Here’s something that I had posted earlier, but I’ve just now found it…oh well:
يوشع
July 27, 2003 17:15
Marhaba! You’ve portaled into the precarious wonderings of Joshua Haynes. I’m you’re guide, Joshua, and will be whisking you away on a fanciful ride via magic carpets and two-humped camels through the varied terrains of Morocco. Whether it is the Sahara desert to the east, the snow-capped mountains of the Atlas and Rif Mountains, or the coastal beaches of the Mediterranean or Atlantic Oceans, I’ll try to provide you an insight into my two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
I will use this forum as a communication tool to keep in contact with all of my friends and families, and insha’allah (God willing), I will be capable of updating you on my life frequently.
The countdown is on; in 46 days, I will be heading to my staging area for two days of last minute preparation in the United States before I take to the skies and arrive in Morocco. There are many things to plan and many things to do, and the fact that I’ll be away for the entire month of August for work, does not aid the preparation process. No worries, I’ll get it all done. But for now, it’s time to hit the books, study some Colloquial Moroccan Arabic (CMA) and French, and see how many new words we can learn today. Every time I update this website, I’ll give you a new Arabic and French (and potentially Berber) sentence so that you can learn along with me. Let’s start today:
CMA: r-razul fe-d-dar. The man is in the house. This is not to be compared with “he’s in the dog house (huwa fe-d-dar l-kelb).”
French: je ne sais pas. I don’t know. Although it’s an easy one, I seriously don’t know.
Thanks for listening!