," I said.

"I don't either," Sally replied.

"Sally, do you think that we'll disappear?" I asked.

"I don't know, Lucy," she replied. All of a sudden the bush beside me began to shake! A loud hawwwww came from the bush.

"WOLVES!" we shouted together as ten wolves jumped out of the bush, then started chasing us for two hours.

"How many hours have we been on Horror Mountain?" I asked as we ran.

"Five I think,' I replied. Finally the wolves got tired (so did we). We started walking again. we were almost at the top when a bear came out of nowhere!

"RUN!" we screamed.

"ROUR!" roared the bear (we've neen on Horror Mountain four 5 more hours) . The bear chased us for one hour. Finally, the bear got tired, so we ran off Horror Mountain. I realized that I had five hours until my parent got home. I pulled off my clothes and threw them in the washing machine. I pulled on my pajamas and jumped into bed with my Nintendo DS. Two hours later I heard my parents at the door. Knock Knock Ding Dong.

"We're home,' my parents said.

"Coming,' I replied.

"Lucy!" they shouted.

"MOM! DAD!" I shouted back.

"How was your day?" mom asked.

Oh boring, I did nothing, " I said with a sparkle in my eye.


Hannah's story from grade for written a few weeks ago. Lots of fun.

My First time On The Ice - By Emma Wiebe

Here is one of Emma's poems, created as part of her Language Arts program at the school here in Morocco.

I was
Getting prepared
For going
On the ice.

I was
Frightened
Excited
At the same time.

Pulled my skates
On
Wobbled over
Entrance
Ice rink.

As I walked,
Was like
Having an
Extremely
Loose tooth.

The zambonie
On the ice
Making it
Smooth.

The zambonie
Was louder
Than
Thunder


The zambonie
Left
A rubbery gasoline
Smell
When it got off
The ice.


The crisp cold air
Tackled me
As I slipped
Onto the ice.

As I landed,
I could feel
The cold
Creeping up my back.

I t was
As cold as
The arctic.

I saw my friend
Gliding
Across the ice
Back and forth.

I wanted
To skate
Just like them.

As they whipped
Pass me,
I felt the cold air
Blow in my face.

Halloween

A friend and neighbour organized a massive trick or treat night with 29 kids and a plethora of adults wandering around our neighbourhood in a giant pack. Moroccans do not trick or treat and Halloween is one of those North American things they do not participate in, so needless to say we got some interesting looks as we passed by, all dressed up and noisy. Here are a few pictures and another home video by Emma and Hannah. I think they were going for a CLoverfield style of filming.

Hannah's View of Rabat American School

So I could say something cheesy like, look out Steven Spielberg, here comes Hannah, but I will not. Our school received their order of Flip cameras so I decided to try one out and the kids took over and filmed everything they saw. The are great fun and I hope to get one some day. For now, I will mooch off the school, and use it to play around with. Here is Hannah's first movie, maybe she can include it on the DVD of her first movie, kind of like M. Night Shyamalam does on his, Although I think Hannah will make comedies.

Sunsets in Morocco

So if you have gone to my facebook at all you have seen our view of sunsets from the roof of our house. They are quite amazing, one of the many perks of living here at the beach. I must say I will miss those moments when the sun hits the water, if we ever leave this beautiful place. Here are a few of my favorite sunset moments.

Blogger helping Blogger

So we are friends with this cosmopolitan family, the Bramers, and since I am also the computer teacher, I have been recruited to help out with creating a blog. So here I am in Morocco blogging with Pauline and our kids are playing and being crazy, a good way to spend an afternoon and evening no matter what country one is from. Her blog is found here Pauliens Blog and is regarding raising a child with food allergies in another country. The book is in the works so save your pennies and buy it when it comes out. I might be the photographer for it, which would be fun.

Summers Over

So I was gently reminded that I have not posted anything on our blog since May, so here I am getting back at it. We went home for a month which seems like a long time but in reality it was not. There were people I did not get to see do to scheduling conflicts and time constraints and general lack of organization on my part, my humble apologies, but we will be back next summer and if you dont hate me for not getting to see you, we can make plans then. We came back to Morocco early because a friend of mine who I did my Masters program with was traveling with a friend of hers around the world and decided that they ould stop in Morocco since they new someone there and visit.

So in early August they arrive in Rabat on a train and we showed them around our new home. It sure was nice to see familiar faces in Morocco, other than the people we know here, but there is something about someone from home coming all that way to see you and your new home that makes it easier to be here. A few days of visiting the sites, the Chellah, Haasan Tour, rockin the Kasbah and shopping in the Medina and the went on down to Marrakesh for a few days then back to London. It was great. Here are a few shots of the summer.

Princess Party

So you know that some little girls want to have a princess party for their birthday. Well, Hannah actually got to go to a real princess party a few weeks ago. One of her class mates is a real live actual princess and Hanna was invited to her birthday at the palace. The mom, also a princess, came and picked up all the girls for the party and took them there. The party lasted for 6 hours and I had the privilege of picking Hannah up after. Emma and I were driving there, following our map, not quite sure where exactly we were going. We turned right into what we thought was the palace, and sure enough we were correct. The first thing we notice, that made us think we were in the right places, were the military guards with the machine guns, not just a couple at the gate but a couple on every corner. Feeling a little nervous and not exactly sure where Hannah was in the palace, we drove up the street, noticing that we were being carefully watching, and found a place to park. I was not sure if I was allowed to park there, so I sat there for a moment, waiting for someone to come up and either shoot me or tell me to move.

Neither happened, phew, so I pulled out and drove down another road to where I thought the party might be. Emma spotted someone we know so we parked nearby, and away from the machine guns and began walking towards the guarded gate. Once inside we notice a group of men in dark suites and ties standing around at another gate, so we walked over to where they were and went through the gate. Inside was a large feild, the size of a soccer fields, with games and playground equipment and a kareoke stage, and a ice cream vendor, and tables of food, and a very large cake ... well you get the idea. Emma was overwhelmedly excited and ran off to play, while I greated the princess and thanked her for inviting Hannah. She told me ot help myself to food, the ice cream was delicious, and I watched the kiddos play for a while, while the sercet service watched me.

Finally Hannah noticed I was there and came over to greet me. I gave her a hug and asked her how the party was. In classic Hannah style she looked up at me and said, "Brilliant Daddy!"

The Cat Came Back

So we have this new pet, part two in the saga of trying to find the perfect pet, and I think we might have found him. Since we had to give away the ferocious Midnight, a part lab, part wild beast female puppy; in case you did not hear, she was quite aggressive, and we tried to train her but there was no response to any training by us or our friend who trains search and rescue dogs, so she is now living her life on a farm chasing who knows what and probably biting them, I had decided to put off getting another one, even though there was much pressure put on me by two lovely little people. Then one day, an email arrived saying we are moving to Mali, does anyone want one of our two cats. They are both fixed and potty trained, and are very nice. It had been a few months since the puppy ordeal, so I thought, well why not, let's go and meet them and see what happens.

So I emailed this family back and said I was interested. They suggested that I take Fudge, mmmmmm fudge (in my best Homer voice) who is an inside cat, very friendly and calm. Sounded good to me. So I said sure, let me meet the critter and then decide. Well, I got a call later saying they were willing to give her to us right away, since we had a week off and we could play with him and let him get used to his new home. So I spoke to the girls, and of course they said yes and Voila, we have a cat. He was jittery at first but soon warmed up to the girls and eventually me, and now he feels like the house is his, especially where there is food involved. So I think I made a good choice this time, one for two on the pet selection, and here is why. As you know, in Africa there are critters here you do not get in Canada.

Well a few nights ago, I hear Fudge playing on the other side of the house, near his food bowls. So I think, he has a ball or something and is chasing it around the house. So I go back to my work, and half-heartedly kept my ear open to listen to him. Well, I soon found out what he was playing with because he entered the room with it a few minutes later. We have since rename him the Cowboy Kitty, since he corralled and chased a cockroach clear across the house to my feet, where I promptly stomped on it. Fudge, aka the Cowboy Kitty, calmly walked away and went to lie down. So, not only do I have a nice friendly kitty pet for my girls, I also have a ferocious cockroach hunter who brings them to me to squish.

London

So one of the perks of going to teach overseas is that the Professional Development conferences are in places you have to fly to. So the technology one was in London this year, and I signed up to go. Now before you assume that it was a paid vacation, you will notice that their are no pictures on my Facebook page of the conference, which is a good sign, because I was so busy learning and exploring, that I did not have time too take pictures. There were over 600 presentation going on, from Adobe to Apple to Smartboards to 3D Printers to Microsoft. Some very cool stuff for education is there, although only endless supplies of money would fully stock a school.

So the days were spent wandering and listening and learning around the Olympia conference center, dreaming of the ideal techie classroom. (Steve I thought of you) The nights, were for me though and i took advantage of them, as you wold expect any one too. Night one was spent in a restaurant for Indian food, thinking of the old neighbourhood gang as I ate butter chicken, and then a stop for a pint in a pub. Night number 2 was a chance to see my hero, okay I like Mr. Bean, the ultimate trouble maker, he inspires me, Rowan Atkinson in the play Oliver. It was fantastic, I am amazed i got tickets, but it is the winter in January so lucky for me. Night number two I went with a colleague to see Zorro the musical. It was great fun, well performed, filled with wire work and sword play and song. Night number three was a football match between Crystal Palace and Ipswitch, On the way to the game, I was asked for direction to the stadium by four teachers from Norway, which is ironic because I had no idea how to get there and was trusting my amazing instincts for direction. We all made it there, on time, without getting lost and saw the game. The home team lost 4-1, and I learned some new curse words, so overall it was an educational experience. I then went to the movie Defiance, very good by the way. There are no movie theatres where I live so it was good to be able to go.

Needless to say I am wishing to go back, and fortunately there will be the conference there next year, which I am sure I will go to. And some of you wondered why I wanted to move overseas. And you are right mom, It's really good meeting people when you travel, isn't it.

Fun in Spain

One of the goals of our trip was to do as many fun kid activities as possible, at least that was the girls plan. We found this trampoline place outside of the mall in Sevilla which the girls enjoyed immensely.



As well, we went to Isla Magica twice, we had to because two different families were joing us at different times so we had to accommodate them. It was hard but we sacrificed.

Sevilla Spain part one

So there have been two trips that I have taken one to Spain with the family and one to London by myself for a conference. really I was working during the day, although I did admittedly play at night, you know, out looking for trouble and finding it somehow. But first about Spain.

We decided to travel up to Spain by car and took the ferry over. We drove up to the city of Sevilla and stayed for nine days. We had booked a hotel (side note booking.com has no extra hotel booking charges) on line and arrived in the evening to a clean and warm room. Warm is important, since there is no heat in Morocco so houses are very cold.

An aside, having been used to BC Ferry Corporation, getting a ticket on the Moroccan side of the ferry service was an adventure. We traveled with a family, and watched as he bargained the price of the ticket. We ended up spending 1000 Dirhams less on tickets, I think. Glad he was with us. We eventually made it onto the ferry, although we almost had to pay a guy to tell us which line to go into.

So highlights from the trip included two trips to Isla Magica, a theme park ride like Disneyland, only on a smaller scale. we also visited the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world, the local palace, and did a variety of shopping for much needed winter clothes for the kids and adults. We also spent New Years Eve downtown, although I have since learned that Spaniards gather in homes and eat, then eat 12 grapes at midnight on each gong, then kiss everyone, so the streets where empty most of the night. There was a large group that gathered in the square downtown where we were, so we followed them and rang in the new year. Unfortunately though, no Spaniards kissed me. Maybe next year.

Here are some pictures, as they are worth many words I think. More later.

The Ocean

The ocean is a melancholy place for me these days. I was sick today and stayed home and slept, then got up and ate, then decided I needed to go visit it. These last days the ocean by my house has been in turmoil, there is no pattern to their travels; they crash into each other and then hit the shore. Each one travels a different distance, and hits the shore from a unique direction, traveling up to meet whatever is in its path, sometimes overcoming what lies in front of it, sometimes engulfing it. So as I was watching it, so powerful, so beautiful and so chaotic, I was reminded that while it is impossible to tame so strange a creature as the ocean, one can learn to ride it out, and to stay on top and not be suck in underneath and pulled away by its current. And I had meet such a person who was able to to do this, and who was teaching me to do the same. His name was Younes and he was the family surf instructor. We all took lessons with him, including the girls, and he was very good. He had a way about him that was sweet and gentle, I saw it when I watched him teach my girls.

You may have noticed that I am talking in the past tense, which is sad because he was killed over the weekend in an avalanche. He was adventurous and had gone skiing in the Atlas mountains, in the back country. Morocco apparently has had more snow than ever before, and this young adventurous man fell victim to the power of nature, one that he was not able to stay on top of this time, unlike the surf he knew and loved so well. I did not know him well, which is unfortunate because I got the feeling I would, and now I will not have the chance.

So I look at the ocean now with some sadness for a man (below in the white hat) who left this planet to early, for his family who miss him, and those kids lives he touched, and their parents who will not have the opportunity to learn from him anymore.